Hell Hath no Fury

by Luckless

Rating: mature
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Sad, Dark
Length: 17215

A war scarred Marine is blown into Equestria, and learns to deal with a painful past, his demons, and help those around him in the process.

His country was invaded by Communist China and North Korea when he was just a kid, and from that day on, he committed himself to fighting for his country. He fought for his home, then in aid of the Russians, then the campaign for China and North Korea, and lastly, the war on ISIS in the Middle East. Finally, he gets to relax, or at least as much as he can in a new world and with severe PTSD.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2017-05-15 05:31:14 UTC

Chapter 1: Pain is the Name of the Game

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!!!!!  Why the hell did I have to join the fucking marines!  I thought as a 20 mm autoloading cannon fired at me from my hiding spot underneath the charred remains of an armored troop transport.

“TANK!  You alright?” Alex yells from the ditch a few yards away, trying to get me to hear him over the cannon fire.

“I still have my balls, and all my limbs, so yeah!  I’m great!  Just dying to kick some ass!”  A round ricocheted off the ground a few feet from my legs.   I cursed again as the gun refocused its’ attention on the ditch.

I crawled underneath the still burning armored vehicle, my M16 pointed forwards.  I see the damned truck with the auto-cannon in the bed, the ISIS jackass that was behind it, as well as a few other support fighters.  Why’d Islam have to exist?  Without it, I could be on a nice comfy base, watching a shitty movie made in 1989.

I aimed in on the gunner, completely ignoring me, the gun facing just the right angle away from me for a clean shot.  I take one shot, a red mist erupting from his head.  I took a few more shots on the other terrorists before they got wise, and started shooting at me.  Shimmying backwards, and I got behind a wheel, bullets pinging off of the vehicle, and bouncing off the ground.  A bullet went straight through an exposed leg, and I grunted in pain.  Damnit, again?  Why is it that I always get shot whenever I get in an engagement!

“I’m hit!  Again.” I yell out, “Leg shot!  I’ll be fine!”

I put weight on the leg, pain seething through me.  But I was pretty much like Deadpool from the Marvel universe.  I’d been wounded so many times and so much worse, that pain was something that I was more than just used to.  I expected it.  My thoughts from before was more than pertinent now.  I truly did get shot or wounded every engagement.  Thankfully for my psyche, I had learned to tune it out after a while.

Standing up and peering around the corner of the transport, firing off a few bullets blindly.  I looked over at my unit, hiding inside the ditch and a short stone wall.  Loki, our radio operator, was screaming into his radio mike for some fire support.  Please send a Spooky!  Or an A-10!  BOTH DAMNIT!

“Come on Loki!  Get us something good this time!” I yell.

“Fuck off!  I’m doing my best damn job!”  He answered, going back to his radio operating.

A fresh bullet tore a nice clean tear across my chest.  I gasp aloud as I fall backwards without thinking. Damnit, there’s another one.  I grunt again as I hit the ground.  Picking myself up again, I scrambled behind the wheel again, more bullets hitting the transport.

“Hey Tank!  Got you your support, you asshole!” Loki says with his Marine playfulness.  A blast of fire and hell exploded where the terrorists were.  There were no cries of pain, just the loud booms.  I laughed crazily, walking out from behind cover after the show of fire ended.  I walked along the broken road towards the burning truck.  I wanted to make sure that the fuckers were dead, no exceptions.

Another couple of steps, and the cracks of several bullets going off at once sounded, and I found myself on my back, more pain in my torso.  I gasped at the impact and the air being vacuumed out of my lungs, but I remained calm, eventually being able to breathe again, though my chest leaked fluids besides blood, which bubbled, the air escaping.  My body protesting, and my brain not caring, I stood up, and stumbled towards the burning truck again.  NOTHING was going to stop me.

I counted eight dead bodies, excluding the one I had killed, who was currently blown to pieces.  I looked them over, satisfied that they were all dead, looking for the offending rifle whose bullets had gone off, but to no avail. Fuck it, doesn’t matter that much.

A sudden thud made my heart drop out my ass, as I turned my head to look straight at a BOMB.  I scrambled away from it, my wounds screaming in more pain.  Again, ignored.  I felt like I could feel the bomb about to go off.  A final leap intended to get me to the ground, instead made me fly like a cartoon character would when the bomb blew.  For me, it was the herald of silence.

     Meanwhile- Rainbow Dash

The controlled cold of winter was always something I didn’t like, ironically enough.  The snow always piled up on my back, weighing me down, got in my eyes, and ice always managed to form on my wings.  So for now, I was trapped on the ground in my winter home, which I neglected a bit during the summer, and even other winters that weren’t bad enough to keep me from being in my snug cloud room in the sky.

I was staring out at the barren landscape, bored out of my mind.  Twilight was reading some books on magic with Spike helping her, Fluttershy was trying to keep her winter birds from getting hungry, Applejack was managing her apple stores, Pinkie Pie was working at Sugarcube Corner, and Rarity was busy making “fashionable” winter clothing for her clients, and herself of course.

I sighed ever so bored.  I couldn’t read any more Daring Do books, as I had read them all so many times that the joy of reading them had kind of lost their touch on me, as I knew exactly what was going to happen next, and how to counter everything to Darings’ advantage.  Sometimes, I actually found myself yelling at the pages for Daring to not do something that was going to mess things up for her.  I really needed to find something else to do.

Just as this was going through my mind, a loud explosion emanated from in front of the house, a blinding flash forcing me to close my eyes.  When I could open them again, I was dumbstruck by what I saw.  Snow had been blown away from a small circle of scorched dirt, with a creature badly bloodied in the middle.  My jaw dropped as I realized that the creature was on fire!- and trying to put itself out, crying out in pain.

I burst out the door flying, gathering up snow in my hooves, and dumped it on the creature, putting out the fire, and forcing the creature down to the ground, silent.  I gently flew closer to it.  It didn’t have a muzzle, or fur.  To add to this, the creature was just tall enough to where it could probably be as tall as my shoulder.

It was looking real bad, the burns still slightly smoking.  But to my horror, that wasn’t the only wound that the thing had.  There were deep punctures in its’ torso as well as a gash over well developed muscles, and a sizable hole in its’ left leg.  How did it manage to walk with something like that! I wondered.  But there wasn’t any time to just hover there, gaping at the wounds.  I had to get it to the hospital.  I grabbed it under its’ belly, and hefted it up, noticing how it seemed fairly heavy, and zoomed off to the hospital of PonyVille.

Chapter 2: Never Kick a Man When He's Down

Tank

My entire body ached and moaned, and seeing as how there was nothing left for me to do but hang in the legs of something flying through the air, I couldn’t ignore the pain.  I moaned in my discomfort, barely any energy left in me to even breathe.  But at the very least, the freezing cold felt nice, seeming to slightly ease away the burning sensation.  My eyes were barely cracked open, in such a way that my eyelids could still water the sad little orbs, and the ringing in my ears were finally beginning to die down.

“Don’t worry little, uh, guy.  I’ll get you somewhere safe!” a voice said into my ears, who the ringing had ever so graciously let me hear above the noise.  Grunting, I let my body start to swing in the air limply.

We seemed to fly for a few minutes, my little dance with pain was playing out.  If I could imagine something interesting enough to occupy my mind, then the pain would fade away, and I could ignore it.  I ran my mind through various scenarios, killing ISIS members, going home, maybe a pretty girl, but nothing could stop the rolling waves of pain that demanded attention.

I felt myself turning down, meaning that we were now flying in that direction.  A pair of doors creaking open let me know that we were headed for a building of sorts, though what it was I couldn’t tell. Oh God, help me!

The air changed from freezing, to somewhat warm.  My stomach dropped as we leveled out, and I was dropped to the floor, rolling to my side, the bag stopping me from going any further.  I opened my eyes a little, and I could see what stood above.  Somehow, I’d managed to keep my rifle in my hands, and in front of me, was a wooden wall that curved away from me.  My steely gaze told me that this was real wood, not the fake shit that poor companies made use of.

Well this is interesting, isn’t it.  If I had to bet, I’m in something of a hospital.  All I need to do is make sure that they don’t use any drugs on me.  I sighed in on myself, cursing for the break of my will earlier, I deserve that pain, don’t forget.  You deserve it.  I growled in pain, forcing myself to stand.  First, I rolled onto my hands and knees, a wheezing sound coming from my lungs.  Not through my lips, unfortunately, but from the oozing wounds of my chest.

Then, using the butt of my rifle as a crutch, I forced myself up to my feet, a painful, “AGH!” leaking from me.  I raised my eyes, expecting an Army nurse or something.  Instead, I saw a white horse, with a pink mane dun up atop her head, wearing a nurse’s cap.  Somehow, that horse seemed to be just as surprised as I was.

The voice from before spoke up again, “Hey nurse Redheart, I need you to help this… whatever it is.”

I turned my head, to see a pegasus.  It had a cyan blue coat, and a rainbow mane, ragged and windblown.  The same went for the tale.  I saw the absence of junk, so I figured that it was a girl.  I almost had the inkling of embarrassment or regret for looking, but the feeling dropped out of mind quickly.

“How the hey?” she started, turning her attention to me.

I wanted to reply, but even if I could, a cry from outside screeched through the still open door.  A new pony, brown coated with a blond mane appeared in the doorway, “A pack of manticores are raiding the town!”

Manticores?  Talking horses, and manticores?  What the fuck is this?  I stumbled to the door like a drunk man, passing a very scared-stupid horse.  Looking out, 6 manticores were roaring, and chasing fleeing horses.  Some had horns, some had wings, others had neither.  They had so many colors that it nearly came to confuse me.  Would have succeeded if I had cared.

I raised my rifle, took shaky aim, and fired.  Three shots landed dead on my target, a manticore that had managed to pin a horse to the ground.  I waited only long enough to see the body recoil off the horse, and lay dead in the snow, which melted under the heat and pressure of blood.  I repeated my process with two others, walking and firing the whole way.  An empty chamber stopped me from killing another.  I pulled the mag out, and fished out a new one, jamming it in.  Before I could pull the bolt back, a scream off to my side spilled through my ears.

A manticore was running down another horse, this one being much smaller than the other ones I’d seen.  Whereas the horses that I had seen so far had been a little taller than me, but this one actually managed to be shorter.  This one had a yellow coat, a red mane and bow.  Again, I could read the emotion.  This one was scared out of its’ little mind.  I didn’t have any time to stop my instinct, dropping the rifle, and pulling out my Ka-Bar knife.

The little horse passed me, and the manticore ran straight into me.  I pushed through strong paws, burying my knife deep into the things’ chest, and flipped it up over my head, straight to the ground.  I got on top of it, and stabbed again and again.  My adrenaline was running, and the pain had faded away.  Thank you Lord Jesus!- you’ve given me mercy.

I pulled the knife out of the bloody corpse that was the manticore.  My other hand grabbed my rifle as the bloodied blade wiped itself against my pants, and slid into its’ sheath.  The rifle was in my hands now.  I pulled back the bolt, and surveyed my current situation.  There was a noticeable lacking of screams now, and it was easy to see why.  The remaining manticores were now circling me angrily, and somewhat confused.  There was an extra manticore though, one that had probably been just out of sight.

My breathing was shaky and rasping, the adrenaline falling away to a building sense of worry.  I chuckled to myself, You should be fucking terrified and you’re only SLIGHTLY WORRIED?!  A smile had crept to my face, one that really shouldn’t’ve been there.  But hell, it was there.  Why not? You are one crazy son of a bitch ain't you?

Meanwhile, the manticores seemed to be gathering up their courage.  The smallest of the three, growled once, and leapt, claws extended, and jaw opened to bare large, sharp teeth.  A rat-tat-tat later, I was stepping aside for a flying dead manticore.

The other two flinched at the sound, but rebounded by leaping at me at once.  One from the left, which I snapped my rifle to point at, and the other which was now behind me.  My rifle fired again, rat-tat-tat.  I rammed my rifle’s stock backwards to where I knew the manticore would be.  I connected with one paw, forcing the manticore to spin around, the other claw soaring harmlessly over my head.  The manticore landed on its’ paws a few feat away.  I raised my rifle again, and pulled the trigger.  Nothing.  Jammed?!  What the fuck!  Five years of fighting with this rifle, and it chooses to jam now?!  I dropped the rifle, cursing audibly, my hand instantly going for my knife.  To my worried mind, the manticore took notice of this opportunity, and pounced again.  The monster barreled with all of its’ weight.  We rolled once, me coming up top.  I pushed myself up to my knees, which were firmly planted on the chest of the beast.  My knife was out, the shining of the sun against the blade slid from the base all the way to the tip as I raised it up to bring it down.

Sensing what I was doing, the manticore grasped my pack, and threw me off.  I rolled on the ground, my pack slipping off somewhere in my little flight, landing off behind me.  I got myself to my feet again, the manticore already tackling me again, pressing me against the ground.  It took one swipe, which tore from my collar bone, all the way down to my waist.

Thankfully, I didn’t feel it yet.  I thrashed my legs, and my steel toed boot managed to connect with something, seeing as how the manticore’s eyes shrank to tiny little dots, a small squeak creaked out of it’s mouth.  Then, it rolled off of me, whimpering in great pain.  I sat up, my body beginning to catch up with me again, reminding me that I had more wounds than anyone should ever get at once.

But I was on my feet again, my chest heaving, trying to give precious oxygen to my leadened body.  The manticore had grasped something between its’ hind legs, tears streaming down its’ cheeks.  Ah fuck, I just insulted his manhood.  Time to pay, you know you have to.

“Sorry pal.  Come on, get up,” I say, picking him up to his feet, “One free shot.  Come on, I owe it to you.”

I turn my back to him, showing my full intent of fulfilling my word.  SWIPE!  Heat erupted on my back as I was thrown forward a little.  A smile crept on my face, my honor had been preserved.

“Ok then, let’s continue.”  I spun with inhuman speed, my knife slicing through the air.  I saw, and heard the manticore squirm backwards after the blow.  I had sliced open his right eye, and made a sizable cut down its’ face.  It was howling it’s rage and pain.  Seizing the moment, I charged after the stumbling creature, and rammed my blade straight up under the rib cage, right into where the heart should be.

A gasp escaped the manticore, and I twisted the blade, snarling into the ugly face, dropping it down to the ground like all the other manticores.

“Finally… it’s done.  Time to make repairs.”  I walked back over to my pack, which was now encased in a thin layer of powdered snow.  Squatting, I dusted it off, and opened it up.  My hand slid in, digging around for the Aid Kit.  Finding the square box, I pulled it out.  I rummaged through this too, finding the surgical staples and stapler.  I pulled off my shredded shirt, pinched my separated skin together, pulling them out and together, and started squeezed the stapler, forcing the skin to stay together with a metal staple with a firm click.

“Sweet Celestia!” I heard several voices exclaim in shock.  I looked up, and saw a large gathering of the horses, all of which seemed to be be both horrified and disgusted at the sight of me.  There had to be dozens of them, but 6 seemed to stand out.  Probably due to the fact that they were the closest to me, out in front the large group.

There was a white unicorn with a purple, done up mane that was wearing very… I don’t know, fancy clothing?  Then there was the pegasus from before, and another that had a yellow coat, and a long pink mane.  Then there was an orange horse, with blond hair, freckles, and a leathery looking cowboy hat with a sizeable chunk taken out of the brims’ front.  Then there was a pink horse, with an even pinker mane, if that was possible, that looked very unkempt.  The last was a purple unicorn, with a darker shade of purple mane, with a single pink stripe.

The cyan one stepped towards me, asking, “Are you alright?”

I just stared at her with a deadpan face, which I tried to make to express a “No, duh!  Do I look like I’m alright?”  I don’t know how successful I was, but I made the face, so mission complete.  I moved down the line of the same cut, and stapled again.  A disgusted, “Ugh!” resonated throughout the crowd.

“Come on big guy,” she says putting a hoof on my shoulder, “that looks like it hurts.  Let’s get you back to the hospital.”

Eh, why not?  Probably get better care there than whatever I could do for myself.  I sighed weakly, my wounds oozing a little more.  Standing, I snapped another staple in.  My bag was over my shoulders again, my rifle in hand, knife in sheath.  My mind felt fuzzy from the blood loss, and I fell against her side heavily, almost knocking her over.  I got my arm over her side as a tender wing went over me.

Rainbow Dash

That… that was… I had no idea what that was! I felt a strange mix of awestruck (which I’d never felt before, even from the Wonderbolts!), immense fear of whatever that thunderstick in hands was, and confusion.  I didn’t know what spell that thing in its’... whatevers… had on it, but it was DEADLY.

Then, the weird creature continued to surprise me, by putting itself through even MORE pain than it was already in by stapling metal into its’ chest!  Though, I could kind of understand what it was doing.  The metal bound shut the deep, and wide gash that went across its’ chest.  After I convinced it to come with me, it sagged feebly against my side.  A strange sense of affection fluttered in my chest, as I draped a wing over it, holding it tighter to my side.

Heat was growing on my side where the thing was.  I looked down, and saw that the blood and other liquids (which couldn’t’ve been a good sign) was staining my brilliant blue coat. I’m sure it’ll wash out… eventually.

Now, the creature was hanging off of me, moaning in misery and pain, barely conscious.  The hospital came up quick, and again, we were inside.  “I see that you’re back… oh pony feathers!  What happened to it?”  Redheart asked incredulously.

“Manticores.  Turns out it’s a-”

“Badass.”

Who was that?  I’d never heard that word before.  Sounded cool though! I should use it sometime.

“GURNEY!!” Redheart yelled.  A couple of stallions rushed out in mere seconds, threw him onto it, and rushed him out of sight, Redheart following.  Now I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I bit down on my lip in concern for the creature.  I couldn’t leave without knowing what happened to it!  So, against my better judgement as usual, I trotted after them.

I followed them down a few hallways, through a few doors, and into a surgery room.  The creature was laying on it’s back on the table, doctors looking over the barely moving thing.  “Well, let’s get started.” a masked doctor said, “Redheart, please administer the tranquilizer.”

“Offf currr, ohher.” Redheart said through a mouth clenching a large needle filled with a green liquid.

But when she went to inject the thing, an arm sprang up, and grabbed her jaw.  The creature’s head was now straining to stay up against the slab of a table, “No……. sleepers.”  It had been so quiet, that I had almost missed what it said. This thing is full of surprises!  If it survives, I think that it’s going to be loads of fun to be with!

The head thudded back down loudly, but the hand stayed on her jaw until she backed away.  Flying as quietly as possible, I made my way above them all.  Redheart and the doctors didn’t like anyone watching them while they worked, but I really couldn’t help myself.  I needed to know what happened to the strange creature.

The doctors sighed, and got to work, first on it’s leg, while the creature somehow managed to continue stapling shut the gashes.  But once it sealed shut the cuts, it stopped moving, letting the stapler clatter to the ground.  It seemed strong enough, but once the doctors started digging into the fleshy, bloody wounds, it started to twitch, which slowly built into shuddering uncontrollably.  The tendons on its’ neck were now painfully visible from strain.  While the creature had turned sickly pale, the face was not only contorted in pain, but was now also going red, then blue, and finally rested on purple.

Come on, breathe!  I thought.  It really needed to breathe.  “AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! FUCK-DAMN IT!” It screamed.  It sucked in a few breaths, and started screaming loud wails of pain.  My heart seized.  I’d never seen anything in such agony!  The creature ripped a cloth out of its’ remaining clothing, wadded it up, and stuffed it inside it’s mouth, muffling the cries.  Tears were flowing without restraint down its’ cheeks, as it grasped the table with both the legs and its’, oh buck it.  I’m calling them hooves until I know what the hey they’re supposed to be called, forehooves, bracing itself against the table.

The doctors were very hesitant to continue, but they carried on anyways.  I didn’t understand almost any of what they were doing, but needless to say, it was just plain vile!  Flesh was parted, muscles quivered, and blood was spilled.  How the heck is it even still alive!?  Much less conscious to scream?

But it got even worse.  They moved up to the chest.  But to properly get at the holes, they had to open him up.  They spread his skin, and pried open the rib cage.  I had to stop myself from barfing at the sight.  I’d never seen organs before, especially not ones that were constantly beating.  Large moving sacs of varying colors leaking out blood and sickly fluids streaming out of holes that even an idiot could figure out wasn’t supposed to be happening.  I looked to the face of the creature.  The eyes were bulging, almost out of their sockets, the nose flaring, veins and arteries popping everywhere, and the poor things’ helmet had fallen off.  Oh sweet Celestia!  I can’t keep watching this! I didn’t care how much noise I made, I couldn’t stand it!

Once I was outside the operating room, I barfed all over the floor.  I couldn’t stop myself until after what felt like hours of dry heaving, and then I could breathe.  And I realized that I had been crying, HARD.  I turned back to the door.  I peeked through, and the creature was grey.  It was still breathing, but the skin was grey, glistening with sweat.  The skin had gone taut, the body was shuddering weakly.  One eye, the eyelid slightly closed, rolled in its’ socket, down to me.

My skin crawled.  There was a smile, a very, very tired smile on the lips.  The doctors were leaning against the walls, so tired that they looked almost as dead as the creature, which really DID look dead.

I creeped in, my eyes locked on those black, and bloodshot eyes.  I was by its’ side, and I held the right forehoof in mine.  I felt my eyes watering again, as the eyes tracked me.  Slowly, ever so slowly, they fell shut.

Chapter 3: Brand New World

Twilight Sparkle

Rainbow finally finished the first story in the Daring Do franchise with a resounding, "The end."    This was the same book that she had read in the hospital, the same one that had established an unbreakable love for reading.  I couldn't say anything about her taste for adventure novels only, but it was a start.  She was still covered in some of the human's blood.  The human.

"You know, I was just getting bored of Daring Do.  I'm going to have to thank this little guy when he wakes up." Rainbow says almost wistfully.

"That's if he understands us," I'm plagued with questions about the human, questions that swarmed my mind like bees.  The first rested on the human itself.  Under the oxygen mask, I could still perfectly see the features of the human.  Compared to him, the humans natural to this world looked like brutes.  His nose was thin, but appeared to have been broken a few times, and the left nostril had been torn.  His head was more dome shaped, and didn't slope back so far.  The scalp was covered in scars that could only be scars from burns, the webbing covering the whole of the head, and stretched back to the neck.  Somehow, black hair was actually still growing.  It was quite short, most certainly less than a quarter of an inch.  And it was all so healthy and full, as if the skin below it had never been damaged.

The brow ridges were completely off the table, as in there was no bone underneath the bushy eyebrows to make them jut out.  The lips were thinner, and the cheeks were pulled tight to the prominent cheek bone structures and jaw.  The body of the human was certainly a strange sight.  It was more muscled than the strongest of laborers in the mines, muscles that seemed to fight against his own skin for escape.  The skin.  That was another topic.  It told such a story of pain and suffering that I had to put it out of mind to continue studying the body.  Scars, everywhere.  The left arm was either made of metal, or just covered in it I couldn't be sure, the last segment of the right pinkie finger was missing, and the left leg from the knee down was as the left arm, made of metal or just tightly covered in it.  Damage was woefully inadequate as a description.  The grand majority seemed to resign itself to the left side, but scars littered the entire body.  On top of that, strange marks.  They had some resemblance to Cutie Marks, but there was nothing in Equestria that could possibly resemble these.  Human skulls still crying tears, bony fingers scratching at the skull.   Words in Equestrain letters, but forming sound structures that hadn't been put together in the same pattern before.  I wanted to say that they were names, but I couldn't be sure.  On the remaining arm, an angry eagle carried a waving flag from the pole.  The flag was definitely not from Equis.  Most of the flag was dominated by red and white stripes, 13 in total.  The one part not covered in stripes was a patch of blue with 50 white stars on it.  Yep, I took the time to count them.  Below the flag was two stripes that went up to a point, and then back to an equal point further away.  On the ball of the elbow was a globe with a massive iron anchor behind it, and an eagle, wings spread, and a banner in it's beak resting on top of the globe.  On the forearm, fiery images of the cosmos.  The face was barely touched by tattoos, there being only a single, black tear drop shaped tattoo in each outside corner of the eyes.  I wonder if that means something.

The right shin was of raging streams of volcanic magma and black clouds, the chest being regaled to a magnificent lion, and a regal pack of wolves.  All of them stared deep into my soul.  On the back, I was told that there was mostly quotes in common Equestrian, the most notable being, "Freedom is never free".  All I could do was wonder what the meaning behind it was.  There were others, but not nearly as notable as that.  I think some of the tattoos on the back had been burned off.  I shuddered, now unable to resist wondering How could this have happened?  I hope that it's history won't have any adverse effects on it's actions towards us ponies.  I fixated on one scar in particular that stuck me as terrifying.  It had an epicenter that the rest of the healed wound stretch from.  All I knew was that this had to have been the worst wound.

The door behind me opened, and in came the rest of my friends, Applejack leading with a subdued smile on her face, "How's he doing Sugarcube?"

"Well, the doctor says that he's never seen pony or human suffer so badly in his life, but that this little guy should pull through."

Applejack's smile grows, "Good, cuz I owe that human a mighty thanks fur savin' Applebloom from those critters."

"Indeed, he distracted one of those hideous creatures from my shop!" Rarity says with her usual over-dramatized tone, "I wonder how hard it would be to repair it's clothing?"  To this she ponders.  Near impossible, I would imagine.  I've tried every spell I know of on it's things,

and not one of them have had any affect on them, even telekinesis didn't work!

Our eyes are drawn back to the strange human, who was mumbling and grunting in it's sleep.  Now what is going on in your mind? My mind wonders to what had been on him, the strange saddle bags and clothes, plus the unworldly weapons.  The doctors hay have been unable to use magic on the human, but they didn't say anything about his things!  I looked over to the pile that was all the random junk that the human had on him.  I gathered up my magic, and cast my spell onto it, the spell that was supposed to bring them all to me.  But nothing happened.  The magic from my horn just fizzled out.  W-what?!  My magic had failed.  This had only happened on spells I'd never tried before!  This was just a simple spell, how could it fail?  In my frustration, I tried, and failed, again.  I took the blanket off of the human, and tried to use it to grab up the blanket.  I was met with success.  So I can use indirect magic on those, but not direct.  Interesting.

Tank

I was surrounded by gunfire, the shrieks of mortars and artillery, and the screams of my friends.  I was in that muddy foxhole that I'd spent months in with only one other person, a black dude my age whose name was Mikey.  In war, whether you like someone or not, you learn to love your comrades as brothers.  Thankfully enough, neither of us had any qualms, and got along fine from day one.

Today was like any other day.  We woke up, and ate our rations through a mortar bombardment, had a quick skirmish for about an hour against a convoy of trucks and their escorts, relinquishing a massive store of food and weapons.  The weapons, we sent back to command in the back of a small moving truck to be shipped off to our headquarters, and most likely sold to help aid our war effort.  The food we kept for ourselves to help feed us, as our own supplies had dwindled very low.  Unfortunately, it didn't help much.  While there were many packages,

the food they held was pitifully small.  It took three rations to fill us, where our own would only take most of one.  Plus, ours tasted better.

Now, we fought against a larger contingent.  Our .50 caliber machine guns roared consistantly, and the stream of pops from our rifles backed them up with vigor.  Mikey and I were behind one of the .50's, off to the far right flank, which the attack was heaviest.  A spray of bullets cracked over our heads, "I hope that we get some support soon!" I yell in between bursts from the .50.

"Got that right!  We're fucked if they don't give us something good!" He manages to yell over the gun.  I pop up over the edge of the dirt wall, and let go a few choice shots at some of the dumbasses who were charging us.  I plucked a grenade out of my deep pockets, pulled the pin, and chucked it as far and as hard as possible.  As far as I could tell over the sound of war, it blew up a few soldiers dumb enough to be near it.  *Clunk* *Clunk*  My eyes gravitate to the grenade that both Mikey and I were now staring at.  Before I could even process what I should do, Mikey was on the ground, trying to cover it up.  All sounds disappeared, except for the thundering sounds of my heartbeat, like bombs landing on both sides.  *BOOM BOOM*  *BOOM BOOM*  Everything stopped moving, even my heart.  Then, just as the grenade blew, all ceased.

Rainbow Dash

The twitching and moaning evolved into screaming and thrashing.  Even with both me and AJ doing our best to hold him down, it was hard, like trying to make a Rainboom after I did it the first time.  Even Fluttershy tried to relax him, but to no avail, while Twilight immediately refocused her attention on the human, rather than the still closed bag.  Finally, those clenched eyelids opened, and a discernible word erupted with pain in our eardrums, "MIKEY!!"

Those eyes!  One was bloodshot, with a black iris, the other was... unique to say the very least.  It looked like it had been made out of a white metal, but there was blue lights in it.  The largest source was a single blue circle in the middle, which matched the movements of the other, with small lines of blue pointing towards the main source.  There were other lines made by engravings, however, quite shallow.  These looked like, oh what was it?  Ooo! I remember now!  A right angle, but only with rounded edges.  These didn't make any words, and formed no images.

All these details, I could see and understand in less than a second.  What took time to figure, was the terror on his face.  My hooves were swept away, forcing me to back off as the human sat up quickly, and slamming into the wall, ripping off the oxygen mask and needle.

"It's ok!  You're safe little one, no one wants to hurt you.  We're all friends!" Fluttershy says with her most calming voice.   Now, the human drove nails into her with his eyes in disbelief.

Tank

Oh, I forgot, they talk.  Still, I couldn't help saying, "The fuck?" by reflex.  The yellow pegasus recoiled along with every other one of the horses in the room, except for the only other pegasus in the room, the one that helped me to the hospital.  She seemed confused, but nonetheless unsurprised.

"Can you say something else?  You know, something like what I'm saying?" She says.  Her voice is quite tomboyish, hoarse, and hopeful Well go figure.  A horse with a hoarse voice.

This... will take some getting used to.  "Yeah, sure.  My name's Gunter Ludger, I'm a Corporal in the United States Marines with nearly six years of service and five years service in the Freedom Force Rebellion.  May I ask who you six are?"

"Seven, actually."  A young, boyish voice corrected.  I looked down, and saw a... Now what the hell is that supposed to be?  It kind of looks like a lizard.  This strange creature that had spoken walked on two legs, had purple scales with a leathery faded green belly, and green spikes running up and down his back, small on the tail, and much taller on the top of his head.  At least, I think it was a he.

"Ok, seven.  Whatever.  May I ask who you SEVEN are?"

"Oi, it's going to take a long time to get used to a human talking." he says offhandedly, as if I couldn't hear him.  Why that little-!  I cut off my building ire, Give him some time.  He probably didn't mean to be rude.  "I'm Spike, and yes, I'm a dragon!"  A dragon, and with no wings?  Is he a Chinese dragon or some shit?.  I was going to ask, but thought better of it.

The cyan blue pegasus from before went next, "I'm Rainbow Dash!  The best flyer and athlete in all of Equestria!"  An, "AHEM!" from an orange horse got Rainbow to go, "Hehe, ok, so, one of the best."  Equestria?  Ok, it's official.  We aren't in Kansas anymore Toto!  Ok, jokes aside, did it really take knowing that you're some other country to realize you ain't on your homeworld.  I think the talking horses was enough of a clue.  I looked at Rainbow, trying to take note of her features.  She was quite lean, and had a rainbow colored mane and tail, both of which were windblown.  She seemed to have an unparalleled confidence behind those magenta eyes.  Now that I was looking harder at her face, it was almost like the perfect combination of a human face and and a horse's face.  I could see and understand every emotion on her face, and hopefully, it worked the other way around as well.  A final glance revealed a tattoo on her ass.  A rainbow lightning bolt coming out of a white cloud.

Next, the orange one spoke up, saying, "Ah'm Applejack!  I work the Apple farm on the outskirts of Ponyville."  Ponyville.  Ooooook.  I look her over too.  First thing that stood out, was that she had freckles.  Three freckles on each cheek.  Then, ponytails.  Her mane and tail were made into-

FUCKING

PONYTAILS

Unlike Rainbow, she was thoroughly muscled, but certainly not ridiculously so.  Her kind green eyes seemed to install into my mind a sense of trust, like I could wholeheartedly believe everything she said.  She had a tattoo on her ass too.  Three apples in a rough triangle.

"HI!  I'm Pinkie Pie!  I'm the party pony of Ponyville!" a girly, and extremely excited voice burst into my eardrums.  I look over to where the sound came from, and I see that pink pony, hoof held out to me.  I grasp it with my hand and give her hoof a firm shake.  I studied her as well.  What I saw, was a rather... pudgy, almost fat pony.  Her coat was pink, and her mane was radically powerful, and unkempt.  Her eyes were wild, and full of happiness and energy.  This energy had me fully convinced that her weight wouldn't keep her from doing ANYTHING.  She too, had a tattoo in the same place as Rainbow and Applejack.  This time, three balloons.

Then, the white unicorn cleared her throat, calling for attention.  Before she spoke, I quickly observed what I could about her.  Her white coat was kept neat and brushed, her purple mane curled elegantly, like she was trying to avert any and all attention away from her... well... she wasn't fat, but you couldn't get away with saying she was thin or in shape.  Her tattoo was a couple of diamonds.  "My name," Oh dear God!  She's got the accent!  FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!, "is Rarity.  I own the Boutique in town, and the best stylist in the business!"  That accent, oh God in Heaven help me.  It was the same posh accent of some rich prick who thought an accent would make them sound more important.  Those kinds of people always installed a sense of hatred in my mind, and I could never amount any kind of resistance against it, even if I wanted to.  The rich grew up in lavish, and comfortable lives, never actually working for their things.  But when I looked into her eyes, I didn't see that snide glare that rich people usually had.  Instead, I saw a confident kindness, even though she flutter her eyes a few times.

Then, the other unicorn went, "I'm Twilight Sparkle!  The personal protege to Princess Celestia."  Princess?  Fuck.  I hate royalty. Memories from stories that mom used to tell me flooded through my mind, memories that told me rulers like kings, queens, princes and princesses were all assholes that ruled with iron fists.  They oppress the peasants and starve them while they sat on piles of gold coins and feasted.  But I relinquished these images, and studied her.  She actually looked like a middle ground between fat, skinny, and lean.  She was purple, had some stars as her tattoo, and her mane was styled in a straight, level cut with one brighter shade of purple stripe.  I looked into her purple eyes, and saw unparalleled curiosity, barely veiled by joy and friendliness.

The only one who hadn't gone, was the yellow pegasus.  She hid behind her very long pink mane, like she was almost afraid of me, the only thing preventing her from completing this being a glint of curiosity on her face.  She was VERY thin, almost anorexic.  Her tattoo was a couple of butterflies, and her eyes were unbelievably kind and shy, and blue.  I waited patiently for her to speak, and soon enough, she realized that I was more patient than her, "I'm Fluttershy"  I barely heard her, but I was able to hear it fully.  Fluttershy.  Very fitting.

"Come on Fluttershy!  You gotta be louder than that.  You know humans don't have as good ears as we do."  Rainbow Dash says irritated, like this happened a lot.

"It's ok, I heard her.  Her name's Fluttershy, yeah?"

They all looked at me with untold amounts of surprise.  "You could- actually hear her?"  Applejack asked in disbelief.

"Yep, and I heard your comment from earlier, Spike.  I'd recommend that you watch what you say before you piss me off."

Chapter 4: A Smart Pet

Chapter 4: A Smart Pet

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

               Gunter

"What are you telling me, that I'm not good enough?" I ask.

"No!  Of coarse not.  It's just that you're a human, not a pony, or griffon, or any other being of sentience."  Twilight tries to explain, "Humans aren't capable of intelligence.  You're simply well trained."

I spat on the floor in disgust I'd only felt on rare occasions, "The only ones to train me, were my parents and other humans.  I told you before, this is the first time I've been on this world, and I don't know how I got here!"

"That doesn't matter.  You're still human, you're still just an animal.  A really, really smart animal."

"Fuck it, I'm done arguing with you.  I've been shot, blown up, lit on fire, scratched up, and finally, more or less being dissected without anesthetics.  Granted, the anesthetic part in on me, but nonetheless, I'm irritated beyond all hell."  I get up off of the bed, and for the first time, I can feel something that I'm lacking in.  Clothes.  My balls were hanging in the wind, and quite frankly, it was rather cold.  I could feel my face heat up, no doubt going red, and I cover my delicates with my hands.  I only see confused looks.

"Ok, the hell did you do with my fucking clothes?"  I scan the room, and I don't need an answer.  My things are all in the corner on top of a grey blanket.  I'm already walking to the corner when Applejack starts to say, "Over there."

My things had all been tossed halfhazardly, but being the guy I was, I could find everything in that mess, even though it wasn't me who made it.  I found my underwear, socks, pants, and boots.  Socks first, then underwear.  After I got my legs into the pants, I tied off the inner belt, and once I got my boots on, tied off the legging belt that held the pant leg to my boot.  I opened up the velcro pocket that covered my knee, and slid up a military issue knee pad, which filled the entire pocket.  I felt satisfied that I'd covered myself to where I was decent, and turned back to the group, who was looking at me curiously.

"What?  Animals can't dress themselves?  Are they not allowed to wear clothes?"

Rainbow is the one who spits out the answer, "It's just... why are you getting dressed?"

"Well, from my homeplanet," I was sure to emphasize homeplanet to express my bitterness, "it was unlawful, and indecent to go about nude.  I'm not one to abandon my values just because I ain't home anymore."

"You NEVER went around without clothes!?  Any of your 'people'?"  Rarity seemed to scream this at me, but with an intense interest.

"Yep, except at nude beaches.  But I never went to one of those, most people didn't.  I think we had some amount of pride that wouldn't submit ourselves to such a indignation.  But then again, there were others who were just too horny for their own good."

"What was your fashion like?  Please, tell me everything!"  She looked hungry, staring at me almost like a starving animal.

"I lived my life as a Freedom Fighter, and then I was a Marine.  I was too young to remember any 'fashion'  before I entered the Rebels.  And we didn't exactly worry about fashion.  All we wore were jeans, T-shirts, jackets, and military garbs."

"Well, that's boring."

"How do you think we felt?  We lived underground, in wet, dark, and cramped tunnels that we had to dig in mere months!  We spent months at a time in the dark, waiting for the opportunity to hurt the Chinese.  We had NOTHING to do but read the same books over and over and over again.  Speaking of which, I actually brought some with me when I went on my last mission.  Haven't even gotten to read them all the way through yet, so I'll at least be entertained by something I understand, and probably like."

"You mean, you never got to see the sun?" Twilight asked.

"No, I saw the sun.  Like I said, we waited down there until we had an opportunity at a strategic attack.  I went up top then.  After a couple of years, my home was liberated, and I joined the Marines to keep up the fight.  I haven't gone back into many tunnels after that."

"This, fighting.  Is this where you lost your arm and leg?" Rainbow asked.

"And my eye.  But, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I got them defending my country.  There's nothing more honorable than that."  I say this with pride.  It was my one thing in life that I could claim as good.  I now refocus on the window, or rather, what was on the other side.  I saw a winter wonderland.  Winter meant cold, and I need to keep warm.  My wounds were adequately bound so they weren't going to come off easily, and were more than likely going to hold back any blood that might be loosened if I reopened them.  And that reminded me, I needed to do better than stitches.  But I knew I wasn't going to do what I was already planning in my mind.  I wasn't going to cauterize my wounds.  The fire would mutilate my tattoos further than they already were.  I wasn't going to have that.  I'd spent a lot of money on them, and I wasn't going to end up spending any more repairing them.  Besides, who knows when, or if for that matter, I could get them redrawn.

I opened my bag, and searched for a spare shirt.  I knew I had some things, but not much.  I was still rewarded with tight, elastic long sleeve shirt that would cling to my body, and keep me warm.  This was black, and I put this on first.  Then, a grey t-shirt, and the tattered remains of my combat jacket.  Out of habit, I put my helmet on.  I dug my hands through my pockets, looking for my neck-warmer.  I found it in my inside jacket pocket, and was somehow undamaged, and NOT covered in blood.  I quickly took off my helmet, and put on both articles on in their turn.  I look back over at them, and again, I see confusion.  "What now?"  I say tiredly.

"Why are yuh putting more clothes on?"  Applejack asks.

"I'm going outside at some point, and it's fucking freezing out there.  I ain't going to freeze while I can do something about it."  I say as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Planning for the future.  Interesting."  Twilight says quietly.  It didn't seem like any of the others heard her.

"And why is that interesting?" I ask her.

She's pulled out of her thought by my question, and looked nervous, "Why is what interesting?" she tried to sound convincing, but she honestly sucked at it.

"You're a terrible liar Twilight.  You said, 'Planning for the future.  Interesting.'  Now.  What do you mean by that?"

Everyone's looking at us, clearly interested, "Well, most animals don't concern themselves with the future, just the present.  You're preparing to go outside, where you know it'll be cold.  That is another difference you have from the other human's on this planet."

That's... not all that interesting.  The others seemed to share the same thoughts, if their expressions were anything to go off by.  "Honestly, that's not very interesting.  In any case, I'm going to find somewhere else to stay while I figure things out."

"Oh no you aren't!  It's freezing outside, and you aren't going to be wild."  Twilight says with a certain, convicted tone that I immediately disliked.  What the hell is the matter with her?  Is she trying to get in my way?

"I ain't wild, and I can deal with the cold.  I've been in colder regions than this."

"You aren't going anywhere."   She's staring at me blankly, and her tone was firm and rooted.

"And why's that?"

"Because, I'm thinking about adopting you, or getting you a nice home at the least."

My mind stopped thinking, stunned by what I had heard.  A-adoption?

"Well, it would mean that he'd be safe, but I don't know how well it would work out between the two of you."  Applejack said, and I had to agree.  This aggression Twilight and I had going was definitely going to be a problem, one which I would prefer to avoid.

"Either way, I want us to be able to keep an eye on him.  He can't be going off to get himself hurt, or hurt somepony, or even just go wild.  No, we need to protect everyone here."

I groan angrily, scowling, "First off, I can take care of myself.  Second, the only time I'd hurt 'somepony', is if they were trying to hurt me.  And third, as far as I'm concerned, I'm either more civil than you, or I'm already wild." I sighed, annoyed, "But if I'm going to be forced into being a pet, I'd suggest that you take turns with those who can, and want, to take care of me."  I turn to the group, away from Twilight, "And if it'll make you feel any better, I'll do my best to help out and earn my keep."

"Ah, don't worry about a thing Sugarcube!  While yur offer is mighty kind, you don't need to worry 'bout it.  I'd be happy to take you in just fer yur company."  Applejack assured me warmly.

"Yeah!  And the stories you could tell must be awesome!" Rainbow chirps in avidly.  Right, stories.  Any stories I had, I wasn't very keen on telling.  The others seemed to agree, except for Rarity.  She said that I'd get in the way of her work, but I honestly couldn't give less of a shit.   Pinkie just wanted to party and play games with me, and Fluttershy was just, welcoming.  She didn't say anything about why, just that I was welcome.  Then, we organized a schedule.  First, Rainbow Dash would take me in at her home for the night.  Twilight wanted the first night to begin her tests and observations as soon as possible, but Applejack, being the voice of reason in the group, convinced her that we both needed time to cool off.  The second night would be Twilight's, then Pinkie, Applejack, and finally, Fluttershy.  Rarity was still insistent that I would get in the way.  I think she was just irritated that all I could say about my world's fashion was military garb, jeans, and thick coats.

"Ok, well I guess we're in agreement." Applejack says.

I gather up all my things into my bag, which I shoulder along with my rifle, and that M60, which I'd nearly forgotten about.  I didn't use it often.  I found myself using my M16 so often due to the readily available ammunition, less recoil, and the fact I could easily swing the barrel in any direction.  I was actually still fully loaded for the M60.  My addition ammo bag, a small duffle bag, was still full of the belts of bullets for the M60, extra mags of 5.56x45mm, and five extra grenades.  I attached my combat gear, which was basically a vest that went over my jacket that I could attach more grenades and magazines.  On it, I had six extra mags on, which lay across my belly, and four grenades across my chest, two over each peck.  Both bags on my shoulders, and my guns accounted for, I finished the process by attaching my belt, which held a few of my knives.  One was a Marine regulation K-Bar knife, a Bowie knife, and a hatchet made completely of black metal.  On my  pack was a machete, and a bayonet for my M16.  As the belt came to the other side of my side, and looped in my pistol and holster.  I'm ever so aware of another knife I had buried in one of my still intact pockets, a fixed reverse blade knife.  This was one of my personal knives that I'd held with me since the first time I went along on a mission for the Resistance.  It was in a sheath, but it easily came out if I grabbed it right, and the blade itself curled downwards, one of the two edges facing up.  It looked a bit like a claw actually.  I could slash, and at some points stab with it.  One thing that scared the crap out of me initially was that four of my grenades, which I'd had on my belt when I first came to this world, had been strewn about the floor.  But a wave of relief spread over me when I saw that none of the pins had been pulled out.  Bending those pins had paid off.  I used the grenade handle as a hook to attach the grenades to the belt, and I felt that I was done.

I look at Rainbow, who's staring at me, almost in awe, "Ready to go?" I ask, trying to sound cheerful.

"Yeah.  Uh, do you need any help?"

I shake my head, "Nah, I'm fine.  I'm kind of used to this."

"Yeah, well, your wounds can't be very helpful, can it?"

I know what she's getting at.  The bullet from back in Iraq hadn't actually broken any bones, but had ripped some muscles.  It was going to hurt, and be extremely difficult to walk, but oh well, I had my pride to worry about.  "I'll be fine."  I say reassuringly.  I let her lead me out of the room, down several halls, and out of the hospital, all the while looking back at me several times.  She's probably trying to make sure I'm still following her, or that I'm walking fine.  Once outside, I pulled my neck-warmer up to cover my face to protect me from the cold.  And we walk.  And walk.  We walk to the outskirts of town, and I realize that it's either just before sunrise, or the sun was just goning down.  So there isn't another soul in the street besides me and Rainbow.

"How you doing champ?" she asked.

I went over my body by feeling them through my nerves and weak tenses of my muscles, "Well, aside from the itchiness of my wounds, and the fact that the painkillers are beginning to wear off, I'd say I'm doing pretty good."

She looks back at me again, a questioning look on her face, "How do you know that?"

"I've been given painkillers a lot in my lifetime.  I was given morphine, yeah?"

Her eyes widened in mild surprise, "Wha- how?-"

"Like I said, I've been given a lot of painkillers.  So many, and so often, I kind of know the feeling of each one.  It's hard to explain, but I can still tell the difference."

She's quiet, "So you get hurt a lot?"

I grunt, "So often that I'm starting to get used to the pain.  I've started treating myself without recoiling, as you've seen, and there's times that I actually wait to get my wounds to get treated.  I don't even really need painkillers anymore."

I actually see compassion in her eyes mixed with a sort of sadness.  But she doesn't say anything.  Instead, she takes a right, takes a key out from underneath a flipped flower pot, and unlocks the door to a relatively small house.  But looks, as always, are deceiving.  Inside was actually much larger that the outside would suggest.  Most immediate to us was a living room.  This room cut off the rest of the house with a wall, but I could see through another doorway that there were other parts of the house.

She closed the door, and she looked about the room, trying to think.  About what, I didn't know.  I was thinking about the next night.  Twilight would no doubt want to experiment on my things, if her curiosity was anything to go by, and I didn't want her to get her hands on anything that might be dangerous.  If she pulled the pin on one of my grenades, then she'd probably kill herself, and would leave everyone confused, probably accusing me of it.  I had to leave my things somewhere that wasn't obvious, and with someone that wasn't so curious that they might hurt themselves.  Fluttershy, or Applejack would probably be best.  Fluttershy seems too delicate and nervous to probe, and Applejack seems honorable enough that she'd respect my privacy.

"Hey, when tomorrow rolls around, let's go to Applejack's.  I want drop my things off there before I go to Twilight's."

She looks at me incredulously, "Why?"

I pulled off one of my grenades, and hold it up to her, "This is one the big reasons.  I don't know if you have things like these, but this is called a grenade.  If this pin," I point at the bent pin, "is taken out, after a few seconds it'll blow up, sending metal shards in every direction, killing or maiming anything in up to ten feet.  Now, I'd prefer that didn't happen.  Also," I put my grenade back in it's place, "I would prefer that I keep my stuff intact, or as much so as it can be.  I'll bring a bullet just to give her something to keep her busy, but even then, I want to guide her through it to avoid her shooting something by mistake."

"Those are............... good points." She eyes my grenades nervously, "Those aren't going to just, go off randomly, are they?"

I shake my head, "No.  These are mechanical in nature.  I need to pull the pin to let a smaller pin inside of it shoot down to a cap that sends a shockwave to a small detonator, which blows up a chemical compound.  Let's just say, if the pin stays in, it's safe."

She nods, probably not really understanding my explanation, "Right.  Well, in either case, sure.  I can get you to Applejack's, buuut."  She scratch the back of her head with a hoof, "you're going to need a leash."  She didn't seem to like saying this, so I wasn't angry, but I was curios, "look, I believe you when you say you're intelligent, it's easy to see that just by watching you.  It's just, well, humans here aren't.  They're either wild, or pets.  And-"

I interrupt her by holding up a hand, "I get it.  It's just like my home with dogs.  We needed to exert our control over it in case it tried to leave or get in a fight with something.  Humans here are pretty much the same, aren't they?"

She nods, "You aren't mad, are you?"

I shake my head, "No.  I just appreciate that you're willing to help me."

She smiles softly, "Human or pony, you sure are a strange one.  That reminds me.  You need to try and look emotionless when you aren't interacting with anything.  I mean, you can smile, but only when you're interacting with something enjoyable.  Like with somepony you recognize, or something you like to play with, and try not to snarl or growl if you want ponies to be comfortable around you.  I think Twilight would like to keep your intelligence a secret."

"I can do that." My stomach growled, and I was suddenly aware that I was kind of hungry.  I drop my things in a corner, and started digging through my pack.  It held all the food I had, plus more ammunition for my M60.  I pulled out a ration, a Menu 3.  Vegetarian Ratatouille.  It wasn't a bad meal to eat, but it wasn't a very good one either.  I ripped it open, revealing all of the small plastic packages, all labeled differently for what they contained.  They were all cookable, so I dumped them all into the plastic bag along with plenty of water to cover all the packages, and then the small packets that reacted with the water, and heated up.  I folded the open end over on itself, closing it, and tipped it over, but held that end up slightly off the ground with my metal hand.  I registered that the plastic had gotten pretty hot, but one thing that I did appreciate about the arm, besides that it was extremely strong, was that I couldn't feel pain from it, unless it started to freeze or got too hot and then it was just artificial.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked.

Casually, I say, "Cooking my food."

She looks at the plastic packages, "You eat plastic?"

I chuckle slightly, "No.  The food is held inside."  Rainbow submitted herself to silence, sitting down next to me, watching the water beginning to boil.  After the clock in my head went off, I opened up the plastic bag, and took out the hot packets.  I sat them on the original package they'd been in, and opened up the main packet.  It didn't smell too good, but I knew I'd eat it anyway.

Rainbow had the complete opposite reaction, she hummed in delight, and taking a look at her, I could see from the drool beginning to drip at her lips that it smelled good to her.  I smiled, Good to know someone seems to like it.  I think I'll let her try some..  I ripped open a bag that had my utensils in, and took a spoon out.  I scooped up a bit of noodles and veggies, and held it up to Rainbow's mouth, "Want some?"  She just looks at the spoon, and licks her lips.  "Yes." and her mouth enveloped the bowl of the spoon.  I pulled the spoon back gently, giving her plenty of time to take the contents off.  When the spoon came free, Rainbow chewed happily, loudly proclaiming how much she enjoyed it with murmurs of pleasure.  Well, someone aught to enjoy this, and it ain't going to be me.

I handed her the bag and the spoon, "I think you should have it.  I don't particularly like it, but it seems you do.  And before you even say it," I say seeing her begin to object, "I WILL have enough to eat without it."

She took the bag and the spoon by bending her hoofs drastically to grasp the bag and spoon.  She kept staring at me with a strange look, but she eventually smiled gratefully, and dug in.  I resolved myself to opening another packet labeled "Applesauce" and poured it into my mouth.  Usually, people would recoil in disgust at me cooking it, but hey, it tasted better this way to me.  Next, I opened another label "Cornbread".  This was my favorite part of the meal.  The military had an odd habit of putting a small packet in with the bread that kept it moist, which made it go down really easily.  It also helped to taste REALLY fucking good.

While I ate it, I began thinking about how I was going to be acting like an animal in public for the foreseeable future.  It might actually be better to be seen like just any other human here.  If I act like one of those things, then they're more likely to ignore me.  That means that I don't have to engage with them in the same level as I normally would.  It would be nice to just relax and do nothing.  I don't think I'm comfortable with being social yet.  Plus there might be... ponies?- that would be a little interested in me for my intelligence.  I don't want to get experimented on like how it would work on my world.  Yeah, just act like an animal.  That's in your best interest.  Speaking of which.  I took off my coat (the blood having dried), and felt my chest through the bandages which had held.  The stitches were still holding, and now that I was actually focusing on it, it was actually quite clever.  There was actually three different sets of stitches, each one being a different thickness.  I pieced together that the larger stitches were the initial bindings.  The next largest brought more skin together, as did the smallest stitches after it.  The doctors had gotten the brilliant idea of cauterizing the areas nearest to major arteries, I wonder what they did with those?  Did they close those too?, but had left my tattoos alone.  This, I couldn't fathom.  I'd have to ask someone sometime.

I sighed, realizing that this was probably going to be the last time that I'd get hurt this bad.  A strange sense of relief and regret swamped me, resulting in a storm of unknowingness and confusion.  I may be safe, but I was no longer protecting my country, and the people in it.  I was no longer in aid of preventing what had happened to me.  I gave up thinking about it, shoving it out of my mind.  Instead, I grabbed up the remaining packets, one that was my coffee grounds, the other being cranberry juice, and the last a bag to mix the cranberry juice powder with water.  I shoved them in my front pants pocket, cleaned up after myself, and resigned myself to laying my head down on my bag as Rainbow finished up her meal.  When she had finished, she threw herself on the one couch in the room, sighing in content, "That was good!" she said.  I couldn't help but smile at this.

A knock on the door snapped us out of the peaceful scene.   We looked at the door, not moving.  Another knock, and a voice, "Hey Rainbow Dash?  Are you there?"  It was a very young girls' voice.

"Oh, horse apples!  I forgot!  I agreed to let Scootaloo and her friends have their sleep over here.  Gunter, I hope you don't mind, but you're going to have to act like humans here for now."

That wasn't good.  I knew that sometimes I talked in my sleep when I had a particularly bad nightmare, and if I was to keep up the ruse, then I really needed to get Rainbow in an this.  But before I could get Rainbow to stop and listen to what I had to say, she had opened up the door.  Three little fillies burst through, passing Rainbow to stop side by side in the middle of the room, facing her.

"Thanks for letting us stay Rainbow Dash!  I know this is going to be awesome!" the orange one with wings and reddish pink hair said.  It was the same voice from outside.  Their attention switched from Rainbow Dash quicker than she could respond to what the filly had first said.  That attention was focused on me.

"Whoooaaaaaa!" went the yellow filly with a- wait.  I recognized this one.  This was the one I'd saved from a manticore.  She looked fine, actually, more than fine.  She was gazing at me with wide, adoring eyes.  I had to resist saying hi.  This one continued speaking, "Girls, this is the human that saved from those manticores!"  She immediately shot up to me, hugging my arm adoringly.  My metal arm.  I couldn't resist smiling a little.

"Wait a minute."  She says deadpanned.  She removed her body from my arm, but still held my arm.  An almost silent *ting* came from my arm as she tapped my arm with a hoof.  "Is this... metal?"

I glanced at Rainbow, and meet her eyes, "Yeah.  This is Gunter.  He's had a pretty rough life, having been used in a lot of human fights.  Don't worry though, he won't hurt you.  He's got more tolerance and patience than any pony I know!"  She looks me dead in the eye, nodding.  The message was clear.  Don't disappoint me.

"Look at those scars."  A white unicorn with a curled mane says in amazement, "He looks like he's been in a lot of fights."

"And what's with his eye?" the orange pegasus asks.

"He lost his eye in one of his fights, Scootaloo.  That's the replacement eye."

"Are those Cutie Marks?"  The filly still holding my arm asks.

"Ugh!  Even a HUMAN can get a Cutie Mark!  Why can't we?" Scootaloo demands.

"Cool it!  Those aren't Cutie Marks.  At least, I'm pretty sure they aren't." Rainbow says unsure.

The other fillies slowly came to join their friend, and began petting and patting my head, arms, and legs.  They stayed away from my chest though.  Apparently, they knew about the rest of the fight.  They spent what felt like hours doing this.  Inside, I was fuming, irritated that I wasn't able to tell Rainbow able my little problem.  If I'd been able to tell her, I might've been able to go to sleep.  Even with these little fillies petting me.

Not soon enough, Rainbow saved me, "Ok girls, it's time for bed."  They all went, "AWWWWWWwwww!" but went off to another room without further complaint.  I got up, placed a hand on Rainbow's shoulder, and said, "We've got a problem."  After explaining the problem, Rainbow seemed to curse under her breath.

"Ok, what are we going to do about it?" She asked.

"I don't know, gag me?  I don't fucking know!  The only solution I ever found was to stay in a combat zone, then I wouldn't dream at all."

"Alright, let's use this."  Rainbow produces a rope out of know where.  I sigh.  I'd been gagged by a rope before, and it hadn't been very pleasant.  I take the rope out of her hooves, bite down on it, and tied the rope around my head.  I try to say, "Good night," through the gag, but could only let out a muffle.

I sat back down on the ground, tentatively laying myself against the ground, preparing to go to sleep.

Rainbow Dash

Gunter laid himself on the ground without another word, closed his eyes, and stopped moving except for his steady breathing.  Wow, and I thought I liked naps!  I pulled off a blanket from the couch, and draped it over his unmoving body.   Already, he was biting down on the rope, which I guess meant that the nightmare had begun.  What nightmare did you live through?  Sighing, I left the room, heading off to bed.  Curling up, I did my best to fall asleep.  But I didn't get the chance.

Gunter

The tunnel was collapsing.  I'd been running down the various passages, taking turns around several bends, but each time that I knew I was coming close to an escape, the tunnel in front of me would collapse.  As the dream rolled on, the angry chittering of Mandarin was being shouted, getting closer and closer.   No matter how fast I ran, they kept getting closer.  And then I tripped.  I fell to the ground in a tangled mess, but still scrambled to get up.  I looked back to what I had tripped on.  A body.  More specifically, the body of an American.  I turned my head down the tunnel, and there were more, all twisted in mangled messes from bullets, shrapnel, and explosions.

The noise started to begin.  The noise that never let me be at peace if I was ever resting out of combat.  It sounded like static, overlayed with the constant sound of gunfire, boys and men screaming, artillery landing, and the engines of tanks running all at the same time.  I held my head, screaming and begging for the noise to end.  My world was replaced by the changing of pictures of all my squadmates who'd died over the years, too fast for me to remember names, but long enough to recognize them.

Rainbow Dash

There was muffled screaming coming from the living room with loud bumps and thuds.  I pealed out off my bed and into the living room.  There was Gunter, flailing about the floor, DRENCHED in sweat, and screaming through his gag.  Somehow, he was still asleep. I grabbed him with my hooves, trying to shake him awake, "Gunter!  Wake up!  It's alright!  Wake up!"

"What's going on Rainbow Dash?" Applebloom asks.  I turn my head around to see the CMC in the doorway.  I know enough about fighting to know that if somepony kept it up long enough, their mental state would fall apart, and this HAD to be part of it.  I also knew that sometimes these ponies would attack others in their sleep without even knowing.

"Girls, stay back!  He's having a nightmare!"  I shake Gunter even harder, screaming at his face.  His eyes popped open, practically bursting out their sockets, the orb of his metal eye glowing orange, and the lines pointing to it yellow.  His hands gripped my hooves so tightly, it hurt.  After staring into my eyes for a second, his grip loosened, and tears came out of his one good eye, while the metallic eye turned to a dark blue.  The rope fell out of his mouth, which was downturned into a demoralizingly sad face.  Actually, sad couldn't come close to being accurate.  His lip and jaw quivered, and broken sobs escaped his lips.  I could practically feel my heart break.  As if we were thinking the same thing, we embraced each other.  I noticed that while Gunter was as tall as I was when I was on all four hooves, I was MUCH bigger than him.  I drew him up into my embrace as I sat down.  I could feel my own eyes begin to water, but I kept my tears in my eyes.  I held him tighter as he buried his face into the base of my neck, continuing to cry.  I felt horrible, seeing somepony who had been fine just a minute before being reduced to a crying child.

I heard the *CLIP* *CLOP* sound of the CMC's hooves, and the girls joined the hug, petting Gunter in feeble attempts to calm him down, but he just kept crying, and hugged me harder.  I slowly rocked him from side to side, and pet the back side of his head, the spiky hair feeling soft under my hooves, and cooed to him softly.  I sniffed, trying to stop the snot that was beginning to drip and suck it back up my nose.  Soon, it became clear that Gunter was going to keep crying for a long time.  And since that was no doubt going to happen, I figured it would be best to do it on something more comfortable than the floor.

"Ok, big guy.  Let's get you off to bed."  I push off with my hind legs, and I stand us up.  The size difference was made even more apparent, as Gunter's hands slipped down around my sides from me standing.  His head was now against my belly, and my hooves barely held him as I led him to my room.  It felt strange, almost to where I blushed, but I held myself together.  He came along without complaint or any resistance.  I brought him into my room, closed the door, and helped him into the bed.

    Gunter

I broke.  after however many years of death, destruction, and pain, I had finally succumbed.  I couldn't stop myself from crying and wailing as my mind wrought a bloody path through itself.  Every day, every month, every year came crashing down on me, and Rainbow was my only anchor to reality.  I was barely aware of her drawing herself back, pulling me along for her to sit, and begin petting me, trying to coo me into calm.  Smaller hooves and bodies joined her.  My mind began to calm itself, but only slightly.  I felt Rainbow's chest vibrate, and I know she's saying something.  All I can hear is my sobbing.  I'm brought up to my feet, and I'm no longer holding her strong neck, but rather her soft belly.  She walks me off, and I can feel me being put into what I could only assume was a bed.  We were in it, and a blanket covered us.

Rainbow held me closer, and I relaxed, my mind falling into it's regular numbness.  My breathing slowed down, my tears stopped flowing, and I finally stopped crying.  Now, I was feeling something else.  I was feeling, I had no words.  I'd never felt this kind of feeling before.  If I had to say anything, it was like the love I'd felt for any of my comrades.  The closeness, the care, the love, the... something.  I couldn't do anything, or think anything besides breathe, and think one thing, She cares.  I breathed in her scent, and I smelled the subdued smell of BO, sweat, and some sort of spice.  This is a good smell.  I could feel my body trembled as it reached it's final stages of calming down.  My hearing finally allowed me to hear something other than my sobs.

"There there, it's ok, you're ok.  Sshhh."  Rainbow was saying.  I heard her yawn, and then she continued, getting quieter and quieter until her voice ceased to speak words, but instead changed to whinnying snores.   I smiled sadly, feeling almost happy.

Chapter 5: Day 2

Chapter 5: Day 2

Gunter

I spent the rest of the night unable to sleep, and instead, trying to recover my mental state.  Rainbow's tight embrace helped immensely, and I actually chuckled a few times to some of the things that Rainbow said in her sleep, but for some reason, I quickly forgot what they were, and why they were funny.  Throughout the night, Rainbow would hold me tighter, and looser throughout the night, her grip changing every couple of minutes.  Eventually, as the hours rolled on, I could feel the morphine wearing off as the pain evolved from a subdued itch, to a burning sensation.  Prompted me to think, I ain't going home am I?  I wonder how the guys are doing?  IS there a way back?  Do.  Do I even WANT to go back?

Thankfully, the sun rose up, the rays easily coming through the windows.  My mind now screamed for me to start doing something, so I gently, ever so gently drew myself away from Rainbow Dash.  My body wailed and cried at me for the movement, and Rainbow muttered something about not letting go, but I was off the bed, getting real cold from not being under the covers with Rainbow.  Wow, that sounded... not at all what I meant.  AT ALL.  I really need to think... before... I think.  Damn it!  That was so fucking dumb.  I walked out of the room, my joints cracking and popping as I go along.  My eyes were puffy, and crust had developed all over my eyes.  Rubbing my eyes free of crust, I made my way back to my packs, took out my coffee packet, and start to make myself some coffee, using the container for my canteen as a cup.  I didn't have any sugar or creamer, but to be honest, I'd become practically numb to the bitterness from the years of just being grateful to have coffee that was warm.

It was satisfying, warming my body up, and my muscles began to relax.

Rainbow Dash

I woke up, and immediately I knew something was wrong.  Gunter wasn't in my hooves.  I slipped off the bed, the covers getting dragged off of the bed with me.  I found him in the living room, leaning against the wall, sipping something in a strange looking cup.  I held back a gasp, still not used to seeing the substantial damage that Gunter had suffered.  He looked back at me with warmth in his eyes, eyes that had dark bags under them, and his natural eyes' veins had enlarged.

"Morning, how'd you sleep?" he asks casually.

"Pretty good, you?"

"Pretty good, after you held me I didn't get any more nightmares."  I see his eye flicker to another color for a second, but it passed too quickly for me to tell what it was, and Gunter's face remained passive with no change.  I wanted to ask him about the change in his eye, but decided not to pry.  He was intelligent, and it was probably pretty personal.  I didn't want a repeat of last night.  This time, I see something.  But he's a human, so I can't really place it.  Recognition maybe?

"So what's on the agenda?  Whoa whoa whoa, they're coming."  He leaped across the room in a flash, dropping his strange cup next to his things, and sat down quickly, leaning against the wall.  What did he mean that "they're coming"? The small sounds of clopping hooves came from the other side of the wall.  Oooh, that's what he meant.  The girls woke up.  As for the agenda, well, the morphine has probably worn off my now.  So he's going to want something for that.  Hmm, maybe Zecora has something!

And the Cutie Mark Crusaders came out, full of energy.  They went straight for Gunter, "Hey boy!  How're you doing?" Applebloom goes.  I can see that Gunter REALLY wanted to say something, but he held it in by biting down on his lower lip.

"He seems to be feeling better!  You have a good sleep boy?"  Scootaloo asks, not expecting an answer.  Gunter's eye flashes another color again, this time a little longer.  It was a sickly looking green.  Is it just me, or does his eye flash the color that he's feeling?  His eye was back to being blue.  Slowly, it changed to a yellow as the three fillies began to pet him and coo to him.  And then, a small smile.

"Hey girls, I need to take Gunter to Zecora's to see if she has anything for his wounds.  Could you go see Rarity and see if she's open?" I ask.  If the Everfree Forest wasn't so dangerous, I might bring them along.  But of course it was dangerous.  There was an un-namable amount of dangers that existed inside.  Gunter had taken down a pack of manticores, so there was no doubt in my mind that he could protect himself, and of course I could too.

"Sure!"  Sweetie Belle says cheerfully, and they burst out the door into the windy wonderland.  The door closed with a firm slam.

I turned to Gunter, "So, ready to head out?"

Gunter

"So, ready to head out?" Rainbow asked.  I shrugged, picking up my cup again.  "Not yet.  First, I need to finish my coffee, and pack up something to keep us safe."  I said "to keep us safe" almost involuntary.  I'd been around civilians long enough to know that they usually felt uncomfortable around guns.  Speaking of which, I couldn't help but feel guilty about lying to Rainbow about sleeping.

I chugged down the hot coffee, feeling the fire burn its' way down my throat.  However, instead of the natural burning sensation most people would experience, it just felt really hot.  The way I understood it, my throat had scarred up so much from gas and hot fluids that I no longer felt pain.  I shoved my canteen inside it, tossed it into my pack, and shouldered my M60.  In the woods, 5.56mm rounds wouldn't be very effective due to their small powder charge, as they'd be stopped by trees easily.  The M60 was a 7.62mm, which might not be much wider in diameter, but the bullet was longer, and the bullet head larger.  At the very least, it would go through some trees.

"Ok, now I'm ready."  Rainbow smiled softly, and we left her house, locking the door behind us.  The pathways through the town were for the most part clear of snow, so we could easily walk along with the crowd.  Many... uh... ponies, looked at me with mixed reactions, and often multiple emotions.  Some looked at me with fear without trying to hide it, and others looked at me with thankfulness and warmth.  Some would come up to me to pat me on the head, or give me a treat, which tasted like grass.  However, there were a few of them that nuzzled me with gratitude.  I recognized one of them from the attack.  This one had almost been killed by one of those monsters.

Once we'd reached the outskirts of town, the amount of ponies we encountered dropped to nothing.  Here, Rainbow Dash took to the air, flapping her wings lazily and without effort, whereas I high-stepped through the snow.  Living in the northwest had its' advantages.  The harsh winters made one tolerant to the cold.  My chest and still human leg cried out against me, threatening to give way, but I knew my limit, and it was far from reached.  Off in the not too far off distance, I could see a dense forest, branches bare of any leaves.

"So this pony we're meeting lives in the forest?" I ask.  It seemed odd to me that someone would live away from everyone else.  I was suddenly reminded of hermits, outcasts and criminals.

"Yeah, and I have to warn you, she isn't like me or the girls.  She's something called a zebra."

"Hmm, we have those on my world too."

"Really?" She said challengingly, "Describe one."

Ooohohoho!  Challenge accepted!  "A zebra is basically, as you say, a pony.  However, instead of a constant color, like you, they have black and white stripes, and their manes spike up like a mohawk.  Good enough?"  I was smiling, knowing that I had her.  I was so right, she was smiling too.

"I guess you're telling the truth then!"  she punches me in my metal shoulder playfully, producing a metallic *ping* sound.  We were close to the entrance of the forest now.  Taking off my gun, I scanned the forest as it fell into my hands.  There was nothing.  No animals, no ponies,  no sound, no nothing.  It was practically a void.  That was extremely bad news.  Forests always, ALWAYS had sounds in it unless

"Is it supposed to be this... quiet?" I ask.  She just shrugs, like it's no big deal.  This has got to be one of the worst ideas, EVER.  But I just followed her in, my gun swaying back and forth, my head and eyes wandering.  The hairs on my back had risen, and the sensation of nails being driven in by unseen eyes.  Just like back home and in Russia.  In my head, the gunfire, bombs, and screaming began again.  It never ends, the dying never ends!  I was slipping away into my own personal hell again, but all I could do was remember, and go through it all over again.

I was saved when Rainbow shook me harshly out of the daymare, "HEY!!  Gunter, stay with me.  What's with you dude?  Is this normal?"

I shake my head.  I'd only gotten one of these episodes when I'd been on leave for too long.  "Yeah, yeah, just got lost in some, uh, old memories."  I looked about me, and we were still in the same spot that I had drifted into memory.  I hope I'll be able to keep it under wraps, I think, worrying over what might happen if I can't.  In a short while, we came to Zecora's, which was a large and very old tree.  Rainbow knocked a few times, and the door opened up to a zebra that had a few piercings, and many rings that went around one hoof and her neck.  She gave Rainbow a friendly smile, and welcomed us in rhyming.

"So what brings you here?  I lend you my ear." She says.  I wonder why she keeps doing that.  It isn't like she needs to, right?

"Well, I just adopted Gunter," she gestures at me, "with my friends.  But he was hurt really bad from a fight with a pack of manticores, and I was wondering if you had anything to help his recovery along."

Zecora turned her intense gaze on me, nearly making me flinch.  Those greyish blue eyes seemed to try and break into my very soul, "Ah, hello big one, why do you look like you want to run?"  She queried with a glint in her eye that told me,

SHE KNOWS

She laughed to herself, and went about collecting various vials that dangled from the ceiling, carried them over to a bench, and mixed them all together.  She came straight up to me, a large vial in one hoof, and held it out to me, "Drink, it'll be over before you blink."  And she winks.  I was so stunned at how easy she figured it out, that I just took the vial, still staring back at those eyes.  I guess my face betrayed me, because she laughed, loudly this time, "Why are you so surprised? I guess you didn't know about my watchful eyes."

"How?" is all I can muster.

Instantly, Rainbow has her hoof in my mouth, giving me a, what the hell are you doing?! look.  In a whispered tone, she goes, "Are you crazy?"  I brush her hoof away, and explain in a normal tone, "She already figured it out, what harm can talking do now?"

She sucked in a breath, looking back and forth between me and Zecora, who was still smiling.  Finally, she asked, "How?"  Huh, just like what I said.

"I looked into his eyes, and found his soul inside in a flash.  Eyes tell no lies Rainbow Dash."  She says still amused at the situation.

"Ok, so if I drink this, I'll heal up?"  She nods.  Well, here goes nothing. I open up the vial, and chugged the tasteless liquid until none remained.  Well that wasn't so... bad... My stomach was in upheaval, burning and moving violently about inside me.  Warmth spawned in my injured leg, where I'd cut, and where I'd been shot.  Everything lost the strength to hold me up, and I fell to the ground, weakly trying to catch myself to no avail.

What

the

FUCK!?  What did she put in there?

I dry heaved on the ground, nothing but a few strands of spit coming out.  I felt my body curling up into the fetal position as the warmth turned into pain like a thousand red hot needles were stabbing me all at once.  A croak eventually came out of my mouth just before my hearing went too.  I was in a world a pain like no other.  Eventually, my mind fell to the wayside as my body forced me into a dreamless sleep.

My head felt like it'd been put into a vice, and that vice had squeezed my head to point of bursting.  My body felt like lead with a faint undertone of soreness.  All this passed within a few moments to be replaced by a new feeling, one I had nearly forgotten.  Peaceful bliss mixed with the pleasure of my mind being partially numbed with that feeling when you're dozing, and the sweet warmth of a heavy blanket.  I wanted this feeling to last forever as I basked in it's excellence.  But as with all good things, it came to an end.

It faded like the fog before the sun, and I was wide awake.  I found that I no longer had that pain in my body and leg.  I felt myself through the clenching and unclenching of my muscles, and found that I was healthy now.  No pain, no stiffness, just plain well-being.  I figured that it was time to get up, so I threw off the blanket, and I was satisfied to know that I still wore my pants.  I'm in Rainbow's room again?  When did she bring me here?  I looked at my chest, and there were my new scars that mutilated my beautiful, and expensive, tattoos.  Wow, all that pain actually got me somewhere.  Gonna have to thank Zecora for that.

I slipped off of the bed, and felt the coldness of the floor, sending shivers up my spine.  For some odd reason, I liked it.  I felt safe for once, and could enjoy the simplest of pleasures and not give a shit if it seemed stupid to anyone.  I took a step forwards on my human leg, and with great glee, found that it supported my weight as if I had never been wounded.  My confidence surged with a broad smile that spread from ear to ear.  I stalked to the doorway, listening.  The sound of hooves clopping against the wooden floor, drawing a picture in my mind of a pony walking through the house, coming closer, but would still be out of sight for a while.  I turned around the corner, heading down the hallway that would lead me to the approaching hooves.  Wait, there's another set of hooves matching pace.

Rainbow

I'd brought Twilight with me to see how Gunter was doing.  I'd been scared and angry at the same time, winding up as a crazy mix that barely let me get out a, "What did you do?"  Turned out, that the potion sped up the healing process, and all the pain he would have suffered through all at once.  But the kicker was, it didn't use any magic.  It was biological.

"So he's healthy now?"  Twilight asked.

"Yeah.  Moments after he collapsed, well... it was kind of disgusting.  Zecora removed the bandages so that his wounds wouldn't fuse to the cloth.  Ugly red, thick paste bubbled out, and flattened itself out against the skin, and then turned black.  Zecora cleaned it off, and it was healed.  He's been asleep ever since."

We rounded the corner, and quite literally ran into Gunter, coming to a immediate stop.  He didn't even look phased as he held his stance without even taking a step back.  He blinked, "Now I really need to thank her."

Did he- did he figure it out before we came?  "How're you feeling champ?" I say, trying to hold back my surprise, backing up a step.

He smiled brightly (yet strangely fatigued), his eye going yellow, "Better than I have in ages!  Shame it didn't bring back my arm or leg."

What about his eye?  Doesn't he want that?  I should ask him.  "What about you're eye?  Wouldn't you want that back?"

"Not really.  My old eye couldn't see very well.  Everything out of that eye was fuzzy, and made for more of a distraction than an asset to my field of view, so I'd keep it under a bandage anyways.  This robotic one is actually better than my natural one." he says pointing at it.

Twilight asked, "Who installed them?"

He let out an exaggerated breath of air, his cheeks puffed out, "I don't remember their names, but they were pretty good at syncing up my new appendages and eye to my nervous system."

"Wait, you know what a nervous system is?"

"Yeah.  It's almost common knowledge where I'm from.  Nerves send information to the brain and exist in every part of the body.  Our brain is the organ that keeps the whole thing together."

Wow, I knew he was smart compared to the humans here, but he sorta seems like an egghead like Twilight if not for the fact he's a, oh what was that word he used.  Oh yeah!  Badass.

Twilight just shook her head, "I want talk to the pony that trained you.  Who. WAS.   IT!!!!"  She was grinding her teeth, and looked more angry than I'd seen yet.  I look at Gunter.  His eyebrows were furrowed, and his robotic eye was fighting between red and yellow, swirling into an orange.

"How can I prove to you that I'm actually intelligent?  For fucks sake I saved you AND your town from those manticores with weapons I know you don't have.  I can TALK, which from what I've gathered, can't do."

"You can't because there is NO way that you can prove you're sentient.  You're. A. HUMAN."

Gunter scowled at Twilight with hate, his eye burning such a powerful red that it seemed to leak out that same hue.  He almost TREMBLED in rage.  A sinking feeling of dread made my heart drop out of my chest.  I imagined Gunter killing Twilight in so many ways from simply beating her to death with his fists, to a potentially hidden knife gutting her.  But instead, he looks to me, face softening, "You took care of our arrangement, right Rainbow?" in a smooth, and calm voice.  I nod stupidly, surprised at the total 180 in his attitude.  "I might need you to take care of a few more things for me, just in case I can't stand her."  I knew what he was talking about.  He had a knife on his belt right now, and no doubt, had some other "things" in his pockets.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asks, irritated by how we weren't letting her in on what we were talking, no doubt.

Gunter just looked at her with venom that made my skin crawl, "Nothing for you."  That look, even Twilight visibly recoiled from it.  Without taking his eyes off of her, he says, "Rainbow, can I see you in the room, ALONE."  That last word seemed more directed at Twilight than me.  Gunter went straight back into the room, and I followed, shooting Twilight a look that said "stay right there".

I closed the door, and Gunter was immediately digging through his pockets taking out curved boxes, and then finally, the knife on his belt.  He looked at all these pieces with a strange look of worry, "I feel naked without all these," and he visibly shuddered, looking like a nervous wreck.  I wanted to know more about his past, what had made him feel like this without weapons, but I swallowed it.  He takes one of the boxes, and removed one of the things inside.  It was a cylinder that coned inwards to another cylinder, which coned inwards again to a sharp point.  I knew what this was for.  It was to keep Twilight busy on something other than him, hopefully.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 6 in the afternoon."

"Then I need to go to her place soon, huh?"  He looked even more tired, if that was possible.  Is he going to be ok without me?

"Actually, right now.  You ready?"

He shook his head, "No, but let's get going before I make a break for it."

I hid all these things under the bed, along with all his other things.  I felt guilty about lying to him about taking his things somewhere safer than my house, but I didn't exactly have time to take care of it.  We opened the door, and I reluctantly watched Twilight magically attach a collar to his neck, and then the leash.  Gunter just sucked in a deep breath, eyes closed.  When he opened them, he had a blank, nearly sullen look on his face, the robotic eye empty white.

Gunter

I numbed myself, something I'd learned how to do when I'd been tortured in occupied Russia.  It was the only way that anyone could survive that camp.  I didn't like putting myself through it.  Each time I put myself in this mindset, it lasted longer, and took more effort to bring myself out of it.  I let Twilight lead me out of Rainbow's house, down the streets that I didn't care about, past ponies that I wasn't going to bother trying to remember, or even respond to if Twilight stopped us to let them pet me, till we came to a large tree which showed it's age.  The door opened, and we went inside.  I composed myself to bring back a thought.  But I didn't want to.  This felt ok, not feeling.  It was peaceful.  There wasn't any of that background noise, just quiet. Remember My thought was faint, but it was enough summon forth my memories of everyone I'd known, lastly, Rainbow Dash.  How she cared about me, comforted me.  How she was my friend.  And I was out, faster than ever.  My mind came back in control, and lastly, the noise returned, just in the background.

I looked about the interior of the tree.  The walls had been cut out into shelves that held thick books in hard cover, all labeled with different titles.  I felt myself beginning to drool at the realization that this, was a LIBRARY.  How many stories could be here?!  I wanted to pick one up immediately, and begin reading, but the leash around my neck pulled me away to a corner in the room.  I looked at Twilight, and saw an almost smug look on her face.

Inside, I smiled.  This wasn't going to go her way, not if I could help it.  I pulled out the bullet from my pocket, and tossed it to the floor in front of her hooves.  "Have fun with that.  Research it to your hearts' content."  I felt confident, my own smug smile on my face.  Twilight took it between her teeth, and placed it on the table in the middle of the room.  But I hadn't moved.  My eyes went to my leash.  It went straight into a wall, as if it had been a part of the tree to begin with.  I wasn't going anywhere until I tore it out.  I refocused on Twilight, who was looking over the bullet with a puzzled look.  She has no idea what it is, does she? I felt a strange sense of glee knowing how clueless she was.

"That's called a bullet.  I used those to kill the manitcores."

"Explain them."

I went through the tedious task of explaining the chemical compound of the powder, the primer inside it, and scientific reasoning to the shape of the shell, and how the rifled barrel aided in the guidance of the bullet after it fired.

Twilight

The longer Gunter talked, the more and more that I doubted myself.  NO!  It's just a human.  It's just a human.  I repeated in my head over and over again.  I followed his instructions on how to pull the bullet head out, and I spilled out the dark powder.  It stunk, almost not unpleasantly.   I wonder what would happen if I lit it on fire.  I took out a scrap piece of fire, hold it in the flame of candle, and touched the powder with a burning edge of paper.  It lit up with bright yellow-orange flames, and burned for a about 15 seconds, and died abruptly.  A simple fire wouldn't be able to propel a piece of metal like he's talking about.  I brought this to Gunter's attention as a challenge to his statements, and he replied, saying that when the powder lit up in the shell, the gases inside created enough pressure to force the bullet out at the speeds he spoke of.  Again, I resisted the thoughts regarding his intelligence.  I saw his smug look, but I was going to show him!   I'd been able to get one of his strange apples of metal before Rainbow Dash had come back.  I wasn't going to allow an animal to keep me from my research!

My horn shone to life with magic, and out came that ball of cloth around that apple.  Gunter was staring at it, horrified.

Gunter

FUCKING FUCK!  HOW THE HELL DID SHE GET MY DAMN GRENADE!  In my mind, I kept cursing.  In body, I was surging forwards, fighting against the leash, "TWILIGHT!  Put that down!  You're going to kill yourself!"

I thought Rainbow Dash took those to Fluttershy's or Applejack's?  Ah shit, she was too busy taking care of me to get that done.

All she does is smile wickedly, and laughs, "Oh, I'll be careful.  You won't stop me."  And the leash pulls me back, arching my back until I fell over backwards, and was dragged to the wall until I was nearly against it.  To my horror, she took off the cloth that covered the grenade.  Fuck!  Fuck!  Fuck!  Fuck!  The grenade fell to the table with a loud thud.  Oh dear GOD!

"For the love of God!  Stop doing whatever the hell you're doing!  Don't even think it!"  I gripped the leash in both hands, and pulled with all my might.

She looked at the grenade, trying dissect it in her mind.  She took out two pliers, a small one, and a large one.  This large one gripped the body of the grenade, while the other.  THE OTHER, went to the pin.

The clamps took hold.

I placed my feet on the wall.

It pulled.

I pulled

The pin was free.

And so was I, flying across the room.

The handle flipped off.

I shoved Twilight as hard as I could and knocked the grenade to the floor at the same time.

The grenade flew forwards, off the table.

I was in the air, jumping over the table after it.

The grenade bounced.

I was just behind it.

Another bounce.

I scrambled after it.

It rolled.

I was on top of it.

I covered it.

I won't be making it out this time.  This grenade will kill me.