They Came from the Everfree

Chapters

Assistance
Speaking English
Arrival
In Action
Unwelcome
Meetings
A Treehouse?
Egghead
Night Falls
Awoken at Late Hour
Flashback
Good Morning
Cultural Shock
Season's Greetings
Interesting Characters
Ambushed
Recovery
'Tis But a Flesh Wound
Zap
Pink
MIA
Finding Elliot
Road to Wellness
One Down
Zero Hour
Tall Things
Planning Point
Canterlot the Powerful
Call to War
Wartime Preparations
Operation Counterbalance is a Go
Cycle of Pain
The Party
Intermission
D-Day
Close Encounter
Moment of Truth
Learning Experiences
The Puppet and the Conman

Assistance

Author's Note

Chapter not made by me, HonestAJ4President made the first two chapters! I DID edit this chapter!

Assistance

Day 2
SFC David Grayson

I awoke in the cave. I got up and stretched. I heard my bones crack and grunted as I realized that sleeping on a cold stone floor with only an ACU (Army Combat Uniform), a smoldering fire pit and a thin layer of leaves staving off hypothermia wasn't the most comfortable place in the world. I walked over to Elliot and kicked him lightly. "Up and at 'em, man. I want to be overlooking the town before most of its population is awake."

"We really got to stop starting the day like this. Uh, I wish we had some duct tape. At least we would have a semi-decent hammock." Elliot said, also cracking his bones.

"All in due time, man. Fill your canteen and put on your ghillie suit." I put on the ghillie suit that we had fashioned after the incident with the wolves. I took out my canteen and held under the waterfall. I remembered the basics from survival school; don't drink stagnate or sea water, you risk drinking salt water. Only drink moving water, or urine as a last resort. I walked back into the cave and grabbed my M4A1. I screwed on my silencer, didn't want to risk having to fire close to town unsilenced. I looked at Elliot and saw him filling his canteen. He turned around and I spoke.

"Good to go?"

"The Totally Lost Duo is Oscar Mike. We should follow the tracks back." I nodded and found the tracks in the clearing. I looked up and saw dark clouds moving overhead.

"Looks like rain, and the darker the cloud the more rain. We should hurry before the tracks are washed away."

After about an hour of following the tracks, we saw the end of the forest. "Where should we set up?" I asked.

"Why are you asking me?"

"You're the sniper. You're the expert at setting up a spot to overlook a place for hours at a time."

"Well you're higher up. It's your final decision."

"Well I'm making it your decision."

"Fine, um, up there. Good overlook, lots of cover and an easy escape route. Natural choice."

"Lead the way." We moved to overlook and took out our binoculars. Looking through them, we could see many ponies moving around.

An Hour Later

"Uh, this is why I don't hunt or fish. Too fucking boring." I groaned, bored out of my skull. I may close to the highest enlisted rank in the US Army, but that doesn't mean I can't be bored on duty.

"If you're so bored, why don't you just walk down there and say 'Hello, I've been watching you for a few hours. Take me to your fucking leader.' Now shut up and keep watching or take a nap." snapped back Elliot.

"At this rate, I wonder how long it is before we're at each other's necks." I said after a few seconds.

This got a chuckle out of him and he responded "A few hours, at best. At worst, I'm gonna throttle you the next time you open your mouth."

"Alright, I'll keep my finger on the trigger." We shared a chuckle and went back to watching. "How long do you think it'll take them to figure out we're watching them."

"I don't know. Maybe some adventurer will find our skeletons, maybe those ponies that came looking for us yesterday are behind us right now with clubs, waiting for us to turn around before smacking us on the head." he chuckled a bit before turning to look. He returned his gaze before continuing.

"I've thought about this."

I chuckled and replied.

"I can tell."

"Hang on. Ponies from yesterday are coming our way."

"Drop the binoculars. Glare, there must be glare of the lens. We should bail." I said with a hint of panic, slowly getting up.

"No, lie as still as you can. Don't want to blow our cover when they don't even know we're here. There couldn't have been a flash, we're in the shade. Maybe they're just going for a walk."

"You better be right." I said settling back into the place I was lying. I saw the ponies walk into the forest and overheard the conversation
"-plejack, Rarity don't worry. I'm sure Applebloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootalo are fine." said the voice I recognized as Purple.

"Ah know Twi, but it doesn't stop me from worrying." said Country.

After they left earshot, both Elliot and I said "Maybe we should lend a hand."

"Guess we're in agreement." I said

"Yep." Elliot answered

"Oscar Mike." I responded. We got up from the position and made out way into the forest.

After around 30 minutes of searching, we heard a loud, high-pitched scream. We looked at each other for a few seconds before bolting in the direction of the scream. Our progress was blocked by a ravine but we saw multiple wood wolves staring down colorful blobs.

"Set up firing position. Silencers off, we need to draw the ponies from before's attention." I ordered, steadying my rifle on a tree stump. I judged the distance and compensated for bullet drop. The wolves began moving forward and I started firing.

There was a flash of lightning, a crack of thunder and the thudding of rain. I heard Elliot yell.

"Dramatic timing at its best."

Two of the wood wolves dropped dead and the rest bolted. The small ponies looked in our direction.

I took the initiative and shouted "RUN YOU FOOLS!" before firing as the last of the wood wolves ran. The ponies ran to the left and escaped view. I looked to Elliot and spoke.

"We need to move. The only thing they'll find are shell casings."

We ran in the other direction and after an hour, by pure luck, we found our base. There were a total of five deer drinking from the pond and we screwed on our silencers. We were able to get a single deer, and after gutting it, we were cooking venison. We only hoped that the ponies were able to find each other. We went to bed with a full stomach and a (mostly) clear conscience.

Speaking English

Day 11

SFC Grayson

We spent the next three days letting things settle down and building defenses. On day six, we began getting a little desperate, as food and the constant threat of wood wolves created stress, and decided that it was time to go back to recon. Things were relatively the same, but there were considerably more ponies in golden armor. It's day eleven and we have decided to get a bit closer of a look.

A Ridge Overlooking Ponyville in the Everfree Forest

0545 Hours

"Gray, it's approaching dusk. What should we do?" asked Elliot.

I considered before saying "Feel confident enough to go into town? I'm sick of rolling around in this forest. Even the deer are getting hard to find."

"With all do respect, that sounds like something someone who just got out of basic would say. You really think that's a good idea? That's the last thing we are SUPPOSED to do, you know."

I took a quarter out of my pocket and said "Heads, we go in. Tails; we stay."

I heard him mutter "Alright Two-Face."

I flipped the coin and caught it. I slapped it against my wrist and moved my hand away.

"Heads, we should ditch the suits. As if 2, incredibly tall figures walking down the street wasn't suspicious enough."

"Agreed. What do we do if we're caught?"

"Civilians; book it to the forest, split up, loose them and meet up at base. Those guys in armor; Depends on situation. They meet with force, respond with less lethal force, if possible. If they surround us and get some diplomat, we talk it out. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll understand our plight."

"We've been hiding out in the forest for eleven days and intentionally avoiding contact with ponies. Not exactly an airtight defense."

"Better than lying and paying for it if they find out. Gonna be a long night, might as well get some sleep while we can. Get some sleep, I'll take first watch and wake ya in 'bout an hour."

Outskirts of Ponyville
1145 Hours

“Remember what we talked about on the way down here, keep it cool and slow. We don’t want to look like we want a fight” I reminded Elliot.

At this point we had removed our weapons and gear, leaving us in just sage green body-hugging t-shirts and shorts. They were rather thin, so they were not very hot. Much less than a ghillie suit. They reminded me of the army PTs we wore in basic.

“Yeah, yeah. You’ve been saying that since we started walking. I get it already!” He yelled back, annoyed at my pestering.

“Right, well, this is the last of it. Where should we go? That place looks a bit crowded for a first appearance.” I questioned.

“Do you really want to walk north for miles just to find a less crowded entrance? Hm? Didn’t think so, now or never.” Elliot remarks as he gets up and slowly walks toward the village.

“Wait, Elliot!” I step out of concealment to follow him, which immediately gains almost all of the courtyard’s attention. I was no more than a foot away from the bush and it seems the entire population of the city froze to look at us. Not even a bird chirping was heard.

As we neared the crowd began to back away slowly and cautiously, mumbling quietly to each other. As if any movement could set one of us after them. Their eyes were a mixture of emotions. Some scared, shocked, even a few were just curious.

Elliot and I remained completely quiet, now beside him. I crouched down a little and gestured for him to do the same, realizing we were almost a foot and a half higher, getting lower might make us look less that of a threat.

“Uh… Hello?” I asked, quietly. Attempting to break the silence without startling the locals.

This was not the case.

They all recoiled back and took a few steps away, before one stepped forward. Elliot and I both took a sharp breath in, recognizing this one from earlier.

The one we agreed to call ‘Purple’ was staring at us closely, as if inspecting our each move, no more than a few feet away.

‘This one’s confident enough, maybe why she was leading that search party’ I think to myself.

I looked at Elliot, out of ideas as of what to do. He returned the glance and simply shrugged, clearly as lost as I was.

“You speak Equestrian?” Purple spoke up at us.

We both turned away to look back at the little thing, Elliot was the first to speak up.

“No, we speak English.” He replied.

‘Fantastic first impression, we look real smart now...' I say in my head, catching myself from saying it out loud.

“Yes, we speak the same language.” I responded, raising my eyebrows at Elliot to alert him of his mistake, which he clearly still didn’t realize.
He looked at me for a few seconds, before mouthing an ‘Oh’ and looked back at Purple with a slight blush.

“Fascinating, you don’t look anything like us. Where did you learn your language? Where do you come from? Are there more like you? Are there…” The little one pelted us with questions, faster than either of us could respond. When we opened our mouth, the next question was already asked.

‘I have a new nickname for this one, I’ll call it Egghead…’ I tell myself.

Before I could make more fun of the creature rambling more at us then to us, another silhouette appeared from the crowd. Starting towards us.

Arrival

"Twi, stop yappin' a second and let them answer somethin'!" Exclaims the Orange silhouette, the unusual accent revealing this one to be the pony previously classified 'Country'.

That's her name? Twi? That's strange. Maybe it stands for something.

"Right... Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away." Really now?

"Okay, right. What are your names?"

Oop, bad question one. I shouldn't reveal my real name, these locals might still be hostile, despite the hesitation. And I can't risk giving intel away too quickly, it might be turned against me later. I can either go with the normal military greeting, or give a call-sign. Shoot, this is taking an akwardly long time, and Elliot is looking at me too. Here goes nothing.

"I am Sergeant First Class Howard Grayson of the United States Army, this is Sergeant Elliot Lee. We have been stranded in those woods, and decided to emerge when supplies were scarce. And you are?" I asked, trying to make it sound more casual than forced.

"Oh, uh... I'm Twilight Sparkle, this is Applejack. If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"

My turn to speak again.

"You've never seen anyone like us?"

"No, are you even native to here? You make it sound like something very, very wrong happened."

She doesn't know what a human is, there goes my hopes of anyone helping us get back. Maybe I'll be here forever, god I can't die here. I feel myself slightly panicking, and I try to regain control of my lungs for a few seconds.

"We... We're humans. I don't think we are from here, no..." My eyes are watering at this point. Elliot also looks like his form shrunk a little.

Twilight cringes a little, realizing she might have struck a nerve. At the same time I look at Applejack, she hasn't said a word, and has been nervously eyeing us for some time now.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. I'd offer you a better place to talk, but Celestia likely wants to see you as soon as possible, we can talk on the way. You don't sound like trouble, but we'll be watching you."

This time, Elliot is the one to speak.

"Well, can we grab our kits first? I don't want to leave our stuff out there in the forest."

"Oh, um... Sure, I'll get a few guards to escort you through to make sure you are safe. I'll come too, just to be sure."

I speak up. "Alright, we'll try to be quick. We don't live that deep into the woods, and once I get my gun back, it's a safer return trip."

"Gun? What's that?" She asks both of us.

"You don't know what a gun is? You got a lot to learn little one."

She twitches a moment, covering it up too quickly for me to see the emotion behind it.

"Alright, just please don't try anything, we'll be watching you closely."

Applejack slowly rises, upon looking in her direction I can see the antagonizing glare she's giving me, and when our eyes meet, her ears splay back and she backs up slightly. Clearly intimidated, likely by our size difference.

The other citizens had been chatting with one another this entire time, some had left, others had watched curiously. Others had some more alerting expressions. But none dared approach.

Good news is, we weren't attacked, and they seemed fairly harmless. A little strange, a bit antagonistic, but harmless. I had no idea the day was about to get so wild.

In Action

Day 11
1500 Hours
The Forest

We are marching back to camp, Twilight rounded up a few guards, she claims to be ranked 'Princess', this indicates the society is a monarchy of some sort, but considering the health of the citizens I'd call it a constitutional monarchy. They are too healthy for a tyrant to exist. There are four rather funny looking guards in gold armor, two had spears, the other two swords. Somehow all of them looked exactly alike. We started conversing about each other's species a few seconds ago, I'll continue my journal there.

"So, where did you come from? I mean, you are aliens... Right?" Twilight asks

"Well, I come from Earth, for Grayson... It's hard to tell." Elliot jokes, laughing at me. I admit, I chuckled a bit, too.

"But to answer your question, yes. We come from Earth, pretty sure this isn't even the same planet. And I have no idea how we got here. The last vehicle we were in isn't even capable of leaving Earth." I answered

"You're right, I've never heard of an 'Earth'. And your species has certainly never been seen before. It's incredible that you managed to get from wherever Earth is to here by ACCIDENT. This is unheard of!" She sounds a little too happy about the crap-pile we're in right now.

"Yeah, we're so happy to be here..." Elliot responds, a little too sarcastically.

Twilight's ears splay back and her fur fluffs slightly, she turns to face him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to neglect your situation. I'll do everything I can to get you back, I swear!" Says Twilight.

"It's fine, we understand you just want to know. Ask away, it's nice talking about Earth if we can't be there." I say.

"Well, I've wanted to know, you said something about a 'gun' earlier, what is that?" Twilight asks you.

"Oh boy, you guys are ancient, aren't you?" I tease. "It is the major weapon of our planet, it uses explosive powder to create a rapidly expanding gas, this gas builds up a pressure strong enough to send a lead projectile called the 'bullet' one or more times the speed of sound at an enemy. In conclusion, guns fire a small piece of lead faster then sound that cuts and melts its way through enemies. Our guns are bolt-action, some are fully automatic. Automatic rifles can fire 60-100 bullets a minute, but most magazines of ammunition, the part that holds the bullets, only hold thirty or so on such rifles. Any questions?" I ask, expecting a barrage of responses to such a futuristic technology in what looks to be a renaissance era village.

"So, it is pretty much like a bow, with a faster arrow, made of lead, right?" She asks.

"Not quite, the bullets are only about yay big" I hold open my index finger and thumb to explain. "We use sniper rifles, these are the longest-range firing manually operated weapons. Some expert snipers can kill a target, sometimes even MOVING, from a mile or more away. This takes extreme skill, only several people have gotten kills that far of range. The bullet also carries with it a rapid pressure change called a shock wave, so when the bullet enters the target, the shock wave rips the hole open wider, and increases the fatality rate of individuals who are shot. Our guns are also very noisy, I think you remember the loud booms in the forest when we saved those little ones you were looking for." I respond.

"That sounds really grue-WAIT, THAT WAS YOU!?" She shouts, I realize I might have overstepped your speech boundaries, should have kept that one quiet. I look over and see Elliot balling his fist, breathing quickly. He looks ready to defend me in the case that she goes violent. I don't think he has alot of respect for these creatures.

"Yeah, we saw you walk by in the forest, we hid in the bushes in our camouflage, hence why you didn't see us. Heard who you were looking for, pin-pointed their screams, and found out these strange wood-wolves were attacking three little ones, looked young. We took up a shooting spot and killed a few, we hoped the gunshots would be loud enough to get your attention to them. We left once the wolves retreated." I answer, her increasingly scrunched face is starting to panic me a little. I ball my fists up as well.

"So, you, protected the fillies, even though you didn't know anything about us?" She asks.

"Well, that's our job. Protecting those who have not proved themselves hostile is our life purpose. We live to fight for those who can't do it themselves, and besides the structure, I know I saw terror. It was no different from a scared child on my planet, action was necessary." That statement was very true, but deep down I leave out the fact that I was also antsy to shoot again.

Her expression softens, the guards seem to shrink a little bit.

"Well, that was a bold decision. We did find them safe and sound, thanks to you. Maybe I had you mapped out wrong. When you told me you were soldiers I thought you'd be aggressive, and based on fury, like the Griffon Empire. Turns out, you are alot softer and more polite than I had expected, and I'm sorry for judging you." She explains, it's kinda surprising to hear anything with a mouth actually apologize and MEAN it, that's almost unheard of on Earth anymore!

"Hey, don't sweat it. Elliot, we're almost there. Get your stuff quick when they get there, sundown is approaching." I order.

"Alrighty, hey, if you don't mind me asking, what species are you? Are you the dominant species here?" Elliot questions Twilight.

"Oh, uh, well I'm an Alicorn, but this planet also has Unicorns, Pegasai, and Earth Ponies. We are one of the largest species, but I wouldn't say 'dominant'. The Griffons are very intimidating, and could take control if they really wanted to. It's in our trust that they keep the peace." She responds, fluffing her fur slightly.

She smiles and nods at him, turning and doing the same at me. I give an open-mouth smile back, not so large that it's creepy just a sincere acknowledgement. The problem is, as soon as I open my mouth, she looks right at it, and stops in her tracks. Her pupils shrink, and I think I see sweat. These are not good body language signs, this just might go bad.

"Might I ask, what does your diet consist of?" She asks, a little shaky.

"Hmm..." I do my best to remember the food pyramid I never payed attention to in school. "Meat, vegetables, milk, fruit, beans, and... Pasta I think. Can't remember perfectly, no, grains! Not pasta, grains." I say, looking at her, she still seems nervous. The guards actually look like their pikes are aimed a little closer to me and Elliot now.

"You eat meat? Also fruits and vegetables, you are omnivores?" She asks, clearly trying not to sound shaky, but failing.

"Yeah, that's actually part of our protocol, is survival, if we get lost, we hunt, cook, and eat food. It's high nutrition keeps us alive. If we can't find moving water, we start drinking rain. We are trained to survive for as long as possible in extreme conditions." I say, it kinda rolls of my tongue. Feels good to have someone I can brag to again. I look at Elliot, who is frantically waving his arms behind the Princess in a 'shut up!' motion. As I look at the ponies the Princess looks be in a stage of fear, as the guards hold you at spear point.

Oh this is just what I wanted on a day like this...

Just as Twilight opens her mouth to speak, something bursts our of the bushes and snarls at us. I look back at it and see another Wood-Wolf growling at us. As I get ready to defend my self with attack dog CQC tactics, more Green eyes light up in the dark, and more, and more. We're outmatched. I need to think of something fast. Elliot beats me to it.

"On my go, break for the camp. One... Two..." The wolf barks at him and breaks into a run soon after, the forest line erupts into wolves charging into the trail at us. Elliot sounds like a little girl this time. "THREE THREE THRRREEEE!" He sprints even faster than I can keep up, the wolves are gaining on me, and it appears the ponies lifted off and are soaring high above me.

"Keep running dude, get your Colt and set a few suppressing rounds at 'em, should be loaded now!" I have to scream at Elliot, him running almost out of ear-shot ahead. He should be at camp any second, I can see the campfire from here!

It's only when a wolf's tooth manages to nick my heel that my speed REALLY increases. With a final burst of speed, I try to get to Elliot. When I'm only 20 or so meters out, I hear my familiar Colt. Along with the sound of wood crunching behind me. I misunderstood how close those things were, really!

I dart past the forest canopy hiding our makeshift tent, and dive for my rifle, I only have a few seconds to get the safety, turn it off, and take aim before they'll be all over me.

I do so with a hair's time left. The shot goes through the wolves and kills several and wounding others. I bolt the round faster then I think I EVER have and shoot again, and again. It's slowly cutting the pack of 30 down closer to a scattered 15. The three guards from earlier fall from the sky and land on the wolves in an Assassin's Creed worthy takedown!

Just as the right side Pegasus lands it gets pounced, it gets it's wings pinned down and the spear falls out of it's reach. It helplessly uses it's arms to hold the wolf's fangs back, but it gets closer by the second.

That had to be the coolest shot I ever had the pleasure of watching!

My bullet went right in one eye, and out the other. Like hanging a fish. The only difference is fish heads don't explode like a firework and thank you for saving their life.

Ten Minutes Later...

After a rough struggle, and 4-5 injured wolves left, the last of the attackers leave. With Elliot waving the pistol around at any movement, and me keeping my head swiveling, for safe measure of course.

It's only then that the princess lands back down near me, she keeps a firm distance between us, and every twitch you make is a flinch on her.

"Get ready, I want to get back quickly before more of those come after us. Celestia certainly will be alarmed when she hears this..." She says, in a calm, and somewhat freaky voice. Like that psycho mother who you can't tell quite if she's out to get you. She continues.

"That the aliens, from another world, just worked together to protect not only their own lives, but also risking them to protect the guards selflessly. The way you fought was very inspiring, and I'm glad you with, and not against us." She congratulates.

Something's... Off...

"Weren't you scared of us a few seconds ago? You still seem kind of nervous." I ask, trying not to sound antagonistic. Elliot begins getting his ghillie suit back on. "Are we a little intimidating? We knew we'd come off that way. Not a good first impression, but I'm sure you understand." I explain.

"Oh nononono! It's just, when I saw your teeth I saw they looked adaptable to meat. I was worried you were predators, and I had no idea how hungry you were. Not to mention you kept explaining how easily you could take a fight into your own hands, it made me a little more cautious. Now that I look, you do look built a warrior. Everything about you reminds me of a meat-eating animal. Not that I think you ARE an animal, you just-" She starts to get a little lost in her own speech.

"Hey, shh. I'll get my gear on, and we'll go explain ourselves to this 'Celestia' guy you keep talking about." I say.

"It's a mare." She responds, I don't think I remember what that word means. Oh wait, female horse! Science class WAS useful after all!

"Right, let's just get moving. This forest has me on edge." I finish up.

Without another word of conversation, I start getting my gear on, and have all of my supplies in my pack, Elliot is geared up the same way.

"Ready to go?" Twilight asks me.

"Yeah, back to the town." I reply. Stretching a little bit and starting down the long trail back.

Unwelcome

The walk back was certainly the most horrible thing that's happened since the landing. I mean, getting attacked by these so called 'Timberwolves', as what the guards called them, was pretty bad. But that gave me shooting for entertainment. The walk back was spent in complete quiet. Any time I tried to speak, she'd avoid the question or put it off. It was worse than silent treatment, because I didn't know why the hell this was happening! It had been an AT LEAST an hour, but it felt like months...

"So, uh. What's the name of this planet?" I ask Twilight.

"You'll learn more about it later..." She trails off.

Some time passes.

"So are the forests always this dangerous?" I again ask, hoping to spark some sign of life.

"Usually..." Is all she responds.

If she puts me off one more time I swear humans will be EXILED...

"So, hopefully that proved that you can trust us? Not that we felt antagonized before, of course." Elliot pitches in, clearly trying to stop me getting more pissed off than I already was. It didn't bother me that he was trying this, because I WAS pissed! Very much so! Glad SOMEONE seems to notice anything! What bothered me about it, is how nice he was trying to be. Even though that last part was totally false. We felt very antagonized, and still do.

"Not exactly." Twilight responds, looking to the guards. She clearly made some sort of facial gesture, but from our angle to her right, it was not visible to us.

My turn, I guess...

"So, what does that mean? You mean there's like, a test? Or have we just not done enough yet, to your standards?" These little bastards are really distrusting, I'll say. If we need to like, protect them from any more weird, mythical bullshit, I'm going to hit something! Probably Elliot...

"You'll get more information later..."

HOLY SHIT! She did NOT just do that again! All of my D.I.s combined weren't this annoying... All of them with three CLONES of themselves wouldn't bother me this much. But getting put off, ignored, and rejected of any socialization, especially in a situation like THIS! THAT is what is getting to my head. As if that isn't bad, Elliot has been getting more and more nervous, like we switched roles or something. When I stopped fearing these locals, he started! He's been whining whenever we get far enough apart from them about how they "aren't giving him a good vibe." Weird superstitious crap like that.

I am reeeally pissed off now, so badly I can't even form a sentence to describe this mixture of hate, annoyance, and.... Something else, fear? I think it's fear, feels like fear. I haven't really felt fear for anything in a long time. It's usually guaranteed that we'll be safe, as long as we follow orders properly. But in this environment, so far from home, it's downright confusing. I start to feel my fight or flight reflex kick in. At the time, capping the group wouldn't sound too bad. My secondary has enough ammo for them, and a few extra. I could save us from whatever they might have in mind. Which, by the way they are acting, isn't wonderful. At least, it doesn't seem like it. You typically aren't ignored and shunned on the road to Disneyland, that is.

I try to calm down with shooting methods. I slow my breaths, relax my heartbeat, and look directly forward. Ignoring any distractions, in this case, the locals. Which I will continue calling them because I think pony sounds cheesy. What do you expect? It's not like I NEED to call them by species. Or that they earned it. I don't want to be called "human" all the time. Oh wait, if I make it to the town without killing something, that could actually happen...

I reach for my side and turn my pistol's safety off. If wherever we are going goes hostile, I want to be ready to shoot ASAP. Safeties can give the locals time to use that weird energy stuff to yank the gun away or something of the nature. I still find it hard to believe I saw it with my own eyes, those locals in uniform were shooting things and manipulating objects without touching them. It's a VERY strange thing to watch.

OH GOD FINALLY! The village. Looks like mucking around in my head passed some time. Looking closely, I see that the courtyard is cleared of most of the locals from earlier, and is filled with new ones. Suddenly, I hit something with my leg. Looking down, I make eye contact with one of the armored locals. Who I, presumably, just walked into.

"Why'd we stop?" Elliot asks the Purple she-demon.

"I don't want to do this, but, it's necessary by law. Guard, at ease. You, name?" She responds, pointing to one of the guards.

Guard, that's what they were called, right.

The guard shows a hint of surprise, before regaining military bearing, managing to at least SOUND confident.

"Staff Sergeant Scarlet Shield, Princess."

"Scarlet, have this team restrain them, and remove their weapons." She orders, trying to sound somewhat polite.

Not that that made me feel any better, I was FLAMING pissed now. Scarlet nods at the team, and they begin approaching us.

I draw my M9 sidearm, and hold it at this Scarlet character, as the tension instantly rises from zero to superhero.

"Hey hey hey! Back it up! Slow it down there!" I bark out, trying to dismiss the idea before I fire a shot or something.

Turning my head, I look to Elliot, who is wearing that stubborn 'I told you so' face, he also has his sidearm aimed at the other two guards, waving it from one to another. He turns back to them.

"Please, it is important that we do this in order to get you through town. We can't risk you hurting anypony if you happen to be dangerous." Twilight speaks from my left.

"I AM dangerous! And I AM about to hurt someone! Call them off, before this gets worse!" I shout. I don't care WHAT title she has, or rank she is, she's under MY order right now. We have the guns here and it's my team, not theirs. I decide what I'm getting Elliot and I into.

"Please just hold still, we won't tie it tightly. We just can't walk right through the marketplace breaking regulation. It makes us look terrible, and the townsponies would get spooked by the weapons you carry. I'm sure you understand. We don't mean any harm, it's not a threat, it's for the sake of our ponies." Scarlet responds.

"Uh, Grayson? I don't know if we have a choice, if we go hot here, we'll be stuck here. There's no way in hell we can get back on our own." Elliot speaks from behind.

"I'll figure it out, but we are not being held prisoner!" I reply, making sure it's directed at everyone, not just Elliot. I turn to Twilight, aggressively speaking through my teeth. "If you won't trust us to WALK near your locals, then we won't trust you to disarm us. You are not only getting on my nerves, but you are confusing the shit out of me, and you are hiding something without shame! You won't even tell us where the sweet hell you are taking us, and now you expect us to go defenseless and bound? It didn't take years of training to know THAT would be crazy. And if you-"

"-Grayson, chill out dude." Elliot speaks, trying to sound calming.

"NO!" I reply, not actually yelling, but sounding alot more whiny and sarcastic then I meant to. "We're about to be paraded through the village like captured animals, BY animals, TO animals, and we don't even know what they intend to do. Don't act like you trust them either! You've been nagging me about that bad feeling the entire way here!" The guards start to back up, either entertained by the arguing, or startled by the weapons being turned on them.

"You're right, I don't trust them, but I think we have a better chance with them then with the forest. We can't craft our own bullets, Grayson. And we need to get food somehow." Elliot reasons, clearly losing faith in resisting.

"We'll be fine, you didn't get on Delta force to die after a few weeks in a forest. Or be taken hostage by crazy locals." I turn to Twilight, trying to stop arguing in front of them when I'm still trying to seem intimidating. "Look, either we walk through like normal people, or we survive back in the forest. It's MY team, and despite Elliot's doubts, we can live without you. It's your choice here, just don't restrain or disarm us. We aren't your prisoners, and we're alot better trained than you've seen yet. Attacking us, or showing hostile actions is not a smart idea. Killing is our job, princess." Wow, that's the first time I've actually called her that.

She seems to think about that for a moment, looking between us and the guards. She has to know attacking is a bad idea, there is no way she could protect all of the guards in the area. Not to mention she has no idea how fast, strong, and defensive we are. On the other hand, she seems like there's alot of worry that we'd do anything stupid in the center of town. There isn't a good option for her, but it isn't my problem.

After about a minute of thinking, she turns back to me, satisfied with her choice.

"Alright, how about we do THIS instead."

Author's Note

Please alert me of any typos, I was REALLY tired. And look! I can write chapters now! Nothing can stop me now!

...Probably something will again, but at least I'm not giving up

Also, no, the ending isn't telling you that she's carrying through with restraining them, it's telling you she knows what she wants to do.

Meetings

After about a minute of thinking, she turns back to me, satisfied with her choice.

"Alright, how about we do this instead, we won't take your weapons, or tie your arms, but you will need to agree to a bit of extra security. Also, when you were fighting, you kept taking something out of those devices and replacing them. Is this loading the weapon? Assuming it works like a bow, that is. " She asks, using her tone to try and lean us to agreeing.

It's a tactic we've learned to notice.

"It doesn't work like a bow, but that's loading it alright. Each M9 magazine holds fifteen rounds, each M24 magazine holds 5. When we shoot fifteen bullets, we need to load another." I respond, trying to spare details until I'm indoors. Knowing how long that conversation would be.

"Alright, with that, I'd also appreciate you giving us anything that isn't loaded into the weapon now. To minimize the risk of you doing as much damage to us. Sorry if I'm coming off as pushy, but it's MY responsibility to make sure everypony stays safe. You're a serious concern here. I'm sure you'll understand." She states.

I take a moment to sit back and think about that. It's iffy, I don't like it. On the other hand, Elliot's right. We need them, and if that's what they offer, it's a risk I'll take.

I look at Elliot, shrugging. I nod to him, signalling it's his choice.

As expected, he turns to Twilight, nodding.

"Sounds good, I'll do it. Just don't bump them around, will you?" He says, handing the ammunition to the guard nearest him.

I follow suit, handing it to the Staff Sergeant. It wasn't until just now I realized the rank is one of the Army's, I gotta dig into this.

Handing the last M24 magazine to this 'Scarlet Swirl' character, which is when I speak.

"So, you were a Staff Sergeant, correct?"

The guard flinches a little, turning to the princess. He makes some sort of facial gesture before Twilight nods, with which they turn back to me.

"Yes, I am... Sir?" The last part comes off as a question, clearly uncertain of my rank.

I didn't know they could tell we were soldiers either, for all they knew, we were hillbillies with long range rifles.

"No, I'm not a sir. I'm a Sergeant, Sergeant First Class exactly. Elliot here's a Sergeant. I just wanted to know, what's your rank chart? Your rank caught my attention, as it's exactly named after one of ours." I comment.

The guard shows a hint of surprise for a moment, before responding, "Well, those are both ranks of the guard as well. It starts as Enlist, then proceeds to Private, Private First Class-" She continues to list, when Elliot and I pitch in and name the ranks in sync.

"Specialist, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant-" We continue, all the way to Sergeant Major of the... Well... She said guard, we both instinctively say Army.... Close enough!

I decide to ease out of the subject, my curiosity solved.

"Well, that's a strange coincidence. I wonder how that happened, but I guess I'll find out later" I say teasingly, facing Twilight.

Her ears fold back, and she breaks eye contact, but doesn't show any change of body language or expression.

Elliot clears his throat, trying to signal my sarcasm shining through again. Get used to it, I'm sarcastic ALL the time.

Often more than I bargain for, but what can you do?

"Alright, as much as I like the wolves and crap out here, I'm ready to start working on getting back home. Can we take off?" I ask, getting a little nervous with ammo this low near the forest line.

"Oh! Right, let's go, follow me." She orders, indicating it was aimed at the guards.

...I hope.

Elliot and I jump to the sound of crashing metal, similar to the sound of slamming the lid on a metal pot. Alot of them.

We both turn around, realizing it was the noise of the guard's armor, as they snapped to attention. They get back to the original formation, the Staff Sergeant standing just to the rear left of Twilight. As we approach the village again, the stares begin.

Something I always like to do to reveal that I'm not in a bad mood, or dangerous, is to act human. It wasn't something I learned in the Army, either. It's just, if you want somebody to like you, but doesn't trust you at the time, be funny. Act human, act alive.

This is why it's my job to joke with Elliot all the way to wherever the hell the escorts are taking us.

Author's Note

Yeah it was a kind of short chapter, I'm working on confirming I am still a full 80% alive, so you can expect updates. There's alot being planned right now. And if you were going to tell me I called Scarlet Swirl a "he", I know. You'll find out more about it later (recognize this feeling?). From now on, Elliot and Grayson will fade away from being 'soldiers' and start acting more civilian. This is due to the stress and hopelessness of the situation. They silently want to fit in, not survive. As their brains no longer decide this place to be a survival situation. It's more of a 'vacation' if you'd call it that. So expect the main protagonists to act more human, and less soldier! It's NOT an accident!

A Treehouse?

With our magazines out of reach, I adjust the sling on my M24 and begin following the group, motioning for Elliot to follow close. The footsteps behind me indicate his ability to follow basic directions.

I start thinking of something, anything funny. Something to make us seem less hostile as we walk through town.

Wow, the one time I need something funny to pop in my noggin, I'm out of ideas.

Well, some casual talk might do the trick to some extent.

"So, are you the dominant species around here? Or are there other species that compete? I'm sort of going off of like, every relatable story to our situation right now." I ask, hoping to avoid being ignored again.

"Well, there are other species, but we are the largest. There are Diamond Dogs, and Griffons, but those territories are much smaller than Equestria."

"So are the wars frequent, or are these nations all allies with one another?" Elliot asks.

"Wars? We almost never have wars. Equestria hasn't been at war for about one thousand years, until the recent Changeling invasion. It's very peaceful here."

Life and peace don't go together well. Especially when the life is multiplied as so.

"Peaceful?" Elliot asks. "I don't think Earth has had an era of peace. Ever. It's shocking that you all get along so well. Makes us look guilty though, doesn't it?" He finishes his sentence by tapping at his side, just above where his sidearm was holstered.

"Ever? I find that hard to imagine. You certainly aren't that violent, are you?" Twilight asks, turning slightly.

"We-" Elliot begins.

"Since earliest human record, we killed each other with rocks so that we could take other humans' food without worry of getting attacked. Our weapons and fighting skills evolved faster than we did ourselves. Today, our weapons are the most advanced human technology. It is decades ahead of any other technology field we've invested in. It's also the most funded." I answer, accidentally cutting Elliot off. I give him an apologetic look.

Looking around we've made it into the center of the courtyard, and there isn't another soul anywhere near us. There was a mixture of locals bowing, or standing in fear or awe. Some were familiar from earlier. It was quite a crowd, but they were so short it didn't bother me much. I could still see every single local there. None seemed armed, none looked hostile. The guards seemed to tighten around us a little more than before, which made me a little bit claustrophobic. Nothing more than I could handle.

Elliot decides to keep up the conversation, which distracts him from keeping his head on a swivel.

"So, what is it that you all-"

"ooook ooooOOOOOOUUUUUT!" A voice shouts, approaching from the rear left impossibly fast.

*CRACK*

Before I could even look at the source, a large object pounds into Elliot's back, knocking him away from my right, and sending him soaring at a building nearby, at which he gets pinned to.

I quickly dart my head, and draw my sidearm out of reflex, aiming it at the source of commotion. There is a collection of gasps in the crowd, which are hard to notice with my heart rate picking up so quickly.

Looking at the damage, I glance at a large, bright Blue object pinning Elliot to the building. The wings spread out at the sides indicate it being one of the locals. It quickly lifts itself up and away from Elliot, appearing fearful of him. I don't have time to think further before Elliot panics.

"It's got me, Grayson! It got me! Tell my wife I love her! Can you do that!?" He shouts.

"You aren't married, you dope!" I respond.

"I have dreams!" He calls back.

The Blue local quickly hops off and stammers backwards, tripping over itself a little, shrinking down as it speaks.

"W-wha, what is THAT?" It shouts, a little frantically. The voice reveals it to be female, yet it has a somewhat deeper voice than the few I've heard since the last trip near here.

Elliot takes a deep breath, relaxing as it backs off.

The guards do the opposite, angling weapons at the new local, and quietly approaching. Twilight, seems a little more than surprised at the sudden commotion. Considering she was just staring, wide-eyed.

"Phew, good to meet you too, uh... Rainbow! Right." Elliot answers, using our call-sign designation. It actually wasn't until that moment that I realized it was the same one that we saw in the woods.

"A-again? I don't know you! I've never even seen you before!" She takes a few steps back, stopping several meters away from him. She didn't realize she backed somewhat close to me.

The guard was almost on top of Rainbow, when Twilight called out.

"Guard, at ease, stand fast. She's fine." Twilight says, making her friend sound anything but 'fine'. There was a little bit of venom in the way she called that order.

Her friend quickly spun around, but instead of facing her friend, she came face to chest with me. It's ears drooped down and it slowly looked to the sidearm I was aiming, which it quickly backed away from.

"TWI! What are these things!?" She demanded.

"They are... Humans. We just found them in the forest. I WAS on my way to go somewhere safer to talk to them, before you assaulted one of them." She speaks, clearly forcing her anger down.

"Uh... Sorry..." Rainbow's words trailed off as she eyeballed every piece of gear we had attached to our backpacks and utility vests.

"Anyway, since you clearly like being around them so much that you decided to smash one, you're coming with me." She says, in an almost parenting voice.

I could never stand people being condescending, something about her tone plucks a little something upstairs. A quick peek to the side reveals Elliot cringing as he got to his feet, casting a dirty glance this Rainbow character before she turned to him.

"Aaaawww, but I was just about to get this trick down!" She complains, still staring between me and Elliot, but not nearly as nervous at her distance.

"You were about to kill someone with it, too." Twilight reminds Rainbow.

"I'm fine, really. She just knocked the wind out-" Elliot starts.

"Don't even try that, she's coming with me." Twilight interrupts.

Rainbow sighs, drooping a little. "Alright fine, I'll come. But don't expect me to help you research another species again!" She protests.

"I didn't forget last time. Guard, fall in, back to normal." Twilight says, looking around the courtyard.

Rainbow follows her gaze, quickly realizing the countless eyes plastered on her. She quickly turned a shade of Pink and covered her face with her wings, following us as we begin walking down the path again.

After about a minute of walking, I feel something gently poke at my leg. I look behind me as I walk, to find that Rainbow character just as she stopped slowing herself down, pretending to be interested in the surrounding buildings and stares we were getting.

'That was weird', I think to myself.

She repeats this process several times to both of us, we each pretend to not notice. Until about the fourth time, that is. Elliot leans close to my ear, whispering.

"Isn't the guard back there gonna... Do something? She's probably watched the chick do it at least twice." He says.

"Maybe it's not his orders? Or he doesn't care enough. Maybe he's sort of new? They don't have insignia." I respond.

Elliot simply nods and resumes his position at arm dress' length to my right.

"Ah, there it is." Twilight speaks up.

I look up ahead, nothing looks big or royal, or even seems to draw attention to it.

"Where is it, exactly?" I ask.

"The treehouse, it's right there." Twilight points.

A treehouse? I can already hear Elliot squealing inside like a schoolgirl.

Egghead

Once the door behind us was shut, the lanterns around us somehow ignited, without any visible switches being pulled. I look behind me at the door to find no rigging, levers, wires, or anything. Perhaps a camera activated the flames. It's a later questions.

I feel something brush past my leg, I look down to see that Rainbow character passing us and following Twilight into the center of the room.

Turning back, I catch Elliot looking around in shock. The inside was completely carved out of the tree, and I was sitting in a small library covered in small decor. There was a large sun pattern on the ceiling which seemed to help illuminate the room. The most shocking fact lied with how much larger it was on the inside! This treehouse was enormous!

"Wow, how long did this take to build?" Elliot asks, looking at every crevice of the shelves.

"Oh, this? I'm not sure, actually. I bought this years ago, when I moved to Ponyville. The books and shelves were the only additions I made." She replies, sounding a little proud of her property. That statement made Rainbow look around the library, observing the room.

Twilight moved to the far end of the room, sitting in an area where two couches were placed beside one another near two shelves. The couches, one Green and the other Blue, formed a loose L shape. A table sat in front of the two. Twilight gestured for us to have a seat on the Blue. Meanwhile, she planted herself casually onto the opposite. Rainbow casually sat next to her, on the end further from us.

I had only just realized the guard had somehow disbanded, and left us alone. Not a good idea, if you ask me. I mean, not that I would at this point, but if I was an enemy, I could dispatch the two before anyone armed could stop me. Not the best security measures.

"So, what are your names, with rank? I want to make sure I remember them, since we'll probably be talking the most for the next few days." Twilight asks, breaking the disturbing silence.

As usual, my answer comes first, Elliot trailing as usual for introductions.

"Sergeant First Class David Grayson." I greet.

"Sergeant Elliot Lee." Elliot follows.

"Alright, I apologize if I have to ask again, but those are unusual names to me. At least compared to Ponyville. So, the plan is I ask enough questions about you, and do some examining of your specimen, then contact Princess Celestia when I have enough information." She explains, making proud eye contact, a common interrogation or diplomatic method.

Elliot turns to me, signalling with a hand.

Looks like I'm the talker.

"Alright, I'll answer what I'm permitted to, but don't expect me to give up information that could endanger anyone." I speak, keeping a sternness to my voice.

"We don't mean to hurt you, don't worry. First off- may I?" She asks, reaching for my hand.

"Sure, so what did you want to know?" I ask, letting her grab and examine my hand.

"Well, how did you get into the Everfree?" Twilight asks. Rainbow leans closer to hear our answer as well.

"We aren't totally sure, we were under transport to a mission area, when our chopper was hit by a rocket. Most likely an RPG. It didn't spin like I'd expected, we just swayed a bunch and tipped forward 'till we hit the ground. Second we touched down, I went out, Elliot says he did too. I woke up, and found Elliot to be the only man visible. Once he woke up, we checked the bodies. The rest were already gone, so we had to make do with just us." I explain, leaving out detail where possible.

"You used a few words there I've never heard before, mind explaining the definitions?" She asks.

I nod.

"Well, you used the words 'chopper and RPG'. Those aren't Equestrian words that I've ever heard." She explains.

I forgot about how low tech these citizens are, damn it.

"Well, chopper is short for helicopter. It's how we get around quickly. It lets us fly, but risks being destroyed, as we were. RPG stands for 'rocket-propelled grenade'. They are explosives that are propelled by a rocket. The RPG-7 projectile will cut through armor, and blow up a vehicle or building from the inside out. Luckily, the angle of attack seemed low enough that we didn't get blasted." I say, punching Elliot in the arm.

"This guy though, I'm not sure. Pretty sure that thing blew your brains out." I tease, chuckling to myself. Earning me a slightly harder punch in the side.

Twilight offers a little smile at our antics, she had at some point grabbed a quill and paper, and had started writing. Her observations to my hand had continued to up my arm, where my sleeve had been rolled up to allow access.

"Well, you two are clearly military, is that also why you are wearing those fuzzy suits?" She questions, poking at my shoulder.

"These, are ghillie suits. They blend in extremely well with grass, and allow us to kill the target without being seen. In fact, this leads me to something you should know. Remember when you were with those other few, and your Pink friend was waving at a bush about seeing two figures?" I mention.

Twilight slowly nods, before her eyes slowly widen. Rainbow's jaw dropped slightly. It was too good of a picture to stop at that.

"You were so close I could have touched your leg. You looked right at us at least twice, before your friend almost ratted us out. And you-" I point to Rainbow, making her straighten up slightly. "-almost stepped on me when you were walking by." I finish.

"Well if you weren't stalking me in the forest-" She starts.

"You were looking for us actually." Elliot cuts her off.

"Well-" Rainbow starts, getting interrupted again.

"Dash, let's not fight with them right now. We've still got things to learn." She speaks, using that parenting tone again. She was now poking at my neck, which was a little annoying.

"We've also used call-signs to remember you all. Typically by color. For example, you were Purple." I say, pointing to Twilight. I move my finger over to the other character. "You were Rainbow, the Orange one was country, the Yellow one was shy, the White one was regal. We heard you use Pinkie's name, so we know that one. I actually joked about giving you another call-sign after we first met, when you started pelting us with questions when everyone was watching you." I explain, triggering Twilight a slight blush.

"Sorry about that, by the way. I guess I got a little carried away." She offers.

"You embarrassed yourself in front of Ponyville? And I wasn't there to see it? Aw, come on!" Rainbow pouts.

Twilight tries to brush that one off, clearly having trouble ignoring it.

"And what was that call-sign? I'm assuming that means a nickname as well?" Twilight asks.

"You could call it a nickname, I thought about calling you egghead." I say.

I didn't expect such a reaction.

Her jaw dropped, as every muscle in her face went limp. She went totally blank.

The Rainbow one did the exact opposite.

She exploded with laughter, falling out of the sofa into a giggling pile on the floor. Any time she tried to form words to further poke fun at her friend, they died off with more laughing.

"W...What did you call me?" She asks with disbelief.

I turn to Elliot a little nervously, offering a face that asks 'too much?'

His terrified expression clearly answers that.

Yep, we're getting beheaded, nice job insulting royalty.. Smooth move, Grayson.

Night Falls

Author's Note

Wooo! I got free time to finish the story! And I'm not dead! Granted, this story is going a little wobbly, but hey! It's a story. And it's the best I can do. Not to mention I am getting much better at writing these chapters.

Chapter has now been edited! Only near the end.

Night Falls

Twilight wasn't showing aggressive body language yet, but she certainly didn't seem amused at the current situation. She appeared to be trying to speak above that Rainbow local's laughter. This, of course, was a serious task.

After quite some time, Rainbow had died down to giggles, and Twilight took her chance to speak.

"Well, it was just a call-sign, it's us naming you based on what you make us think. So when you started pumping questions in the courtyard, it made you look like... Well an egghead, to be honest." I jabber, sounding a bit more frantic than I was trying to.

Well what would YOU do? I'm starving and at risk of execution, torture, or whatever other medieval crap this community has.

"I'm... Not an egghead! I just get curious! That's all! There's no-" Twilight gets cut short.

"Forget it, Twi! That's two to one! And they aren't even.... PONIES! You lose!" She laughs.

"Uh, really, I didn't mean to speak out of line, there's no need to get hasty." I offer, silently gripping at my holster, rubbing my thumb over the safety.

"Hasty? I'm not being hasty!" She retaliates, slightly unfolding her wings.

More than enough of an action to get me and Elliot to set the safety to 'fire'.

Clearly this Rainbow character took watch of our hands, as she started to poke at Twilight's arm.

"Uh, Twi?" She cast a pointing gaze at the holsters at Elliot's side.

Twilight turned back to us, following her friend's gaze, and quickly changed expression. Resulting in her ears splaying back, quite obviously exposing her fear of the weapon.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean any harm. Please, don't try it." She begs, with a hint of some sort of emotion I couldn't recognize. It wasn't quite fear, she didn't seem to feel imminent danger.

I really don't trust this, the tension in this room is boiling up. I squint my eyes in an attempt to look intimidating. I nudge Elliot's arm, and we both slowly lower our hands hesitantly.

That was about when I started counting strikes.

"I didn't mean to worry you, it's just... What you called me is exactly what she calls me." Twilight raises an arm at her friend, who seems to be giving a slightly more panicked stance than before. All for good reason, of course.

"Right, clearly your friend thought it was funny." I point at the Blue one.

"Well, I always said it as a joke, and it kinda annoyed her. So hearing you say it too was pretty funny." She responds, smirking a little.

"Oh! That sounds familiar!" I look at Elliot, causing him to get defensive.

"Whatever, you'll always have Private Pyle's name on ya!" I laugh.

"That was a coincidence! You can't hold that on me!" He defends.

"Sorry, you clearly shouldn't hear Pyle anymore..." I wait a few seconds for suspense. "At least, not until you actually stole food from the hall." I joke.

"Oh... You're gonna get it one of these days." He warns, hiding a smile.

"Um, Pyle? I thought he was Elliot. What am I missing?" Twilight interrupts.

"Oh nothing really, just a movie reference we made in boot camp. Three separate people called him Private Pyle, because of the way he acted." I laugh, poking at Elliot's shoulder. To which he punched mine.

"In this movie there was a jack-up named Private Pyle. And Elliot here, is pretty much his twin. Save for how skinny he is, that is." I explain.

"I didn't steal a jelly doughnut!" Elliot argues.

"You stole a biscuit." I continue to tease.

Elliot growls, holding his hands out with a strangling motion just in front of my neck. Before he gives in to laughing, understanding the humor, a polite way to avert the mind from the fact that we may never share that experience with another human again.

Silence again fills the room, as night as fallen outside. The candles faintly illuminate the room.

"You all act very similar to ponies, it's surprising you have such different technology." Twilight speaks.

This doesn't help to start a conversation. That Rainbow character is still clearly a little nervous. Swaying around, tapping her... hoof? Just generally jittery activity.

"I assume I can trust you two to sleep on these couches for a night?" Twilight asks.

Elliot and I nod, eager to sleep on something that isn't the cold, hard ground.

"Well, I suppose it's about that time. Please don't try to do anything late at night. I trust you won't, but you understand that I-" Twilight begins.

"Hey, Twi? Could I... Talk to you?" The Rainbow character asks, leaning closer to her friend without taking her eyes off of us.

"Oh, uh... Sure?"

The two get up from the couch, and Rainbow leads her into a small room that appears to be a kitchen, carved into the large tree that somehow isn't collapsing from lack of support. Some strange engineering they have here.

Elliot leans close, whispering to me over the quiet chatter we hear from the other room.

"Can you make out any words?"

"No, they're talking too quietly."

"Well, what do you think they're talking about?"

"Shut up a second and I'll listen to what I can."

No words are made out, but it sounds to get a little bit heated. Clearly the Rainbow character is getting riled up about something.

About a minute later, the two come back in, no signs showing of what went on, save for that constant gaze from Rainbow, which really started to creep me out.

"You all may sleep out here, Rainbow's going to go back home now." Twilight explains.

"Bye Twilight, see you guys later." She calls, opening the door and leaving.

We all call out similar messages, before the door shuts. The room falls into another silence, which really gets old quickly. For a sniper, I really can't stand the quiet today.

"Well, I'll be upstairs. Just come up if you need anything, we'll talk more in the morning. We still have alot of talking to do." Says Twilight.

"You're just going to let us sleep down here, in your house?" Elliot asks suspiciously.

"What? You wouldn't hurt me, you don't show that kind of spirit." She replies, having already climbed the short set of stairs, standing at the top.

Elliot nods as I fall back onto the sofa. He gets up and lays on the opposite sofa as I am.

"Good night, you two." She calls.

"Good night, Twilight." We both call out in sync, an instinct from boot camp.

Elliot and I, without a word, begin to take off our gear and very carefully examine it. After a few minutes, both of us seem satisfied, and I begin to clear my rifle. I don't dare leave the pistol unloaded, however.

"Still don't trust them, Elliot?" I whisper.

"Not one single bit, what's the contingency plan?" He returns.

"For now, guns blazing. I'm too tired to think, now go to sleep." I lay all of my gear underneath me, mostly at the feet. If it was stirred, I'd most likely feel it. Certainly the rifle. I rest my head on the small pillow and begin to clear my mind, which proved to be a tough task to achieve.

It didn't take more than five minutes, before Elliot started to snore obnoxiously loud.

It didn't take more than two after that, for me to do the exact same.

Awoken at Late Hour

I woke up to something poking at my face, something warm. I quickly jumped upwards out of reflex, feeling a presence. A perk of having ESP, something most people denied I really had in boot camp. Tell that to the time I completely slapped Elliot when he was creeping up behind me about a half-year ago. Tell me feeling that coming wasn't ESP.

Quickly the voice begins to shush me, I feel hands grab me and hold me still. This was not helping me calm down at all, believe me.

"Yo, Grayson. Chill, it's me dude." Elliot speaks from the dark, sounding like a doofus saying 'dude' and 'yo' in a Southern accent.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I whisper harshly. "What the hell are you waking me up for?" I look around, realizing it's still night time. And the room is masked in darkness. Only a small silhouette of the furniture and Elliot is offered.

"I think we should do some scouting, this all seems really fishy." He whispers, shifting in the dark.

"Oh my god, you woke me up for your pony-paranoia? What kind of recon could we even do? It's a small house, not much to see left." I respond, still getting my head straight from the slumber I was kicked out of.

"Relax, we slept 7 hours. No big deal. But look, I think we should check this place out. Locate of the exits, hiding spots, you know?" He suggests, speaking quiet and monotone.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were the actual now. I'll be sure to follow your orders. Look, leave me be, or I'll put you to sleep for another, much less comfortable 7 hours..." I threaten, bearing my teeth (even though there's no way he saw it in the dark). "How did you even wake up this early? You've slept about as much as I have."

"You gave me the last sleeping shift, remember?" He answers. "At least keep watch and make sure she doesn't come down. A'ight?" He begs.

"Fine, fine. Just make it quick. I want to get back to sleep." I give in, realizing there's no way he'd leave me alone at this point.

Without a word, the silhouette stands up and walks into what I remembered to be a kitchen area. He continued to silently inspect things. And frequently gazed at me and the stairs. My eyes had started to come into focus and I could see that he was going through cabinets, and touching at knives. Testing the sharpness, no doubt.

"So, what are you going to do if she does try to kill us? Bail out the window, and get killed by guards instead?" I say, just barely loud enough to reach him. "Besides, she seems fair enough. You don't need to ruin my sleep over it. Speaking of which you're going to get it for this!" I raise my voice.

"Shhhh, no. But it's worth a shot if something does happen." He calls back, a little more quietly than I was. "And you think I'm still afraid of you? I mean.... Butch maybe but not you dude. You almost didn't shoot that one target when he was unarmed." He chats back, changing the subject.

"Well? What do you think I was thinking? If I was shooting an innocent man, or hurt him, there's just alot that was wrong there." I respond, crawling out of my warm spot on the couch and stretching.

"He was responsible for the death of two Marines and one of ours..." He whispers, waving me over.

I continue, while walking to his spot in the kitchen near the counter. "Yeah? So? He didn't look dangerous, and he didn't have any guns on hand, did he?"

"He didn't need to, if you waited much longer he'd have got away and killed some others. Maybe even us someday."

"Whatever, I'm done. That's the one scar on my record, you don't have much dirt on me, Elliot." I whisper, getting annoyed at him accusing me of guilt.

"Well, there was also that one time you completely missed the first shot, and let him get aw- Oh! I know! Or the time you aimed for the head and shot him in his-"

"Shut up, Elliot. Just find what you are looking for and get the fuck back to sleep. If I wasn't surrounded by sleeping contacts I'd break this counter top with your face right about now." I pause. "Or break your face with the counter top, whichever happens first. In fact, come here, let's try!" I grab his arm and shake him a bit, making us quietly laugh. Before falling back to silence.

The quiet quickly got old. As much as I have to stay quiet, it's really tough for me to do. I was always the talker.

"So, what do you think they're going to do to us?" I ask.

"What? The four-legged terrors? Probably behead us. Or something really fun, like torture. Hopefully I get some form of water torture, I've always wondered what that's like. I mean, it doesn't seem like it'd be too bad. It's just water on your forehead, assuming it's Chinese water torture. Of course there's good old waterboarding, which seems too simple to be that bad." He rambles.

"You're actually putting thought into this? You really shouldn't give me ideas, Pyle." I comment.

"You manage to strap me to a table and you deserve the honor or waterboarding me... And stop calling me Pyle!" He threatens. "In all honesty though, I don't think they're as bad as I expected. Up close they're kinda cute, like puppies. I don't think they could hit you either, they're only like.... What was she? About four feet tall I think, you agree?" Asks Elliot.

"Uh, well I'm 5'9, and she's about chest height. Most of them were. Soooo, four feet doesn't sound far fetched." I start to try to mental math out the height in my mind while Elliot continues.

"At the worst I'd expect experimentation, like getting dissected and crap. But after talking to them, I'm expecting some real help. She didn't seem aggressive, did she?" He breaks my chain of thought, I forget the height problem all together.

"Oh, uh... Not really. The Rainbow one didn't like you or me for sure, but the Purple one just kinda looked interested. Maybe why she had so many questions. Or they just want to know what to look out for if we attack, heh." I think about that last probability.

"Well, if we die, I just want to say you were pretty cool." Elliot finishes his search, and starts to walk back towards the couch.

"Aw, you shouldn't have!" I respond sarcastically, holding a laugh at his poor choice of wording.

I follow him back to the living room, he seems satisfied at his search. He takes one last scan before plopping down and rolling onto his side. Following suit, I crawl back under the covers and get back to rest of my own.

...Until Elliot started SNORING AGAIN!

From a the top of the staircase, mostly hidden behind the wall, Violet eyes blinked in the darkness.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, I procrastinated like crazy. But being home sick from school today, I had time to write. And write I did. This is an unedited chapter again, please give it 48 hours from release to be edited. This message will change when the edits are made. Please comment any errors I may have made in due time.

Flashback

Twilight creeped back down the upstairs hallway, careful not to step on any floorboards that appear out of place. Each step sounded like small explosions to her ears, and her heartbeat seemed to produce a much louder noise than before.

As she made it back to the bedroom, she slowly pushed the door shut.

'They really don't trust me, do they?' She thinks to herself, clambering back under the sheets. 'Obviously they're prepared, but did I really seem that offensive? Maybe it was Rainbow, she left somewhat of an impression.' She closes her eyes, continuing to attempt to understand the creatures resting downstairs.

'I should be careful tomorrow, things might get out of hand if I spook them too much.' With that final thought, she drifted to sleep.

A shot rings out with a loud echo, punching me hard in the chest. It was as if the force of a jackhammer just rammed its way into my chest. It knocks me off of my feet and slamming to the ground.

"Get up, hurry! Everyone, heads down!" Elliot speaks in a muffled volume.

Without time to act, I lay my head back and relax. Too dazed to understand what is happening, or care. What happens to me here, happens to me.

What happens to me, however, is a hazy episode of me being dragged away. Sounds slowly become more clear as the ringing stops. I begin to crawl to my senses. All I can see is gunfire, everywhere. Dust, debris, and an exploded pocket on my chest. Without a drop of blood to be seen.

Thank god for armor plating.

"Get off, where's it coming from!?" I yell, yanking out of my teammate's grip. I turn around to see Elliot staring back at me.

"Everywhere, it's an ambush! They must've known we were coming!"

I look around, as it quickly becomes apparent that this was no understatement. We have to be outnumbered two to one at least, there's no way I can survive this. The only reason I'm still here is the rock Elliot kindly dropped me next to.

Grabbing for my rifle, I smack down the safety lever and have at it, firing pot-shots into the dust field facing away from the road.

I hear a scream, and it rattles my flesh to the bone.

It doesn't stop, it seems like it's getting louder, louder, and louder still.

My ears have to be bleeding now, the screaming is louder than any gunshot on Earth.

It's horrifying, I can hear his pain. Every bit of it. I just killed a human being, is this what it's like? Oh god I can't take it anymore.

I practically leap upwards, gasping for air, my cheeks already soaked with tears. I feel weightless, like everything is falling. Slowly objects appear in the room, furniture slides in from seemingly nowhere, and gravity shifts to a whole new direction. All together, I get SUPER motion sick.

Looking around, I have no idea where I am. This is a weird looking house, am I dead? Is this the afterlife?

I look to my side and see Elliot sleeping, before turning to look at the only source of light: Sunlight through a small window with the curtains ajar.

It all comes flooding back to me, I relive the entire journey to this planet under a second. I'm not home, I'm far from it. I really might never see anyone else ever again.

I'm not a softie, over the years I've gotten pretty battle-hardened myself. But with all that has happened, and all that could...

I suppose I was just in a crying mood.

Author's Note

Filler chapter, I've got some interesting ideas coming up! I'll work on at least 1/2 of the next chapter tonight, if not ALL of it! :pinkiehappy:

Good Morning

Looking to my side, I find Elliot still crashed out. He seems to be barely asleep at all at this point...

...Perfect...

I need to find something heavy, I probably have something heavy.

I quietly grab my bag on the floor and rummage through it's contents, laying many of them on the floor.

It's so full I won't even bother to write out what's inside.

But, after a while, I do find something suitable. A copy of the holy bible that I keep around.

I slowly remove the covers and tip-toe over to his couch. Overall, it takes at least a minute to move that few yards. But it all plays out well worth it...

I raise it high above my head, ready to strike, before hearing some noise. It came from the stairs, freezing me in my tracks.

I see Purple as frozen as I am, making eye contact at the awkward situation.

I sit there for a good 30 seconds, it still feels weird looking at these things. It must be the eyes. They have this creepy.... Glare or something... I don't know really.

Welp, enough thinking.

I slap the bible down on his undershirt, right on the chest. Giving him a pressing sensation, relatable to CPR. Something we used to do in the barracks, hitting each other in the chest. It hurts, really!

He folds like a hospital bed, coughing and swearing in dazed confusion.

"Wake up, snowflake." I casually speak, smacking his cheek.

"I'm going to eat your throat out!" He threatens.

"Aw, aren't you going to take me to dinner first?" I tease.

He thinks a moment.

"Fuck you." Is all he seems to come up with... Bummer.

I laugh to myself, looking back to the stairs. She's still sitting there with a neutral expression. At this point, it's really starting to freak me the hell out.

"Uh, you coming down, or do you want some pop-corn?" I ask.

"W-oh, sorry. I didn't realize I was staring." She stammers, finishing the descent down the stairs.

"Right..." I look over to Elliot, sharing him a confused glance.

She moves to the right, heading straight for the kitchen. That can only mean one thing....

Alien breakfast... Cool. Wait, this might be gross. What if they eat weird bugs and shit? Or some sort of slimy fruit?

On the other hand, that sounds alot better than the mess hall's chow. Sign me up.

"So, what exactly do you all eat?" I ask.

"All of us? Well, alot. Can you narrow it down?" She responds.

"Hmmm... Breakfast or main course. The common stuff." I answer.

"Well, that's still quite a bit. Bread, hay, cheese, eggs, most fruit, all vegetables, pancakes or waffles, there's alot to it." She clarifies.

Hmmm, no alien brain on that list. That's a good sign.

"So I can't watch Elliot eat anything that nasty, darn shame." I joke.

"I'll eat a roach if you do it first." He casually responds.

Not quite sure if I should take that as a joke. That actually is pretty fucked up.

"Right, so. Purple. What are the plans for today?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh, plans for you? I.... Honestly am not sure. Things like this almost never happen. You're the first case of intelligent life from unknown origin I've ever seen. I might just keep you in here until the city dies back down after the scene we caused. I definitely want to know alot more about your species." She goes on, grabbing a few bags on unknown substance and placing them on the countertop.

I look at Elliot and roll my eyes, his eyes widen as he nods slowly in agreement.

"So when do we get to start learning about what life is like here?"

"Whenever you start asking?" She responds, clearly making Elliot look dumb for asking. Possibly not on purpose, though.

"Oh, well, I got a big one. Where can I get some meat? I'm dying, here!" He laughs.

Again, she freezes, with that neutral expression that pisses me off so much.

"Meat? As in animal? For food?" She asks, something odd about her tone.

"No, I'm building a castle made out of dead animals." He pauses. "Sorry, Grayson's sarcasm gets contagious. Yeah, food." He apologizes.

She stays quiet for a while, slowly setting down the bag of what appeared to be sugar or flour. She slowly and cautiously approached us, as if ready to bolt if either of us moved. Her ears splayed back, until she stopped about a half meter from Elliot.

"Could you, open your mouth wide please?" She asks, tilting her head.

He gets a look of surprise, turning to me, with a hidden grin.

I know exactly what he was thinking. 'Dirty Pyle' I mouthed to him.

He shot back a bit, before looking back to Purple, rolling his eyes. He complied, letting his jaw drop.

Purple stared for a few seconds, before seeming to inflate a little. As if she grew a few inches. It took me a moment to realize her fur was moving. She got all... Poofy. And the wings on her back ruffled up a little bit as she took a slow but steady pace backwards.

Elliot shut his mouth, and looked at her like she was the dumbest thing on Earth.

"My teeth don't look THAT bad, I brush my teeth twice a day! I mean, I didn't last night, but I don't have gum disease yet!" He defensively speaks.

"You're... Predators. I forgot about this, you mentioned you were omnivorous." She speaks, in a tone sounding like we had just insulted her closest relative.

I instinctively reach for my sidearm, realizing I'm still in shorts, and have no weapon to stop a freak show unless it gives me time to reach for it about a meter behind me and load a magazine.

"Well, that's not the word I'd use. Hunters kill animals with guns like ours. So I don't actually hunt animals myself. Predator also sounds really, feral. The closest to hunting I do is helping Grayson shoot. That's kinda the job." He points at me, seemingly oblivious to the change in mood.

She snaps her head to me like a lion smelling prey. It actually sends me back a step.

"You're dangerous." She answers, nonchalantly.

"Well, it's in the job description. We signed up to be dangerous. Typically that's what soldiers are, dangerous." I defend, taking another step back.

"I don't think I can protect you for much longer. If any word of this gets out, you could be in bad shape." She states, her tone getting less venomous.

"What did we do? You knew we ate meat, didn't you?" Elliot asks, slightly panicked.

"You're technically predators, they can't help but imagine you attacking anypony because they trusted you. " She speaks.

"We don't eat sentient beings, that's creepy shit!" I defend.

"I shouldn't go on your word." She continues.

"But you let us sleep here, how come we didn't kill anything if you let us stay here? You could pull that card." Elliot asks.

She thinks for a moment.

"I think I have a spell to answer this problem. Depending on what it proves, I may be able to help you. Or at worst, arrest you two." She explains, almost as a threat.

I could shoot someone right about now.

Dark Blue eyes blinked in the darkness, pondering what they had just witnessed.

Such a dream was completely bizarre, such strange creatures. And it was so... Real. With so much detail. Whatever she had just witnessed had to have been more than a dream.

She had to have just awoken something from a complete memory.

Author's Note

Released it today. I'm on a roll! :rainbowlaugh:

Cultural Shock

What decision was I supposed to make? It was to either face possible execution, or delay it by talking about what I can. It's not like I had a reasonable choice.

"So, you asked about our history? How far back do you want to go?" I ask her.

"As far back as you can go, I want to know everything." She explains, floating a quill and old-fashioned scroll next to her.

I look to Elliot, my eyes widening. He returns the gaze.

"Alright, look, this might take alot more time than I think you expect." I explain.

"I have all the time in the world, please continue." She speaks, on the opposing couch, moved to face us.

"Fine, I'll try to avoid detail too deep. So, starting us off, we have earliest forming human society. Where the first tribes of man across Earth banded together for bigger things. Around this age, pyramids, water canals, and large camps were built. At times, these tribes would go to war, often over land, including it's resources." I continue the story, eventually grazing religion, which she showed tremendous interest in. I changed the subject to the great crusades, at which I had to explain the many religions of Earth. This proved difficult.

"And now, it's the 'dark age', a time at which a great disease called the Bubonic Plague spread to about fifty million people in just over ten years. This disease was nicknamed the 'Black death', since one symptom besides coughing, fatigue, and fever, was black spots on the skin which oozed fluid. This killed all of it's hosts." I explain.

"It was spread by rats, but strangely vanished after the ten years was over. Many people believed we avoided each other luckily enough to stop it, others think we grew immune, and even belief that it killed anyone who wasn't naturally immune. Either way, it hasn't been seen for one thousand years." Elliot adds.

Purple nods, and scribbles on the paper, which has to be at least the fifty-ith paper she's removed. It's honestly shocking to watch her write without looking.

"This begins the Renaissance..." I continue the story, picking up speed, eager to finish the torturing endeavor of the past.

At some point, Elliot fell asleep to my rambling. He's now laying half-sideways on the arm of the couch.

"So, after this man was assassinated, by Serbian nationalists. Soon after this, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, to which Russia assisted Austria, to which Germany declared war on Russia. Knowing that France would try to stop Germany, it decided to attack France on one side and Russia on the other. 'A war on both fronts' it is called." This is where she started to show uneasiness. Especially as I explained the effects of gas bombs such as mustard gas. It was sort of funny to watch her cringe, so I was sure to include detail there.

World war two was next, which was a huge pain as she suddenly had ninety-two million questions to ask me about it. Mainly about what weapons we were using, and what morals were who's. This extended a ten minute talk to a half hour discussion.

Next came my favorite, explaining the middle-eastern conflict. I explained everything from the September terrorist attack, to the retaliation, to the conspiracy, to Syrian rebels. And next, I had to explain the tough part... The current war.

"So, me and Elliot are snipers of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta. One of the most elite teams in the United States Army. We currently are involved in this next part, so I'll try to explain our situation as in-depth as I can." I take a deep breath.

"Now, after most of the Middle East was being used for oil, our troops pushed into the next territory, Syria. We were going to step in and assist the rebels with heavy equipment and bodies. This process actually began, but Saudi Arabia was in a panic, believing that we would raid them next. So they organized a tremendous military force and assaulted the military on the border. They formed an agreement with the Syrian government and fought against us. As this process succeeded greatly, other countries stepped in to help them. Yemen, Egypt, Oman, Jordan. They eventually named themselves the M.E.C., which stands for the Middle-East Coalition. A force comprised of most of the Middle-East designed to destroy American occupation in all countries. That's where we come in. We're dropped into hot zones by aircraft about a mile from the action. Where we set up a shooting position and kill anyone not in a NATO uniform." I explain.

"How is your country surviving such an onslaught? You sound very outnumbered!" Purple asks.

"Oh, almost forgot. Our neighbors fought back with us. We partnered with the UK, Canada, and Mexico to fight back, as long as they get to keep some land and oil after the war clears. Germany was in the process of agreeing when we got here. I wonder if we're still winning." I gaze at the floor.

Purple senses my uneasiness.

"I see, you have a very.... Interesting history. Violent as it is. You've been through alot. But, if you're still up to answering, have you ever had an era of peace on your planet?" She asks skeptically.

"Hm, never world-wide, no. There are always wars on Earth. Even if they are just small conflicts." I answer, feeling guilty of my species suddenly.

"I see, well I'll be sure to show my notes to Celestia when we see her. But first I must ask, would you please name some of your territories again?" She asks me.

"Countries? Well, Belgium, Spain, France, Saudi-Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Germany, Russia, Braz-" I begin.

"As I expected, you seem to have somehow come from a mirror-world." She explains.

"Mirror world? The hell is a mirror world?" I ask.

"Most of the places you named have similar names here, and have similar ponies occupying them. Also, our history clicks together in several places. Your planet seems to be modeled like ours is." She continues.

"I don't see how that's possible." I skeptically answer.

"Well, we have Saddle-Arabia, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Crystal Mountain, Canterlot, White Tail Woods, Ponyville. Plus swords, cannons, spears, bows, crossbows, clothing designs, and a few other things that I can't quite remember yet..." She explains.

That's impossible, those are exactly like Earth, most of them. They just have cheesy-ass name changes. I need to find a book on this planet's history. Oh yeah, this place doubles as a library. Neat.

"That does sound alot like home. Speaking of which, when can we work on getting back? No offense to your... Wonderful hospitality..." I sarcastically remark. "But I'd like to leave this place as soon as possible." I finish.

"We'll be leaving in a few days. I'd like to study you closely for a while to make sure I know as much as possible before we bring you to Canterlot." She answers.

"Good, I'll tell Elliot." I smile.

Getting up, I bring myself back to my equipment on the floor, and squat down to pick up my helmet, and weapon magazine. Turning around, I walk back up to Elliot, holding the two out, and smash them together. Which makes a loud, echoing, metallic noise.

He leaps upwards and rolls onto the floor, scurrying away a few feet before hearing my laughing.

"You're a complete asshole!" He yells at me.

"Don't blame me, it's a condition!" I joke.

"You're a condition!" He answers.

...Ouch.

"Well, we're not going to be out of here for a few days. So just a heads up, you'll be sleeping here for a little while longer. She wants to continue research. Much of which was done today, no thanks to you." I explain.

"Hey, I was tired, and you were boring! What am I supposed to do?" He whines.

"You could always answer something yourself." I quip.

"I did! I did a bunch of times!" He exaggerates.

"About three times, but that's besides the point, mute. There's still a whole afternoon, and I'm going to get bored, and when I got bored, you get hurt. That's how I work." I joke.

"That's how every thorn-in-the-ass works. Twilight, what can we do to pass the time until then?" Elliot asks.

"Oh? I didn't really think that through. Uh, I'd rather spare the biological research till tomorrow, when we have time to fit it all into one day. I could introduce you to some of my closest friends. You already met Rainbow." She explains.

"The Blue one that hates me?" He asks.

"Uh... Right. She can be a little pushy with new ponies. Especially if she doesn't trust them." Purple defends.

"Well, if you're bringing her back just please make sure she isn't sitting near anything sharp, or heavy." I joke.

Purple smirks a little, nodding her head.

"I'll do my best. I don't want to leave you all alone, not yet. But if somepony comes by, I'll ask them to get everypony else here as soon as possible." She smiles.

Yep, still creepy. Maybe it's the face? Never seen a face that shape smile before.

Or talk...

"Alright, until then I suppose we can dig through some of these books you have around?" I ask.

"Yeah, I could go for something to read." Elliot nods.

"Sure, just please be careful with them, and set them back in the same order. They're very difficult to re-organize." Purple explains.

"I will. Elliot?" I ask.

"Oh, sure. I won't damage anything." He promises.

Purple nods and starts walking off.

Before Elliot's stomach barked back.

She stops and turns around slowly.

"Right, about that..." She says.

Author's Note

Battlefield reference there, did you catch that? Did it make you really sore? Don't worry, I have just the thing before you flame my comments and mail!

Also, for you deeper fans who really read the after page. The creator's idea was to model this on the Korean War. I think it still says "Russia" in one of the early chapters even! But, since I typed "M24" in too many times, I can't go back and change it. So I decided to use a fictional war. When I couldn't think up a name for this Middle-Eastern force, I used my favorite early-childhood game as a model. Battlefield players unite!

Season's Greetings

Well, meat is not on the menu, thankfully, they have plenty of fruits and vegetables. And judging by all the farmland around here, I don't need to question it's origin as much as I do in the U.S.

Elliot was currently reading a book, a bowl of salad next to him. Whatever he seemed to be reading must've been really interesting, as he hadn't looked up in over ten minutes. I would be curious, but the book was unmarked, with no title. Like the ones in the school library that nobody but the honors students read.

I, on the other hand, found the perfect literature for my question. It's a history book of something called the "Royal Guard". Those armored dudes with the giant toothpicks. Nothing useful so far, but it has to have more about the weapons and tactics somewhere. If what Purple said was true, we just might have the exact same codes of conduct and standards as the guard here does. The main objective is to protect royalty, but since this is such a peaceful land, they scarcely ever need to do so. Save for something only referred to as 'The Invasion'.

I look over to Purple, who was curled up onto a smaller chair, also reading unmarked. It's like I'm the only secure person with reading, Jesus.

After about half an hour of reading, there is a tap at the door.

I turn to Purple, who didn't show any reaction.

"You going to get that?" I ask.

No response.

"Hey, Purple!" I raise my voice.

"Whoa, what?!" She looks up.

"You going to get the door?" I ask again.

"Why?" She questions.

"Because it loves you... Someone is knocking!" I respond.

The knock continues, a little quieter this time.

"Oh, right." She hops up and moves to the door.

Opening it, there's a new character. This one's Yellow, also familiar. Oh that's right, shy. Seriously tell me I'm going to meet something I haven't seen already.

They begin to chatter in hushed voices, Yellow occasionally glanced over Twilight at us, before continuing to talk.

"Psst, hey, Elliot. You seeing this?" I ask.

"Seeing it, hearing about as much as you are. Isn't that the Yellow one from the forest?" He responds.

"I'm pretty sure. Do you think they're in on whatever the plans are for us?" I pretend to turn a page.

"Could be. I still don't trust these. Not that you do either." He answers.

"No, I trust them now. Problem is, you don't trust them anymore. Like we switched minds. Anyways, you still got that plan B for escape?" I look at him, no longer trying to hide our chatter.

He sets his book down. "Well, there are several windows, and a few open flames which I could use as a distraction if I remove them from the things holding them. We also still have a few mags left to pitch down a few guards that might give chase." He explains.

I open my mouth to speak, but I am cut short by a new couple of characters walking up to the door, joining the conversation. I can't tell how many are out there from my position on the sofa, but it sounds like all the contacts from the forest.

"Great, it's a fucking party, a complete ball. You think you can outrun all of them? I mean, the white one, 'Regal', had a horn too. Meaning it's a decent concern that she could hit us at a distance, too." I speak with concern.

"Well, we know who to aim for first if the gas lights now, don't we?" He answers rhetorically.

"I suppose so, and since when do you give the orders? I'm a higher rank than you!" I smile.

"Since you were stupid enough to ask." He grins back.

We go back to pretending to read, still unable to hear any specific words from the doorway.

After about five minutes of straight, unbearably anticipating conversation, the door closes, and I'm faced by the group from earlier, the ones from the forest.

I tap on the ground with my foot, gaining his attention.

"I count.... Six." I whisper, before the group gets too close.

They faced me in a group. Rainbow was flying above somewhere in the center, Twilight stood in front, arrowhead formation. Behind her, three were lined up. In order of left to right, Country, Pinkie, and Regal. Standing behind them to the left was Shy, fitting as it was, told by the hiding.

Country spoke up.

"I'm Applejack, or did you already know that?"

Author's Note

Sorry for short chapter. I'm not dead. New story! (One chapter, it's a shortie) "The Secret Under the Mare". You'll love it! Carry on, wastelanders!

Interesting Characters

"Applejack? Like... The cereal brand?" Elliot asks bluntly.

She turns to stare in confusion at him for a moment, before shaking her head.

"'Never heard of 'em. But now that you mention it, I'll be checking more often." She rolls her eyes.

"Glad I could help ya." He smiles.

"You dumbass, do you really think they still have our foods here? I don't think I see any 'Jack in the Box'es around here, do you?" I joke, earning me a punch in the arm and a laugh. "If I ate a cow I'd probably get burned at the stake or something."

"Well, I don't know about fast food restaurants, doesn't look like it's a busy town. But if they do you aren't going to see me again!" We continue laughing our heads off, earning silence from the group ahead. They seemed to be more interested in our talking than in personal communication. Which was fine by me, they were just a little creepy is all.

"Soooo, do the rest of them not speak English?" Asks Elliot.

The crowd in front quickly picked up with a collection of voices I could not make out individually. The Pink one was the highest pitched, Applejack was the lowest. From what I could tell. Each of them were going on defensively about my remark.

Looking at the chaos we appear to have stirred, I catch a glimpse of the Yellow one taking cover behind the crowd. This wouldn't bother most people, there are plenty of reasons this may be the case. But with the unfortunate turn of events recently, the worst had to be assumed...

I'll have to keep an eye open for her.

The chatter died down slowly, if not surely, until all was quiet again. Forging a very awkward and unnatural silence.

"Well, I think you're all done, and I didn't catch a single word of that. But it sounds good enough to me. So, names?" I ask.

One by one they all introduced themselves. The Pink one went first, jumping around like a teenager trying to get noticed by their idol. But following at the very last was that Yellow one that was putting me on edge. She barely whispered when she spoke, Elliot and I leaned closer, but I have a feeling he didn't hear anything more than I did.

"Fluttershy, that's her name." Twilight spoke from behind us, triggering a jump out of us.

"Jesus Christ-where did you come from?" I demand.

"Who?" She turned her head.

I processed her confusion.

"Nonono, I said 'Jesus Christ'. I wasn't trying to address you-"

"Dude, I doubt they'd even know the name Santa Claus, better yet a religion they've probably never even heard of." Elliot cut me off. "Either way, I-" Elliot started.

"I don't mean to be rude, but do you two always talk so much to each other?" Came a voice from the White one, introduced as 'Rarity'.

"What was that?" I asked, looking at Elliot, matching his gaze. We were at that point of acquaintance where you can talk to somebody just by looking at them. The same way kids could look at each other from across the class room and think of the same joke. We turn back.

"Yep, pretty much. As long as I'm not currently shooting at something or one that is." I nodded.

"Is that a common occurrence that I should be worried about?" She asked, in a tone that seemed partially sarcastic, but I wasn't sure.

Elliot and I stifled a few giggles.

"Well, yeah. It's a pretty common 'occurrence'." Elliot answered.

"Wait, you're not joking?" Her face dropped slightly. "If you're trying to tease me this isn't funny." Her agitation slowly escalated.

Twilight stepped beside the unicorn, taking a crack at diplomacy.

"Maaaaybe we should talk about something else, anything else." She offered.

"Perhaps we should..." Rarity seethed.

"Twilight..." Applejack's voice came again. "Could I talk to you for a moment?" She asked.

"Hm? Sure! What do you want to talk about?" She turned around, facing Applejack fully.

"I meant in private, just for a moment?" She avoided our gazes carefully.

"Oh, uh, sure? You all can sit down, I'll be back in a moment." She began to walk to the staircase, if they whispered, they'd be safely out of earshot. Applejack tailed her without hesitation.

We all moved to the couches, Elliot and I ended up sitting secluded, since all the others took the seats farthest from us on the other couch and, for 'Fluttershy', the chair beside it.

Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

"So, you guys are soldiers?" She asked.

"Like Twilight said, let's just drop the matter." Rarity insisted.

"Don't be such a sourpuss, you don't have to listen. I think it's cool, anyways..." She turned back to us.

"No, we're janitors for the local mall, did the uniform give it away?" I joked, making Elliot laugh, and scored a grin from Dash.

Peeking to the side, I saw the heated conversation between Twilight and Applejack running, clearly they were in disagreement.

"So how do you guy-" Rainbow began, but was cut short by a loud, close, and powerful noise that stopped my heart.

Outside, no more than fifty meters away, was the explosively sudden sound of gunfire.

Author's Note

Jeez, this took a long time. I'm doing what I can, but I'm no longer certain how often this story will update. Inspiration is VERY low.

Ambushed

"Shit-Everyone duck!" I yelled, reaching back for my rifle as fast as possible, before I realized it wasn't there.

Turning around, I looked for where I left my rifle, finding it quickly at the left edge of the sofa.

"What's that noise? It's like thunder!" Rainbow Dash yelled over.

"Shhh get down like I said! Somebody's shooting!" I answered, diving for my gun.

"There's no time to get your shit on, that's close Grayson, grab the rifle and let's hit it!" Elliot demanded.

"Armor's for pussies anyways." I whispered to myself, picking up the rifle and checking the magazine. It was half-way full. God damn it, when did I waste my ammunition?

Elliot bolted for the door, me close behind him.

As soon as we exited, we saw complete chaos. Several of the townsfolk lay on the ground, still. Others were screaming and running in a frenzy opposite the direction of the forest.

As I surveyed, I was suddenly surrounded by the screaming of several streams of AK rounds flying right past Elliot and I. We both went left hard, diving behind the tree.

"Who the hell has guns out here?" Elliot asked me.

"Your fucking grandma. I don't know! You're the spotter! Spot shit!" I pushed him towards the edge, to which he pulled out his rangefinder.

"Shit.... Alright, I count...." Elliot went silent.

"What? What is it? Use your words!" I yelled over the screaming and fire, now aimed mostly at us.

"It's the... Taliban. Looks like. They're here, too. I count six at least, maybe more using concealment. Contacts are bearing 075" He spoke more quietly than before.

No time to process, people where dying now, and I needed to handle it.

Bringing my rifle to my shoulder, I took aim just around the crack of the tree, to which several explosions of rounds hitting right over shook my aim, I caught a glimpse of a rifle barrel, an easy picking. Taking aim directly at the barrel, I fired a shot in return.

The barrel fell to the floor, and stopped firing. A sound sign that an enemy was out of action.

The rounds temporarily ceased, then hailed back, less accurate than before. They were spraying now.

Taking aim again, I located another barrel and let another shot rip through the edge of it. Another hit, this time I saw him fall.

This process repeated, until I had fired four other shots, all of which made their mark. The shots ceased, many corpses lay on the roads, and now I knew there were more in the woods.

"Move up, seventy-five meters. Just to the edge." I whispered.

Both crouched, we slowly crept to the edge of the woods, my rifle aimed high, and Elliot hiding behind me.

Townsfolk, including the group we had just met, began to slowly come out of cover, looking at us in curiosity.

As we approached, we started to smell the fury of gunpowder poisoning the air. There were spatters of blood on the nearby tree, at least two shots had to have dusted it with their own share.

Almost on top of the enemy position now, I took a look around, to find about fifty pairs of eyes staring right back at us. I quickly looked back, trying not to think about the consequences this may have later will be.

I hear gasping, and look to my right. A pair of feet was sticking out of a bush. They quickly began to crawl directly away, breaking the concealment.

Raising my rifle, and aiming over the scope, I fired three shots into the retreating enemy, ceasing his movement.

Walking up to him, I flipped him over, pulling the mask over his face. The man, rather boy, staring back at me, didn't look any older than eighteen.

It wasn't anything new, I've shot teenagers before, but something felt different this time, and not in the good way. I felt much worse, I felt like this was the first true human being I've killed. Looking in his direction, I see an AK47 rifle laying several yards in the direction he was crawling, right next to another dropped enemy.

I turn around to walk away, but halt half way as a thought occurred to me. The thought that this race doesn't have guns yet. The thought that they don't understand how war works, due to the seemingly rare occurrence of it.

Spinning back, I begin to pick up the enemy rifles, one by one, taking out the magazines, clearing the chambers, and carrying them under my arms.

"The hell are you doing, dude? That's fucked up!" Elliot yelled at me.

"Would you rather have those people pick them up and try and copy what they've seen? No? Well than, help me carry some of these." I handed him about half of the rifles I was lugging, leaving me with three AK47 Assault Rifles and my own M24. With his free hand, he reached down and looted the magazines, shivering as he put his hands over the corpses.

I turn around again, this time not stopping as I approach the tree. I slow my pace, giving me time to talk to Elliot. I lean closer.

"They're all staring, what do you think they're gonna say?" I ask.

"Off with their head, maybe." He said sarcastically. Neither of us smiled, but the joke was silently understood.

"That Rainbow one is probably going to be the source of my irritation in a few hours. Hey, where's the Yellow one? Flutter-something right?" I ask.

"She...... Oh shit you're right. We lost one." He sweeped his view around.

"Hm, well we're getting suffocated in our sleep." I say, elbowing him in the side as we're almost back to the door.

"Where's the Yellow one?" Elliot asked bluntly.

"Shut up dude, that's not really a threat."

He went cross-eyed and mocked what I said, turning back to the crowd. Which began looking around left and right.

"I didn't see her leave, did any of you?" Applejack asked.

They all shook their heads, Twilight and Rarity peeked inside the door.

"She went home!" The Pink one finally yelled. "She ran out when the tree started exploding!" She seemed much less shaken up than the rest.

I met the gaze of the White Unicorn, who held a furious stare hard to describe. In short, I wouldn't want to be alone in a room with this one. She's dangerous.

"So what now? Was that enough to get arrested? Or executed?" Elliot asked.

They all just stared behind us.

Turning around, Elliot doing the same, we saw the field of wounded or deceased that the Taliban were able to take out before we got outside. Easily thirty were not moving at all, another twenty were limping or bleeding. It was an open season pass for them.

"This is what we're out here to stop. It's my job to follow orders that help to prevent this from ever happening. I should've stayed in the woods. I would've seen them coming before they were even close." I started to feel the guilt of the situation. Realizing how many ways this could be linked to my impatience.

"Grayson, chill. You didn't know. You stopped it before it got worse, that's part of the job." He put his hand on my shoulder.

"Worse? Look at this! This would be a national, maybe even global news moment! This isn't just an accident, this would be labelled a full-fledged act of terrorism upon a population! Look at that shit!" I waved my hand at the less fortunate.

Elliot walked up in front of me, blocking my view.

"Dude, there are still alot of wounded, if you don't feel happy with what you've done, you should start assisting the ones that are still bleeding around here. You can do that, right? I'll even rally the injured for you." He offered his hand.

I stared at him for a moment, I wasn't used to him telling me what to do, at least not without alot of joking and sarcasm.

Grabbing his hand, shaking it, I walked up to the door, Elliot splitting direction for the marketplace.

"I need to grab my bag, my job's not done here. You heard Elliot, right?" I asked, facing Twilight.

She stared at me expressionless for a moment.

"I'll grab it, you wait here..." She walked inside, and shut the door behind her.

'Shit....'

Author's Note

Two in two days! That's like a record for me! Happy 2016 people!

Recovery

I faced outward, doing my best to ignore the harsh five stares I was receiving from my right.

'Shit, really, where is she? It's been at least three minutes now...'

Bored, and eager to get my mind off of the audience, I looked down at my rifle. Sitting on the road, I cleared the weapon and began to inspect my weapon. Over the years, it's received a few scars, but nothing new. I had three bullets left, Twilight still had my spare weapon magazines. At this point, my sidearm would be more reliable in a firefight than my M24.

The door opened beside me.

"Oh, there you are. You have my bag, right?" I asked. Facing her.

"It's all here." She handed the heavy kit to me.

Applejack shifted slightly, the rest stared at us in confusion.

Realizing the tension, I looked at my kit.

'My vest, it's open.' I looked at my field bag. 'And this is half unzipped? I left this closed as well.'

I looked back at Twilight, expecting her to explain. She was standing perfectly straight and motionless, almost robotic. Her gaze held fair for a few seconds, until her eye twitched.

'Right, let's see what she took...' I stuck my hands in the field kit, what I needed would be in there. 'Nothing stands out...' I moved my Uniform aside, note that at this time I had been wearing basically underwear and a T-shirt, both Sage Green, since the forest greeting. 'Aw fuck she took my butterfly, that knife was like my rifle's child. I'll swipe it later.'

I looked around the marketplace, meeting Elliot almost already across it, a small crowd following him. All holding their wounds, none appeared in any urgent condition. Those were probably already lost causes.

'There it is, when you get shot, get FAK'd.'

Removing the infantry first-aid kit, I ripped the Velcro and unzipped one of the pouches.

"Isn't that supposed to be on your bag?" Elliot yelled at me, almost close enough to begin operation.

"Yep, 'supposed to!" I answered, removing a few key supplies from the IFAK. "Made a slapping noise when I walked, cut it off!"

"So when you get shot I was supposed to guess you stuck it inside the pack?"

"When I get shot you haul my ass to someone I can trust with scissors." He crouched beside me.

"So how are we going to do this?" He asked.

"I hope she's okay..." I heard behind me.

"I'm sure she is, probably spooked is all." Another voice answered, the southern accent making her identity easier to spot.

I turned around, "Who are you talking about again? Yellow one, right?"

"Yes, Fluttershy, we think she went back home when all the noise went off." Applejack answered, shaking her head. "I should've kept an eye on her."

"Relax, do you know anywhere she might be? Safe spots, living space?" I inquire.

"Just her home, maybe she went up into the clouds, but she usually doesn't like flying a whole lot." She answered.

I look at Elliot, "Okay, Jimmy. Today we're taking a test. Fuck up and I'll fuck you up. Just keep them stable until I get back."

He nodded and started digging through the IFAK.

"Touch any of my other shit and you'll be in the worst condition here." I warned, walking away. Applejack trailing me.

I look over to her. "So, where's the place? How far is it?"

"Just down that way..." She pointed over at the forest almost a half-kilometer down the edge.

"That's not too bad. You want to follow? Or are you going to go someplace else?"

"I'd rather follow you then go back and see that again." She looked down, hiding her face with her hat. I haven't seen her with it off, it's plausible that she doesn't remove it very often.

"Well, I hope you're more fit than you look, because I'm running there."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She answered with haste.

In stead of answering, I slung my rifle back over my shoulder and picked up pace.

Approximately three minutes later, almost to the house

"Almost there, it's just past this last house, and right at the edge of the forest!" She yelled from beside.

"I can hear you fine, I don't think Elliot went this far. But there's still drops of blood trailing out here. I hope they were smart enough to follow Elliot's party." I looked down, realizing suddenly the trail. It was frantic spatters, very hard to mark where they originated and lead to.

She looked down, and lifted one of her feet, looking under it. It was sort of funny watching them run on three legs.

Setting it back down, she picked up speed significantly, ahead of me before I knew it.

Picking up the speed, almost to a sprint, I ran up beside her.

"What's the rush?" I ask.

She didn't answer, but continued on her much faster pace.

"Hey! I asked you something!" Looking back forward, I found another house built into a tree.

'Is this a fad or something? I wish I had a tree-house like this as a kid. Shit's badass.'

Stopping at the end of the trail, I look over at Applejack, about to confront her on the ignorance. Her face was glued to the rocks that lead to the door.

"What's gotten into you? Like a dog scared of thunder or some shit like that." I look to the trail, matching her shock.

The door was still ajar, slightly open, sitting at the end of blood unlike before. It covered the rocks, and some ran into the lawn. These were more prominent and obvious than before. Smears, direct transfers. Crawling.

Author's Note

I got an Iphone 6s! Finally! I had one of those phones with the sliding-keypad before. Couldn't download apps, and couldn't surf the web. I'm like a caveman discovering fire.

I love your comments! And encourage you to do so! I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas for the story. The plot is not fully written yet, so if you're unhappy with a chapter and post about it I can avert course to something more enjoyable.

'Tis But a Flesh Wound

Author's Note

Apologies for the long chapter! This is alot of content I know, but it's fun to read, trust me. It's not like I update often anyways, which thank you for not rubbing it in. I really do my best. I hope you enjoy the chapter, I threw in alot of action to keep it interesting. There is a twisty series of events coming up! You can count on that!

'Tis But a Flesh Wound

I fumbled around my back, finding my rifle resting on my side. I held it at the ready, slightly upward and ready to fire.

"What the Sam hell are you doing? We're not trying to kill her!" Applejack sped up to a cautious jog, approaching the door.

Fuck I do not need this right now.

"Wait! Shh! Get back here quick! You don't know if that's her in there!" I attempted to whisper, forced to settle for a low shout at the distance she put between us.

"The hell I don't..." She ran inside, turning a corner and escaping my sight.

I rolled my eyes, and slowly crept up to the door, leading with my rifle and doing my best to sweep both sides. I was really not supposed to be alone, and was not not not supposed to be breaching alone. This was against my instincts, but if there was a chance of finding this one, it may increase my affinity with the others and hopefully settle some of the antagonizing.

Leading room through room, there were various small prints around the floor. As if from paws or small feet. I wasn't quite sure what the tracks were, that boy scout opportunity might have been important after all...

There was a loud crash, and some tinkling that sounded like half-empty shampoo bottles hitting a hard surface.

I slammed the butt of the rifle into my shoulder, aiming above the scope, prepared to hit the trigger on a hair-pin notice. Looking to my left, I'm greeted by a hallway that seemed unnaturally dark. The smeared trail appeared there, gliding into a room with a half-closed door.

I slowly set each foot in front of the other, gliding smoothly over the floor at a snail's pace. Reaching the door, I leaned in.

The inside produced a shuffling noise and heavy breathing, somebody else was indeed inside this room. I had to be prepared for a panicked enemy to fire back, having followed the same trail I was.

Tossing open the door, I sweep the walls. There wasn't much to see, it was a very small bathroom with blue tiled walls. The floor was clearly once tile, but had become a mess from the scene unfolding before me.

It was the one I was looking for alright. Base coat of yellow, with a cool shade of Pink flowing from their head. They had been become a horribly gruesome mess from the long enduring of a clear wound somewhere near the side. They were sprawled across the floor, similar to how Wile E Coyote looks in Loony Toons after a long drop. She was half clinging to the counter-top near the sink, desperately clambering for the medicine cabinet. She instead, however, knocked a series of them down and collapsed back onto the floor the moment I opened the door.

My heart stopped, rocketing up into my throat. I'd never been expected to save a life, rather than take one. Neither have I ever seen that much blood from anything still alive before. And I didn't know how much more it could lose.

"Yo! Get in here!" I yelled, walking around the crimson soaked floor to get to the figure now folded inward, shivering. "Hurry up! Will you?!"

The clopping of hooves stopped short behind me, completely hitting a wall in their tracks. Totally frozen.

I moved on top of the creature, she didn't seem to be stopping me, so I leaned in for a better look. She was curled into a fetal position (or as close to it as you could get walking on four legs) and was holding one wing close to her chest, the other one sprawled out over the floor. It looked like the blood wasn't even hers, there was so much. As if it had been painted over her, rather than produced by.

I shut my eyes and thought to myself, trying to remember any Hollywood scenes that might possibly hold any sort of help for me in this situation. I had nothing but a gun and the single layer of clothing on my back. No bueno. I needed some sort of way to stop the bleeding, or this would be a very, very short job.

"Move! Look out!" I yelled, not thinking straight as I pushed the Orange one aside, blasting past her back into the kitchen. I threw open the fridge and peeked around. Nothing but salad and dressings out the ass. So I began tearing the shelves from their place and tossing them aside. Half to comfort myself, half to see deeper inside.

Opening the bottom drawers, I moved a bowl aside, beneath it was a bottle. About the color of a Bud-Wiser one, almost the same shape as well, albeit a little taller. I looked at the top, it was intended for a bottle-opener, which was promising. I read the label.

'Papa's Champagne

Limited Edition!

Green Apple'

I flipped it around, looking at the back, just to be sure. Surfing the nutrition label, I looked for the key word.

'7.5% alcohol' I read. 'Weak as it is, I've got to find if more of this is lying around sometime.' I wasted no more time to sprint back to the bathroom where they were waiting.

Applejack was no longer standing in her position from before, she was no closer, yet no further. It seems as though the only change was her stance. She was now crouched, and slumped against the door. Covering her mouth, slightly wide-eyed. Probably about as shocked as I was feeling.

I again knocked her to the side, I heard the door 'thud' as her body impacted it. I no longer cared if my feet were soaked, I ran back to Fluttershy, who hadn't moved a muscle.

Slamming the beverage's top against the counter, I attempted to beat the top off of it, instead of doing so I only shattered the top off of it. Realizing my mistake, I reached down and shredded off a piece of my shirt, which tore with more ease than usual, and wrapped it around the top to prevent larger glass from seeping in.

"Oy, you, get over here! I need you for a second!" I wove my hand frantically at Applejack.

"I..." She looked around the bathroom, then stepped back and checked the hallway. "...I'm not so sure I'm useful here." She looked to the side, most likely to break her line of sight from the scene.

"Look, it's easy. All I need is for you to talk. It's clearly something you're good at anyway." I pleaded. She most likely would have given me a dirty look in circumstances not so gloomy. "But you need to be over here, closer. Do anything to distract or comfort her, I'm pretty sure she's still awake. And if that's the case, there's no other way in hell I'm going to be able to do this."

She shifted around, a little awkwardly, before slowly setting each leg in front of the other. It was more of a slow fall forward than a walk. When she was right next to me, she walked past and sat down next to her friend, grabbing at her available hand without question. She leaned close at that, and began to whisper to her. Nothing I could hear, my ears were screaming at me.

Nodding to myself, I grabbed the wing and attempted to move it, to which she jumped and gasped, before curling back up. She moved her hand for just a moment, offering me a glance at an injury that took up the center of the wing. It seemed to be what was bleeding the worst.

I had to act fast, so I threw the hand to the side a little less calmly than planned, and tipped the jar upside down and emptied a portion of the bottle over every drop of blood on the wing I could find.

I expected a scream, or a yelp, or a cry, or some response of any sort. But there was none, she simply lifted her head, took a deep breath in, and her head fell. Making a thumping noise against the floor that would've made me cringe on any other occasion.

'Holy Jackson, I'm out of time.' I threw the wing up and aimlessly emptied the rest of the bottle onto the side, making sure to also splash the inside of the wing. Once the bottle emptied, I threw it to the side and went up to her head. I had no idea how to stop the bleeding, you can't tourniquet to the center of a body, and I don't have any quick-clots lying around. This might have been my S.O.L. moment.

She was absolutely out cold. Her eyes were shut, and she didn't twitch at all. Even the shivering had ceased. The only sign of life was a stuttering and slow series of inhales and exhales.

I froze up, my brain fizzling it's last energy for something I could possibly do.

"You! Run as fast as your stubby legs can take you! Get everyone! Anything, one, or object needs to be in here ASAP go!" I shouted, lifting Fluttershy's head. Another Hollywood teaching. Not really sure what the purpose was, but I'd feel worse not doing anything.

Applejack, scrambled up, but slipped half way and landed on her side. Painting her an almost equally disturbing color. She didn't hesitate, and jumped back up on her feet and bolted out the door.

I looked back at Fluttershy, slowly shaking her. I took a long look at her belly to watch for breathing, but it wasn't coming through. So I stuck a hand in front of her face, no warmth, nothing.

Fear blasted through my veins, it felt as if every muscle in my body was suddenly ready to explode in panic. I placed my hand against her chest, where I assumed their hearts were. And there was nothing.

Zap

Now, I wasn't a doctor by any means. I was trained to stop bleeding with my IFAK, which was not with me at the moment. I wasn't sure where I even last saw it at this point. I faintly believe Elliot was the one who had it. Maybe I dropped it, but either way it wasn't on me now, and I needed it most. I was, however, trained in basic means of life-preserving.

Cardiovascular Pulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR for short, is by no means a way to bring someone back from the dead. It's not even preformed like you see in the movies, nor does it usually work. The only thing CPR is good for is keeping someone's remaining oxygen in their blood flowing long enough for someone who knows what the fuck they're doing to help instead. If the blood runs out of oxygen, dead. If the person was too far gone before CPR started, dead. If the planets aren't in alignment, dead. It's a tricky thing.

But it's all I really could do other than watch the floor pool up.

Getting in this position was awkward and tricky, due to the legs poking up in a weird way that I'm not exactly trained to avoid. And the wings sprawling around in painful-looking angles. But it was possible, and I was up faster than I thought. Usually with CPR, you don't do mouth breathing (since the chest compression alone is powerful enough to draw air in and out of the spongy-like lungs) and you use the weight of your body to compress, not the power in your arms. But since we usually wear about thirty pounds of gear during firefights (the one-hundred pounds is only our marching weight) than we're supposed to disobey that rule and use appropriate arm-strength. Since we're not trying to squash the life out of the subject's heart. I had to find a sweet spot between, since I was probably heavier than civilian weight, which is what the FD tends to use as the 'body weight' variable.

I don't know how long I sat there bouncing about, but your arms get sore much faster than you'd expect doing so. After the first 30 seconds my arms threatened to give out. But now it felt like days, weeks that I was waiting. In reality, probably minutes. But those minutes are very valuable. Every second I had to continue CPR was a roll of the dice for this one losing it for good. I started humming to myself, doing my best to forget what I was doing, and to keep myself from having a complete fucking breakdown at it. The feathers scraped the floor with a sound relatable to the pages of an old book brushing past each other.

After this eternity finally seemed vanquished, I heard the front door slam. I knew in my mind I should focus on finding them before they found me. There's always a chance that what just entered the building isn't looking to help me. But I couldn't risk letting off for even a second. If I did, the mission would be a total failure, and I might still die in the process. Sniping weapon systems weren't designed with rural face-to-face combat in mind.

There were a series of footsteps on the floor outside. If these were other humans, I'd have to guess around 10. Enough to end me for sure. If I had to take a guess at if these were the locals, probably about 4-6. They knew where to go, all of them were going straight down the hallway towards me.

I didn't turn to see who it was. I likely didn't recognize them anyway. All I could think of to do logically, being turned away from the door when I began the CPR, was to call out.

"Get in here! I need a doctor! Something! Now! There's no time to wait!"

As soon as the footsteps were behind me, the door seemed to explode inwards. I saw a blur of dark Purple breeze past me, and when I looked up, I was greeted with Twilight now standing above me, looking down at her friend. Expression, indescribable.

"Hey! You! Don't zone out, do you have any means of electricity? In high voltage? Any sort of way for me to get access to alot of spark?" I ask, looking up at Twilight.

She peeked in my direction, and temporarily ignored me. She didn't respond for about ten seconds.

"I probably shouldn't, I'm sure they do." She threw a hoof lazily at the door.

I took the effort to actually spin around and look behind me, there were the other four that were missing present here, but now they were accompanied by two others. A unicorn and an Earth pony wearing lab-coat looking uniforms that fit them funny. They generally did look like doctors, minus the stethoscope.

They did look equally panicked, however. The Unicorn shook her head and slowly approached. She was a bright Red color, alot like a peach shade. But still tilted slightly more towards dark red. Her hair was White, with Pink highlights. A little more vibrant of a color than Fluttershy's was, but much less prominent.

Her horn glowed, and the same ever-so-faint blue color the horn was glowing with surrounded Fluttershy, I didn't feel it in my hands, but I didn't even want to know if it was giving me cancer or something. God knows everything we humans make causes it anyway. I probably already have stomach cancer from McDonalds.

"Alright, that's enough. Get off now." The Unicorn offered, very quietly. Her voice was pretty high pitched. Not ear-raping, but still higher than my ears were used to. Implying I'm used to talking to girls at all.

I've been deployed for a long time, you get really lonely and confused after a while.

I complied, giving one last push and leaping off, getting as far away as possible as quickly as possible. The blood was beginning to dry on me, I could feel it. There was only one moment I could relate this to, and I'm not ready to think about that quite yet.

The moment I got off, she began to glow, it increased in intensity until it looked like she was covered in pure, bright Blue plasma. Just as the color maxed out, there was a small blast of color, accompanied by a cheesy laser sound that you'd expect from Star Wars. Other than that, her body fell back down and still remained unmoving.

Twilight winced, her eyes watering. In the meantime, the Unicorn peeked around Fluttershy, seemed unsatisfied, and completely repeated the process. This time, when the small explosion of light flashed, I noticed she was a little less bloodstained than before. This leads me to believe it's somehow clotting the wound. I don't need to understand it, just need it to work.

The Unicorn moved and peeked around again, and nodded gently to them self. I looked at the Dark Brown Earth Pony sitting patiently at the door. He was just staring deeply, memorizing every detail, as it seems. He looked up for a moment and made eye contact with me. He flinched and averted his gaze to the side.

The Blue Unicorn charged up again. This time, there was no glowing color, or any special effects really. Just the wobbling of the field swallowing Fluttershy, which began to hum deeply. This pitch grew higher and slightly louder, until it was actually beginning to hurt my ears. There was a loud click, and the humming stopped. Simultaneously, the field dropped.

Moving closer, she slowly moved herself directly over the body. She stared for a long time, by long I literally mean minutes. Long, event less minutes of all of us watching the Unicorn, and her watching Fluttershy.

"Her chest is moving, she's not out of the picture yet. We need to move her quickly now. Hey! Homely! Get running, I'll meet you there." The Unicorn ordered the Earth, before setting a hoof on Fluttershy's side. "We'll be safe near Ponyville Hospital, you can meet us there, but you won't be able to see your friend until she's stable. This could be anywhere from a day to a week. I need to leave now, but I'd like to talk to your creature here..." She pointed at me. "...There's probably alot to be learned from them, and if they get injured, I'd like to have an anatomy to some extent so that we'd know how to proceed." With that, she simply vanished, along with Fluttershy. One second she was there, and as soon as the last word escaped into the air she just blinked out of reality. Gone with the wind, sort to say.

"Where did she go?" I thought aloud.

Twilight looked at me, slowly turning. "She told you, Ponyville Hospital." She squinted at me. "Weren't you listening?"

"Well, yeah. But unless she runs really fast, that was something somewhere in the dark spots of 'normal'."

"She teleported, did you not realize she was a Unicorn for the past five minutes?" She poked a hoof at me.

"Teleported? I mean, bolting someone with electricity is one thing, but simply blinking to other places seems a little out of my belief range." I wasn't sure why this, of all things, was what was bothering me right now.

"That's not even important right now! I need to know what happened here! I don't even know if you did this!" She yelled at me.

"Seriously? You're really blaming me right now?" I stood up taller, and took a step towards her, getting about a foot away in order to exaggerate my size difference. "Yes, I completely shot your friend, with a bullet that magically doesn't go all the way through at close range, just so that I could start tiring my arms on their chest until you finally arrived at a snail's pace. You caught me red-handed. Take me away!" I leaned in a little closer over her, but I clearly wasn't doing the trick. She wasn't moving, flinching, and hardly blinking at me.

"I'm blaming you because I have no reason to trust you." She spoke, anger seething between her words.

"Do you think I'd trust you by choice? In my first five minutes meeting you I was stripped of weapons, seized of my armor, and walked at spear-point through town like a trophy. And now that I tried to save someone you know, because I'm such a gooood person, I'm getting threatened for a crime that would make no sense for me to even try. If I didn't rely on you to get out of this shithole, I would've ditched you yesterday!" I was still pumping with adrenaline from before, which turned out to not assist my temper. Surprise surprise.

I looked up, all of the others were poking their heads in the doorway, cringing. If their expressions said anything, it was that she wasn't usually spoken to like this. Typically poking at royalty like this results in beheadings, torture, or jail sentences in human history. I looked back down to Twilight, realizing I might have gone a step further than safe.

'Oops...'

Author's Note

Okay, the chapters might be getting longer. This could be a bad thing, but I've started using more descriptive words, which tends to boost word count it seems. Sorry bout that! But here's the next series of events, leading to the next chapter which I'll publish when available. If there's any grammar mistakes, or my fluency is off, please tell me! Inspiration hits rarely, so when I type, I type in a hurry! Thank you.

Pink

"Why can't you two just get along for like... Three minutes? Please? Shouldn't we be talking about anything else right now? Like Fluttershy? We aren't just going to forget her are we?" The Pinkie called in through the doorway, taking a cautious step inward. She carefully planted it in a clean spot on the tile, avoiding any drops of leftover blood.

Twilight narrowed her glance at me, slowly leaning forward in a threatening manner. I suddenly felt like an idiot for leaving my rifle in the hallway.

"You're right, we need to talk about what's happened, and what's going to happen." She turned her head, acknowledging her friend, before turning back to me, and whispering. "Especially what may or may not happen to you. But before that happens, I'm making new restrictions. Where is your weapon?" She inquired seriously.

It didn't take me more than a second to interpret her cause, and I wasn't going to bite. I stared at her blankly.

"If you don't tell me, you're making it worse on yourself. You tell me or I find them." She warned.

"Uh, Twilight? 'S right here." Applejack was suddenly beside pinkie, lifting up my rifle and swinging it into the bathroom direction.

I flinched downward and threw my hands in front of my face in reflex as the rifle aimed at my head for a fraction of a second. I swore unintentionally.

"What's your deal?" Applejack tilted her head and shifted the rifle, temporarily pointing it at me again.

"Fucking shit what?!" Were the only words that I could form at the moment.

"Applejack! Don't point that around! You're scaring the poor thing!" Rarity warned, poking the barrel into the wall's direction.

It suddenly glowed a dim violet light, and took off toward the ceiling, before halting itself right beside Twilight, aimed right at me.

"Remove your clothes..." She squinted at me, slightly bobbing the rifle.

"Twilight!" Pinkie yelled, shocked.

My jaw fell open unconsciously, barely processing the question.

"What was that?" I asked blankly.

"The clothes, get them off. You may not carry weapons of any sort, or wear any coverings." She answered robotically.

I shook my head, "Sorry, toots. You'll get that view over my rotting corpse." I responded.

"Twilight stop! What are you doing!?" Rainbow yelled, approaching from behind her.

A large bubble with a close resemblance to glass blocked her path in a heartbeat. The Rainbow character slammed her arms into it, with no effect.

"What did you just call me?" She jammed the rifle closer to my face.

"Do you even know how to shoot that thing? I hope you didn't intend to pull the lever near the guard. At least not if you want any of us to get out of here in one piece." I inquired.

"Don't joke with me, I've seen you use it, I know all I need to know!" She shouted.

"Okay, then before you kill me be sure to disarm the security mechanism you set off by touching it." I bluffed, years of military bearing assisting me in my lie.

Applejack shifted uncomfortably, almost cringing by the door.

"I mean, you've probably got another minute or so before you really have to worry about the detonation, but hey, you know how to use it more than they do. So just try not to blow us up while you're at it." I waved my hand dramatically.

She gritted her teeth at me, she was buying it for now.

"How do I turn it off?" She asked, turning it sideways, but levitating it closer to herself.

"Gee, I don't know. It was alot easier to think before I was locked in here with a pervert aiming my weapon at my face and telling me to strip." I laughed, sitting on the tub's wall. "I guess I'll just have to leave it be until I can think straight."

Rarity stepped back nervously, backing away from the door and glancing down the hallway. A few others followed suit, getting ready to bolt.

"Speaking of which, there's about thirty seconds left. Maybe more, maybe less. I don't know. I suppose I'm gone either way, as well take you with me I suppose."

"Fine! Fine! Shut it off you psycho!" She threw it at me with her levitation, smashing the rifle into my belly before the wall behind her glided in front of her, shielding them from me. It passed over her with no effect, though it appeared to be collidable with the others.

I smiled and turned on the safety, doing my best to look like I was actually relying on it.

"You couldn't figure that out yourself?" I teased.

"You're a murderer, and a backstabber. You're going to be staring at the walls of a cell for the rest of your life when I get you to Canterlot." She seethed.

"Aw shit!" I heard down the hallway, a much deeper voice. "That's fucking gross! What the hell did I just step in! Aaaawwww grooooss it's all cold and shit, I'm barefoot! Grayson where the fuck are you!?" Elliot yelled.

"Ay! Great timing Superman! Want to get arrested with me?" I called back.

Twilight started walking towards me.

"Sure! Sounds about as fun as the rest of the day's been for me!" He finally appeared behind the four in front of him, Rarity turned and nodded, acknowledging him, the rest all spun back, eyes glued to Twilight and I.

"Twilight! Please! He was only trying to help!" Pinkie yelled out, approaching slowly, weaving her way around the soaked floor. "Can't we give them another chance? Pleeeeease?" She leaned in, giving her best puppy-dog expression.

"Wait, is she seriously arresting you, dude?" Elliot asked, putting his hands up defensively. "If you got me in on whatever you did I'm gonna kill you."

"Yes, I'm really getting arrested. No, I didn't put you in on it. But you're probably getting arrested too. Helping is murder here." I answered.

"Ah, sounds like a true politician. Well, do I need to stay here long enough to get cuffed, or can I have a head start?" He asked.

"Get your ass moving, she hates me more right now!" I yelled.

He wasted no time, bolting out the door. Applejack quickly spun around and tailed him.

"Hey! I don't hate you! Like I said, I don't trust you." She answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh, sorry ol' buddy ol' pal. I forgot that when you were trying to turn my brain into Saturday leftovers."

"Enough with your damn sarcasm! Can't you stay serious for two seconds without laughing over our friend's grave!?" She practically shrieked, running up to me like a bull at full charge, even causing her friends to back away. For a moment, I honestly thought that horn was about to become the weirdest thing I've ever been injured by. Her eyes seemed to have picked up a faint, but apparent glow.

"I'm not trying to be sarcastic! I'm trying to take your mind off of her injury! Because: news flash! She's not dead! I spent more effort than I should've given a shit to consider trying to save her life! Now I wonder if you would've treated me better off if I left her scrambling for the sink!" I stamped my foot seriously, again using my size difference as a tactic.

"Don't forget who you're talking to! And it's your fault anypony was hurt at all today! You brought them here! And now alot of familiar faces are dead because of it! Who would you be blaming! One of my closest friends just lost more blood than I've seen in my entire life because of your ignorance!" She took another step closer, her horn actually poking my chest. Her eyes were certainly glowing now. Below the bright violet, a tear glided its way down her left cheek.

"SHUT UP YOU TWO!" An unfamiliar voice shouted above the noise, causing everyone to flinch.

We both turned our heads to look towards the entrance. Pinkie, who had backed off, was now standing directly in the blood on the floor, which had partially dried to more of a syrupy consistency. Her eyes were shamelessly welling with tears, and her hair had somehow become tangled in the last few seconds.

"IF YOU TWO CAN'T GET ALONG FOR MORE THAN THIRTY SECONDS WITHOUT FIGHTING, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE, AND WE'RE NEVER GOING TO SEE FLUTTERSHY AGAIN!" She gasped for air, staring between the two of us.

Twilight and I were left completely struck that she could produce such a volume. A small pony compared to the other, produced a sound I've only heard since boot camp. We slowly turned to each other.

"I'm not going to shoot you, but I'm keeping this with me. I'm here to shoot any other attackers that may also be in the woods. Other than that, I'll follow you anywhere, and listen to you under reason." I offered.

She thought about it, rubbing her chin considerably. "Fine, but you'll stay close to me, and you can't just deny anything. If I tell you to do something, I should expect you to do it. You can keep the rifle, but keep in mind that the guard here is always on patrol, and they honestly don't trust you any more than I do. You're the most dangerous thing within miles of here." She nodded.

"So it's agreed, what do we do now?" I ask.

"We find your friend, who you decided to spook off." She turned to Pinkie.

"And then?" I continue.

"We head to Ponyville Hospital."

Author's Note

Oy vey, I posted something! Cool! I'm trying to get Twilight to get along, I really am! But this was a decent argument to write out. They were originally going to insult each other more, but I decided it was too out-of-character.

MIA

Author's Note

Re-written, chapter was drastically delayed when my garbage box PC destroyed my writing.

MIA

The Six of us (excluding Applejack, who tailed Elliot) stepped out of the cottage. The animals in the back yard were still going wild as before. It looked like a small farm, an exhibit almost. I didn't know for certain where I'd find a wild Elliot, but I had a decent idea.

"Alright, Twilight, you can stay with me. I'm confident I know where to search. The rest of you, could you all check around and come back here in.... About thirty?" I requested, turning to them.

"Thirty minutes? That's not very long to search Ponyville, you know." Rarity warned.

"Trust me, if Elliot's not inside a building, there's no way in hell you won't find him in his natural habitat." I replied.

"Natural habitat? What do you mean by that?" Her tone told me I had no idea what I was talking about.

"Wherever there is food, there is a wild Elliot waiting to devour. I'll check some local restaurants with Twilight's help, but if the rest of you split up and looked around it'd be much faster. In case he got lost." I answered blankly.

"You really think a restaurant is our best chance? There's plenty of nicer places he would run off to here, you know." She insisted.

"If a wolf could smell food, Elliot could. I'll have Twilight here show me where the nearest restaurant is, and from there I can sweep a few more and still be back here in a half hour's time." I explained.

"Oooooooo! Can I check Sugarcube Corner?! Pleeeeeeeease?!" Pinkie bounced excitedly, grinning widely.

"Sugarwhat? Actually; alright. If it helps us find him. So we split up, you all checking randomly, Twilight and I targeting local restaurants, and then we rendezvous back here in about thirty. Any questions?" I elaborate.

The crowd collectively shook their heads, and I nodded.

"The plan is that we split up, me and Twilight will try to find him wherever the food is, you all can organize yourselves to search elsewhere. Rendezvous in..." I looked at my watch, realizing its display had gone black and died. "Well, about thirty minutes."

"We what?" Rarity quickly interjected. "Could you repeat that?" She seemed suddenly hyper.

Rainbow groaned and slapped a hoof over her face.

"Please tell me that he didn't just do what I think he did..."

"Guess I won't tell you." Applejack interjected.

"How much French can you speak?" She continued the sentence in what sounded like gibberish to me.

"I have no clue what you just said, if that answers your question. I just know all the words that I can call someone. Usually Elliot. 'Cause he's there." I answered seriously.

"What words would you be calling him?" She turned her head slightly, gazing with innocence.

I listed off a few words that I can't directly translate, but use frequently regardless. Her face contorted into horror after only several, which turned to disgust. Whatever the words meant, were apparently just as harsh as I had hoped they were.

"Disgraceful." Was all she offered.

"For the record, he stole my MRE twice in field training."

"He stole what?" Rainbow asked.

"Nothing, we should get looking before he eats something he shouldn't. We all ready to go?"

The crowd nodded.

"Alright, out we go."

Large blue eyes stared into their leader, who returned a much more imposing gaze to her follower.

"They're guarded by the six, but if we can lead them-"

"If?" She snarled.

"WHEN~! When we separate the six from the specimen we could capture them. We only need one, and we can lure the other inward. Twilight will be the hardest to get away." He warned, his legs wobbled underneath him and threatened to collapse.

The leader was quiet, she looked at the ground and pondered the outcomes. This only made the follower more nervous.

"Get your group prepared for attack. No gear, and unarmed. I want squadrons Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as infiltration teams and Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta as fully armored and battle-ready assault teams. They will serve as a backup plan." She explained.

"What if they don't-"

"SILENCE! YOU QUESTION TOO MUCH!"

The follower wobbled and the world around him blackened. Just as he was about to fall, two arms secured him in mid-drop, the rough skin scratched him lightly.

"The contingency plan is to attack Ponyville. It will be a city much less guarded than Canterlot, and they would not be ready. Therefore, we must assault before they are transported to Canterlot. That will be the point of no return. Now go prepare the teams, Colonel." She explained.

He took a deep breath.

"It will be done, your highness."

Finding Elliot

"Elliot! Here boy!" I whistled at the top of my lungs.

An image of Staff Sergeant Packle appeared in my head.

"GET YOUR HIPPIE ASS HERE BEFORE I TEAR MY-"

"We should search there." Twilight interrupted beside me, pointing at a small restaurant with burgers painted on nearly every wall.

"That's a start..." I aimlessly began walking towards the little place.

We slowly make our way up to the front doors. They are made of a bright blue glass, surprisingly they hardly were transparent. As if they weren't glass at all.

"Plastic windows?" I asked quizzically.

"The glass kept shattering for various reasons." She explained, pushing open the door.

I stepped inside and looked around. The temperature immediately changed and my hair stood on end at the cold. The restaurant looked similar to the Krusty Krab, but had a more sanitary and homely feeling to it. The entire place was empty save for a lone cashier, a young blue pegasus female.

"Hello! Have you seen a hillbilly running around here, about as tall as me but not nearly as good looking?" I asked, looking around the darker regions of the place.

She stared daggers into me, then scoffed condescendingly.

'Oh, fun.'

I approached the counter with a slight smirk, already thinking of all the things I could say at that very moment.

"I'm sorry, I must've overcompensated for the satellite dishes on your head. Let me repeat. Is there some lonely creep running around here looking for food? He's not very safe out there, and-"

"Was that supposed to be an insult, or are you having a stroke? My friend's a nurse, I'm sure she could help that brain condition of yours." She stared blankly at me, stone cold bearing. It didn't anger me, or provoke me. In fact, the straight face seemed more familiar and common to me.

"Sorry, I can't think straight when I'm hungry. On an unrelated subject, you don't look like you move very fast." I warned.

She flipped her hair.

"Looks can be deceiving." She assured.

"Exactly, I almost thought you were going to be helpful. But you can still prove me wrong. Want to be a real keeper and open the storage room for me?" I ask, nodding at the room almost directly behind her.

"I'd sooner clip my wings and bury myself alive." She threatened.

"Well, if I help you with that could I get the keys?" I smile.

Twilight squeezed my arm, warning me.

The mare behind the counter stared into my eyes, through me. As if she was staring at the back of my skull.

"I'm interesting, I know." I sarcastically remark.

"Oh? I'm just imagining the ways I could bend those limbs of yours." She threatened.

"As fun as that sounds, I'm gonna have to open that door behind you. Suggest you move real quick." I caution. Placing my hands on the counter.

"Over my dead body." She carelessly said.

I reached into the holster attached to my boxers and unsheathed the sidearm. I didn't know if it had any ammunition left, but it would be a nice tool for negotiation. Plus, if fit hit the shan, I could use it as a nasty club.

I pulled back on the slide and let it whip forward as loud as possible. I didn't arm the safety, so the trigger was locked. I swung the weapon upwards and aimed it directly down at her left eye faster than she could realize what I was doing.

"I almost didn't want to dirty this thing, but I guess there isn't many other ways to unlock the door." I warned, shrugging carelessly.

The mood of the room immediately switched. Twilight threatened to break my arm, and began to tug.

The mare at the counter, however, took an entirely different light. She quickly backed against the wall and glared at me with a fierceness I hadn't seen in any firefight before. It was a mixture of generally every negative emotion you could express.

I placed my hands on the countertop and pushed myself over, I was now only about four feet from the mare.

"Move, get away putain." I warned, pushing my weapon slightly inward.

She growled at me and flapped her wings, floating away to my left until she was sitting in the corner of the room glaring.

I approached the door, and tried the handle. It did not budge.

"Uh, could you at least get me a key for this?" I request, looking to her as I placed my sidearm back in its holster.

"Go fuck yourself." She snarled.

"Well, it was worth a shot. It's been fun and all..." I backed up from the door, placing my rear against the counter, "but I'm late for a kool-aid commercial break-down." I bolted at the door and leaped upwards, throwing all of the weight onto my back against the door. It smashed open with a loud crack, the metal proving to be nothing but cheap aluminium.

I lay on the floor for several seconds, catching my breath, and pondering how cool it would have been to just watch that happen.

"Hey Grayson!" I hear a chirpy voice greet.

"Hey, Elliot." I replied.

"Howdy." His partner followed suit.

"Hey, Applejack." Twilight casually returned the formality.

I was stirred from my resting position by a squishy, gnawing noise above me.

I looked to my top, to find Elliot chewing away at a makeshift sandwhich, an open bag of buns and a box that overflowed with a familiar plant lay beside him. Applejack was sitting beside, facing him unamused.

"I wasn't able to stop him, he wouldn't let me get it out of his hand." She explained.

"Wait a sec, you're EATING? Lad, feed me." I commanded, waving a lazy hand at him as I lay on my back.

He answered by grabbing more bread and forming another sandwich and stuffing it with the plant. He slid it over to me.

"Is this really hay?" I inquired.

"I thought the same thing, dude. It's not that bad. Really chewy, though." He took another bite of his sandwich.

I looked back to the food, and shrugged. I downed the sandwich in several large bites.

Road to Wellness

In spite of what should have been a happy moment, we were not so lucky. The hope was interrupted by a fast paced throbbing of a high pitched EKG wail, blipping at a much faster rate than I expected. An orange light lit up and began to twirl around the machine.

The room went apeshit as everyone panicked. There was no one shout that could be picked out from the crowd.

"Clear the room! Out, now!" The doctor shouted over the noise, suddenly returning from the dead. He leaned his head out of the door and yelled down the hall. "It's a 7-R emergency, we need adenosine!"

There was a large shuffle in the room, doctors poured inside. Ponies of all colors of the spectrum poured in, all wearing hospital uniforms similar or identical to the doctor in the room currently. They immediately began chatting away like geeks as several of the doctors shoved us towards the door.

I resisted the motion for a moment, taking a while to look back at Fluttershy. She hadn't moved at all, not a muscle. But her eyes were immediately to mine. They seemed to have shifted to a darker color, giving them a more sinister appearance. She appeared to merely be gazing in my direction rather than actually at me at all. It didn't make me nervous, or strike me with fear, I had seen stares like this for years. Hundreds of people have grown this nasty syndrome, the thing is, I never saw any of those people again.

The metal door that sealed off the hospital room was slammed shut in front of us, the pale blue window curtain shook as it fell to rest over our view. The sounds of shuffling hospital workers were hardly audible. The girls pushed back against the door, squishing me, but it was locked tight. Whatever was going on in there, we weren't invited.

I never get invited to cool stuff...

We stood in silence for a long time, we cast each other similar glances. We were shit out of luck. Nothing to say, we had no choice but to wait until she was in better condition.

I decided to break the silence. "Hey, it's not exactly a good time, I know. But there isn't going to be a better one. Alot of people are going to die if I don't get helping these doctors. They're bumshit clueless on this sort of thing." I reminded them.

"I'll help too, I know what I'm doing. I can't sit around and watch lives go to waste." Elliot was at my side. He wasn't the dumbtwat he pretends to be. That's just his persona, who he chooses to be. He chose to be "that guy", the one who's a comedic relief. It's something I took onto. But deep under, he's nothing but an excellent soldier. He's smart, quick on the spot, and has an unbreakable spirit. I hope one day he'll pass me, and become a Master Sergeant or Sergeant Major.

The girls paid us mind, but seemed to just be looking in our direction without listening. Only Twilight seemed to pay attention to what we were saying.

"Go do whatever you can, I'm not going anywhere." She spoke in a whisper. Something about her tone was too flat. Her voice carried a spirit that shattered mine.

Elliot nodded firmly and spun around, running into the room just beside himself. I could hear chatter. I was positive he knew what he was doing, so I looked down the hallways.

At the end of each corridor there were blue doors propped open on wooden door-stoppers, chipped from years of use. I decided if he started on the first floor, I should be on the second. I spun my head and yelled into the room as I walked away.

"Elliot, I'm taking second, you stay down here until every room is seen to!" I ordered, accidentally bumping Rarity as I made my way for the end of the corridor.

"Number one, take your platoon, I want you to organize an aerial ambush for any evading pegasai." He pointed a hoof firmly into the officer's chest.

"Yes Colonel." The platoon OIC turned and ran back into his formation, quickly directing individual squads into various trails.

"Good, now number two..." He turned and faced a much more frail commander. "I want you to instruct your troops to show no mercy, to kill all opposition to our cause. Use any means necessary, we will not fail, regardless if morals must be violated today. When that order is given, you will have no hesitation, you will immediately have everypony from here to the Griffon Empire in the sky, and they will slay everything they need to in order to secure the VIP. Do you understand?" She ordered.

"Yes, Colonel. I'll rally my squads for assault immediately." She rendered a brief salute, returned by the Colonel, before scampering back down the forestry towards her platoon.

The Colonel turned back down the mail trail, smirking to himself. This would be the day he proves himself. The day that he shows the world what he can do. A chance at power like this has never before been seen in any empire of any sort. Today, the glory would be claimed in his name. He would be feared for centuries, he would be remembered.

Ponyville Hospital, 1800 hours... Day 12.

My feet were so heavy I was going to collapse. They were hardly supporting my weight at all. My feet thumped loudly through my ripped socks as I stomped down the marble stairs. I slid my hand on dusty railing to prevent myself from falling face-first into a world of pain.

Ironic, because it's a hospital.

I climbed the last stair, and looked forward. Elliot was coming through the doorway, he stopped.

"Grayson, was just wrapping it up down here. I gave the staff a brief summary, and showed them some hands-on stuff. I had to use horse gloves, it's weird as all hell." He complained, grinning proudly.

"Hey, good to hear you did alright. It's all sorted out up there. There weren't many surgeons up there, but a lot of nurses. You get that down here?" I replied, Elliot moving out of my way to let me through.

"Nah, man. Exact opposite. Doctors had to stop what they were doing and grab stuff from across the room. Was really shitty, honestly." Came his reply.

"Good to hear you two had fun." Rainbow Dash trotted up to us from a blind-spot to my right, just beside the doorway. "Fluttershy's room is back open. They said it had something to do with blood sugar." She explained.

"Blood sugar? The hell do all the doctors go ape-shit for blood sugar for?" I inquired.

"Maybe she means blood pressure, Gray." Elliot clarified.

"Ah," Rainbow pointed. "That's right, pressure." She turned and started walking towards the room, we followed.

"You been following Elliot around?" I asked as we neared.

"Only for a few, then Fluttershy's room re-opened. I'm not a big fan of... Guts'n'stuff." Rainbow explained.

"Guts'n'stuff. Elliot?" I spoke aloud.

"No need to write it, I'll remember it." He answered.

We walked through the blue-ish doorway that lead into the room. It was now much darker, and I suspected the hospital would be closing to visitors soon. I also, however, realized now that a group of ponies were entering the halls.

"They must be letting visitors in." Elliot whispered to me.

"Hey, girls." Rainbow greeted. Several replies came. There was a new creature I didn't recognize in the room.

"Lizards, too?" I asked blankly.

He looked at me with wide-eyes. "I'm not a lizard!" He defended.

Huh, extra-terrestrial racism.

"Reptilian, sentient being." I smartassed.

"Dragon. His name is spike." Twilight corrected, a hint of assertiveness in her voice, ending our discussion.

I heard a murmur from the bed, I turned to look at Fluttershy, her eyes were now wide-open, she was staring at me.

"Look who's up from beauty-sleep. I thought you were going to be out for a while." Elliot commented.

"It'd suck if they kicked us out too soon to talk about anything." I joked.

She looked at us without saying a word. She turned away and looked out the window.

Elliot and I exchanged a glance.

"She hasn't been speaking. At all. It's been really boring, she hasn't smiled in forever!" Pinkie complained, poking at the bedsheets.

That was red flag number one...

"Hey, can you hear me? You know what I'm saying?" I asked, taking a step closer to the foot of the bed. All eyes were on me, but nobody objected.

She didn't answer, so I tried again. "Hey, Fluttershy? You there?" I pried.

She didn't move, her ears lay flat against her head.

There's two big red flags...

I moved to the side, Twilight had to take several steps backwards to avoid me. The dragon didn't move, so I bumped him.

Size has privileges.

I looked at her face, she didn't move her eyes to look at me, she was staring out the window. I moved to the side to block her view, and she didn't respond. She continued to stare forward, through my leg.

Well that's not good.

I nudged her with my hand in the belly, she looked down, but didn't move any further. She continued to stare downwards.

This is beyond 'not good', this is very, very bad news. I wasn't sure if I should diagnose anything, I never took any classes in phycology or anything.

"She'll be fine. Just give her a little while." I lied, I didn't look at them when I spoke.

"Grayson, you sure? I mean..." He moved his head in her direction, his voice was strained.

"She's fine, trust me." I continued, casting a stern glance in his direction.

The room was quiet for a few moments, I finally decided to turn around.

"Hey, where's the orange one?" I asked.

"Applejack?" Elliot corrected.

"That's the one, JackleApp, right. Where did she go?" I looked between the crowd.

"She said she wanted to go get a wake-up gift for Fluttershy! She went to get an apple for her!" Pinkie answered gleefully.

"How long ago was this?" I continued.

"Hmmm, I'd say about an hour ago, maybe a bit more." She thought to herself clearly, before nodding with confidence.

I processed that information.

"Does she live very far away?" I looked at Elliot, who also seemed interested on my little investigation.

"Nope! She's in the big red barn on the hill just outside of Ponyville!" She smiled.

"That barn? That's pretty damn close to here. What's the hold-up?" I asked to no one in particular. I turned my body around. "Elliot, you're the one with the obsession, you go get her." I ordered.

"I don't have an obsession! I hardly know her!" He put his hands up defensively, very defensively. We stared at each other. "I'll still go get her though, just out of courtesy..."

Uh-huh.

"Be back here in about twenty if she isn't there." I held up the number two to clarify.

"Got it, good luck waking her up." He preformed an about-face, and left the room. Quiet.

One Down

'tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.'

I loved the sounds of clocks, there's nothing more relaxing than to get away from all the speed, violence, and problems in the world. Every fuck-face douche canoe on earth, and just enjoy the nice sound of time passing by.

Nobody spoke, no one dared disturb the quiet. Perhaps we were so nervous that we would speak too loudly, or say something in vain when the quiet was so peaceful.

Luckily, some asshole did it for us.

"Hey, past closing hours. You guys gotta go." A short male nurse ordered through the doorway, before quickly moving to the next room, where I heard him repeat the line.

"I guess that's it, we can wait outside for Elliot's crippling walking speed." I should have gone instead of him.

I looked at the clock. It was 2130, he had been gone for about half an hour.

"That motherfucker." I whispered to myself.

We all got up, the girls started murmuring things to each other. Perhaps to me. I didn't pay attention, I was thinking about Elliot. Something in my chest didn't feel good.

Something leathery touched my hand, I nearly screamed like a little girl.

I looked down, it was the little lizard dude. He stood at about my thigh-height. Pretty short.

"You're the new species Twilight discovered?" He asked. I felt Twilight clear her throat loudly, but he seemed to ignore it.

"I wouldn't say she discovered us, no. We'd seen her over a week before she even knew we existed. We've seen her in the forest a number of times. We just decided, one day, to reveal ourselves." I explained, trying to sound innocent. It was the first male with any personality I'd spoken to, so I may as well keep it interesting.

"So how many of you are there?" He asked, causing Twilight to step extra-loudly, which he again ignored.

"Just us two, we're not where we belong. As soon as we get a method to get us both back home, we're out. We've still got a job to do. My platoon is in danger right now, and I'm nowhere to help them." I trailed off as my mind drifted back to Elliot. My heart was exploding now, racing for a reason I didn't understand.

Suddenly, without warning, my heart EXPLODED, I felt a burst of energy, like every muscle in my veins lit up at the same time. I felt stronger than I ever had before. I don't remember anything after that for a while, but the next thing I know, I kick down the door to Twilight's library and am raiding for my gear.

They were far behind, I presume, since I didn't get any company.

"Grayson help me! HEEEEEEELP!" Elliot wailed from the Everfree.

So that's what it was... God DAMN it.

"I'm coming!" I yelled uselessly, he wouldn't hear me, his voice was like a megaphone.

My rifle was in my hands, and my armor plating was over my t-shirt. I was booking it out the door and into the Everfree.

My feet stung sharply, I felt thousands of needles digging into them through thick calluses. I didn't care, I needed to find Elliot.

"God help me, Grayson!" The voice was nearby now, only about 50 meters. I sprinted in the direction of the voice.

I ran for several seconds, which was cut short as my foot tangled onto a root, and I went flying forwards, only to land on my belly. My rifle clattered next to me, which I grabbed quickly out of reflex.

I was about to get up, but I saw the clearing, there was a vast expanse of plains around him, Elliot was kneeling into a patch of grass. Surrounding him, were a large group of small flying ponies. They were certainly not pegasai, they had wingbeats comparable to that of a humming-bird, and it produced a sickly buzzing noise. They also had ghastly, pale blue eyes. They seemed to shatter the darkness.

Without thinking, I aimed my rifle. At such a close range, I lacked any need to zero in. I fired one shot, and heard one scream. The rest immediately swarmed, flying so spastically I couldn't get a fix on any of them, especially against the night sky.

I fired several more shots, until my weapon clicked on the fourth. I was empty. Not only that, but they had heard me, as now a swarm was moving in my direction. I kept my eyes trained on Elliot, how could I save him? Could I even save myself? Damn that Purple dictator stealing my weapon! She's the reason I'm defenseless! She's the reason I'm in this! Oh God damn that cockroach!

Elliot looked right at me and shouted my name, I ducked down and hoped they didn't see where he was looking. I continued to hide, but the swarm of about 20 identical black creatures was moving slowly towards me now. I needed to stay hidden in the tall grass of the treeline.

I could have held my position, laid motionless and remained hidden for as long as time would pass, however, they knew just how to get me to make some noise. One of the bugs had stayed behind, remained floating in a circle above Elliot. Without orders, warning, or any form of hint, he dove down at Elliot. Teeth locked onto bone, and I heard him scream. I covered my mouth and stifled a yelp. His scream destroyed my ability to stay calm. My heart was racing and I felt like I was going to vomit. All at once, my situation came to me. I was alone, defenseless, Elliot was under attack and I was, too. There was no escaping alive. I was going to die here, with Elliot. I needed a plan.

But before I even started my thought, the creature shifted onto Elliot, rolling its weight onto him.

"Fight back..." I pleaded God that he would do something to stop it. But he didn't.

Elliot wailed in misery, before the creature lifted a hoof, something glistened in the moonlight, bright and visible.

'A knife!' I thought.

It was brought down before I could think, and Elliot stopped speaking, or moving. I felt my entire heart shatter. A pain filled my chest I hadn't felt before. It felt as if my very soul had been gouged out of my heart. And in all honesty, I wanted it to stop beating.

"ELLIOOOOOOT!" I cried, my eyes quickly blurring with tears.

My rifle was in my hand as I spun around and absolutely booked it. Faster than I had been before, I had to have been going 15 miles an hour on land. My feet hardly touched the ground, it was as if I was taking flight. I wasn't very far into the Everfree, I could make it.

I saw a blur of green all around me, I heard buzzing behind me, a loud siren called off from the direction of the Everfree. I sped up even more, I needed to get away. I was so close, something touched my shoulder, I swatted at it without changing speed. Arms wrapped around me tightly, but before they could pin me, I burst through the tree-line. I shouted something, I don't know what. I don't think anyone else did, either. But, to my surprise, there was a fierce wall of royal guard awaiting my return. They had spears aimed in my direction.

I hoped they wouldn't attack me, I felt the arms leave me, likely in response to the wall I was about to try to red-rover my way through. I sprinted at the guards, slightly to the right of the formation. Just before I ran myself into a spear, I leaped, launching myself over spearpoint. The guards moved to the side, but quickly sealed the wall behind me as I collapsed back onto the ground. Chaos erupted just behind me.

Swords clashing, screaming, I heard the sound of flesh splitting from bone. It was a disaster. I leaped back to my feet and spun around. There were already corpses of various sorts splayed onto the ground. The creatures were bug-like, now wearing armor, they had broken the line. Several were charging at me, swords drawn from sheaths made of fabric that hung below them.

They came one at a time, I gripped my barrel and swung it at one in the front, his sword re-directed it upwards, and he slammed into me. Before I was even on my back, I repetitively bashed my fist into him, I was strengthened by the sight of Elliot. He continued to flash in my skull, ringing like a symbol of suffering. I bashed its head harder, but it didn't let up, it pinned me hard, flapping its disgusting wings to push down.

Desperate measures. It is when you are faced with certain death that the most grueling, yet true sides of oneself will show. I lashed my head forwards, not by forhead, but with face. My teeth sunk into the creature's cheek, which split inside of my mouth. It shouted at me and backpedalled, it flew away like a crippled bird.

I spun my head for the other one, but didn't see it anywhere. It had gone elsewhere. On the ground, there was a sword made of a mysterious dark metal. I lifted the blade, which was shockingly light. It was a shortsword of a brittle metal. I waved it around to get a feel for it. My rifle was nowhere to be seen, so I used it as my weapon. Just in time, a guard let one slip by, he flung himself at me, spear first. My arm, however, was longer. I got him in the face with the blade. To which his momentum slid him even deeper into it. The blade, through his face, likely stopped somewhere in his chest.

No time to hesitate, I could die here, I could be forgotten, I need to get home. I can't let myself share Elliot's fate.

The blade flipped down under the weight, and I pulled it out. Another one came flying at my chest from the left, it looked furious. The insect lowered its blade at my midsection, I cocked my arm back and batted the sword just as it got close enough. I followed through with my rear-most hand by grabbing it by the horn.

Half anger, half instinct, but 100% reaction, I forced my hand down, breaking off the creature's horn. It was much harder to snap than I had expected, due to a more fleshy inside. Like a tooth, it began to bleed. Before leaving any further reaction time, I punched my hand forward, pushing the horn back into the creature's skull.

It resounded a sickening 'spulching' noise, that horrible noise could have silenced a planet, parted a sea, and stopped a train. I wish I had stopped there.

Mostly out of hate, I continued the motion, repetitively stabbing the thing. I stopped looking once it started to fall apart, but I continued to find uninjured places to keep attacking it. The creature had long since gone limp in my arms, but I had no choice to stop now.

Something hit me hard, in the side. I flew over and rolled, for an insect to appear above me. It pushed me down and raised a fist, striking me in my left cheek. I leaned up and hugged the creature, rolling over and taking it with me. Once it was pinned beneath me, I grabbed its head and battered it downwards. Hundreds of times I heard that noise, I thought I would never stop. But every time I did it, I felt the urge to continue again, forever.

Finally, my breath caught up with me. I was getting tired, I couldn't continue. I had to stop. I looked down at the creature I had liquefied, it was a mess. I got up off of him, I could feel blood running down my torso and onto my legs. That was when it hit me, it was quiet. Dead silent. As if the hum of Earth itself has stopped. I looked about.

The guards had stopped fighting, but several remained standing with mixtures of expressions on their faces. Beside them, a scattered couple of remaining creatures was looking at me in equal surprise.

I turned my head to the left, and Twilight and Rainbow were not too far away, only about 10 meters. They looked more disturbed than anyone.

I turned to face them, I looked between the two, searching for words, but found none that mattered.

"I'm sorry..." I began, "They've killed Elliot."

Zero Hour

Applejack was gone, too. We figured that out only moments later. That she was also nowhere to be found. We sent Rainbow to send the news to the barn, I'm not very concerned with how that went.

To be honest, I don't care about much of anything. I'm still processing the fact that Elliot is really gone, it is as if my mind is too overwhelmed by the idea that I can't process it. The thought that the very thing I depended on is no longer of this world, without even the chance to say goodbye...

We walked back to Twilight's house in silence, no words were shared. Only hushed goodbyes as the girls retreated to their own homes to rest. I did not share the fatigue, yet I knew I should.

As we walked the small, reddish wooden path to the door, I looked to her. She hung her head low. The door was ajar, to which she nudged it open with her head. A dragon quickly scuttled up the noisy staircase, creaking as he did so. He was out of sight before we were even inside.

She slowly trailed him, walking for the staircase. As we reached the couch area, her head turned slightly in my direction.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow... Good night." And she left, up the stairs one by one, and gone.

I looked at the ground. A blueish, almost ghostly moonlight shone in through the thin-framed windows. A howling wind flowing outside, which screamed in the doorway. I kicked the door closed. My eyes scanned the room.

It wasn't long before they fell upon a heartache, Elliot's gear. His fatigues, his bag, his belongings, his entire military career. I had to be the one to dig through it, to mail home his belongings, assuming I even could. I'd need to write a letter of notice, and be at his funeral. My own blood, and I'd have to be there to watch his memorial.

Something stirred inside me, a second burst of energy. One I hadn't experienced in a long time, but know quite well. A feeling I chose to repress inside, in hopes that it would never surface. For the first time, however, I felt this was right. This needed to happen.

I was pissed.

Balled up my fists and slammed them into the sofa as hard as I could. My hand struck the solid wood frame. I unslung my rifle and dropped the empty magazine, which thumped against the ground. Turning to the stairs, I broke into a full sprint up them.

I weighed the fucking hulk. Each stair getting progressively louder. When I reached the top, Twilight was across the hallway, hardly in her room. She turned to look at me curiously. Her expression quickly warped.

I blasted down the hallway, faster than her reaction time, I ran past her into the room and took a quick peek around. It was a nice little room, I'd have to check it out later. But before I had time to observe, I found what I was looking for. Three full magazines lay scattered on a small, locked bookshelf. The dragon was in a smaller bed not far from it.

I trudged over to the bookshelf swiftly, the dragon got up and moved to the side of the room.

"Grayson, no!" Twilight ordered, she sounded like my mom.

"I'm going whether you try to stop me or not." The first magazine was already in my hand. I slid the other two into pouches on my carrier vest which I wore over my white t-shirt. I pushed the cartridges into the rifle and chambered a round. I let the chamber slam shut, the sound sent a warm tingle through my whole body.

"You don't understand who those were, even if you did find them they'd tear you into pieces! You have to listen to me!" She pleaded, I heard her step closer.

I whipped around and leveled the rifle at her. "I don't care what happens to me! I might as well be dead with Elliot gone! The least I can do is give his death more meaning than a block of shit execution!" I sidestepped to get around her.

She backed away from the gun, and mumbled something at me I didn't listen to. As soon as she cleared the way, I darted through the door. I felt my rifle smash itself against the doorframe, something wooden snapped. I kept running.

I smashed open the library door, a habit I was getting used to. I ran slower than before, now with more weight. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I have no idea what I said, only that it used a lot of profanity and something about Uncle Sam.

I kept moving all the way to the Everfree, back where I last saw the bugs. There was still a crowd of guards, gathering the dead and cleaning up the weapons. I aimed my path right for them.

Several of them turned to me, a group lowered weapons at me. I slowed down and aimed mine, shouting wildly.

The good of the guard backed several paces, enough for me to push the body of a guard and collect his weapon. I slid the sword under a strap on the side of my carrier. Turning to my right, I sprinted around them and continued wailing into the forest.

I drew the short sword and began thumping it against every tree I could find, the blade almost cut several smaller trees down in one slice. I sprinted over logs, roots, bushes, and even animals. I was heading straight for the clearing.

Either sweat or tears streamed from my face, I finally made it to the clearing, and fired a random shot into the wild, stirring up as much noise as possible.

Nothing came, silent as the night.

"You creeps left one! I'm low on ammo, and but-ass naked! Come get a piece of me!" I shouted, firing another round into the treeline.

My call was answered by a flash behind me. A purple styled hue that hummed like a lightsaber. I wasn't dead, so I whipped my gun around. It froze half way, as if a baseball-bat swing had froze it in mid-spin. There was no noise to accompany this theory, however.

I spun my head to look at the source. It was a new pony I hadn't seen before, it was a female judging by the eyelashes, with a deep blue coat. Her hair was dotted with lights, as if the night sky itself was captured inside the strands. She looked at me with a blank expression I couldn't read. I tried to swing the sword at her, but my sword hand was also immovable. As if it had been frozen in ice.

I growled internally as I summoned up the last of my strength to move the rifle. It slowly gave way, moving slowly, as if drowned in a thick syrup.

The blue female's expression remained the same, despite her eyes widening only a hair. She stepped to the side, increasing the distance I'd have to push the rifle.

"Bitch!" I shouted in rash frustration.

"That's rather rude, is that how you address everypony?" She asked mockingly, moving behind me where I could not turn to see her.

'Well, it actually isn't that far off...'

"Bitch!" I repeated, slightly more tired and wimpy as the last of my energy was wasted. I decided to give up, the rifle appeared to have moved several inches in her previous direction. I dangled from the rifle, my hands felt welded to it. I looked to them, and they, too, were wrapped in the same color as her coat.

"You're agitated, and I understand. I've been watching you." She began.

'Eugh, creepy.'

"I'd have seen you from a mile a way. You're a walking lava lamp!" I shouted.

'Hah, that's right Gray. Self-fist bump.'

"I haven't been stalking you,' she explained. "I've merely been using a spell to observe the major actions taking place in your life. It's very difficult to hold, but I understand what you're going through." She moved back into my field of view, and looked at me with a bold posture. "Certainly you aren't taking me for any Earth pony, are you?" She mocked.

'Was that racism? Shit, G-rating's out the window now. Actually, how many times have I said "fuck" so far?'

"What do you want?" I groaned, slumping down and hanging my weight from the rifle.

"I'm not asking for anything. I'm merely here to bring a few things to your attention." She explained innocently, faking a smile for courtesy. "For one, my sister will be meeting you tomorrow, I have alerted her to your presence, as well as Twilight's urge to momentarily keep you secret. She insisted, however, that you be addressed as top-priority. She seems..." The girl turned her head to the side. "cautious
over your presence. I may have been delivering her too many details over your actions. She wants to meet you personally." She looked back to me. "I will be sure to accompany her, as to make sure she doesn't bias her opinion."

"And who is your sister? Are you with those things that I cut the hearts out of?" I teased, smiling sinisterly.

She wasn't nearly as bothered as I had hoped she would be.

"No, the creatures you encountered are called 'changelings'. They are a species that, unfortunately, requires the energy we associate with love in order to survive. The feed on it, along with small meals, in order to populate. They are currently starving, which may make them more hostile. You should read a story on the recent invasion. They are able to disguise themselves using magic, however, we are discovering new ways to reveal them, as to prevent damage. A being without any love can become very violent. Especially griffons or bison. I know not what they want with you, however. Possibly to wield you as a weapon for the changeling empire." She finished, the situation seemed to disturb her.

"And you aren't one?" I subtly reminded her of the double-question.

"Oh! That's right! You haven't learned! I'm curious as to how your governing system works. I am Princess Luna, goddess of the moon. My sister you will soon meet, is Princess Celestia, goddess of the sun." She explained with a much more natural grin.

"So if you're here, why isn't she here right now?" I asked with my usual dullness.

"She prefers to utilize the guard for transportation, more practical methods. She is a pacifist to the highest extreme, so she does not want any opposition to know how powerful she really is. Not to mention the possibility that she could be located much more easily when she is disturbing the flow of magic. I used a simple teleportation spell to reach here, but she will prefer to move by carriage. As to not be detected, or studied." She seemed unsure of her own answer, it made me nervous.

"And what about releasing me?" I asked, wiggling at my arms.

"When I leave, you will be released. But first, you must promise me that you will turn, and return home immediately. There is no need to fight this battle, as only several changelings survived the attack." She took several steps closer, at this point, I realized that my eyes were not playing tricks on me. She stood almost a foot taller than I did. I wondered if she was using her height as a weapon the way I had earlier to Twilight.

"They killed Elliot, I need to avenge his death. I have no choice." I moped, looking down to the ground.

"You do have a choice. Perhaps you should wait until tomorrow, I feel that we can cheer you up greatly. So much, that I wish to wait to tell you until tomorrow. But I have to be sure that you will harm nopony, and we will see you tomorrow in Twilight's library at noon. We will escort you personally to Canterlot, but you must be ready to go. No delay can be offered, as it may provide time for an attack." Her feathers fluffed at the word attack. She seemed a little darty, not to be confused with ditzy, but darty as in jumpy and, at times, aggressive. Her posture was very forward, I felt tiny.

I didn't like it, I didn't want to agree with it, but I needed to know more about this world before I let myself die in it.

"Fine, I'll leave." I agreed, rolling my eyes.

She grinned. "Splendid! My sister and I will see you at noon!"

Taking several steps to the rear from in front of me, her horn lit up. It wasn't until now that I realized it was glowing very dimly before. Sparks of various shades of blue circled around her.

"Oh, before we part ways, I must warn you..." Her smile dropped, she looked much more stoic, almost angry. I was briefly worried she was going to hit me. "I understand the basic usage of this unique device you wielded earlier..." She nodded in the direction of my rifle, the sparks were speeding up. "But, should you ever choose to address any royalty in such a derogatory way as you have today, whether the word 'bitch' be used or not, I swear on my name your weapon will be inside of you."

A bright flash of blue, I closed my eyes for a moment, and she was gone.

Author's Note

Oh yeah, it happened: https://gyazo.com/bf846bcdae12a4743572f3562338b6ce
I'll try to get on tomorrow (8-30-16) on the 18+ server at 6-8AM EST. Missed me? That's fine! I play it frequently, so just log on often and try to find that OC!

Also, I might be doing a Star Trek-inspired Sci-fi fic, and I'll be working on "Defective" in the near-future. I'm honestly a bit of a closet brony, but I'm considering sharing a video of my actual life. It's really up to you people if you think it's worth it. Leave a comment below!

Tall Things

My feet bled by the time I came back in through the door. I didn't check to see if Twilight had left to look for me, I simply collapsed onto the soft cushion and closed my eyes. I quickly snoozed in the darkness.

Birds chirped loudly in my head, singing a song I did not understand. They sounded soothing and peaceful, but there was something disturbing in the air. Something mumbled in the distance.

"Is that you?" A female voice spoke. I was slowly filled with a weightless feeling, as if I was moving in all directions at once.

Everything blurred and swirled, I grew very dizzy, but incredibly relaxed. As if every muscle from my shoulders to my toes had untied themselves, loosened to perfect calmness.

I stirred from my sheets well-rested, I was covered by a black blanket I didn't remember putting on. I poked my head out of the side of the soft chamber to observe the voice.

The girl; Luna, from last night was towering over me. To her left, Twilight stared. She seemed very bouncy and nervous. One that stood the tallest of all was to her right, Celestia. She stared down at me, casting an aura of power over the room.

I wanted to drop the sheet back over my face and return to sleep, but I understood that such an activity would not help my diplomatic position. I was so tired I felt as if I hadn't slept at all. I threw the blanket over my back, it draped itself around the back of the couch.

"Good morning..." I groaned sarcastically, yawning and rubbing my face, the nerves had hardly awoken themselves and they felt partially numbed.

"As to you, Grayson. Sister?" Luna politely responded. Turning to her sister with a inquisitive expression.

"Good morning to you, there." She answered without changing her expression. Her head seemed to raise to appear even taller.

"You must be her sister, Celestia, right?" I asked, moaning as I pulled myself upright to sit back on the couch. I was willing to sit up, but I sure as Jesus wore sandals wasn't going to stand up for another 10 minutes at least.

"Princess, Celestia." She corrected. She sounded arrogant and annoyed with me.

"Twilight?" I begged, scratching my eyes.

"Hm?" She peeped, hardly audible.

"Do you have, coffee?" I was hopeful that the plant somehow exists anywhere. I wasn't sure how they weren't dying without it.

"Well, I could go prepare coffee..." Without an answer, her voice quickly trailed away as hoofsteps clopped to the kitchen.

"Oh! I'll have a cup, please!" Luna chirped.

"As will I, Twilight." Celestia agreed, sounding slow and professional.

"I'll make a pitcher..." She replied, I heard cabinets creaking open. I removed my hands from my eyes and stared at Celestia.

"I believe you wanted to speak with me." I asked, loosing the friendly tone and conducting my self a lot more business-like.

Her eyes widened for a moment, her eyebrow dropping slightly. Her head whipped to her sister, who stood still as a statue.

"What makes you think that?" She seethed. "Sister..." Her tone was warning.

I remembered that Luna was polite. I could tell what was going on, I thought of a quick story.

"Twilight, she told me that Luna would be much less interested in discussing me than you would. That you are more interested in the strange occurrences in this town." I held my face at still military bearing. I quickly grew nervous, realizing I was lying to a high official.

She stared at me through a barrel, right into my eyes.

I felt my cheek twitch.

"I see. She's right. I would like to discuss your current actions against these ponies." She turned back to me.

"Against? That's not quite the word I'd use." I replied, raising my eyebrows sincerely.

"I didn't need to use the word you'd use. I'm using the word that describes what you have caused." Her tone was stoic, her face solid. She felt cold.

"Against sounds like I have somehow harmed anything. But I assure you, my partner, who has recently become deceased, is-" I began.

"I've heard. I'm sorry for your loss. But you have brought this war to us yourself. His death, and every death in this town, is your fault. You see, there has not been any official war for over a century, until you arrived." She didn't seem to have any difficulty blaming me.

I felt my blood heat up, I took a deep breath and tried to slow my pulse.

"However, I have been insistently advised against punishing you for such crimes. However, I do not want you among us. You must leave as soon as possible. I am fully capable of arranging for you to visit Griffon territory, where you would be more suited." She picked up her head and looked down on me. Something about her gaze prevented her from looking too aggressive. "However, there is something you should be arranging first." She turned her head to her sister, who grinned like a schoolgirl.

"You see," The darker colored sister began, "your friend, Elliot was his name? He is not dead, or harmed as far as I am aware. He is fully awake and aware! And we are prepared to move to extract him." She smiled.

I watched him, he's dead. That was Elliot, I heard his scream.

"So what makes you think he's not dead, and fertilizing the soil right now?" I inquired, raising my eyebrows unenthusiastically.

"I don't think, I know! It's an absolute fact!" She bounced. "He was captured, that is for sure. However, the event unfurling before your eyes was not himself. The creatures you encountered, you have not seen them before, am I correct?" She didn't wait for me to respond. "They are changelings, masters of disguise. Upon contact with any form of DNA, such as clothing, dead skin, hair, things as such. They can create an illusion that makes them look and sound exactly like anypony they want to. There is also a theory that they use magic to help impact the minds of those around them, in order to add to the effect, but it is not proven." She took a deep breath.

"So, I watched very closely last night, and I am very confident this was an illusion. That Elliot has been captured, and they used a recreation of him as bait to lure you in as well!"

Her sister stepped forward to intervene.

"And we are prepared to offer military backing to bring him back. However, this will be our only deed of kindness. Afterwards, you must leave. You create a risk to thousands every second. I take it you have heard of the other attacks?" She sternly asked, frowning slightly.

"Other attacks? What are you talking about?" I was genuinely confused.

Twilight's wings ruffled, she turned and walked upstairs.

"There were other human attacks. Notably large forces have already conquered Vanhoover, and there were small clashes in Apploosa, and Manehattan's outskirts. A small band of your species can annihilate an army of our guards. You could save a lot of lives by offering the technology, you know." She grinned.

"I could, but I would end many more in the long run. Trust me, if you can, you need to prevent such technology from being discovered, order the guard to destroy them." I warned, nodding certainly.

She seemed taken aback, as well as her sister.

"What do you mean? They could become the most powerful defense Equestria has ever seen!" She insisted.

"I thought we were talking about Elliot." I reminded her.

She paused, took a deep breath, yet Luna cut her off.

"The intention, with your consent, is that we take you, along with an army of our elite guard, and engage the changelings on their own soil. We save your partner, and leave the area as soon as we can. I must warn you, however, that the changelings will strongly outnumber us. That is why we need such technology." She explained, losing her giddy tone for a more matter-of-fact sound.

"And you're positive he's still alive?" I pressed.

"Very confident would be the wording I'd use." Celestia answered.

"Where do I start?" I quickly replied.

"We'll take you to Canterlot by carriage, where you can explain the military tactics on your planet, and we'll explain ours. From there, we will hopefully come to an agreement on weapons manufacturing, and you can lead our army into battle against these creatures." Celestia explained.

"I'm all ready." I got up from the couch. "So, are you going to press me about rifles the whole ride there?" I asked blankly.

"Most likely." Luna answered, moving to the side.

"I need time to think about it. I agree that it would be a significant use, but I don't want it to exist here when I'm gone." I explained.

"We'll discover it someday regardless, so it would only bring the creation to a point where it is useful." Celestia attempted to convince me otherwise.

"Someday, but the later the safer. On my planet, there are about 7 billion humans roaming. That being said, about one hundred die daily from domestic shootings. Wives shooting husbands, friends shooting foes, things that happen in civilized areas. That number is greatly multiplied when you add in our wartime engagements as well. Hundreds of our soldiers die daily, hundreds of MEC Saudis, Iranians, and MEC allianced Taliban all are killed by the hour. This could be your civilization, if people start owning guns. It also gives them the power to overthrow their leadership, such as you." I cautioned, as I started gathering Elliot's belongings. Twilight came back down the stairs with a book.

"We can prevent it, provide laws that prohibit the use of firearms in such ways." Luna explained simply.

"When you are given the power to kill with nothing more than the twitch of a lever, laws become more of suggestions. You could simply destroy anyone who tells you otherwise." I elaborated. "For example, America was given the right to purchase and bear arms in order to overthrow the government if it becomes tyrannical. This means that the people are literally given the right to kill their leaders and replace them at any point that the citizens decide to do so."

"And that's your concern? Is that you'll hurt us? You won't, we can't be destroyed easily. Many attempts, albeit, have been made." Celestia commented.

"Yes, I agree. You may be experienced fighters, maybe you could even protect yourself. But you won't stop the fact that crazy people could buy a gun, walk into a park, and start shooting every living creature under the sun. You don't want that to happen yearly, I'm sure." I tried to explain, I carried Elliot's stuff out the door, I heard all 3 of the others follow.

"Look, I'll talk about it more whenever we get to this 'Canterlot' place. All I care about right now is that we're getting Elliot, no matter the cost." Something still seemed odd to me. There was a carriage outside, 2 guards stood at what looked like a 4-legged attention nearby it, they held open the door.

As I crawled in the inside was like the Cinderella animation. Velvet seats, small windows, and a fragile feel. The others began to duck through the door and crawl inside. Celestia across from me. Twilight to my left, and Luna beside her sister.

"So what makes you so hell-bent on helping me get Elliot back?" I spoke before I even understood my own question.

Luna looked at her sister, who nodded.

"We have been at peace with the changelings ever since their invasion about 2 years ago. We've made attempts to restrict another invasion from ever reoccurring. This capture, and the fact that they broke the treaty by stepping onto Equestrian lands, is an act of war. We must treat it as such. In about a week, we will declare official war and attempt to overthrow their queen." Celestia answered, taking a deep breath. "The problem is, they come in far greater numbers, and work together a lot better than us. Without any advanced weaponry, I fear we will be sending hundreds of guards into suicide."

"I understand. And you want me to train your guards?" I asked.

"Yes, I will leave the training of the 5th Division's 3rd Platoon to you as a test. Then, if they turn out well, the entire 5th Division's training will be up to you. We trust you well, considering you've clearly experienced fighting action and you have a history of ending many enemies with a less superior weapon." She answered.

'Did she just say my rifle's shitty?'

"So you want me to simply lecture them on combat tactics and methods?" The idea seemed dull to me, that couldn't be all.

"No, any method you feel is most efficient. Physical, and mental preparedness will be important." She elaborated.

"The way you were trained will perhaps be efficient, you seem to know your way around." Luna added.

'Gunnary Sergeant Grayson, that'd sound badass, but it's a stretch from Hartman's FMJ hit.'

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. The problem is, you might... Disagree with the methods on my country. Britain doesn't like it." I laughed at the thought of an angry queen yelling at DIs.

"You don't mean you'll kill guards, do you?" Celestia quickly inquired.

"Not that, but the training I'm thinking will make them wish I would."

The carriage lurched, surprising me. I wasn't sure how it was drawn, but it felt like we were in the air.

Planning Point

Author's Note

People were not pleased with the way I decided to portray the canon characters. I did this intentionally, but it clearly did NOT work the way I had intended it to. I will be ending the charade soon, but the plan was originally to justify hostility with the slaughter of innocents along the Badlands, Manehattan, and Ponyville. These are only days old, and from the same new species that Grayson and Elliot are a part of. The specifics, violence, and severity of the attacks is currently unannounced, but it is not a far shot to believe that the same new species who is attacking all over Equestria would send spies or agents to create havoc internally. So far, they have done little to justify their actions aside from kill who was attacking them. Luna, however, understands the motives of these two. She is curious, and urges her sister to cease any aggression. However, Grayson IS a bit bitchy with ego, which is shown early in the story, which brings the need to re-assert power over him. He, as far as this story is concerned, is a prisoner. He is, however, being treated specially, as he holds a weapon that could prevent every war for the next several centuries. They also hold a common enemy now, which proves use to them as assistance in a far more developed wartime community. Without their help, changelings would absolutely grind the guard into strips. I'll try to clarify soon, and I'm sorry for not taking a wiser decision here. From this point forth, I will try to provide more realistic, and optimistic approaches on the personality types of the canon characters. I will also exaggerate Grayson's ego (don't fret, he's not going to be an asshole for very long).

Planning Point

I peered out the window, and we were, in fact, off of the ground. It caught be by surprise, it was dead quiet. No engines, no vibration. Only the swaying and creaking of the carriage.

"How is this carriage in flight?" I asked, tapping on the window which, to my surprise, was made of plastic instead of glass.

"Horse-drawn flight." Twilight murmured.

'That's not illegal here? How does that work?'

"Horse drawn? Who's the horse?" I tried to move my head to where I could see in front of us. I couldn't.

"The guard assigned to post around the carriage." Celestia explained.

'There was... two. No, four. Two near the front door, two near the carriage door. Posted.'

"I'm not trying to come off as rude, but you two don't look very light. I'm not very light. Elliot's bag of rocks isn't very light. How can those guys carry all of us without screaming up there?" I tried to piece it together myself as I spoke.

"Originally, we would be very heavy. But the carriage is enchanted. Magic is pulled into it, and cast in the direction we are moving in. The same way wings work." Luna replied.

"So it takes whatever direction they pull, and pull in that direction alongside them? And magic, that's some form of electricity?" I crossed my arms and sat upright to listen.

"Precisely. And, no. Magic is not electricity. It is much more powerful. Granted, it does carry electric charge. That is how offensive spells typically work. Direct energy can create ionized particles which can cause radiation poisoning. Or it can be used to heat the air, or react molecules, anything you know how to cast, really." Celestia explained. "However, spells take a long time to perfect, as they require very precise concentration to cast."

"So, you could essentially microwave someone to death? Just, completely change the charges on their skin all at once?" I briefly imagined heads exploding from microwaves.

"Not quite, but I think you understand the meaning. Offensive spells are strictly prohibited." Twilight explained.

'It's the gun law of lasers. I should ask if they have Liberals.'

"Do you guys have liberal parties?"

"Do we have what?" Luna asked.

"Nothin'."

I leaned back and closed my eyes. The carriage slowly rocked back and forth, which was very soothing. I passed out after several minutes.

The air was dusty, completely thick. A sandstorm had just crossed over Baghdad several hours ago, and we lacked any form of protection from the harsh air afterwards. We had been inserted just south of an occupied village. The sun was hot, yet the air was only slightly warm. The Humvee whirred, dirt and rocks crunched under its beastly tires.

"Hey Grayson!" Someone smacked my helmet.

"What's up, Patrick?"

"I got a laugher for you. What do you call three MEC soldiers at camp Valiance?"

"What's that?"

The ground was blurry, my ears were ringing. The world spun around me at the speed of light. It felt like my heart was in my mouth. The Humvee was rumbling, shaking to the chassis. But I was hardly aware. Slowly, the world lightened from gray, I gradually could see figures in the dark. There was a loud sound in my ears, like the music of chaos.

I didn't know what to think, or what was happening. I felt like an infant, trapped in a Ford Focus in the summer's wrath.

"Elliot... Elliot! Patrick!"

There was a lurch, a loud 'THUMP' complemented by a jolt that sent my brains into my heels.

My veins filled with adrenaline, the windows shone so bright my eyes burned from the power. I snapped my head around and felt for a rifle, which I couldn't find.

The carriage was empty, Twilight was gazing inside curiously.

"Are you alright?" She asked, turning her head.

"What's happening?" I ignored her question.

"We just landed, it scared you awake. The guard can be a little, sudden on drops." She explained, moving to the side and gesturing for me to exit.

I closed my eyes and rocked my head back, taking a deep breath. The adrenaline went to waste, and my heart slowed back down. The sweat on my skin froze. I got up and moved for the door.

The sisters were waiting outside. The moment I dismounted, they looked away from me and began moving towar-

'Holy PARKINSONS this place is gigantic.'

They moved for the bridge, which covered a large moat that seemed to dip so low it graced eternity itself. We were on a mountain, judging by the clouds being so low overhead. On a small point nearby, which lead to an enormous walled city. It stood upright, seemingly shielded from the troubles of the world.

"My god." I murmured, slowly taking my first short steps forward.

Twilight giggled.

"It's really amazing. There's so much to see inside. This is Canterlot. It's the capital. You can't see it from here, but we're heading for the palace. It's up a little higher on the mountain." Twilight slowed down to my left to match my pace.

"So you are trusting me in there? What happened to calling me an ignorant asshole?" I looked down at her, hesitant to turn my gaze from the massive stone walls.

"You are an ignorant asshole. But you're the only thing that can save us now." She looked straight ahead.

"You're really passive-aggressive, and it's really concerning." I warned.

She walked ahead, next to the others, away from me.

There was a loud clopping sound, accompanied by a creaking. I lowered my gaze. We were now on the bridge. I could see inside the walls. There were enormous buildings, and so many civilians around the crowd. It looked like a canvas dotted with every color you could possible imagine. Plus four.

'I left Elliot's stuff in the carriage.' I thought to myself.

'Wait, no, I didn't. It was right there at my feet. I would have tripped over it.'

"Now they're taking his stuff, too." I whispered to myself.

'Any my rifle's gone.'

Twilight slowed back down, stepping beside me once more. We were almost inside the gates. Ahead, I saw citizens bowing greatly far ahead.

'It IS a dictatorship.'

"I really don't want to be against you." She offered.

"Really, this is not the time to try and tie ends. I'm here to do whatever I need to do to get back home. Then, I'm gone." I cautioned.

She sighed.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I just don't want to fight with you anymore. Neither does Celestia, Luna, nor any of my friends. We really do care about getting you back home. You just can be, overpowering. Even when you don't try to be." She pleaded.

"Overpowering is how you make it places. Nobody makes the big leagues without stepping on some heads to get there. It's survival of the fittest." I reminded her.

"Maybe it's not, maybe you just need a new perspective." She explained.

"My perspective right now is that we're facing MEC threat, and these changeling creatures. Both of which outnumber or out-gun you by a bubonic difference." I stated.

Finally, we passed the gates. The town was THRIVING with life. Ponies crossed the streets in the hundreds. There were buildings of all sizes, colors, and shapes. A sight nearly impossible to explain. It was such a beautiful melting pot variety of art. Townsfolk bowed to the royalty. Also in my direction, which made me feel special.

Several guard were also on patrol. They snapped to attention beside doors and larger buildings.

'I wonder if there's any political corruption. There has to be.'

"I hope you're ready. We'll brief you on the expectations, and, from there, the team will be yours. You can ask us for any resources necessary to training. But, do be resource cautious." She explained.

"Yeah, it's just not going to feel right without Elliot here to help." I suddenly realized my heart was dipped into my chest. I felt like a one-winged eagle.

"That's who you're doing this for. Remember that. True friends will do anything to protect each other." She sounded like she was trying to cheer me up.

"We're not just friends." I looked down.

"Oh! I didn't realize you two were. Close." She sounded guilty.

"I meant brothers-Jesus. What the hell, really?" My mood lightened as I looked at her bluntly.

"Oh THAT'S what you meant. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions." She apologized, looking to the side. "I mean, it doesn't bother me if you are, I just didn't think-"

"Enough. We're brothers. I don't walk that side of the road. Not brothers as in family, either." I predicted the next conclusion she'd draw. "I mean that him saving my life, and vice-versa has built a brotherly bond that you can't sever. With him gone, in such high stakes, I guess I just hadn't realize how screwed we are." I looked at my hands. They were dirty, and my muscles were sore.

"We aren't! We have you! And you know what you're doing! You can help us! I've seen what you're capable of. It's a grim skill set, but it's one that can aid us now, when we need you most. Without you, Elliot would be doomed. But you can offer all we need." She smiled at me. It didn't cheer me up much, but it helped.

I didn't think before I acted. They just reminded me so much of tall puppies. I reached down and scratched her head as I turned away. She didn't seem to have any reaction to the gesture.

At some point, the others had moved light-years ahead of us. I picked up my pace to close the gap. Twilight practically had to run to keep up.

'I guess it's time to do or die. Probably die, but it's better to die trying. Better stay alive, Elliot. Wherever you are.'

Canterlot the Powerful

Author's Note

My writing style has EVOLVED. This is a VERY sudden style change. As you can tell by my word count and paragraph size. I am now using more adjectives, and a more professional writing style. If you don't like it, please tell me so that I don't ruin the story on accident! Also, a little about me, I am a 16 year old American, ROTC cadet (aspiring for the USMC), avid gamer (pretty damn good at it, too), and I have just started to learn artistry, morse code, writing skills, and various music principles. I, also, may or may not have slipped being a brony to my parents on accident. Luckily, they try to avoid thinking about it too much. However, they do know that I'm writing a story, and that it's on a "brony website". They do NOT, however, know that it is a brony story, what it is called, or how to find it. But I use this screen name for EVERYTHING. I only hope they don't google it and find me here. Welp, I might post a video to my followers about myself. I still won't be showing my face, but it'll talk about me. Adios!

Canterlot the Powerful

There was something beautiful about this town. A cool breeze matched by a blue and silver color scheme. The architecture, the culture, even the scent in its air seemed to produce a vivid, sweet feeling of safety that I hadn't known before. Something that reminded me of a welding facility floated about. Several fires burned outside, warming the still air.

"Jesus..." I whispered to myself, looking at every inch of the sight. Ponies and silhouettes appeared and disappeared in the windows. Many, I believed, stared at me. The ones bowing would occasionally risk a sideways glance at me.

"Don't do anything rash. They're just nervous because of all of the anti-human propaganda going about. You will be redeeming your species' name. Just please forgive them for being more cautious." Twilight pleaded, leaning up to me and whispering. "Hey, look up there." I gazed at her as she raised a hoof forwards, pointing at the higher areas of the mountain.

Sitting over the village, casting a shadow of motherly protection, was a kingdom that rivaled any fairytale, art masterpiece, or childhood imagination's very limits. A seemingly endless river flowed off of a man-made canal and dropped off down the mountainside, which disappeared behind the wall around the town. It had Iranian-style cones resting atop the towers. A bloated bulb shape that covered towers built with geometry that would make Kepler turn in his grave. There were palace doors so large they were visible from here. So close yet so far, this castle was only a kilometer away at most. Half a hike up stone stairs, and I would be able to feel the cold marble under my bare feet.

"That's Canterlot castle. The capital of all of Equestria. Every single decree is made here. This land built around it is Canterlot. It is home to the rich, and the wonderful. The wealthier artists, unicorns, or buisnessponies live here. In Canterlot, the castle works as the state and federal government, with no need for a mayor. Princesses Celestia and Luna have done all of their work in that palace. Very few ever get to see any part of it besides the courtroom. Where disagreements or political announcements can be made. Though it's usually only full of nobles begging for personal attention." Twilight giggled at her own humor. I might have, too, yet I was too distracted by my hunger for knowledge. A town so large, could hold so many secrets.

My feet began to function independently, dragging me slowly towards the palace without my command. I began to speed up, quickly matching the pace of Celestia and Luna, and following them closely. Twilight, too, caught up, and we marched in a close formation all the way through the large street that showed us to the front steps of the castle. We were now much closer, and I could see the doors opening, light casting a shadow through the dusty air.

I gazed about in silence as we closed the gap. I climbed steps that stood only inches taller than one another. They were smooth and uniform, evident of close-keeping of the quality. I briefly wondered who would sign for such a job as to gaze at rocks all day, and determine the quality. But, then again, geology is still a science.

Two guards snapped to attention as we neared the dark wooden door, it seemed like a puny joke compared to the castle towering behind it. The one on our left moved in front of us and lead the way for the princesses, the one behind us closed the doors as we entered and tailed us.

A red carpet soothed my feet as I walked, it led through the center of the hallways and decorated a pinkish hue of marble that tiled the floor. Large purple pillars swirled in gold pressed up on the castle, hardly straining under its weight. There was no dirt, no crack, no speck of dust that tarnished the white castle walls. The windows were clean enough to lick.

"Where are they taking me?" I asked slightly louder than I had imagined. My voice echoed back strongly.

"We're bringing you to the royal guard's hall. There, your 3rd Platoon, will be assembled. I will relinquish my command..." Celestia looked to her sister.

"...Then will I." She answered.

"And then we will appoint them under your command. From there, it's up to you what you do. There will be NO fatalities in this training procedure. And no unnatural injury. You are merely going to demonstrate to me the procedures and tactics of a planet far more sophisticated than our own. Do you agree to these terms?" Celestia finished, turning her head to the side to look at me.

'I suppose it's too late not to anyway.'

"I do." I answered.

"I can't wait to see what you teach them! I'm sure you'll do great!" Twilight offered her encouragement with a smile.

"I can't wait to see how well you handle their training." I smirked at the thought of my first yelling episode.

"I won't be. The training must entirely be yours, I am merely allowed to spectate. As are all staff." Twilight responded curiously.

"I know, and I will be doing it alone. You should remember what I just said, because you'll understand it later." I turned back to the front, we were about to ascend a glorious staircase that reminded me of the Titanic's. An image of the castle falling into an ocean forced me to shake my head.

The palace was a maze. Not the fun kind. The 'this kicks my ass and I'm going to starve to death before I get there' kind of maze. The only difference was, instead of corn that you could cheat your way through, there was solid brick that would win a game of bloody knuckles should I decide to try shortcuts.

At last, after what felt like eons of walking through twisty hallways, we approached a dead-end, headed by a large door with a symbol on it I could not read. The doors didn't look too special, but I assume what was inside would be a treat. Inside, I assumed, would be my platoon. This would be their first time seeing me.

The doors started to float open before we came to them, a mysterious energy seemed to demand them allow us entry. As they opened, I was greeted with a room almost identical in style to the others. This, however, was an entire auditorium below me. Comfy purple velvet seats were lined with guards who immediately silenced themselves at the presence of the princesses. What confused me most of all, though, is that these weren't the white, male guards I had been greeted by before. These were ponies of all colors, and even genders! I was confused at first, so I gazed at Twilight. She didn't pay any mind to me.

The room snapped to attention without a word, a pin-drop silence screamed into my ears.

"Room, at ease." Celestia casually ordered. She need not raise her voice. When there is a force that disciplined, her voice would carry for miles in the silence they'd given her.

The sisters walked in a single 4-person detail down the sides of the seats towards a flat strip of marble at the bottom. It looked like the sort of area you'd give a presentation in. There was even a chalk board sideways in the corner of the room. The dust on it, however, suggested its disuse. At this time, the guard silently murmured and took their seats.

My footsteps were loud, as my bare feet slapped the hard, cold ground. Several eyes broke attention to gaze at me. I didn't yell quite yet, but soon, I would.

Celestia stepped in front of us. I saw Luna standing beside Twilight, I moved to join their line.

"5th, you have been briefed on the nature of this gathering. Time is a priority, as we could lose our captured asset at any given time. Therefore, this ceremony will not drag on quite as long as a formal change-of-command ceremony. Instead, I now relinquish my immediate command over you. Please keep in mind that you are still expected to follow the uniform code, and should you commit acts of traitorism under this new human's command, you will be met with force. You are still given the benefits of the guard, such as the right to report commanders creating misconduct, treason, or unnatural order. My orders will now be passed through Staff Sergeant Grayson, the human in the room." Celestia spoke, slowly gazing throughout the crowd. She took a deep breath, and turned around. Making eye contact with me, she stepped to my right and joined the detail. I followed her with my eyes, when she was beside me, I looked back to the front to find Luna standing in Celestia's place.

"Under the order of my sister, and the consent of the guard, I relinquish my order and duty to Staff Sergeant Grayson, the new temporary commander of the 3rd Platoon. If this passes over well, he will quickly teach the entire Company his art of war. From there, you will aid him in teaching the entire guard. This is one invasion we cannot possibly risk losing. We win, or we die. There is no area between. My orders, as my sister's, will now be passed through Staff Sergeant Grayson." She looked in my direction, and moved to take her position at my side.

Twilight now stepped out from my left, she looked nervous as she took a position on the tile. All eyes were on her. Before she started speaking, Celestia whispered to me without looking.

"You are next, you must simply warn them of the hardships coming, and the logic behind your teachings." She advised as Twilight began to speak.

'You didn't tell me this the four-hundred hours it took to get here?'

I realized that I could do exactly what our Drill Sergeant did in basic. (Me being Elliot and I's). I quickly snapped to parade rest and held military bearing.

Twilight was just finishing her speech.

"...I relinquish my duties and command over this platoon to Staff Sergeant Grayson. All of my orders will now go through him. Thank you!" She chirped unusually, and walked back right at me. She nodded as a non-verbal cue in my peripheral vision.

I marched firmly several steps forward and snapped to the rest position. Parade rest with allowance for head movements and speech. I gazed directly into their eyes. Moving my head erratically to assert myself. My heart was exploding in my chest. This was an entirely free-verse speech.

"My name is Staff Sergeant Grayson. Where I come from is not important. But what you will know is that I have learned from the best, meanest, and most ruthless killers in this entire god-damn universe. I will be teaching you, under the advisement of the princesses, who will be assessing the efficiency of my training. The next days following will be straining, hard, and confusing. But please keep in mind that my procedure will lighten each day. Each day you will become smarter, harder, more efficient. You will understand my ways, you will learn how to avoid my attention. I will be mean, I will seem angry, you will question my sanity, and your own. Many of you will shed tears, and lose sleep. Many of you will feel like you have lost the last bit of individuality you had left, only for things to get worse. This is the phase one, the hardest phase. You will not enjoy it, you will remember it, but you will learn. This is a short phase, it teaches you my mentality, how to survive in the bleakest of combat situation. The next phase, I will teach you how to fight. Not only how to fight, but how to fight together. How to use numbers to overwhelm cleverly. You do not understand my training methods, and won't for years to come. But should you feel the need to quit, to give up and go home to cry yourself to sleep like a coward, remind yourself that this is two-thousand years of military science behind my methods. They work, no matter how mentally violent they can be. If I go to far, you are given permission to request to see me in private for advisory. Do I make myself clear?" I shouted.

"Yes sir..." The crowd mumbled randomly.

"I hope everyone just hiccupped at once, because that had BETTER not have been your weak attempt at a response to me." I complained.

"Yes sir!" They shouted this time, although not quite in unison.

I closed my eyes, pretending to swallow anger.

"You will learn!" I announced. Stepping to attention, I preformed an about face, marched back to my spot, and preformed another about face.

Twilight leaned in nearly immediately.

"You aren't going to hurt them, are you?" She pleaded.

"I won't hit them..." I nodded.

There was an awkward silence. I looked to the princesses, who were both staring at me.

"Ma'am, permission to begin the training?" I tried to sound sweet and innocent, but not sarcastic.

She raised her brows at me and nodded like I should have known in the first place.

"All of you, OUT OF MY SIGHT! Formation out of this door, facing to the rear, you have TEN SECONDS!" I used my diaphragm to increase the volume and attitude in my voice.

They gazed around quickly with uncertainty.

"You just used THREE, GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES AND MOVE!" I ordered more loudly, stepping forward and waving my hands at them.

They immediately jumped up and crawled over each other to reach the door. Some leaped seats, others shoved their way through.

"SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT... EIGHT AND A HALF!" I held in a grin, I had never been in charge before. This was a new, but fun experience for me. I was responsible for them. I wasn't nervous, I was amped up.

"TEN SECONDS AND YOU'RE ALL STILL CRAWLING ASS!" I shouted, moving up towards them and waving my arms to rush them.

I looked behind me, they all looked confused. Twilight bit her lip in nervousness, Celestia gave a look of disapproval.

"You'll understand soon. Very soon!" I assured them, and turned to continue yelling.

Call to War

"Do you maggots understand the severity of this situation, if none of you can step up and lead the rest of these idiots, you're all going to die! Is this point not getting through your thick skulls?!" I ran frantically around a large platoon assembled in the courtyard. I had them organized into four squads, two small platoons.

"Let me repeat the question, then. Which few of you shitbags are going to fulfill my platoon leaders, their NCO positions, and company commander positions? I need answers now, or Joe bag-o-donuts is all you have to depend your lives on!! You're all dead meat the first ten minutes we step on their soil!" I stopped to stare at a rather young individual before moving on.

The group remained totally silent.

"Alright shit-for-brains, I guess I'm deciding." The formations was in 3 long elements, I walked between the elements calling out random looking individuals. Some male, some female. "You, you, eugh, yeah you, you, you for sure, and you. All of you, form a line in front of the formation. Now! MOVE!" I frantically gestured, and the several bolted from various sections of the group and lined up.

They shuffled nervously out of formation, clopping noises brushed the courtyard under the eyes of the royalty inspecting my methods.

"Well take your time, wouldn't want you to feel rushed or anything! It's not like you're all giving the enemy time to dress up for the slaughter!" I shouted, waving my arms.

They formed an element of 6 ponies, different colors each.

"There you go, do any of you have any confidence in your own leadership potential?" I asked, walking slowly behind the element.

The one second to the left, a green pony with a yellow head of hair that trailed down his neck raised an arm.

"Oh! Well goooood afternoon new company commander! What's got you so confident?" I asked, running past the female to his left to face his front.

"I'm the current company commander!" He shouted.

I looked to the left, then to the right. It was deadly quiet.

"Who are you talking to?" I muttered, leaning right in front of his face, no more than an inch away.

Several of the individuals cringed as they recognized the problem.

"You." He stared straight through me.

"You, who?" I glared in return.

He stared blankly for a few moments, before his pupils contracted to pinpricks.

"You, sir." He whispered.

I stared at him for nearly an entire minute, no movement, and no words. I only needed him to see my soul, through my eyes.

"Fuck up like that again..." I began softly, before leaning forward and shouting directly into his face. "And you're going to lead this charge, without as much as a slingshot to protect yourself. Do you understand me?!" I shouted, jabbing a finger at his face.

"Yes!" He paused. "Sir!"

I growled and stood upright, I began to feel the stress. I relied on these idiots to save Elliot, this wasn't a funny game, this was Elliot's entire existence. I couldn't fail him. Moving to the left of the element, I walked through, counting off, yet skipping the company commander.

"Musketeer platoon commander, Betty platoon leader, Musketeer-alpha squad leader, Musketeer-bravo squad leader, Betty-Charlie squad leader, Betty-delta squad leader." I stood back in front of the formation, facing the element, and the formation they stood before. "From this point on, these are your command positions. I expect you all back here in exactly one hour with the following: Specific individuals evenly distributed to their squads and squads to platoons, ranks to wear upon your uniform that correspond to your current positions, the rest of you are hereby revoked of rank. You are now the first company in your history to obey human tactics, and therefore you must start from square one, and prove to me the ranks you all deserve. I will not strike you, and will not force you to obey me. If you feel I have severely mistreated you, or you feel threatened, alert me. Otherwise, there is always an option to quit, and lay your uniform forever to shame. Otherwise, you all from here on out will address me as Sergeant First Class, or Sergeant. Not sir, Sergeant! You will show your upmost courage, and confidence. In the next week, I will teach you to rely on each other as family, to think as one unit, and to destroy any civilian spirit in you, so that you may perfect the killing machine you have signed to become! Do I make myself clear?" I shouted, gazing from eye to eye.

They muttered a mixture of responses.

"Was that a yes, Sergeant, or did somebody just shit themselves? Tell me like you've got a stomach, now!"

They shouted a resounding response that rattled the courtyard.

"Because I am tough, and because the training will be grueling you will learn to hate me. But from me you will learn to survive, and to kill the enemy in any means possible, so that victory is guaranteed! You will do things you never knew possible, but believe me, you will win this war!" I turned to the company commander, looking him in the eye. "You have got one hour to have platoons, and squads organized and ready, as well as ranks in order. Get it done, and bring your company back here. Do I make myself clear?" I asked.

"Yes Sergeant!" He screamed, I felt my face dampen.

I couldn't help but grin at him, looking him dead in the eye.

"You will show me confidence like this, every second of the day. And you will teach them, more than I, to do the same." I wiped my face with my hand. "But spit on me again, and by God's mercy I'll kill you. Now, take command." I backed away from the formation and stood at attention.

"BOLD COMPANY, Dis-MISSED.

Author's Note

WAY OVERDUE I WANT TO DIE! I sort of want to redo my other story "Never Bring Me Down", but I lack motivation. Hey, if you want to contact me, shoot me a comment! I LOVE seeing that there's new comments on my story! It helps me improve. Sorry for a long wait for a puny chapter, I'm working on my routine. Also, 2 brand spanking-new stories are coming soon!

Wartime Preparations

"That's all it is? How does this work?" Twilight looked back and forth between my disassembled rifle, and the drawings, scanning for details.

"Look at the purple paper, that one's all about how you can make these usable yourselves. I'm thinking of wearable firepower, things of that nature. Perhaps even inner-facing sights." I explained. Outside, the sounds of screaming and running echoed over the now-perfected obstacle course. The company commander was shouting at the platoon commanders, everything was panning out perfectly.

"I understand that," Twilight began, the two princesses leering over her shoulder at the drawings. "-but I want to know what makes them function." She looked at me upwardly. "And to be honest, I'm not sure these unorderly training methods are efficient."

I took a deep breath, catching my thoughts. "Trust me, you will see. I'll explain the training process when there's time, but Elliot is my only concern right at the moment, you understand." I looked between Celestia and Luna. "But as for the functionality of the firearms, you are skipping almost 200 years of evolution. These are already complex, and have a lot of moving parts. The shooting part is all in the bullet, the gun here..." I gestured, "-only controls the distribution of the shots."

"Well what is the purpose of putting explosives inside of the bullet?" Luna asked, looking closely at a magazine on the table.

I sighed, grabbing the diagrams, and laying them open and apart on the table.

Deep within the Changeling Empire...

The cavern was gorgeous, despite being full of such sinister insects. Stalagmites and stalactites blanketed the well alive cave, dripping with fresh water. Inside of one area, a dinner table was set. A feast of various meats and wine was laid out before Elliot, confronted by a friendly Colonel.

"I do apologize for the rough procedures, my soldiers were having some difficulty getting you here." The creature grinned at me.

"They tried to stuff me into a dog-sized wooden box..." I complained.

"I see, it's just that you were struggling, so aggressive force was necessary." He explained, looking at the table.

"I was trying to stop them from stuffing me into a dog-sized wooden box." I replied.

"I understand your concern, but you're safe now! From those foul creatures. We will keep you safe." He asserted, smiling innocently.

"I see, safe. What about Grayson?" I asked, taking a long drink from my wine glass.

The officer closed his eyes and took a deep breath, looking down at the table with a solemn expression. "I was hoping you'd neglect to ask me about your poor friend." He took a long drink from the wine glass ahead of him.

"What, about, Grayson?" I pressed, more seriously than before.

He hesitated once more. "Your friend will not be accompanying you, for he has lost his life." The Colonel gazed upward for a moment, before turning his eyes to the ground.

My face went numb, my entire body letting out a deep breath. I felt my heart freeze over, ceasing to hold meaning. "What do you mean? You can't be serious, there's just no way. Not Grayson." I spoke aloud, telling myself. I felt sweat cover my body, and tears fill my eyes.

"I could tell you the details, give you the logs, but I doubt you would want any of that. Just please believe me, that it was a horrible accident. No one's fault, he was simply afraid. I'm sorry." He sat back and downed the last of his wine glass, setting it gently on the table as to not make a single sound.

A stale silence plagued the room. I started to cry.

"But what is important, my friend..." The Colonel got out of his chair and slithered up beside me, holding a wine bottle in his hand. "-is that you are not sharing such fate. You are here, the powers that be chose you to carry on his story. You are the last of your kind, as far as yourself, or I know. How will you choose to live out your race?" He poured me a glass of wine, full to the brim. "Will you sit down and surrender, show cowardice? Or will you carry out your commander's wish, and take the fight to the slaves of the princesses? In his last moments, Grayson cursed those terrible ponies, cursed them for his death, and all of his pain. Will you answer his call, or will you surrender your meaning, your race's very hope here?"

I looked at the table, hardly listening. I took a long, slow drink.

Author's Note

Sorry about the slow updates lately. I read my comments and fan-mail! Feel free to drop either!

Operation Counterbalance is a Go

Two days to invasion.

"Get on over! What, suddenly you can't preform the basic function of jumping Blue?" I shouted.

"Sir no sir!" She grunted, throwing her body weight directly into the wood for a third time, finally reaching over the pole.

Several comrades ran behind her, pushing her over and cheering her on.

'It's perfect. Well... Almost.'

Two days to invasion. Two days to prepare this band to effectively utilize weapons they've never touched in their lives. Weapons none of their kind ever has. Canterlot's engineers of all over were failing to produce the pony equivalent of even a basic musket. I provided as many documents and explanations as I possibly could, but to no avail. Or so I thought...

"Grayson! Hey Grayson!" Twilight grinned, sprinting across the courtyard at one-hundred meters before taking flight and sailing towards me, landing several feet away. At this time I realized how large the wingspan truly was, Much larger than the other ponies with wings, she was almost intimidating at full outstretch.

Almost.

"What is it?" I turned to face her entirely.

"We've done it! We produced the first Equestrian firearm! The blueprints you gave us yesterday were all we needed! It's complete!" She yelled like a giddy child.

I couldn't help but crack a grin. I was, however, curious.

"What cartridge? You know, the bullet?" I inquired.

"Oh that!" She rolled her eyes in thought. "12mm. It produces a lot of punch backwards, but it works. We were blasting bricks into pieces!"

"Outstanding, when will these be ready for my company?" I looked behind me at them, a formation appearing at the end of the old obstacle course.

"Tomorrow. Every one of them. As well as enough training ammunition to allow you for 50 shots a pony. We expect that many, that is. The rest of the ammunition will arrive on the day of invasion.

"That sounds fantastic. Thank you Twilight, sincerely. For everything. It's nice to be on your side." I smiled.

She grinned widely. "My pleasure!"

Something itched inside.

"Didn't you tell me you weren't just a princess? Back on the way from the forest? You have a title, I'm fairly sure."

"Me? Well, I don't- oh. You mean Friendship, right? Princess of Friendship? Or Element of Magic?" She turned her head.

"Friendship, right. Tell me, you're very eager to blast that island to pieces. Some of these veterans may become casualties. And many of the creatures of the enemy will. Why are you so keen on helping us attack them?" I held my smile, but looked into her eyes, focusing on as much as a twitch.

"Oh..." She averted her gaze. "These are not friends by any means. I've experienced what they can do. And I know that it is for the better safety of everypony for them to be put in check." She looked up at me, slowly. "Do you want to know something? The ships can't sail to Equestria from the East. They haven't been able to for months. Can you guess why?"

I thought, then shrugged.

"The changelings block the East?" I guessed.

"Exactly!" She pointed at me. "The changelings have been boarding or entirely seizing Griffon ships. They can no longer reach us unless they go through the frozen North. We can't afford foreign goods! And it's dropping our relationships with their empire!" She was speaking very loudly. "I count on you to set a lasting impression on them, so that they can't even sleep at night without fearing the very word 'Equestria'."

I grinned.

"Can do. I'll get these troops out on deck 7/B where you showed me at 0700 sharp. That alright with you?" I asked.

"Definitely. See you there!" She waved as she turned and took flight.

"I returned the wave, turning back to my company."

"Good news ladies & gents!"

0630 hours, company barracks.

"Good morning diamond dozen! Up and at'em!" I slammed on a locker with my palm, making as loud of a noise as I could. "Get up! You're half an hour behind, be dressed and lined up yesterday!" I waved my hands erratically towards the large, tin door that sealed the barracks.

Moving outside, the troops lined up one by one in full guard gear. A short march through Canterlot would bring them to the courtyard.

"Forward, march!" I shouted, the company shifted forward, moving into step towards the outer gates. The enormous, golden gates were swung open by the night guard, who stared daggers at me personally.

We marched through, straight into the civilian streets. Suddenly, lights began to illuminate the road. Candles, torches, and magic lit the way. Noises filled the air, cheers, shouts, excitement. I looked up.

Above us in many tall houses, lights were on. Ponies leaned out and cheered at the formation, slamming hooves on the walls. Several flowers or pieces of cloth rained from above, along with other stray objects.

The cheers continued as we travelled down the densely populated road, beating sunrise to the landing pad just outside of a tunnel in the city walls. We marched through the tunnel, and left the city behind. The cheers with it. As Twilight became larger at the end of the tunnel, I decided to give a few words of motivation.

"Those cheers are for you, comrades. Listen to them, and acknowledge that you are depended on. Think of the enemy not as sentient beings, but dirt, and you're the janitors. Clean up the mess that is the enemy, and do it better than anyone ever has. Kill the enemy before he has a chance to know your face. Canterlot pleads for it!" I shouted.

"Company... Halt!" Sixty-some hooves slammed to a halt together, standing at attention.

"Hey Grayson!" Twilight chirped, the two guards beside her snapped to attention in front of the large crates behind her.

"Hey Twilight! It's all there?" I asked, looking to the crates.

"They're all there. You'll have them fire at the mountainside, just over there." She pointed a hoof to my left, at the mountainside. A large grassy plain was growing up the indicated area.

"Absolutely. Company, fall out! Form a line, prepare to receive your weapons!" I ordered, as they turned about and began to shuffle into a line, filling it with conversation amongst themselves.

"What should we name it?" One asked.

"The Mueler!" Another replied.

"Where in Tartarus did you get Mueler?" A new voice chimed in.

"Grayson." Twilight approached from behind.

"Yeah?" I turned around.

"We have the head of Canterlot Engineering, Pearl Flow, here to teach them how to use these. I suggest you listen. She had to fly out to grab some documents, she'll be here any- oh! There she is." Hooves clopped down behind me.

I spun about to see a pearly-colored Pegasus female, magenta eyes seemingly glowing in the moonlight.

"Zdrasvuytye!" She spoke in a thick accent, or perhaps a lisp. She held out a hoof.

I reached out and grabbed it, shaking the appendage.

"She's from the North, but she speaks Equestrian fluently." Twilight chirped.

"Interesting." I murmured to myself, turning back to Twilight. "So are we ready to get the banana bus moving?"

"We're ready to start supplying, now. Have them get into a formation with the weapons, then the ammunition will be evenly distributed, then there will be instruction from the Head Engineering, then we will practice drills." She explained.

"And the civilians? Won't it be somewhere around 07-my ass-hundred by the time the powder starts booming?" I asked, looking back towards the town, only several hundred meters away.

"They'll have to live with it. We can't afford to be less prepared than the enemy. They know their island well, and they're experienced in guerilla tactics." She looked uncertain, only for a moment, then it was gone.

"Well, I suppose if I have your permission." I agreed.

Twilight turned towards her guards. "Sentries, start issuing weapons." She ordered.

They silently saluted and reached back into the boxes. I looked closely at the sentries, one female and one male. Each the same coat color, eye color, and hair color. White, blue, blue.

'This place has a lot of girls. I wonder if men had to fight for rights here. That'd be funny. And, very sad.'

As the firearms were handed out, the sky suddenly bloomed a purple, then red, orange, then finally blue. The sun was now high in the sky.

"Celestia raised the sun!" Twilight smiled at the sky.

I cast her a sideways glance, than looked back toward the mountainside.

Each rifle had a somewhat large hole, attached to a strut structure that held it onto their backs. They had to be fastened into the suit, which then offered the gun on the right, and levers with a system of gears and mechanical devices over the back, and controls on the left. Revealing this to be a bolt-action, magazine-fed weapon. All done to the left.

"-this, is the bolt. Pull it like this, da?" She opened the chamber and slid in an empty magazine. "It reveals the chamber for loading. Like so..." She continued to demonstrate. This was a very, very long instructional series. Suddenly, something touched my back. Goosebumps covered me, and I whirled my head around.

"Hey, sorry! I just thought you should know, those magazines of yours I confiscated, I had the engineering department take them in, and replicate them. It's the least I could do. It should work, I hope so, anyway. I should trust them more." She looked at my back, refusing eye contact.

"Is that a fact?" I turned my head.

She nodded.

Whatever got into me, I was not sure. But for a moment, I felt affection for this one. Not in a strange sense, but, the same you feel for a long-owned pet. The sense of happiness they bring you. So I scratched her head.

Apparently not an orthodox greeting.

Only the sentries noticed it, several feet behind her against the crates. They had been quiet and mostly motionless in the rear, as if someone turned them off. Both of their heads bolted straight in my direction, wide eyed and, honestly, rather fiercely.

Twilight, however, smiled and brushed my hand away.

"Thank you for that. I feel that you've just turned the tide of battle significantly." I nodded confidently at her.

She nodded back and turned to walk away. The sentries' eyes remained on me. I turned around, once again, focusing on this 'Pearl Flow', she sounded sweet and sincere, very thorough in her explanation of the new, and freshly named 'M1A1 Elliot'. half-listened, as I contemplated more pressing matters.

'Aaahhh.............. Russian, that's what that accent sounds like.'

Author's Note

HOLY SHIT I DID IT AHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHA GOD DAMN IT YES I DID A THING! As always, I LOVE comments and feedback. FEED MEEEEE

Wrote nearly this entire thing near midnight in like an hour @-@

Cycle of Pain

'KRACK-POW'

"You!" Pearl Flow shouted, "The chamber isn't cleared pink one! Get that chamber cleared!" She charged over to PFC Crimson, showing her how to clear the rifle chamber. Many hours of shooting, and the accuracy had steadily been increasing the entire show.

'She's kind bossy...' I thought to myself, pacing behind the firing line. 'She's kinda hot.' I considered. I cleared my throat. 'She's kinda a horse.' As if on cue, she turned around, meeting my gaze. 'She's really a horse.'

Something scrubbed my leg, I reached down and swatted it off.

"Fantastic shooting, comrades!" I laughed. Boulders of rock exploded at the collision of each impact ahead. A large crater had formed, and now, the rifles were poppling to a halt.

Again, something scraped my leg.

"Fucking shit!" I complained, swatting and looking angrily at my pants leg.

Twilight's leg sucked back into her body, her hoof dangling below a startled expression.

"Oh, it's you. Sorry!" I apologized earnestly. "Thought, you know, a bug or something."

She blinked, "It's fine. I just wanted to talk about tomorrow. Are you going to be all ready?" She turned her head and returned to her neutral, little smile.

"Oh, tomorrow? I've never had it easier. I get to shoot my rifle. Not only that, but at the pigs that took Elliot from us. And, to top the cake, the only thing they've got to stop us is sticks and stones. This should be a walk in the park. Regardless on whether or not my troops can shoot like a marksman." The thoughts in my head being read aloud gave me confidence, I felt more powerful than I had before, this was truly happening, I was going to lead a charge that would potentially end a race. The briefings, the night at the hospital, everything seemed to be snapping down to this moment, the moment I would annihilate the changelings. Only, there was one domino that struck too far left, apart from the others. One last thought that itched the back of my mind.

"Twilight?" I asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Yeah?" She looked back, confused.

"Aren't you supposed to be the princess of unison? Of peace?" I asked.

"Friendship, actually." She corrected.

"That sounds corny, I like unison. But why are you, of all people, making me, a newcomer, the leader of this assault? And, of all things, why do you seem so eager and excited to bring them to an end? Isn't that a little off your rails?"

She clicked her tongue, looking over me at the rifle range, and the troops forming behind it, through with their training ammunition. "That's a long one, I trust you enough to know the story, however. In short, I have personal reasons to look forward to their removal." She looked back to me, suddenly, her eyes sent signals of seriousness, a complete lack of hesitation I hadn't before witnessed. "These are monsters, capable of speech only because it's necessary to drain from their food source, us. That's what they feed upon, you know. They use ancient spells, almost as old as Princess Celestia herself. Physically, they do not change at all, but, instead, they manipulate the minds of those who look at them into believing that the hideous truth is somepony close and familiar to them. Higher level changelings have been known to even use mind-reading spells. Disguising as ponies that a pony hadn't even known they had deep feelings for. Then, they feed upon the physical energy love creates, draining the victim entirely, into a long-lasting gloomy state. Depression that sudden can become dangerous to a pony's health, and leave them with long-term damage. Their queen, Chrysalis, used this ability against Shining Armor, by brother in Canterlot. She's the one you'll have to eliminate. Without a brain, the beast cannot coordinate. If you want to know more about the changelings, I can tell you when we get back. But it looks like you're about to get your hooves full, again." She gestured to the formation behind me, at attention, prepared to march back to barracks for their last night of sleep before the invasion.

I nodded slowly, these creatures sounded like a nuisance, but something kicked in the back of my head, violently thrashing to bubble to the surface. I pushed it down and nodded, turning around to my formation.

"THIRD PLATOON, left, FACE!"

"When you guys and girls get back to your bunks, I want you all to polish those swords, clean your rifles, oil any moving parts, every single second of time you spend in there will leave you safer on the field. If you need me, knock on my door. Don't worry, the yelling's over, you've all learned the comradery and respect of an American soldier, now it's your job to put that training to good use, and obey my orders, and the orders of your senior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers. Good luck tomorrow, I'll see you all at 0500." I explained, stepping aside from the barracks door.

"3rd Platoon! Column of files, to the right-" The platoon CO stared.

"Forward!" PFC Greyhooves shouted.

"Stand fast!" Three other low-ranking troops shouted.

"March!" The CO finished, as the elements marched through the door one by one, females heading upstairs, the males to the left and right wings of the barracks hallway.

Suddenly, inside, noise. Cheering, shouting and the sounds of things moving. I looked at the windows, confused. The blinds were shut and I could not see inside. As more troops entered, the noises became louder. As the last troop entered the building, I followed in.

Lights. Smokey air, the smell of alcohol flowed into my nose and brought a warm smile to my face. Streamers above doorways, decorations on the walls, many things had changed since I had left in the morning.

"Like it?" A voice from behind.

I spun around sharply, a small violet pony at my feet.

"Ah, Twilight! I should've known." I grinned.

"Actually, all of this was Pinkie's doing. All that I had to do was stay with her when she was inside the guard buildings." She explained.

"Really? I guess I could see her being the party-loving type." I rubbed my chin.

"That's an understatement, it's how she got her cutie mark, parties are her favorite way to spend her time." She smiled. "She's unbelievably fast at setting them up, as well."

I nodded, "I smell drinks, is that wine?" I tilted my head.

"it is, but the Majors are handing them out, that way they can regulate it, of course." She started to walk to my side, I moved away and let her in, following her.

Everyone was on the first floor enjoying themselves, drinks were already in the hands of many, and a variety of foods not offered by the 2nd culinary (a peculiar division that literally delivers the food to the barracks without a mess hall), such as chips, cake, and what appeared to be cheese pizza. But two of those were certainly not on a vegan diet plan, I questioned their origins.

A troop approached me, an hour into the party. Asked about if I played sports, I told him football. It turns out, hoofball here is a sport, but not popularized nearly as much as it should be. He asked about my origins, I told him a lot about home on Earth, music, radio, television. Most of it was clearly nonsense to "Silver Spade", but the chatter relaxed me, I felt as though I was remembering my end goal, and thinking of the reward. I missed Earth, it hurt, but it empowered me.

Next, several more ponies, male and female, came and listened in, joining the conversation. These were a funny bunch, and it felt shameful that I had never seen this side of them. They seemed surprisingly eager to speak with me, interested to see the real side of me. I wouldn't doubt they would be curious. Pinkie tagged alongside later, listening to the conversations relating to Earth, she asked how everypony (still not used to the peculiar terminology) was doing, and asked if we needed anything. She seemed to like listening to this conversation in particular more than actually delve into it. She acted as though she didn't have opinions on sports, personalities, or anything. She just liked to observe, it seemed. Controversial to how she acted our last encounter.

About an hour and a half into the party, nearing sundown, Twilight was at my side. She asked me to head outside, to talk. I followed her, saying goodbye to the few guards that were still in on my chatter.

"What is it?" I asked, following her out the hallway and outside.

"I was going to surprise you, but I can't keep it any longer. They were delayed, but the rest of my friends are coming down here. They wanted to greet you before you go." She turned around and smiled, looking back ahead.

"Rarity and them? That reminds me, your friend Fluttershy, how is she? Are they getting her to talk again?" I asked.

"Oh, her." She scratched her leg. "She's going to be here, so you can see for yourself how she's doing. She can talk again, but according to Rainbow she isn't doing well. I hope that by seeing you it'll chin her up again." She seemed to talk more quietly, now.

"Oh? How is she not doing well? She did get shot a few days ago, I'd assume that's not exactly peak medical performance, but it sounds like you don't mean the wing."

"Well, Rainbow only told me so much before she said I'd have to see for myself. What I do know is that she slurs her speech, and she gets dizzy and confused very easily. And she's become very jumpy. She's probably just shaken up." Twilight brushed it off, humming quickly to mute any further conversation.

I knew well enough to know that you don't start slurring for a week just because you get 'shaken up', but I had hope, I'd leave that to determine on my own.

The sky faded, an orange color splitting the sky in half, the ground slowly fading to a deep blue, then to black. The sun setting to the West, right, as we walked down the long tunnel that led to the carriage landing strip. There was already one there, and colorful blobs shuffled out from it.

"Twilight?"

"Hm?" She didn't look back.

"Why are you bringing her to a party if she's shaken up?" I asked.

"Parties cheer up anypony. Especially when Pinkie does them!" She nodded confidently as we walked.

'I don't know what the logic infringement is here, but if I had a bullet tear up my insides, I wouldn't think of wine and bright lights as my first choice of treatment.'

"Twilight!" Rarity waved.

"Hey girls!" She called back, speeding up to meet up with them.

As I closed the last 50 feet, she emerged. Her hair was not its normal, curled form. It seemed straightened, with tangled hair frolicking about. As expected, her midsection was deeply wrapped in bandages, and metal emerged from them, implying some form of straightening rods. Her posture had shrunk down to the ground since last time, however, despite her appearance, she was looking about, and moving on her own. She seemed capable of thoughts, once again.

To my surprise, she didn't seem to walk slow as expected. The moment she saw me, she hobbled up to me, a bounce in her step. As I approached, she slowed down rapidly, nearly stopping an entire 10 feet away. She looked up at me with an exaggerated curve, I realized what she was on about.

Stooping lower, she took several steps closer.

"Good to see you again." I grinned.

She nodded, this close, even in the dark, I could get the close look at her eyes I needed. She certainly had the stare, the one I feared she would. She seemed to be looking through me, to something millions of miles away. Her eyes wide, her pupils small, her gaze seemingly directionless.

"In one piece?" I asked, smiling as confidently as I could. It wasn't the first time I had seen that stare.

She nodded again. Nothing more.

"You feel hungry? Thirsty?" I asked, turning my head.

She shook her head.

"Jeez, I'm going inside, she's too talkative tonight." I looked to the others, then back to Fluttershy. "Well, at least you're holding together here. Want to go inside? They've got wine!" I grinned, realizing I had only had one glass, and some ponies were getting off with three from the Major if they help their composure. I assume, as long as it isn't hangover-worthy, they could care less.

Her ears perked up, she moved a step closer, her good wing moved apart from her body several inches.

"I could do with some wine." Rarity tapped her chin.

"They've got a tank full of the stuff. Come on!" I gestured as I moved back towards the tunnel.

The guards took off in the carriage, I turned to watch them. It just felt so, cruel. My thoughts bubbled away as I whistled happily to the thought of my first drink in what felt like years, the notes fueled by my optimism that somehow, despite all previous experiences, Fluttershy's case was 'curable' with peaceful surroundings.

Author's Note

Was going to leave you guys on a cliffhanger right at the carriage part, but I figured since I've been all lazy then an extra 2,000+ words wouldn't hurt. I've also been learning to draw cartoon-y eyes. I'm working on drawings of Fluttershy's eyes so that you can get a visual, but it'll take some time. I can't draw ponies, so the eyes will be isolated on a Fluttershy background. On that note, I learned how to sort of do pony eyes in MS paint or paint.net a few weeks ago ^_^

As always, I love comments, and try to respond to my feedback. If I make a mistake, PLEASE tell me!

The Party

"Grayson! Bail that shit! The block's cooking!" I could hardly hear the sergeant shouting over the poppling of gunfire. It was nothing like the movies. No loud booms from the muzzles, no powerful flashes, we couldn't even see where the guns were shooting from. Tiny lead needles cut the air in half with the sound of party snaps, amplified into a terrible scream by the sheer force of the gunfire.

"I can't get Harmen out!" I reported, yanking back on his carryall strap as hard as I could.

In front of me, a window exploded into shards of razor blades that cut through the air. I picked up my rifle from the roof of the flipped vehicle, and dumped my magazine wildly into the vast desert.

"Grayson! They've got reinforcements! Get out now, or we can't help you!" He warned.

I screamed as loud as my lungs could produce, banging loudly on the ceiling. I looked down at the corpse at my feet, and snatched the tags from his throat.

*Bump*

My gaze snapped to my right leg. The bright orange dusk deepened rapidly into a black night. Pink hair bounced only an inch from my pocket.

She looked forward, walking close at my side. Behind me, the others were having a conversation about the carriage I had not been listening in on.

I looked ahead, we were nearly right in front of the barracks.

"Girls!" The voice was surprisingly loud, I instinctively snapped my hand behind me, grabbing at a rifle that wasn't there.

Pinkie's silhouette bounced through the brightly lit doorway, out towards us she ran.

I nodded to her as she approached, she smiled as she ran past, greeting each of the others as loudly and as brightly as to be expected of her. After she had finished the element, she turned around to face Fluttershy.

"Hey Fluttershy! I haven't seen you in a while!" She spoke much more quietly, now.

Fluttershy nodded in response, her hair covering her face. She was so close I had to keep my hand against my hip. There was no room to droop.

"Well, there's still plenty going on inside! Go meet some of the guards! They're so much different than the ponies in Ponyville!" She grinned.

"I'm sure they're an interesting bunch." Applejack nodded.

We followed her back into the smell of drinks, and the sounds of laughter. This could be the last time I ever saw some of these troops, so I walked up to the largest group I could find, and listened in.

"No, not really. Why would she want to?" A female asked.

"So that she could see what the ponies were doing. You know? Pull tabs on a few ponies, get some details, maybe that could stop an assassination one day. It could make the difference." The male defended.

"Yes, but ponies have a right to privacy, you can't just expect them to be totally fine with being spied on all the time." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"They don't need to know! It's for everypony's safety, I mean maybe there's other ways, but that's my idea." He finished, a few ponies nodding in agreement.

I looked behind me, Fluttershy's head was sweeping back and forth through the room systematically, like a guard dog.

I bumped her with my leg.

She squeaked and spun around, snapping her attention to my knee. She followed it back up to look at my face, only for a moment, before another sound caught her attention. She sweeped the other edge of the room with her gaze, her ears twisted back and forth like a radar beacon.

"Twilight said this party would be just what you needed." I stared at the back of her head. She moved an ear at me, only for a moment, before continuing to focus on the ponies in the room. "To be upfront, I don't think she knows the first thing about us." I added, looking back towards the barracks entrance.

She turned around and looked at my face for a moment, then turned her gaze to the ground. I had seen eyes with less color, eyes that have had the souls completely pulled from them before. But her eyes were so much bigger than a human's. Her gaze, in all honestly, was starting to creep me out. They looked like marble doll eyes, with pupils carved too small.

"You going to follow me around for the rest of tonight?" I asked.

Her hoof reached up and rubbed her other leg awkwardly.

I looked back to the ponies in the circle.

"What if we only inserted them into government areas? They could still be disguised, too!" The male pony defended.

"That adds too much room to expand their influence!" The female argued.

"I'm going outside." I told Fluttershy. As I moved towards the exit, I could hear her hooves thumping against the tile floor.

'You know, a drink might cool her nerves a little. Just like Elliot and I used to do, drink to forget.'

"Hey, 'Shy?" I stopped and turned around, she nearly ran into me.

'If she goes alone, maybe that little accomplishment will gain her back some confidence.'

"You want to go grab two drinks for me? I think one of them will do you well. And the other because they'll only let the 'vets have one, so you can grab me seconds." I smiled. "I'll be by the door."

She looked up uncertainly, before turning around and taking a hasty walk towards the drink table, where a line had become more of a short and scattered crowd.

I slumped at the wall next to the door, as a thought popped into mind.

'Shit wait, they walk on all fours, how is she could to grab two glasses?' I scratched my now scruffy chin, '-maybe she'll stack them?'

Something became much larger than the crowd, poking up above them. I looked across to see Fluttershy herself walking on her hind legs.

The tiny hairs on my back snapped upright, a chill crept down in response. It looked like a very awkward movement for her, she swayed back and forth off-balance. I watched her staring into the glasses, the liquid always nearly tipping out, but never quite splashing.

Stopping slowly in front of me, she extended a hoof slowly. I took the glass from her, she stared carefully at her own. I could see her shivering by the ripples in the wine.

She dropped slowly back onto her leg, now only using a front leg to hold the glass.

I stepped outside, into the much quieter night outside.

"That looked like quite a chore." I teased.

She made a faint noise behind me, it sounded as if it were vocal. I turned my head as I walked.

"Did you say something?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I can't balance myself upright anymore..." She looked towards the dirt.

"Anymore? Could you before?" I smiled, this was the first she had spoken since her arrival.

"Mhm." She nodded.

"That's quite a chore, it seems. Doesn't look like you all really have the upright posture to keep your balance." I added.

"We can all do it, I think." She explained. She raised her head and looked straight as she walked.

"You're speaking again." I quickly regretted bringing it up. I could make her embarrassed or shy, and cut the progress in half.

She sighed. "I don't know why I couldn't. I just felt, like I was-"

"I know what you mean." I cut her off.

"Is this common, where you come from?" She spoke quietly.

"What you're dealing with? You could say so. With us, infantry, it's about a quarter of all of us. But victims of violent crimes or other serious experiences can catch on just as much." I explained. "Believe me, you're far from the worst I've seen."

She remained quiet. I could feel a tension filling the air, like gasoline was filling the room, waiting for something to start the chaos. Ahead, a bench sat beside a torch. I set course for it.

"Something on your mind?" I asked.

"No." She responded quickly, she sounded nervous.

"You know, I've seen a lot. Whatever you have to say is one of the least likely things to tip me off right now." I urged, turning and slumping down on the bench.

She stopped, looked up, and kicked her feet up, turning sideways and slumping down. The way they lay reminded me of a housecat. It was a familiar, and rather cute position.

"It's really not important." She shrugged off.

"It's better than silence, I'm sure." I rocked my head back, closing my eyes and relaxing.

"I don't want to offend you." She hesitated. "Have you dealt with this yourself?"

I scratched my chin. "You see, in many cases, it's not really a temporary illness, like a cold. You're either all in, or can only train yourself to hide the symptoms. But with the question at hand, yeah, I think so. I've kept it pretty quiet from the others. But Elliot's told me that sometimes I'm not 'all there'. What you're going through, I get it."

"Oh." Was all she came back. I felt guilty, because I wanted her to ask more.

"It's not really from the killing, either. I know I've taken a lot of lives. And I know they will never know what hit them. But what I dream about, or see when it gets quiet, is how much danger I was in. Not how much danger I was."

She remained silent.

"You seem like the quiet and innocent type." I didn't know how to finish the sentence, so I left it at that.

I took a long drink of my wine, Fluttershy copied the motion, finishing our drinks at the same time.

Again, silence. My eyes closed, the dead quiet, my mind slowly drifted.

Author's Note

MMmmmmmmdo you like updates?

I already know what's coming up from the next 5 chapters or so. It's going to be REALLY twisty, but I think I like this plot line the best. Writing them, that's the hard part.

Intermission

"Gray! Take the SAW! Next to Alpha's ride!"

I spun my head around me, I could hear bullets snapping faintly overhead from any direction I could imagine. My eyes locked on target, beside a vehicle riddled with holes, a corpse with a large machine gun was sprawled out. It called for my attention.

Everything was so blurry, one moment I was emptying an entire drum into the enemy all around me, the next I had an M4A1, the next, I was leaping into a Humvee doorway and hauling wild ass away. It only lasted a second before, behind me, the bodies of 2 squads of friendlies, and multiple priceless U.S. Army vehicles, were ground to flaming dust by the roar of a 30MM cannon.

"Gray, look at me!" I spun my head to look at the red-haired Cpl. in front of me. I turned my gaze to his nametag. 'D. Elliot'. "You're going to make it! Your plate caught it!" I advised.

I looked down, my hand was on my gut. I lifted it to find blood staining a hole in my combat uniform. I didn't even know I was hit. My heart leapt into my groin, my groin leapt into my throat.

The world slowly faded black. My vision grew thinner, the dirt, the smell, the thoughts, it was all burned into my memory. It slowly faded off.

I looked downwards, something was touching my leg.

Her yellow hair splashed over her face, covering it. I don't know how long I was out, the torch was still burning, but Fluttershy's head sat on my lap. I could feel her bobbing as she took each breath. She was certainly asleep, for how long I was not sure.

I let out a deep breath, I was drenched in sweat. I felt as though it was more than a dream, as though I had just crawled out of an actual vehicle, taken actual fire, as if I had done it all over again.

'What's causing all of these attacks?' I pondered. 'I've got a really bad feeling about tomorrow.'

My stomach either turned upside down, or exploded entirely.

I reached down and, without mind, began to pet her. It felt familiar, as if it was just something I had always done. I remembered a neighbor's dog from my childhood, a big German Shepherd Boxer mix that loved me. He'd always run up and jump on me, then fall asleep with his chin on my thigh, he knew I thought it was cute, and that I'd pet him. That was all back home.

She shuffled, I don't think she was awake, but she clearly stirred.

I let my head roll back oncemore. I felt my eyelids grow heavy, once again, I slept.

D-Day

"Hey."

My eyes shot wide open, while my body remained sealed in a concrete tomb, I couldn't move.

"Gray." The voice repeated.

I focused in the darkness in front, multicolored hair parted over vibrant magenta eyes.

"Gray! Party's just about over. Twi wanted me to find you."

I shook my head and opened my eyes wide enough to adjust to the dark. Looking down, Fluttershy seemed to be sleeping sound through Rainbow's harsh tone.

"Yeah yeah, give me a minute." I held out my hand and gave Fluttershy a push, stirring her awake.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting." She teased.

"Very funny, I could just lead the camblings TO you." I bluffed.

"Changelings. And yeah right! They wouldn't last a second once I got ahold of them!" She raised her head confidently. Fluttershy raised her own head from my thigh, slowly perking awake.

"Ugh, tell your ego to stay out of our conversations." I rolled my eyes.

Rainbow mocked me in an exaggerated tone.

Fluttershy yawned, her ears cutely folding back, before locking eyes with Rainbow.

"Alright, I'll head back in." I agreed, slowly sitting upright. Fluttershy sat up and hopped down from the wooden bench wordlessly.

"Yeah yeah, just don't take too long. Twilight might start having fits." Rainbow teased.

"Fits?" I asked.

"Fits." Rainbow confirmed.

"Hasn't anyone been wining her hourly?" I joked.

"Apparently not enough. Although I have seen her get wasted, once..." Rainbow laughed.

"She's been drunk before? Didn't seem the type to me." I shrugged.

"She isn't. She just gets real quiet. You have to say her name loud enough to get her to pay attention." Rainbow explained.

"We really shouldn't be talking about her behind her back..." Fluttershy complained.

"Hey shhhh, I could use this one day." I teased.

Fluttershy turned around with a frown, "This is exactly why."

Rainbow and I laughed, before she took off back across the courtyard.

"Adios!" She shouted.

"They have spani-? Bye!" I shouted

I nudged Fluttershy with my hip, we started towards the barracks once more. The castle was outright black as night, save for several torches lining the walls, which only lit up thin bubbles. I turned to look at the softie, her gaze quickly shifted downward, I could see her eyes at an angle. Wider, brighter, perhaps my optimism, but she didn't look quite so on-edge.

Re-entering the barracks, first floor, the decorations had been taken down, tables folded, the majority of the officers had left the building. It appeared that fun and games were over. Tomorrow was the day, I would prove myself not only to the sentient beings who may possess an ability to return me to my unit, but also to Elliot, who, as it stands, would likely not make it home at my side. Most of the females were already upstairs in bed.

Across the marble floor, Twilight turned from Rainbow to face me across the room. She smiled and took a slow pace towards us. The guards, sliding bunks back into place, moved out of her way.

"Good, you're back. You all set for tomorrow?" She asked, coming to a stop at my feet.

"Just as set as I was last time you asked." I grinned sarcastically.

"Just keep yourself safe out there. Please." She looked at my chest.

"Safe? I'm always safe!" I joked.

She gathered the other girls, the group headed outside of the barracks, and gave our farewells.

"Be safe, see you when you get back!" Pinkie enthusiastically shouted, waving.

"Take care, when you're all back in one piece, I'll have to do something about that drab of yours..." Rarity raised an eyebrow at my camouflage.

Applejack took a few steps closer, I had hardly ever spoken to or interacted with the orange country pony before. To my surprise, she stood on her hinds, and hugged me. She only reached up towards rib height.

"Please bring him back in one piece." She whispered.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, "I'm sure he's just as much of a pain in the neck to them as he was to us."

She stepped back, Fluttershy smiled and dipped her head slightly. "Be careful." Her pupils once again shrinking.

"C'mon! It's like all of you expect me to go get myself blown apart! If you guys wanted me gone that bad, you could've taken me out yourselves!" I teased, laughing.

Only Twilight awkwardly played along the joke.

"Look, we're in the lead here. I doubt we'll be facing much opposition. They just can't handle this level of technological supremacy." I shrugged.

"You're absolutely right. But it's a good idea to stay cautious." Twilight advised.

"She's right, what if they're waiting for you?" Applejack commented.

"Oh don't be such downers! Gray's a professional!" Pinkie cheered.

"There! Someone with optimism!" I pointed at Pinkie, who smiled in return.

The girls seemed tense to get back to the pad and head back along home, I knew it was time to part.

Seeing her head hanging low, I ruffled Fluttershy's hair. Her teal eyes stared up at me for a moment. The girls turned and walked down the trail. She turned her head, then quickly followed suit. She turned her head towards me one last time.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

"Ciao!" I hollered.

Seeing the life of the party heading off themselves, I looked at Twilight, my fatigue coming over me, I yawned. It was time to sleep.

She nodded in agreement, and turned to walk up towards the kingdom above. As I retreated into a darkened barracks, full of partied-out, and high-spirited soldiers.

I remembered the eyes, pale blue marbles with no life. It made me feel uncomfortable. It told me, somehow, that my duties here were far from over. I tried not to believe that these were a foreshadowing of the day ahead, but somehow I couldn't deny the coincidence. Nightmares swallowed me like prey caught between a wolf's teeth.

"Rise and shine!" A high-pitched voice cheered, rapping on my private door.

"Go away!" I covered my head with my pillow. I had been waking up repeatedly throughout the night, and had been awake for quite some time.

"You know I won't stop until you come out." Twilight insisted.

"Why don't you lead them?" I complained.

"Because 'you're a professional'!" She mocked Pinkie's tone. "She meant it, you know. She'd be disappointed if you abandoned all hope now."

"If you're going to embarrass me in front of my platoon, you'd better have a bigger one." I warned.

"For fuck's sake!" One of the soldiers shouted from the deeper halls of the barracks.

"Inconsiderate, isn't she?!" I shouted back.

"I'm coming in." Twilight warned, opening the door before finishing her warning.

"You know, I'm pretty sure there's a moral code that you give more notice than the middle of a sentence." I teased. "What if I didn't want you to see what I was doing?"

"Well then don't do things you don't want me to see. Especially when you're running half an hour behind." She rolled her eyes.

I looked to the window, the moon lit the sky a violet color. Still absolutely dark in the foliage below.

"The sun isn't even bleeding a single ray of light above the horizon yet. What time is it?!" I complained.

"0430." She smiled innocently.

"Sweet Virgin Mary I'm late!" I panicked, bolting up from the covers in my trousers and white tank-top, running straight into the hallway. "Rise and shine you mmmmmmmmmother fuckers we're late!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"You mean you're late?" Twilight covered a smirk with a hoof.

"Hey, there's no I in team." I guarded.

"Mhm" She turned to face me, "The Colonel wants you on landing pad Grayhound in an hour and a half, they have the 2nd carriage division there to deliver you to Baltimare Intercontinental for your ship ride. Two Royal Sea Stallions will lead the assault, which will fire their cannons onto the beach far prior to landing. Then, your platoon's boat, the "Sea Serpent", will attack the beach, and destroy any targets of opportunity along the way. Still got it?" She raised her eyebrows.

"No, I slept through all of your briefings." I rolled my eyes. "Yes I got it. You do this every day. It sounds like a piece of cake."

The female barracks, on the floor above, thumped as females struggled into their armor.

"I guess soldiers aren't as obedient where you come from." She raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"I guess leaders aren't as bland where I come from." I stuck out my tongue, she giggled.

"I'll be sure to bring crayons next time." She teased.

"Please?" I replied.

One chance...

"Come on slow pokes! They don't want to wait for us!" I shouted.

"Get moving platoon!" The platoon CO shouted.

The bright sun finally stretched over the land, casting a wonderful sunrise to walk into. The rays cast through fifteen faint onion-shaped vehicles on the pad ahead.

I approached the tallest pony, a unicorn, almost neck-height, assuming he held some sort of significance.

"Where's your CO?" I asked.

"Uh, I do not know sir." He stuttered.

"You don't know, that's great. Anyone know where the CO is?!" I asked aloud.

"Right here." A female shouted, no more than 12 feet away, speaking to one of the ponies that pulled a carriage.

"Ah, good. Platoon! Get accountability!" I shouted over my shoulder. "And you," I turned back to the girl, "-what do you need us to do?"

"Well have them load up from the rear, and head up the line, slowly filling the carts. Try to keep the higher ranks separated by one or two carts, of course. You will sit with your Platoon commander, myself, Captain Hermes and 1st Lieutenant Blueshackle. The trip to Baltimare should take us about 2 and a half hours." She briefed.

"Sounds cool, and you are?" I asked, holding out my hand.

"Lieutenant Colonel Ironwood." She took my hand and shook it, her hoof turned out much larger, and my hand only wrapped partially and awkwardly around the appendage. I smiled before returning to brief my Platoon CO.

Before long, into the carriages we went. Seeing the rear 3 carriages filled up, and the others filling up in order perfectly, I smiled and slumped back into my spot, second to front, where Colonel Ironwood was waiting.

"Get comfy." She said.

Takeoffs were uncomfortable, as always. I felt my stomach lurch into my throat multiple times. But once we reached a stable altitude, the daze of this alien world came over me, putting me out cold.

Author's Note

Please report typoes, improper language, or any other comments, questions, suggestions, or concerns in the comments. I do love me some comments. If you want to know more about the characters, or me personally, I'd be happy to answer for you. In the meantime, enjoy some other stories on FIMfic. This isn't the only story I write, but it's the only one being updated for awhile.

Close Encounter

Author's Note

Chapter not originally by me. HonestAJ4President made the first two! I DID edit this chapter.

Close Encounter

Day 1
From the Perspective of Sergeant First Class David H. Grayson, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta(more commonly known as Delta Force)

I awoke on the ground in a clearing in a forest. I slowly got up and what just happened came flooding back to me. The Blackhawk, the RPG, being thrown out of the open door. I looked around and saw my equipment and another soldier, so I grabbed my rifle and checked it. Seeing nothing wrong I began searching my pouches. Ammo, compass, binoculars, grenades, radio, journal, pen, a suppressor and my IPod. I looked at my compass and it was going haywire, so I assumed that either we were above a large iron vein or magnetics didn't work here. I got up and checked the other soldier to see if he was okay. He seemed to be unconscious and upon seeing his face I recognized him quickly. He was Sgt Elliot D. Lee, a country boy from New York, expert marksman, nearly immediately designated our team's sniper. I noticed the sound of water and got an idea of how to wake him up. I took off my helmet and went to look for the source. I found a small pond with a waterfall and filled my helmet with water. I walked back to the clearing and poked him a few times before resorting to Plan B. I poured the water in my helmet on his head and he nearly immediately woke up. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

He coughed a bit and looked up at me.

"Dude, what the fuck was that for?"

"I really didn't want to, you looked so cute when you were sleeping. However, this look like where we were before?" He realized that what I said was true and that we weren't in the Russian countryside. "We aren't in Kansas anymore Todo, you up for some recon?"

He nodded and was about to say something but was cut off by a feminine voice.

"Grab your gear and hide in those bushes." I whispered.

I scrambled towards the bushes and hid. The Sergeant grabbed his DMR and before scrambling towards the bushes.

The voices grew louder until they reached the clearing. "Stay down, don't engage unless attacked." I said looking at Lee. He nodded and looked out towards the clearing.

The owner of the voices turned out to be 6, small, multicolored creatures, alot like horses. Some with wings and horns. "-stia said that there was a large magical disturbance in this area, Rainbow. We should look for something out of the ordinary. Well as normal as you can get in the Everfree Forest."

"Well what should we be looking for egghead?" said a pony with a rainbow mane, who I assumed was the Rainbow the purple unicorn was referring to.

"Celestia said that it was a large enough disturbance to bring through creatures. We should look for hoof-prints, stuff like that." The purple unicorn and I noticed that the all pink pony was waving in our direction. I motioned for us to move back and the unicorn asked what she was waving at.

"I'm waving at the big green guys in those bushes over there, DUH."

"Um Pinkie, what are you talking about?" asked the pony I had designated 'Rainbow'

"Oh, hold on. They're backing up." I motioned for us to go faster.

Attention was thankfully drawn for us when a white unicorn said "Darlings, look over here would you. It looks like somepony poured water here recently." I now designated her 'Regal'.

"Yeah, sugarcube. And it looks like somepony was pouring it on somepony, look at the outline." I designated her 'Country'. I motioned for us to stop.

"Well it looks like whatever was here left, so why don't we leave. I don't know why but I feel like somepony is watching us." said a yellow pegasus, who I still hadn't come up with a designation yet.

"I guess you're right Fluttershy. Besides, it's almost night. Let's go girls." said the pony I designated 'Purple'
After they left, Elliot asked "What are we gonna do boss?"

"Tomorrow we'll observe where ever they came from. Today we set up a base camp, I found a pond with a waterfall. If we set up nearby we'll never be at a loss of fresh water. We'll need camouflage to hide us from predators or any ponies that try and find us. We can make ghillie suits for extra camo."

"Alright boss, lead the way."

"Hey Elliot, call me Dave." I lead him to the pond and found a small cave behind the waterfall. "We've had worse sleeping areas. For extra safety we should get some wood for supports." I opened my journal and began writing.

Day 1
Location; Unknown

SFC David H. Grayson

Sergeant Elliot "Donald" Lee and I have awoken in a forest. We don't know where, but we assume that it is not on Earth because there are talking non-human creatures, some looked alot like real unicorns and pegasi. I'll be calling them by what they look the most like now, most closely relatable to ponies. They also spoke of magic, strong enough to pull creatures onto their world. Maybe it is a strange energy that we didn't know of. This would support my theory, we will set up a small base camp in a cave behind a waterfall. Tomorrow will do recon on the creatures.

I turned the page and wrote.

Designation of Locals
Purple; Unicorn, Lavender, Black Mane with Purple Streak Notes; Seems to be leader of the group that investigated the clearing.
Rainbow; Pegasus, Cyan, Rainbow Mane
Pinkie; None, Pink, Pink Mane Notes; Nearly blew our cover, USE EXTREME CAUTION AROUND
Regal; Unicorn, White, Purple Mane
Country; None, Orange, Blonde
Shy; Pegasus, Yellow, Pink Mane

I closed the journal and put it away. I looked out towards the entrance of the cave to see Elliot trying to fashion beds out of leaves. I exited the cave and began looking for firewood. I picked up a few dry sticks and began walking back to the cave but was stopped by something growling. I put the sticks in my left hand and drew my pistol. I looked around and began slowly backing towards the cave. Deciding that this was a good time to test if radios work, I began radioing Elliot. "Elliot, I'm backing towards the cave. Somethings growling at me and I cannot identify, possible wolf, maaaybe a bear. Get your sniper and cover me."

After several agonizing seconds I got a response. "Solid copy. Don't run, if it's wolves they'll chase you." I kept backing up, slowly sweeping the pistol back and forth. "And stop. If you take another step you're gonna fall in. Hold on I got something. Yeah, tango on your left. You ain't gonna believe it."

I looked left and said "We just watched technicolor ponies with horns and wings come look for us. How much weirder could this day get?" I immediately ate my words when I saw it. There was a wolf, but it was made of wood.

"Permission to engage?"

"Granted."

Nearly immediately the wolf's head exploded. I saw another and fired at it. I heard a howl and more wolves came into view, racing towards me.

"Falling back to the base!"

I turned and ran towards the cave. Thankfully, when I turned back I discovered the wolves had cut their losses. "We need to make a door, at the very least it'll give us time before wooden wolves slaughter us in our sleep."

Elliot chuckled a bit and said "At least we got extra firewood."

Twilight couldn't understand what she was hearing, strange, unexplainable fuzzy noises, coming through as magic communication. She was sweeping through the surrounding magic field in case the magic burst caused anything catastrophic. She came across a frequency that was loud, ear-raking fuzz. Assuming it may be a strange code, she casted a strong, universal translation spell. The sentences were almost understandable. "Permission ~~~ engage." "Return ~~~ base!" It sounded like two seperate panicked stallions, she needed to contact the mayor and princess.

"Spike, start a letter." Spike got a piece of parchment and quill and prepared to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Earlier today, you sent me and my friends to the Everfree Forest to investigate a magical disturbance. We found nothing but recently poured water in the dirt. Pinkie said something about 'Two Big Green Guys' in nearby bushes. I thought nothing of it at first, just Pinkie being Pinkie. But now, I'm not sure. A few minutes ago I was sweeping the surrounding magic field when I came across a normally silent frequency that now had voices. I didn't catch their whole conversation but this is what I caught:

Stallion 1; -e just watched technicolor ~~~ with ~~~ and wings come look for ~~~. How much weirder ~~~ this day get?
Stallion 2; Permission ~~~ engage?
Stallion 1; Granted. Falling ~~~ to base.

What they said makes them sound like they're fighters. Tomorrow I will talk to the Mayor about this. Respond whenever you can.
Sincerely,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Spike sent the letter and Twilight rested back in her chair. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

Moment of Truth

"Just a moment, I need to find it again, I can't remember this one too well. It usually isn't ethical to use." Purple explains, flipping through the book.

I look to Elliot, wearing my face of surprise.

'Oh my god' I mouth to him.

He raises his eyebrows and nods, turning back to the book. He appeared to be pretending he could read some of those Chinease looking symbols.

"Oh, found it. Right here." She says, face dug into the page.

"Alright, this might be tricky. I can probably do it." She explains.

"Probably?" Elliot and I ask in unison.

"Well, there's always a chance of getting the wrong spell, or using an incorrect measurement of energy." She continues.

"And if those happen?" Elliot asks.

"Well, the nearest spells are invisibility and invincibility, but there are a few other spells around it. The worst spell that I could cast would be a very fast, and very powerful magic push. Which, I will be very careful not to do." She assures.

"That doesn't make me feel much more safe, somehow." I speak.

She shrugs. "It's for your own good. On the other hoof, too much magic may result in an endothermic or exothermic attack. Which would both do harm." She continues.

"Endo-what?" Elliot asks.

She thinks for a moment.

"It could... Theoretically... Burn or freeze you. But that's highly unlikely with me casting it." She explains.

Huh, so much for trying to comfort us about this weird shit.

"And when did I even agree to this?" Elliot asks.

"Well, you didn't really. But I doubt you'd want to be restrained or exiled as an alternative." Purple almost threatens.

Enough to shut him up, though.

"Alright, I got it. You two ready?" She asks.

"Not even close, you haven't even told us what this spell will do yet! Not like I trust this magic shit period, but this is crazy." I snap.

"Oh, the spell! Right. This is designed to allow me to enter your minds, in a way. More of a telepathic connection, where we could read each other's thoughts. It will help me diagnose some information about your condition." She explains.

"Hey! My mind's private, lady!" Elliot shouts.

"Please, I won't check anything you don't want me to. I just need to confirm for myself that you are indeed harmless." Speaks Purple.

"Noooo way." He persists.

'Not even for a scooby snack? Hah, I crack myself up.'

"I suppose if you absolutely won't take it, I could bind you. Which would make for a less pleasant trip to Canterlot." She threatens again.

"You're trying to make me nervous? We kill things for a living, lady!" He argues.

"Elliot..." I call.

"What, Grayson?"

"Shut the hell up, please." I ask, trying not to sound as annoyed as I am. "And Purple, that's a no-no. I can't let you compromise mission intelligence. This is private information, and putting it at risk is not just wrong, it's treason in every matter. I simply am not able to consent to this. I'm sorry, but you need to find another way." I speak.

She seems to think about this information for a while.

"Are you positive you can't find trust in me?" She asks, doing her best to look cute.

Yeah, not happening.

"Yes, I am. Sorry, but this can't proceed. There has to be more logical ways of proving our innocence." I say.

"None I'd feel reliable enough with. I may be forced to restrain you two." She speaks, dissapointed at her loss of spell.

"Do what you have to do, but I hope you understand that arresting us would be considered an act of aggression towards the country. If you didn't deliver us back, that is." I explain.

"Are you threatening me?" She asks, squinting her eyes at me.

"No, not directly. But if you, figuratively speaking, were to get caught taking us captive by our superiors, you'd be facing technology that you don't look to fit to handle." I warn.

"We're very well equipped, in case you hadn't figured it out, we can use magic offensively." She demonstrates by blasting a coffee cup off of the table behind her, without even looking. It quickly pulverized into a dust, blowing onto the floor.

"Oh? We have bombs, that can be dropped from so high you wouldn't have any way to stop it. Some of these bombs in question, are capable of instantly pulverizing any lifeforms for hundreds of miles, melting cities, turning deserts to glass, erupting like a second sun on land. I'm not saying America would just take it that far for us, but if you want to start a large war with that sort of technology, to test the government's limits, perhaps. I can't stop you." I slowly speak, sounding as threatening and serious as possible.

"Oh, and I suppose that would be a threat." I add.

I glance to the side to see Elliot glancing between us like a kid who's about to watch his first fight. Giddy to see me finally pissing off Purple.

She leans back a little bit, shifting into subtle nervous body language. Hardly enough for me to detect.

"You're bluffing, those cannons are your only advantage." She demands.

"Cannons? Oh, you mean firearms? Guns? Well, we do use those alot. But we could always just bomb this place with mortars, artillery, the whole bit. Hell, with enough long range explosives, we would hardly need to bring a gun here. This is all going figuratively, of course." I continue.

She sits back a while, thinking over it all. She finally swallows.

"Fine, I won't bind you, but if you attack, harm, or endanger a single life, I'll personally handle it as an act of aggression against us." She complies, failing to sound confident with her attempted backswing.

I hear Elliot whisper to himself "Hohoh my god."

"Good, now, let's move on like this never happened. I'm already on edge, and I sure as hell don't trust you, or the townsfolk a single bit. The sooner you get me out of here and back to my station, the sooner you can be left back to doing whatever it is you do. Alright?" I speak.

She visibly bites her tongue, before taking an agitated, deep breath.

"Alright. Now, here's what's going to happen, I can move you to Canterlot tonight, which I'd rather not do yet. Or we could hold off another night for sake of science. It'd be very useful to study your race, so that we may further ourselves." She explains.

'Egghead...'

Author's Note

(Writes chapter, took 20 minutes)
(Realizes a plot-hole that would've messed up storyline)
(Re-writes it, 30 minutes this time)

Well, it wasn't easy, but here you all go! Thanks for giving me the motivation to continue! I'll do my best to keep these coming. Also, shout out to my favorite FimFic story! You guys have GOT to read this guy's story, I take some of my skills from his work, and he's an amazing author to read! : https://www.fimfiction.net/story/99482/i-cant-help

Learning Experiences

That was, a really strange sandwich. It's hard to explain hay on a whole wheat bun, there's really no other comparable experience. It's exactly what it sounds like.

Only Elliot and I were eating, Twilight and Applejack suggested we not steal food, but it wasn't in their jurisdiction anymore. The food was there. And I don't care if it came out of the Pegasus' pay. She was mean.

We both lay on our backs, staring at the badly cracked ceiling panels.

"You two done now? Fluttershy is still waiting on us, you know." Twilight reminded us.

'Shit, she's right.'

"Elliot, time to go. The others are expecting us back near the house sometime soon." I turned my head upwards to look at him.

"But we just got here!" He whined.

"We got here at like, bum-ass long ago a'clock. It's time to go. We need to find out if the Yellow one's still with us." I slowly got to my feet, everything popping in my back as I did so.

Elliot groaned and raised himself as well. Applejack turned and walked outside the door, stopping just outside of it and looking to the right. Where the Pegasus had last placed herself. After a moment had passed, she turned back to us.

"What did you do to her?" She asked, pointing her hoof.

"She wouldn't let us in." I shrugged. "And she acts like she's the victim here." I replied, looking to Twilight. Who cast me a disapproving glance.

"I heard- I'm going to break you in half!" The mare shouted from around the corner.

"You know, I didn't plan to eat you before, but I'm really starting to set Thanksgiving plans for you, lady! I don't give a shit if you'd food poison the family!" I threatened.

She didn't respond.

Twilight smacked me in the side with her wing. It didn't sting or anything, but it got my attention.

"We need to go, before you put a second pony in a hospital." She warned.

"Or a grave. Or a 'Kid Cuisine'." I continued.

Elliot stifled a laugh.

"We're leaving." She quickly turned and hurried through the doorway. Elliot and I following suit.

Applejack took a place at her side as she walked past. Elliot and I looked to the right to see the mare from before. Holding a spoon in her hoof. It was bent beyond a 90 degree angle.

"See, I told you. Video games are just corrupting the youth apart these days. Making kids violent." I whispered to Elliot, who nodded quickly in agreement.

Walking back outside, the day had returned much more to normal. Ponies wandered aimlessly about the roads. All with various tasks. Eye-blasting colors dotted the crowds, many bright and vibrant colors to damage the cornea.

Twilight turned and began to backtrace her steps. Applejack leaned in close and engaged in a conversation too quiet to hear. I walked a little closer to see if I could pick up on any words, but they seemed to have noticed me and stopped until I was a fair distance away again.

Sick of the secrets, I leaned closer to Elliot.

"I want my mags back. Think I can swipe them back tonight?" I asked, nudging his arm.

"Oh, you homesick of shooting? That must suck." He patted the sidearm on his waist, his only weapon.

"I know! I need to shoot something. And no Elliot-arms will do the trick. I need more bullets to waste." I complained.

He rolled his eyes and kept walking.

As we returned to the front of the cottage, the others were already gathered, talking amongst themselves. Pinkie noticed us first, pointing and shouting.

Elliot and I shared an uneasy glance for a moment. She was a little hyper, and darty. Not only that, but I couldn't read her body language like the others. She didn't show any signals I had learned to read. She just, moved alot.

"We found Elliot at Hayburger," She turned to frown at me. "Unfortunately, HE had to harass the cashier to get in. I don't even know if they'll let me back in!" She groaned.

The crowd seemed confused, looking between each other.

"You do remember you're royalty now?" Rarity questioned, smiling.

Twilight's eyes widened for a moment, a hoof hitting her own forehead.

"I do now... Let's just get over to the hospital." She moaned, looking in the direction of a large white building.

Rarity grew a smug smile, and we all followed her to the building less than a block away.

I don't know what made me so stupid, I was such an idiot. I could have prevented this problem, but I didn't. Because I don't think.

"I'm sorry, she just can't be reached right now. The entire hospital has been converted into an ER, we don't know who or where the patients are. They are simply being stabilized as quickly as possible." The white nurse with pink hair smiled nervously, her ears flattened against her skull.

"You've gotta let us find her! I don't think I can take it if we have to wait another minute!" Pinkie shouted, breathing heavily.

"I agree, we can find her without causing any problems. You understand, right?" Twilight smiled as friendly as she could. Flattening her ears against her head, which reminded me of a dog begging for food.

The nurse stared at her for a long time, an uneasy glance as she tried to find the words to turn her down.

"I... Can't tell you what to do. You can roam freely, but please don't get too close to anypony, or make any possible distractions to them while they operate." She warned, turning her glance downward.

I briefly wondered if you could get fired for being a pushover.

"Thank you so much! You won't regret this!" Twilight grinned ear-to-ear, and walked around the counter into the bowels of the hospital. It was unusually dark, and seemed eerie. Yet not for lack of cleaning. The place was spotless everywhere except for the floor. Which was absolutely demolished with blood stains. Some appeared to still be drying.

Rarity thanked the lady again from behind us, before she laid eyes on the scene as well. It reminded me of the hospital from Scrubs, rooms lined up of various appearance in a fashion of organized chaos. There were moans from several of the rooms, and hospital traffic ran between them like wild animals.

"How many floors does this place have again, Twilight?" Applejack asked from the left side of our group.

"Three floors..." She murmured in response, looking from side to side and picking a direction.

She turned to the right and walked aimlessly, her head darting side to side and peering into each room. We walked dead down the center of the corridor, hospital traffic wandered beside us, barely casting us a glance. Too distracted in their own work.

I followed suit, as did Elliot to my left. We peered from room to room in search of our injured friend.

"There, look!" Dash shouted. She had been quiet during this entire journey, I realized. She flapped her wings as she ran into the room. Which appeared to be vacant, and was lit by the orange rays of the setting sun through a copper-colored curtain. I couldn't see Fluttershy from here, the doorway blocked her. The group was closer to her, and they all piled in before Elliot and I could get in a position to see.

Finally, we filed in, Elliot as the last link, and me only just in front. The room was exactly like hospitals back home. It even had the same technology as you'd see. This surprised me, considering I hadn't even known they understood electricity.

As I peeked around the large bathroom beside us, I found the girls surrounding their friend, who was currently laying back in a deep sleep. No signs of emergency, save for an IV dripping a clear fluid into her arm. I could only assume it was a sedative.

The room was not entirely vacant, besides us. There was a doctor in a blood-stained white coat with a blue undershirt. His fur was a grayish color, like a gray pencil, and his hair was a shade of blue so dark it almost passed as black. A plastic tag dangled from under his neck.

I immediately weaved through the girls, who ignored me entirely, and met with the doctor watching from the end of her bed.

"We're visitors, I'm medically trained and understand the effects of this type of injury. What is the damage here?" I asked, making sure to stand tall and do my best to look official.

Elliot quickly walked up to my left and stared as well, curious of her condition.

He looked to me slowly. I wasn't sure if he was tired, shocked, or just didn't care that I had spoken. He held a glance that looked unimpressed with me.

"Do you want an entire diagnosis? I see you have royalty with you." He replied, his voice a little more girly than I expected.

I turned to look at Twilight, nodding.

"Yes, everything that has happened to her I want to know. Maybe I can help. These aren't uncommon where I come from, they're a daily routine. Well, in groups, that is." I exaggerated, not mentioning military background whatsoever.

"Alright, well. You may want to listen carefully, it's a mouthful. Lung is ruptured, diaphragm is hemorrhaged, there appears to be a minor infection, yet nothing severe. 3 pints of blood are lost, and her body was in a state of shock. We aren't sure if nerve damage was an effect of this, we'll know after it's safe to remove the IV. A rib was cracked, a kidney was grazed, and the abdominal muscles were torn. A hole was opened in the wing, yet missed any major muscles or bones. Inside, her stomach was ruptured, where more damage was dealt. It appears the projectile tumbled off of the cracked rib. An artery was damaged, but didn't burst open. Yet many, many internal veins were opened." He took a deep breath, straightening his collar. "Despite this, there is very little risk of death anymore. She is stabilized. The only risk is injuries we couldn't find, or a bubble or clot in the veins. She may leave in as little as 1 month. Physical recovery could be between 2 months to a year. Mental recovery, with her... Uh..." He turned to Twilight, casting an unsure gaze.

"Don't go in to detail. He doesn't need to know." She warned, not even facing him. Staring instead closely at Fluttershy's face.

"Well, her unstable mental background could as much as quadruple mental recovery. If and really if she ever recovers mentally, it could be years. Injuries like this haven't been seen much before, so this is all theoretical science. But injures half as bad as this have left ponies mentally scarred, with severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder. Depending on how she responds internally, and what lifestyle she lives, it could worse case cause insanity and mental inability. Otherwise, she'll just be alot more jumpy than before, and likely respond violently to any triggers of the incident. As I said before, that's all we have for now. You can see her release in about 2 weeks." He finished, nodding his head.

Jabbery little mother-

"Alright, what day in particular?" I asked.

"He doesn't know..." Rainbow Dash answered from the Blue.

"It doesn't matter any way, we need to stay with her so that we can be here when she wakes up." Twilight continued, looking about the room.

"When will she wake up?" I turned to the doctor.

"She's not under a sustained sleep or anything, if that's what your asking. She's under a sedative, which will certainly make her drousy. That's likely what's happening right now. She could wake up within the next twenty-four hours. Again, we don't know. This hasn't happened before. Any information you could provide to us would be exactly what the staff needs." He looked at me hopefully.

"I can help too." Elliot added, stepping forward from beside me.

"Great!" The doctor half-smiled.

"Guys! Look!" Pinkie hastily whispered.

I turned my head to see where her hoof was pointing.

The sheets moved.

Author's Note

I have a story I just totally re-did called "Defective". It's a different take on robotics, and I'd like support on it! I warn you, it's ALOT more serious of a book. I need cover art for it, please send it! Mine was scrapped together in MS paint and it's chasing away viewers who may enjoy the story! I also need feedback and advice! The story is young and I still don't really know how I want it to feel. I think you'll all enjoy it, I want it to be a big project of mine. Thanks for reading and inspiring me to get my ass in gear for a new chapter! If you guys would like, I could blog post some information about my real life. A 'meet the author' kind of thing. Up to you all! Now, it's 2:27AM and I need to finish this all-nighter!

Unhappy with how the chapter went? Tell me in the comments, and I'll be sure not to repeat my mistakes!

The Puppet and the Conman

The dirt crunched loudly beneath my feet, this was another ordinary walk, but for some reason, my feet felt a lot heavier. Like I was dragging a wrecking ball behind each heel.

The night sky here was absolutely astonishing. No matter how much I stared at the ground, my eyes found their way back upwards. The night sky was not black, like you would expect, it was, instead, a violet color. Yet not to cover up the beauty of the stars. There were millions of stars up there. You could only see a few in our base in Kufa. Here, it was so dark and away from civilization, the entire sky was like a light show put out for me. It almost made me sad that Grayson wasn't out here to see it, too.

Almost...

Grayson was great, he gets on my nerves a lot, but he's never let me down before. He jokes around a lot, but knows enough about what he's doing to get away with it. I want to be in his boots some day, hopefully even above him. I held amazing respect for Gray, he was the role-model of the century.

Lost in my thought, I hadn't realized I could no longer see my trail. The dirt crunching under my socks was the only thing letting me know I wasn't floating. There was a spot in the night sky with the distinct shape of a hill, with some sort of structure pitching above.

'There it is...' I thought.

I spun on my heels, and took several steps before dirt became grass. The thorns would have bothered me, had my feet not already been callused to nail-break hardness. I trudged up the steep hill, reaching the top in about twenty seconds of grueling climb.

Looking around, it was still far too dark to see anything. Only the very faint outlines of trees I had to focus on to detect. I moved toward the barn with my hands outstretched. Before long, I touched something.

'Creeeeeaaaak'

A door? That's one hell of a door. Oh right! It's a barn! This must be the stable door. I hope she has a lamp or something in here. I don't know how I expect to find it without grabbing cow-thigh in the dark.

"Elliot, I thought you'd be coming here." Applejack's voice vibrated the still night, a cold and dark, yet all the welcoming breeze swept up my bag from the night's stale air. "It's just us out here, come on in." She beckoned. her voice seemed to come from all directions, echoing strangely in the barn.

"They want you back there, you should get a move on." I warned, feeling cautious about her tone of voice.

"Come on, just wait with me a little while. It's only us out here, you know~." She pleaded. "Come on, spend some time with me. It's so lonely out here in the barn." Her words were sweet, I loved the sound of her voice. Frightened at first, they were now the most wonderful thing I'd ever heard.

But something still didn't sit right.

"Applejack?" I asked blankly.

"Hmmm?" She replied.

"What do you mean 'spend time with you'?" I inquired.

"Come here and find out.~" She beckoned.

I wanted to run and ask Grayson for permission. This is very, very wrong. It probably breaks a lot of laws as well. But she sounded so lonely, like she needs me more than life itself. I walked in.

'Creeeeeeeaaaaak, SLAM'

"Applejack?"