Call Of Equis

As the humans and ponies walked into the Guard barracks, Soap looked over at Armor,

"They're pretty well trained. You got any previous military experience?"

"I used to be the Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard before I married Cadance and became one of the rulers of the Empire. Our wedding was, well, rather rudely interrupted."

"How So? Wedding crasher?" Allen said.

"The Changeling queen impersonated Cadance and hypnotized me, in order to feed off me. She had everyone fooled, except for Twilight here. She found out the truth just in time." Armor said, ruffling Twilight's mane. "I still owe her a big one."

"That's some nerve, on your special day. I'd like to kick her ass big-time." Roach said, and Cadance smiled.

"Yeah. I'd like to kick her flank a million times. She's not coming back anytime soon, though. They live a good distance away, and with all the safeguards we have, she won't dare attack us." Cadance said.

"We're here." Armor said, opening the door to a small firing range. Crossbows lay neatly on several weapon racks, alongside quivers of bolts. Spears, swords, and longbows were perfectly sorted. Several firing lines were present, and Soap was impressed.

"Well, let's get started. The gun was developed in the late middle ages. It's currently 2015. The late middle ages were in the 14-1500s, so we've had them for a while. The early designs were crude. We eventually refined them into the weapons you see now. We first used them as heavy cannons, until we developed the matchlock, wheel-lock, and Flintlock ignition systems, then the percussion cap system, which is still used today. The gun works by using a metal firing pin, linked to a trigger mechanism. When the trigger is pulled, the pin hits the cartridge bottom, which sets off a chain reaction of a small amount of explosive. The explosion, contained within the cartridge base, generates hot gas which propels the bullet out of the case and down the barrel. The bullet spins as it travels down the barrel, due to rifling, or grooves, that spin the round. The crack you hear from firing the gun is the bullet breaking the sound barrier. The mechanism then ejects the cartridge and loads another automatically. We call it a "Full-auto" mechanism. They also come standard with a safety mechanism to prevent accidents. But always, Safety first." Allen said, field stripping his M4A1 for visual reference while laughing at his little joke.

"How big can the bullets get?" Armor said.

"That depends on the size you want it to be. It can be small, like a pistol round, medium, like an assault rifle here, or big, like a sniper's rifle or machine-gun round. The biggest we use for standard military use is a half-inch diameter round in Sniper rifles." Roach said. "Like the Barret .50 Cal sniper. That round can punch through steel and most medium cover."

"What's the difference between a rifle and machine gun?" Rarity said. "They sound the same."

"But they are different." Ghost said. "MGs usually use a bi-pod or tripod for support. Assault rifles don't. Assault rifles usually have small magazines for ammo. MGs have ammo belts or boxes for a continuous stream of ammo. Rifles don't have a mechanism to cool the barrel. They use a gas system to expel excess gas when the round is fired through the ejection port. MG's have cooling mechanisms due to their rapid fire rates, meaning the barrels heat up due to the gas and the friction. Assault rifles and small machine guns can usually be carried by a single solider. Medium and heavy MGs are mounted most of the time."

"Interesting. Can you show us?" Celestia asked.

Soap nodded to Allen, who smiled and mounted his M240B on the table. He got his sights ready, loaded the rifle, and fired a few bursts at a mannequin down the range. The loud cracks and flashes surprised the ponies, who were covering their ears. Allen fired one last burst, then he put the safety on, and shouldered the weapon. Twillight uncovered her ears and smiled.

"That was...rather loud. Why didn't you humans flinch?"

"We're used to it. Often, our helmets have ear protection, so it doesn't matter much. But anyway, anything else?"

"One question, Soap. Why;d you have to die on me, you bloody bastard?" A voice said.

All eyes turned to the humans standing in the doorway. One was older, in his 40's, with a full beard and mustache streaked with gray, wearing a jungle hat. The other was tall, with a crew cut and a friendly expression. The older one shouldered his AK47 and walked over to Soap, who smiled. The other one smiled and walked with him, also holstering a pistol and AK47.

"Good to see you again, Captain Price. You too, Yuri." Soap said.

"Same, Soap. Ghost, Roach, Metal. Nice to see you all." Price said.

"Wait, Captain Price?" Allen said.

"What, PFC Allen?" Price replied. "Something up?"

"Did you...finish the job?" Allen asked.

"I did. Makarov. Is. Dead. I hung him with a steel cable. Long story, but the bastard, the insane bastard is finally dead." Price said, taking out a flask ad sipping from it.

This took a little time to sink in, but eventually the humans started cheering and patting each other on the back. The ponies were mystified at the celebration.

"Why are you celebrating?" Twilight said, confused.

"Makarov is dead. You know the guy that masterminded the airport massacre? The guy that killed me? The guy who caused the death of Soap? The radical ultra-nationalist terrorist I told you about? HE'S DEAD. HE'S FINALLY DEAD!" Allen said, giving Soap a high-five.

"Wow. That's a relief." Cadance said. "I'm not sure I can say this, but I'm relieved to hear of his passing."

"Well, now our job back home is done. I think it's time we establish a new life here." Allen said, with nods and confirmation coming from the other humans.

"That sounds fine with me. Hey, since the only real thing you guys can do is fight, maybe you can be advisors for the guard here. We could use the help." Armor said, and Price nodded.

"Sounds fine to me. What do you think?"

There were no objections.

"Good. Consider us accepting your offer." Price said, shaking Armor's hoof.

"The next training session isn't for a few days, so rest up. I have a few announcements to make."

Armor walked out, along with Twilight and her friends, who needed to head back to Ponyville. Celestia and Luna were gone in a flash, leaving the humans with Cadance.

"I actually have some census work to do. Here's the address of the house. It's a bit big, but I think It will fit." Cadance said, pulling out a scrap of paper and a pencil. Writing down the address, she handed it to Price.

"Thanks." Price said, and the humans walked out. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a bright blue house, with two stories. They opened the door, and dust greeted them.

"Doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while."

"Yeah." Ghost said, setting his ACR in a alcove.

"Let's get set up. Once we get some currency, we can get some furniture ordered."

"Sounds good."

After around an hour of cleaning, the house was finally presentable. They stocked their combat gear in the basement and stripped down to T-shirts, pants, and socks. Ghost retained his mask, however, along with his jacket. Then, they scavenged whatever food they could find. In the middle of eating, the doorbell rang. Ghost answered it, and in walked Armor, along with a notepad, pencil, and bag full to bursting.

"Hey guys. If you need anything, write it on this notepad. I'll pick it up each morning and get it. I got some bits for you from the treasury."

"Thanks. And you call this SOME?" Roach said, eyeing the massive bag of coins.

"We get a lot of trade here, so we get a lot of tariff and tax money. It really adds up. I've already made the arrangements for your Guard positions, so don't worry about that."

"No problem."

As Allen finished writing the things they needed down on the list, he handed it to Armor.

"I'll get you what I can get. But oil?"

"Gun cleaning. Also, I don't think the lanterns are gonna light themselves." Allen said automatically.

"I see."

Armor walked out with the list, leaving the bag in a cabinet. By now, the sun was setting, and the group was getting tired. Scavenging a few blankets and sleeping bags, they drifted off to sleep, not knowing the winds of fate had already begun to blow.