I have seen many things in my life and over the years I have developed ways to overcome strange situations and find logical solutions to said situations.

But I think my limit is reached concerning talking ponies.

The adrenaline and battle haze, as I dub it, had lessened to the extent that I was finally able to take in the reality around me and I’ve got to say. What the fuck is happening!

Without noticing it I fought a bunch of armoured ponies – which ignoring the fact that ponies have been extinct for the last seven years – in a medieval style village in some sort of fantasy land.

My whole body freezes up as the small, bound fillies cower away from me in fear and my mind races to comprehend what’s going on. None of this should be possible, unicorns and pegasi are myths and they can’t be creatures of the corruption as I haven’t seen… any… corruption…

. . .

My mindfuck moment was kindly interrupted by the sound of shuffling dirt behind me.

Twisting around I spotted the first pony that I had sucker-punched in the ribs stumble up before running off in a limping trot. I was about to pursue the pony for answers when I remembered the two small fillies shaking below my feet.

Wait if these small ponies are here and bound does that mean that those armoured fuckers kidnapped them?

I turn back to the two small fillies shivering in fear below me. If there was one thing that made my heart ache it was seeing children in fear. I have seen too many innocent children reduced to mumbling wrecks due to my inability to act. I won’t let it happen again.

“Um… Hello.”

The two fillies wince as I speak, turning to face me I see their large eyes staring right at me, their pupils reduced to pinpricks.

I take a shaky step towards them causing them to shuffle back in panicked synchrony.

“Hey, hey it’s ok. I don’t want to hurt you,” I clip my gun to my belt and raise my hands in a non-threatening manner.

A pregnant pause fills the air as I stand there as still as I can in an attempt to ease the fillies’ fears. I open my mouth to end the silence when the small yellow one speaks up.

“W-what are ya?” She asks. Her voice has a somewhat thick southern accent to it.

“I’m a human,” I reply.

Another pause hangs in the air before the orange pegasus speaks up.

“Are you with… them?”

My suspicions regarding the armoured ponies seem justified now. The amount of fear and panic in her voice when she asked that question confirmed that they had to have been the captors of these fillies. My blood starts to boil once again as the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

“No,” I say with a bit of anger seeping into my voice causing the fillies to flinch back at my tone.

Silence fills the air once again as I study the two fillies before me when the rope binding them comes back to my attention.

Reaching down I unsheathe the diving knife from my belt. The fillies gasp in panic and start trying to shuffle away once more.

“Hey, hey, hey, I just want to cut those bindings okay,” I state holding the knife up so that the fillies can see it properly.

I step up to the small fillies and examine the rope. The knot seems pretty sturdy considering it was made by creatures without apposable thumbs so colour me impressed. I grab the rope in my left hand and pull it away from their fur just enough to be able to slip the knife under.

My hand brushes against the orange filly’s fur as I work on the rope causing her to flinch in fear. The fillies whimper as I struggle to cut the rope; sharpening my knife is definitely my top priority once I get a moment to rest and properly treat my wounds, it should heal relatively quickly yet I would prefer to keep as much of my blood inside me as possible.

The rope finally gives way with a sharp thunk and the fillies scatter almost instantaneously. The orange pegasus darts to my left and jumps through the window of a store while the yellow pony jumps behind an upturned cart to my right.

Sighing I resheathe my knife and rise uneasily back to my feet with the help of my axe.

“Please come out, I just want some answers.”

Silence fills the space once again as the fillies continue to cower away from me. I move to take a step, but the handle of my axe slips on a loose patch of dirt, and I tumble onto my face.

“Ahh… Fuck!”

My face scrunches up in pain as my injured side throbs in pain from the fall. Of course, I had managed to fall in the perfect way to feel maximum pain. Just my fucking luck.

I groan as I turn off my injured side, the fall had reopened the hole and blood had once again started pouring down my side and onto the ground. It’s going to take forever to clean all this blood out of my white shirt.

The sound of hooves interrupts my mental musing, and I see the small yellow filly standing above me out of the corner of my eye. I twist my head to get a better look at the pony causing her to step back at my sudden movement.

I stare at the filly, trying to gauge her intentions. I have been tricked into traps by kids before. Scorcher parties would set up ambushes in small corridors using kids as bait to lure survivors in before surrounding them and slaughtering them for their supplies.

My eyes narrow as the filly continues to stare at me with her large eyes making me more and more paranoid. I go to grab my knife when the filly finally opens her mouth and speaks up.

“A-are ya ok?” the filly tilts her head similar to how a dog would, the fear and apprehension is still there but I can also see a glint of concern for me.

“I’m good,” I reply some of my pain leaking into my voice.

I turn onto my stomach and get my hands under me and push myself into a seated position. From here I’m about eye-level with the filly causing her no amount of discomfort as I look into her eyes.

“Apple Bloom what are you doing!”

The sudden shout startles me and before I know it, I am facing towards the shout with my gun following suit. The orange pegasus locks up in fear as I point the gun straight at her, she starts to shake violently as she stares down the barrel of the gun.

“Don’t hurt her!” The pony who I assume is called Apple Bloom calls from behind me breaking me out of my instinctive reaction. I lower the gun to my lap before slowly turning my head to look at Apple Bloom behind me.

I’m about to tell her to be quiet when I spot the armoured pony from before rushing towards us from the road behind Apple Bloom. I raise my gun and fire past Apple Bloom’s head causing her to shriek in panic at the loud noise and run over to her friend.

The bullet strikes the pony in the neck knocking it off to the side where it falls to the floor in a growing pool of its own blood. I grab my axe and hoist myself to my feet, my gun still pointing towards the dying pony ahead of me. A rumble fills the air and I spot a second group of armoured ponies charging towards us from the same direction.

Shit!

I spin on my heels and slide my axe through a loop in the side of my bag before limp-sprinting towards the two fillies. Switching the gun back to my right hand I grab the two fillies with my left and hold them to my chest as I run.

The hole in my side burns with every step but I pay it no mind, I need to get these kids away from these other ponies. I look back as I run and raise my gun to provide suppressive fire, switching the selector to full auto I slam the trigger home and the gun roars as I unload the mag into the approaching horde.

Ponies start falling left and right as bullets hit their mark and soon the combination of bullets and bodies hitting the path culminate in an impromptu smoke screen of dust slowing the ponies to a stop in the confusion. Using my unplanned distraction to my advantage I dive to the left through the broken window of a house and scamper to have my back against the wall. I drop the empty gun into my lap and use both hands to cover the mouths of the distraught fillies in my grasp.

“SHHH!” I shush as loudly as I dare, and the fillies settle down.

My heart races as the clopping of hooves rush past us and continue down the street. Once the noise had dissipated a fair amount I chance a look. Confirming that the coast is clear I look down at the fillies in my grasp who are looking at me with wide fearful eyes.

“Okay, I’m going to remove my hands from your mouths. Do NOT scream or run,” I whisper to the fillies before I slowly remove my hands from them. They backpedal away from me a bit once they are out of my grasp before settling down a few feet away from me.

In the interest of not having another session of awkward silence and a burning need for answers I decide to just get started.

“Okay let’s start over real quick. Hi, my name is Keith, who might you two be?”

Apple Bloom looks over to her orange companion before responding, “Um… Mah name is Apple Bloom and this here is Scootaloo.”

“Uh huh… You two wouldn’t happen to know where the fuck I am exactly?”

The fillies flinch at my language before Scootaloo replies, “Y-you are in Ponyville.”

Ponyville, seriously.

“Okay then… Who were those strange, armoured ponies out there?” The fillies flinch simultaneously at the mention of the ponies that chased us.

“They are soldiers of the Dark Empire,” Apple Bloom responds, her voice laced with sadness.

“What’s the Dark Empire?”

“It’s what Sombra calls his kingdom. He reappeared suddenly and without warning two months ago after a strange surge of magic appeared in the centre of town and knocked out the whole unicorn population in Equestria. He then captured the princesses and declared to the rest of Equestria that we must submit to his rule or be destroyed. He then started foalnapping ponies before brainwashing them into joining his army and then using them to search and capture other ponies,” Apple Bloom responded.

Just like the corruption…

“Wait you said this happened two months ago right… How have you guys not been captured yet?” I asked, maybe there was some kind of resistance movement like back home that I could get help from in getting me home.

Scootaloo lifts her head before responding, “When we first heard that unicorns had been affected by the magic surge and that Sombra had returned we rushed to Sweetie Belle’s house to check on her. When we arrived in her room the first soldiers had rushed into Ponyville and started capturing ponies. We dragged her into the closet with us and hid as the soldiers ran through the streets taking ponies with them. When everything was quiet, we walked back out of the closet to find the streets empty and the buildings wrecked.”

“Huh…” This all seemed very far-fetched. Three kids managing to survive in a somewhat apocalyptic environment alone. Something doesn’t add up.

“You said you guys went to a ‘Sweetie Belle’s’ house right? Who are they?”

“She is our friend. She is holding down the fort back at Carousel Boutique while Scoots and are looking for food,” Apple Bloom quipped, her eyes suddenly went wide before, “Scootaloo we still haven’t found any food!”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down!” I scolded. Apple Bloom shrinked back as she realised her actions.

Another round of silence filled the air, both fillies had visibly calmed down but I could still see the fear and uncertainty in their eyes. It was a sight I was all too familiar with.

I slowly rose back to my feet, reclipped the gun to my belt and looked down at the two fillies. Their story still filled me with apprehension, and they could just be some ruse to capture more ‘ponies’ but with the look in their eyes and their emaciated forms the evidence in favour of that thought felt slim at best. I guess I will go along for now and return them to this ‘Sweetie Belle’ who could hopefully give me more information about what is really going on. I do have enough supplies to last me a few days so I could spare some of my food in exchange for information.

“Okay listen up,”

The fillies raised their heads and looked me in the eyes, the sight of the small fluffy creatures was strangely adorable and a small part of me just wanted to pick them up and hug them tightly like a teddy bear.

“I have some granola bars I can share with you guys,” the fillies’ eyes light up at that, “However I do want some more information in exchange. So, take me to this Carousel place so we can chat further okay.”

A faint smile graced the fillies’ faces and they nodded eagerly.

“Okay Mister Keith. Just follow us,” the fillies walked past me and back out into the streets.

With axe in hand, I limped after the two as they walked along. Sticking to the shadows we slowly trekked through the empty streets. The town felt like a maze with each building nearly identical and the roads jutting about randomly. My nerves were at an all time high as my eyes darted about all over the place. There were too many dark corners and high windows where ambushers or snipers could be hiding and I felt extremely exposed. My heart thundered in my chest and every tiny noise made me jump.

The fillies were also jumpy, they would occasionally stop and swivel their ears about before setting off once again. They were obviously well versed in sneaking about and being careful, but they were a little sloppy and weren’t nearly aware enough of their surroundings.

After thirty gruelling minutes of wandering the deathly silent streets, the fillies eventually stopped in a small clearing. A large three storey building sat ahead; it looked like a mix between a circus tent and a medieval castle. The building was light blue in colour with purple accents at the base of the walls. The large windows were boarded up with thick wooden planks and the paint of the walls had started to flake off.

I stared at the strange building in confusion when a light tap on my shin got my attention. Looking down I spotted Apple Bloom staring up at me.

“Could ya just wait out here for a second while Scootaloo gets Sweetie Belle. We just want to let her know that yall are coming so that she doesn't freak out when she sees ya.”

I nod in acknowledgement and watch as Scootaloo knocks on the door of the building. I think they called the place a boutique if I remember correctly.

The door creaks open and Scootaloo sticks her head through the gap. The sound of hushed whispering fills the air as Scootaloo and who I assume is Sweetie Belle converse with each other. Their little chat goes on for a minute or two before Scootaloo pulls her head away from the door and motions for us to come.

I take a deep breath and step up to the door with Apple Bloom before entering the boutique.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.
I tried my best to get the first contact as accurate to the characters as possible without feeling to rushed.
If anyone has any opinions on how I could have done this differently please leave a comment.
I will most likely make small changes to previous chapters as I go along to ensure that the story makes sense and that characters are acting correctly
Once again please comment if you have any opinion regarding my writing. I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Please don't just dislike I really want to try and improve and feedback really helps.