The last soldier

"Hello. My name is Princess Celestia. And this is my sister -- Princess Luna. We are the rulers of Equestria. Now please, introduce yourself."

This Celestia and her sister came into my room when I was lying in a Canterlot hospital. The pain has gone, however, I miss my leg. Without it, I don't feel myself... Complete. Yes, that's the word. Still, could be worse. Death, for example. It's quite hard to adapt to new conditions, especially when you find yourself living with anthropomorfic creatures like these ponies -- pegasi, unicorns, alicorns in Twilight Sparkle's case, or even Earth ponies. Makes me sick from time to time.

I don't like these rulers. They're about two and a half meter tall, not mentioning magic hair, or better to say mane, that glows and moves on its own. And of course, they have both wings and horns. Not big deal that they're very important here...

"My name doesn't matter. You can call me... Whatever you want, I guess, I don't really care. 59th Guard's shooting division, 176th Guard's shooting regiment. Russian Federation Armed Forces."

"Oh, good. Still, I think you need to say your name."

That dark blue one, Luna. I can say that she's more impulsive than her sister. I can see it in her eyes. And probably, Celestia is an elder one, while Luna is an younger one. They make me uncomfortable, but I won't say my name. And what if they start threatening me? Doesn't matter. Still can't be worse than now -- without a leg, thrown into another world without any ticket back home. Even death is not that scary now, I guess...

"I. Will not. Say. My name. Understood?"

"That's a bit rude, don't you think?"

"Yes. But I don't care. Mainly because I hate politicians. Partly because I don't fear anyone anymore. Fatalism, what can I say."

"Huh. Well... Maybe you can say your nickname, at least?"

"Cider."

"Good, that will do. Now, please, show me your left leg."

That Luna is surely provoking me to do something stupid, and that makes me nervous. However, not even full knowledge about alicorn magic can prevent a lot of bad things, especially when your gun is lying on the other side of the room, along with the uniform. So, without much sympathy, I show what's left of my leg to the princess. Just a stump, covered in bandages and filled with painkillers.

"Now, hold still, young man."

Luna's horn starts glowing, along with my stump. Something warm starts to boil inside it, and that makes me both scared and confused. Then suddenly, a flash of bright light makes me blind for a few seconds, and I close my eyes.

"Ah, for fuck's sake!"

"If that was cursing, you better quit it immideately. And also, take a look at your leg."

Celestia's voice drags me back into reality. I open my eyes and slowly lower them to take a look at...

"That's not funny, you know that? If this is a joke, of course."

"No. Your perfectly fine leg, good as new."

I take a look at my new limb. Everything in it was familiar -- small scars, skin... I lift a confused look towards Luna.

"How did you do that? Because of course, having your leg back is cool, but isn't there any backfire?"

"Sometimes to use magic you only need to believe. It's not that complicated, as you think."

Luna smiles. Looks like she knows, how much impression she made, and is proud of it. However, that leads to a good question... Why did she do that? As I carefully stand on my new limb, I give it a slight try.

"Thanks. But something tells me, that's not charity, eh? Or else there wouldn't be a need for such places as hospitals at all."

"Yes, you're right. Ironically, for a wrong reason, but still..."

I look at Celestia. Instead of her sister, she keeps her emotions low. She stares at me, while I put on my clothes. Then, she finally speaks again.

"We have a job for you. And this is a kind of job, that can be done only by you."

"And what is it?"

"We need you to kill the Queen Chrysalis."

Luna's face darkens along with Celestia's, meaning that the subject is very important. Their faces look stern, and that makes me feel uneasy.

"I'm not a mercenary. I'm a soldier of Russian military forces. I cannot and will not help you, unless you'll have a good reason why I should do it."

"It's complicated. However, we can explain."

"Well, go ahead."

Celestia and Luna sit down on a bed and seal the windows with their magic. Then, Luna starts to tell the backstory.

"Queen Chrysalis has tried to take over Equestria twice. For the first time, she was banned by my relatives, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor. However, when she came back, she'd been spared, and managed to escape. Our menthality forbids us to kill anyone. Even when the great evil named Tirek was unleashed, it was thrown into the prison in Tartarus. However, right now our own laws are not really helping us, since Chrisalys is back. We're recieving reports, that she's raiding the outskirts of Equestria in search for love to consume. And, because she won't stop for the third time, we need your help."

"And what I will get in exchange? Because I have no real reason to help you. You may be tricking me into a trap, after all. And I can't tell, that you're not lying to me, ya' dig?"

Luna's face shows a grimace of disgust. Understandable, but I can't risk. But, instead of her, her sister answeres to me.

"Our archeologists have found an interesting ancient vault, buried into the ground under the town of Ponyville. And in this vault probably lies a technology, that allows to cover huge distances in a short time. I bet that you want to get home, right?"

The last phrase, said by Princess, wakes up my curiosity. Because it's really my only chance to get back home. Of course, that "technology" can mean absolutely anything, but since there are no other options...

"Deal. However, you need to tell me everything about that... Chrysalis. And also, if you want me to kill an overpowered creature on my own, I better have a transport and supply. Because if your only opportunity fails, you'll have to deal with this evil on your own."

"Of course. First of all, you will head to the town of Ponyville and unlock the vault with my best student, Twilight Sparkle. She's brought you here, by the way. And what you will find in it, is yours. Besides, now you are a commander of this whole operation, and everything is classified."

"Wait, you mean that you don't have any guns to provide me with? And no transport?"

"We mostly rely on magic. We don't have a need to build a lot of machines."

That statement left me in a downed mood. Because going to fight with an overpowered opponent, with two spare magasines for a rifle, in a torn gear and clothing, without any transport? Ridiculous! But, there was no other choice.

"Alright. I am in. Now tell me about this queen. Maybe there is a weak spot..."

"Hello, you must be Cider, right? My name is Twilight Sparkle, me and my friends have brought you to the hospital back in Canterlot."

"Yeah, I remember."

As soon as I step from the train, I'm greeted by a purple alicorn. Twilight looks nice and friendly, and I feel uneasy, because I can't tell the same about myself. 3-day bristle, torn clothing and gear, blood and dust... Good thing that Princesses had offered me to ride in a closed coupe. As we begin our march into the town, I put on my helmet -- hot sunlight literally bakes my shaved head.

"So, Cider... I bet that Princess Celestia has told you everything about the situation?"

"Yes, she did. However, right now I'm more interested in that digsite of yours. Don't wanna' fight with my bare hands and a couple of cartridges."

"Yes, we're going just there. You will see everything for yourself."

As we go farther, we drag more and more attention. Understandable, but that doesn't really help with all these glances, looks and stuff like that. And when we finally come to the big pit in the ground, the crowd literally becomes thick as a concrete block. Until...

"Heyo, Twilight! Get over here!"

I lift my head to see a blue female pegasus in the sky. She furiously signals to Twilight. As she sees me, she lands and offers a hand.

"So, you are a Cider that Twilight keeps talking about, huh? Name's Rainbow Dash!"

"Cider. Yeah, that's me. Are you a friend of miss Sparkle?"

"Sure I am! Come on, let's catch up on her."

As we come closer to the pit, we see that it's surrounded by roadblocks, and inside it there are seven more persons. Twilight has already got inside the working site and has been talking to someone. But then, she notices me and Rainbow Dash.

"Looks like you've met Rainbow Dash! Hi there, by the way."

"Hya, Twilight! As you've said, I've gathered everyone under the tent."

As we get to the tent, that stands in a center of the pit, I take off my helmet, to not hit the ceiling. And as we get inside, I see a lot more ponies and a creature, that looks like a small dragon. After that, Twilight starts her speech.

"Hello, everyone, and thanks for coming. As you remember, we didn't have much time to chit-chat with this person, but right now we are working together. Everyone, please welcome Cider. Cider, these are my friends: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Starlight Glimmer and Spike. You've already met Fluttershy and Applejack, as you may remember, and you've had a little chit-chat with Rainbow Dash."

"Hello, everyone. Hope that our mission will be complete successfully."

Fluttershy is the first to come to me. She curiously looks over my legs.

"H-hi there... Looks like, um... Your leg is back."

"Yeah. Free of charge, since I have to deal with... Well, you know, who."

After Fluttershy, comes Rarity. She definetely looks like she belongs to a higher society -- fancy dress, manners... And I don't like it.

"My-my, darling, you look awful! These pants of yours, they are torn! And that ugly vest of yours, with all these pouches, ugh! I have no idea, but a person, who designed this, has no taste!"

"I don't wear fancy gear, but mine is very effective. And that vest saves my life, by the way -- armor plates inside. However yeah, I wish I had a spare pair of trousers."

Pinkie Pie. She smiles in a weird way. Almost maniacally. And that's annoying. Some people would say that she's insane in a cute way, but I can't stand overhappy persons.

"Hya! Name's Pinkie Pie, and I'm super-duper pleased to meet you! Want a cupcake? I've brought some, so anyone could fill'er tank, if you know, what I mean!"

"U-u-uh... I will take one, thanks."

After taking an offered cupcake, I stop my glance over the little dragon. He looks interesting, not mentioning that he's the only male person under this tent, not including myself.

"Spike, right? You look like a dragon."

"Heh, because I am a dragon, after all! I can breathe with fire, magically send and recieve letters... Basically, I'm Twilight's number one assistant."

"That's cool, that's cool... I kinda like you, man. You stand out for some reason. And no, I don't mean your looks. Just keep it in mind, m'kay?"

After that, an orange cowgirl comes to me and offers her firm hand.

"Applejack. Though, we've met before."

"Sure we did. However, now the situation is way more serious."

"How much?"

"Way, way worse, as much as I can tell. But I think, we'll handle."

The next person to greet is Starlight Glimmer. She looks a bit nervous, but keeps her emotions down.

"Hello there, heh... Name's Starlight Glimmer, but everyone calls me just Starlight. I am... Well, Twilight's student."

"Hello there, Starlight. I really hope that our working relationships with you and miss Sparkle will be very productive."

Finally, I look at Rainbow Dash. She lazyly leans over some boxes, and as soon as I finish with Starlight, she lifts her head.

"A-a-a-and we've met a bit earlier. And I can say, that I'm awesome. Nothing to add here."

"Being too self-confident can be dangerous, especually under a heavy gunfire. And I hope that you will never see that... But anyways, let's look at the vault, that you've found."

Regrouped, we go to the farther end of the tent. I can see an entrance on the ground, covered by a big, but not very thick piece of metal. With the help of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the cover is moved away, and we can see that under it was lying something. And that something is...

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

The metal cover, that we've moved, has appeared to be a roof of an old garage. And inside this garage, there's standing just an old car. The only chance to get out of Equestria has appeared to be a spoof. Twilight gets over me, being curious.

"Cider, is there something wrong?"

"Pretty much everything. Your beloved Princess said, that you've found something, that could help us in our mission, and the supplies. How the fuck I am supposed to fight with an old offroader?"

"Wait... You know, what that machine actually is? And it is from your world?"

"Of course! But as much as I can tell, it's pretty much useless..."

I jump into the garage pit and look around. The car looks old, and is filled with sand. The overall looks remind me of GAZ 69, but it's heavily modded -- welded-in rollcage, jerry cans at the back, winches at the back and at the front bumper, additional searchlight... And also, inside it were lying some military-graded steel boxes of different shapes. I get into the cargo compartment of the vehicle, and open one of them to see some sort of a gun in machine oil. As it turns out, other boxes are filled with ammo.

"At least something... Looks like the RPD, and 7.62 cartridges. However, I don't understand, how a whole garage could get here, under the Ponyville..."

"We did some research on this machinery, and looks like it's been lying here for at least two hundred years! And it's in a good shape, because it's been kept hermetically sealed under the ground."

My mood is uncertain. On the first side, that old piece of machinery could do only a little to help us achieve our goal. But on the other, it's still better than nothing... And Twilight looks like she's very interested in this junk, so maybe she can do something about it.

"Well, basically, this is a car. Instead of walking, we could ride in it, but something tells me, that you have no petrol here. Any ideas, miss Sparkle?"

"Nah, just call me Twilight. Well, we need to examine this thing, that would probably take a day or two. Meanwhile, you can get your gear in shape with Rarity. Sounds good?"

"I guess so. However, we need to be quick. Someone, give me a shovel."

"You want to dig the car out? No need to."

After the last phrase, Twilight's horn starts to glow, and literally in a flash, we're out of the pit and on the street, along with the vehicle. I put my helmet back on my head to cover from the sun.

"Alright... Since we're out of the pit, I suggest we start working. While Twilight is working with the car, I need someone to fix my uniform. Besides, we need food, water, IFAKs. And be quick -- I've got the world to save, heh."

"You think a bit too much about yourself, you know that?"

Rarity comes to my side and looks into my eyes. I can see a bit of disguist on her face. And that makes me feel funny. I down my voice and say:

"I know. But instead of you, I kill stuff on everyday basis."

After that, a white unicorn frightens a bit and says that I need to come with her, so she could fix my gear. And as we go through the town, one thought emerges from the depths of my mind.

"It will be a hell of an adventure."