John Sampson's Story

There was a report of a bright flash and a loud bang in the middle of a clear night near the Everfree Forest. It was probably no more than heat lightning but it had to be investigated. The weather Pegasus for the area was tasked to check during morning patrol and report back if any fire or damage was evident. She described a large burnt circle with what looked like an impact crater in the center. Since there was no fire burning, it was written off as a meteor strike and reported up the line for a possible scientific investigation. No meteorite was ever found and everypony eventually got tired of looking.

Life went on with the usual zigs and zags that only Equestria can provide. Strange and dangerous creatures wandered out of the Everfree and were either chased back in or dispatched. But one report kept popping up without any resolution. A giant, strangely colored Earth pony with two heads and tentacles was glimpsed by many but never confirmed or caught. Then somepony found the manticore carcass. It wasn’t that something had killed a manticore, a respectable feat in itself, it was that the bones were fresh and had no meat on them. Whatever it was had eaten the manticore.

A full squad of Royal Guard was dispatched with orders find whatever was behind this mystery. They found huge, deep hoofprints confirming the giant pony rumor. And they also found strange tracks like oddly shaped boot prints. There were other signs and a few trails but every time they tried follow one it ended in the same small river flowing out of the woods. Sergeant Swift Trail is an experienced tracker so she ordered the squad to divide and make their way carefully up both sides of the river into the forest.

A few thousand yards later the ponies on one side of the river ran into rock, not a sheer cliff but far more vertical than anypony would want to scale without Pegasus help. So they crossed back over and continued up the river with the rest of the squad. Shortly, they come upon a clearing in the woods. The river ran down the face of the rocks on the far side of the clearing but that isn’t what grabbed the sergeant’s attention. This is not a natural clearing. Stumps of trees that formerly filled the space are evident. This is somepony’s made hiding place.

With practiced ease the squad spread out around the rim of the clearing finding concealment within the woods, weapons at the ready. Then the sergeant sees him. Under a large lean to against the rock at the back of the clearing is the biggest Earth pony that she has ever seen. The roof of the lean to is planted with grass explaining why none of the Pegasi had ever seen him. This pony is no idiot and he is looking directly at Sergeant Swift Trail. Suddenly the pony looks to his right and grunts softly. The only thing there is a small hill but a voice answers, “Yeah, I see them too.”

There’s more than one of them! The sergeant’s job is suddenly much more complicated than she had imagined. The voice rang out much louder this time, “If you want to be friends step out into the open with empty hands.” This confuses the sergeant but she knows that a full squad of Royal Guard doesn’t need to back down from anypony. So she steps out into full view with the aim of asserting her military authority. There is a loud crack like a sonic boom and a rock two yards to her left shatters, spraying chips at her.

The sergeant’s day just keeps getting worse. There must be a Unicorn of incredible strength somewhere around here to not only throw a spell like that but to also escape detection by any of the squad’s Unicorns. The sergeant carefully removes her weapons and armor, setting them on ground behind her. As she turns to do so, she signals to the Pegasus in the woods behind her to report the situation to their unit’s captain and await orders.

The voice rang out again “Thank you sergeant, now come on out to the middle of the clearing. Tell your men to take it easy while we wait for your report to work its way through CoC. You and I will get comfortable and see if we can find some common ground.”

Then the sergeant’s day took the absolute strangest turn of all. As she approaches the center of the clearing a tall, multicolored biped emerges from a hidden hole in the hill and passes by the Earth pony on its way to the center of the clearing. It is wearing a belt with pouches of some kind and a floppy hat. The strange creature stops a couple yards short of where the sergeant stands and folds its legs until it rests on the ground.

It speaks calmly “I assume that since you have understood everything I have said that your ranking and language have some commonality with mine. My name is John Sampson but you can call me John for convenience. And you are . . .?”

This is a decision way above a sergeant’s pay grade but the brass are hours away at best so practicality wins out. “I’m Sergeant Swift Trail of the Royal Guard. There are many more Guardponies hidden in the woods around here so I would suggest that you make no sudden or threatening moves. Who is the Earth pony with you?”

This seems to require some thought from the creature. “He’s not a pony, at fifteen hands he’s a full horse, a Paint stallion. His true name doesn’t translate to anything verbal but we have agreed to use Fred for simplicity’s sake when talking. I’m a man, a male human, and we are life partners of a sort. What are you?”

Now it was the sergeant’s turn to wonder, “I’m an Earth pony. Where are you from that you could possibly miss knowing that?”

An unmistakable sadness passes over the creature as it replies, “I know that we are very far from home but I don’t have the first clue in what direction. I have known for a couple of years that this moment must come, that I would have to make contact with your government, but I had hoped to do so with less drama. By the way, Fred isn’t verbal. He will not listen to anything that you say but he will fight to the death if he gets the idea that you are trying to harm me and I will do no less for him.”

This makes the sergeant a little happier. It is something she understands. And if this strange creature could bond with an equine, there was hope that it could understand pony society. But there are important questions remaining. “Are there any more of you? Neither of you look like a Unicorn yet somepony threw one hell of a spell at me when I first stepped out.”

A small chuckle escapes John as he replies, “I will answer you honestly that the two of us are all there are but I will reserve a few secrets until we have more trust. It is also supremely important that none of your people tamper with any of our belongings. We have ‘magics’ that none of your people will recognize or understand. An accidental triggering could result in death.”

Was that a sincere concern or a veiled threat. The sergeant had no way to know short of a truth spell but would a truth spell even work on a being this foreign? There was nothing to do but carry on. “Does your species have Tribes and if so what are they?”

John grins, “We (both of us) have lots of variations in size, attitude, and color within our two species but nothing structural. I’ve already mentioned ‘Paint horse’. His kind are called that because they look like someone started with a basic white horse then threw buckets of horse color paint at them. That’s actually pretty close to the real genetic explanation. I’m a fairly normal human of European decent, kinda athletic and a little more intelligent than average. Now how about you? What are ‘Tribes’ and what do they do?”

“That explains the unusual color of his coat.” the sergeant nodded, “Most of the ponies you meet will belong to one of three Tribes. Unicorns have a horn and do magic. Pegusi have wings and fly. Earth ponies have great strength. There some other species in other parts of this world but you will see little but these three Tribes around here.

As the day wore on the two veterans developed an easy respect for each other. It seems their worlds differed more in the detail and less in the basics than they had first imagined. Then there was a soft pop behind the sergeant. John tensed, “Swift Trail, I thought you said horn or wings?”

The sergeant snapped to attention but said softly “John, this means that my report has gone all the way to the top. I never expected that. Be calm and respectful. The Princesses are nothing if they are not fair.”

John stands and bows slowly toward the newly arrived purple pony when a ton of invisible rocks seems to land on him. He hears hooves thundering behind him and knows trouble will be here in seconds. A half ton of pissed off horse is coming at full speed.

Twilight has to do something fast. It takes a lot of concentration to seize the horse and control his built up momentum without harming him. The distraction gives John a chance to wiggle the Beretta out of its holster and aim it at the Princess while keeping it concealed behind his body. “Sergeant, in honor of the fact that she hasn’t hurt Fred, you have ten seconds to prove this is just a misunderstanding before ponies begin to die.”

“Princess! Ma’am!” the sergeant shouted, “Please release them NOW! We were talking about asylum when you arrived. They have magic that I’ve never seen before and he thinks the Everfree is a pleasant place.”

The young Alicorn turns a lighter shade of lavender but the weight lifts off of them. John rolls a bit getting up so he can ease the Beretta back into its holster without being noticed. As he makes it to his feet, Fred comes up and checks him over. “At ease Fred. Go get yourself some food and water while I straighten this out.” With a quick nuzzle to John’s cheek, Fred turns and walks back toward the river.

In her best military voice the sergeant announces, “Princess Twilight Sparkle, this is John Sampson, a Man unsure of his way home. The Horse is Fred, bonded companion to John. Fred doesn’t seem to communicate with anypony but John. John, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, one of the Alicorn rulers of Equestria.

Twilight looks up at John with a sheepish grin, “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. The last report I had is that some monster is holding my ponies captive. I came to rescue them. Tell me truthfully, would you have killed ponies if I hadn’t released you?”

John looks back seriously and answers, “Ma’am, I will not kill without a very good reason. But I consider trying to harm me or mine the best of reasons. If you had harmed Fred, you would have been the first to die.”

This worries Twilight. It isn’t just that he would kill, anypony that won’t defend their family has something wrong with them, it is his complete certainty that he could kill one of the most powerful wizards in Equestria even while restrained. So there is a decision to make. “I can’t just take you to Canterlot to meet Celestia and Luna. You’re too much of a dangerous unknown at this point. On the other hoof, you have spent most of the day with the sergeant here and she seems to hold you in high regard. What would you need to be comfortable while we get to know each other?”

John thinks carefully, “Fred will need enough room to run around and exercise with free choice water and leaf vegetables. I will need much the same but with the addition of fruits, grains, and occasional meat. We will need to sleep together at least a couple of hours a day and have some protection from weather extremes. I wouldn’t expect to roam freely through a city without learning a lot more about your people but neither will we accept caged specimen status. A farm near a town would probably be ideal with guards on the perimeter to keep us in and the curious out. I would like to request Sergeant Swift Trail for our daily liaison. We have a lot to learn about each other and the sergeant seems a more than adequate teacher.”

The Princess addresses the sergeant, “Would you accept this assignment? You and your squad know more about our visitors than anypony else in Equestria at the moment so you are the obvious choice but I can’t just order you to take such a risk. There would, of course, be others coming to learn about them.”

The sergeant nods, “Yes ma’am! As long as any of the troops can opt out later if they must.”

Twilight smiles, “They won’t fail you sergeant. I know that just like I knew you wouldn’t fail me but of course I won’t force anypony.” Turning to the Man, “John, do you have any luggage? I think that you and the Guardponies should hike out toward Ponyville while I go ahead to arrange for your quarters. They can help you with anything you need carried.”

This gets a big grin from John, “Princess, Fred and I are a mobile unit ourselves. We were traveling when whatever this is happened to us so we can easily load up and carry about half of the Guardponies too. This is your world so I’ll let the sergeant set the pace and pick the place.”

The sergeant calculates briefly then asks “John, how soon can you be ready to go? I want to be out of these woods before dark and we have just about enough time to do that right now.”

John replies, “Give me about fifteen minutes. And if you’d like to expand this new found spirit of cooperation, I know a way to get out in about half the time. The only drawback is that a small part of it is crossing water deeper than you are tall.”

Twilight marvels at the way Fred and John seem to move as one to the shelter and dress out for the trip. She doesn’t recognize half of the things John hangs on Fred and himself but they are all obviously well made and well used. Anyway, there are things to arrange and people to notify so she gathers her magic and teleports back to Ponyville.

By the time Sergeant Swift Trail has her squad assembled and ready, John and Fred are walking up with their gear stowed and strapped. “Some day you are going to have to tell me what all of that gear is. Some of it looks damned useful and some of it just looks mysterious,” says the sergeant as she studies the approaching pair.

“The water is shallow and the bottom smooth on this side of the river for several hundred yards. When we get to a road that crosses the river we will have to ford the center channel. The deepest part of the channel is chest deep on me but we can help you cross if needed. The road across the river curves out to the open plain parallel to the river. Once on it we can travel as fast as you want.” John lays out their route.

The sergeant just smiles, “We’ll cross that channel when we get to it. Lead on.” And with a quick wave the sergeant launches the squad’s Pegasi for overwatch. Following John to the river they find a ramp concealed behind a large rock and walk easily down to the water . John and Fred are used to this route and make quick time down the river. The ponies can trust the depth of the water and the firmness of the bottom following Fred so they have no problems keeping up. Then John stops.

Pointing to a small clear area on the far bank John says, “That’s our road. Fred and I can string a rope for you or even tow you across. Will you need to lighten up?”

The sergeant’s smile just gets bigger as she waves and points. The Pegasi drop down in a neat line with a short rope hanging from each. An earthbound pony grabs each rope and is immediately towed across the river. “You’d better get moving if you don’t want to be left behind,” laughs the sergeant.

It actually works out closer to a dead heat because each Pegasi has to make more than one trip. John is laughing as he clambers up the bank, “I bet you guys have done this before. Teach me just how much I have to learn. Sergeant, I’d like you to lead from here and set the pace. I believe that I have enough advantage of stride to outrun the earthbound ponies but if you get ahead I’ll just get Fred’s help and I know you can’t outrun him.”

With mock seriousness the sergeant said, “Have you learned nothing?”

John explains, “One of the names my people give Fred’s kind is ‘Brother of the Wind’. Once we get settled in I will arrange a demonstration. It really looks like he is flying just above the ground when he kicks in high gear.”

They make out to the open fields without further event and as nightfall nears the sergeant calls a halt. She signals the Pegasi in and says, “Thirty minute break. Water and trail rations. Prep for night march.” Turning to John, “The Pegasi don’t like to fly at night because the shadows interfere with their depth perception so they’ll walk now. The Unicorns will cast an enhancement spell on everypony’s night vision but I don’t think we should try it on you or Fred until we know more about you. Can I assign you guides?”

“Don’t worry about us,” John assured the sergeant, “I can see just fine as long as the sky remains clear and even if it doesn’t Fred can see in near total darkness.”

After a few hours of steady march across the grassland, they cut across a road. The column turns and continues down the road towards Ponyville. About twenty minutes later Fred suddenly stops and looks up into the night sky. John rests his hand on Fred’s withers for a few seconds then faces the approaching sergeant. “Something is coming. It’s flying directly at us.”

The sergeant motioned to John, “Come on, you’re about to meet your fourth Tribe.” As they step out ahead of the column a Night Guard lands on the road right in front of them.

“Sergeant Swift Trail?” the courier inquires.

“Right here,” the sergeant answers.

“Your orders are to proceed to the Apple family farm circumventing Ponyville and any occupied dwellings. You will be met near the farm main gate and guided to an empty barn with attached field where you will set up temporary quarters for your ponies and guests.”

The sergeant acknowledges the new orders. Her duty discharged, the Batpony springs into the air and disappears back the way she had come.

Turning back to John, the sergeant said, “Before you ask, that was a Night Guard Batpony. They prefer the dark because they don’t have the plumage on their wings to protect them from direct sunlight and they have no trouble at all flying at night. They are famous for their ability to pass unseen in the dark so I want to know how you could know she was coming.”

“My turn to teach you,” John said, “This is why Fred and I make such a good team. My eyesight is wide spectrum and narrowly focused. Fred’s is narrow spectrum and panoramic focused. He can spot small movements at great distances and I can evaluate and identify whatever he finds. Our link makes sharing the information quick and easy.”

“That’s good to know. We’re going to have to leave the road and skirt the woods soon. The going will be rougher and there is some risk that we might bump into something out of the woods. A little forewarning could be real nice,” The sergeant grinned at John.

Despite the sergeant’s concerns the rest of their march was uneventful and dawn found them resting just outside the gate to the Apple farm.