Carmine and Carmine

Chapters

Torn Apart, Literally
Shits and Giggles
Warm Welcome
Where's the Bacon?
The Carmine Train
An Old 'Friend'
Love Carmine
Flying From Danger
Saved By The Yell
Non-Lethal Intervention
Golden Perspectives
Charge Carmine, Charge.
A Tale For Another Day
No Bacon For You

Torn Apart, Literally

On the planet, Sera, humanity lived in turmoil, fighting amongst themselves over the source of fuel, Immulsion. After many deaths and months of fighting, the war ended. The world had thought that the fighting was over. They were wrong. Strange, bipedal creatures named Locusts emerged from the ground. Invading and conquering all cities left in their wake. None could escape the eventual grip of this savage species.

Finally, the Coalition of Ordered Government’s army, or the COG, put up a large resistance from the invading force. They developed weapons such as the Hammer of Dawn system, a satellite-controlled weapon fueled by Immulsion. It fired large focused beams of heat, burning and obliterating any targets it was used against.

Spirits and morale was raised at the mention of this weapon. The humans finally thought they would gain the upper hand. This was also false. Their false sense of hope was obliterated as more hordes of Locusts emerged. Slowly, the COG stopped caring for the civilians of Sera. They fired Hammer strikes recklessly in an attempt to prevent Locusts from controlling certain areas. Though this proved right, the poor defenseless humans could only watch as they were killed in an instant.

Only ashes of the people were left behind. A silhouette reminder of who they once were. The cities were devastated and sometimes, completely left lifeless. The COG was losing all hope of victory when a breakthrough developed. A scientist named Helen Cooper developed the Lightmass Process. It was a process that turned Immulsion into usable energy.

This process later led to the building of the Lightmass Bomb, a weapon fully capable of devastating the Locusts’ home. The only problem was that it needed to be moved to a certain location. The COG sent a detail to carry out this task. They sent Delta squad, a team that consisted of Lt. Minh Young Kim, and Privates Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, and Anthony Carmine.

Kim and Carmine arrived at the prison containing Marcus Fenix in the KR Six-Four, a military helicopter. They arrived just in time to save Marcus and Dom from a Corpser. After a few minutes, they landed at Embry Square along with Col. Hoffman and Lt. Anya Stroud. After being briefed and fighting a large group of drones, they made their way to the House of Sovereigns.

Carmine was a rookie. But he wasn’t a by-the-book bootlicker. He was an enthusiastic and energetic young man. He joined the COG because all of his family had before him. It was a tradition. That and he wanted to shoot things. His enthusiasm was his major fault. After graduating from the academy, he was voted ‘Most Likely to Get Shot’. He went as far as to ignore the COG Golden Rule; Take cover or Die. This led to his downfall.

They encountered a large amount of resistance from the Locusts in the area, but slowly cleared the area. Finally facing some peace and quiet, they moved around to secure the perimeter. Carmine moved to the squad. “You good?” Kim said to Carmine. “Yeah, but I gotta problem. Something’s wrong with this thing!” Carmine said as he tried to fix his Lancer.

“Grreheh! It keeps jamming!” Carmine stood up to show Kim his weapon and it’s malfunction. “See?!” Time slowed all around Carmine. He heard the distinct shot of a Longshot off in the distance. He had no time to react as he was out of cover and exposed. He felt the bullet rip through his head as he blacked out. He died instantly.

Carmine was now floating in a void of black. He could see nothing anywhere. It was just pure nothing. He heard a noise though. He heard the faint sound of his name. “Anthony! Anthony, Sweetie! Won’t you come for dinner?” He turned his head to the side and saw a familiar figure. His mother was waving at him in the distance, her cooking apron upon her chest and her hair in a bun. A huge door with shining light coming through was right behind her.

Carmine did not even think. He ran as fast as he could towards his mother. He missed her and remembered all of the memories they shared. She was the one who had been at his bedside, calming him when he was a child. Most of his childhood, he had nightmares of the Locusts ever since Emergence Day. The day that took away the lives of many friends and family. One of the main reasons why he joined the COG.

He was not far from her now. He was only a few feet away. As he neared, his mother turned around and went through the open door. His mother’s voice echoed all around him. “This way, honey.” He leaped through the bright light. His vision was blinded and all he could feel was emptiness.

Carmine opened his eyes again. “Shit!” Carmine yelled as he bolted upright. He looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful and peaceful shade of dark violet. The stars shined above everything else, only matched by the luscious moon. “What…the…fuck?” Carmine observed his surroundings. He was in a large open field of grass accompanied by sounds of crickets.

His Lancer assault rifle, Gnasher shotgun, Snub pistol, and two Bolo frag grenades were beside him. “Well, my stuffs all here…” Carmine realized that he was not in the same place as he was before. The place he was in was a large, war torn, and wrecked city. It was noisy and explosions or gunfire could be heard everywhere. Here, there was only peace and tranquility.

Finally seeing that he was free from all of the things that could have killed him, he folded his arms behind his head and laid back down. He stared into the night sky and marveled at it’s magnificence. He slowly found himself drifting back to sleep.

He had a dream. He was in a restaurant with two of his brothers, the third being at some concert. “Hey Ant, pass the bacon!” “Sure thing Clay. Just don’t eat all of it. I want some too.” Anthony turned to Clayton the oldest of the three of them. The youngest being Benjamin, ‘The Squirt’.

“Hey guys! What about me?” Ben cut in. “Sorry kid, but I’m the oldest and what I say goes. Oh also because of One. Single. Thing.” He looked at Anthony and Benjamin with a very stern face. Then it turned into a sly smile. Slowly scaring each of them as they knew what was coming. They knew exactly what was going to happen but were frozen from shock. Clayton broke the silence. “Dibs.”

*******

It was night time in Ponyville. All of the small little fillies had fallen asleep. All of the colts and mares in deep slumber. They awaited for the next day to come. A small orange filly was still stirring though. She had a purple mane and a blank flank. She was alone. She had no family to speak of and wandered the streets silently. Elsewhere, in a close vicinity, was a mint green pony. She had a lyre upon her flank. She woke up in the middle of the night, gasping and covered in sweat.

"Humans..." She said quietly, trying not to wake the other pony in her house. She had just had a dream about these foreign creatures, going on a romantic picnic with her, while all the other ponies looked on in envy. It made her blush just thinking about it. People thought she was crazy, but she knew they existed. "Somewhere out there, theres a human just waiting for me."

Scootaloo had nowhere to go for the night. She thought of going to Rainbow Dash's house, but remembered that she could not fly. She bowed her head in disappointment as she trotted along the main road. She had an idea. 'I'll go to Zecora's hut!' She ran into the Everfree forest, ignoring the dangers that lurked in the night.

Monsters and growls were heard all over the forest. Scootaloo realized it was a bad idea. She couldn't see which road to take so she headed in the best direction; right. She kept moving until there was no more dirt path. The road ended somewhere far behind her. She was about to head back when she heard some pony screaming. "What was that?!" She said aloud. She ran to the edge of the forest and found that it lead to a prairie.

She tried to see what was in the distance but only saw very small figures. She couldn't make out any shape as they were almost a mile out. The screaming was definitely coming from this direction but she couldn't hear what it said. She was going to move up when she was stopped. A black and white hoof was on her shoulder.

"You should not be out here, little Scootaloo. There are creatures here that will give you more than just a boo. Follow me to my hut for you must stay. You can come back here another morning day." Zecora headed back to her hut. Scootaloo followed, but not before giving a disappointed glance back at the prairie. 'I'll check tommorow.."

*******

After the Lightmass Bomb was detonated, resulting in the death of Locust General RAAM and the main base of the Locusts, humanity had slowly thought to have experienced peace once and for all. Six months went by as no attacks from the Locusts had occurred. The occasional finding of stray Locusts was the only threat that loomed. All was well, until the Locusts reappeared.

Seemingly un-phased by the Lightmass Offensive, the Locusts reemerged in full force, adding more deadly and large creatures to their ranks. The captured cities and towns all around Sera. The humans were facing danger yet again. More death and pain followed this event.

This event though, was quickly responded to. Operation: Hollow Storm was brought to light. It was a massive military counterattack which set out to kill the remaining Locusts. A large offensive was underway and it aimed to go to the Hollows, an area underneath of the graves of Landown. Once again, the heroes from the previous war walked up to the plate. Delta squad was back up again, consisting of Sergeant Marcus Fenix, Corporals Dominic Santiago and Tai Kaliso, and Private Benjamin Carmine, brother of Anthony Carmine and the youngest of his family.

After an attack on Jacinto Med, they train Carmine and secure the hospital. After securing the hospital, Chairman Prescott, the leader of the COG, declared full-out war on the Locusts species. The massive offensive was underway. After receiving much resistance, the COG forces arrived at Landown, the area above the Hollow. From here, they deployed the soldiers into the deep, dark underground tunnel system that was the home of the Locusts.

Delta was split apart, Marcus and Dom in one section, and Carmine with another squad in the other. Marcus and Dom made their way to Carmine, all alone after his current squad being killed. They saved him and moved forward. They eventually reached what was Ilima. A giant rock-like worm called the RIftworm, dug a giant sinkhole under the city, causing it to eventually sink, killing almost everyone there.

Delta tried to save anyone they could but there was almost no one left. Delta was trapped in small enclosed area, surrounded by Locusts forces. They were sure to meet their end when an old friend saved them. Private Augustus “The Cole Train” Cole, a professional thrashball player, killed the remaining Locusts.

They ventured off to find Corporal Damon Baird, and found him amongst prisoner containers. They then hijacked a Beast Barge, a prisoner transport, and find Tai yet again. Only, Tai was not the same, he was tortured both physically and emotionally. He killed himself, shocking the team. They moved on to Ilima's sinkhole to be picked up by a King Raven.

Benjamin, like his older brother Anthony, was ‘green as grass’, a rookie. Like his brother, he was respectful of veterans and had a very identical personality to him. He followed in all three of his brothers footsteps, joining the COG. He was called ‘Rook’ by Delta mostly, and was called ‘Squirt’ amongst his family. Unlike his brother Anthony, though, he was a polite and kind-hearted soldier. He held the Golden Rule in high regard, only breaking it to help teammates, not out of sheer recklessness.

After fending off the Locusts forces trying to impede their evacuation, they hopped aboard. Carmine covered their retreat as they moved. “I got you back Sarge!” Carmine screamed. “Come on Carmine, let’s go!” Marcus commanded. He took a bullet to the chest but it just dented his armor. He was pulled aboard the Raven and it departed. As they were moving away, the Riftworm returned, damaging the helicopter and causing it to spin out of control.

Unable to hold onto Marcus, Carmine fell out of the Raven and into the Riftworm, which soon followed him inside the beast. He awoke inside a large fleshy monster. He looked around and found he was alone. Trying to stand up, he was attacked by white insect-like blood cells. They ripped into his body, flinging bits and pieces of his bloody meat into all directions. All he could do was scream in pain.

He heard a voice behind him. “It’s Carmine!” Dom shouted frantically. Marcus shot at the creatures as they pulled Carmine away further. They fled Carmine’s shredded body, leaving him to bleed out. “Get the hell off me!” Delta rushed to his side as he felt their poison slowing melting his insides. He groaned and moaned as he looked to Marcus who was now on one knee.

“S-S-Sarge?” “Carmine…” Marcus answered sympathetically. “I-I hurt, Sarge…..I…..tell my brothers…..my ma……..tell ‘em I love ‘em, and…..and….” Marcus could do nothing but stand by him in his final moments. Carmine coughed blood onto his helmet, trying to finish his statement. But his heart had finally given out, the poison melting it.

He was in a large white area. He was on some sort of solid ground, yet there was nothing. He looked around for any existence. There was nothing. He walked for what seemed like eternity before he heard two voices from behind him. “Yo, Squirt! We aren’t gonna wait any longer!” He turned to face his older brothers. They motioned for him to follow and he did.

He missed his brothers. He hadn't seen Clay since Ben first enlisted. As for Anthony....he was dead. He died within the first hours of the Lightmass Offensive. They had not told the Carmine family much except he died saving lives and that he brought honor to both the COG and his family. He had longed to hear his dead brother's voice again. Even though, it has been almost half of a year, he still remembered what it sounded like.

He could hear some skittering noises behind him. He glanced back and saw the creatures again, only bigger. He started to run frantically, towards the two who would protect him from anything. But each step he took, they seemed to move farther and farther away. The creatures on the other hand, got much closer.

He was scared beyond his wildest dreams. He ran and he ran, losing sight of them. He suddenly tripped, fumbling all over himself. The creatures were upon him. He closed his eyes to the horror that was going to happen a second time. They tore and picked at his body, but for some reason, he felt no pain. He opened his eyes back up, and didn’t see the creatures, but two friendly figures extending their hands.

“Come on, kiddo, we gotta get home if we want chicken soup!” Clay said urgently. The next thing that was most delicious to Clay besides bacon was chicken soup. “Don’t forget the ham sandwich. Shit yeah!” Anthony added. Ben grabbed their hands as they pulled him up into a dark night.

He couldn’t see anything. “Oh shit! I’m blind, I’m blind!” He waved his arms frantically but couldn’t see them. Then he looked again. “Oh, it’s night time…” He felt like a dumbass. “Wait…” He remembered, he had no stomach or legs left because of the monsters. His eyes ripped through his eyelids, figuratively, and he arched forward. He stared in shock at his legs.

Only, there weren’t any legs. He looked in horror as he saw what they were. They were….They were…..Still legs. He just couldn’t see anything because a butterfly landed on his helmet visor. “My legs, holy shit! My legs are still here!” He grabbed his legs, trying to hug them, and was tearing up underneath his helmet. He screamed ecstatically. He was so loud; he could be heard fifty feet away.

Anthony woke up, hearing a pop, a drool bubble that formed around his mouth had done this. The reason he was awake however, was because of loud yelling or roaring. He was mad. ‘Who was ruining his awesome ass dream?” He stood up and equipped his weapons.

He walked toward the source and was ready to kill or beat whatever was there. His Lancer fell to the floor, leaving a loud thump, being in shock at what was off thirty feet from him. Benjamin heard this thump and turned around, only catching a glimpse of a figure. The darkness of the night shrouded the person’s details. The silence was mind-bending until the words came.

“Ben?”

Shits and Giggles

“Big bro!” “Squirt!” The two brothers started running at each other, ready to embrace in a brotherly hug. Then Anthony paused and motioned his hand, telling Benjamin to stop. “Wait. Wait! Hold Up!”

A kickass idea popped up in Anthony’s head. “We should run in slow-mo, ya know, like they do in the movies?” Benjamin was a little annoyed that Ant had wanted to stop this precious moment for something so silly. But then again, he hasn’t seen his brother since he Anthony enlisted, and….He always wanted to do it. “Why the hell not?”

They continued their running and extended their arms, except in slow-motion this time. “Bbbbbeeeennnnjjjjaaammmiinnnn!!!” “Aaaaannnnnttthhhooonnnyyy!!” they took three minutes to reach each other, repeating the words at least five times. This action, if normal-paced, would have taken seconds. But then again, the Carmines were jackasses.

“I’ve missed you so much, Ant.” Benjamin was crying under his helmet. “Me, too, squirt. Me too.” He patted on his little brother’s shoulder. “Alright, you can let go now, this is getting gay.” Benjamin didn’t respond. “I said, it’s getting gay!” Still nothing. “Don’t make me get the porta-pottie!” He let go after hearing this and walked away, without even saying a word.

His memories were fun, but would be disturbing to others. Whenever his brothers said the phrase ‘Don’t make me get the porta-pottie’, it reminded him of his unluckiness. When he was a child, he had the worst of luck. When they were on a trip to the outdoors, Benjamin had to use the bathroom. Luckily, there was a porta-pottie nearby. He went in and shut the door behind him.

He felt the walls around him move as if they was about to fall over. “This is Clay Carmine.” “And this is Anthony Carmine.” “Welcome to Jackasses!” What happened shortly after haunted his mind forever. He quickly felt a burning liquid travelling up through his throat.

“Just kidding, kid. Jeez. Take it easy.” Anthony walked towards his brother. “So..what’cha been up to?” Benjamin was a little shocked at this casual question but answered regardless. “Nothing much, joined the COG, as you can see. Last I remember, we were going to finish the Locusts once and for all but I….died.”

If helmets could make expressions, Anthony would have his blue eyes wide open. “What?!” “Yeah, I died. I got ripped apart. Man did it hurt.” Anthony was shocked to hear that his little brother had been put through so much pain. “I feel kinda bad, ya know? I died quick and almost painless.” He looked off to the sky.

It was now Benjamin’s turn. “Wait what?! The COG said you died heroically!” Benjamin shouted in disbelief. “Well…they lied. I kinda…got excited because my gun jammed and stood up. Got my ass shot and I died right there.” Benjamin was now a little ashamed that his brother died a moron’s death. Only those who were completely foolish did not heed the Golden Rule.

“Anyway, where’s your shit? I got mine.” Anthony pointed toward his weapons indicating what he meant. “Somewhere back where I woke up.” They went back to where Benjamin had awaken and found his equipment. There, lying on the ground, was his Lancer, Longshot, Snub Pistol, and two smoke grenades.

He picked them up, holding the Longshot in his hands. He always preferred to be far from the enemy. He turned to his brother and saw Anthony shake his head disapprovingly. “For shame, Benny, for shame.” “You don’t even know what that means!” “Yes, I do! It means uhhh… its when you….take the fork on the left?”

Benjamin hit himself in the face. “Anyways, Clay always taught us to take the enemy up close and personal. I guess you didn’t learn anything did ya?” “Ant..” Benjamin started. “That doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Considering we’re both dead.” Anthony scratched the top of his helmet. “Oh yeah…”

They were now confused as to what to do next. Benjamin, being the more intelligent of the two, suggested they make camp in the forest, giving them cover. They now moved towards the forest. All around them were large plants and trees that seemed almost too exotic. Their colors were almost cartoonish.

“Alright, lets make camp here.” They stopped and found themselves in a patch of forest that contained a medium-sized space between them. It was perfect for their size, allowing them to establish a fire and both sleep comfortably. They put rocks in a circular shape and set out to find firewood.

Benjamin came back to the camp, having only a few sticks. Anthony on the other hand, was empty-handed. “What the hell, man? I said we both go get some!” Benjamin was aggravated at his brother’s laziness. “Relax, I got a better way to get some.” The lazy brother stood up, went to a tree, and pulled back on the Lancer. He cut down at a slanted angle.

*****

Scootaloo awoke in the middle of the night. She had not slept for long, probably for only a few minutes or so. She heard a large racket coming from outside of Zecora’s hut. “What’s that?” It was a large buzzing sound. She had never heard anything like it. It was going on for about five minutes when it stopped.

Scootaloo laid back on the bed Zecora let her sleep on. “Guess it was-“ A large thumping sound shook the floor slightly. She wanted to see what it was, but was too afraid of the creatures that could be stalking her in the dark.

She spent the remaining time cowering with a blanket above her. She stared at the door, making sure nothing would come through. She was on watch. Slowly, her eyes felt like dumbbells and were overcoming her strength. She rubbed her eyes desperately, trying to keep awake. This was futile. Not long after, she fell back to sleep muttering “Rainbow Dash……”

*****

“There ya go, problem solved.” The small tree came down and Anthony cut them into smaller pieces. He stacked them on a pile in the middle of the stones and began to rub two sticks together. “Uhm, Ant?” Anthony shushed his talking brother. “Quiet, I’m concentrating. Watch the master at work.” He even rubbed harder when they wouldn’t do anything.

“I’m shifting into maximum over drive!” He was now rubbing the two almost destroyed sticks extremely fast. Almost as fast as a sniper bullet. He had been spending ten minutes now rubbing them together as his brother stared in awe. A small smoke began to form. It was getting larger and larger. His mouth started to open, ready to cheer. ‘Snap’. The two sticks broke into a million pieces.

“Awww shit.” He was sad now that his efforts were stampeded by the will of the gods. They did not want him to save the day. He looked up to the sky angrily, and shook his fist. “Damn you!” He felt a light tapping on his shoulder. “Uhm, big bro? I had a lighter the entire time.”

They woke up the next morning. Benjamin was a little scared of what had transpired the night before.

*****

Anthony led out a yell and stormed off towards the forest. “Ant! Come one, don’t be like this!” Benjamin knew this was futile as when Anthony was in a fit, he had to let some steam off. He heard his brother yell a few seconds after he called out to him. “Aww shit! I stepped in shit! This is just fan-fucking-tastic!” Then there was a silence.

Anthony didn’t care where he went; he just wanted to beat the shit out of something. He stomped around wanting some wild animal to come and fight him. Or maybe even some dumb Locust drone. A low growling came from behind him. He slowly turned to look. It was some creature with yellow eyes low to the ground.

“Holy shit! It’s a weird monkey-dog thing!” Anthony yelled out loud enough for Benjamin to hear him. Benjamin knew what it was. It was a wretch, the same exact saying that he used when first sighting one. He ran off to his brother and could only stare in pure dumbness.

The creature wasn’t a wretch. Rather it was a dog. Perhaps a wolf. Nonetheless, it was not normal. It’s skin was made of wood and it’s teeth made of sharp sticks. “Oh my god! It’s a…Timber-dog!” Anthony yelled in realization. “Actually, I think it’s more of a wol-” Benjamin was interrupted as the creature jumped on Anthony.

It was scratching at him while he was trying to smack away. After a few moments, they just laughed. Wood couldn’t pierce their thick COG standard military issue armor. Anthony picked it up and threw it to the floor. “My turn!” He revved up his Lancer and moved menacingly toward the creature, which was now cowering in fear.

It let out a loud yelp as the blades of the Lancer cut down across it’s body, splitting it in two. The Lancer cut through it with ease like a hot knife to a stick of butter. When the creature collapsed, Anthony was back to his old self. “Well that wasn’t too hard.” All around them, small little yelps and whining could be heard. They had taken down a Timberwolf pack leader.

Anthony, now in a good mood, raised his boot and rubbed it on the pack leader’s carcass. It made a small sloshing noise as Anthony removed his boot. The body was now covered in the feces that was on his boot. “There good as new!” Anthony cheered.

*****

The brothers packed up their things and moved to another location in the forest. Staying in one spot would get them killed. They were taught this many times during training. Along the way they found berries and fruits that would serve them for now. They ate these things, giving them enough energy to look for a river.

Meanwhile, an orange filly was searching the field of grass that she saw the two mysterious figures at, the night before. She found nothing out of the ordinary. All she found were large imprints of the grass, something that was heavy and weirdly shaped had made these. They seemed like an object had been placed there.

She searched some more and found something even more peculiar. There were hoof steps leading to the forest. Only, they were different. They were much larger than any pony she had ever seen. They were also curved more precisely than any animal she had ever seen. She, like the filly she was, investigated further into the matter. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, Lead Investigator!”

“Hey Squirt! Watch this one!” Anthony rolled forward “Huuupp!”, reaching almost seven feet away. The two brothers were having a contest to see who could roll the farthest. “Nice one! But I think I can beat that.” Benjamin rolled forward. “Huuuuuuhhh!” He reached Anthony. He looked down to where their feet were. His were above Anthony’s just about an inch. “That’s bullshit.,,” Anthony said.

Benjamin beat his brother yet again. They were spending the whole time bonding, making up for all of the time they had lost since Anthony died. “Whatever, hey, we’re almost there.” They looked and saw a river in the distance. Not only were they thirsty, but sweaty too. They wanted to take a little swim in the river. They unloaded their things, and took their armor off. They jumped into the water with their clothes on, leaving all of their things in a hidden cache nearby.

*****

Scootaloo stumbled upon a put-out campfire in a clearing. It seemed to have been used last night. There were a bunch of footsteps leading off in multiple directions. She was going to head to the east, but the stench of decays and feces filled her nose. “Eww! I’m definitely not going that way!” She headed in another direction, where the hoof steps seemed to be behind each other. As if one were following and the other leading.

She was excited as they were getting even closer and closer. She would soon find out who had been in the forest that night. She followed them out of the forest, leading towards the river not far from Fluttershy’s cottage. She walked up to the river and found nopony there. “That’s weird, the tracks end here.” She stayed around for a couple more minutes, finding nothing. She left thinking that it was probably some pegasi and went to Fluttershy’s home for a break.

*****

"Oh..man, that was intense!” Both Anthony and Benjamin came out of the water, their heads soaked. “I beat you this time, Squirt! I still hold the title for ‘Holding their Breath Under Water the Most’.” They both had been under the water for ten minutes, holding their breath was a natural-born talent. This was the reason why they had always won on their swimming teams in school.

They got out of the water to dry themselves off, now satisfied with the coolness of the water. “That was refreshing!” Benjamin exclaimed. “Yeah, tell me about it.” They walked around a little longer, using the sun’s heat rays to dry off their bodies. Once dried, they re-equipped their armor and weapons.

“Well now what?” Benjamin asked in curiosity. “I dunno. Hey see that hill? I bet we can get an awesome vantage point from there!” Anthony pointed towards a cliff that wasn’t too far out. “Alright, let’s go.” They headed to the cliff and looked down.

The whole landscape was both beautiful and mystifying to them. Not once, had they ever seen such art in their lives. The only time that could compare was life before Emergence Day. “Dude, that is fucking awesome.” Anthony said in bewilderment. “Hey! Use your Longshot and see what’s that in the middle!” Anthony pointed towards some buildings off in the far distance.

“Good idea.” Benjamin looked through the scope of his sniper rifle. Looking around, there were buildings. They were colorful and had a ‘country’ look to them. One of the buildings looked odd to him. It was what seemed to be a full sized gingerbread house. ‘That looks tasty.’ He thought to himself. He couldn’t find any people though. There were chickens sure enough, and there were pigs also, but he couldn’t find anything else.

“Can’t find anybody. It seems to be a town, brah. I did see some chickens and pigs though.” “Wait what did you say?” Benjamin didn’t bother to turn to look at him, still wondering where the people were. “I said chickens and pi-“ He heard a loud girlish squeal. Anthony jumped up into the air, and clicked his two feet together really quick.

“Ham and Bacon! Here I come!”

Warm Welcome

Anthony ran as if a corpser was chasing him like a dog. He ran without end towards the seemingly present heaven. He ran with enthusiasm and joy, ready to embrace a pig. The relentless wind rushed upon his helmet. Though not actually touching his head, he could feel the little bristles of the air.

He curved around the descending road and gained more momentum. The downward slope made him go faster. The sun seemingly ran with him. Nothing was standing in his way. It seemed as though God himself was watching Anthony run.

Benjamin was not far behind. Once his brother had set his mind on something, he wouldn't let go. "Wait up!" He tried to call out to Anthony. Nothing. They ran for miles on end before reaching the town. Benjamin could see little critters such as rabbits, squirrels, and raccoons running away from them as they approached.

Quickly arriving into the town, they passed farms, pastures, fields, and streams. It was almost remote. Finally, they reached the center of the town. Benjamin was gasping for breath while Anthony had not even been affected by the run. He walked up to a nearby pig, revved up his Lancer and called to it.

"Here, piggy piggy piggy." He was approaching the ignorant swine as he raised up his Lancer, preparing to cleave down. "Wait, Ant! It could be someone else's pig." Anthony turned his head to look back at his brother. "They won't miss it." He cut down.

The Lancer made contact with something alright. It cut clean through, leaving a mess on Anthony's face. He looked down to gaze at his accomplishment. "Oops.." He didn't kill the pig for it scurried away when he was distracted. The mess on his helmet wasn't blood, it was sawdust.

What lay before him was what was once a sign. He couldn't make it out so Benjamin took a look. "Welcome to P--ville, the Most Ha---est and Fr----ly Town around." He sighed and shook his head at Anthony. "Uhm, I can fix this...” Anthony reasoned. "How about you don't talk at all? I'll do all the talking, big bro. Just keep your mouth shut." Benjamin said patronizingly.

"Got it." Anthony made a zipping motion where his mouth would be under his helmet. "Now what's with all that yellin' pigs? Y'all act like y'all seen a ghost or somthin'." A voice called around the corner of a building. To Benjamin, she sounded like Dizzy.

"Yes, I must say, that noise was rather loud. It distracted me from my fabulous new inspiration." A British sounding voice responded. More voices came from buildings as they seemed to get closer. The Carmine brothers looked at each other, not sure on how they would explain Anthony's actions to the citizens.

*****

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity were all having fun at Sugar Cube Corner. They were making blueberry muffins with a hint of cinnamon. They were all laughing at each other when most of them hadn't even known what they were doing.

A large buzzing noise and squealing interrupted their fun. "What was that?" Twilight said inquisitively. "Ah dunno' but Ah reckon that we go an' check it out." "Yeah, let's see what that thing was." Rainbow said, showing that she was interested.

They left the building and went around the back to head toward source of the noise. Pinkie started to shake everywhere and sneezed hard. "Wow, I've never gotten this before. This is a doozy!" The ponies trusted when Pinkie's Pinkie Sense went off, and heeded her warning.

They reached the front of Ponyville and saw the town welcome sign down on the floor. Then, they saw two hooves. They looked up and were terrified.

Two armored, towering creatures stood before them. They were not on all of their hooves, only using the back two. They seemed bipedal yet, not simian.

*****

The Carmines heard a loud gasp from multiple directions. They looked around and saw no people. All they saw were some small little horses about four feet. They were weirdly colored and had tattoos on their asses. Benjamin could only rub his helmet in confusion. "W-w-what are y-you?" A voice stammered.

Anthony and Benjamin both looked down, seeing that the voice came from one of the horses. 'Nah, we're just imagining things." They both thought. Benjamin took a slow step towards the horses. They looked at him in fear. He took another step, getting the same reaction.

Finally, he reached out his hand to touch one of them when the silence between them was broken. "RUUNNN!! MOONNSSSTTTERRRSSS!!!!!" All of the horses ran from them, going inside of buildings and barricading the doors.

"What the fuck?" Anthony blurted out. Benjamin didn't complain, he was thinking the same thing. They went to the nearest building they could find, a tree. It was big and tall, yet had a sign and a door. They couldn't believe their eyes but they had seen plenty of weird things in their lives.

Shadows figures rushed across the window shades of the tree. The brothers felt thousands of eyes staring at them in fear. Anthony and Benjamin both knocked on the door. "Eeep!"

A scream from inside echoed in the air. They knew what they had to do. In this particular delicate situation, they had to do what any other rational soldier, let alone human being would do.

'VVRRROOOMMM' The door fell upon the floor with ease. It was cut into two little halves and tossed aside like a piece of paper.

Inside, there was a cowering lavender horse with a horn on it's head. It's mane was a dark violet and had a pink streak going through the middle.

*****

"Please, leave me alone! I'll give you anything you want." Twilight tried to find any emotion on either of the strange creatures faces, only seeing the same two glowing blue eyes. One of them walked up to her and kneeled down. It stared at her, almost into her very soul. She felt naked in front of this creature, as if it knew everything about her just by looking into her eyes.

She knew what was coming. They were going to take her away from her friends that loved her. She started to cry. Her life flashed before her eyes. She saw her brother protecting her from bullies, being read stories by Cadence, becoming Princess Celestia’s pupil, befriending all of the Elements of Harmony, defeating Night Mare Moon. All of this was going to waste as she looked on in terror at the monster that was enclosing on her.

"Hi?"

*****

The horse in front of Benjamin wiped away it’s tears. It seemed to understand him. “You can talk?” A feminine voice erupted from the horse. “YOU CAN?” Benjamin shouted in surprise. She nodded and proceeded to ask him more questions, seemingly calming down after each one. “Are you going to hurt me?”

Benjamin was a little taken by this question. Why on Sera would he hurt some cute defenseless ponies? “No.” “Then why are you here?” “We’re…a little hungry..” Both Anthony and Benjamin’s stomachs growled as soon as he said this. She seemed to giggle at this. She was realizing that the Carmine brothers posed no threat to them.

She got up and began to speak when Anthony leaned in to whisper something to Benjamin. “Think they taste good?” She screamed and ran off to another corner. Benjamin slapped his brother for impeding his attempt to try and make peace.

“Y’all ain’t gonna lay a hoof on her, ya hear?” An orange horse came in and bucked Anthony on his lower leg. Anthony got mad and chased her outside. The screaming of the ‘Southern’ horse could be heard slowly departing from the tree.

“Sorry about that, little horse. We mean no harm, Anthony just jokes around too much.” He grabbed her hoof into his hands and brought it to his heart. “See? I’m not lying, my heart is telling the truth.” The horse then perked regained her voice. “….My name is Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?” She said hesitantly. “I’m Carmine!” Anthony and Benjamin spoke in unison. Apparently, he had come back not long ago. “So, lemme get this straight, your name is ‘Twilight Sparkle’?” She nodded. He burst into laughter. “That’s gay as shit, dude!” “I’m a girl.” “Oh.”

“So you’re…..both named Carmine?” “Yes.” They said again in unison. “No.” Benjamin was getting fed up. “Shut up Ant, I’m trying to talk.” “Got it, Squirt.”Twilight giggled at his name. “Your name is Squirt?” He was a little embarrassed by this. “No! Its Benjamin, Ben for short. That over there is Anthony, or Ant.” He said as he pointed towards his brother. Anthony said a casual “Yo”.

“I think that everyone will be glad to hear that you are both…peaceful.” She tried to stand up but just couldn’t. “Ow..I think I sprained a hoof.” Benjamin, being the kind person that he was, picked her up in his arms and carried her outside, Anthony following. They arrived back to the courtyard of the town and were surrounded by more horses.

A bolting streak of cyan rushed through the air and kicked Anthony in the head. “Sniper!” Anthony panicked, shooting his Lancer in the air. All of the horses around them backed away and the cyan figure landed to the ground. “Watch that, will ya?” Anthony looked on in anger at the cyan horse with wings beneath him. She gave him a nervous smile. “Hehe, sorry about that.”

“The monsters are going to eat her! Run! But before you do, follow my lead as I show you how to properly run in fear.” A pink horse said calmly. “Wait, Pinkie! They aren’t going to eat us!” “Who says we aren’t?” Anthony said jokingly. “Ant!” Benjamin yelled. “We mean you horses-” “Ponies.” Twilight interrupted. “-Ponies, no harm. We come in peace. All we want is some food. My name is Benjamin and he is Anthony.”

The ponies muttered among themselves, then a grey-maned pony came up to them. “As mayor of this town, I wish to welcome you to our beloved town of Ponyville. Just watch yourselves, this town is one of peace and happiness.” They shook hands and hooves and the ponies calmed down. Benjamin was listening to what the mayor and Twilight were saying. She introduced her friends and almost all of Ponyville to the two. Suddenly a yell came from behind them.

“And that’s how Ponyville was made.” Pinkie said happily. “What?! All you talked about were some rocks and a farm. If that’s true, I have to say, that’s fucking awesome.” Anthony said, praising the pink pony. A small pony came up to Anthony. “What does ‘fucking’ mean?” “Oops, sorry kid, that is a bad word.” The small horse understood and stopped asking.

The situation seemed to calm itself. Then, yet another yell came. “Get off amah back ya varmint!” Applejack was now running wildly trying to buck Anthony off of her back. “Giddy up horsie! Hi ho, Silver!” He was waving his arm wildly in the air and had Applejack’s hat on his helmet. “Get the buck off me!” “You guys say fuck too? Oh wait you said buck..What’s the difference?” He shrugged it off as he got off of the pony.

Benjamin went to his brother and told him to stop. He took the order and saluted him. “I swear, its like I’m the older one here.” None of them heard this little remark, as Twilight limped over. “So as I was saying, I am a unicorn, Applejack is an earth pony, and Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus.” “That’s nice and all Twilight, but what about the town sign that there two troublemakers broke?” Applejack asked, aggravated at the fact that they just waved off the possible danger these two ‘humans’ posed.

“It doesn’t even look right!”Applejack yelled angrily. Anthony stood next to her at the sign. He pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Benjamin saw this and realized what he was going to do. Benjamin was going to provide the chorus. “I guess you could say-” He put them on. “It looks a little ‘board’.

“YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH”

They laughed and rolled on the floor at their joke. The CSI: Jacinto reference was one of their favorites. The ponies just looked at them funny and chalked it up to ‘human’ intuition. They got up, let out the last awkward chuckles, and stopped. “Well, now that we’re all acquainted, what do you have to eat?” Benjamin asked curiously. A voice rose from the back. “Why do you two sound the same?”

The whole crowd agreed. “I got this Squirt.” Anthony stepped up front, a serious tone was present. Benjamin was proud that his brother decided to take it serious for once. “When we were born, our parents told us a saying that still is embedded in my mind. They repeated this to us in our childhood. It kept us in line and made us not act up.” “What is it?” An interested voice called out. “Our mother and father told us this; if you don’t behave and sound the same, you will never eat bacon again.”

The whole crowd wowed and gasped in shocked. Twilight, with a shimmer of marveling tears in her eyes asked “Wow, really?” “Nah, I’m just shitting ya.” Everyone laughed at him, mostly Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They loved this funny human. Underneath his mask, he did a certain face that not only showed joy, but somewhat mock. If one were to see it, it would make them rage. It was called a ‘trollface’ when they were little.

Benjamin was annoyed by this. He went to his brother and put his arm around Anthony’s shoulder. “You mad, Squirt?” “Kinda.” Twilight asked again. “Really, why do you two sound the same?” “I dunno, we just do. Maybe it’s because we’re brothers or something. Or it could be God being sheer lazy and giving us the same voice.”

*****
The citizens, now having all their questions and doubts answered, were satisfied. Only the Elements of Harmony remained, along with a certain somepony mysteriously staring at the Carmines from a distance. “Hey Ant, do you have the feeling someone is staring at you right now?” “Yeah, it’s really creeping me out.” “I know, same here. I feel like someones breathing down my nec-“ A large wisp of breath became visible between the two brothers.

“Oh my gosh! Real humans! Hey ‘Anthony’ right? If you still want, you can ride me..” The pony behind them said suggestingly. “Excuse me, gentlemen?” Rarity said.

“Yeah?”

“Run.”

The two brothers ran in fear, a mint-colored pony was right on their tail. They screamed and yelled, begging the thing to leave them alone. But all they could hear were flirtatious remarks coming from the pony. Finally, they stepped into an alley, checking if she was still behind them. The coast was clear. “Whew, that was a close one Squirt.” “Yeah, I’ll say.”

“It’s about to get a whole lot more closer than that!” A maniacal voice called from behind them. They were frozen in fear. Shocked by the sheer madness of the pony. “My name is Lyra, and we’re about to have a really ‘fun’ time..” Loud screams of pain and abuse could be heard coming from the alley. The humans felt like their very essence was being sucked away as the aroused pony took them by force.

They knew it was not right, and it did not feel good. The begged her for mercy but she was unrelenting. Her determination wore out their bodies. Finally their pelvises snapped, killing them from the abuse. They would rather die in their original deaths than this new form of pain and agony.

*****
Lyra awoke. She was drooling from her mouth at the erotic dream she just had. The humans felt so good. But then, her feeling of pleasure was replaced by pain in her head. “Ouch, what happened?” She rubbed the throbbing on her head.

She looked at what was before her. It was a brick wall with an indentation of her head on it. She remembered what had happened. After introducing herself, she chased them and they quickly maneuvered around a corner. She was too slow to react and went face first into the side of the Town Hall. “Dang it, I’ll get them next time.”

The Carmines were running as the evening sun shone on their backs. “Ant?” “Yeah?” “How would that even work? I’m not sure horse on human times two is possible.” Anthony didn’t want to even imagine what would happen. “You got a fucked-up mind, Squirt” They ran to the gingerbread house called ‘Sugar Cube Corner’

*****
Twilight was screaming in joy. A new species has been discovered. She called Spike to write a letter to Princess Celestia. He, however, hadn’t seen them and didn’t believe in their existence. “Ready Spike?” “Yeah, I don’t see what so special about a couple of ‘things’ calling themselves ‘humans’.” “Spike please, this is urgent.”

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to inform you that a new species of creatures have been discovered. They have many weapons but the entire town has found that they are completely harmless. They call themselves ‘humans’ and their names are Anthony and Benjamin Carmine. They are tall, strong, and are very intelligent. They can speak full Equestrian and can also write it. They seem to be bipedal and somewhat like monkeys or apes. They do not have hair, for what I can tell. Their skin seems to be armor, or they are just concealing their skin perfectly. The one called Benjamin is very kind and mature. He seems to be the older and wiser one. Anthony, on the other hand, is a little childish and playful. He seems to be the younger. They are brothers and claim they came from another world called ‘Sera’. I hope that you see these creatures for yourself. For now, I shall learn as much as I can from them.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.”

“Send it, Spike!” Spike spewed forth a small burst of green flame that teleported the letter to the Princess. “Where now?” “Let’s get to Sugar Cube Corner.”

*****

“Your outfits are absolutely adorable!” They are well-colored, protective, and yet light. Would you be so kind as to let me examine it?” Rarity said pleadingly. “No can do, little miss, but this baby is what keeps my head fro- Oh never mind.” Anthony stopped himself, realizing he was wrong. “Anyway, no.” She looked at him with puppy dog eyes. “Oh, pwease! Won’t you wet wittle Wawity take your armor?”

He slowly started un-strapping his armor. He was reaching for his helmet, then moved his hand forward, middle finger raised. “Nope.” “I’m sorry darling, but what does that mean?” He wasn’t sure he should explain it to her. “Never mind.” He went up to the counter and gave Mr. Cake a stern look. “So, since you have to err..what did you call ‘em? Fillies? Anyway, how does that work? I mean with ponies. Do you guys lay eggs or…?”

Benjamin looked at his older brother and shook his head. “You’re hopeless bro.” “Ah reckon you must put a lot with yer little brother.” Applejack reasoned. Twilight entered, a sleeping Spike on her back. “Yes, I would like to know that too.” Benjamin scratched his head, unsure of how to explain that they were wrong. “Well actually, you see, Anthony is my big brother.” “HE’S WHAT!?” Everypony in the store exclaimed in overwhelming shock. “Why else do you all think he calls me Squirt? He’s older than me.”

Anthony didn’t react to the current situation. He was in shock at how little baby horses were made. “That’s…that’s not possible..” Anthony was at a loss for words. His mind had been completely wiped away by the explanation that Mr. Cake gave him. He stopped everyone in the room. “WAIT! So you’re all telling me that baby hor- ‘fillies’, are made when two ponies who love each other, climb a mountain, get married, and then a filly comes out of a well in the mountain?”

Everyone hit their face. Mr. Cake told him the story they gave to little kids when asked about reproduction. And Anthony fell for it. “Okay, getting back to business, so where are you two going to stay?” An inquisitive Twilight asked. “Because if you have nowhere to stay, I have plenty of room at the library. There are so many books you can read and I have so many questions!” “Yeah…no. We’re going to stay in the forest, no offense. Okay maybe just a little..” Anthony cut in.

The ponies wondered how the Carmines would eat. “Easy.” They brought the cupcakes to their helmets, and the cupcakes seemed to be ‘grated’ into them. “Don’t you need to take off the helmets to put them in your mouth?” After wiping off his helmet, Anthony answered. “Maybe we don’t have faces..WOOOooo!” He did a ghostly moan at the end, frightening everypony as they believed him.

The Cakes gave them some cookies for the road as the friends followed them to the edge of town. “Hey big bro, you gotta try these cupcakes. They taste just like mom’s!” “You gotta try these cookies. I’m tellin’ ya, there’s no other feeling as good as this except when I curb stomp a grub.

“What’a a grub?” Rainbow asked. “That’s for another day, maybe tomorrow.” They reached the edge of town, saying their goodbyes, and going back the body of water that they swam in that morning. It was a great walk back. “Bro, I gotta tell ya, this is some weird shit we got ourselves into.” “I get ya, Ant. But come on! It’s not like we’re getting our asses shot up by grubs.” Anthony nodded at what his brother said.

So far, they have not been shot at, targeted, hit with grenades, or smacked with the butt of a Hammerburst. Life was good. They reached the cache and set the supplies from town. They even picked up a few proper bedrolls. They prepared to sleep, when they realized they were reminded by Twilight to check on some pony living in a cottage nearby.

“Let’s go see that cottage real quick.”

*****

Scootaloo was bored out of her mind. She had been stuck with Fluttershy all day. The timid yellow pegasus made her help with the animals. She spent all day cleaning, feeding, or just petting them. She missed a whole day of trying to find her Cutie Mark with the other Crusaders. Now Fluttershy was asking her to stay for the night. Scootaloo really didn’t want to but if she said otherwise, she would hurt Fluttershy’s feelings.

“So are you ready for a sleepover…if that’s alright with you..” Fluttershy said in her whispering voice. “Yeah, lets get this thing over with already.” Scootaloo rebuffed. “Yay!” Fluttershy screamed in her trademark way. A large knocking came from the door. Two unfamiliar voices called for Fluttershy.

“Uh..hello?! Twilight sent us to check up on you.” A considerate voice said. “Told ya we shoulda bailed. This is bullsh- Ahh! What was that for?” A second voice yelled. “Calm your horses, the ponies around here are sensitive.” The second voice began to laugh. “I see what you did there!”

Fluttershy floated toward the door and asked who it was. “We’re the new guys. We just arrived in town.” “Oh, okay…I’ll open the door now..if that’s alright..” She opened the door, ready to greet two new ponies that just came into town. There were no ponies in front of her. Just four big blue logs in front of her. ‘Wait…they’re moving.’ She thought. They weren’t logs.

She slowly rose her gaze above the ‘logs’ and saw two faces. They were blue, emotionless, and big. The emphasis last part made her do what she always did. “Eeeeep!”

*****

The pink-maned yellow pegasus ran and disappeared in front of the Carmines. “Well, that was easy.” Joked Anthony. They walked into the small little home and looked around. It had a sort of ‘naturery’ feeling to it. The moved forward to what seemed like the living room. “I’m not scared of you, you big blue meanies!” A small little orange filly raised it’s hooves in a boxing position. “Geez, Squirt, are all the ponies here girls?”

Anthony went to the little thing, and picked her up with one of his hands. She began punching his arm, but to him, it felt like someone was kissing it or something. “Weak little thing, aren’t ya?” Scootaloo was saddened by this. She knew she was small and weak, but she felt especially bad when ponies or things pointed this out.

“You got balls though, so you’re cool with me.” She looked up. The large blue thing was looking at her in the eyes. It then patted her on her purple mane. “You’re a little cute thing, aren’t ya?” She blushed, being embarrassed by the compliment given from the strange creature. “Let her go..if you don’t mind..please?”

Benjamin turned his attention to the timid pegasus who was hiding behind a small bunny. “Sorry about that, my brother just gets a little excited is all. We mean no harm. And as we said earlier, Twilight sent us.” She slowly lost her fear as she flew to them. “Oh do tell me what you are. I would love to take care of you sometime.”

Anthony and Benjamin explained to Fluttershy, Scootaloo, and Angel exactly what they told the others. The three small things just ‘ooohed’ and ‘ahhhed’. They also thought that Anthony was the younger one, making him a little mad. FLuttershy gave them a cup of tea. They sipped it through their helmets. “Uhm..excuse me? How did you do that?” “Do what?” Both Carmines answered. “That” “And how do you fly?” Benjamin said in a questioning voice. “It’s because I heave wings.” “And it’s because we have no faces!” Anthony screamed madly. He was trying to scare her again. She screamed and ran. Benjamin calmed her down and she returned back to the couch.

After explaining, they started to take their leave. Scootaloo clinged onto Anthony’s leg. “Wait! Take me with you. I can’t take it here with her.” Anthony was surprised at the filly’s request but hesitantly accepted.

“Don’t be a stranger!” Fluttershy peeped out as they left. When they arrived at their camp, Anthony let Scootaloo sleep on his bedroll. “You can sleep here, kiddo. I’ll take the floor.” He gave her the last of his food seeing as how she was hungry. Each bite she took felt extra special. Scootaloo felt a well of tears ready to flood. Nopony in her life was ever so generous to her.

For some reason, she felt really comfortable around the two ‘humans’. She felt like they were her family. They were outcasts, just like her. She thought about it thoroughly but blurted out “Will you guys be my brothers?” Both Carmines let out a ‘what the fuck?’ under their breath. They patted her on the head and nodded. “Welcome to the family, kid.” They all fell asleep.

All, save for Anthony. He laid down next to Scootaloo, the same position as when he first found himself on this strange new world. He looked up at the night sky, seeing a shooting star fly across. He reached an arm out to reach for it. Underneath his charismatic and childish personality, was a serious and kind person. His brother, Benjamin did take after him after all. He stared in wonder at the sky for the remainder of his time awake. He felt something latch onto his right arm.

Scootaloo was hugging his arm like a pillow, happily snoozing as she found her new home. He smiled at this and gazed back at the stars. They both just introduced the first girl to the family. And this was a fine addition, no less. He felt proud of them, not giving up even after then end. Scootaloo was mumbling in her sleep. “Kids” Anthony found himself saying aloud. Her mumblings started to get clearer. “Home…Family..Brothers..” She then said something he was not expecting.

“……I love you.”

“What?”

Where's the Bacon?

Anthony screamed in ecstasy as he reveled in what surrounded him. He was in what was definitely heaven. All around him, were large pieces of ham and bacon. They were five times the size of him. The beautiful streams and brooked of bacon flowed smoothly. He could see little ham fish jump in and out of the bacony water.

The sun itself was a large, circular piece of ham, followed by strips of bacon surrounding it, representing the rays of the ham. The clouds were made of turkey bacon. The trees...were trees. Yet they had bacon branches. Everything around Anthony was made of meat.

He ran to and sat upon a throne made of bacon strips. Anya appeared in front of him, handing him a tray of golden bacon strips. “Oh, all of the bacon..” He lunged forward and opened his mouth. Then, he chomped down. “Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.” He was chewing on the delicious piece of bacon. Not even tasting its flavor.

Then, a terrible taste was felt on his tongue. “Shit, that’s not bacon!” What he tasted wasn’t bacon. It tasted like..hair? He opened his eyes to see that he was not eating gold, but green? A light green at that. "Like what you taste? I know I'm going to like what I taste." The voice was menacing and was filled with pure evil. It was the voice of crazy unicorn named 'Lyra'.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Anthony woke up on a fit of sweat. The nightmare he had was just too real. "Holy shit, you won't believe the dream I had." "What is it sweetie?" it was the same voice from earlier, but only calmer. He looked down to his chest and saw mint green hair along the head of a far-too-familiar pony.

He was struggling to run. The pony just gripped her forelegs tighter around his body. "What are you doing, babe? That was the best honeymoon in Equestrian history." Anthony raised his hand and pointed at the pony on him. "What the fu-" He stopped when he noticed something shining from his bare hand.

There was a small, shiny object around one of his fingers. He moved his hand closer to his face. With each inch closer, his fear and presumption was becoming more and more true. The object was a ring. A golden, matrimonial ring. He was married to Lyra.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"

Anthony bolted upright. He awoke from this second nightmare. He looked around and found himself back in the camp. To make sure he wasn't asleep and in another nightmare, he went to his brother. He raised his hand, ready to strike with an awakening force.

"Owww! What the hell, man!?" Benjamin rubbed around his helmet. "Why'd you hit me, bro?" "I had had two nightmares in a row, a dream in a dream or some shit. I needed to make sure I was awake this time so I hit you." Benjamin sighed, waved his hand at Anthony dismissingly, and went back to sleep. "You're supposed to hit yourself, numbskull." Benjamin could be heard snoring again.

"Oh..." He hit himself and found that he was awake for real this time. He looked around for the little pegasus that was now his little sister. He couldn't find her anywhere. His goal was interrupted by his sudden realization of a neck pain. "Damn, must've slept in a bad way." He turned his neck on circles, feeling better with each crack that followed. His head still felt heavy though.

Anthony reached his hand to pull off his helmet when he felt a warm furry body on his head. "Goddamn it." Scootaloo must have somehow moved in her sleep and latch onto his head. She probably thought it was a pillow. He was ready to throw her off but decided not to disturb her gentle slumber.

A loud growl warded off any drowsiness he had left. The pains in his stomach meant only one thing. Anthony was hungry. He went to his little brother to whisper in his ear. "Yo Squirt, I'm gonna head into town for breakfast. Meet me there." His brother didn't budge. "Yeah...sure....whatever." His brother was barely understandable.

Anthony grabbed his gear and went to Ponyville. It took him twenty more minutes than it normally would take because he had a passenger on board. When finally arriving into town, he went to the cafe. As he took his seat, waiting for the waiter to arrive with a menu, he looked at the large clock tower in the middle of town. "Wow, it's only seven." He said aloud.

Stifled giggles broke his train of thought. He turned his head to see a pair of earth ponies staring and giggling at him. From their laughs he could deduce that they were female. One of them was a light yellow or tan with a blue mane and pink streak, and had a tattoo of three pieces of candy. The other was a dark pink or magenta pony with a light fuchsia mane. She had three flowers on her ass, or 'flank' as corrected by Twilight.

Both Carmines forgot to ask about the tattoos. They'd have to do it later today. "Can I help you ladies?" They giggled at the sound of his voice. "Your head.." The blue-maned pony started. "You have one of my students on your head, Mr. Carmine." the other answered. He understood what they meant. A tall, weapon packed, strong creature with a small child on his head. He laughed imagining what he looked like walking down the street.

"Yeah, she slept with me. She won't let go of my head so I decided to just leave her there." He stated matter-of-factly. The two friends started blushing. "Oh my.." Cheerilee said. "What? All she did was sl- Ohhhh." He realized what he said and figured that they took it the wrong way. "No! That's not what I mean. I mean she slept in our camp, nothing bad happened!" They nodded and got up from their seats, trotting over to the hungry Gear. "We'll take her off your hands."

The two ponies tried to move Scootaloo, but she didn't budge. She muttered things under her breath. "Leave....alone....protect...brother." They laughed and smiled at Anthony. "Seems like she found a home after all." "Yeah..haha...I guess she did." The two ponies sat back at their table and resumed their previous conversation.

The waiter finally came to Anthony's table. "What will you be having today, sir?" Anthony looked through the whole menu. Inside, there were many fruits, vegetables, and other assorted vegetarian meals. Finally, he saw what he wanted. "Oh yeah..I'll have the bacon!" "Will you have anything to drink?" "Umm...some orange juice will be awesome."

The waiter left for a moment and came back with Anthony's order. Anthony drank the whole cup of orange juice, and turned to the bacon. He could see the wisps of hot steam leave his food. The ridge of his mouth was drowned in impatient oceans of saliva.

Within the millisecond, the bacon was devoured. Anthony, now content, rubbed his stomach. He awaited the taste to satisfy his tongue. The taste arrived, causing Anthony to retch. "What the fuck is that!?" The waiter was taken back by Anthony's sudden outburst. "Why, sir, that was the bacon you ordered. Made with the best hay in all of Equestria." Anthony did a double take before looking back at the menu. He rushed to where the picture lay and peered at the words.

*****

'Hay Bacon Strips, the finest strips in all of the land.' The only possible description for the scene that followed is chaos. Sounds of screaming, unknown curses from the Seran, and sounds of panic from the waiter, two ponies, and the filly on the human's head filled the early morning of Ponyville.

Scootaloo jumped off of Anthony's head. A fast streak of cyan followed him. Another figure, lavender, threw some coins at the waiter and then ensued the raging human. Soon after, four more figures followed. They reached the edge of town where the farm animals lived. The foreign creature was standing before a pig, laughing angrily.

“I got you now, you tasty looking shits!” He raised his weapon, ready to saw through the body of the pig. “Wait! Stop! What are you doing Anthony!” Twilight shouted with concern and pure confusion. The human didn’t respond. He was prepared to swing down when Applejack bucked him in the legs. Rainbow Dash, at the same time, hit his head. “Gah! What the fuck!” He spun around to the six ponies standing before him. He peered over every single one of them. His angry sight frightened each pony as it passed over them.

“Calm, down, Mr. Carmine..if that’s alright with you.” Fluttershy pleaded in her whimpering voice. “Yes, I think you should calm down. This is rude and as a gentlemen, you should calm yourself.” Rarity interjected. “Calm down!? Oh you don’t tell me to CALM DOWN! I haven’t been able to eat a piece of bacon all GODDAMN day!” Anthony was filled to the toe with pure frustration.

“Ah reckon you did eat yerself a piece back at that there café.” “NO! That was a piece of fucking hay!” Anthony cocked his Lancer, aimed it at the ponies, and shouted. “If you want to get in my way, get ready for a shitstorm.” Anthony got pushed to the floor. Benjamin was on top of him. “Calm down, Ant!” Anthony shoved him off and started shooting at his brother. Benjamin maneuvered and dodged all of the incoming barrage. Benjamin returned fire.

The ponies ran for cover, unsure of what was going on. They had never seen the effects of the weapons firsthand, only learning little snippets of information from the creatures. Benjamin ran around a corner with Anthony a few feet behind. “Where are you, Squirt!?” Suddenly, a loud thump could be heard. The mad creature fell to the floor unconscious.

“Sorry you girls had to see that. My bro is just upset he hasn’t eaten any bacon. He should be good once he wakes up.” Benjamin came in and saved the ponies from what would have probably went down. He butted Anthony in the back of the head with his rifle. “But I don’t understand, Benjamin, he did eat bacon.” Twilight stated with zeal. “Yeah, but he ate ‘hay bacon’. I doubt that’s the same as normal bacon.” “And uhmm…what is normal bacon? If you don’t mind me asking…” Fluttershy was hiding behind her long mane.

“Well, it can be either turkey or pork bacon.” “WHAT!?” All of the ponies picked up on the thing he had just said. “You humans eat meat?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Yeah. We’re omnivores, we can eat both. I guess I forgot to mention that.” All of the ponies looked in disgust at the news that the Benjamin had just revealed. Everypony except Fluttershy. She was used to creatures that ate meat. She just gave them an approving nod before convincing her friends that it was normal.

They understood after half an hour and stood around the unconscious Anthony.

*****

“Dude, my head is killing me.” “Well you shouldn’t have gone crazy. You’re lucky I went easy on you so there was no damage done.” The brothers shook hands, showing that nothing was held between them. Anthony understood that he was out of line. He shouldn’t have overreacted over the food he wanted. Benjamin also understood that they needed meat to live and maintain a healthy diet. They explained to the ponies that they wouldn’t eat a lot of meat, but still needed some.

The ponies tried to deny any efforts to do so, but Fluttershy gave them terrifying glares every time one of them spoke up. Finally, they agreed to the Carmines being allowed two animals a week. They happily went back to town and went to get a real breakfast. “Yo, Any, just promise that you won’t go nuts this time?” “You got it Squirt.” They arrived at the previous café and apologized for the commotion. After taking their seats, an excited Scootaloo came and sat between the two brothers, holding both of their arms.

The six ponies noticed this and decided to prod for answers. “What will all of you have?” The waiter had a pencil and paper with him. “Hay fries, please.” Twilight replied. Anthony and Benjamin looked at each other and nodded. “Yo guys, we got a better idea.” “Yeah, how about using potatoes? They’re much better and healthier.Oh and maybe you could melt some cheese and pour it on top?” Benjamin finished his brother’s train of thought. They all accepted and the waiter went to fix up the special order.

“So Scoots, you’re real friendly with these guys..” Rainbow said with a hint of curiosity. “Well..no offense Fluttershy, but I wasn’t going to sleep over your house. When these guys came though, they seemed so close and cool. I dunno..I guess I just wanted to see what they were like..” Scootaloo trailed off. “I see.. and you two have no problem with this?” Twilight asked inquisitively. “Nope, not at all. She’s like the little sister we never had. Except, she’s a pony and all so yeah..” Anthony answered.

The waiter came up with the potato fries covered in cheese and served the group. Anthony and Benjamin grabbed the ketchup and lightly sprayed it over the food. The ponies seemed hesitant, but tried the new food. Their faces lit up in delight as they grabbed more. Rainbow was the first to say something. “Ohh myy gossshth this isth thooo good!” She said with her mouth full. The others grunted and gobbled up the whole thing. After everyone got their fill, they laid back lazily.

They remained silent for a few minutes before Rarity burped. “Oh my..how embarrassing.” Her face lit up in a rosy red. Everyone laughed at her. “So I was thinking, I never threw you guys a welcome party yet. So I was thinking that we could have one today. Oh it’s going to be so fun! We could have games, and food, and drinks, dancing, and..more fun!” Pinkie spoke without end. The brothers just waited till she was finished before answering.

“Sounds fun, Pinkie.” They looked at her and tilted their heads. Pinkie took this as a smile and smiled back at the two, almost seeing through their helmets. “This is going to be great. And maybe you can tell us stories of your world and what your weird toys do!”

The two brothers looked at each other again and laughed.

“Yeah, we have a shit-ton to tell you guys.”

The Carmine Train

“You guys go ahead! I gotta go get the Cutie Mark Crusaders; I bet they can’t wait to meet you!” Scootaloo said as she ran towards Sweet Apple Acres. The Carmines waved her goodbye as the little orange pegasus disappeared in the distance. They weren’t sure what to do next for the time being. All they knew was that Pinkie Pie was throwing them an official welcome party that afternoon.

“So..what now?” Anthony posed. “I don’t know. Maybe…we can go check out that tree that we charged into?” Benjamin said unsurely. They walked over to Twilight’s library in hopes of finding something to do there. Suddenly, they got lifted into the air by an unseen force.

“What the fuck!?” Anthony shouted frightened. They were not only being lifted, but moved towards a fancy looking building. It looked a lot like a miniature castle of some sorts. The sign above the door read the words ‘Rarity’s Boutique’. “Relax, gentlecol- er..men. I simply just want to look at your amazing outfits. Please, don’t struggle, it’s very hard for a beautiful lady such as myself to carry two heavy creatures.”

The white, curly purple-maned, unicorn sent them gently down when they got inside. Anthony was annoyed. “No one. And I mean NO ONE, picks up Anthony Carmine!” He pulled out his gnasher shotgun and was loading it before his younger brother spoke up. “Chill out, bro. She’s just a girl.” Anthony sighed and put the weapon back on his back.

“Now, boys, I think we can all be reasonable here, right? How about I make you fabulous new clothes and you give me those?” She smiled at them, hoping to charm her with her extravagance. “No dice. And those faces you make aren’t gonna change our minds. We don’t roll like that.” Benjamin answered coldly. “Who said anything about rolling dear? I want to examine those beautiful pieces.” She said ignorant of what Benjamin said.

“Lady, what he means is that we don’t sleep with PONIES.” Anthony put a lot of emphasis on the last word. “But didn’t you two sleep with Scootaloo last night?” She said. They both shook their heads, not believing the stupidity of such a refined mare. “We don’t..you know, with ponies.” Benjamin made a hole with his hands, and Anthony stuck one finger going in and out of the hole.

Rarity’s white, alabaster, face turned into a luscious, rosy red. “Oh my…” She understood what they meant now. But then she examined the entire conversation she just had. A thought struck her. “Wait..you mean you boys..think I’m ugly?!” “What?” Anthony said dumbfounded. “You too think I’m u-u-ugly!” She jumped onto an expensive looking couch and cried into her hooves.

Her sounds of self-lament were bouncing in the two brothers’ ears. They tried to block it off with their hands, but it was to no avail. Her cries were almost ripping at their minds. “That’s..that’s not what we meant..We’re just saying, we aren’t sure what you look like.” Benjamin said in a calming voice. Rarity took notice of this and looked up to them. Her eyes were a little red and tears rolled down her groomed face. “Hey man, I can’t tell. For all I know she could be the ugliest thing on this world.” Anthony said without thinking. “Wait no!”

She started crying again, this time even more intense. Anthony muttered under his breath “Aw shit..” Benjamin, annoyed by his brother’s insensitivity went to the unicorn and put his hand on her warm and soft back. “Listen, he didn’t mean what he said. We didn’t mean any of this.” He said trying to soothe the crying lady.

“Yes you did! You both did! You think I’m u-ugly! You think I’m a mule!” She buried her face back into her hooves. ‘I’m gonna fucking regret this.’ Benjamin thought to himself. He really didn’t want to say what he was thinking, but it was the only way to get her to stop crying so damn much. “……I think you’re…..pretty..” She started sniffling, surprised at what he said. Benjamin could hear a big old ‘What the fuck’ from behind him.

“Do you r-really?” The calming unicorn asked. He slowly and regretfully shook his head up and down. “Y-yeah…I think you’re…hot?” He wished he had a better choice of words but that was all he could pull out of his mind. She looked at him, her blue eyes gazing into his own. Well, his helmet’s anyway. The tears slowly started to dissipate from her face as a smile had been put there instead. It wasn’t a happy smile, but more an attracted one.

“I always thought there was something more to you, Mr. Carmine.” She started giggling. She then moved one of her hooves up and down Benjamin’s arms, gently caressing it. Benjamin was struck with terror. ‘No..Don’t tell me she-‘ She moved closer to his face, helmet, and spoke very softly. “Maybe we can go get something to eat sometime.” He wasn’t sure how to handle to this delicate situation.

“Yeah..sure..” He himself was confused. Now that he had complimented her, had she taken that as a sign of interest. ‘No, that can’t be it. Maybe she just wants to be closer friends or something.’ He thought to himself reassuringly. ‘Yeah that’s it!’ “So, Benjamin..” She hung on his name for a few seconds. “Will you, strip down for me?” She said as a sly smile was painted on her face. At that moment, and not any sooner at that, Anthony pulled Benjamin out of the store. “See ya!” Anthony said quickly.

They were out of that nightmare that turned into something far more unimaginable. “Well look at you, Squirt. A ladies’ man.” He chuckled to himself at his joke. Benjamin was always a little shy around the ladies. They resumed going back to the library, this time uninterrupted. “I never knew you had a thing for her, Benny.” Benjamin was flustered at this. “I-I’m not! I swear! I…had to say something!” He said defensively.

They reached the door that they cut down the last time they were there. “Relax, everyone has their needs. Some, a little more fucked up than others..” They opened the door again. Benjamin wasn’t going to even acknowledge that last remark. They were amazed by the sight before them.

A giant pile of books lay across the ground. Small pieces of paper were strewn about and all of the furniture was tipped over. “What.” Anthony said. “The.” Benjamin continued. The last word, they said in unison, holding the words last phonetic patterns on hold for several seconds. Their voices sounded like that of an opera singer. “Fuuuuuuuuucccckkkk?”

Some movement could be heard from underneath the pile of books. A familiar lavender unicorn came stuck her head out of the pile. “Hehe..oh hey guys. I was just..uhh…studying. I didn’t bother to clean.” She had been spending the whole night cooped up in her research project. She wouldn’t let go of the books she had in front of her.

*****

“Spike! Spike!!” Twilight yelled as she ran around the library, looking for her young and helpful assistant. “Arghh…WHAT? I’m trying to sleep.” A tired purple baby dragon said as he came out of the bedroom. HE was still in his pajamas. “I can’t find Mythological Creatures and Stuff of Legends!” She said as she frantically searched all of the shelves. “Did you check the top of the shelves?” An aggravated Spike said. “Oh! Thanks Spike!” At that, the assistant went back to sleep,

“Here it is!” Twilight said aloud as she madly flipped through the pages. “Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?!” She was looking for one specific kind of creature. The ‘humans’ they called themselves. She wanted to find anything that she possible could on these strange beings. They were so different, yet so similar. They had emotions, could speak, and could think. They also could do most ordinary functions as ponies. So why wasn’t there any written record of them?

She read through the entire 800-paged book in seconds. “It’s not here! Maybe I missed it!” She read the book fifty more times. “I need my glasses.” She didn’t put down the book for the rest of the night. Each time she had read through it, she would kick madly at a shelf, angry that she couldn’t find a single word concerning ‘humans’. Soon she was engrossed in a sea of books. This was when she decided to take a break. ‘Knock Knock.’

The two distinct sounds could be heard tapping on her door as it opened. Then, the two foreign voices spoke. She navigated through the ever-flowing ocean of knowledge. “Hehe..Oh hey guys!”

*****

The Carmines helped Twilight organize the library once again. Although it was tedious and it was very specific, they finished without a hitch. Twilight came up to the both of them, a quill and scroll in hand. “Si..I was wondering if I could get a few questions about you two?” the nodded. She pulled up two beanbag chairs and a single chair for herself.

The two brothers remained silent until she asked the first question. “Is that armor? Or is that your actual skin?” They shook their heads, feeling the need to hit themselves. “No, we just wear it to protect us.” Benjamin answered. “Can your people fly?” “Yeah! I was in this KR once, and we saved Marcus Fenix from a corpse, the MARCUS FENIX! Can you believe it?” Anthony yelled in excitement. “You saved Sarge?” Benjamin said confused. This was the first he had ever heard of this. “Excuse me, but what’s a ‘KR’?” Twilight interrupted. “A KR is short for King Raven. It’s just a helicop-“ “A what?” She asked.

They realized that these ponies didn’t have helicopters. Nor cars, or tanks, or any kind of transportation that they had back on Sera. “Wait, you don’t even know what a car is, do ya?” Anthony asked to confirm their thoughts. “What’s a ‘car’?” They did it. They facepalmed. “It’s a long story.”

The door got kicked open loudly. “Hey guys! You ready for a Pinkie Party?” Rainbow Dash said as she flew over to Twilight. “But we were in the middle of a ques-“ “Shit yeah!” Anthony ran off with Rainbow Dash. “Looks like it’ll have to wait another time, Twilight.” Benjamin said as he followed after his brother. She sighed disappointingly. “I hope I can get enough information to write to the Princess soon..” She on a saddlebag and tucked the quill and scroll inside.

The two brothers were blindfolded and had been walking for what seemed like half an hour. “Almost there, almost there. Annnddd…stop!” Rainbow Dash stopped their motion as she undid the blindfolds. “Where the hell are we?” “Yeah I want to know that too.” Benjamin agreed with Anthony. “Go inside the barn and find out for yourselves.” Rainbow Dash grinned at the both them. Twilight snuck around to the back.

“Alright…” They said in unison. They opened the door, unknowing of what was inside. The rush of screams, explosions, and cries frightened them. Instinctively, Benjamin threw a smoke grenade and Anthony readied his frag. “Surprise!! Welcome to Po-“ Their greeting was cut off by coughs and choking. Anthony and Benjamin realized they made a terrible mistake. It was just a harmless party, not a Locust ambush.

“Why did you do that?” A pink blur said sadly as it rushed between them. “I wanted this to be the super funnest party ever!” Pinkie’s hair made a pop as her hair deflated. “It..was just…a grand entrance! Yeah that’s it, a grand entrance.” Benjamin said reassuringly. “I thought it was a grub-“ He got hit on the head by his little brother. “Got it.” Anthony understood why he just got hit.

“Oh really?! I thought that you two were like going crazy, like this!” She span her eyes in circles while moving her head erratically. She brought them over to the center of the welcoming crowd. Around fifteen ponies were present. Most of them, the Carmines had seen and had more contact with than the rest of the town.

The ponies smiled at the two humans, almost hauntingly. Anthony and Benjamin couldn’t help but feel like their every move was being watched. “Awkward, Squirt. This is really awkward.” Benjamin nodded to his brother’s statement. Finally, they reached the food. Before them, was something that was almost heaven. The only thing missing that would have made it heaven were bacon, ham, and sandwiches.

“Oh my god…” Benjamin said. He stared at the huge amounts of cake, cupcakes, strudels, rolls, and almost every single variation of confections that were acquainted with apples. His mouth was watering profusely. He looked over to his brother. Actual drool was coming out of his helmet. And so, they feasted. They ate to their hearts’ content. Pinkie who was watching along with the rest of the party, giggled at them.

“Wow, you can almost eat as much as me! Oh you silly fillies!” She said as she waved her hoof at them. Anthony’s head perked up. “Is that a challenge?” “Maybe..” She said sing-songy. “You’re on.” “Okie Dokie Lokie!” It wasn’t long until the winner emerged joyfully. “Yay! I win. I beat that weird thing!” Then the winner pointed towards the loser, who now was on the floor, rubbing their inflated stomach. Groans of pain could be heard coming from the loser. “Told you I’d kick your ass. Did you see that Squirt, little miss Pie here isn’t shit!” He laughed until he felt the pain in his stomach. “Where’s the bathroom..”

Applejack pointed towards the back. The big, hulking blue human ran at the speed of light, almost faster than Rainbow Dash. “I think I should have warned you girls about my brother. He doesn’t like to lose.” Pinkie, who got over the stomach ache, was now with them. “Wow! That was really fun. I love you guys. You’re so fun! Hey, how about we start dancing?” She said without even stopping to breathe.

“Vinyl! Start It up!” “Let’s spin this joint!” The loud sound of a ‘good’ dance song was playing. It was the girls’ favorite. The same song played at Pinkie and Gummy’s party. Benjamin scratched his head but decided not to question their taste. He started just swinging back and forth, not sure how to dance. He wasn’t the best dancer around, only good at one song. He also had to do this dance with one of his brothers.

A loud crashing sound came from the back of the barn. A cackling Anthony walked up dramatically to the dance floor. “Shit just got real.” He then went to the DJ pony, and passed her a disk. The disk was put on and new music came. ‘Stay cool, Baby. Pow! Yeah, Bring it on sucka! This my kinda shit!’ The song seemed to have many beats and such, much different than what any pony listened to.

Surprisingly, the ponies liked this. They had never heard such good and fascinating music. Vinyl Scratch, the DJ, tapped Anthony on his shoulder. “What is this?” “It’s the Cole Train Rap. IT. IS. THE. SHIT.” She wasn’t sure how to respond, but appreciated and listened to every single change in notes or tunes. She was going to try and make her own music like this ‘rap’.

The ponies, not sure how to dance, just danced how they did with the precious song. The Carmines laughed at them. “That’s not how you dance to this. We’ll show you how.” Everypony moved off of the dance floor, clearing way for the two oncoming and confident brothers. The chorus started up again. ‘Yeah, bring it on sucka! This my kinda shit!’ The two brothers were dancing blockily. Almost like robots. Then came twists, turns, quick gestures with feet, and the waving of arms in different directions. Benjamin slowed down as the song came to an end, almost looking like he was frozen with one arm out.

Anthony was on the floor, spinning on his head for a full minute. He didn’t even seem to lose balance. Then when the song ended with a final ‘Pow!’ he came to a halt, and laid on one side, the arm in the air holding his head and his foot in the air arched towards the floor. “Grab a plate, ponies. You just got served.” Anthony said nonchalantly. Even though their dancing style seemed eccentric, weird, and fast paced, it seemed to fit with the music. Almost like that’s how you were supposed to dance.

The ponies, in pure utter shock and bewilderment, could not help but applaud the two dancers. They felt put to shame by the dancing skills of these newcomers. The two brothers got up, bowed, and said “Thank you, thank you. The shows not over yet, boys and girls.” The following hour consisted of various more similar songs like the ‘Cole Train Rap’ some being ‘Prescott’s Rally’, ‘Dizzy’s Hootenanny’, and ‘The Locust Bump’. The ponies, trying but failing, imitated the moves of the humans. Though they didn’t succeed, they still had fun. Anthony and Benjamin, however, were still the center of the stage.

Finally, the dancing hour ended. Everypony was exhausted, and most began to head home. The party was definitely a blast. The Carmines sat down on a bale of hay, resting for all of the energy they just used. Anthony and Benjamin were moving their arms and legs, making sure they could still function. The entire time though, Lyra was watching them. She studied every movement of their arms and legs, fascinated by how they worked. The two brothers noticed this, and tried to avoid her gaze. They looked up at the ceiling, admiring the woodwork.

Lyra, for some reason, was being held back by some unseen force. “Do you see them? They’re so…interesting.” She said as a passionate smile came across her face. She let out a long happy sigh. “Aren’t they dreamy?” “Lyra, what’s wrong with you? They’re so…weird! But compared to you, they seem to be normal.” Bon-Bon said to her fantasizing friend. “Are you going to be okay, Lyra? You look like you might try something..” Lyra didn’t answer her except for a silent nod. ‘Oh, I will.’

The Element came up to the resting two. “So, now that we have some peace and quiet, do you mind talking about your past?” A very studious Twilight asked. The others sighed, not surprised by what was Twilight’s first question. “I’ll do it, but I don’t think Ant will be able to any time soon.” Benjamin said as he pointed to Anthony.

“Ah! Get offa me!” “Mister Mister! Do ya wanna help us git our Cutie Marks?! Oh please, won’t cha please do it?” A small yellow coated, red-maned filly asked him. “Yeah, Rarity won’t help me, so will you?” A similar looking Rarity-filly followed. “Hey get off of Anthony! He’s not a toy you guys!” Scootaloo said, trying to pry the Crusaders off of her big brother. Ever since the Crusaders saw the humans, they wanted to play with everything they had. From the helmet, armor, and boots, to the big toys that Scootaloo called 'no-no’s’.

These toys were apparently really dangerous and loud. This was what Scootaloo had told them anyhow. Nothing else was said about them other than the humans should only use them. Anthony was still busy swatting the two kids off of him. "Yo, Scoot, get your friends off me." "I can't bro, they won't move. Come on guys, this isn't cool." Scootaloo said trying to persuade them to calm down. Anthony and Benjamin both finally learned about the ass tattoos. They were called Cutie Marks. They laughed at the idea of a male pony getting something called that. But they respected the ponies’ cultures regardless.

"So, what is 'Sera' Like?" Twilight resumed. Benjamin seemed enthusiastic to talk about home. "Oh, it was the one of the best places to live on. It was big, peaceful, there were so many people, and there was so much bacon." He stopped for a minute, thinking of all of the misadventures he and his brother had. "Life was great, and you know, it wasn't so different from here, except you know, no talking ponies. Anyway, the technology was pretty advanced and everyday was basically the same." He stopped speaking, thinking of his memories some more. By now, the children and Lyra and Bon-Bon were sitting close, listening to the story.

Anthony was next to his brother, Benjamin, who was telling the story. "Wait, why do ya keep talkin' about it like it changed? You keep sayin' it 'was' great." Applejack questioned . Anthony and Benjamin both sighed. This was where they had to tell the innocent ponies about the Locusts. The merciless, brutal, monsters. "You're right..something did happen. The peace wasn't there long. New things popped out of the ground. They were called the Locusts." And so, he told them the history of humanity's interactions with the enemy. He told all that he knew about the Lightmass Offensive and the mission he served on himself.

The ponies’ reactions were greatly varied. There were looks of concern, confusion, sadness, anger, and many others. They couldn't begin to comprehend the concept of death, let alone killing and war. All they could do was listen to things they had no experience in. Equestria was never in war, it never had any killing for that matter. The news of the two brothers being soldiers also shocked them. Even though they were nice and fun, they didn't seem the fighting type. The idea of the brothers also killing made them sick. When it came to Anthony's death, Benjamin skipped over it. Anthony decided to speak at this point.

"Squirt was just a kid when this all happened. My big bro Clay, already joined the COG. I followed him. Man, do I have to say, the days in training were killer. We had to lift weights and work out every single hour. We barely ate too! But it was great overall. If I didn't go through it, I wouldn't have met Marcus Fenix. Also I would never have done all those awesome things to the grubs." Anthony finished speaking, taking a break for a moment. "Awesome? I'll tell you something, bro. I saw this one grub and I just got on top of him, and swung down with my fists one by one. Dude, by the time I was done, his head came right off."

Fluttershy screamed at this, the others made retching sounds. The two didn't seem to notice this. "Sorry Squirt, but I got you beat. I saw this little shit try to crawl away, and I just tore his arm clean off and beat the shit out of him with it." He said proudly. The ponies were all screaming now. "That's good, Ant. But here comes the finale. Me and Dom got this ticker who was alseep, and tied it to a wretch. Then, we pushed the wretch toward a group of flame grenadiers. Oh my god, you had to see the fireworks. Little bits and pieces of grubs flew everywhere. I had to go clean my gear after that."

The ponies remained silent now. They didn't even move an inch. The friendly humans they were having so much fun with revealed such a horrible and violent path. They weren't sure what to think at this point. The brothers stopped laughing and looked at the others. They realized that they must have sounded like the real monsters with what they said. "No. It's not like that. We're not like that. We were at war. It was kill or be killed. It was fight or die. If we didn't do this, everyone that we knew and loved would die. That's why we did it." Benjamin said, trying to convince them.

A long silence followed. None of the ponies looked up at the brothers, not even Lyra or Scootaloo. This was a major blow to their character. Suddenly, a voice spoke up. "Ah believe y'all. Both of ya sound like you're tellin' the truth anyhow. If you say that you ain't evil, Ah believe you." Applejack slowly admitted. Soon, she was followed by the approvals and acceptances of the others. Things seemed to go back to how it was just earlier. This of course, was Twilight's perfect timing to mess up a peaceful time. "How did you two get here?" Her question sunk in the minds of Anthony am Benjamin. They weren't sure on how to answer. "Well?" Twilight persisted. Anthony began again.

"We..don't know..The last thing I remember is..." He paused. Everypony leaned in closer to him to hear what he had to say. "...I died." "WHAT?!" Benjamin continued his brothers words. "Me too." They gasped and couldn't speak. All except Fluttershy, who was very sad. "How? If you don't mind me asking." "Well, I was securing a building. When my gun jammed, I stood up and..." "And I died when the riftworm swallowed me and Delta whole. These bug-things got ahold of me. They just ripped and tore and.." Benjamin stopped. The memory of the event returned to him. His whole death played out before him. But it was interrupted. He and his brother were surrounded by little warm bodies closing in. Everyone there hugged the brothers, hoping to lift spirits.

They thought they were doing the right thing, and smiled. The Carmines, on the other hand, looked at each other, whispering ‘Get these things off me’ to each other. They had no remorse on dying. In fact, they liked this new place somewhat better than Sera. It was peaceful. Then, their prayer were answered. The girls all got pushed away. “Finally, I thought you girl wou-“ “There, there, Ben. You can tell Rarity all about it. In fact, I think we should go back to my place and talk about this some more.” Rarity said while sitting on Benjamin’s lap. “I think that would be a rather pleasant idea, don’t you?” Benjamin was baffled. But he wasn’t the only one getting this kind of ‘attention’. “So…Anthony, how about we go and lay on my bed back home?” Lyra said as she traced her hooves along Anthony’s chest plate.

“Uhhh…” Anthony was speechless. “Get off him Lyra!” Bon-Bon said as she tried to pry Lyra away. Lyra, of course wasn’t moving. “So, what do you say?” Lyra looked at Anthony with a perverted smile. “Huh, wow look at the time! I have to go….water the..Scootaloo..” He said as he ran out of the door. “Wait!” The mint green unicorn shouted as she chased after her lover. “Yeah, I gotta go help Ant with that..” Benjamin said as he sprinted after the pair. “Where do you thing, you’re going mister?” Rarity attempted to pick him up with her magic, but he was already gone by the time she opened her eyes again.

Twilight sighed and started for the door.

“Looks like this party's at an end, girls. We shou- Princess Celestia!”

An Old 'Friend'

“Holy…..shit…..that was…intense!” Anthony said with gasps in between. Benjamin did not even answer him, as he himself was breathing desperately for air. They were chased probably around the entire town by two very crazy ponies. The running had lasted about thirty minutes, which was straining on the two recruits. They didn’t get the most exercise, considering they were green as grass. A run like that was an amazing feat on their part.

“Where are we anyway?” Benjamin said with a last huff of breath. He looked around them to find themselves in an alley. “What the hell Ant? Why did you pick a dead end to hide in?” He said in disbelief at his older brother’s recklessness. “Must’ve taken a wrong turn. My bad.” He said with a shrug. They walked out of the alley and started for their camp. It was nighttime after all. And after the massive amount of partying they just experienced, along with the little exercise, they were drained.

“Oh boys!” A voice called from behind. “Over here, you mustn’t keep a pair of ladies waiting!” The two brothers turned around, finding two ponies not too far behind. Rarity and Lyra looked different. They seemed as if they had been shined, treated, combed, the works. They batted their eyelashes at the humans. “Come on, we have a table for four at this very special restaurant.” Lyra spoke up. Anthony and Benjamin looked at each other, nodded, and ran for it. “Crazy shits!” Anthony yelled as they fled.

For some reason, they couldn’t move. They felt like they were frozen in time. They looked around their bodies. Sure enough, time wasn’t stopped but they were. A magical aura surrounded their entire bodies. It was a purple-ish haze. “What the hell?” Benjamin said confused. Anthony shot a mean glare behind him. The two ponies behind them weren’t the reason why they were frozen however. No, Lyra and rarity had their heads bowed for some unknown reason. “Sorry you two, but I have someone who wants to meet you.” The voice was that of Twilight Sparkle’s. She trotted over to them, and gave them an awkward smile.

She could sense that they weren’t too happy with what she was doing. She bit her lip and looked away towards a tall figure that was further back. “Princess?” The figure got closer. “Whoa.” Anthony blurted out. The pony before him wasn’t just a regular pony. It was a pony with a horn, wings, and a sun on her flank. She had a crown and her ever-flowing mane was glittering. It was different colors, not as many as Rainbow Dash but still had a good amount. On the majestic being’s head, lay a crown.

“Put them down, my pupil. I wish to talk to them on friendlier terms.” Princess Celestia gave a calm, regal smile to Twilight Sparkle, who in turn blushed and lowered the humans. The humans were as tall as the Princess, if not taller. “Hello, I’d like to introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia, the ruler of the land that you stand in.”

“What up?” Anthony said casually. Benjamin was a little embarrassed by this, speaking to loyalty like that surely wasn’t the way to go. After some thoughts and stops, Benjamin spoke to the regal pony before him. “Hello, I am Benjamin and that it my brother, Anthony Carmine.” He moved his hand forward to shake the Princess’s. The Princess stared at his hand unsure of what to do, but followed his gesture.

Benjamin took her hoof and shook up and down. “Pleasure to meet you, your highness.” He said respectfully. “Now Twilight has informed me of your pasts. I am sorry for what has happened to you two. But I would like to catch of glimpse of what your lives were like before arriving here.” Princess Celestia lowered her head. Her horn shined and seemed to come in contact with both Carmine’s heads.

*****

“Humans are no strangers to war. After all, we’ve been fighting for as long as we can remember. War is all we know. In the past, we fought for Immulsion. We fought for country. We fought for freedom. But all that changed after E-Day. For fifteen years, we’ve been fighting for our very survival against inhuman, genocidal monsters. But it is a fight we cannot continue. Humanity faces extinction, unless we end this war now.” Prescott’s voice was booming from the monitor on the King Raven.

“So why Landown, Sergeant? Why not just drill down here?” Benjamin said while pointing down towards Jacinto. “Jacinto’s the one place they can’t dig through, and Landown’s the perfect spot to hit ‘em on their own turf!” Marcus answered. “Heard there’s a shitload of grubs there, Sergeant!” Ben rebutted. Marcus’ face changed expressions to some kind of concealed joy. “More like ten shitloads.” The sound of the propeller blades drowned out their conversation, leaving Prescott’s voice to be heard.

“We had hoped the Lightmass bombing would decimate the Locust Horde, but they survived…and have returned stronger than ever. They brought with them a force that can sink entire cities. Even Jacinto, our last beacon of hope through all these dark days, is now at risk. Soon we’ll have nothing left to defend, and that means we have only one option. Attack. Gears, what I ask of you now is not an easy thing, but it is necessary. If we are to survive, if we are to live long enough to see the seasons pass. To see our children grow, and experience a time of peace that we have never known; we must now take this fight to the Locust! We will go to where they live and breed, and WE. WILL. Destroy them! This is the day we take the battle to the heart of the enemy! This is the day that we correct the course of human history! This is the day we ensure our survival as a species! Soldiers of the COG, my fellow Gears, go forth and bring back the hope of humanity!” The voice boomed on the last part, ending the speech with loud sounds of cheers.

The scene ended with Benjamin and Delta jumping off of their transport, being greeted by similar sounding man to Applejack. He also had a hat the same as her’s. Snippets of scenes followed, most of Benjamin and Anthony killing creatures that were called the Locust. It ranged from Anthony cutting them in half, stomping on their body parts, or Benjamin shooting a beam out of his Longshot, accompanied by a loud ‘pop’. The final scene, was of their deaths. Which ended as the final blow was seen delivered to them.

*****

The brothers felt like they had been invaded, in their minds anyway. The Princess who stood before them was frozen, her face in utter shock and horror. They just stared at her as she had her eyes closed. Finally, with what seemed to them like a kick to the head, her eyes opened up. The only thing that emitted from her mouth was a scream. A scream filled with fear and anger. It was strong enough to push the Carmines a few feet back.

“YOU SHALL NOT LIVE HERE!” Celestia screamed with all her might. Twilight, who had almost never seen her mentor as angry as this, rushed over to the royal alicorn’s side. “Princess Celestia! What’s wrong!?” Princess Celestia didn’t respond, her focus completely on the two foreign creatures in front of her. “The violence that you have brought with you shall not be permitted. I banish you two to the sun!” Her horn lit up in a fiery red aura, lifting the two brothers up violently.

The two brothers, were flabbergasted. Twilight has spoken so highly of the Princess, describing the royalty’s peaceful and patient nature. They thought of any possible options that seemed to work, and they did just that. “Freeze you psycho bitch!” Anthony said as he began spinning his frag grenade. Benjamin raised his Longshot to the Princess’s head. “The moment I pull this trigger, your head goes bye-bye.” Benjamin felt conflicted about harming any of the ponies, but if they were planning on hurting him and his brother, he would not hesitate to kill.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Twilight shouted with every part of her body. The Princess, had lost her focus, her will being broken. She dropped the two hard on their asses. Benjamin got up quickly while picking up his brother. “Stand up like a man!” They rushed over to Princess Celestia and amied their weapons toward her head. “Please Princess, these two mean no harm! They have shown that they are entirely peaceful and just want a safe place to live!” Twilight pleaded with all of her might. “Show her you two, lower your weapons and stand down.” She said to the brothers softly with an undertone of urgency.

“Fine..” Benjamin lowered his weapon and moved away. Anthony was still anxious. HE loudly showed his disbelief of his brother’s willingness to cope with a sigh. Benjamin put his hand on Anthony’s shoulder and nodded. Anthony was angry, not only at this Princess, but at his brother for being so spineless. He huffed and moved away aggravated.

*****
During this entire time, Princess Celestia was in full out fear. She never once had ever been this scared since the return of Night Mare Moon and Discord. In fact, she was probably joyful with the other two situation compared to this. She had rarely ever dealt with death. The world she had glimpsed into was full of bloodshed, war, and no mercy. These two humans before her had her in their lines of fire. She saw just what these weapons were capable of.

But she wasn’t only scared for her own life, but the lives of her ponies. She didn’t want her kingdom to experience such hatred. This was the reason why she had planned to banish these humans, why she changed from a loving and friendly princess into a angry and omniscient one. In her heart, she knew that these two could be trusted and were most likely peaceful, but she still had to have her doubts.

Despite all of the bad memories from these soldiers, she found some good. Deep inside these foreign creature’s minds, were some loving and caring memories. Memories of children, brothers, playing together. They seemed so joyful and carefree. They shared everything together and belonged to a big loving family. It seemed almost immaculate. Until these so called ‘Locusts’ came.

Thinking about these specific memories, she could not but smile in this delicate and already disastrous situation. She looked up, ready to apologize and propose a peace between the two races. All that was before her were Twilight Sparkle, her beloved apprentice, and Rarity and Lyra, very loyal subjects. There were no humans however, for the two brothers had walked off while she was contemplating.

*****

“Screw that! Crazy shit threw us into the air and she wants us to wait while she thinks?! I don’t fucking think so!” Anthony was ranting madly about the supposed ‘Princess’ that was so adored. Benjamin was trying to defuse some of his brother’s anger. “Maybe she didn’t mean it?” He said nervously. “Mean it? MEAN IT?! She fucking threw us into the air and was going to put us on the goddamn sun! I don’t think they have bacon on the sun, Squirt!” Anthony’s pace had quickened, only a few steps short of a full on Roadie Run.

“Listen, how about we got back to camp, take a nice long nap, and a shower to top it off? You know what? I’ll even make bacon just for you.” He said thinking it would work. And it did. “That does sound pretty good….Alright, let’s get to it!” He was running, even skipping in the air while humming some kind of bacon lullaby. They reached camp not long after, Anthony’s speed was fast. They began to set their weapons and unstrap their armor when they heard a flap. It sounded like wings.

They picked their weapons back up and checked the perimeter. “Looks all goo-”Benjamin stopped as he saw that dangerous form again. “What the fuck do you want?” Anthony said close to Benjamin. “I…wish to apologize..I might have overreacted too much.” Princess Celestia found herself a bit embarrassed. “Might have?! MIGHT HA-” Anthony’s rant was stopped by his brother. “Shut up you. Anyway, it’s….alright..we forgive you..but you shouldn’t have enraged Ant here.” Benjamin said hesitantly. Anthony was pumping his fists in the air, like an oversized monkey.

‘Well at least he’s not making monkey sou-” “Hohah!” Anthony was jumping around, eager to shoot at the alicorn who lifted him up like a ragdoll. Celestia couldn’t contain it anymore. She was laughing whole-heartedly. Her laughter broke the regality that she had seemed like. After some nervous chuckles from Twilight, who had been next to Celestia, and from Benjamin, the large princes contained herself. “I was too quick to judge you. But be forewarned, if you harm any of my little ponies, I will not hesitate to incur my wrath.” She said while still smiling. Benjamin was not sure if she was serious or not, but decided to go with the former.

Now that a somewhat mutual agreement and peace was reached, she spoke with them of their past, the humans doing the same. The whole actual stories of the humans’ pasts were horrifying. Celestia could not believe her ears of how humans fought each other and then fought other things. It seemed like they never stopped fighting. Twilight, who was madly scribbling away in her journal, was ecstatic of this news. Never had she ever gained anymore interesting knowledge firsthand.

Finally, after a long five hours of recounting and recording, the Princess and her pupil left the two humans to their sleep. The Carmines, who by now were dreary-eyed, fell asleep. They slept soundly, though right before they gave each other a bro-fist. After a very long and overly exhausting day, they could finally rest.

The Princess had given them a set of terms in order for them to live in Equestria. They must promise not to harm any ponies, they must not speak too many profanities, which was horrifying to Anthony, and they must not use their weapons willy-nilly. They must show constraint in all matters. Benjamin thought deeply about these before accepting. Anthony on the other hand, was not willing to accept. He of course, had to accept them forcingly by his little brother.

Scootaloo all the while was watching from the distance as all of that night’s events unfolded before her. The whole gist of it was enough to set off and excite her fellow Crusaders. Perhaps, if she was as brave and cool as her new found brothers, she could gain her Cutie Mark once and for all. When she finally saw her brothers go to sleep, she left her hiding spot and curled up between them. The cold exterior of their armor was heated by the warmth of their skin which was not far under.

“So awesome!” She exclaimed as she looked at her brothers’ ever-open blue eyes. Well, their helmets anyway. She slowly drifted off to another good dream, one in which she had her Cutie Mark and was one of the awesomest ponies or people in Equestria. She let out a cute little squeal of joy, which was heard by no one around.

Peace had finally come at last. The Carmines had found a new home and new friends. An alliance securing this peace was established, and they were still safe from the clutches of Rarity and Lyra. They were still normal human beings, interested in sex with other female human beings. They were not people who had participated in bestiality. Well, for now anyway. If they will ever get tricked or forced into a relationship with the ponies, only time will tell.

*****

Pain. All it could feel in it’s body was pain. It looked around itself and found it was in a forest. The last thing it remembered was following it’s mortal enemies. They were trying to warn their leaders of the events to come. It was riding aboard it’s loyal and favorite pet, who was shot down by the enemies, leading to it’s death. It’s final sight was that of it’s pet landing on it, killing it with the massive force and structure.

It wanted to return, to find it’s queen. It looked for any familiar sight within this mysterious forest. No forests in it’s skirmishes had looked like this one. It wanted to protect it’s queen once more from the dangers ahead. The memories of it’s fond queen played before it. The whole world around it seemed to disappear. ‘Snap’. A twig nearby brought it back to reality.

It picked it’s weapon up, ready to look once more for it’s beloved queen. It thoroughly examined it’s specially crafted weapon. A double-ended sword with two destructive and terrifying rotating blades on the end. This was a special gift from the queen. Along with being chosen as her personal guard. It looked back at the forest in front of it. Just then, a familiar smell reached it’s nose. It inhaled deeply, and followed the scent’s direction, recognizing what creature emitted this smell.

“Gearssss…….”

Love Carmine

“Shit, this goddamn bed is killing me!” Anthony was venting his rage for the past six hours now. The hoof going into his wound really did not help. “Oh..umm…could you lower the volume and not move around so much?...if you don’t mind..” Fluttershy whispered. “What? Did you say something?” Anthony did not hear that she even spoke. No, he actually thought her voice was a draft in the air.“No…” “I still can’t hear you!” He struggled in the bed. “Eeep!” She squealed and ducked under Anthony’s bed.

Well, her bed rather. The whole group though it best that he rest in Fluttershy’s home while they cleaned up. Of course, they did go and bring him there. Knowing Fluttershy, she probably would have collapsed a second time after carrying Anthony .00000000000000000001 of a millimeter. Also, the gaping and ever-gushing shoulder wound wouldn’t have helped either. They put him on her pony-sized bed, which only measured to his waist. His feet and legs were dangling off of the bed.

His wound was bandaged up, and his shoulder-plate was repaired by Benjamin. As for medicine, only herbal remedies could help, much to the chagrin of Anthony, who ‘hated hippie shit’. “I think you should…apologize..” She began speaking again after a few minutes. Anthony, still trying to move but was tied down to the bed by Applejack, grunted in response. “What the hell for?”

Fluttershy winced at his tone and volume. “For..for…the names..” She said blankly. “Huh what? Names? What names?” He was confused for sure. “you called me…Flutter..g-” She mumbled the last part. “Speak fucking louder!” “You called me…Slu- shy” “Oh my GOD! Can you get any quieter?!” He asked rhetorically. “…Yes.” She said so low that only an ant could hear her. Too bad the only ant in the room was on the bed. “THAT’S IT!” Anthony said as he ripped through the rope with his manly…err…manliness, and turned.

He forgot that the bed was so small and his face met with a wooden floor. “Ummph….ow..” He made a loud thump when he crashed and felt like something had ripped through his body. ‘Wait a minute…something did rip through my body!’ He got up and looked to his shoulder and sobbed a little. His manly tears rubbed down his face and he drank them back up. Only a real man would shed manly tears and drink them back up in hopes that no one witnessed the act.

A soft and gentle giggle came from across the room. “You shouldn’t be out of bed Mr. Carmine..” Fluttershy said mockingly, yet still frightened. “Why you little!” Anthony reached his arms for Fluttershy’s neck and gave chase. “Eeep!”

*****

“Oh darling, that red absolutely clashes with the brilliant blue of your armor! Let me clean that up for you.” Rarity began wiping the deceased Skorge’s blood off of Benjamin’s COG armor. The sun’s rays shined on his armor, casting a reflection of the pampered white mare. “Oh, I can see myself in your armor, sweetie!” She said gleefully. “I doubt you could actually fit in this thing..” Benjamin replied ,unaware of the reflection. “Pish posh, dear.” She blankly stated as she looked closer. There was something in her mane. She couldn’t tell what though.

“Oh honey, could you tell me what’s that garish speck in my mane?” She asked pleasantly. He looked down and picked it out. “You had some ear in you mane.” He said casually. He put the ear in front of her. It was still oozing blood, and had apparently been in her mane all of this time. It wasn’t long before the alabaster unicorn put two and two together.

“AAAAAAHH!” A scream of pure shock and horror could be heard from as far away as Canterlot. In a flash, Rarity levitated Benjamin into the air and towards her store, the Carousel Boutique. “What..are…are you…doing?!” Benjamin said while being thrown around with each bump in the road. “I HAVE TO CLEAN MYSELF FOR FIVE HOURS.” Rarity stated as matter-of-factly. “Five hours? Why the hell are you bringing me along!?” Benjamin said unsure of what was to come.

“Why you’re going to shower with me of course!”

*****

“How…the hell….are you so….fast!?” Anthony paused every so often with a large pant. He had been running for what seemed like days now. In actuality, it was just a minute. Chasing the timid little shut-in pegasus was not as easy as it seemed. Apparently, she had a lot of energy for running. Not for fun though. No, this stored energy was meant for one thing. Running away.

“Are you calm now, Mr. Carmine?” She asked while peeking around the corner of a door. “Oh yeah..I’m calm alright.” He said while laughing crazily. An idea popped into his head. ‘When that little shit comes close enough, I’m gonna strangle the shit outta her!’ She slowly flew over to him. “Yes…yes..closer…closer!” He was really giving off an eerie cackle. “Mr. Bear, would you be as so kind as to guide Mr. Carmine back to his bed?” She seemed to be talking to something behind me. He looked at her confused, and then laughed.

“Mr. Bear? Bitch you cra-”

‘Thump’

Everything around Anthony went black.

*****

“Nurse Redheart? Could I borrow a spare nurse outfit?” “Sure but may I ask what for?” The hesitantly accepting white earth pony replied. “Oh nothing..just taking care of a friend who got hurt.” “Lyra, is this about that hurt human at Fluttershy’s place?” Lyra nodded repeatedly. “Yes!” Nurse Redheart sighed and went into the store room. She came back out a few minutes later and handed the nurse hat to an overjoyed Lyra.

“Thanks! I’ll bring it back later!” Lyra said while leaving the hospital. “What did I just do?” Nurse Redheart said under her breath while shaking her head disapprovingly. Lyra was running at full pace now. She had one thing in mind, getting Anthony. Since he was injured, immobilized by ropes, and simply loved her, or so she thought on the last part, Anthony needed someone to take care of him. And that someone was Lyra.

“Don’t worry my love! I’m-a coming!” She said with an enormous boost in her speed. “Huh!?” Many heads turned to see what just whizzed by. Of course, they dropped it, trying to focus on the mess in the middle of town. Somepony had to clean up that red paint all over the place. The mayor had told them that somepony mistakenly dropped red warm paint all over and forgot to clean. So she decided to make it a town project. The smell was unbearable, like something had not showered in weeks.

A young filly with a crown came to the mess with her father. “Daddy! Do we really have to clean?” she asked begging. “Diamond Tiara, you are going to clean this mess with me or your grounded.” He said. She had still not learned her lesson after going mad with power while running the Foal Free Press. They started to arrive at the scene when she spotted a ball out of the corner of her eye. It was shiny, and smooth. She picked it up with her hoof and examined it. There were little red streaks and the whole thing was white. She flipped it around and saw a small circle in the middle. It was black. This was when she realized something.

“It looks like an eye.”

*****

“Put me down!” Benjamin yelled with a commanding voice. “Alright.” Rarity answered. She dropped him alright. Right into a large circular bathtub that almost seemed like a pool. The water was warm, almost relaxing. Benjamin tried to fight it at first, but a partaking in a large war, living in the wilderness, and fighting a big ugly motherfucker can get to you sometimes. He leaned back against the pool wall and folded his arms behind his head. “Ahh..that’s good..” Benjamin said aloud.

He paid no attention to the small splash near him or the water that was coming from the beck hole in his armor. He heard some sloshing and the movement of water changing. He didn’t care though, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep forever. Rarity washed her mane. Her blood stained indigo mane was now just that, a pure indigo once again. It was dripping wet and her hair lost its fashionable curls. It was straight, like when ‘Pinkimena’ came out. “Oh darling….” Rarity said seductively. “It seems we’re all alone in this..warm and quiet bath..” She said while spinning circles in the water with her hooves. A grin came across her face. “Maybe we can..’talk’.” She put emphasis on the last word.

With that, Benjamin reopened his eyes to look at her. “Whaa?” He said while raising an eyebrow underneath the helmet. She started inching closer and closer to him. ‘Thump Thump. His heart rate quickened. “Oh you don’t have to hide it. I know that you feel the same way as I do. I know that you don’t feel the same about Applejack as you feel about me.” Her face was starting to flush into a bright red. This red was very elegant and gentle compared to the shade of red she had turned when he was waking up. ‘Thump thump. Thump thump.’

“Listen…uhh..Rarity! I..uhh..no offense..uh-“ He was cut short by a hush from the approaching and aroused fashionista. “Shush! Let it happen.” She was on him now. ‘THUMP THUMP.’ His hands were scrounging around for a smoke grenade. The horrific realization struck him. He left all of his equipment back at the cottage. ‘Shit.’ She leaned her body on his armor, wrapping her hooves around his back. This locked him in and stopped him from moving whatsoever.

She leaned in, mouths puckered ready for a kiss, her front hooves moving for his helmet, ready to pull it off. ‘THUMP THUMP. THUMP THUMP.’ He was frantically moving his arms; his heart was beating so fast. It seemed to almost explode and burst out of his ribcage. He could hear that suction noise coming closer to his face. The warmth of the water was drowned out by the warmth of her body. Her mane was surrounding his vision.

Crash. A window broke at this moment. “Hehe, sorry about that Rari-” A clumsy Rainbow Dash stopped, frozen in pure dumb confusion. “This isn’t what it looks like!” Benjamin stated. Though in his mind, he was saying ‘Thank you, I worship you rainbow girl.’ She had just saved him from being..you know. “this is exactly what it looks like darling.” Rarity interrupted gingerly. She proceeded to go back to her actions.

“Noooo!” Benjamin yelled out. Just then, a streak of rainbow moved him.‘Yes! Oh fucking YES!’ He thought. Then he felt knocking on his head. “Take that! And that! No one takes advantage of my friends!” Rainbow Dash was giving him the ol’ one-two hoof to his head. “What the shit?” Benjamin was dumbfounded. ‘Why is she hitting my ass?’ Apparently, to Rainbow Dash, Benjamin had been taking advantage of Rarity, when it was obviously the other way around.

In Rainbow Dash’s mind, the scene before her played as follows.

Rainbow Dash was doing the awesomest stunt in all of Equestria. She had done the over nine-thousand flip and a barrel roll. All throughout this too, she had been doing a Sonic Rainboom. She had been going at speeds nopony had ever reached before, proving she was the fastest and best flier ever. She then got hit by a lightning bolt from Discord, who was laughing at her. Unable to fly, she went into the closest thing that was safe, Rarity’s place.

She crashed through the window heroically and saw the large ‘friend’ Benjamin holding a crying Rarity in place. She was begging for her life and offering anything in return that he leave her alone. He was madly cackling and rubbing her in inappropriate places. Behind her ears, on her stomach and her nose. They made her laugh as well, though forced because of the sensitivity of it. Then he reached a hand for her ‘private’ area. Her mane. That was when the awesome Rainbow Dash came to the rescue. “Never fear, your friendly neighborhood, Rainbow Dash is here.” And with that, she defeated Benjamin.

In reality, Rainbow Dash fainted, was put back on her cloud, and stayed happily asleep. She managed to somehow roll off of her cloud and fell off and back to Equestria. By the time she regained control of her wings, she fell through the window. And the whole catch phrase was actually never uttered. She had actually just sneezed propelling her at Benjamin.

Benjamin was really getting fed up with the ignorance of the ponies. His train of thought, however, was broken as an all-too familiar form emerged behind Rainbow Dash. “Keep him down, Rainbow Darling. We need to teach this ruffian a lesson or two, and I promise, they will be pleasuring.”

“Shit.”

*****

Anthony awoke, back in the small kiddy sized bed. “Uhh what happened?” “Mr. Bear brought you back.” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly at him and waved off to a figure in the doorway. “Thank you!” She exclaimed. She gave folded a towel and put it on his head. Then she proceeded to read him a bedtime story. “What the fuck?! Im not a kid and I’m not sick. I got chainsawed on the shoulder. What part of chainsawed do you not understand?!” Anthony was aggravated. “Uhmm…all of it?” Fluttershy said as knocking came from the door.

“Ooh, a visitor. I’ll go see who it is.” Fluttershy said calmly. “Yeah you better see who it is!” ‘Senile Bit-‘ His thought got stopped as she came back in. “You have a visitor!” “Finally! Benjamin’s back. Yo Squirt! Did you bring as much bacon as I asked you?” He said, his mood seeming to perk up. Maybe this day wasn’t so bad after all. No answer, just footsteps. “Yo Ben, the silent type ain’t working for ya.” Still no answer. “Ben?” “Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention..it’s a nurse coming to visit you. She said that she’s here to make sure everything’s alright.” Fluttershy said as she flew out of the room. Anthony looked at where she was sitting, not even acknowledging the present nurse that just arrived. “What’s the prognosis doc?” He said still not looking.

“You’re going to feel all better when I finish.” The nurse answered. “Oh that’s great fucking news!” He said happily, while turning his head to view his savior. His messiah.

“…..Hi Babe..”

Flying From Danger

“Now darling, this feels a little tight, but I promised to please you in any way I could, did I not?” Rarity was wearing a latex suit. Something that Twilight had used in the past for some unknown reason. It was originally torn but Rarity used it as a model for a newer, sleeker, and more ‘revealing’ one. It covered her entire body in a smooth, black velvet. It stopped at her neck line and a large purposely-made hole was around her flank.

“Now don’t fight darling. Rainbow, be a dear and hold him down.” She said gracefully to the pegasus. The pegasus, was still unaware of Rarirty’s intentions. She had thought that Rarity was going to kick Benjamin’s butt or something. “You get him, Rare!” She said while putting her whole weight down on Benjamin. She flapped her wings, making a downward force propel her even more.

Benjamin was struggling the entire time. He was shrieking in horror and regret at over agreeing to come to the obsessive mare’s workshop. “Let me go! Come on, please!” He was begging as if his life depended on it. In his mind, it did. Participating in bestiality was the last thing he had ever wanted to do, let alone talk about. “Hold still, dearie. Only a couple more seconds..” She was slowly lowering her flank down on his you-know-what area.

Her face was blushing profusely, changing that white into a beautiful shade of rose. She was letting out ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahhs’ in pleasure. She was picturing in her mind what was going to come. She bit her lip in excitement and sweat rolled down her face. Sweat was also rolling down Benjamin’s, albeit for another reason. His heart had exploded a few minutes ago. Suddenly, it reignited so that it could explode yet again.

A brilliant life-saving thought entered his mind. ‘Aha!’ He moved his hand to point at the window. “Hey look, it’s a famous pony!” He wasn’t sure if they were dumb enough to fall for the childish trick but couldn’t deny any possibilities. “Wonderbolts?” Rainbow flew to the window excitedly. “Fancy Pants?! Wait, he can’t fly… Ben darling-“ She was cut off by the loud crashing sound from the door.

Where Benjamin had laid not too long ago was empty. He had bolted for the door the second that the two tyrannical ponies turned their heads. “What the shit!?” He yelled in shock. He could not believe they just fell for the oldest book in the game. The only thing he could do now was run back to Fluttershy’s home, grab his gear, and evacuate his brother. He felt that a shitstorm was brewing.

He could hear a loud, angry, maniacal, and still somewhat composed and refined shout emanating from that hell house.

“Rainbow Dash, get him! COME BACK HONEY!”

*****

“Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck!” Anthony had been in a never-ending loop of saying this for ten minutes now. The adoring Lyra came to take care of him. And that’s just what she did. She fed him soup, cookies, and other such loving things. What she did do that wasn’t much of caring was that she said he was sick. After declaring him sick, when he was just injured, she took it upon herself to warm him up.

She cuddled his protective armor and started drooling all over it. She then proceeded to lick around his exposed neck and his helmet. He could hear the sounds of the strands travelling downward. He had no way to escape either, as he was tied down again by ‘Mr. Bear’. He lost hope. She was giggling in the most aroused and perverted manner. Like something out of a horror novel depicting rape.

“Can you even get raped by a pony?” Anthony blurted his thought out. He heard an answering chuckle from Lyra. “Oh babe…you don’t even know the half of it. “She moved on top of him now, her flank staring Anthony in the face. “Now when I sit down, don’t hold back.” She said in a content voice. The door was thrown off of it’s hinges. At that precise moment, Anthony saw Benjamin come to his rescue.

Anthony started to cry tears of joy. “Oh Ben, you saved me! Oh Ben, you’ve stopped this crazy shit. Oh Ben…what the fuck?!” He shouted. Benjamin had rushed in, grabbed his weapons, looked at the scene before him, and did a double-take. After doing a double-take, he proceeded to run out of the house. Apparently, he didn’t come to save Anthony. “Shiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttt!” Anthony was muffled as Lyra’s flank was on his helmet.

She let out a loud, pleased sigh. “Ohhhh yeah!” She panted. “Never fear, Benjamin is here!” Benjamin then jumped through the door, and did a kick on her that resembled that of a falcon’s. She went flying out the open window, much to Anthony’s dismay who wished it was closed, and was knocked unconscious.

“Why the fuck didn’t you save me earlier!?” Anthony vented. “I thought it would be funny to leave you there.” He shrugged. Anthony, who was smacking his brother, wiped off his helmet of the sweat and other bodily fluids that dripped on it. He was also spitting because the smell was horrible. It smelled like…he had no word for it.

He grabbed his gear, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and the scar in his mind, and ran for the camp that they set up. “Let’s get the fuck outta here!”

*****

Scootaloo had nothing to do since that thing came into Ponyville. After her awesome brothers blew that thing to the moon, she was left back at town alone. In fact, she was doing just that, scooting around. The sounds of the wheels of her scooter meeting the cobblestone floor drowned any other thought or noise from her mind. Her friends were off at the library, which she hated to go to. Her brothers were off who knows where. And Rainbow Dash was flying, which Scootaloo had yet to master, let alone do.

Out of self pity, she went to the bowling alley, attempting her hoof again at that difficult sport. Finally arriving at the glass doors leading inside, she pushed them open only to be picked up. “No means NO!” Scootaloo was kicked out of the establishment. The last time her and her friends and been there, they caused nothing but trouble. Also, they didn’t receive any Cutie Marks.

She literally had nothing to do now. ‘I guess I’ll just lounge around the camp for now..’ She cringed at sitting around doing nothing. But she couldn’t complain though, as the event in the morning was definitely exciting. She thought back on her view of things.

A tall, ugly, smelly, and scaly thing walked into town while Anthony and Benjamin just laughed at it and fought them. After a big epic battle, they beat the monster. She smiled. If she could be like anyone besides Rainbow Dash, it would be them two, more specifically Anthony, who was the most radical guy around.

She fluttered her wings at an immense pace. Since they could not fly, why not use them for a boost? She could see a cone of air form around her. As expected, she left a cloud of dust in her wake. In almost no time at all, she reached the camp and sat on her flank. She heard screaming and panting behind her. She turned around and smiled at them, hooves extended.

“Big Bro’s!!!!?!???!!?”

*****

“Holy shit, Ben! I feel like they’re right behind me.” Anthony was panicking. He had been through probably the most traumatic event in his life. His death and the time when his dad took away his bacon were walks in the park compared to this. “Me too!” Benjamin was hyperventilating, something that he had never done before.

They had been running at the speed of light for minutes now, exhaustion setting in on the fatigued soldiers. They couldn’t keep this up any longer. They could see the camp ahead just by a little. Also, they didn’t hear any chasing behind them, or panting, or moaning for that matter. They were in the clear.

The Carmines reached their camp after another two minutes. Upon arrival, Anthony excitedly kicked at the ground, hoping to send some dirt flying in the air. What he didn’t know, was that Scootaloo was right where he kicked.

“Big Bro’s!!!!?!???!!?”

Scootaloo’s ear piercing shriek caught their attention. The little flightless pegasus went flying a whole twenty feet into the air. She looked like a thrashball ,as she was curled up in fear. “ohshitohshitohshitohshitohfuck!” Anthony was panicking, running with his arms flailing, trying to catch her before she plummeted to her death.

“You gotta fly, Scoot!” Benjamin called, cupping his hands to enhance his volume. She could hear him but could only utter the words “I can’t!” Anthony joined in. “Yes you can, we believe in you, littler Squirt!” He also cupped his hands.

She seemed taken back by this, as she started to desperately flap her wings. She could hear wind being pushed back and forth behind her, but she was still falling. “You can do it!” “Yeah, show them little sissies in school that you can whoop their ass!” All she could hear were her brothers complimenting and encouraging her. It was a miracle that she ever got them.

It was a miracle that they ever arrived. Before their arrival, she was a desperate and lonely filly. A pony with no one to call her own. Sure, Rainbow Dash was her idol and sometimes acted as a surrogate sister, but she was never fully there for her. She always used Scootaloo for her own needs but never had actually paid attention to the filly’s requests.

Her friends all had a family to call her own. Sweetie Belle had her big sister, Rarity. Not to mention two loving parents to boot. As for Apple Bloom, she had a big, gentle, and soft-spoken brother. She had a enthusiastic and hard-working sister. And she had a grandmother who, though was a bit silly in her ways, cared for Apple Bloom with a great amount of love. Her giant, extended family did not even need a mention.

Scootaloo was alone for as long as she could remember. She could barely recall a time when she had a family. A brother, mother, father, or sister. She had to fight to survive. On lucky nights, she would be able to sleep over a friend’s house for a sleepover. On not so lucky nights, she was shivering cold in the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse. On the worst of nights, she was out on the streets, wandering, cold, and in complete silence.

It was one of those nights when she had first heard noises coming from the Everfree Forest. The same noises that led her to find these strange, yet somewhat gentle creatures. These humans, as they called themselves, took her in without any personal gain. No, they took her in because she wanted to, because she needed to. This was why she was so lucky to have found them. To have embraced, and loved them, being accepted as part of their family.

Her thoughts and inner revelations ignited something in her little beating heart. Some kind of spark or flame that told her to keep on going. The boost that she needed to live through this. “Come on and fly you little thing you!” Anthony said still trying to fly himself. She could see him running in circles and flapping his arms, presumably to instruct Scootaloo how to fly. If not, then he was truly trying to fly on his own.

She nodded. She then closed her eyes as the ground got closer. Her flapping intensified. All noise was now drowned out by the sound of her rapidly beating of her heart. That and the sound of the slowly approaching ground and the air maneuvering around her body. ‘Wait a minute, slowly?’

She opened her eyes and looked. She was right next to her brothers, exactly eye-level to the two. She looked at her back and she was flying. “I-I’m flying! I’m really flying!” She said ecstatically. She could not believe it. Even after countless training sessions with Rainbow Dash, she never learned how to fly. How was it that she could now? In front of the humans, no less.

“You did it ya little shit, I knew you had it in ya!” Anthony said as he congratulated Scootaloo by punching her. She fell to the dirt floor face first “Oops..” He whistled awkwardly and then ran away. Benjamin came up and dusted her off. “Good job, sis. We knew you could do it.” He patted her on the back softly. She then couldn’t help herself but hug him. Benjamin motioned for Anthony to come over, which upon arriving was also wrangled into the embrace.

“Gah! Arghh…you’re….choking….me!” He barely got out. She laughed and hugged them even harder. Benjamin could be heard gasping for breath now. “I love you guys!” “Hehe, we know.” Anthony smugly replied. “We love you as well..” Two voices said from behind the embracing family. A long awkward silence followed only to be interrupted by Benjamin.

“Scootaloo, Anthony.” “Yeah?” The two other family members answered. “How tired are you guys?” “Pretty. They answered again.

“We’re so screwed, aren’t we Squirt?” Anthony said bluntly.

“Yeah.”

Saved By The Yell

Author's Note: Cookie to whomever gets the reference in the chapter's title, which is fairly obvious.

“Ahhhhhhhh!” A large, high pitched and girlish scream echoed across the entire country. Ponies from cities like Baltimare, and Fillydelphia turned their heads, looking for the source of the frightened plea. None of them could find who or what emitted this noise however, as it’s source was a fairly long way from both places.

The two mares were approaching slowly and menacingly, which from some angles one could even see them frothing from the mouth. Lustrous and seductive growls were let out every so often. All that they wanted were the two pieces of meat in front of them. The two, lovely, nice, attractive, and manly pieces of meat.

If these two mares were dogs or wolves, they would be like a dog or would howling at the night sky. They were growling, but it was at the two humans. Benjamin looked at Scootaloo to see if she was making that God-awful, ear piercing noise. It would make sense as she was a girl after all. Scootaloo was doing the same, checking if Benjamin was screaming like a little filly. Out of the two, Benjamin was the more sensitive one. So it would make sense to assume that he was screaming for his life.

Much to their dismay, both of their mouths were closed. They stared at each other in confusion, while the screaming was still going on. They took to the final conclusion slowly, hesitatingly turning their heads to Anthony.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Anthony was spinning his head in all different directions frantically. If the situation wasn’t so dire, Scootaloo and Benjamin would roll on the floor laughing right now. Out of every single person or pony that it could’ve been, it was mister manly himself.

“Uhhhh, Bro?” Benjamin was trying to get Anthony’s attention, which succeeded. Anthony became embarrassed, and cleared his throat. “Um…I was…singing…for an opera..Talk to anyone about this and I’ll strangle you.” Anthony replied nervously and bluntly.

“I don’t think we’ll have time to tell anyone after what’s about to happen!” Benjamin pointed to the two unicorns that were hovering above them. Strands of saliva were pelting their blue and silver helmets. “It was nice knowing you guys.” Scootaloo added solemnly. “Yeah.” Benjamin agreed. “Fuck all of you, I’m outta here!” Anthony jumped up and drop kicked Rarity in the snout.

While she was stunned, he picked Lyra up, and span her in a circle. After the large buildup of momentum, he threw her in a random direction, which ended up being on top of Benjamin and Scootaloo.

“Oops, my bad!” He said as he was running away. “See ya, would not even consider wanting to be y-” Anthony was cut off as he let out a gagging noise, followed by halting immediately. He was then surrounded by a mint-green aura and thrown back at the commotion.

“Aww…shit.” He could only express himself in these words. “No more of that fighting, you here? Babe, I promise that you can fight all you want, when we..” Lyra giggled and blushed at the thought. “And don’t forget my sweetie as well.” Rarity, who cleaned herself, was ready to get down and dirty in a sense.

“God..Celestia..even the moon for fuck’s sake, save me.” Benjamin exclaimed with his last ounce of hope. He closed his eyes, along with Anthony and Scootaloo. They waited for the vicious attack that was coming. Silence filled the air. Yet, the girls never came, no they just stopped dead in their tracks.

“What?” Anthony asked to no one as he looked up. “Thou hast calleth for our help. What dost thou require of us to assist?” A booming, resonant, and old fashioned voice stated. The voice was like that of Celestia’s when she got all mad. Before Anthony, was a large, similar Alicorn to Celestia, her sister. She had a crown as well, though it was black, perhaps even onyx or obsidian.

Her mane glittered in the night sky. In fact, it resembled the night sky, littered with millions of small stars all over. Her entire body was a deep, dark purple or blue that was magnificent. Anthony appreciated her looks, as blue was his favorite color. He could not help but give her a hug and praise her.

“Thank you, I mean it. Thank you so fucking much! You just saved my ass!” He was tearing up at the thought of what would’ve have happened had the princess of the night not interjected. Princess Luna blushed at the human’s unrestrained show of affection. His light blue shoulders and chestplate shined in the moon’s luminescence.

“We…have been watching you for a long time. Our name is Princess Luna, sister and co-ruler of Celestia.” She stated in another booming voice. “You just saved me from those two crazy fuckers over there!” Anthony answered while pointing to the two quivering mares. They still feared the princess of the night.

“We ask that you two subjects go home. We wish to speak with these ‘humans’.” Luna spoke in a gentler voice. The two unicorns reluctantly replied, but ran away when a random lightning bolt struck Rarity on the flank. “Now then, let’s get to business.” Luna said. Anthony, Benjamin, and Scootaloo gathered around the camp fire, Luna on the opposite side.

“What hath thou done in thy home world? Our sister did not tell us of thy past.” She spoke in a normal voice finally. Anthony and Benjamin each exchanged glances, not sure who was going to repeat their history to the other royal princess. “I say you do it, Squirt.” “What!? But I did it last time!” Benjamin was aggravated. “So? I don’t feel like doing it. Besides, you are so much better with these ponies than I am.” Anthony said as he laid on his back.

Benjamin let out an annoyed sigh. “Alright..Princes, you might wanna sit down for this..” Minutes passed, slowly turning into hours. Throughout the night, Benjamin told of the Pendulum Wars, the Lightmass Offensive, and Operation: Hollow Strike. He concluded with the grave news of what happened.

Luna took the news quite well relatively speaking. Compared to her sister’s reaction, she had not yet gone in a fit or a rampage to destroy the wayward soldiers. She simply sat and listened, for she had been through the darkness before. She had experienced evil and was no stranger to it’s many effects. Throughout it though, she gave an occasional look at Anthony, who was relaxed and on the border of sleeping.

Scootaloo was still excited to hear of her brothers’ pasts. She marveled on the fact that they were so tough and cool. Anthony was bored out of his mind. He loved military history sure enough, but hearing the same thing like four times was boring him. He closed his eyes and began to sleep. He started to snore, which caused Scootaloo and Benjamin to laugh rudely. Luna, on the other hand, was gently and quietly chuckling. To her, Anthony seemed strange. He showed that he could be violent and childish, but somewhere inside, perhaps very deep, she could sense something different about him.

She even went so far as to think that Anthony might be more gentle and sensitive than his younger brother, who openly displayed it. Maybe underneath that tough exterior and manly attitude, there was a loving and caring person who cared for all sorts of life. Maybe he was a good natured and he-

“Come back here you fucking grub. Let me rip those arms off for ya.” Anthony muttered in his sleep. Maybe not. She frowned at his venoumous and hateful words and stood up. “We shall be leaving you. Just know that we watch you in the NIGHT!” She yelled the last part, causing Anthony to wake up.

“Huh? What? Who? Bacon?” He was looking in different directions before seeing that his heroin was departing. “Aww going so soon. Oh well, just know that I think you are the shit.” He said while tapping his finger across her chest. He took her hoof and started making kissing noises like he was kissing her hoof in respect. “Thanks again for saving me.” Luna blushed profusely, breaking her regal and fearful look.

“I..We..must go. Sleep well, strange beings.” With that, she flew towards the oval moon. Anthony was waving goodbye at her. “Looks like someone has a crush..” Scootaloo suggested in a mocking voice. “Wha..No! What the fuck is wrong with you? And speaking of crushes, who do you have a crush on?!” Anthony’s question caused Scootaloo to blush and become silent.

“That’s right! Be a bitch! Anyway, now I can sleep!” Anthony returned to his sleeping position.”I did notice something bro. She kept looking at you. I think she likes you.” Benjamin stated it like a fact. “Whatever, just what I need, another stalker pony.” He replied bluntly. In his mind though, he didn’t mind. Since she saved him, she could think or like whoever she wanted. Anyone who saves his ass is okay in his books.

(Great song that fits the mood of the rest of the chapter.)

“Night guys.” Anthony said as he closed his eyes again. “Night” Benjamin replied. Scootaloo had already fallen asleep. Benjamin snored this time. Anthony just remained awake though, staring at the night sky, which seemed to stare back. Maybe it was Princess Luna looking at him. He chuckled at the thought.

*****

The world was dark around him. Anthony saw silhouettes of people trying to run away. He could see imprints of where bodies use to lie. They had either been moved, eaten, or deteriorated away in the time that passed. Anthony could barely recognize this as his home city of Ephyra, the capital of Tyrus. This was where his family had settled down hundreds of years ago. This was where the tradition of joining the COG started.

His family had large ties to the military. Ever since the Pendulum Wars, the Carmine had been recognized as a group of dedicated and loyal soldiers. He had to keep the tradition alive. His brothers had to also. But why was it that Anthony could barely recognize this place? Why was it so different? It looked like it had been struck with a Hammer of Dawn strike.

He could spot many different houses that were torn apart or still had some small flames littering their rooftops. He recognized the playground that he spent his childhood in, or what was left of it anyway. A half torn part of a swing was still in the middle of a sand area containing imprints of small bodies. Most likely bodies of children.

Anthony had no weapons to defend himself, but seeing as how there was no movement or noise, perhaps he was all alone in this city. He went up to the swing and pushed it. The creaky noise told him that it was rusty from age or use. For some reason though, it continued to keep moving. Anthony decided to check his home.

The noise of the swing kept echoing though. It still didn’t stop. No matter how far Anthony went, or if he was inside a building, it just kept swinging. Was he going mad? Was this just a nightmarish dream? He decided not to ask so many questions and just keep moving.

He spotted his home, which seemed to not even be affected by the apparent violence this city underwent. He ran across the asphalt, his boots pounding in each step. The street was torn at certain points, cracked in the others. In extreme cases, it was completely torn off. The houses around his were leveled.

The houses of the Petersons’, the Smiths’, the Jenkins’; all of them. They were no longer standing. Why was this place so torn apart and his house left unscathed, he would find out soon enough. He approached the door, which still had the flowery frame and golden mailbox next to it. The garden was still intact, the lavenders, petunias, roses, and lilies still growing the same as ever.

The flowers still emitted those soothing smells that reminded him of home. Home. He turned the brass doorknob after knocking, which received no reply. 'Of course there wouldn’t be a voice, the whole city was abandoned.’ He reasoned. He stepped inside his home, which still had the yellow paint and white borders. The foyer was still clean.

He looked at the steps; the yew in each curve seemed to shine. His house was still normal. It looked like it was made out of his childhood memories. He looked in the living room. The TV was still on and the couch was still turned at a certain angle. The family portraits lined the shelves just behind it. Pictures of all four of the Carmine brothers were most of them. Some of them though, had the entire family.

Anthony’s mom and dad were always there for them. They just didn’t like to take pictures that much. ‘Speaking of mom and dad..’ He ran upstairs to see if anyone was in the rooms. He peeked inside his parents’ room, which was always forbidden for them to go in while they were children. The queen-sized bed was still clean, the sheets were pressed and the pillows were neatly placed.

He moved to the bathroom, which was empty as well. He then checked his brothers’ rooms, his being the last. All of their rooms were littered with personal things from magazines about guns, military, race cars, to more ‘adult’ content. Finally, with a bit of nostalgia in his mind, he stepped into his.

On the walls were his pictures of girlfriends that he had gone out with. He also had a picture of the time that he and his two older brothers beat up a bully for Squirt. Benjamin was made fun of by some lowlife bully who had too much free time. The Carmine brothers wouldn’t stand for this of course, so they sat down. Then they came to the conclusion that they should kick his ass. So on the last day of school, Benjamin’s older brothers beat the living shit out of the bully while Benjamin took a picture.

‘Turned out pretty good.’ He thought to himself. He remembered that after that incident, the brothers were feared and not messed with the rest of their lives. The tale of the four brothers’ unity reached all schools, from pre-schools, elementary, middle, junior-high, high school, and college. Everyone knew not to fuck with a Carmine. Some who were ballsy enough to do it only ended up testifying to the fact of these military buffs’ strength.

Anthony admired and recalled his childhood so fondly. *Cling* the noise of a frying pan falling made Anthony snap out of his recollection. He realized that he never checked the kitchen. He ran downstairs excitedly. He tripped on the first step and fell face first until he reached the bottom. Despite the pain in his head, he ran to the kitchen. Before him, in the dark unlit room, were his mother and father. They weren’t facing him though. His mother was washing dishes and his father was reading a newspaper.

‘Just like the old days.’ He walked up to his dad and put a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Long time no see, dad. How’s life been?” His father did not answer him. “Dad, you senile old man, do you hear me?” Still no answer. “Dad.” He tugged his father’s shoulder which caused his father's to tilt his head back. Anthony gasped at the sight that lay before his eyes. His father’s eyes were all white and right at the center of his head, was a hole. A bullet hole.

Without thinking, Anthony ran to his mother and tried to gain her attention. “Mom!” He put his hands on both of her shoulders, which caused his mother to fall to the floor. The once, full-of-life, gentle, loving, caring, and sweet mother that Anthony knew was gone. Her bun, apron, and dress were still there. But her face. It was covered in blood and her neck was cut open. The room was suddenly cut to the colors of black and white. The true features of the house were shown. It had been affected by the danger, as the walls were peeling and chunks of the household were gone.

There was something else that haunted Anthony though. Past all of the sick things that were featured on the bodies of his father and mother, there was something about their faces. They were somehow still smiling. A blood-curling smile that would imprint on his mind forever. He wanted to close his eyes but he couldn’t. It was like his eyelids were gone. Something broke the silence though. It sounded like his mother, but it wasn’t. The sweet tone in her voice was gone; replaced by something that was pure evil and dark.

“Hello Anthony”

*****

Anthony awoke in the middle of the night. The sounds of crickets returned to him. He was sweating profusely underneath his helmet. He took off his helmet for a moment, wiped off the sweat, and placed it back on. He was used to these kinds of nightmares. He had kept them secret all this time. That was why he was so cheery and acted so tough in front of everyone. He didn’t want them to know the horror that he was going through. That was why he pushed all those except his family away. Anthony sighed finally, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night

“That’s the seventh one this week.”

Non-Lethal Intervention

“Just tell me what Anthony’s been through.” Twilight inquired while having a quill and parchment levitating at her side. She had a pair of glasses on and sat in a bea bag chair across from Benjamin, who was lying on his back. He was recounting hearing noises at night from Anthony. His older brother sounded like he was going through a horrible nightmare and this had happened on multiple occasions.

“Well…I hear him groan in shock and pain. Then it all goes silent as I hear him bolt upright. The one time I even stayed up while pretending to sleep to say what was going on. I think he’s got something deep down in his head.” Benjamin was twiddling his fingers as he heard Twilight scribble some things down.

“Okay..I think that just about does it. Okay, just bring Anthony here in an hour or so. I’ll bring the girls and we’ll talk to him about this. Hopefully, we can learn just what’s going on in his subconscious.” Twilight magically opened the door for Benjamin to leave. Benjamin gave her a wave goodbye before stepping outside. He heard the door silently close behind him.

“Now the last I remember, Ant is over at Sugar Cube Corner..”

*****

“Ride ‘em horsey! Keep on going! WHOO!” Anthony was flailing his arms about while on Pinkie’s back, who surprisingly was able to keep the taller and bigger creature up. She actually volunteered to let him treat her like a mode of transportation because she said that it would be ‘fun’. Pinkie’s eyes widened when she felt a pain emerge from her rear. Anthony just smacked her flank to make her go faster.

“Oh SHITTT!” Anthony was thrown off of Pinkie’s back and out of the sweets store window. A loud crash emphasized the glass that shattered and fell to the ground outside. Anthony slowly stood up while rubbing his head. “That really fucking hurt..”

“You think it hurts?! You smacked me on the flank. I love parties and games but that was a no-no mister! I think that I won’t even let you have any frosting on your cupcake.” Pinkie said as she folded her hooves, turning her head up, and closing her eyes in a disgusted manner.

Anthony, who had come to adore and praise Pinkie’s cupcakes and pastries, felt heart-broken. He got on his knees and cupped his hands together. Then he lowered his face into them and started to cry. “I’m..so sorry!” He genuinely sounded apologetic which made Pinkie break from her cold attitude. She moved up next to him, her curly tail swiping across his face.

“Aww really?” She asked softly while looking at his face, waiting for those big blue eyes to show up. “NOPE! Gotcha! HAHAHA!” Anthony rolled on the floor laughing. He wasn’t going to cry over some silly cupcakes. Nor was he going to cry over candy or pastries. No, the one thing that would make him cry if it was taken away was bacon. Bacon, the only thing that would keep him sane and satisfied.

Speaking of bacon, he had to meet Benjamin for some extra pieces. He only got twenty five for breakfast and was still a bit puckish. He could still use another thirty strips. “Whelp, see ya Cream Pie! I’m gonna go get me some bacon!” He gave almost all of the girls some pretty vulgar or rude nick names. Thankfully, Pinkie was not the brightest mare around and didn’t fully realize the meaning behind the ‘Cream’ part.

“Okie dokie lokie! Oh, and the name’s Pinkie Pie silly! I don’t eat pies with whipped cream! Or do I? Hmmm…” Pinkie put her hoof on her chin as she gave some very deep ponderings on whether or not she actually ate whipped-cream pies. ‘Nopey-dopey! I eat apple pies and chocolate pies! That silly human is so silly. I should start calling him silly billy filly whilly nilly-‘

Anthony was long gone by the time Pinkie became lost in a trance while thinking of an inner monologue of words that rhymed with ‘silly’. He was going to Twilight’s Library, the very thing that he despised. He hated any form of books that didn’t have to do with either, naked models or military history. Also, the occasional Bacon Chef Weekly didn’t hurt.

As he was walking, he was met halfway by his little brother. He waved his arms around to signal for his brother to come over. “Ant, you come over!” Benjamin called from a few feet away. “Hell no, I don’t feel like walking that far! Get your ass over here!” Anthony answered immaturely. “It’s just a few goddamn steps! Why do- Fine!” Benjamin caved in because he knew there was no reasoning with a bull.

“What the shit do you think you’re doin’? I’m coming over there.” Anthony yelled as he walked over. Benjamin was annoyed. His brother like to do these kinds of things; beg or force Benjamin to do something and then just end up doing it himself. “So are we going to get more bacon?” Anthony asked excitedly.

“Yeah…we’re going to get some bacon at Twilight’s Library..” Benjamin lied. Anthony was oblivious to the hesitant tone in his little brother’s voice. “Alright! Wait why the hell are there pigs in a library? Ah who gives a shit?” He was just happy to get some more of his favorite greasy meat. The large, hollowed out tree was coming into view.

“Okay..just go in first Ant. I gotta a surprise for you..” Benjamin whispered. “Surprise!? Is it another party from Pie or is it like fifty pigs roasting over a fire? Or is it even a ticket to a Thrashball game? You know I always wanted to see Cole Train play in a championship game.” Anthony was almost jumping in the air and squealing like a little school girl.

“No..even better..” “What the fuck could be better than that? It can-” Anthony was cut short when he entered the dark library. He could hear some skittering and very low whispers inside. Then, he felt like something jumped on his head, another feeling of something on his legs. His feeling of horror was brought to light when Benjamin flicked on the light switch. On his head, was Scootaloo.

He had no problem with this; in fact he was used to it. But still, there was something on his legs and he had to see what. He looked down and if one could see under his helmet, they would see that his jaw fell off. On his legs, cuddling and rubbing against it, was Lyra. She looked up at him with those large yellowish eyes and an enticed smile.

“This surprise sucks dick, Ben.” Anthony stated blankly. Without even thinking or making any movements, he threw his leg up in the air, which launched Lyra all the way to Twilight’s bedroom. “So what the fuck is this shit?” He asked while looking around the room. All of the Elements, along with Scootaloo and a dazed Lyra were there.

“Why the hell is everyone looking at me with that rape smile? I like to be wine and dined before I get FUCKED!” He shouted with anger. He was expecting something cool, not some kind of intervention. “What is this, the Dr. Faglight show?” twilight winced at his mispronunciation. “Tell me, Squirt. Why am I in a room with Scoots, Gaybow Splash, Sluttershy, Pair of titties, Crapplesmacks, Cream Pie, Faglight Asshole, and Queen Myrrah Heartstrings?”

Every single girl shot him a death glare, except Scootaloo as he was fine with her, Fluttershy who was simply scared, and Lyra who was head-over-heels as her knight-in-shining armor just called her a queen, albeit one named Myrrah but she didn’t care.

“You got one part right, brahski. This is an intervention. We wanna help you with whatever you’re going through. And don’t bullshit because I hear you having those nightmares almost every day.” Benjamin replied with some command in his voice. Anthony decided that he should probably take his little brother’s word and sat down, although he gave some disgruntled sighs in between.

All of the girls and the one guy sat around Anthony in a circle. It was truly an intervention. Twilight cleared her throat to dissipate the long and awkward silence that filled the room. “What is this? A circle jerk?” Anthony interrupted Twilight before she could begin to speak. “…No. We’re all here today, Anthony because Scootaloo and Benjamin feel worried that you’re holding something in. Something that could seriously harm you if you don’t tell somepony or someone. Please, just share with us because we’re all here for you.” Twilight tried to speak in the most gentle and pleasing voice possible.

“Hell to the no.” Anthony bluntly replied. “Hw about..I go get myself some bacon and we call it a day, huh? It’s the best idea that I’ve heard all day considering I thought of it.” Anthony started to walk to the door but was levitated away and back to his chair. He growled at Twilight who gave a sheepish smile in return.

“Please, just tell us what’s going on.” Twilight and everypony else smiled at him. Benjamin just nodded at him. Anthony slung his left hand beneath his chair so that only Benjamin would be able to see it, and gave him the middle finger. ‘That’s nice.’ Benjamin thought after seeing his brother secretly giving him a “Fuck you.”

“Fine. You really want to know what’s going on?” Everyone nodded and leaned in, their curiosity getting the better of them. Anthony sighed and began his recounting all of his nightmares.

“Every night, probably just like how it’s going to be tonight, I have a nightmare. It’s usually the same thing, if not then in a different place or situation. It always ends the same though. The place I’m in is just horrible. If I told you what it looked like, you’d probably have nightmares too. But I’ll tell you one thing, the place is fucking scary. I can barely stand it myself. And after I get through all of this darkness, I usually end up going to a familiar place, my house. When I go inside, I see something horrible. Something that is just so terrifying, you can never get the goddamn sight out of your head. You just have this gut feeling that every time you close your eyes, or every time you want to sleep, it pops up right there waiting for you. You wanna to know what’s so damn creepy about this place? So damn evil that I wake up in sweat every night and have to spend the rest of the time awake, hoping I won’t doze off into the nightmare again?”

Anthony took a deep breath as he waited for a reply. A silent whisper finally broke the silence that was made from Anthony’s serious monologue. “..Y-yes..” Fluttershy replied. “What’s so goddamn dark. What’s so goddamn mystifying is that I wake up in my home town, the capital of my country. And it..it…has no….”

“YES?!” Everyone in the room asked.

“….Bacon.”

“What?” Benjamin piped up from behind. All of the girls had their mouths agape at the sudden transition from something so emotional and serious to something so childish. They weren’t sure what to think right now. Anthony sat in silence, looking at his boots. Finally, Rainbow Dash followed by Applejack, Scootaloo, and Pinkie Pie started to laugh. This was way too funny to be serious. Fluttershy Rarity, Twilight, Benjamin, and Lyra knew that this was just a ruse.

His description of the events and details were far too personal and graphic for it to be over some bacon. No, Benjamin knew that Anthony loved his bacon but he never went as far as this when it concerned the fried piece of meat. He tapped Twilight on the shoulder. “It’s time we bring in the big guns.” Twilight nodded at Benjamin’s order. She then drew up some energy and was about to fire at Anthony.

A light purple aura surrounded her lavender horn as she shut her eyes tightly, mustering all of her strength to perform the spell that was to follow. A dream spell. It was able allow ponies to witness the events that happened to the target in his or her dreams. It took a lot of energy and was not used often. It had even come with a detailed report from Star-Swirl the Bearded himself.

There were some serious repercussions if even one thing was out of place though, so it caused twilight to sweat. She had hoped that she had gotten everything just right, as a mess up would be a hindrance to their efforts. Slowly, she felt the energy being expelled from her body as Anthony started to yell in panic.

“Hey! What the fuck, man! Get this shit offa me!” He was smacking away at the light that surrounded his head. Slowly but surely, the light disappeared as Anthony felt like a five hundred pound weight had been lifted off of his head. “Well at least that’s over with.” He wiped his neck and stretched his limbs. He relaxed for a moment when all of a sudden, an ethereal mirror appeared in the middle of the group.

In the mirror was nothing. But then it slowly gave way to an image, no a recording of Anthony in one of his nightmares.

*****

Anthony found himself in a large cave. It was musty and was surrounded by bats at the high ceiling covered in dirt. He was underground, most likely the Locust Hollow as he heard growling and primal noises below him. He was in a large castle of some sort. A fortress even. He had weapons, but they were all empty. He hesitantly stepped inside the towering castle doors.

They seemed inhuman. They were covered in a stench that could only come from grubs. The gates themselves was definitely something that any COG or any other government would construct really. Knowing that he would be useless in a combat situation, Anthony decided to try and sneak around as best as he could.

When he opened the door, a loud creak followed, which would alert any guards for three miles away. Anthony winced at the noise and froze in his tracks. He listened for any sounds of movement but was shocked to find dead silence. He continued on into the barely-lit room, only two torches providing any sense of light and direction. He heard a loud clicking noise.

The whole room was lit up as millions of torches suddenly ignited. He looked around and found he was in a throne room or main chamber of some sorts. If this was truly the Locust Hollow, then he was right in the Queen’s room. He heard a clapping and menacing chuckling from upstairs.

Sitting atop a very intimidating and high-backed chair, was a shadow that Anthony could only assume was a woman, the Queen. She had curves and such and the mature womanly laughter had been coming from the figure. She slowly rose a finger at Anthony and spoke. “General, take care of our guest.”

Just at that moment, Anthony heard a loud footstep emanate from behind him. He seriously did not want to know what caused the footstep, let alone who it belonged to but he let his curiosity get the better of him. He could not speak when he saw the large towering Locust that was about ten feet from him. It had menacing and sharp teeth, it was surrounded by Kryll, and it had a large knife that would seem like a sword to Anthony.

Doing the only thing that he possibly could, he revved his Lancer and charged. It laughed in a raspy and guttural way through it’s bared teeth. Then it pulled a switch that shed light on an area that was on the right of Anthony. In the cage, was Anthony’s family. They were locked up and looked severely injured. Just behind them in another cage, were a bunch of wretches and small little bug things with yellow boxes on their backs that Anthony could only assume were explosives.

“Gear, you have two choices. You can save your family but die, or you can fight General RAAM with the ammunition crates nearby and then save them. The choice is yours.” The Queen proclaimed in a high and mighty voice. Anthony wasn’t sure what to do. He knew that he had to save his family but he also had to get rid of the Locust or else his family would be slaughtered. He was taught in camp that he should always eliminate the enemy. But what stopped him? Not even death from disobeying the Golden Rule would stop him.

He did the best possible action he could. He jumped for the ammo, reloaded his weapon, and charged for the General. He shot at the General who was throwing Kryll in his direction and ran towards the switch that would release his family. He ran past the distracted Locust who was recovering from a nearby frag grenade explosion and pulled on the switch. For some reason, it wouldn’t budge at all. Even with all of his strength, he couldn’t get it to move a single inch.

He could hear the General approaching behind him. He couldn’t stop to think though, as he had to save his family. He heard his mom, dad, and three brothers call out from the cage. “Leave us Anthony! You have to save yourself!” This last request from his loving family pushed him over the edge. He pulled the switch with his newfound strength and inspiration and heard the sweet clicking sound. He looked over to his family and gave them a thumbs up.

The color from his face quickly drained as the small little unrelenting monsters from the cage behind them were released as well. The monsters were upon them in mere seconds. But there was a beacon of hope as Anthony’s three brothers fought the monsters with their bare hands. “Go mom and dad! We got this!” Clayton called out. The parents reluctantly ran towards the door. Anthony was relived and threw his Snub Pistol, his Lancer, and his Gnasher to his brothers. They quickly thanked him and used the weapons to their advantage.

All the while, the General suddenly lifted Anthony from the ground. Anthony tried hopelessly to kick the General with his legs. The General laughed at his futile attempt and slammed him into the floor. Anthony felt all of the air in his chest leave his body as he was winded. RAAM picked up back up and proceed to pull his large knife towards Anthony’s neck.

Underneath it’s breath, it spoke “Bye-Bye.” It’s blade met Anthony’s bare skin as it started to make him bleed. But all of a sudden, the Locust was pulled back as the three brothers who were bust jumped on him. “Run Ant! RUN!” RAAM quickly threw them over twenty feet away before going in to capture his main hunt. He was a step away from Anthony when he stopped mid-way.

He turned his head to the distance and pointed at it. He started to walk towards the wall with no visible target in it’s mindset. In RAAM’s vision though, he could see a large group of spectators watching the event unfold. He pointed his finger towards the wall and spoke to someone apparently.

“NEEEXXXXTT!”

*****

Everypony and human in the room had been watching as Anthony’s nightmare played before them light a presentation or a really gritty horror/ action movie. Anthony had been through this nightmare many times, ending the same way. But this had never happened once in his life. General RAAM in his dream seemed to be pointing at the intervention group and walking towards them. They felt like he actually saw them, like the dream was self-aware.

“Twilight can’t you close it!?” Benjamin was becoming frantic as the towering monster was quickly approaching the dream viewing mirror. “I’m trying but I can’t!” Twilight was trying her hardest. The Locust was not too far now. “Well, try harder!” Benjamin shouted at her. Twilight shut her eyes as hard as she could. If she could shut them any tighter, her eyelids would probably rip from the tension.

The General stood at the mirror from the inside, seemingly gazing and observing the group. Then, he reached his hand out. As soon as the hand came out, the large oval magical mirror vanished into thin air. Everyone let out a sigh as the danger had faded away.

“Next time we do an intervention, never use goddamn magic on me again.” Anthony quipped. “AGREED!” Everypony shouted. The room had become heated from eh tension and everyone went to a window and opened it for some fresh air.

As Anthony opened a window that faced towards the Everfree Forest and where the Carmines had set up camp, he felt a chill go up his spine.

“I gotta bad feeling about this.”

Golden Perspectives

Author's Note: I am sad to say that the last chapter is next. It might take me a little while to publish it because I am going to try to make it at least 6k or more. I am not sure when I will have it out, just wait for it. Just know that I might do an epilogue to wrap things up. Oh and I ended this chapter in sixty nine words. You'll see why at the end.

“Thou pleaseth Us with thine tea, royal chef.” Princess Luna praised.

“..Thank you, you highness.” The earth colt bowed his head while slowly walking out of the room.

“What doth thou thinkest of this marvelous drink, Tia?”

“I think that it’s nice.” Princess Celestia answered.

The two Alicorn rulers sat at an oval dining table for breakfast. It was times like theses that made the two rulers who had to raise the sun and moon relax. They loved to just sit down and not have to worry about anything for a short while. They quickly sipped the rest of their tea and decided to talk a stroll through the royal garden.

“Luna, I was wondering if you have met the two humans yet.” Celestia asked with a warm smile.

“But of course! What kind of ruler would We..I be if..I didn’t see the new beings?” Luna was still struggling with speaking in modern speech.

“I suppose you’re right. So, what do you think of them?” Celestia added with a hint of curiosity.

“We find that their armor is quite light, yet it serves it’s purpose in protection. We have yet to see what their weapons can do but We have heard stories of their destruction. Overall, We think they mean absolutely no harm, although they can be dangerous.” The dark blue princess said in a bland voice.

“That’s not what I mean, Luna. I mean, what do you think of their personality?”

“Er..well We find that the younger fellow, Benjamin is very wise and mature for his age. We find that he has great leadership potential and that he is kind-hearted.”

“And what about the other one?”

The dark princess of the night, the former Nightmare Moon, the bringer of night eternal, blushed under her dark azure coat. She wasn’t sure if her sister caught notice of this, but Celestia gave her a sly grin. Luna cleared her throat before speaking.

“We..I find him to be very strange. He is vulgar and childish. He seems like he can be rash and is intimidated by the smallest thing..” Luna trailed.

“But?.....” Celestia was waiting for the redeeming quality to come up.

“He is hiding something. I think that he might act the way he does to secretly conceal a personality like that of his younger brother’s.”

Celestia grimaced, remembering her first engagement with the humans. They seemed fine but after she jumped to conclusions, Anthony had seemed hell-bent on attacking the white princess. He verbally assaulted her, which in any other case, would have caused Celestia to banish him to the dungeons. Benjamin, for sure, seemed more civil and refined but Anthony was like a minotaur let loose in a glass refinery.

“Is that so?”

“But of course! We have been watching them at night and they seem as normal as we do.” Luna reassured.

“Normal..not the word I would use.” Celestia stopped moving and moved her head down to sniff the flowers.

The scent of lilac filled her face and the aroma was intoxicating. The wildlife in the garden simply sat in awe while watching the two royal rulers admire the environment. The air was calm and the sky was clear. Today was no different than any other. Luna moved next to Celestia and rested her head on her older sister’s neck.

Celestia smiled and gazed down to look for her younger sister’s childish glee. But what she found on her sister’s face wasn’t joy. Luna had changed expressions from calm to nervous, frightened even. Her eyes were wide open in shock and her mane was becoming matted. Her body suddenly got all tense and beads of sweat started to pour down her face. Celestia was scared of what was going on.

“Luna! What’s wr-” Celestia was cut short as she felt a cold feeling move up her spine.

What she felt was a change, a difference. It was like some other-worldly being had arrived in Equestria. Normally, she would not regard it so but this was a feeling of malice and hate. Celestia knew that this was not a good sign. Something evil had just stepped into their realm. Suddenly, Luna began to speak up.

“Do you feel that, sister?” She said in a hushed voice.

“Yes..” Celestia quietly replied.

“What is it? It can’t be those humans. I didn’t even feel their presence until Twilight Sparkle made it known.”

“I honestly don’t know.”

The two sisters huddled and closed their eyes, trying as hard as they could to locate the source. The silence that formed around them was ghastly. It was so thick; one could cut it with a bayonet from a Retro Lancer. The two sisters’ horns glowed brightly as they found the source of this darkness. It was coming from the Everfree Forest.

*****

“Crush. Kill. Annihilate Gears.” The large towering figure was moving about in a forest that blocked the sunlight from view.

It was glad that the trees and their tops were so high and dense, as its little creatures that acted as weapons and as a shield would be scattered and dispersed from the light. Any type of light, UV, natural, and other such means were deadly to the small things that it carried with it.

The forest made it feel secure. It was dark and desolate. All it had to do was lure the Gears in and kill them. It knew that the Gears would come sooner or later. Gears loved to kill its kind. So it skulked in the darkness while waiting for its prey. Its knife was in one hand, another object in the next. It was large, even for the General. It had two blades on the end of it and a dual barrel that would shred anything in its wake.

It gripped the weapon tightly as it moved towards a noise nearby. It sounded like talking. The voice was rhyming and seemed to be chanting something. As it got closer, a home or hut came into view. Drool came out of the large monster’s mouth as it smelled something familiar. It could make out a figure of a small creature in an opening on the side of the building. It resembled one of those creatures that the humans had on things called farms.

The darkness bringer did not care for these petty squabbles. All it knew was that these creatures could be used as food. As it got to the door, it let its lone, amplifying thought escape its mouth.

“MEAT.”

*****

Princess Luna and Celestia gasped as if they had not breathed in an hour. Their normally large pupils were reduced to small specks after what they had seen. Their normally graceful and flowing manes were a little messy. They were sweating and their hearts were beating like they ran a marathon. What they saw wasn’t human.

Twilight had spoken and written of these things. The scaly and extremely pale creatures were called Locusts. They had no purpose other than to destroy all other forms of life and reign supreme. They were filled with hatred and violence, having no room for love or friendship.

The monster they saw was large and hulking. The ground seemed to shake with each step it took. It was covered in a moving darkness that protected it from harm. And the last thing that they saw was it was moving towards a pony’s home!

“We must warn Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony!” Celestia exclaimed.

“Yes, we must sister!” Luna ran inside of the castle to their rooms, Celestia right behind.

They reached their royal chambers and opened the doors in a quick pace. As the doors slammed against the walls, the two rulers ran inside. Luna ran over to her dresser and levitated a quill and parchment out. She turned to her sister expectantly.

“Dear sister, what do we write to Twilight?” She asked while moving the quill towards the parchment after dipping the quill in ink.

“Write this Luna:

To my faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
Princess Luna and I have detected a dark presence that has entered the fair lands of Equestria. We request that you prepare the Elements for an imminent danger that is to approach. We also request that you bring the two humans along with their weapons. They will be of great aid to us. Also, I must ask how this being came to this world. Please answer as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia.”

As Luna reached the final stroke, Celestia let out a sigh of hope. She looked up at her younger sister and nodded her head. Immediately, Luna used her magic and sent the scroll to Twilight. They went to the balcony and prepared to fly to Ponyville themselves. Shining Armor, brother of Twilight and Captain of the Royal Guard, barged into the room.

“Princesses, where are you going?!”

“To Ponyville.” Celestia answered.

“I’ll have a chariot and a detachment sent over here immediately.” He turned back to exit the room.

“There is no need for that, Captain. This is something that we must attend to ourselves.” With that, Celestia and Luna flew off of the balcony and travelled to Ponyville. The wind brushed up against their faces as clouds were non-existent.

This day of relax could not be enjoyed any longer. Something that was a haphazard to pony-kind was coming. Princess Celestia and Luna had to be there for the people of Ponyville this time. The last time when there had been a monster in the village, they were too busy attending royal duties. They wanted to abandon their posts and just come to the aid of the citizens.

It was not hopeless though, as the two humans who miraculously arrived were there to defeat the foe. Had it not been for them, the Locust would have probably destroyed and devastated all of Ponyville. Nopony there was willing or able to take such a beast head on. But this time was different.

They did not care for the royal speeches and royal meetings. They pushed everything aside for this. This time, they were ready.

They quickly arrived at Ponyville in a quiet manner. None of the citizens had noticed their arrival yet, which was good because if someone had noticed the two Alicorns, things might have gotten hectic. They gently flew over to the library door and opened it. They stepped inside and looked for any of the girls of humans.

Much to their dismay, there was nopony there. The entire library was empty, not to mention messy as well. Books and scrolls were strewn about the room in a disorderly fashion. There were scuffle marks in the ground, and some of the bookshelves were even tipped over. All in all, it looked like a hurricane had passed through the house.

Celestia and Luna began to levitate books and sort them in a clean manner. They knew just how Twilight had organized things by; genre and place in the alphabet. The clock on the far left wall was ticking as it read one thirty in the afternoon. They ran upstairs to Twilight’s bedroom for any clues. Yet again, there was nothing that could indicate the Elements of Harmony or the Carmines’ location.

“Sister, do you think that they have left to battle the beast?” Luna inquired.

“No. Twilight and the Elements know that it’s too dangerous to fight it alone. Surely they received our letter asking them to meet us here.” Celestia reasoned.

Luna was fed up so she broke out of her previously gentle voice and into the traditional Canterlot voice.

“WHERE ART THOU TWILIGHT?!”

Something out of the corner of Celestia’s eye caught her attention. She craned her neck towards it and found a sealed envelope. She opened it up and began to read out loud.

“Dear Princess Celestia and Luna,
The girls and I have gone with Anthony and Benjamin to gather the ponies of the town. We are most likely in the Town Hall by now. If you are reading this, I hope that we have concluded and we are on our way back. Please just sit tight until we return. Also, the creature that you have sensed might have something to do with me..I might have used a viewing spell to see one of Anthony’s hidden nightmares, which seems to have brought another Locust to Equestria. Rest assured, Anthony and Benjamin have told us that ‘we have this in the bag’.

Signing off,

Twilight Sparkle.”

“It seems the letter ends there.” Celestia called out to Luna who was approaching.

She examined the letter once more before seeing some more words on the back. “Hold on, there’s more.”

After quickly reading it, she blushed and put a hoof to her mouth. “Oh my…” Celestia gasped in embaressment.

“What is it, Tia?” Luna moved next to Celestia. Her eyes widened as she read the annotation on the back.

“Side note from Anthony:

“YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEAHHH! SUP BITCHES!
P.S. Twilight likes jizzzzzzzzzz :D ”

Charge Carmine, Charge.

Author's Note: I couldn't get past 5k, my bad guys. Anyway, here is the last chapter. You'll need the music near the end or else I'll get a Beserker to rape you. Enjoy it and remember that an epilogue will come soon.

“What! How did you beat me two hundred and sixty nine times in a row?!”

“Aww, don’t worry Benny. You’re just having a bit of bad luck.”

“I call a rematch, Pinkie.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!”

While Twilight Sparkle and Applejack were explaining the events of the past hours, Benjamin and Pinkie Pie were playing a game of tic-tac toe. Benjamin was lying on his stomach with his two legs dangling back and forth in the air. Pinkie had the same exact pose. If one were able to see Benjamin’s face, they would see a volcano erupting and steam coming out of his ears. He knew he should have just quit after losing for the hundredth time in a row, but he was determined.

Anthony, all the while, was leaning against the wall talking with Fluttershy. Scootaloo, as always, was on his helmet. He got used to it by now and besides, in his mind, he playfully thought of Scootaloo as a bullet shield. Lyra, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were conversing amongst themselves, the former two would occasionally exchange glances at the two humans who were preoccupied.

“So…um..what did you want to talk to me about? If you don’t mind me asking that is…” Fluttershy whispered.

Anthony raised his voice to that of almost yelling. “That! That right there is what I wanna talk about. You talk like an old person who smoked too much. I think that you should take people by the horns because they treat you like a doormat.”

The timid little cream colored pegasus winced at his tone but nodded in respect. “Oh, I know! But…you kind of do that too…”

“Hey! Me doing that and other ponies doing that is a different thing. I am the shit. I seriously don’t think any other ponies are the shit. Anyway, do you think you could take me in a fight? I doubt the others could.” Anthony exclaimed with a large amount of gusto.

“Okay..so what do I have to do?”

“First, you gotta plant your feet…er…hooves on the ground.”

Fluttershy put her hooves on the ground gently and looked up to him with those big old blue eyes. They were glittering in the sunlight.

“Jeez, stop looking at me with those puppy dog eyes. I might just fall for ya, you know?” Anthony said jokingly. A pair of mint-green ears perked up and suddenly tuned into his conversation. Then, an orgasmic scream came from the trio of mares talking in the distance.

“So anyway, then, you look at the person straight in the eye.” The soldier instructed.

Fluttershy followed suit and looked him straight in the eye. Anthony started to sweat because for some reason, he had like a tingling feeling in his mind. It was as if someone was freezing him with their stare. Yet, the only pony staring at him was Fluttershy. Her eyes were twitching though as if she was putting will power in her gaze. He couldn’t move a muscle now. He strained to speak.

“..O-okay! No staring at m-me!” He sputtered.

“…Sorry..”

“It’s alright. Now anyway, then you scrunch up your nose, brace yourself, and here comes the piece de résistance.”

Scootaloo was paying extra close attention and Fluttershy was hanging on each of his words.

“You have to grow a pair.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo accidentally interrupted.

“Yes, what do you mean by ‘grow a pair’?” Fluttershy inquired.

“Oh wait, you’re girls..Well I have seen girls with a pair..Okay, just get brave. Or ballsy in my case. And there you have it, you are loud and proud. Let’s hear a loud cheer, Slutt- I mean Fluttershy.” Anthony chuckled awkwardly.

“Yay!”

“………….No.” Anthony just shook his head and walked away.

He turned his head towards the disappointed pony and the little orange filly trying to calm her. He called out to them as he was getting closer to Benjamin who had lost about fifty games more in the short time span.

“Yo, Fluttershy, if it makes you feel any better, I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy seemed to look up from the cover of her mane and smiled at him appreciatively. Anthony was warmed by the icky lovey-dovey shit and could only think in disgust ‘Gah!’.

As he turned his attention to his younger brother, he continued the rest of his apology in silence.

“I’m sorry that you’re such a bitch…”

Pinkie looked up and smiled from ear-to-ear at Anthony. Anthony sat down on his ass and was going to take the next turn. ‘These things gotta stop giving me those creepy smiles. So help me, I’m gonna punch the next one that does it straight in the mouth.’ He thought.

“Yo Ant, you wanna take the next game? This girl is f-ing good. I don’t know how, but she’s beaten me more than three hundred times. I doubt even you could beat her.” Benjamin moved aside.

Anthony changed glances from Benjamin to Pinkie. He then rubbed the chin of his helmet and contemplated a strategy. An imaginary click went off as he hatched the most brilliant idea to have ever been created. He laughed in triumph and got into his usual cocky attitude.

“I bet you, my nutsuck that I’ll win. So if I lose, I will personally cut them off and hang them over Pinkie’s fireplace.” Anthony reassured.

Benjamin gasped. He knew that his brother held him manhood and his two balls of steel very dearly. He treated them like a member of his family. So Benjamin sat back and watched Anthony’s incoming plan.

“What do you wanna be, Anthony? X’s or O’s?”

“X’s.” Anthony stated.

They stared the game, and already Pinkie dominated all of the corners in O’s. Anthony had nowhere to go with his X’s and he would lose no matter what. Anthony suddenly cackled like a madman. He raised a finger to somewhere in the distance, and exclaimed quickly “Hey look, it’s a flying walrus!”

Pinkie and Benjamin both turned their attention to the aforementioned spectacle before Benjamin fully registered what his older brother said. He turned his attention to his brother who was standing and waving his arms in victory. Then, Anthony started to dry hump the air.

“Yeah, who’s your daddy!”

Pinkie turned around and screamed when she saw the game they were playing. Benjamin had done the same. The quantity of shock and confusion from what had just transpired was so great, that one would have to measure it using Griffon Imulsion Tower as the inch scale.

On the board where many games had taken place, the board in which Pinkie was hailed as champion and god, the board in which Benjamin had just lost over three hundred games in a row, was a playing field that had X’s in every single spot.

“Yeah! I win bitches! How do you like me now!” Anthony humped the air with each syllable.

Lyra took notice of this and ran as fast as she could to get in front of Anthony. She ran almost at the speed of light. She planted herself in position, closed her eyes, and clenched her teeth.

“Go on, keep on going!” Lyra yelled ecstatically.

Nothing happened. When Lyra turned to see her special someone there, she saw that Anthony was munching on some cupcakes at a table on the other side of the room.

‘Aww horseapples!’ Lyra thought to herself as her plan had been toiled once again.

Anthony could not believe the taste of the cupcakes. For someone so crazy and impossible, Pinkie could sure make good food. Anthony would have to ask her for the recipes because Anthony could make a mean cake back in the day. He ate the final portions of the confection and went over to his brother.

“Squirt, why is this taking so damn long? It was my nightmare and hell, I wouldn’t even take this long to explain it.”

“Just shrug it off, bro. They shouldn’t take too long. And besides, you act like you want to go fight that mean mother all by yourself.” Benjamin reasoned.

“Are you saying I can’t? You know that I can go up there and pop RAAM’s skull clean off with this baby.” Anthony pulled out his Gnasher and shoved it in Benjamin’s face.

“Whatever dude, I’m sure the General for Queen Myrrah is gonna lose to some private who got his ass shot on the first day.”

“Screw you.” Anthony raised his middle finger to emphasize his disdain.

Some shuffling and clopping could be heard from behind them. The Carmines turned around and saw Twilight and Applejack coming back and they looked to be exhausted. Some small particles of sweat travelled down their manes.

“Whew! That meetin’ was darn out right ridiculous. Ah never knew ponies had so many questions.” Applejack sighed.

“Well, we did bring some kind of threat near Ponyville. I think it was fair for them to ask so many.” Twilight said.

“Let’s just get back to the library, Twilight.” Applejack nodded in the hollowed-out tree’s direction.

“Alright everypony, let’s get moving. I’m sure the Princesses are waiting for us.” Twilight directed.

All of the room occupants moved out of the door and towards the library. The walk there was like a flash as it only took a matter of minutes. The walk was silent, relatively speaking. When they arrived at the door, Twilight felt a huge magical presence inside. She opened the door and immediately bowed. Everypony else bowed as well. The only living beings left standing were the Princesses, and the humans.

“Rise, Elements. We’re all friends here aren’t we?” Celestia smiled at them.

“Y-yes Princess Celestia.” Twilight stammered.

“So, what’s up?” Anthony asked.

Everyone in the room gasped at Anthony’s forwardness. No one was this informal with the Princess. Celestia still kept that gentle and royal smile on though.

“Oh nothing, Anthony. Now what is this about the threat?”

Anthony turned to Twilight and pointed a finger at her. “This girl.”

Princess Celestia and Luna craned their heads to the nervously smiling librarian.

“I never understood fully how the situation is. Please explain.” Celestia still spoke in the same calm voice.

“Well, I…like in the letter, I used a spell to see Anthony’s nightmare. Something went wrong for some reason and a large monster m-”

Luna raised a hoof to silence Twilight. “We know, Miss Sparkle. We mean to ask who it is.”

Anthony stepped forward with a thumb arched towards his body. “I got this.”

The two regal Alicorns sat down and listened to Anthony’s recollection of all facts on the general. Benjamin would cut in with some pieces of information that happened after Anthony’s death. Silence filled the air except for the voices of the brothers. The Princesses finally got up and began to pace.

“This is not good. If a creature that powerful and evil is near, then we our hope and chances of winning are slim, I’m afraid.”

Rainbow Dash flew to Celestia’s face. “We can do this. We got the Elements of Harmony!”

“I’m afraid it isn’t that simple, Rainbow Dash. The effects and results that the Elements can bring are catastrophic. Though it has helped us in the past, and it has saved Equestria twice, I don’t think we should use it for a third. The Elements will most likely defeat the General but it can also bring harm to Anthony and Benjamin. It may just wipe out the foreign life that has arrived recently, which includes them.” Celestia’s smile turned into a solemn frown.

“Oh..never mind then.” Rainbow Dash descended and bowed her head in sorrow.

“We also must think of his weapons. If the fact that he has an array of small creatures of the dark are true, then Luna cannot help us in this either. That only leaves myself and the two soldiers here.”

Twilight looked like she wanted to speak against the decision but was held down by Applejack and Rarity.

“Don’t worry, Celesty, we can do this.” Anthony reassured.

Anthony stopped calling her Celestia sometime after explaining and resorted to just calling the white-coated princess ‘Celesty’.

She smiled at him and nodded in agreement. “Should we go now?”

“Let’s say any final words we may have to the girls. If we don’t make it out of this, we want to at least express our feeling or thoughts to them.” Benjamin suggested.

Anthony walked over to the dark princess. “Hey you. You save my life and you don’t even say anything to me? That’s some messed up shit. Anyway, I wanted to say thanks again and I want you to know, that if I ever had a girl, I would name her Luna. Well actually, Antony-ette Luna Carmine. Gotta have her first name like mine, you know.”

Luna did not look at Anthony, but outlined his entire body. For some reason, she got all nervous when looking at him and was nervous because he was looking directly at her. “We are…sorry. We wish you good luck and hope you return.”

Suddenly, she felt two arms around her. At first she got all tense but slowly loosened up after realizing it was Anthony.

“That means a lot. Also, can I ever ride you? I wanna see what it’s like to fly in the air.” Anthony whispered in her ear.

Luna blushed at the thought of him riding her. It was not only improper but it would be scandalous in the royal court. Something just made her slip a word out. “Yes.”

Anthony broke the embrace and went over to Rainbow Dash, Lyra, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. He got down on one knee and looked them each in the eye. What he was about to say was surely serious.

“Alright girls. I have one thing to say to you, and one thing only. I like turtles.” Anthony got up and just walked away after that, leaving Lyra and Applejack confused and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie rolling on the floor in laughter.

Benjamin was speaking with Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy.

“Alright ladies. Now, I think you should help and evacuate the town in case something bad happens okay? I believe that each of you has the potential to save the ponies and get to safety. Fluttershy, keep that gentle nature of yours. Twilight, keep on studying and practicing your magic. Rarity…….okay see ya.” Benjamin looked at the white unicorn and simply just walked away.

Both brothers stopped at the final pony, Scootaloo.

“Okay Scoots, you’re the last stop.” Anthony started.

“Can I go with you?!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

“No, I’m sorry but it’s too dangerous. If you go, there’s no telling what’ll happen.” Benjamin soothed.

“Don’t worry kid, we’ll be back.” Anthony added.

“How do you know? Princess Celestia herself said that the monster might win.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that. We promise that we won’t leave you alone. We love you Scootaloo. Don’t forget that.” Anthony and Benjamin both patted her on the head and walked to the door.

“In case we get killed and I won’t have the chance to say this, I love you Ant.”

“Me too. I love me too. No really though same here.”

The princess nodded and teleported herself and the two brothers to the Everfree Forest. The white flash blinded the girls in the room but they quickly ran out the door to see their friends off. When they walked out however, lines of guards surrounded the tree. Luna was the first to talk to them.

“What is the meaning of this?” Luna asked with a hint of annoyance.

“Captain Armor sent us, Princess. He insisted he help you.”

“Fine, help us evacuate Ponyville and the areas surrounding the Everfree Forest such as Baltimare and Fillydelphia.”

“Right away, ma’am!”

The vast array of guards started to knock on homes and escort the citizens to safety. The Elements, Lyra, Scootaloo, and Luna could only look to the tree line of the treacherous forest. All they could do was hope for the best.

*****

“With new enemies, comes new allies.” Benjamin said to no one in particular.

“Who said that?” Celestia inquired.

“I’m not sure. I heard it before though. Most likely a military writer.”

The princess and the two soldiers were trudging through the forest, trying to find General RAAM. So far, the search was fruitless. No noise besides the wildlife and the plants were heard. It was starting to get boring for the brothers when a loud scream almost broke their sound barriers.

“Quick, someone’s in trouble!” Benjamin said while running towards the noise.

“No shit, Sherlock. What gave you that idea?” Anthony replied sarcastically.

“Shut up!”

They arrived at where the source of the commotion came from. Before the three was a half destroyed hut and a towering figure shrouded in darkness. A zebra was backed away in the corner of the remaining debris.

“Back away, creature of the night. For here is the Princess of the light!” The zebra pointed a hoof at Princess Celestia, causing the monster to turn towards the trio.

“Oh shit, that dumbass just ruined our ambush didn’t she?”

“Yep.” Benjamin retorted.

The monster took away from Zecora and walked towards Celestia. Celestia, in turn, used her horn to shine light on the situation. The creature used its arm to block the incoming light from its face while its shadowy shield dissipated.

The absence of darkness revealed the large General RAAM who was snarling at the Gears and the one who scared his Kryll away. It moved towards the princess and was about to cut her with his large knife when he started to feel pain in his side.

“YEAH MOTHERFUCKER! EAT THAT!” Anthony shouted as he emptied a clip of his Lancer into the unprotected General.

RAAM laughed and pointed his finger at Anthony, who was quickly swarmed by Kryll.

“Oh shit! Ah! AH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!” Anthony began to swat at his entire body while running in circles. Blood started to trickle all over his armor.

“Princess, use the light on Anthony!”

Celestia did as advised and the panicking soldier was free of his assault, leaving him open to attack the General once more. Benjamin helped as well and began to fire his Longshot at the General’s head. Celestia, who could only use light to protect and attack, did just that.

Everything was going perfectly fine until RAAM reached for a weapon at his side.

*KABOOM*

The sound of a sawed-off echoed through the entire forest as its sloppy spray hit Celestia in the side. Not many pellets reached through Benjamin who took most of it in his armor, but Celestia began to bleed at certain spots. She could not help but scream in agony at the sharp pain in her left thigh and her right torso.

“Princess, get the hell out of here. Take the other pony there with you. You can’t fight this thing. We’ll do it alone.”

“But I-”

“GO!”

Celestia winced but reluctantly agreed. Zecora ran to Celestia’s side as she teleported them away.

“I hope she isn’t hurt too bad..” Benjamin said aloud.

“Get your head out of the damn clouds and help me over here! I’m not getting my shoulder cut again!” Anthony yelled furiously.

Their effort so far was not helping, as the General just took the bullets without any sign of faltering.

“Shit! Fall back!” Anthony and Benjamin ran for some trees and used them as cover to shoot at the slowly approaching General. They repeated this for a few minutes, although to them, it felt like hours. The General would be shot at by the retreating COGs while he sent his Kryll and shot his Elite Sawed-Off to destroy the trees they used for cover.

“We can’t keep this up. At this rate, we’re gonna get ripped to shreds!” Anthony realized. “Wait a minute..I got an idea! Gimme your Lancer. Take my Gnasher and distract him.” Anthony threw his shotgun at his younger brother while he caught the Lancer. He had two Lancers now.

“Just hurry!” Benjamin called out to a retreating Anthony. Anthony shouted something in response but he was too far away to be heard. Benjamin had to hold his position for now.

He continued firing but RAAM just wouldn’t give up. He was running low on ammo as well. He shot the last shot of his brother’s Gnasher and pulled out his Snub Pistol. RAAM closed in on him though and threw Benjamin aside. Benjamin went flying five feet and was met with the bark of a tree. Benjamin couldn’t stop now though. He got up and ran to where his brother had gone.

The sounds of the charging Kryll that were behind him made his adrenaline pulse through his body even more. He ran as fast as he could until he was face-to-face with the sun itself. He looked around and the entire patch of forest he was in was empty. All of the trees looked to be cut down. He turned to face the General when he heard the sound of Kryll burning from the rays of the light.

The General had lost his shield but he was still coming. RAAM’s footsteps came closer and closer as he was almost within arm length of Benjamin. He aimed his destructive scattergun at Benjamin’s head and almost grinned at him with his bared teeth.

“EAT IT BITCH!” Anthony exclaimed while firing two Lancers at the General who was about to kill his brother.

Not only did he catch Benjamin by surprise, but RAAM as well. The dual damage and barrage made the General cringe in pain. The hardened Locust was furious. He was nearing death at this rate so he did the only thing that he could, he shot his Sawed-Off at Anthony, causing Anthony to fly away while bleeding from his chest.

Anthony was knocked out cold while Benjamin was left alone. It was pretty ironic, seeing as how Benjamin was the one to be out cold in the last battle. Benjamin thought about this for a second before getting thrown away. His bones and body felt numb after so much force was used on it. RAAM threw him near a cliff. It seemed similar to the one Anthony and Benjamin were at when they first saw Ponyville.

It was similar in the regard that not only was it steep, but it gave an amazing view. Benjamin turned from his position on his stomach to his back to look at the General above him. RAAM chuckled in a deep and evil manner while putting one of his boots on Benjamin’s chest, disabling any movement from the Gear.

Final Music

He moved his hand to his knife and dropped his Sawed-Off. He twisted it and turned it to admire every single curve in the serrated steel blade. The blade was as sharp as it was when he first had it. He looked to the soldier who was flailing his arms about in a panicked state. He put even more pressure on Benjamin, causing some rib bones to snap or fracture.

Benjamin was now taking large breaths as it was hard and painful for him to breathe. He was searching for his Longshot which still had one bullet. If he could just get it, he could aim it up at RAAM’s head and pull the trigger. The gun was nowhere in his slowly blurring sight though. He was moving his body inch by inch towards the direction of his gun.

‘Just a little more..Ah! Just a little more….Got it!’ Benjamin felt the butt of his sniper in his grasp. He quickly, although painfully, pulled the sniper closer until he put his finger on the trigger. With as much strength that he could muster, he used his right arm and hand to pull it up to the RAAM and fire. Benjamin closed his eyes as the sound resounded through his ears.

He opened his tools of vision back up to see that General RAAM was still left standing. The only thing that happened was that Benjamin shot RAAM’s chest point-blank, causing the Locust further harm but not killing him. RAAM had enough now. He brought his knife up and brought it downward.

Benjamin’s life flashed before his eyes.

*****

“Aww look at you! My little boy. I’ll name you…Benjamin. Say hi to your three brothers, Ben.”

“Darling come here! He just said my name! He just said ‘Mommy’! Oh my God, his first word!

“Come on, just a little further…that’s it! Balance yourself…that’s my boy! His first steps! Anthony, get your mother!”

“Clayton, say grace.”

“I think Benjamin should do it. There’s no bacon here!”

“It’s Thanksgiving dinner, honey.”

“That was a nice date. I had a good time. So…..yeah..Well what are you waiting for, an invitation? Kiss me, Ben.”

“Listen, Squirt. It’s me and you now okay? They went to join the COG already. We just gotta wait a couple of years before we join them, okay?”

“This is awesome, I got in! I can’t believe it! I’m leaving you in charge of Ma and Pops, Squirt. You’re the big man now. I’ll write you or visit whenever I can.”

“We are gathered here today to honor the life of Anthony Carmine. His life was cut short in his prime and it was done so while serving his nation. May he forever sleep in peace. Does anyone wish to speak some final words? If not, I say to him Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.”

“We love you, Ben.”

*****

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Benjamin felt like every single worry and source of misery had been lifted off of his shoulders. He could see the blur of a blue figure jump at RAAM and push the Locust off of Benjamin. His vision was too blurry for him to see anything. He turned to see that the Locust and the figure were falling off the cliff.

Benjamin’s vision came back clearly as he saw the figures. Anthony was on top of RAAM while they were falling. Anthony had charged at RAAM, which would result in both of their deaths, to save Benjamin. Anthony and RAAM fell down the cliff as Benjamin hopelessly tried to save Anthony. His two hands were swaying about freely when something tugged on them.

“I’m not dead, yet Squirt.”

Anthony was holding onto Benjamin's hands while his body was moving left and right.They shared a laugh as Benjamin tried to pull Anthony up.

Benjamin couldn’t do it. His bones were too damaged for him to muster the strength to pull his brother. Anthony could hear his brother straining to even keep him up. He realized that at this rate, he would kill Benjamin.

“Let me go.”

“WHAT!? I can’t!”

“You have to or you’ll die.”

“I can save you! You don’t have to die this time!”

“We both know you can’t. I’m okay with this. Hell, I’ve died once already.”

“No…”

“I love you, you little bro.”

Anthony began to let go of Benjamin’s left hand and could feel himself moving closer to the ground. He was embracing death.

“Not this time!” Benjamin pulled even harder with the aid of his right hand. He could feel Anthony getting closer to the edge. He just needed a little more strength. What he needed the most came. He felt as if two pairs of hands were pulling him back and giving him the strength he needed to pull Anthony up.

Anthony climbed over the edge, both of their hearts beating rapidly. Anthony patted his brother on the back and stood up. He then suddenly spoke. “Holy shit!”

“You two?! Thanks for saving us!”

“Hey man, we’re friends. Just call me Dom, Carmine.”

“Yes, it appears we are no longer on Sera..with that, address me as Prescott.”

Benjamin turned his head to see the Chairman in short-sleeved armor and a heavily bearded and gruff looking man that had a sort of familiarity. They helped Benjamin up and carried him on their shoulders. They stood on the edge of the cliff in which a lot had just happened. They stared at the afternoon sun that was high in the sky. The sounds of beautiful birds chirping filled the atmosphere.

“Nice to see you two again.” Dom said somewhat happily.

“You too, Dom.” Anthony replied.

“Where are we, Private?” Prescott asked.

“A new world, sir. A brave new world.”

"Aww shit! I stepped in shit again!"

A Tale For Another Day

Author's Note: Damn, I''ve been doing a lot of these lately, huh? Anyway, here's the epilogue. Sorry that it's so short but the reason gives me the right cause. I saw that many of you wanted a sequel and honestly, I was like "no". But after thinking about it, and developing some plot lines, I have decided to make the sequel. I have the front cover and description done. I'll make a small chapter here to let you know that it's out. It should be started by either the end of this month or July. I have to see how my schedule goes. But rest assured, it will be coming. It will have the four of our heroes, Anthony, Benjamin, Prescott, and last but not least, Dom. It will be funny and it will be the shit, I promise you.

Judging from his sheer personality and questionable actions, many people and ponies alike have rated the one called Anthony Carmine. Looking at his younger brother, people would think that Benjamin didn’t fall too far from the tree. But when one realized that Anthony is in fact related to Benjamin, the conclusion that one would make is that Benjamin was launched from a catapult away from the tree.

After the long, tedious, and drawn out battle between Anthony, Benjamin, and General RAAM, they finally achieved peace for Equestria. They were almost torn away from each other due to the injuries that they sustained. By some unseen force, two allies emerged. Chairman Prescott and Dominic Santiago. How they came to be, they do not know. But one thing was for sure, the Carmines were there.

*****

“Oh my head, man! It’s goddamn killing me!”

“Calm yourself, Corporal. I need you to be on your toes. We have no idea where we are.”

“Well, it’s not my fault that my head hurts. Las thing I remember is crashing straight into a Imulsion station! Anyway, since it’s just us, keep it to Dom, man.” Dom shouted while rubbing his head.

“Shh! Did you hear that? It sounded like..gun fire.” Prescott hushed Dom and pointed to some noise nearby.

Many shots were being heard and shouting came from it as well. Dom and Prescott started to move towards the trees. When Prescott woke up next to just a Snub Pistol and a Lancer, he immediately checked his body, remembering that he was shot through the lungs. Dom had woken nearby with his Sawed-Off and Hammerburst. All he had for side arms were his Incendiary grenades and his Boltok Revolver. Luckily, they quickly found each other and decided to band together against the unknown territory.

The gun fire was getting closer, as the two could hear the sounds of the casings bouncing and clinking against the ground. They aimed their weapons at the source, ready to take on whatever was battling. But much to their surprise, two Gears were fighting General RAAM. More specifically, one was diving off the cliff with him. Prescott had known of the Carmine family as they had served in the COG military for as long as he could remember. He had never actually met them personally. As for Dom, he immediately recognized the two brutally killed brothers.

His mouth went wide open when he saw the two bleeding and taking on the ugly Grub that he and Marcus had taken out during the Lightmass Offensive. The stood there for what seemed like hours until they heard Benjamin speaking and hanging on to something on the edge of the cliff. They rushed up to see that Anthony was dangling on one of his younger brother’s hands.

*****

As Benjamin was losing strength, the two newcomers instinctively pulled Benjamin back, helping him bring up his older brother. They were both breathing rapidly, heaving in and out. Anthony patted his brother on the back and stood up. He then suddenly spoke. “Holy shit!”

“You two?! Thanks for saving us!”

“Hey man, we’re friends. Just call me Dom, Carmine.”

“Yes, it appears we are no longer on Sera..with that, address me as Prescott.”

Benjamin turned his head at this moment and observed Prescott, seemingly surprised at his leader’s appearance. Then he turned to Dom, apparently not recognizing him. They helped Benjamin up and carried him on their shoulders. They stood on the edge of the cliff in which a lot had just happened. They stared at the afternoon sun that has high in the sky. The sounds of beautiful birds chirping filled the atmosphere.

“Nice to see you two again.” Dom said somewhat happily.

“You too, Dom.” Anthony replied.

“Where are we, Private?” Prescott asked.

“A new world, sir. A brave new world.”

A long and peaceful silence was broken by a sudden outburst.

“Aww shit! I stepped in shit again!” Anthony yelled.

Prescott shook his head disapprovingly while Dom and Benjamin laughed, the latter coughing a bit due to the broken ribs.

“Benjamin, you don’t recognize me, do ya?” Dom asked.

Benjamin answered. “You look familiar..”

“It’s me, Dom. You know, with Delta.”

Benjamin’s eyes popped out of his head as he broke into another coughing fit. This was when they decided to treat the two injured COGs wounds. The Carmines pointed them in the direction of their camp. Slowly but surely, they found the makeshift home and set the soldiers down. After finding some nearby aloe leaves, they started to treat the wounds as best they could Benjamin guided them through the areas that they were not familiar with.

They ripped up some sheets that were used as blankets for tourniquets and wrappings. After finally setting the bones and such, they propped the two back up.

“Where’s the civilization, Anthony?” Prescott asked.

“Thatta way!” Anthony replied while pointing down the dirt path that lead to Ponyville.

“What’s the name of the place, Ben?” Dom inquired.

Benjamin took a deep breath and an audible gulp. He gave a nervous laugh before turning his head to address the gruff looking veteran Gear.

“…..Ponyville.”

“…Say what?”

No Bacon For You

Scootaloo awoke very early in the morning. Earlier than her norm and even before her two brothers had usually woke up. They were still snoring the night away. She looked up to the sky and the sun was beginning to dawn on the horizon. The colors of a dark orange clashed with the colors of the purple and black sky. The shining stars were taking no part in this conflict of time. Despite all of this, it was so peaceful. The serene and lush grass and the cool air put Scootaloo in a good mood.

She stood up and went to find some breakfast. ‘Maybe I can get some rad tasting berries.’ She thought as she hopped on her scooter parked against the tree where the brothers had stored their weapons. She looked at the weapons, the death bringers of Anthony and Benjamin. Scootaloo admired every curve and stop around them. They seemed so complex to her. The thought of how they worked confused her as she pedaled away towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

It wasn’t long before Scootaloo arrived at her destination. The animals that Fluttershy took care of were happy to help Scootaloo find something to eat. She went with a large bear and a few squirrels as they rummaged through some bushes and ferns. A large assortment of berries lay before her. The berries, ranging in different shades of colors, all looked so delicious. There were raspberries, blueberries, snowberries, and so on. Soon enough, she started making up her own names for the berries.

‘Bruised on the left berries, rumply berries, purplish with a shade of yellow berries.’ She wasn’t the best when it came to making up her own names for things, song lyrics included. “Thanks guy!” She said as she carried them in a bag she had with her. She waved farewell to the animals who roared in a friendly way. The time had passed relatively fast during this. The sun was almost up and the peak of the sky. ‘Time to wake up the sleepy heads.’

She got back to Anthony and Benjamin. Benjamin was hugging himself and babbling like an idiot. “Mommy.” The one lucid word he said could be heard from where Scootaloo was at. Anthony on the other hand, was just waking up. Apparently, he rolled around so much in his sleep, that he landed on the fire while she was gone. The sight of Anthony bolting up and running around screaming “Aw shit! I’m on fire!” made her laugh loud enough for him to snap out of it.

*****
Anthony heard Scootaloo laughing at his expense. The last thing that he had remembered was that he was being set on fire by a group of gigantic pigs. All throughout the nightmare, he could hear loud booming voices saying “Mmm..bacon” while giant forks tried to prod at his body. The tables were turned on him. That was when he woke up, feeling an intense amount of heat blazing on the side of his body. He looked to where the heat emanated from and saw bits and pieces of ash. He dusted the mess off, revealing the brilliant blue of his standard issue COG armor.

“That wasn’t what it looked like..” He said in the best persuasive voice he could muster. “Yeah, I didn’t see you roll onto a fire and run around like a monkey.” Scootaloo retorted sarcastically. “Glad to hear that you didn’t” He said not picking up on the witty reply. “So, what’s for breakfast?” He said walking over to the bag. “Shouldn’t we wait for Ben?” She asked. “No.” Anthony replied blankly. He inspected the contents of the bag before asking his trademark question. “Where’s the bacon?”

*****

It had been walking in the forest for what seemed like hours. The only thing guiding it at this point was that distinct, sweaty smell of humans. It wanted to find where the humans where, maybe giving it a sense of direction back to the Hollow. It encountered no resistance. The creatures of the forest seemed to acknowledge it’s presence with growls of intimidation and fear. None dared to cross it’s path. After all, it was a tall behemoth compared to a human and it’s armor multiplied it’s terrifying look ten-fold.

It’s weapon no less, was what topped off it’s monstrosity. To any of it’s other brothers, it would have been heavy and over encumbering in battle. For it however, the weapon seemed like a baton at best. A baton ready to cut down any opponents standing in it’s wake. It could see smoke not too far ahead. With each passing step, the fire came closer and the smell of the humans intensified.

The fire was coming from a camp, it reasoned. Weapon raised, it limbered up, ready to leap into the air and come striking down. After hearing a few pleasing cracks from it’s neck and body, it jumped. Almost touching the sun itself. It saw the large shadow that it cast over the fire, making it seem like an ecplise.

“Die groundwalkers!”

*****

Benjamin awoke from a loud all-too familiar screech that came from above. He recognized it. It was the same screech he heard on Dizzy’s rig, Betty. He heard it while he deployed in a pod, followed by explosions and what sounded like a chainsaw battle. “Shit! Get the fuck out of the way!” Anthony bellowed, causing Benjamin to roll towards their weapon cache.

He picked up his gear, not even looking at the commotion. “Get my shit, Squirt!” Anthony said urgently. Benjamin picked up all of his brother’s weapons and threw them at the receiver. “Shoot that fucker!” Benjamin screamed. Before them, was a Locust who was taller than them, by a foot or two. He seemed like a leader, perhaps a general to the Queen. As they opened fire on the slowly approaching Locust, they began to move down the road towards Ponyville.

Despite the danger that was ready to end their lives, they laughed in pleasure. “Finally some action!” Anthony said ecstatically. “Yeah, I was starting to think we’d have to live the rest of our lives like hippies or something.” Benjamin responded. Scootaloo all the while, was diving in and out of the Carmines’ legs. “Guys! What’s going on?” She said unsure of what action to take. “Oh shit! I forgot she was here. Scoots, get down to town and warn them that shit’s about to hit the fan!” Benjamin said quickly.

Benjamin’s voice was barely heard as all noise was drowned out by the sounds of their Lancers firing rapidly. ‘Good thing we got a good supply of ammo’ Benjamin thought to himself. This was true, not only were their weapons fully loaded, but some boxes of ammo was not far behind them. Anthony was laughing maniacally, overjoyed to finally find something worthy of fighting.

The Locust had not been harmed whatsoever. It was swinging it’s double-ended chainsaw staff in a circular motion, seemingly deflecting most, if not all, of the bullets. Every once in a while, a bullet would graze it’s skin, followed by a small trickle of dark crimson blood. The Locust all the while had been laughing as well, most likely at their futile attempts at killing it. “Foolish…humans..cannot..beat Skorge!” As he said his own name, he lunged with one of the ends towards the brothers.

The brothers, rolling out of the way, realized something. They couldn’t beat Skorge this way. Angry with what they had to do, they turned around, sighed, and ran like bitches. “Shiiiiiiiiiittttt!” Anthony almost sang and held on the t’s for emphasis on his predicament. Skorge was jumping and crashing down with his staff, trying to kill the brothers. They could hear loud thumps and mocking laughs as they ran away.

The town was not too far off now, only a couple more minutes and they would be there. “Maybe Twilight can pick his ass up and rip him apart.” Anthony mused. Benjamin chuckled at the thought. “Yeah, when pigs fly!” Their mixed emotions were mixed with fear, confusion, joy, bloodlust, and adrenalin. They felt like they had an unlimited supply of energy at their disposal.

The town, like they expected, was cleared. Scootaloo arrived just fast enough to warn the citizens to take cover in their homes or evacuate Ponyville. This didn’t matter to them as long as no pony got in the murderous Locust’s path of destruction. “Hey all the ponies are gon-” Benjamin was cut short by a dreaded sound. Not for it’s quality, but for it’s timing. This was the worst possible time that this could’ve happened.

“I wish to welcome you to Ponyville, I hope you find it swell! There’s cake, cupcakes, punch and food, we even have chocolate bells! I’m saying this to you because I want you to be my friend, so please oh please shake my hoof so we ca-” Pinkie’s welcome song and her bouncing party wagon were interrupted by a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Die..” Skorge said as he swung down with his weapon. “Hey that’s not nice! You interrupted my song! I didn’t even get to si-” She stopped mid sentence when a moving form grabbed her quickly. She was on the floor, Anthony on top of her. “Get the hell out of here!” Anthony yelled into her ears, which was followed by an ear-to-ear smile. “I like hugs! You like hugs too? We can be hug buddies! Anyway what about my new friend?” She said without pausing to take a breath.

The clumped together couple looked over to what was Pinkie’s party wagon. The once joyous and booming contraption was now nothing more than a mangled, shredded pile of sawdust. Sparks and pieces of gravel were emitted when Skorge’s weapon reached the granite flooring. Pinkie’s hair deflated as she started to cry. “I don’t think he want to be your friend, Pinkie” Anthony said hesitantly. She somehow had gotten out of his grip, most likely teleported, because she was now on Skorge’s back.

“You big meanie! You know what? I’m not even going to put frosting on your cupcakes mister! Are you happy now?” She said while tapping her hooves on his helmet. “Kill…” Skorge grabbed her with a single hand and brought her to his face. His jagged and sharp teeth were drenched in uncontrolled streams of drool and he snarled at her. His beady little eyes focused on hers.

“Wow buddy, I hate to say this about new friends but boy do you smell bad! Peeyew!” She said while clenching her nose with a hoof. Skorge seemed annoyed by the fun mare’s voice and began to move his blade towards her neck, ready to decapitate her. “Oh no you don’t!” A flash of cyan and rainbow whizzed by his head, bucking his hand, causing him to drop Pinkie. Rainbow Dash seemed triumphant and started shaking her hooves to an invisible crowd. “Thank you, thank you!” She patted herself on the back.

“Get out of here girls!” A by standing Benjamin said as he rushed over to Skorge. “Yo ugly, I bet you want to cut my ass in half don’t you?” Skorge nodded and began to step towards Benjamin. “And your queen is a slut! She was down on me this one time..and man did it feel good! I had to put a paper…bag…over…her head..” Anthony was cheering his insult at Skorge, who had immediately turned his head to Anthony after hearing his queen being mentioned. Anthony stumbled over his last few words because it seemed to infuriate Skroge with a will power never seen before.

“Insolent!” Skroge rushed at Anthony who met Skorge’s blades with his own. A large clash of metal could be heard grating against each other. Benjamin, who tried to help, was thrown against a wall with a huge amount of force. He let out a slight groan as he was knocked unconscious. “Aw shit, Benny’s out cold! Yo Flutter..guy? No, Sluttershy! Wake his ass up!” Fluttershy who wasn’t even insulted by his mix-up, but was scared of the force in his voice and the intensity of the situation, fainted.

“Oh horseapples! Ah’ll get him!” Applejack ran over to Benjamin, who was as still as a statue. “Wake up ya hear? Wake up!” She bucked him on the head, making him respond with some small mutterings. Rarity was running to her sweetheart, shoving Applejack out of the way. “Oh don’t worry darling! Rarity is here to make you all better. That ruffian didn’t hurt you too hard did she?” Rarity spoke in a baby voice. “I…love…you..” Benjamin said quietly. “I knew it! Yes, I do to-“ “Applejacks…” Rarity’s white alabaster coat, turned into a blood red as steam was emitted from her ears. “OH APPLEJACK DARLING..”

*****

Benjamin was back in his home. He was a kid again. How he got there or why he was there didn’t matter to him. He was just glad to be back in his cool racecar bed. The birds were chirping outside of his window and the air conditioner’s cool air made the room temperature just a bit below average. The bright and brilliant sun’s hot rays were blocked out by this almost winter air.

“Ben honey! Come down for breakfast!” Benjamin’s mom called to him from the downstairs kitchen. “Oh boy!” A young Benjamin exclaimed in glee as he rushed down the stairs. He sat down at the handmade and carefully crafted furniture that his family had worked on during a family workshop. The sturdy, yet soft cover of the mahogany chair made him feel right at home.

His mother, ever so smiling, gently placed a bowl of cereal down in front of him. Her apron and hair in a bun was just as how Benjamin remembered them to be. “Eat up sweetie, so you can be bigger and stronger than all of your brothers combined.” She said while smiling at him lovingly. He happily chowed down on the cereal, enjoying every bite and sip of milk. The cereal was just what he loved. Applejacks.

“I love you mom! Thanks for the Applejacks!” His mother walked over and hugged him. “Wake up, Ben. Wake up.”

*****

“Whaa?” Benjamin said as he woke up from that fond memory. Before him, two ponies were fighting. Applejack was trying to back away from an enraged Rarity, who said Applejack was ‘stealing’ her lover away from here. They had not even noticed his waking. They did however, stop when a pained scream echoed across the village. “Aaaarrrrggghhh!” Anthony screamed as one of the ends of Skorge’s staff sawed into his left shoulder. Clumps of blood and flesh splattered the floor in every direction. Anthony couldn’t keep up much longer. The persistent Locust had been sawing down for almost ten minutes now. With no help from anyone, Anthony couldn’t possible hope to defeat him.

Anthony’s cry, wasn’t ignored. At that moment, a blue bolt came right to the side of Anthony, grabbed something off of his person, and went back around to Skorge’s back. “Gotcha.” Benjamin said as he tagged Skorge with a frag grenade. He went back around and revved up his own Lancer, pushing back Skorge, even sawing his staff in half. In almost a split-second after sawing through Skorge’s weapon, the two brothers were cutting into Skorge’s body itself. The crimson red sea splashed itself to parts of the Carmines’ armor.

“Shit yeah!” Anthony said while still coping with the loss of blood and pain. The beeping of the grenade grew faster. Anthony and Benjamin both started to count down, a panicking Skorge trying to rip it off. “Three…two..one..Boom.” As they said the final word, an ear-piercing explosion bellowed throughout the peaceful land. Parts of the divided body flew as far as thirty feet. The blood entrenched almost every building, floor, and pony in the vicinity. After the frightening hail of blood, the ponies tried to look through the big dust of cloud where the three foreign beings once stood.

“Where’s Ant and Ben?!” A distressed Scootaloo called out. Everypony looked around trying to find where their new friends were, only finding more blood and gore. “Looks like they’re gone..I’m sorry Scootaloo.” A sympathetic Twilight said as she put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “They’re over here!” A sniffling Scootaloo perked up, almost flying over to them.

She gasped at the sight. The two brothers lay motionless before her. They travelled at least thirty five feet away from the explosive force. “Anthony? Benjamin? Wake up.” Scootaloo said pleadingly at her two brothers. She was shaking their bodies, which were stiff and completely still. “Wake up! Please wake up!” Her eyes were forming tears again. She could feel the wet cold streams travel down her face.

The other ponies looked away, knowing what was happening. The only noise heard was from the little orange, flightless, pegasus filly who was pounding on the two lifeless bodies. “You can’t do this..You can’t leave me alone!” She was crying into their chest pieces now. Realizing the full result of the situation. Death had come to these two brothers who had saved all of Ponyville. The crows of overhead carrion birds circling, ready to pick their food, made Scootaloo cry even harder. “Why?!”

“Would you chill the fuck out!? God, my fucking ears hurt!” An erecting Benjamin said. “Shut up! My shoulder almost got cut in half because your wimpy ass wasn’t there!” Anthony angrily replied. Scootaloo, who’s tears of sadness had been replaced by tears of joy, impossibly stretched her hooves long enough to embrace both brothers.

“Thank you Celestia!” The others soon joined in, almost squeezing the life out of the humans. Benjamin was just glad to have survived and appreciated the caring gesture. Anthony on the other hand, was yelling and trying to squeeze out because with every new pony joining in, more pressure and pain came from his cut shoulder. Finally, a mint-green unicorn joined in while exclaiming “Babe, you’re all right!” She unknowingly put a hoof inside of his open wound.

“OH FUCKKKKKKKK!!”