Author's Note

Greetings Fellow Internet Users!

It feels super good to finally push this chapter out. I've been working on a bunch of projects right now (including another story that's about 2/3rds done). Most of them are academic junk, but I've also been working on other projects, so I've not had as much time as I'd like to work on the story. Not to mention the fact that, since I have a job now, my free time during the weekends is limited.

I'll keep cranking out chapters, and I've already got the concept for the next chapter done, so I'll start grinding on that one soon. Anyways, I hope everyone has a good New Year!

-InternetStranger

Chapter Thirteen: The New Assignment

As he stepped off the train, he could hear his body crack as he stretched from his long train ride. After his meeting with the Princess', he was given some supplies and a free train ticket and promptly sent on his way. As he was leaving the castle, a mare, who seemingly worked for the Princess, approached him and handed him a box. Thanking the mare, he had set his stuff down and promptly opened the box. He was pleased to find his uniform and helmet, along with his weapons and equipment.

As he took a look around him, he noticed how small the little town really was. It actually reminded him of home, which was a comforting feeling. As he grabbed his duffle bag from the ground, he could feel ponies' eyes stare at him. He knew that this would probably happen, with being an "alien" and all of that. However, he had absolutely no idea that it would be this intense. He knew that he couldn't fault them for that, since, in their position, he would have done the same thing.

As he stepped into the crowd, he noticed six mares waiting for him outside of the building. The first one was a yellow pony, who was standing behind the other mares. She was wearing a wool sweater, covering her massive bust. Her eyes hid behind her silky pink mane, which John thought looked very pretty. By the way, she conducted herself, he instantly knew that she was the shy one in the group, especially since she was trying her hardest to avoid his gaze. However, if only for a moment, their eyes met, and a small, yet noticeable blush appeared on her furry face.

Standing in front of her was another mare, but this one was drastically different than her. She was an orange pony, with her blond mane in a tight ponytail that let her stetson hat rest comfortably on her head. She wore a flannel shirt with a white undershirt, showing off her formidable abs and impressive bust. Her legs were squeezed into some tight jeans, which accented her ass decently. Her emerald eyes bore into him, casting silent judgment over him. Just by looking at her, John knew that he would have to be careful about what he did near her.

On her right was a short pink mare. She had a large curly mane, with a deeper pink than the rest of her body. She was the largest of the group, but nowhere near enough to be considered "fat". Her face beamed a beautiful smile, as she seemed to be fidgeting in place. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with an image of a pink cupcake on it. She was also wearing some shorts, which accented her lower body well. However, as he looked closer, he could tell that she could pack quite the punch, especially with those arms of hers.

On the other side of the orange one was a mare as white as snow. Her purple mane was combed to perfection, flowing gracefully down her head. She wore a stylish pair of red glasses, which appeared to be in the Friz Quadrata style. He could tell she was the most elegant of the group, simply by the way she stood, showing off her elegance to those around her. She was wearing a purple sundress, which disguised her hourglass body pretty well. Her body was a nice balance between bust and ass, which John was certainly interested in. Interestingly enough, she reminded him of those French girls that he met back in Paris, but in his honest opinion, this mare outclassed all of them.

On the far left side was the mare that John had expected to see. Princess Celestia informed him that this mare was supposedly the "Princess of Friendship". Just like Celestia and Luna, she was an alicorn, although she looked younger and less experienced than the sisters. She had a bright purple coat, with a violet mane with a streak of pink running down it. She was wearing some regal clothing, although he could tell that she was to most right down the middle of the group. Like the white mare, she had a balance between her chest and rear, but she had a pudgy belly, but not as much as the pink one.

However, the one next to her got John's attention, because she was the only one he recognized. This mare was the rainbow girl that he had met at the Battle of Canterlot (the name was not yet official, but that was going to be the presumed name). If he recalled right, her name was the only one that he knew, which was Rainbow Dash. She looked almost the same way that she did during the battle, besides the fact that her wings were fixed, there was a lot less blood, and she was dressed in more civilian clothing. She wore a tank top with the rainbow lightning symbol that was on the necklace. Combine that with some very short and tight athletic shorts and you had the pristine look of an athlete. Although she certainly was not as "well endowed" as the other ponies, she still had a moderately sized bust, and her ass certainly made up for her lack of the chest department. He looked into her eyes, the wine irises shining brightly in the morning sun. When she noticed him looking at her, those eyes lit up with so much joy and relief. He made a mental note to talk to her later.

Taking a deep breath, John approached the mares, making sure that he appeared as professional as possible. Striding up to them, he asked the mares, more specifically the purple one, "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to know where," he looked down quickly at the tissue with a hastily scribbled name on it, " Twilight Sparkle is?"

The purple mare stepped forward and answered, "That would be me."

The human looked at her, taking a brief moment to take a good look at her. Then, he walked forward and bowed his head respectfully, while softly grasping her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, your majesty," he said, softly kissing her hand.

Twilight's face blushed hard as she stammered out, "O-Oh! There's no n-need for that."

The human looked up, smiled, and said, "Mabey, but I still think that it's proper."

Twilight stood there stunned, as the white one seemed to be beaming with joy. Somehow, she blushed even harder as she stammered, "T-Thank you."

The human straightened back up, his now impressive height making itself known among the stunning mares. He then reached for his helmet and removed it, showing off his dirty blond hair. "I suppose I should introduce myself," the human said as he gave a respective bow to Twilight, "I am Captain John Lee of the United States Army. I was sent here by the Princess's to assist in the training of your local garrison."

Suddenly, his hand was grabbed by a pink hand as it was shaking violently. The pink pony had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and shouted in rapid succession, "HI, IM PINKIE PIE AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO PONYVILLE!" She had seemingly limitless amounts of energy as she zoomed around his body, asking questions in quick succession. "Where's the United States? What's that patch on your arm for? Do you like cake? I like cake! I can make you a cake for your party that I should throw-"

Pinkie Pie was then grabbed by the orange mare who said, "Woah! Settle down there, partner. We don't want to give him a headache."

When the orange mare let her go, Pinke Pie took a deep breath and collected herself. She then looked at John with a more calm and controlled face as she said, "Sorry! I just get so excited when I meet new ponies! Well, humans in your case, but that's besides the point."

John chuckled, amused by the mare's antics and personality, "It's quite alright, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pie."

The orange mare, who had previously held Pinkie Pie back, stepped forward and extended her hand. John, seeing the gesture, met her hand with his own, and the two gave each other a firm shake. "Well, she's stronger than Soarin, that's for damn sure," John thought to himself as he felt the mare's strength during the handshake.

She then exclaimed in a southern accent, "Howdy partner! I'm Applejack, and it's such a pleasure to meet you."

John smiled as he responded, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, and may I say, you sure do have quite the handshake."

Applejack laughed, a small tint of pink appeared on her cheeks as she answered, "Yours is not so bad either."

As their hands separated from the shake, the white one, who had looked at the handshake with dissatisfaction, interjected, "Darling, there are so many better ways of introducing yourself to a gentelcolt." She strode towards him, brushing past Applejack with a smug grin. When she was about a foot away from him, she grabbed the edges of her sundress and gave him a formal curtsy. " Bonjour Monsieur, my name is Rarity Belle. I run the Carousel Botique here in the town, and may I say, it is such an honor to meet the one who saved my friend."

John, sensing her more noble introduction, grasped her silky white hand and whispered, " The pleasure is all mine, mademoiselle. Besides, J’ai toujours eu un faible pour les belles dames (I've always had a soft spot for beautiful ladies.)."

Rarity swooned over his words as she said, " Tu me flattes, mon chérie (You flatter me, my dear)!"

John chuckled at the mare's expression. "Yep, just like those french girls," he thought to himself. He then looked at the yellow mare. She still hid behind her pink hair, her eyes barely visible. "And who may you be?" The mare let out a small 'EEP!' as she cowered behind her hair even more. John confused, said, "Woah! Easy, I'm not going to hurt you." The mare still hid behind her hair, which caused John a sigh.

Applejack, sighing, mentioned, "Sorry about this partner, but she's just very ... shy."

Nodding, John was about to move on when he heard a soft voice say, "I-I'm F-Fluttershy."

Making sure that he heard it right, he asked, "Your name is ... Fluttershy?"

The timid mare nodded, his soft pink hair blowing gently in the wind. Ignoring how ironic her name was, he told her, "Well, Fluttershy, you have a very pretty name."

She moved a little bit of her hair out of the way as she asked in a louder voice, "R-Really?"

He nodded at her and suggested, "Perhaps you and I can have some tea together sometime?"

Fluttershy nodded and answered, "Yeah, I w-would like that."

Smiling at her he then walked over to the final mare he wanted to meet. To be frank, this mare was the one that he was most excited to meet. Ever since that day, he had been wondering how she was doing. He was very glad to see that her wings were healed, with it's cyan feathers blowing softly in the wind. He could tell that she was waiting for this moment as much as he was. Her wine-colored eyes showed excitement, but also anxiousness and nervousness. "Alright, here we go," he thought to himself as he walked towards her.

Rainbow's heart throbbed with nervousness as her savior strived towards her. She watched as each muscle of his body rippled and contracted. Those silver eyes pierced straight into her heart, easing all of her worries and fears. What she saw on his neck, however, made her heart flutter. Shining out in the open, her necklace hanged out in the open, glittering in the morning sun. She brought a hand to still her beating heart as she reached down her shirt and grabbed the necklace that he gave her, bringing it out into the daylight.

When he finally stopped in front of her, he smiled, saying, "You know, I don't think we've properly met yet."

Rainbow's blush became more apparent as she stammered, "N-No, I don't think we have."

He removed his helmet from his head once again and knelt on one knee. Looking into her eyes, he said, "My name is John Lee, but you can just call me John."

Flattered by the gesture, she reached her hand down to him and said, " I'm Rainbow Dash, but you can just call me Rainbow."

Seeing her hand, he brought the hand to his face and gave it a soft kiss, much like he did with Rarity. Rainbow's blush became even more pronounced as the two stared deeply into each other's eyes. Rainbow felt like her heart was almost ready to explode as the man stood up and grabbed her other hand. John then said, "You know, I would like to get to know each other. Perhaps you would join me for dinner sometime."

Rainbow smiled and answered, "Yeah, I would like that." In a gesture that surprised everyone that knew her, she stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips, revealing a blue lip mark on him. She then whispered, "Thank you for saving me."

Now it was John's turn to blush as he stammered, "A-Anytime, Rainbow."

The two stared into each other's eyes for a while longer until Twilight interjected, "*cough* Well, if we are done here, I would like to speak to John about the state of the guard and ask some questions about him."

Rainbow and John finally separated and answered, "Yeah, I should get going." He then turned to Rainbow and asked, "Do you want your necklace back?"

Rainbow quickly answered, "Keep it. Consider it my gift to you."

As he began to walk off with Twilight, he told her, "Then keep my necklace as well. Consider it my gratitude for the gift."

Then, Twilight and John walked off towards the castle, where John knew that he had a lot of work to do.

As they walked off, Rainbow let out a deep sigh, her heart fluttering over that kiss she gave him. She held his necklace close to her heart as she whispered, "Isn't he wonderful?"

Overhearing her dear friend, Rarity knowingly asked, "Rainbow darling, do you mind explaining what just happened?"

Rainbow, sensing a tad bit of hostility in her voice, answered, "I just kissed him so I could thank him. It's nothing more than that!"

Applejack decided to jump in on the fun as she said in a sing-song voice, "Ah think somepony's lyyyyyyying!"

"W-What?! How could I be lying about that?!" Rainbow countered.

"Darling, you didn't really think that you could fool me when it comes to love?" Rarity asked, befoe pointing out, "You never showed any signs of affection towards anything other than Tank. Must I also remind you of your stance on public affection Miss 'I'm Not Sappy'?"

Rainbow stuttered, trying to come up with a counterpoint, before frustratingly admitting, "FINE! I like him, ok?!"

Rarity, noticing her friend's frustrated and annoyed tone, quickly said, "W-Wait a minute dear! There's nothing wrong in liking somepony!"

However, it was too late, as Rainbow Dash spread her wings and launched into the sky, presumably out of embarrassment. Applejack and Rarity both looked on as a rainbow contrail slowly dissipated into the sky. A moment of silence passed between the two of them before Applejack said, "Welp, at least we know that she likes him now."

Bewildered, Rarity exclaimed in shock, "Did you seriously not catch on until now?!"

Confused, Applejack answered, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Groaning, Rarity rubbed her temples as she mumbled to herself, "Applejack, sometimes you can be so thick in the head!"

Applejack, frowning, countered, "Then do you mind explaining what that little curtsy was all about then?"

"It is simply a gesture that a lady makes to a stallion, not that I expected you to know that," Rarity answered, which certainty irked Applejack.

"What is THAT supposed to mean sugarcube?!" Applejack angerly answered. "Are you saying that I can't attract a stallion like him?"

"Aha! So you do like him!" Rarity answered, causing Applejack to blush.

"D-Don't change the subject Rarity!" Applejack countered, pushing herself right up against Rarity. "Besides, it's not like you are entirely innocent either."

Rarity pushed right back up against Applejack as she countered, "At least I'm not afraid to act on my feelings!"

The two mares squinted at each other, a competition brewing between them as Applejack challenged "We'll see about that Miss "One Night Stand"!"

Rarity smirked as she answered, "Yes, we shall darling. Yes. We. Shall..."