Rangers Lead The Wayby Cmon BruhChaptersDrive On First Platoon (Act l Prologue)Rock SteadyWilkins's RevelationThe (Not So) Peaceful Town Of Crystal WoodAct I Epilogue(Act ll Prologue)Flashbacks and the Cutie Mark BluesNoticeDrive On First Platoon (Act l Prologue)Author's Note I am currently on the look out for an editor and proof reader, one would be very much appreciated as well as an criticism one may have for me, this is my first serious fan fiction and I would very much like for it to be a good one. Drive On First Platoon (Act l Prologue) I stood straight and proud as the Drill Sergeant passed me inspecting every aspect of my uniform for any flaws, he grunted turning and moving onto the next soon to be Army Ranger seemingly finding nothing wrong with my uniform. As the Captain took the stage in the atrium looking us over as he started giving a speech, most likely about the honor of being in our position and some other shit, but I really wasn't paying attention. When he finally ended his speech with "And remember Rangers Lead The Way," I stood up even straighter then should be possible more proud then I thought I could be. Suddenly I heard a whistling overhead something that even here I knew to dread, mortar fire. I saw the shell heading straight for me , but before it exploded I was shaken awake. I awoke with a gasp staring at the grim face of the man in the building next to me and I really started to wonder how it all went wrong so fast. It was supposed to be an easy mission, quick, simple, and effective. Get in, grab the VIP and get out. We didn't expect the whole village to be filled with civilian hostages, suicide bombers and Taliban fighters. Evidently command was just as surprised, so much for good intelligence. I sighed glancing at my second in command who was currently off to the left staring out the window of the building we we're stuck in. We'd taken to having two man shifts swapping out every hour to keep an eye out for hostiles and let some of get some rest while we can. My second in command was a reliable solider and officer, his name is James Thorn. He was currently my second in command as opposed to the usual Lieutenant due to the rest of our squad getting annihilated as soon as we stepped into this hell hole. We we're a squad of 10, now down to 5. Just Second Lieutenant Thorn, Sergeant Major James Perkins , Specialist Steven Edwards, Corporal Thomas Anderson, and me Captain Gerald Wilkins. I could see the Thorn clenching his MK17 SCAR-H tightly in his hands peering down his Holographic sight occasionally. I sighed glancing down at my own MK17 , it was a reliable weapon firing 7.62 x 51 mm cartridges with a reliable range as well. I then looked to to Edwards who was sitting down with his Mk46 Light Machine Gun resting on his lap, he wasn't due to be woken for another 10 minutes so I glanced over him at Anderson who was leaning against the wall eating out of one of his MREs. He was equipped with an M4a1 with an under slung grenade launcher and was glancing around as if expecting the walls to explode in any second, which they may well very do. Lastly I looked to Perkins who was coming down the stairs from his make-shift snipers nest his MK11 slung over his shoulder. I sighed standing up and moving over to the Lieutenant and placed my hand on his shoulder "You're relieved," I said quietly to which he nodded and went back to where I was sitting against the wall again slowly nodding off. It was early in the morning around 7:30 or so it was almost peaceful if you could ignore the corpses surrounding the building from the last assault they had launched at us, we'd already contacted command the day before and they said evac should be coming soon if we could hold out until then. I sighed and was about to take out one of my MREs to get a quick bite in before I saw movement out of the corner of my eye in one of the buildings to the far right. I quickly raised my MK17 scanning out across the street before a shot rang out and a bullet impacted right next to my head causing me to duck down into cover. "Alright lads we have company!" I shouted rousing all of the rest of my squad causing them to rush for vantage points at the windows. The Sergeant Major rushing towards the second floor to his sniper's nest. I peeked from my cover seeing several insurgents rushing down the street towards the building, I counted around four of them raising my SCAR-H, aiming in on the rear most one and squeezing the trigger, the weapon firing out it's lethal payload into the insurgents neck causing him to go down instantly. His fellows didn't seem to notice, or didn't care. I switched to the new one in the rear squeezing the trigger sending a bullet into the mans chest sending him to the ground, I barely noticed as I switched my aim to the next and fired again sending a bullet into the mans knee causing him to fall to the ground crying out in pain, my rifle switched to the last one who seemed to have realized rushing across an open plaza to a building occupied by Army Rangers wasn't a bright idea. He was a slow learner, and in war slow learners die. I pulled the trigger sending another bullet into the mans head killing him instantly. I checked my magazine, seeing there were around fourteen bullets still in the mag, I slid it back into the weapon with a satisfying click. I heard Thorn shout out "Seven to the far right! Furthermost building, Wait is tha- RPG!" As soon as that dreaded word was said we all hit the ground as we heard the tell tale sound of the Propelled Grenade firing into the building obliterating around a quarter of the wall I was taking cover at. He never got the chance to fire again Perkins made sure of that I'd be surprised if anything was left of the bastards head with all the blood I saw after he fired that rifle of his. It gave a lot more satisfaction than I'd care to admit seeing it. I saw another insurgent break for cover rushing towards a stone fall near to the house, I raised my SCAR-H aimed at his chest and fired twice the bullets ripping through his clothing, lungs, and heart as he dropped to the ground a blood puddle already starting to form around him. Then I saw something that I really wished I didn't, A truck with several armored plates welded to it and a M240 mounted on the back of it. "Fucking bastards must've taken it off the Humvee," I mused quietly as it started spraying the building sending all of us into cover. I heard a scream and looked to my left to see Anderson gripping his shoulder a large amount of blood leaking through his fingers. "Fuck," I muttered. I jerked suddenly when I heard a large explosion, fearing the worst I peaked my cover to see the Armored Truck in flames the smell of burnt flesh already reaching my nose, I glanced to the left seeing two Humvee's with around four soldiers around outside of them one of them holding a M136 AT4 up to his shoulder. The Humvee's were already opening fire with their M240s mowing down any insurgent unlucky enough to get caught out in the open. I heard the rest of my squad cheering for our boys out there and taunting the insurgents as they fled while I rushed to Anderson helping him to his feet and grabbing his M4. We all slowly left the building sticking to cover until we reached the Humvee's quickly loading up with the rest of the men. "About fuckin' you lazy shits showed up," I heard Perkins exclaim. I heard a chuckle before another solider replied "Sorry 'Sarge, thought you wouldn't want us to spoil your fun," Perkins whipped around a glare on his face before his expression relaxed and he chuckled to himself. I heard Anderson speak up, "Captain, This remind you of that old cadence they had back in trainin'?". I grunted and said "Which cadence Corporal I remember quite a few rather vividly," He chuckled and started humming an too familiar Hymm. I looked up and started humming along as did the rest of the squad, I guess for this situation it just spoke to us in a way that would be difficult to explain. "Ay' Sarge why don't ya bless us with your splendid singin' voice?" I heard Edwards exclaim suddenly "Alright Sugar-tits just for you," Perkins replied in a clearly sarcastic tone, but he still did start the hymm "Drive on first platoon," "DRIVE ON FIRST PLATOON!" We all shouted in unison matching the feeling of the hymm. "Drive on first platoon," "DRIVE ON FIRST PLATOON!" "Someday you'll be all alone....." "SOMEDAY YOU'LL BE ALL ALONE! " "Way out in a combat zone, " "WAY OUT IN A COMBAT Z-" We stopped suddenly as a rather loud explosion rang out and the Humvee in-front of us lit up like the fireworks during the fourth of July. I grimaced as I saw a man drag himself out of the top of the Humvee screaming as he burnt alive, the smell of burning flesh granting us the privilege of being introduced yet again. I looked out the side window of the Humvee to see an RPG already aimed at us, I just sighed resigned to my fate as the projectile launched, everything seemed to go into slow motion. I just whispered "Second platoon will bring you home," under my breath before the rocket propelled grenade smashed into the Humvee, and everything went white. Rock SteadyAuthor's Note Just to clarify to avoid confusion later in the chapter, this is way before modern equestria. The three tribes are still split and Celestia and Luna are still Fillies. My take on things is most likely going to be very different from most takes on things, but personally i'm okay with that. I like differing from the norm (Not to sound edgy or anything) Rock Steady I was awoken by a sharp pain in the side of my stomach my eyes quickly flying open drawing my side arm and shoving it into the face of whoever dared awaken me. I was quickly relieved to see it was Perkins just giving me the same stone cold stare he tended to do. "Finally, Captain. We were worried we'd lost you and I know the boys would hate to lose a grouchy old shit like yourself," He said. I gave him a mock glare and then chuckled saying. "Well Perkins I did learn from the best," He regarded me for a minute before smiling and pulling me up. "Cm'on Gerald the men we're worried, as you can see we're in the middle of a fuckin' forest," He exclaimed rather loudly, he was clearly not very happy about the situation. For the first time since I had awoken I took a second to look around and I almost passed out again from the shock of it all. Instead of in the desert hell that was Afghanistan we appeared to be in the middle of a giant forest. I almost burst out laughing from the novelty of it all. I then took on a serious expression and looked over to Perkins who was in the middle of inspecting his MK11 for any damage. "Any idea where the fuck we are Sergeant?" I asked. He looked over at me and shrugged. I sighed "Figured as much," I then looked over to where the rest of my squad was, they appeared to be in the middle of repairing a Humvee. It then occurred to me that we should very much be dead, but as they say never look a gift horse in the mouth. " ALRIGHT LADS, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKIN' NOWHERE DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GOING TO DEVIATE FROM PRIORITIES! Perkins, Take Edwards and go find us a decent place to camp I don't like being in the open in unknown territory. Thorn get that Humvee up and rolling you're the only one here with extensive engineer training. Finally Anderson how are you feeling?" After the chorus of Yes Sirs that followed my orders Anderson walked up to me and I was frankly amazed. "I-It's gone sir....I was shot in the fucking shoulder with a 7.62 round...and It's just gone...not even a scar," He sounded shocked and I was as well, but as I said earlier. Never look a gift horse in the mouth , which is exactly what I told him. He seemed to agree with that logic. Perkins was frankly in a shitty mood. Ever since they left to go search for a new place to camp they'd be harassed by the local wildlife. He didn't care about the wolves made out of wood. He didn't bat an eye at the chicken lizard abomination, No he'd seen too much shit in his life to even give that a second thought. What really gained his ire was the Specialists complaining. Every other minute it was "Holy shit is that a fucking wood wolf?!" Or a "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ABOMINATION?!", and Perkins was frankly sick of it. So when Edwards next spoke "Hey, Sir look what I fo-" Edwards silenced himself when he saw the Sergeant giving him the death glare, he knew he had to choose his next words very, very carefully. So he chose to point instead of speaking. The sergeant looked to where he was pointing and nodded his head. What they were currently looking at was a rather wooded area that would be difficult to notice by most things, this area seemed to lead to the mouth of a cave. "Good find Specialist, but I swear if I hear you bitching about another abomination of nature you're on latrine duty for the next week, and I don't think you want that here. Got it?", Edwards gulped and nodded. "Good lad," ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Celestia had been having a pretty boring day, she and her little sister were just resting in the cave they had found after they were run out of yet another town for being quote 'Abominations of magic and nature' while she was confused, she was also greatly saddened. She and her sister hadn't chose to be born this way with both the wings of a Pegasus, the magic of a unicorn, and the strength of an earth pony. She didn't understand why she and her little sister we're run out of every town they went to, but then again in the mind of a twelve year old a lot of things don't really tend to make sense most of the time. All she knew was that her name was Celestia and her sisters name was Luna, and from what every-pony else had been saying they were monsters. Her pink mane was loosely flowing around her and she had a wing covering the form of her younger sister who had been taking things a lot harder than she had. Instead of Celestia's confusion Luna had felt guilt from something that wasn't her fault, instead of anger at the pony's who had forced her out of everywhere she went she was angry at herself for being abnormal. Suffice to say she needed a lot of comforting and Celestia knew she had to be strong for her little sisters sake, else they both lose their sanity in this cruel world. That being said she was especially surprised when she heard a loud rumbling outside of the cave. It seemed to end right at the cave entrance then just stop. She was even more surprised when Five Bi-Pedal figures clad in some sort of strange looking clothing and armor all stopped and aimed strange metal sticks the project a green laser at her and her sister. The laser didn't hurt so she really didn't know what to think of it, at least until one of the Bi-pedal figures spoke in perfect Equish. "Are those....fucking...horses?" One said clearly surprised. The one next to it slapped it on the back of the helmet and said in a clearly sarcastic tone even to her "No, I thought they we're Dragons here to devour our flesh and burn us to crispy little ranger crusts," The other one grumbled something they couldn't hear which got it slapped over the helmet again. The one at the very front brought some sort of device to his eyes that was attached to the top of his helmet and nearly fell over in surprise. "Holy shit! They have fuckin' wings....and is that a....horn...dear god I thought these were just a myth!" He exclaimed. She inwardly sighed realizing that these creatures would probably kick her and her sister out of this cave next. What she didn't expect was on to walk up to her and take off it's helmet and goggles revealing a completely bald head aside from a rather large brown beard the covered most of his lower face, He also had green eyes that seemed to have a cold calculation in them as well as a certain warmth and comfort. It was strange to say the least. He held out a claw that was covered in some sort of glove and said "Here little one, don't be afraid, we're not here to hurt you," He said soothingly. She hadn't realized it, but up until this point she had been shaking like it was middle of a full blown blizzard. She slowly moved her hoof to touch his claw before quickly recoiling expecting him to try to grab her foreleg and pull her to her death. Instead he just sat still those patient eyes locked onto hers the entire time. This time she touched his claw with her hoof, not pulling away just staring into the comforting green eyes, for some strange reason she felt safer here with this Bi-ped then she had in most of her life, it was like he omitted and aura of some kind that showed a willingness to protect the innocent. She looked up at him and said "W-who are...you?" He seemed rather startled at hearing speak and that made her rather confused, why would it be strange for a pony to talk? She just crossed it off as a cultural thing and repeating her question, though with much for confidence this time "Who are you?", she asked her tone of voice carrying more curiosity than fear. He seemed to shrug off his shock rather quickly before chuckling. "Of course you talk, that is probably one of the more tame things I've seen in my brief time here, anyways young one I must ask. Where are your parents? You shouldn't be here alone, things appear to be rather dangerous out here," She looked up at him and said "I-I don't know where m-my parents are....I never knew them," He made a tsk sound before asking "Well, where is your home young one? I don't expect that you live in this cold dark cave," She made a face at him before saying "E-everytime we try to go somewhere p-ponies call us freaks and run us out, this cave is pretty much our home..." His eye brow raised at her use of the word 'we'. "You say we, do you have anyone else with you here?" He asked looking around the cave. She raised her wing allowing him to see her little sister, the tiny alicorn filly tucked up a ball and snoring lightly. He made a light 'dawww' noise before asking "So you are here alone, you have nowhere to go and no-one is willing to take you in?," she nodded a sad expression on her face as she realized how truly lonely she felt for the first time tears starting to well up in her eyes. He took her into a small hug and said "Well we're in the same ship there young one, why don't you stay with us then? From the way you looked at us when we came in I don't think you've seen any of our kind before, and it sounds like you ponies are the dominate species here, am I mistaken?" He asked lightly. I nod at him "Y-yeah I think I would've remembered seeing something as strange as you before." The other bipeds behind him chuckled at this, but I didn't know why so I scratched it off as another cultural thing. He looked down at us before saying "Well then, I guess we could misfits together then young one. Why don't you and you're...Sister? Stay with us for now. She is your sister correct?" He asked. I nodded at him and then said "W-well if we're going to be friends and stay together I guess we should know each others names. M-my name is Celestia...and my s-sisters name is Luna," He stood up and said "My name is Captain Gerald Wilkins of the United States Army Rangers," He said with a large hint of pride in his voice. The other Rangers behind him introduced themselves as 2nd Lieutenant James Thorn , Sergeant Major Lewis Perkins, Specialist Steven Edwards, and Corporal Thomas Anderson. I found their names to kinda strange, but I guess it's the whole different species thing so I didn't judge. Though I had a feeling that with them around that thing's would start being rather eventful for me and Luna from now on, I wasn't too sure what to think about that, but I was glad to have finally found friends, and hey they're just like us! Misfits, outcasts. Undesirables by pony society. I was glad to have a large ground of kind friends to lean on when i needed help now. Wilkins's RevelationThe Sister's POV Luna woke up feeling strange, it was almost as if a large wing was laid over her. She knew this couldn't be possible because her sister's wing really wasn't that large. She slowly opened her eyes looking around slightly and saw a large blanket laid over her with a strange coloring on it. It almost blended into the floor with how it was colored, kind of like how animals would camouflage themselves in the wild to hunt for prey or hide from predators. She found this was rather odd so she stood up shedding the blanket off of herself and almost instantly froze with fear, at the entrance of the cave were two strange Bipedal figures. She was staring to panic before she felt her sisters wing over her shoulders. "Lulu you're finally awake, you were asleep all day," she said. "T-tia, what a-are those," Luna squeaked point at the two figures with a hoof. Celestia put a hoof to her chin looking thoughtful before saying "You know Lulu I never really asked what they were, I was too surprised. I know who they are though. The one on the left is named Steven Edwards, and the one of the right is named Lewis Perkins. There are three others, but they left to go get a 'Humvee' whatever that is. They're rather odd, but I guess so are we. They said they'd take us in with them for the time being seeing as they said they're new here," Luna looked over to Celestia looking more happy then she had in a long time. "They d-did tia?" She asked a look of pure hope and joy in her eyes. "Yes Lulu, they did. We finally have some friends," Celestia said a large smile on her face as she pulled Luna into a tight hug which was returned. They were interrupted from their embrace by a loud rumbling outside as the two bipeds in the front of the cave started cheering and moving to the side of the mouth of the cave. Luna was confused as to why they moved at first, but then saw a large creature entering the cave, it was a strange beast with skin the color of desert sand. She saw another of the bipeds inside of it and one in some strange hatch on the top. It then suddenly dawned on her that it was some kind of strange carriage as a door on the side opened and the one in the front disembarked from it. Captain Gerald Wilkins POV I turned off the Humvee after turning it around to face the front of the cave and opened the drivers door exiting the vehicle Anderson and Thorn following my example. Perkins approaches me placing a hand on my shoulder and saying "Well Captain, I was worried she wouldn't fit in the cave, but I guess that was unfounded. We should try to get her deeper into the cave it widens out into a large cavern at the back, so we should be alright when it comes to space," "Agreed Sergeant I'll get to it in a few minutes for now, I think our small friends have awoken," I say gesturing over to where Celestia and Luna were staring at the Humvee with wide eyed amazement. I chuckle to myself walking over to them and kneeling so that I can be closer to their eye level, though I still tower over them by a good eight or nine inches. "Good morning young ones, I trust you slept well?" I inquire glancing down at Luna who was staring at me with wide eyes. I look down at her in mock surprise and say "Well, now who are you little one?" She looks to the floor and mutters something which I don't hear, her sister nudges her and whispers something in her ear causing Luna to look up and say slightly louder "M-my names Woona, who awe you?" She asks causing me to mentally 'Daww' I pat her on the head ruffling hear teal mane slightly. "I am Captain Gerald Wilkins of the United States Army Rangers," I say causing her to stare up at me in wonder after brushing some of her mane out of the way of her eyesight. "You awe a sowdier?" She asks tilting her head to the side slightly. "Yes, me and my squad are soldiers," I confirm nodding my head. "Den you can hewp us?" She asks a hopeful look in her eyes. I tilt my head slightly "Help you with what?" I ask to which she responds saying "T-the other ponies hurt me and my s-sister for being diffwent from dem," I look to Celestia my eyebrow slightly raised and she just nods her head at me. It was at this moment that I truly took a second to examine them, not just briefly looking over them. I saw many things that made me instantly concerned for them and angry at anyone who could do such a thing to children, especially ones as innocent as these appear to be. They we're covered in bruises that we're hard to see with their fur, they were also extremely matted as if they hadn't bathed in weeks, and on top of that they we're also skinny to the point where their ribs were showing. "Medic!" I shouted, causing Perkins to rush over. "Yes Cap'n?" He asks looking over me for any injuries. I quickly point over the two sisters in-front of us causing him to take a quick intake of breath. "Damn...who did this to you to two?" He asks his eyes portraying he was clearly concerned, yet tremendously angry. As he pulled them both to him checking them for any more serious injures his medical bag already out and open. Luna looked to him and said "T-the other ponies," She says barely able to be heard over the sound of Perkins pulling out bandages and such for their more serious injuries. He had a look of pure rage on his face, but he didn't convey it to the two sisters in-front us. Meanwhile I was taking out one of my MREs that didn't have meat in it, It was some sort of salad based meal. I opened it and handed it to them. They quickly devoured it not a single piece of food left inside of it after they were done. I would've chuckled at how fast they ate it if I wasn't aware of their situation and wasn't pissed off to high hell. Seven hours later After quite a few hours of Perkins patching up their injuries they two sisters laid down on the temporary bedding we had laid out for them. After they we're asleep we quietly talked among ourselves about their situation. None of us were happy and all of us wanted to do something about it, but today wasn't the day I informed them. We all decided to was time to hit the 'bunks' as they said and set up a watch for the night and went to bed, but before I was slept off into the deep abyss that was sleep I promised to myself that I would make this right for the two fillies hell or high water. Author's Note Hello again! I'd just like to say I'm very happy that you're reading this and I really appreciate that you took the time of your day to read my story. The (Not So) Peaceful Town Of Crystal WoodWilkins's POV I woke up early in the morning after a deep dreamless sleep, my watch said it was supposedly 6:47, but I wasn't too sure about it due to the whole different world thing and all. I yawned sitting up and stretching my arms before feeling a small movement and a slight brush of something warm against my left hand. I looked down and saw that Luna was curled up next to be in a small ball snoring lightly. I smiled and gently scratched her ear which caused it to twitch slightly. I stood up grabbing my rifle from where it lay at my side slinging it over my shoulder. I walked over to Anderson and was about to shake his shoulder to wake him when I saw him open his eyes and give me a thumbs up to which I nodded my head. "Get up corporal we're heading out to find anything that may be nearby," I said. "Yes, Sir!" He exclaims grabbing his M4a1 and standing. "Perkins! Get your lazy ass up, we're going on patrol," I shout causing Perkins to shoot up grabbing his MK11. " Got it, sir, " Perkins says. During the commotion the rest of my squad along with Celestia and Luna woke up. Thorn and Edwards got up and went to re-igniting the fire to get some warmth circulating as it was rather cold that morning while the rest of us got ready to head out on patrol. I turned on my radio and said "Testing, Testing," I saw Thorn raise a thumbs up at me and I smiled knowing we at least have short distance radio communication available to us if we ran into any trouble with the locals or the wildlife. Perkins and Anderson walked over to me letting me know they were ready to head out. We started walking out of our temporary home heading west from our location, we'd decided we were going to walk about three hours in that direction and if we didn't find anything of note we'd head back to our temporary base cave. After nearly two hours of walking we hadn't really found anything of major note, sure we found some strange blue flowers and other things, but none of them really had any functional use or sign of civilization to us. I was very near to giving up hope of finding anything before Anderson shouted out "Captain! I see smoke in the distance, from where I am I think it's around 800 meters out!" "Good job corporal, " I said a broad grin on my face at the fact of finally finding civilization. "That doesn't really look a smoke trail from a campfire, Sir," Perkins said a look of worry on his face. "Now that you say it does look rather large....Alright, let's get moving. Double time it men! " I shout rushing towards the smoke. As we were around 200 meters away from the town we reached a large hill overlooking it which we quickly climbed to get a better vantage point. I took out my binoculars peering through them at the town and say a rather worrying sight. Multiple half bird half lion I think they're called griffins were flying around tossing flaming torches at buildings and attacking the ponies that were running terrified through the streets. There was a group of ponies around seven strong in the center of the town protecting what looked to be the town hall from the griffons as other ponies attempted to flee inside to safety. "Hmmf....looks to be around twenty or so tangos terrorizing the town, burning buildings, and slaughtering civilians," I say a large frown plastered onto my face. "Permission to engage then cap'n? " Perkins aid his MK11 already deployed with it's Bi-pod on a good vantage point over the town. "Negative Perkins, first me and Anderson will see if we can get them to back down peacefully. No point in making enemies if we don't have to," I say . " Alright Cap'n, " Perkins says as he attaches his silencer to his rifle. I stand up with Anderson slowly making my way down to the town. "Remember the rules of engagement Anderson, do not fire unless fired upon. Understood?" I whisper to which he nods. "Good," As Anderson and me stroll into the town a pair of griffins lands in-front of us spears pointed at our chests. " Halt creatures! This is none of your concern be on your way or we will use force, " They shout causing me to raise an eyebrow. I look around for a moment before saying "I believe it is our concern we were planning on spending the night in this town and we cannot do that if it is ashes on the ground now can we?" The griffins look at each other for a minute before saying "This is your last warning, leave this town or we will use force!" I pull out a cigarette and lighter lighting it and taking a deep puff purposely blowing it in their faces before saying "My name is Captain Gerald Wilkins of the United States Army Rangers, and I demand to see your leader!" The griffins share a laugh before saying "Why should we do that creature when we can just kill you and take your possessions!" After saying that they rush forwards weapons bearing down on us before one of them drops dead a hole in his where his left eye should have been. The second griffon upon seeing this stopped to look at his dead comrade in shock as I pull my 1911 and fire a shot into his head killing him instantly. The sound of the bullet momentary causes everyone in the town to stop fighting, burning, and pillaging to look where it came from. The ponies were even more terrified that the griffins might have had more reinforcements with strange weapons and the griffins were enraged that these creatures had dared to kill two of their own. Five griffins start flying towards us causing Anderson to aim his M4a1 at them and fire a quick burst causing two of them to fall to the ground screeching and flailing as the bullets ripped through their chests before they dropped cold. Another of the griffins dropped dead with a bullet in his chest due to Perkins's marksmanship. By the time they got within range of my 1911 only two were left. I raised my pistol aiming at the one in the front firing off two shots one going through his chest and another in his left wing causing his to plummet to the ground shrieking in pain. The last griffin dropped with a hole in his head after Anderson fired his M4. "Anderson go relieve the civilians of the griffins assaulting the town house while I hunt down their leader" I say gesturing to the pony militia and the griffins bombarding them with dive attacks. "Got it, Sir!" He exclaims rushing off to help those in need. I immediately started scanning the air and ground for where the leader might be. After a few minutes of looking I spotted him on the outskirts of the town in the air with two guards near him. At least I suspected him to be the leader due to him having the fanciest armor and bodyguards. I shrug to myself drawing my SCAR-H and aiming at his chest peering through my holographic sight. I squeezed the trigger sending a bullet into his chest and throwing him to the ground before quickly switching my aim to his guards and eliminating them as well. The griffins quickly realized they bit off more than they could chew and flew off before they could lose anymore of their group, but not before one of them let off an arrow which found it's way to my leg sending me to a knee. I hissed between my teeth at the pain from the arrow letting out a loud "FUCK!" Anderson quickly rushed to me looking at the wound "Shit, alright captain I'll radio Perkins." "No need corporal I'm already here." I quickly turned my head seeing Perkins leaning against a wall with his rifle slung over his shoulder. He quickly straightened himself and strolled over to me glancing over my wound. "Hmmf...That's an arrow cap'n." "No shit Perkins, It hurts like fucking hell!" I yell Perkins knelt in-front of me snapping the back half of the arrow off before carefully removing it and bandaging my wound. "You'll live cap'n now stop being a pussy and get up, no offence," He says staring down at me. I sigh looking up at him "Up yours Sergeant," I say standing up on a wobbly leg and limping over to the town hall where several ponies were staring at us with complete amazement in their eyes. "If you take a picture it'll last longer," I joke snapping them out of their haze. One of the ponies moves to the front of the group a unicorn and if the clothing and mark of a small town most likely someone of some sort of significance. "H-hello...creatures..I-I am mayor Crystal song of the t-town of Crystal Wood...p-please don't kill us and eat our bodies!" He begs throwing himself to the ground with the most pathetic expression I've ever seen on his face. I smile kneeling to his level so he can look in my eyes. "Sorry pal, Army Rangers don't eat ponies or burn villages. My names Captain Gerald Wilkins and I'd like to say you're embarrassing yourself," He looks up at me a large blush on his face clearly realizing the stupidly of what he just did and he could also probably feel the other ponies staring at him. "Y-yes sorry about that....t-things have just been difficult lately with that bandit group you see to have...m-massacred...a-anyways I'd just like to s-say welcome to Crystal Wood, " Act I EpilogueAround A Week Later After I spoke with the mayor of the town he informed me that he was indebted to me and my squad and that anything we needed that was within reason he could easily provide. I simply asked for a a shipment of wood and construction supplies so that I can make our base-camp turned home a bit more well....homely. He was able to supply us much to my delight and within a few hours we had enough supplies to be able to make the place a little more comfortable for our two guests. My wound had healed up rather nicely due to some 'healing magic' which I was rather skeptical about at first, but it seemed to have paid off in the end as all I have to remember that wound is a small scar. We managed to set up a small wall around our cave entrance around five-feet high with an entrance large enough for the Humvee to get in and out. We also set up four sets of bunk-beds for us and the fillies who seem to have adjusted to life with us quite well. We still maintain proper training schedules to keep fit and Luna seemed to want to join in. After a good thirty minutes of begging and the most adorable look I've ever seen in my thirty six years of life we submitted and let her join us in our morning exercises though they were a bit toned down for her as I doubt she could handle everything we were doing. We also managed to get a set of six chairs and two tables done with the remaining wood and nails we had, that was much appreciated among everyone as being able to have something that wasn't cold ground to sit on and relax was absolutely wonderful. We also seem to have become the Crystal-wood's unofficial guardians as everytime there is a problem they come to us to resolve it. They recently came to us and asked us to clear out a pack of timber-wolves, that wasn't really that much of an issue it was mainly just pest control in our books. Overall things have been going wonderfully so far, though there still are quite a few concerns on how we're going to get home, though I'm starting to feel that we're probably not going to be ending up back home. I'm alright with this though, this world seems to need Rangers more than Earth ever did, and I can safely say I've lead a much better life here than I used to have. In fact I could say I'm rather happy with this. Act I End Author's Note In case anyone has been wondering about full fledged descriptions of characters and such I'm going to be posting them here. If you're not a military geek like I am and or give zero shits just skip to the next chapter. I'll be posting one full description of one character per chapter for the next five or so chapters depending on how I feel. If anyone wants to contact me personally via email here it is ===> Rohanstew@outlook.com I'm still looking for an editor and a proof reader if you're interested PM me please. And aside from that stay frosty and GO ARMY! Captain Gerald Wilkins Gender-Male Height-6'2 Skin Color-Caucasian Race-Human Primary Firearm-MK17 SCAR-H With Holographic Sight, Reflex Grip, and a Green Lazer Interdiction System Secondary Firearm-Colt 1911 Engraved with the words 'Do or Die' Grenades-Two Fragmentation Grenades as well as a white smoke grenade Hair Color-Light Brown Eye Color-Blue Ammunition Stocks- 8 Magazines For The MK17+1 For currently loaded 3 Magazines for the colt +1 for currently loaded Short Bio - Gerald Wilkins was raised in Longview Washington by his mother after his father was shot and killed serving in the police force by a suspect fleeing a bank robbery. He was an only child who was shown to be have a knack for leadership from a young age typically being the go to team leader in games and the such. He was highly athletic focused participating in football and soccer until he turned Twenty One in which he signed up for the US Army almost instantly. He quickly rose through the ranks passing Ranger training and officially becoming a US Airborne Army Ranger at the age of twenty six. (Act ll Prologue)Celestia was relaxing on one of the newly made chairs casually chatting with Corporal Anderson. She had been through a lot in the past week in meeting the humans her entire life had changed. She and her sister had gone to social outcasts hated by most of pony kind for being different to being accepted by beings even stranger than them and given a home and companionship with the very same creatures. Celestia was currently musing on this inside her head a smile on her face as she was broken out of her line of thought by a light shaking on her shoulder. "Celestia, you zoned out on me again," Anderson says a slight grin on his face. "What are ya thinkin' about this time little miss? " He inquires the grin still ever present. Celestia blushes slightly before saying "Sorry, I was just think how everything had moved so fast for me and my sister. We went from hated and rejected to embraced with open arms. You humans gave us everything our own kind refused us for years without even a second thought, and I'd just like to know I'm really grateful for it, " She says with a wide smile on her face. Anderson chuckles "Well glad we can of help young lady, and you're welcome, " He says before speaking up again, "Now back to what I was saying, so me and Edwards had just convinced the lieutenant to go up to the girl and ask her to g-" She didn't hear the rest of what he said as she was hit with a sudden head ache and a feeling that something terrible was going to happen soon, she fell out of the chair holding her hooves to her head as a vision of a shadowy figure and maniacal laughter flashes through her head. "Hey! You alright?! Celestia answer me!" Anderson shouted shaking her. "Y-yeah I'm fine...sorry, I just have a feeling something really bad is going to happen soon....." Celestia says still trying to recover from what she had just seen. 'Oh you have no idea little lady, but soon enough you'll find out...I'll make sure of it...' A creature unknown to all who had been watching quietly thought to itself before fading away back to whence it arrived from.... Act II Prologue End Author's Note Description Of Corporal Anderson Coming Up! Still looking for that editor and proof-reader. Name Corporal Thomas Anderson Height 5'11 Race Human Skin Color Caucasian Hair Color Dirty Blonde Eye Color Brown Primary Weapon M4a1 with red dot sight, under-slung grenade launcher, and a green laser interdiction system Secondary Weapon Glock 19 Ammunition 6 Magazines for the M4a1 +1 Loaded 3 Magazines for the Glock 19 +1 loaded 4 HE grenades for the grenade launcher and two smoke grenades for it Distinguishing features Anderson has a large scar running across his left check and ending at his forehead from a knife that very nearly took his life. Age 27 Short Bio (To be added soon) Flashbacks and the Cutie Mark BluesAuthor's Note Sorry if this chapter is too short or not very good, I just got done with having surgery after I broke my arm playing football, I'm well and fine now and have been for awhile I've mainly just been suffering from the plague known as writers block, but I did promise I'd get another chapter out soon, so here it is! I still need an editor and proof reader, if your interested contact me at rohanstew@outlook.com Also a quick shout out to alexthereader for being a very patient dude (or dudette.) in waiting for another chapter. It's nice to know I have folks like you who want to read my story! :3 Flashbacks and the Cutie Mark Blues Fire, gunfire, the smell of burnt flesh and gunpowder in the air. I hear screaming as the Humvee ahead of me bursts into fire from an explosion caused by an IED underneath it. The smell of blood is thick in the air as bullets slam into doors of our Humvee. Edwards had already opened fire with the .50 Caliber gun mounted on the Humvee. I flung the door open and jumped out running using the door as cover as more shots slammed into the vehicle. I hear an explosion and a body is flung past me missing his left arm. I cursed under my breath after seeing he was the Lieutenant in charge of the platoon of soldiers ahead of us. I feel someone grab my shoulder, " Cap'n, we're going to be fuckin' sitting ducks here if we don't do something! We walked right into this fucking trap bastards are all around us, pretty sure I saw an RPG so this fuckin' thing is an armored death trap for us! " I hear Perkins shout to me as he aims over the door of the Humvee letting off two shots with his MK11. " I know Sergeant this shit is FUBAR! God damn so much for a supply convoy! Trucks are absolutely fucked if the hundreds of bullets flying into them mean anything," I shouted while popping out of my cover and firing on an insurgent who was stupid enough to try to rush our position while spraying wildly with his AK47. The bullets fly into his unprotected chest destroying his organs and causing blood to start spurting out from where he was shot in the heart. Suddenly I heard a loud gasp and what sounded like a small child starting to cry out of shock and fear. I quickly spun around and and was completely shocked to see a small Luna standing there bawling and staring at everything in shock and terror. In seeing this I was knocked out of the dream state I was in and everything in the background seemed to fade out of focus as I ran over to grab the filly and pull her into a hug blocking out the rest of the dream, all that could be heard was faint gunfire and screams in the background as I try to comfort her. " Shh, Shh little one don't look, please don't look just relax, please calm down, " I gently whisper to her patting her back and managing to slowly calm her down. " Now, how in the name of the lord are you hear Luna? You shouldn't be here, " I whisper to her continuing to pat her back. " I-I saw y-you were having a bad dream M-Mr. Gerald a-and I w-wanted to help s-s-so I tried to use my magic and I-I didn't know w-what would happen, I-I just m-m-manged to come in a-and ... I-I wanted to make you feel b-better, " " It's alright Luna, please calm down. I'm sorry you had to see that... It wasn't a dream. It was a memory. I need you to not do that anymore for either me or the others..... It's not appropriate for you... You're too young to see horrors like this, " I say to her looking her in her teal eyes. She nods slowly, but my eye is driven to a new marking on her flank. It appears to be a sort of crescent moon on a black background. "Luna, when did you get this?" I inquire gesturing to mark. As she turns her head towards it her eyes brighten up and she lets out a loud happy squeal shouting "I GOT MY CUTIE MA-" I awoke with a jerk to see Celestia prodding me in the face with her hoof. I stare at her for a full minute before we both burst out laughing from the awkwardness of it. I sit up looking at her to see her staring at me with the brightest smile I think I've ever seen and then she precedes to loudly and happily exclaim "I GOT MY CUTIE MARK GERALD!' While pointing to a mark on her flank. I try to hold in my laughter at the words 'cutie mark' and say "O-oh *pfft* that's g-*pft* good Tia, now could you just explain what that is?" I ask grinning at her. "Oh sure I'd absolutely love to!" She exclaims happily before starting into an explanation of a cutie mark and how it represents a ponies special talent in life and that they get them when they discover what their special talent is. "Uh-huh...so what is your talent Tia?" I ask. "Raising the sun and Luna's is raising the moon!" She casually exclaims as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole fucking world. I stare at her completely gob smacked for what must have been quite a long time as she started to look kind of upset and poked at me. "A-are you okay Gerald?" She asked looking up at me. "I-I'm completely fine....It's not as if I've just had my entire understanding of the laws of physics and space destroyed by a ten year old and a twelve year old....Not like that at all. In fact I think I need to lay down now, have a good afternoon world!" I exclaim before passing out from the shock of it all. NoticeSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Drive On First Platoon (Act l Prologue)Author's Note I am currently on the look out for an editor and proof reader, one would be very much appreciated as well as an criticism one may have for me, this is my first serious fan fiction and I would very much like for it to be a good one. Drive On First Platoon (Act l Prologue) I stood straight and proud as the Drill Sergeant passed me inspecting every aspect of my uniform for any flaws, he grunted turning and moving onto the next soon to be Army Ranger seemingly finding nothing wrong with my uniform. As the Captain took the stage in the atrium looking us over as he started giving a speech, most likely about the honor of being in our position and some other shit, but I really wasn't paying attention. When he finally ended his speech with "And remember Rangers Lead The Way," I stood up even straighter then should be possible more proud then I thought I could be. Suddenly I heard a whistling overhead something that even here I knew to dread, mortar fire. I saw the shell heading straight for me , but before it exploded I was shaken awake. I awoke with a gasp staring at the grim face of the man in the building next to me and I really started to wonder how it all went wrong so fast. It was supposed to be an easy mission, quick, simple, and effective. Get in, grab the VIP and get out. We didn't expect the whole village to be filled with civilian hostages, suicide bombers and Taliban fighters. Evidently command was just as surprised, so much for good intelligence. I sighed glancing at my second in command who was currently off to the left staring out the window of the building we we're stuck in. We'd taken to having two man shifts swapping out every hour to keep an eye out for hostiles and let some of get some rest while we can. My second in command was a reliable solider and officer, his name is James Thorn. He was currently my second in command as opposed to the usual Lieutenant due to the rest of our squad getting annihilated as soon as we stepped into this hell hole. We we're a squad of 10, now down to 5. Just Second Lieutenant Thorn, Sergeant Major James Perkins , Specialist Steven Edwards, Corporal Thomas Anderson, and me Captain Gerald Wilkins. I could see the Thorn clenching his MK17 SCAR-H tightly in his hands peering down his Holographic sight occasionally. I sighed glancing down at my own MK17 , it was a reliable weapon firing 7.62 x 51 mm cartridges with a reliable range as well. I then looked to to Edwards who was sitting down with his Mk46 Light Machine Gun resting on his lap, he wasn't due to be woken for another 10 minutes so I glanced over him at Anderson who was leaning against the wall eating out of one of his MREs. He was equipped with an M4a1 with an under slung grenade launcher and was glancing around as if expecting the walls to explode in any second, which they may well very do. Lastly I looked to Perkins who was coming down the stairs from his make-shift snipers nest his MK11 slung over his shoulder. I sighed standing up and moving over to the Lieutenant and placed my hand on his shoulder "You're relieved," I said quietly to which he nodded and went back to where I was sitting against the wall again slowly nodding off. It was early in the morning around 7:30 or so it was almost peaceful if you could ignore the corpses surrounding the building from the last assault they had launched at us, we'd already contacted command the day before and they said evac should be coming soon if we could hold out until then. I sighed and was about to take out one of my MREs to get a quick bite in before I saw movement out of the corner of my eye in one of the buildings to the far right. I quickly raised my MK17 scanning out across the street before a shot rang out and a bullet impacted right next to my head causing me to duck down into cover. "Alright lads we have company!" I shouted rousing all of the rest of my squad causing them to rush for vantage points at the windows. The Sergeant Major rushing towards the second floor to his sniper's nest. I peeked from my cover seeing several insurgents rushing down the street towards the building, I counted around four of them raising my SCAR-H, aiming in on the rear most one and squeezing the trigger, the weapon firing out it's lethal payload into the insurgents neck causing him to go down instantly. His fellows didn't seem to notice, or didn't care. I switched to the new one in the rear squeezing the trigger sending a bullet into the mans chest sending him to the ground, I barely noticed as I switched my aim to the next and fired again sending a bullet into the mans knee causing him to fall to the ground crying out in pain, my rifle switched to the last one who seemed to have realized rushing across an open plaza to a building occupied by Army Rangers wasn't a bright idea. He was a slow learner, and in war slow learners die. I pulled the trigger sending another bullet into the mans head killing him instantly. I checked my magazine, seeing there were around fourteen bullets still in the mag, I slid it back into the weapon with a satisfying click. I heard Thorn shout out "Seven to the far right! Furthermost building, Wait is tha- RPG!" As soon as that dreaded word was said we all hit the ground as we heard the tell tale sound of the Propelled Grenade firing into the building obliterating around a quarter of the wall I was taking cover at. He never got the chance to fire again Perkins made sure of that I'd be surprised if anything was left of the bastards head with all the blood I saw after he fired that rifle of his. It gave a lot more satisfaction than I'd care to admit seeing it. I saw another insurgent break for cover rushing towards a stone fall near to the house, I raised my SCAR-H aimed at his chest and fired twice the bullets ripping through his clothing, lungs, and heart as he dropped to the ground a blood puddle already starting to form around him. Then I saw something that I really wished I didn't, A truck with several armored plates welded to it and a M240 mounted on the back of it. "Fucking bastards must've taken it off the Humvee," I mused quietly as it started spraying the building sending all of us into cover. I heard a scream and looked to my left to see Anderson gripping his shoulder a large amount of blood leaking through his fingers. "Fuck," I muttered. I jerked suddenly when I heard a large explosion, fearing the worst I peaked my cover to see the Armored Truck in flames the smell of burnt flesh already reaching my nose, I glanced to the left seeing two Humvee's with around four soldiers around outside of them one of them holding a M136 AT4 up to his shoulder. The Humvee's were already opening fire with their M240s mowing down any insurgent unlucky enough to get caught out in the open. I heard the rest of my squad cheering for our boys out there and taunting the insurgents as they fled while I rushed to Anderson helping him to his feet and grabbing his M4. We all slowly left the building sticking to cover until we reached the Humvee's quickly loading up with the rest of the men. "About fuckin' you lazy shits showed up," I heard Perkins exclaim. I heard a chuckle before another solider replied "Sorry 'Sarge, thought you wouldn't want us to spoil your fun," Perkins whipped around a glare on his face before his expression relaxed and he chuckled to himself. I heard Anderson speak up, "Captain, This remind you of that old cadence they had back in trainin'?". I grunted and said "Which cadence Corporal I remember quite a few rather vividly," He chuckled and started humming an too familiar Hymm. I looked up and started humming along as did the rest of the squad, I guess for this situation it just spoke to us in a way that would be difficult to explain. "Ay' Sarge why don't ya bless us with your splendid singin' voice?" I heard Edwards exclaim suddenly "Alright Sugar-tits just for you," Perkins replied in a clearly sarcastic tone, but he still did start the hymm "Drive on first platoon," "DRIVE ON FIRST PLATOON!" We all shouted in unison matching the feeling of the hymm. "Drive on first platoon," "DRIVE ON FIRST PLATOON!" "Someday you'll be all alone....." "SOMEDAY YOU'LL BE ALL ALONE! " "Way out in a combat zone, " "WAY OUT IN A COMBAT Z-" We stopped suddenly as a rather loud explosion rang out and the Humvee in-front of us lit up like the fireworks during the fourth of July. I grimaced as I saw a man drag himself out of the top of the Humvee screaming as he burnt alive, the smell of burning flesh granting us the privilege of being introduced yet again. I looked out the side window of the Humvee to see an RPG already aimed at us, I just sighed resigned to my fate as the projectile launched, everything seemed to go into slow motion. I just whispered "Second platoon will bring you home," under my breath before the rocket propelled grenade smashed into the Humvee, and everything went white.
Rock SteadyAuthor's Note Just to clarify to avoid confusion later in the chapter, this is way before modern equestria. The three tribes are still split and Celestia and Luna are still Fillies. My take on things is most likely going to be very different from most takes on things, but personally i'm okay with that. I like differing from the norm (Not to sound edgy or anything) Rock Steady I was awoken by a sharp pain in the side of my stomach my eyes quickly flying open drawing my side arm and shoving it into the face of whoever dared awaken me. I was quickly relieved to see it was Perkins just giving me the same stone cold stare he tended to do. "Finally, Captain. We were worried we'd lost you and I know the boys would hate to lose a grouchy old shit like yourself," He said. I gave him a mock glare and then chuckled saying. "Well Perkins I did learn from the best," He regarded me for a minute before smiling and pulling me up. "Cm'on Gerald the men we're worried, as you can see we're in the middle of a fuckin' forest," He exclaimed rather loudly, he was clearly not very happy about the situation. For the first time since I had awoken I took a second to look around and I almost passed out again from the shock of it all. Instead of in the desert hell that was Afghanistan we appeared to be in the middle of a giant forest. I almost burst out laughing from the novelty of it all. I then took on a serious expression and looked over to Perkins who was in the middle of inspecting his MK11 for any damage. "Any idea where the fuck we are Sergeant?" I asked. He looked over at me and shrugged. I sighed "Figured as much," I then looked over to where the rest of my squad was, they appeared to be in the middle of repairing a Humvee. It then occurred to me that we should very much be dead, but as they say never look a gift horse in the mouth. " ALRIGHT LADS, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKIN' NOWHERE DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GOING TO DEVIATE FROM PRIORITIES! Perkins, Take Edwards and go find us a decent place to camp I don't like being in the open in unknown territory. Thorn get that Humvee up and rolling you're the only one here with extensive engineer training. Finally Anderson how are you feeling?" After the chorus of Yes Sirs that followed my orders Anderson walked up to me and I was frankly amazed. "I-It's gone sir....I was shot in the fucking shoulder with a 7.62 round...and It's just gone...not even a scar," He sounded shocked and I was as well, but as I said earlier. Never look a gift horse in the mouth , which is exactly what I told him. He seemed to agree with that logic. Perkins was frankly in a shitty mood. Ever since they left to go search for a new place to camp they'd be harassed by the local wildlife. He didn't care about the wolves made out of wood. He didn't bat an eye at the chicken lizard abomination, No he'd seen too much shit in his life to even give that a second thought. What really gained his ire was the Specialists complaining. Every other minute it was "Holy shit is that a fucking wood wolf?!" Or a "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ABOMINATION?!", and Perkins was frankly sick of it. So when Edwards next spoke "Hey, Sir look what I fo-" Edwards silenced himself when he saw the Sergeant giving him the death glare, he knew he had to choose his next words very, very carefully. So he chose to point instead of speaking. The sergeant looked to where he was pointing and nodded his head. What they were currently looking at was a rather wooded area that would be difficult to notice by most things, this area seemed to lead to the mouth of a cave. "Good find Specialist, but I swear if I hear you bitching about another abomination of nature you're on latrine duty for the next week, and I don't think you want that here. Got it?", Edwards gulped and nodded. "Good lad," ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Celestia had been having a pretty boring day, she and her little sister were just resting in the cave they had found after they were run out of yet another town for being quote 'Abominations of magic and nature' while she was confused, she was also greatly saddened. She and her sister hadn't chose to be born this way with both the wings of a Pegasus, the magic of a unicorn, and the strength of an earth pony. She didn't understand why she and her little sister we're run out of every town they went to, but then again in the mind of a twelve year old a lot of things don't really tend to make sense most of the time. All she knew was that her name was Celestia and her sisters name was Luna, and from what every-pony else had been saying they were monsters. Her pink mane was loosely flowing around her and she had a wing covering the form of her younger sister who had been taking things a lot harder than she had. Instead of Celestia's confusion Luna had felt guilt from something that wasn't her fault, instead of anger at the pony's who had forced her out of everywhere she went she was angry at herself for being abnormal. Suffice to say she needed a lot of comforting and Celestia knew she had to be strong for her little sisters sake, else they both lose their sanity in this cruel world. That being said she was especially surprised when she heard a loud rumbling outside of the cave. It seemed to end right at the cave entrance then just stop. She was even more surprised when Five Bi-Pedal figures clad in some sort of strange looking clothing and armor all stopped and aimed strange metal sticks the project a green laser at her and her sister. The laser didn't hurt so she really didn't know what to think of it, at least until one of the Bi-pedal figures spoke in perfect Equish. "Are those....fucking...horses?" One said clearly surprised. The one next to it slapped it on the back of the helmet and said in a clearly sarcastic tone even to her "No, I thought they we're Dragons here to devour our flesh and burn us to crispy little ranger crusts," The other one grumbled something they couldn't hear which got it slapped over the helmet again. The one at the very front brought some sort of device to his eyes that was attached to the top of his helmet and nearly fell over in surprise. "Holy shit! They have fuckin' wings....and is that a....horn...dear god I thought these were just a myth!" He exclaimed. She inwardly sighed realizing that these creatures would probably kick her and her sister out of this cave next. What she didn't expect was on to walk up to her and take off it's helmet and goggles revealing a completely bald head aside from a rather large brown beard the covered most of his lower face, He also had green eyes that seemed to have a cold calculation in them as well as a certain warmth and comfort. It was strange to say the least. He held out a claw that was covered in some sort of glove and said "Here little one, don't be afraid, we're not here to hurt you," He said soothingly. She hadn't realized it, but up until this point she had been shaking like it was middle of a full blown blizzard. She slowly moved her hoof to touch his claw before quickly recoiling expecting him to try to grab her foreleg and pull her to her death. Instead he just sat still those patient eyes locked onto hers the entire time. This time she touched his claw with her hoof, not pulling away just staring into the comforting green eyes, for some strange reason she felt safer here with this Bi-ped then she had in most of her life, it was like he omitted and aura of some kind that showed a willingness to protect the innocent. She looked up at him and said "W-who are...you?" He seemed rather startled at hearing speak and that made her rather confused, why would it be strange for a pony to talk? She just crossed it off as a cultural thing and repeating her question, though with much for confidence this time "Who are you?", she asked her tone of voice carrying more curiosity than fear. He seemed to shrug off his shock rather quickly before chuckling. "Of course you talk, that is probably one of the more tame things I've seen in my brief time here, anyways young one I must ask. Where are your parents? You shouldn't be here alone, things appear to be rather dangerous out here," She looked up at him and said "I-I don't know where m-my parents are....I never knew them," He made a tsk sound before asking "Well, where is your home young one? I don't expect that you live in this cold dark cave," She made a face at him before saying "E-everytime we try to go somewhere p-ponies call us freaks and run us out, this cave is pretty much our home..." His eye brow raised at her use of the word 'we'. "You say we, do you have anyone else with you here?" He asked looking around the cave. She raised her wing allowing him to see her little sister, the tiny alicorn filly tucked up a ball and snoring lightly. He made a light 'dawww' noise before asking "So you are here alone, you have nowhere to go and no-one is willing to take you in?," she nodded a sad expression on her face as she realized how truly lonely she felt for the first time tears starting to well up in her eyes. He took her into a small hug and said "Well we're in the same ship there young one, why don't you stay with us then? From the way you looked at us when we came in I don't think you've seen any of our kind before, and it sounds like you ponies are the dominate species here, am I mistaken?" He asked lightly. I nod at him "Y-yeah I think I would've remembered seeing something as strange as you before." The other bipeds behind him chuckled at this, but I didn't know why so I scratched it off as another cultural thing. He looked down at us before saying "Well then, I guess we could misfits together then young one. Why don't you and you're...Sister? Stay with us for now. She is your sister correct?" He asked. I nodded at him and then said "W-well if we're going to be friends and stay together I guess we should know each others names. M-my name is Celestia...and my s-sisters name is Luna," He stood up and said "My name is Captain Gerald Wilkins of the United States Army Rangers," He said with a large hint of pride in his voice. The other Rangers behind him introduced themselves as 2nd Lieutenant James Thorn , Sergeant Major Lewis Perkins, Specialist Steven Edwards, and Corporal Thomas Anderson. I found their names to kinda strange, but I guess it's the whole different species thing so I didn't judge. Though I had a feeling that with them around that thing's would start being rather eventful for me and Luna from now on, I wasn't too sure what to think about that, but I was glad to have finally found friends, and hey they're just like us! Misfits, outcasts. Undesirables by pony society. I was glad to have a large ground of kind friends to lean on when i needed help now.
Wilkins's RevelationThe Sister's POV Luna woke up feeling strange, it was almost as if a large wing was laid over her. She knew this couldn't be possible because her sister's wing really wasn't that large. She slowly opened her eyes looking around slightly and saw a large blanket laid over her with a strange coloring on it. It almost blended into the floor with how it was colored, kind of like how animals would camouflage themselves in the wild to hunt for prey or hide from predators. She found this was rather odd so she stood up shedding the blanket off of herself and almost instantly froze with fear, at the entrance of the cave were two strange Bipedal figures. She was staring to panic before she felt her sisters wing over her shoulders. "Lulu you're finally awake, you were asleep all day," she said. "T-tia, what a-are those," Luna squeaked point at the two figures with a hoof. Celestia put a hoof to her chin looking thoughtful before saying "You know Lulu I never really asked what they were, I was too surprised. I know who they are though. The one on the left is named Steven Edwards, and the one of the right is named Lewis Perkins. There are three others, but they left to go get a 'Humvee' whatever that is. They're rather odd, but I guess so are we. They said they'd take us in with them for the time being seeing as they said they're new here," Luna looked over to Celestia looking more happy then she had in a long time. "They d-did tia?" She asked a look of pure hope and joy in her eyes. "Yes Lulu, they did. We finally have some friends," Celestia said a large smile on her face as she pulled Luna into a tight hug which was returned. They were interrupted from their embrace by a loud rumbling outside as the two bipeds in the front of the cave started cheering and moving to the side of the mouth of the cave. Luna was confused as to why they moved at first, but then saw a large creature entering the cave, it was a strange beast with skin the color of desert sand. She saw another of the bipeds inside of it and one in some strange hatch on the top. It then suddenly dawned on her that it was some kind of strange carriage as a door on the side opened and the one in the front disembarked from it. Captain Gerald Wilkins POV I turned off the Humvee after turning it around to face the front of the cave and opened the drivers door exiting the vehicle Anderson and Thorn following my example. Perkins approaches me placing a hand on my shoulder and saying "Well Captain, I was worried she wouldn't fit in the cave, but I guess that was unfounded. We should try to get her deeper into the cave it widens out into a large cavern at the back, so we should be alright when it comes to space," "Agreed Sergeant I'll get to it in a few minutes for now, I think our small friends have awoken," I say gesturing over to where Celestia and Luna were staring at the Humvee with wide eyed amazement. I chuckle to myself walking over to them and kneeling so that I can be closer to their eye level, though I still tower over them by a good eight or nine inches. "Good morning young ones, I trust you slept well?" I inquire glancing down at Luna who was staring at me with wide eyes. I look down at her in mock surprise and say "Well, now who are you little one?" She looks to the floor and mutters something which I don't hear, her sister nudges her and whispers something in her ear causing Luna to look up and say slightly louder "M-my names Woona, who awe you?" She asks causing me to mentally 'Daww' I pat her on the head ruffling hear teal mane slightly. "I am Captain Gerald Wilkins of the United States Army Rangers," I say causing her to stare up at me in wonder after brushing some of her mane out of the way of her eyesight. "You awe a sowdier?" She asks tilting her head to the side slightly. "Yes, me and my squad are soldiers," I confirm nodding my head. "Den you can hewp us?" She asks a hopeful look in her eyes. I tilt my head slightly "Help you with what?" I ask to which she responds saying "T-the other ponies hurt me and my s-sister for being diffwent from dem," I look to Celestia my eyebrow slightly raised and she just nods her head at me. It was at this moment that I truly took a second to examine them, not just briefly looking over them. I saw many things that made me instantly concerned for them and angry at anyone who could do such a thing to children, especially ones as innocent as these appear to be. They we're covered in bruises that we're hard to see with their fur, they were also extremely matted as if they hadn't bathed in weeks, and on top of that they we're also skinny to the point where their ribs were showing. "Medic!" I shouted, causing Perkins to rush over. "Yes Cap'n?" He asks looking over me for any injuries. I quickly point over the two sisters in-front of us causing him to take a quick intake of breath. "Damn...who did this to you to two?" He asks his eyes portraying he was clearly concerned, yet tremendously angry. As he pulled them both to him checking them for any more serious injures his medical bag already out and open. Luna looked to him and said "T-the other ponies," She says barely able to be heard over the sound of Perkins pulling out bandages and such for their more serious injuries. He had a look of pure rage on his face, but he didn't convey it to the two sisters in-front us. Meanwhile I was taking out one of my MREs that didn't have meat in it, It was some sort of salad based meal. I opened it and handed it to them. They quickly devoured it not a single piece of food left inside of it after they were done. I would've chuckled at how fast they ate it if I wasn't aware of their situation and wasn't pissed off to high hell. Seven hours later After quite a few hours of Perkins patching up their injuries they two sisters laid down on the temporary bedding we had laid out for them. After they we're asleep we quietly talked among ourselves about their situation. None of us were happy and all of us wanted to do something about it, but today wasn't the day I informed them. We all decided to was time to hit the 'bunks' as they said and set up a watch for the night and went to bed, but before I was slept off into the deep abyss that was sleep I promised to myself that I would make this right for the two fillies hell or high water. Author's Note Hello again! I'd just like to say I'm very happy that you're reading this and I really appreciate that you took the time of your day to read my story.
The (Not So) Peaceful Town Of Crystal WoodWilkins's POV I woke up early in the morning after a deep dreamless sleep, my watch said it was supposedly 6:47, but I wasn't too sure about it due to the whole different world thing and all. I yawned sitting up and stretching my arms before feeling a small movement and a slight brush of something warm against my left hand. I looked down and saw that Luna was curled up next to be in a small ball snoring lightly. I smiled and gently scratched her ear which caused it to twitch slightly. I stood up grabbing my rifle from where it lay at my side slinging it over my shoulder. I walked over to Anderson and was about to shake his shoulder to wake him when I saw him open his eyes and give me a thumbs up to which I nodded my head. "Get up corporal we're heading out to find anything that may be nearby," I said. "Yes, Sir!" He exclaims grabbing his M4a1 and standing. "Perkins! Get your lazy ass up, we're going on patrol," I shout causing Perkins to shoot up grabbing his MK11. " Got it, sir, " Perkins says. During the commotion the rest of my squad along with Celestia and Luna woke up. Thorn and Edwards got up and went to re-igniting the fire to get some warmth circulating as it was rather cold that morning while the rest of us got ready to head out on patrol. I turned on my radio and said "Testing, Testing," I saw Thorn raise a thumbs up at me and I smiled knowing we at least have short distance radio communication available to us if we ran into any trouble with the locals or the wildlife. Perkins and Anderson walked over to me letting me know they were ready to head out. We started walking out of our temporary home heading west from our location, we'd decided we were going to walk about three hours in that direction and if we didn't find anything of note we'd head back to our temporary base cave. After nearly two hours of walking we hadn't really found anything of major note, sure we found some strange blue flowers and other things, but none of them really had any functional use or sign of civilization to us. I was very near to giving up hope of finding anything before Anderson shouted out "Captain! I see smoke in the distance, from where I am I think it's around 800 meters out!" "Good job corporal, " I said a broad grin on my face at the fact of finally finding civilization. "That doesn't really look a smoke trail from a campfire, Sir," Perkins said a look of worry on his face. "Now that you say it does look rather large....Alright, let's get moving. Double time it men! " I shout rushing towards the smoke. As we were around 200 meters away from the town we reached a large hill overlooking it which we quickly climbed to get a better vantage point. I took out my binoculars peering through them at the town and say a rather worrying sight. Multiple half bird half lion I think they're called griffins were flying around tossing flaming torches at buildings and attacking the ponies that were running terrified through the streets. There was a group of ponies around seven strong in the center of the town protecting what looked to be the town hall from the griffons as other ponies attempted to flee inside to safety. "Hmmf....looks to be around twenty or so tangos terrorizing the town, burning buildings, and slaughtering civilians," I say a large frown plastered onto my face. "Permission to engage then cap'n? " Perkins aid his MK11 already deployed with it's Bi-pod on a good vantage point over the town. "Negative Perkins, first me and Anderson will see if we can get them to back down peacefully. No point in making enemies if we don't have to," I say . " Alright Cap'n, " Perkins says as he attaches his silencer to his rifle. I stand up with Anderson slowly making my way down to the town. "Remember the rules of engagement Anderson, do not fire unless fired upon. Understood?" I whisper to which he nods. "Good," As Anderson and me stroll into the town a pair of griffins lands in-front of us spears pointed at our chests. " Halt creatures! This is none of your concern be on your way or we will use force, " They shout causing me to raise an eyebrow. I look around for a moment before saying "I believe it is our concern we were planning on spending the night in this town and we cannot do that if it is ashes on the ground now can we?" The griffins look at each other for a minute before saying "This is your last warning, leave this town or we will use force!" I pull out a cigarette and lighter lighting it and taking a deep puff purposely blowing it in their faces before saying "My name is Captain Gerald Wilkins of the United States Army Rangers, and I demand to see your leader!" The griffins share a laugh before saying "Why should we do that creature when we can just kill you and take your possessions!" After saying that they rush forwards weapons bearing down on us before one of them drops dead a hole in his where his left eye should have been. The second griffon upon seeing this stopped to look at his dead comrade in shock as I pull my 1911 and fire a shot into his head killing him instantly. The sound of the bullet momentary causes everyone in the town to stop fighting, burning, and pillaging to look where it came from. The ponies were even more terrified that the griffins might have had more reinforcements with strange weapons and the griffins were enraged that these creatures had dared to kill two of their own. Five griffins start flying towards us causing Anderson to aim his M4a1 at them and fire a quick burst causing two of them to fall to the ground screeching and flailing as the bullets ripped through their chests before they dropped cold. Another of the griffins dropped dead with a bullet in his chest due to Perkins's marksmanship. By the time they got within range of my 1911 only two were left. I raised my pistol aiming at the one in the front firing off two shots one going through his chest and another in his left wing causing his to plummet to the ground shrieking in pain. The last griffin dropped with a hole in his head after Anderson fired his M4. "Anderson go relieve the civilians of the griffins assaulting the town house while I hunt down their leader" I say gesturing to the pony militia and the griffins bombarding them with dive attacks. "Got it, Sir!" He exclaims rushing off to help those in need. I immediately started scanning the air and ground for where the leader might be. After a few minutes of looking I spotted him on the outskirts of the town in the air with two guards near him. At least I suspected him to be the leader due to him having the fanciest armor and bodyguards. I shrug to myself drawing my SCAR-H and aiming at his chest peering through my holographic sight. I squeezed the trigger sending a bullet into his chest and throwing him to the ground before quickly switching my aim to his guards and eliminating them as well. The griffins quickly realized they bit off more than they could chew and flew off before they could lose anymore of their group, but not before one of them let off an arrow which found it's way to my leg sending me to a knee. I hissed between my teeth at the pain from the arrow letting out a loud "FUCK!" Anderson quickly rushed to me looking at the wound "Shit, alright captain I'll radio Perkins." "No need corporal I'm already here." I quickly turned my head seeing Perkins leaning against a wall with his rifle slung over his shoulder. He quickly straightened himself and strolled over to me glancing over my wound. "Hmmf...That's an arrow cap'n." "No shit Perkins, It hurts like fucking hell!" I yell Perkins knelt in-front of me snapping the back half of the arrow off before carefully removing it and bandaging my wound. "You'll live cap'n now stop being a pussy and get up, no offence," He says staring down at me. I sigh looking up at him "Up yours Sergeant," I say standing up on a wobbly leg and limping over to the town hall where several ponies were staring at us with complete amazement in their eyes. "If you take a picture it'll last longer," I joke snapping them out of their haze. One of the ponies moves to the front of the group a unicorn and if the clothing and mark of a small town most likely someone of some sort of significance. "H-hello...creatures..I-I am mayor Crystal song of the t-town of Crystal Wood...p-please don't kill us and eat our bodies!" He begs throwing himself to the ground with the most pathetic expression I've ever seen on his face. I smile kneeling to his level so he can look in my eyes. "Sorry pal, Army Rangers don't eat ponies or burn villages. My names Captain Gerald Wilkins and I'd like to say you're embarrassing yourself," He looks up at me a large blush on his face clearly realizing the stupidly of what he just did and he could also probably feel the other ponies staring at him. "Y-yes sorry about that....t-things have just been difficult lately with that bandit group you see to have...m-massacred...a-anyways I'd just like to s-say welcome to Crystal Wood, "
Act I EpilogueAround A Week Later After I spoke with the mayor of the town he informed me that he was indebted to me and my squad and that anything we needed that was within reason he could easily provide. I simply asked for a a shipment of wood and construction supplies so that I can make our base-camp turned home a bit more well....homely. He was able to supply us much to my delight and within a few hours we had enough supplies to be able to make the place a little more comfortable for our two guests. My wound had healed up rather nicely due to some 'healing magic' which I was rather skeptical about at first, but it seemed to have paid off in the end as all I have to remember that wound is a small scar. We managed to set up a small wall around our cave entrance around five-feet high with an entrance large enough for the Humvee to get in and out. We also set up four sets of bunk-beds for us and the fillies who seem to have adjusted to life with us quite well. We still maintain proper training schedules to keep fit and Luna seemed to want to join in. After a good thirty minutes of begging and the most adorable look I've ever seen in my thirty six years of life we submitted and let her join us in our morning exercises though they were a bit toned down for her as I doubt she could handle everything we were doing. We also managed to get a set of six chairs and two tables done with the remaining wood and nails we had, that was much appreciated among everyone as being able to have something that wasn't cold ground to sit on and relax was absolutely wonderful. We also seem to have become the Crystal-wood's unofficial guardians as everytime there is a problem they come to us to resolve it. They recently came to us and asked us to clear out a pack of timber-wolves, that wasn't really that much of an issue it was mainly just pest control in our books. Overall things have been going wonderfully so far, though there still are quite a few concerns on how we're going to get home, though I'm starting to feel that we're probably not going to be ending up back home. I'm alright with this though, this world seems to need Rangers more than Earth ever did, and I can safely say I've lead a much better life here than I used to have. In fact I could say I'm rather happy with this. Act I End Author's Note In case anyone has been wondering about full fledged descriptions of characters and such I'm going to be posting them here. If you're not a military geek like I am and or give zero shits just skip to the next chapter. I'll be posting one full description of one character per chapter for the next five or so chapters depending on how I feel. If anyone wants to contact me personally via email here it is ===> Rohanstew@outlook.com I'm still looking for an editor and a proof reader if you're interested PM me please. And aside from that stay frosty and GO ARMY! Captain Gerald Wilkins Gender-Male Height-6'2 Skin Color-Caucasian Race-Human Primary Firearm-MK17 SCAR-H With Holographic Sight, Reflex Grip, and a Green Lazer Interdiction System Secondary Firearm-Colt 1911 Engraved with the words 'Do or Die' Grenades-Two Fragmentation Grenades as well as a white smoke grenade Hair Color-Light Brown Eye Color-Blue Ammunition Stocks- 8 Magazines For The MK17+1 For currently loaded 3 Magazines for the colt +1 for currently loaded Short Bio - Gerald Wilkins was raised in Longview Washington by his mother after his father was shot and killed serving in the police force by a suspect fleeing a bank robbery. He was an only child who was shown to be have a knack for leadership from a young age typically being the go to team leader in games and the such. He was highly athletic focused participating in football and soccer until he turned Twenty One in which he signed up for the US Army almost instantly. He quickly rose through the ranks passing Ranger training and officially becoming a US Airborne Army Ranger at the age of twenty six.
(Act ll Prologue)Celestia was relaxing on one of the newly made chairs casually chatting with Corporal Anderson. She had been through a lot in the past week in meeting the humans her entire life had changed. She and her sister had gone to social outcasts hated by most of pony kind for being different to being accepted by beings even stranger than them and given a home and companionship with the very same creatures. Celestia was currently musing on this inside her head a smile on her face as she was broken out of her line of thought by a light shaking on her shoulder. "Celestia, you zoned out on me again," Anderson says a slight grin on his face. "What are ya thinkin' about this time little miss? " He inquires the grin still ever present. Celestia blushes slightly before saying "Sorry, I was just think how everything had moved so fast for me and my sister. We went from hated and rejected to embraced with open arms. You humans gave us everything our own kind refused us for years without even a second thought, and I'd just like to know I'm really grateful for it, " She says with a wide smile on her face. Anderson chuckles "Well glad we can of help young lady, and you're welcome, " He says before speaking up again, "Now back to what I was saying, so me and Edwards had just convinced the lieutenant to go up to the girl and ask her to g-" She didn't hear the rest of what he said as she was hit with a sudden head ache and a feeling that something terrible was going to happen soon, she fell out of the chair holding her hooves to her head as a vision of a shadowy figure and maniacal laughter flashes through her head. "Hey! You alright?! Celestia answer me!" Anderson shouted shaking her. "Y-yeah I'm fine...sorry, I just have a feeling something really bad is going to happen soon....." Celestia says still trying to recover from what she had just seen. 'Oh you have no idea little lady, but soon enough you'll find out...I'll make sure of it...' A creature unknown to all who had been watching quietly thought to itself before fading away back to whence it arrived from.... Act II Prologue End Author's Note Description Of Corporal Anderson Coming Up! Still looking for that editor and proof-reader. Name Corporal Thomas Anderson Height 5'11 Race Human Skin Color Caucasian Hair Color Dirty Blonde Eye Color Brown Primary Weapon M4a1 with red dot sight, under-slung grenade launcher, and a green laser interdiction system Secondary Weapon Glock 19 Ammunition 6 Magazines for the M4a1 +1 Loaded 3 Magazines for the Glock 19 +1 loaded 4 HE grenades for the grenade launcher and two smoke grenades for it Distinguishing features Anderson has a large scar running across his left check and ending at his forehead from a knife that very nearly took his life. Age 27 Short Bio (To be added soon)
Flashbacks and the Cutie Mark BluesAuthor's Note Sorry if this chapter is too short or not very good, I just got done with having surgery after I broke my arm playing football, I'm well and fine now and have been for awhile I've mainly just been suffering from the plague known as writers block, but I did promise I'd get another chapter out soon, so here it is! I still need an editor and proof reader, if your interested contact me at rohanstew@outlook.com Also a quick shout out to alexthereader for being a very patient dude (or dudette.) in waiting for another chapter. It's nice to know I have folks like you who want to read my story! :3 Flashbacks and the Cutie Mark Blues Fire, gunfire, the smell of burnt flesh and gunpowder in the air. I hear screaming as the Humvee ahead of me bursts into fire from an explosion caused by an IED underneath it. The smell of blood is thick in the air as bullets slam into doors of our Humvee. Edwards had already opened fire with the .50 Caliber gun mounted on the Humvee. I flung the door open and jumped out running using the door as cover as more shots slammed into the vehicle. I hear an explosion and a body is flung past me missing his left arm. I cursed under my breath after seeing he was the Lieutenant in charge of the platoon of soldiers ahead of us. I feel someone grab my shoulder, " Cap'n, we're going to be fuckin' sitting ducks here if we don't do something! We walked right into this fucking trap bastards are all around us, pretty sure I saw an RPG so this fuckin' thing is an armored death trap for us! " I hear Perkins shout to me as he aims over the door of the Humvee letting off two shots with his MK11. " I know Sergeant this shit is FUBAR! God damn so much for a supply convoy! Trucks are absolutely fucked if the hundreds of bullets flying into them mean anything," I shouted while popping out of my cover and firing on an insurgent who was stupid enough to try to rush our position while spraying wildly with his AK47. The bullets fly into his unprotected chest destroying his organs and causing blood to start spurting out from where he was shot in the heart. Suddenly I heard a loud gasp and what sounded like a small child starting to cry out of shock and fear. I quickly spun around and and was completely shocked to see a small Luna standing there bawling and staring at everything in shock and terror. In seeing this I was knocked out of the dream state I was in and everything in the background seemed to fade out of focus as I ran over to grab the filly and pull her into a hug blocking out the rest of the dream, all that could be heard was faint gunfire and screams in the background as I try to comfort her. " Shh, Shh little one don't look, please don't look just relax, please calm down, " I gently whisper to her patting her back and managing to slowly calm her down. " Now, how in the name of the lord are you hear Luna? You shouldn't be here, " I whisper to her continuing to pat her back. " I-I saw y-you were having a bad dream M-Mr. Gerald a-and I w-wanted to help s-s-so I tried to use my magic and I-I didn't know w-what would happen, I-I just m-m-manged to come in a-and ... I-I wanted to make you feel b-better, " " It's alright Luna, please calm down. I'm sorry you had to see that... It wasn't a dream. It was a memory. I need you to not do that anymore for either me or the others..... It's not appropriate for you... You're too young to see horrors like this, " I say to her looking her in her teal eyes. She nods slowly, but my eye is driven to a new marking on her flank. It appears to be a sort of crescent moon on a black background. "Luna, when did you get this?" I inquire gesturing to mark. As she turns her head towards it her eyes brighten up and she lets out a loud happy squeal shouting "I GOT MY CUTIE MA-" I awoke with a jerk to see Celestia prodding me in the face with her hoof. I stare at her for a full minute before we both burst out laughing from the awkwardness of it. I sit up looking at her to see her staring at me with the brightest smile I think I've ever seen and then she precedes to loudly and happily exclaim "I GOT MY CUTIE MARK GERALD!' While pointing to a mark on her flank. I try to hold in my laughter at the words 'cutie mark' and say "O-oh *pfft* that's g-*pft* good Tia, now could you just explain what that is?" I ask grinning at her. "Oh sure I'd absolutely love to!" She exclaims happily before starting into an explanation of a cutie mark and how it represents a ponies special talent in life and that they get them when they discover what their special talent is. "Uh-huh...so what is your talent Tia?" I ask. "Raising the sun and Luna's is raising the moon!" She casually exclaims as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole fucking world. I stare at her completely gob smacked for what must have been quite a long time as she started to look kind of upset and poked at me. "A-are you okay Gerald?" She asked looking up at me. "I-I'm completely fine....It's not as if I've just had my entire understanding of the laws of physics and space destroyed by a ten year old and a twelve year old....Not like that at all. In fact I think I need to lay down now, have a good afternoon world!" I exclaim before passing out from the shock of it all.
