Soldier Abroad.by VandriusChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1This was supposed to be a simple recon. How could I have screwed up something as simple as going to look at some poor grunts and turning in a report into me lying on my back in the middle of a big burnt circle, unable to move any part of my body? It was a beautiful day by comparison to the previous one. When I woke and put on my well-worn boots not a single camel spider had made its home within then. Not to mention outside there were no fresh mortar craters for the engineers to fill in. This day was going as perfect as a new Second Lieutenant could ask for. As I slowly came to, I realized that I still had to take orders from Mother Nature, and slowly sauntered off towards the latrine. Once all of that was out of the way I headed back to my tent only to see a private jog up to me. He paused a few a seconds to catch his breath; then spoke. “Second…*gasp*… Lieutenant Rise?” he called. “Yes” I responded in my best impression of someone who hadn’t just rolled out of bed. “CO wants… to see… you… Something about a recon mission.” This was all too perfect. Recon missions were always simple. Go in. Look at nothing in particular. Go home. Easy. After making my way to the CO’s tent, I gathered my orders and headed out to find my soldiers. I briefed my new platoon, a group of rough and tough, battle tested soldiers that had gone to hell and back, and were none too pleased to have their old Platoon Leader replaced by a fresh new one. “Ring Banger”. This was going to be our first actual mission together and I was determined to have it go off without a hitch. “We shouldn't run into much trouble if our intel is right, however, we should be prepared to engage and destroy any hostiles we come across. Once again we go in, gather info on enemy movement, and get the heck out before they even know we were there. Any questions?” Dead silence filled the interior of the bunk tent. “Alright then, meet in hanger four at 1400 and we’ll head out from there. Hooah?” A shout of “hooah!” through the room, the soldiers gave a salute and they marched single-file out of the room. They seemed about as interested in my Op Order as they would be if I had brought them in to watch new paint dry on our vehicles. Once we were done checking our gear, we loaded up and started walking to the hangar where we would find our convoy. The engines of the Humvees sputtered at first but soon enough roared to life. Once outside the base and on the open road, I began to relax. Everything so far had gone perfectly. We had even gotten a little bit lucky when the normally explosive ridden roads were clear and safe. I was sure at that point that my first mission would set a good tone for the remaining part of our deployment. I even felt secure enough around my men to let my guard down for a second and just let my mind wander. I wondered about how my classmates were doing. I remembered the day that they found the little toy of Twilight Sparkle that I had gotten from McDonalds tied to my vest. I had gotten some initial ribbing until I told them the tried and true excuse of “it was a gift from my sister”. This was a blatant lie, as I had no sisters. I looked back down to where it normally was only to remember that I had hidden it in my magazine pouch. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to show my men that I watched, and enjoyed, a show meant for little girls. I was supposed to lead these men into combat, wasn’t I? I couldn’t let my men think that I would let them down in the field when they needed me most. These thoughts were all brought to an abrupt end when one of the men’s voices crackled over the radio “This is Hammer One to all Hammers. Five hundred meters to the Observation point. Grab your crap and get ready to move over.” I grabbed the dusty radio from the dashboard and responded, “copy that, Hammer Three.” I swallowed my anxiety and turned to face my men, wondering if they were as nervous as I was, though as their leader I couldn’t say it outloud. “Alright let’s get ready to move, men.” An issue popped up several times here. We set up on a ridge that overlooked some of the routes that insurgents had apparently been using to transport mortars, RPGs, and other small arms. None of which forward operating bases were too big a fan of. It had been about forty-five minutes since we had set up our observation point and nothing of interest, other than two privates setting up a bug fighting pit and having two scorpions fight to the death, had happened. Both said privates should have been watching the hill behind us to make sure we had full rear security. Only after watching the fight did I turn around and realize why there was no traffic on the road we were watching. A loud screech followed by a deafening explosion echoed across our line followed by shouts of, “contact left! 50 men. RPGs and small arms!” Attempting to keep control of the situation. I yelled though the radio.“Get on line! Alpha and Bravo teams return fire!” As I was reloading my rifle I thought to myself, “where did my stupid recon mission go to?” Another streak of white crashed right down at me and I did the only thing I could think of with my adrenalin-powered mind. I dove with all the force my legs could muster while shouting, “R.P.G!!!” It landed with a teeth rattling impact. When I looked back up, I could tell that my eardrums were ruptured from the constant ringing and the feel of warm liquid running down the side of my head. My sunglasses were also smudged with the blood running down my forehead. I spun around and began slamming rounds into the area where the rocket had come from with my own rifle. I looked left and saw my men fighting back with everything that they had. Our fifty Cal gunner was sending a wall of lead downrange and punishing the hillside, while doing his damnedest to keep us hidden behind his huge turret shield. To my right was one of my SAW gunners sending burst after burst of suppressing fire back up the hill, tearing into the enemy and sending many of them tumbling down the hill. I was snapped back to reality by a round ricocheting off the hood of the hummer I was behind. I popped up for a few seconds to fire back up the hill while rocket after rocket came down the hill at us. A soldier next to me shouted, “Just how many of those damn rockets do they have, sir!?” I responded with a quick, “doesn't matter, keep firing!” After a few more bursts of automatic fire, my rifle made the worst sound a soldier can hear on a battle field. *CLICK* I shouted to the men next to me. ,“reloading!” and reached down to my pouch to grab a fresh mag. However, when I looked down to find a magazine, I found something far more interesting. The Twilight Sparkle toy that I had carried with me for all these years was now shining with brilliant lavender light. I was dumbstruck at this point, thinking that I had hit the ground a little too hard after dodging that RPG, but as I went to touch it, something amazing happened. It flew out of my pocket and tugged hard on the dummy chord it was tied to, taking me with it. As I looked around to the horrified faces of my troops, I thought for sure that I was going to be cut down by the fire from above, and end my short career as an officer in the US Army. I fumbled for my knife, but it was wrenched out of my hand by a sudden tug from Twilight that pulled me higher into the air. That was, until Twilight glowed even brighter to the point where I had to shield my eyes with my arm, and everything around me started to slow down. I looked around and could even see the bullets in mid-flight. The orb of light surrounding Twilight expanded until I was completely engulfed in it. Everything went black and I expected to feel the cold that people have always associated with death. But that feeling never came. I didn’t feel the sensation of falling. What I could feel was my best guess for what zero gravity felt like. The weightless feeling didn’t persist for very long, and I was unceremoniously dumped onto the uncompromising earth. I then thought that I had landed back on the ground and the firefight was still raging around me. I went to grab my rifle that I thought was still beside me only for my body to freeze. I fought with all the fiber of my being to grab the one thing that could keep me alive in this world, but my limbs simply would not respond. I finally succumbed to my body’s stubbornness and simply tried to take in my surroundings. I was greeted not by a harsh, arid atmosphere but by a gentle warm breeze and the smell of wildflowers. I definitely wasn’t in the sand box anymore. “Where in god’s green earth am I?” Ignoring everything I had learned beforehand, I decided that my best option was to wait for my body to recover from whatever it had been subjected to, and tried to take a power nap in the middle of this new place. There was however a certain peaceful aura that persisted here, an aura that felt much like returning home after a long journey. *drip* “Son of a b-” *drop* It was at this point that I noticed something rather odd. There was no breeze, yet the clouds seemed to be moving incredibly fast. It was as if something was controlling them. It couldn’t have been ten seconds after that thought that a rainbow colored streak rocketed past my head. I didn't care what my body had to say at that point. I got up faster than I had ever moved before. I scanned the ground around me frantically for my rifle only to find it, as if someone had placed it there and said, “Keep a hold of this. You’re going to need it.” After grabbing it, I headed to the nearest cover I could find; a large forest on the edge of the field. I made a mad dash towards those trees. without even thinking of looking back. I didn't stop at the edge of the trees to try to find the best way through. I made my own way. As I barreled through the trees, I didn't care about them scratching at my face as I rocketed through the underbrush. Only when I couldn’t see the edge of the field did I stop running. I looked around quickly only to realize that I may have been better off in the field with the rainbow missile. My new surroundings were very much a downgrade from the peaceful, if not wet, field. The tops of the trees seemed to block out any light from the outside world, sealing me in a dark foreboding prison. I scanned the area around me for any way back to the outside world. All I was saw was dead and gnarled trees with trunks that seemed to make grotesque faces. mocking me. I looked down and checked my rifle. Detaching the magazine, I could tell by its weight that it was about half full. Five more mags in my vest would make me a formidable meal for anything that was looking for a quick bite. Next thing to check was my vest. It seemed to have all of the components save for the plate on my back that seemed to have shattered from the earlier impact. Even my knife was there despite losing it midflight. “Alright...Well screw this,” I decided that the best course of action would be to attempt to find some semblance of civilization. From there, I could contact someone to get me home. I began walking deeper into the forest, at least from my perspective. It wasn’t too long until I got the feeling that I was being watched. Too many things seemed off. There were no birds singing, and leaves seemed to move by the breeze despite there being no wind. Whoever or whatever was watching me was good.; not making any undo movements or snapping any branches. It was as if they simply hovered above the ground. This continued for a good while until I decided to investigate my mystery pursuer. I spun around on my heels as fast as my body could move and leveled my rifle at a row of bushes only to catch a glimpse of a yellow wing. “Who’s there!” I bellowed while simultaneously switching my rifle from safe to burst. Nothing but a small rustling from the bush. I approached the bush slowly. Ready to end whatever had been stalking me. *WOOSH* “GRAAAH!” I screamed as I let off a three shot burst, two hitting nothing but dirt, the third finding its mark. As pink mist erupted from her wing, a scream that I wish I hadn’t recognized echoed through the forest. I turned around only to have my blood freeze. “Jesus Christ.” The small pegasus skidded to a halt before a large tree. What I saw in front of me was no predator but a wounded yellow pegasus with a long pink mane, screaming in agony from a gunshot to her right wing. That scream was like nothing I had heard in Afghanistan. This wasn’t the scream of a soldier whose arm had been shredded by mortal shrapnel, nor that of a driver whose hands had been burned to the bone. Their screams echoed with rage. Not this one. This scream was much worse. It was a scream of both absolute terror and searing pain from a creature that was, up until now, untainted by the horrors of war. I couldn’t move. My body just seized up. On the first hand I was staring at a children’s cartoon pony that slowly leaked her life force onto the forest floor, crying for everything she was worth. The other hand... “SHIT! Fluttershy are you ok?!” Of course she wasn't ok you moron. I just shot her in the wing. She just kept screaming balled up in a small, but growing, pool of blood. For a split second I didn't know what to do. Then my training kicked in. I reached on my vest for my first aid kit. I opened it up and pulled out a gauze bandage and some quick clot. “Hey! Fluttershy! Can you hear me” “H-how do y-y-y know my name?” she said trembling, eyes slammed shut with pain “I’ll explain later, but right now you have to trust me.” I said, as I was getting the gauze out of its packaging. Yeah. trust me. don't mind the fact that I just about blew off your wing. “This is going to hurt a little bit but I have to do it to save you.” “O-ok, if it will *sniff* help. Just be gentle wi-AAAAAAAAHH!!!” She screamed again as I poured the chemical on the wound, and once more when I applied the bandage. It looked to me like the bullet had passed though, and there didn't seem to be any of it left in the wound, but my knowledge of pegasus autonomy wasn’t exactly up to date, so I had no idea how bad the damage was, or could be, if I wasn't careful. I was snapped back to reality as the blood began to soak through the bandage and flow down my hand. “Damnit!” I reached for another bandage and pressed it down. The additional bandage elicited yet another blood chilling scream. I had to bury those screams deep in my mind. I had to keep telling myself that it was to save her and that if I did nothing there was no doubt that she would die. I had to get her to her home. “Which way is your house?” She weakly lifted her hoof in front of her and squeaked out, “t-that way.” I picked her up in my arms. I didn’t care how heavy she was. She might as well have been weightless for how much adrenalin was pumping through my veins. I began sprinting through the woods, cradling the wounded creature in my arms. I moved as fast as my legs would take me. After a good bout of sprinting, my goal was in sight. I ran for all I was worth, striding with a greater power than I had ever felt in my life until I felt my boot catch underneath something. As I fell, I tried to turn my back to the ground as to not hurt Fluttershy any more than I already had. I landed, skidding to a halt in a small patch of blue flowers. As I looked over my shoulder. I saw her small cottage was only about one hundred yards away. Its chimney emitted wisps of smoke. As I approached the door I didn't waste any time in putting her down. I lowered my shoulder and slammed into the door. It swayed a bit as it swung open, indicating that it had nearly been torn from its hinges. I ran into the living room, clearing a place on the wooden floor. I set Fluttershy down as gently as was humanly possible. As careful as I was, she still let out a small whimper that tore at my heart strings. How could I have hurt her? Why did I have to shoot? I’m a trained soldier god damn it. I should have known not to shoot. Tears began to run down my face, and I slammed my blood stained glove down onto the floor. “I-I’m sorry...” she whispered. “What?” She looked up at me with half closed eyes. “Don’t cry. It’s not your fault. It... it’s mine. I shouldn’t have followed you like...I...did.” Her voice trailed off and her eyes closed as she uttered those words. “N-no...NO! Fluttershy, stay awake!” I bent down to check her breathing and her pulse. Both were weak, but, thankfully, still existent. I picked her up in my arms again and headed for the door. I didn’t bother with the whole process of opening the door, and instead opted to open in with a swift kick. By the time it had returned to its normal position, I was halfway down the path that led to her house, heading towards the only place I knew I could find help. I tried to remain as stealthy as possible to not shock the other inhabitants of the placid little town. I didn't think my or Fluttershy’s condition would much improve if someone caught a glance of a blood covered monster carrying one of Ponyville’s kindest inhabitants. I moved as quickly as I could towards the large tree located near the park. The park would make for great cover while moving to the library. While moving through the park, I carefully pushed each branch out of the way as to avoid harming Fluttershy more than I already had. I didn't want to look back down at her. I felt so ashamed for what I had done, but I had to. I had to keep making sure that she was still alive. After coming to the last building before the seemingly vast expanse between us and Twilight’s home. I looked down once more before the last sprint. When I checked her over she squeezed my arm weakly and whispered. “Don’t let go. It’s cold...” That was all the motivation I needed. “Don't worry. We’re almost there. Just a few more feet” With those last words I exploded out from the cover of the trees. My heart was pounding furiously, and I felt like was moving faster than ever had before. My energy seemed to erupt from the bottom of my boots. I didn’t have time to look back at the wake I was leaving. Fifty feet. Twenty-five. Ten. One. Just like Fluttershy’s cottage door, I slammed my back into the front door with all I was worth. This time, however, it sent me flying across the room. I landed with a loud thud as I fell into Twilight's home. I had just enough energy to see a small purple and green dragon come from downstairs. The sight must have been awful for him. A monster covered in blood clutching a wounded Fluttershy had just send his front door careening across his home. “WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!” I had only a few words to say to him before my I allowed my mind to slip into unconsciousness. “Help...her” As my head dropped to the floor I couldn't help but smell a small bit of ozone in the air. The smell didn’t persist very long, as it was soon overpowered by the smell of my singed uniform. Chapter 2“WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!” I had only a few words to say to him before my I allowed my mind to slip into unconsciousness. “Help...her” As my head dropped to the floor I couldn't help but smell a small bit of ozone in the air. The smell didn’t persist very long, as it was soon overpowered by the smell of my singed uniform. “What happened to her?!” I didn’t feel tired anymore. I saw a blazing white light coming from the corner of the sprang up from my recumbent position. “What have you done to Fluttershy!?” Nothing would come out of my lips but a wimpy squeak. “I...” She commanded again, knocking books off the shelves and pushing my helmet back with a strong blast of magic I had to muster the energy I had left in me to simply stand back up. I slowly pushed myself up against the wall and leaned on my rifle to keep myself from slumping back to the cold floor. I could smell my vest and uniform burning. I had to tell the unicorn what happened or she might decide to attack me right there. When I met her eyes, they weren't just filled with rage. They were dripping tears that singed the wood burned into the floor. I raised my hand to attempt to convince her not to blast me again. “She’s been hurt badly...I came here to...find help for her.” I looked back over to Fluttershy. “She needs help right now. I can only do so much with first aid” As her aura started to die down, Twilight rushed to her downed friend. Her horn glowed a gentle purple, and slowly covered her friend in a similar aura. I could see the magic beginning to concentrate toward her wing. “Can you help her?” I whispered as I slowly slumped back down towards the floor. “I don't know very much about restomancy,” she said, “but what I can do is stop the bleeding momentarily.” It was amazing. Her magic lifted the bandage off her wing without her fallen friend so much as flinching. The bloodied wing was covered in magic, but not for long as the magic seemed to seep into it. As promised, the wound stopped bleeding. Twilight, however, seemed undaunted. “You’ll have to carry her”, she said without looking in back at me I raised an eyebrow after the unicorn. “Why?” “I can’t keep her wound from bleeding and teleport her to the hospital. You’ll have to carry her. That is unless you can teleport?” “That’s really not an option.,” I said from the corner of the room. “I’m covered in blood here., both mine and Fluttershy’s. There’s no way I can walk through here without causing an absolute panic.” “You’re right...I didn’t consider that.” After saying that, Twilight seemed to concentrate harder. “Ok. I’ve got it. Come over here and put another one of your bandages on the wound to keep it from bleeding. This will only take a second” Using the butt of my rifle as a crutch, I slowly made my way over to Fluttershy’s side. Her wing was soaked in blood. Its once elegant feathers drenched and matted down. Her face was contorted in pain as if, even in her sleep, she was unable to escape the pain. Pushing back the guilt, I grabbed my last bandage from the first aid kit on my vest. I nodded at Twilight. She slowly let her magic recede and the blood began to flow again., though not as bad as when she was first shot the blood still soaked through the fairly small bandage. I looked back at twilight and asked. “Just what exactly do you plan on doing?” “I’m going to turn you into one of us temporarily.” I took a moment to let those last few words soak in. “What...” “I’m going to make you into a pony for a short while. It’s a fairly complex spell. Give me a moment.,” she said matter-of-factly. She never even gave me a chance to argue. Not that I would object; this was the only real option. “Do I get a choice as to what I’m going to look like?” I asked inquisitively. “Not really,” she said, “the spell takes the qualities of the subject, and adjusts accordingly.” Twilight closed her eyes tight in effort and her horn glowed a bright purple again. Gradually, it became more intense and changed to a brilliant white. I tied the bandage to her wing so that it would not come lose after Twilight’s spell began. I stood to face her and a blue ribbon slowly began to wrap around my feet. It snaked its way up my body. When her spell had finally engulfed me it began to heat up and intensify until the formerly blue ribbon of magic sparkled with a brilliant glow. I could feel my limbs shifting, though I felt no pain. I didn’t dare look down to see my body being transformed. The spell suddenly exploded outward in a flash of light and magic, knocking books off of their shelves. I fell to the ground in a heap and attempted to get my feet under me only to realize that I didn’t have feet anymore. Furthermore, instead of two hands with five fingers., I now had two hooves. I stumbled like a newborn colt to get on all four legs. “Well this is interesting?” I said shakily as I outstretched my hoof to observe my new body. “You don't make a half bad unicorn.” Twilight levitated a mirror over to me. “If I may say so myself.” I looked into the mirror to be greeted by a desert brown unicorn. The spell had even managed to shift my vest so that it fit my new form. I also noticed something very interesting: A mark with two crossed rifles had been stamped onto my flank. “You’re going to need a name,” Twilight said as she moved back to Fluttershy to reapply her magic. “What do you think about Bolt Action?” I asked. “Sounds fine” she said flatly as her spell began to take effect again. “Now pick her up quickly, she needs professional help.” After a bit of running through back alleys and avoiding detection, we finally made it to the hospital. We were greeted by a look of shock from the nurse sitting behind the main desk. I didn’t give her that chance to snap out of it on her own. “We need a medic!!!” “A what?” she responded “Get us a doctor, now!” I shouted, “she doesn’t have a whole lot of time! She needs a doctor right now!” “O-Ok Bring her this way!” the nurse stammered She pushed open a door and led us to a gurney. I laid the poor pegasus down slowly and the nurse wheeled her off towards the E.R. As we were running down the corridor, we were joined by a bespectacled brown pony adorned in a bleach white lab coat. “What happened to her?” he asked. I responded as calmly and as clearly as I could. “She has a bad puncture wound at the base of her wing. She’s lost a good amount of blood and her pulse is very weak.” He looked back at Fluttershy “Very well. You two stay here. We’ll take good care of her, I promise,” he said as he and the nurse pushed through the another door. I stood there with Twilight, unable to move again. Oh god. What if she doesn’t make it.? “NO! She cant die! I won’t allow it!” I screamed while unceremoniously dropping to my new haunches Twilight responded by reaching out to my shoulder, then sharply drew it back as she realized that my uniform and coat was still slick with her friend’s blood. “She’ll be fine” she assured me. “She’s much stronger than you might think.” “...” “I’m going to go get the others. You stay here and wait for her.” I simply sat there, unable to move again. How in the hell could I be called an officer? I was supposed to help people. To protect people. Yet, here I was standing numb in a hallway, having put one of most gentle beings in this world in the E.R. I trudged back to the waiting room. I took my seat and stared down at my blood-soaked uniform. It may as well have been days since Fluttershy went into that operating room. Then I saw movement. The doctor emerged. He looked slightly pale but wore a stoic face. That was never good. Never had I seen a doctor with a flat face carry with him good news. He talked to the nurse behind the counter for a bit. She then gestured at me and he slowly shuffled over. “Excuse me sir?” “Yes?” I responded “You were with Fluttershy earlier today correct Mr...” “Bolt Action,” I stated “Well, Bolt Action, I have good news and bad news” My heart sank into my stomach. “What’s the good news, doc?” “Fluttershy is in stable condition and has a very good chance of pulling through thanks to yours, and Twilight’s quick actions.” “And the bad news?” “She’s going to be in a good bit of pain for a long time.” “What?” I asked again. I hoped I’d heard him wrong. “Whatever had hit her struck her base wing bone. My medical magics can fix many things, but her wound struck many vital areas. The wing may be healed but it will take a long time for her to fully recover. It may even be permanent.” I simply slumped back into my chair at the sobering notion of that word. Permanent. “She may want to have someone in the room,” he said in a caring tone “she seemed absolutely terrified when she came to” “Where is she?” “She’s in room 21 on the second floor” he said. “The door should be open. If not, get one of the nurses up there to help you.” “Thank you, doc” I said as I made my way toward the stairs. If there’s nothing else I could do for her. Maybe I could give some comfort to her so that she doesn’t have to spend the night alone. As I opened the door to the second floor, I realized something. I was still covered in my blood soaked uniform. I looked around for a while before finding a room with a sign that said ‘Stallions’ on it. I soon realized that this task was going to be more difficult than I had initially thought it was going to be. My hooves were of no use to me, as they couldn’t grip the zipper that held my uniform together. I kept on thinking, and ended up staring down at my zipper, puzzling for ways to get it down. I kept concentrating on it until something odd happened. My zipper, and horn, glowed a very faint yellow. “What the hell...” I tried again simply focusing on the zipper and envisioning it going down. It did. I was amazed at my new found ability. I experimented even further with it by focusing on taking off my uniform. Sure enough, it did just that. I then levitated my clothes onto my back and headed back toward my original goal. 19. 20. 21. I reached out slowly to open the door, but hesitated for a bit. What if I scared her even more than she already was? It may not be very comforting to have the person who put you IN the hospital be the only one to stay with you. I had to push these thoughts aside. I steeled myself for what might come, and I pushed the door open. She was in her bed. Her face was still contorted in pain and she slowly looked over to me; her eyes widened in horror. I felt my heart drop into my gut. I did this to her. This is my fault. I slowly approached her bed. Her face did not change. I fell back on my haunches. I tried to open my mouth to say “I’m sorry,” but nothing escaped my mouth. I let my gear fall to the floor. My rifle clacked against the cold tile. I looked at the cold, blackened steel of my rifle then back to her as tears began to roll down my face. “I’m...so sorry.” I said between sobs I don't know how long I sat there, imagining of the ways that I could have avoided this. “Don’t cry,” Fluttershy whispered, I looked up with tears still rolling off my cheeks. “What?” She looked at me now, not with horror, but with compassion. “Please. Stop crying. I told you before that this was my fault.” Her voice sounded so kind to my ears, but my heart wasn’t ready to accept them. “But. I'm the one who put you here.” “Oh no,” she said, “ I-I was the one who followed you throu-*cough* *cough* the bushes.” I stood up and sat down in the chair facing her bed. “Hey now. You shouldn’t even be awake, let alone talking.” She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “At the very least...I’m not alone in here. I don’t like sleeping away from my home.” Chapter 3After sitting beside her for what seemed like hours, the fragile pony beside me tossed and turned in her bed, every once in a while wincing from the pain of rolling on top of her wounded wing. I stirred from the catatonic like state I was in and leaned forward from my chair and asked her in the nicest sounding voice I could muster. “Anything that I can do?” She responded by pulling her blanket up and hiding her muzzle underneath the soft fabric, and spoke in an almost unheard whisper. “Maybe you could s…” “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you”, I responded while still trying to be as kind as possible. “Maybe you could sing,” she said again much more clearly. I felt my cheeks heat up while trying to respond. “I- Well I’ve never been much of a good singer…” Her ears drooped and she seemed to sink even deeper into the protection of her covers. “But hold on I know what I can do for you.” I held a hoof up and began to go through all my pockets while I searched for the device that would hopefully help assuage her pain. Using the opportunity to sort out all my gear at the same time. First was my knife that had somehow found its way back into the sheath after my fall into this world. Next was my radio that seemed to be smashed beyond repair. Two grenades, five magazines, my trusty zippo and a pack of cigarettes later, I found what I was looking for. I drew the shiny black device from my pouch, trying my best to float it to her bed stand without accidentally flinging it into a wall or slamming it into the table. “Found it,” I said softly. She slowly turned her head towards me and watched the device come to rest on her bed stand. “I may not be able to sing,” I said, “but I know someone who can.” After fumbling awkwardly with the controls of the device, I managed to select the song I wished to play. http://youtu.be/6-3wp2VVhKQ She simply stared at the device for a few seconds after it started playing, and then slowly settled back into her pillow. Her pain seemingly being taken away by the voice emanating from the MP3 player. “She has a beautiful voice,” she said quietly. I could only sit there and mimic her. I leaned back in my chair listing to the music as the veil of sleep slowly enveloped me. “I know what you are even if they don’t.” I snapped awake and searched the room only to find it empty save for the sleeping pegasus. I slowly reached down to where my rifle lay before only to find empty air where the rifle once was. As I searched the room again, I found that my vest and all of the other equipment was missing as well. I began to panic. If someone had stolen those items, there was no telling what kind of damage they could do. “You won’t need those things.” My blood began to boil, though I wasn’t sure whether it was his demeaning tone or the fact that without my weapon I had absolutely no control over the situation. I hated that feeling. “Where and what are you? Where's my gear.” I whispered venomously, trying not to wake Fluttershy in the process. “What am I?” the voice asked “Why, I’m just the same as you. A warrior taken away from the battlefield. A soldier with his sole purpose in life taken from him.” “You’re wrong! Show yourself coward!” I shouted in defense before slamming a hoof to my mouth and darting my eyes back to my slumbering roommate. She still seemed just as peaceful as ever. My outburst didn’t even elicit so much as a twitch from her. With one issue resolved I stood up from my chair and began to walk out of the room. As I approached the door I noticed a small shadow on the other side. I walked as silently as I could, this being made difficult due to the hard tile floor clacking against my hooves. I remembered how my instructors had taught me how to walk quietly. I moved by inches slowly stepping and remembering to step quietly with the heel then transferring weight to the outside and finally to the front. After a few more agonizing steps I was pressed against the wall just behind the doorframe. As I readied myself for the upcoming confrontation, I began to wonder just what I was going to do if he had the advantage on me. No sooner had that thought passed through my head did the voice of that unknown presence made itself known once again. “If you won’t come out here, maybe your little sleeping friend will be more willing,” it hissed. His voice didn’t seem to be coming from anywhere in the room or outside. It seemed to be right in my head, ready to seep into the chinks in my mental armor like venom. No. I remembered how her face looked after I wounded her; twisted with pain, fear and anguish. I couldn’t bear to see that a second time. I wouldn't allow it. I made the mental decision right then and there. I would never let someone, or something, hurt anybody when I could be there to protect them. That was going to be my ethos. My warrior ethos. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit I will never leave a fallen comrade And now, I will never allow harm to come to those I hold dear. I felt a fire growing inside me. I felt my adrenaline start to rush. Just the same as when that first rocket was fired toward us from the ridge. I felt invincible. “I won’t let you touch her.” I said in a low growling voice. “And just what do you think you can do to stop me?” The voice echoed from inside the hall again. “Kill me perhaps? And show the ponies here what you really are? A cold blooded killer with nothing beneath your steeled carapace?” I remained silent, thinking of anyway that I could get around this. Trying to think of any way I could end this without violence. Despite my best efforts, I could think of nothing. There was no talking him out of here. I steeled myself for my potential last stand. I pushed off with all the strength my body would lend me and bolted out of the door. To my surprise, I found nothing there but a white room. There was nothing on the walls and no determinable ceiling. I looked back to where I had come from only to realize that there now was no door. “Damnit. Where am I?” I bellowed, hoping for a response. There was nothing. Just deafening silence. I felt something welling up inside me. Like someone had just dumped ten pounds of cement into my stomach. I fell to the floor and curled up into a ball, trying to make this horribly nauseating feeling pass. My eyes shot open when the mass made a sudden drive upwards. I kicked around randomly on the floor trying to get a grasp on anything, but I couldn’t get a purchase on anything, like I was floating. I attempted to breath but soon found it futile as I choked on the mass stuck in my throat. I was suddenly was droped to the floor rather unceremoniously. As I opened my eyes I felt body start to convulse due to the lump in my throat starving my body of oxygen. I made one last attempt to cough it up. I only partially succeeded. What came up with the hack looked like ink from a pen. It was jet black and seemed to be pooling together as if it had a mind of its own. I heaved again and managed to get the rest of the mass out of me. It looked much like the little bit that had came out before. It pooled together on the time floor. I reached out towards it so see just what the hell this thing was. When I was about an inch from the blob it seemed to shiver for just a second before a small needle-like protrusion erupted from it's surface and rocketed for my face. Pushing back as fast as I could I managed to avoid my head being impaled, and instead the spike only managed to cut the side of my face. I didn't even bother to check how deep the cut was. All I knew was that this thing was bad news and needed to be dealt with. Using the movement from my earlier dodge I continued backpedaling towards my rifle. I focused on the firearm and envisioned it resting on my shoulder. Sure enough it followed right where it needed to go. I flipped the safety off with the front hoof and slowly skidded to a halt. I didn't need to focus on my breath of the pulse rate to get off the perfect shot. I simply focused on the trigger being pulled back and sure enough three shots rang out and three rounds slammed into the blob. “Fuck!” I screamed as I continued to unload burst after burst into the thing. After the bolt had locked to the rear I looked down to what remained of the black pool in front of me. It seemed to have been splattered all over the door and the wall behind it. The barrel of my rifle was smoking and the end of the exposed barrel seemed to be a soft red color. I hadn't even though about how many rounds I had put downrange. I looked down to my hooves and saw 2 empty magazines and with one in the well I seemed to have gone through a large portion of my supplies. My ears where ringing from the prolonged firing indoors but as my haring slowly came too I heard a soft whimpering. “Oh shit. Hey Fluttershy. Its okay. I took care of that thing.” Rubbing her back like you would to a child who was afraid of the dark. I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes. Looking back, the jet black mass seemed to be accumulating in the center of the door. I nudged her again. “Hey I want you to get under the covers put the pillow over your head and plug yourears. Ok?” I said in a soft voice. “What for? You-” she began to speak back. “Just do it please” I interrupted. She did just what I asked her to. When I was sure that she was ready I pushed the magazine release and twisted the rifle clockwise. The magazine sailed out of the rifle and before the thing had even hit the floor I had drawn another from my pouch and had slammed it into the breach. Tapping the bottom of the mag to ensure that it was fully seated. I then reached up and slapped the bolt release on the left side of the rifle. It surged forward and closed on the chamber with the satisfying clack that only a soldier would know. Almost as if the blob knew what was coming it launched itself from the door at my face. I wrenched my head back and at the same time attempted to roll out of the way. It then ricoched off the the back wall and punched right through the wooden door making an almost comical perfectly round hole. I got back to my feet as quickly as a could and galloped out of the room to try and find which way it had gone. Looking left I saw many a terrified nurse splayed out on the ground to avoid the thing that had just bounced down their hallway at blazing speed. Following the black marks on the walls down the hallway I found myself at yet another heart stopping sight. There was Twilight. Ducking for cover underneath yet another hole in the wall with what appeared to be the rest of her friends and... Princess Luna. Shit.
Chapter 1This was supposed to be a simple recon. How could I have screwed up something as simple as going to look at some poor grunts and turning in a report into me lying on my back in the middle of a big burnt circle, unable to move any part of my body? It was a beautiful day by comparison to the previous one. When I woke and put on my well-worn boots not a single camel spider had made its home within then. Not to mention outside there were no fresh mortar craters for the engineers to fill in. This day was going as perfect as a new Second Lieutenant could ask for. As I slowly came to, I realized that I still had to take orders from Mother Nature, and slowly sauntered off towards the latrine. Once all of that was out of the way I headed back to my tent only to see a private jog up to me. He paused a few a seconds to catch his breath; then spoke. “Second…*gasp*… Lieutenant Rise?” he called. “Yes” I responded in my best impression of someone who hadn’t just rolled out of bed. “CO wants… to see… you… Something about a recon mission.” This was all too perfect. Recon missions were always simple. Go in. Look at nothing in particular. Go home. Easy. After making my way to the CO’s tent, I gathered my orders and headed out to find my soldiers. I briefed my new platoon, a group of rough and tough, battle tested soldiers that had gone to hell and back, and were none too pleased to have their old Platoon Leader replaced by a fresh new one. “Ring Banger”. This was going to be our first actual mission together and I was determined to have it go off without a hitch. “We shouldn't run into much trouble if our intel is right, however, we should be prepared to engage and destroy any hostiles we come across. Once again we go in, gather info on enemy movement, and get the heck out before they even know we were there. Any questions?” Dead silence filled the interior of the bunk tent. “Alright then, meet in hanger four at 1400 and we’ll head out from there. Hooah?” A shout of “hooah!” through the room, the soldiers gave a salute and they marched single-file out of the room. They seemed about as interested in my Op Order as they would be if I had brought them in to watch new paint dry on our vehicles. Once we were done checking our gear, we loaded up and started walking to the hangar where we would find our convoy. The engines of the Humvees sputtered at first but soon enough roared to life. Once outside the base and on the open road, I began to relax. Everything so far had gone perfectly. We had even gotten a little bit lucky when the normally explosive ridden roads were clear and safe. I was sure at that point that my first mission would set a good tone for the remaining part of our deployment. I even felt secure enough around my men to let my guard down for a second and just let my mind wander. I wondered about how my classmates were doing. I remembered the day that they found the little toy of Twilight Sparkle that I had gotten from McDonalds tied to my vest. I had gotten some initial ribbing until I told them the tried and true excuse of “it was a gift from my sister”. This was a blatant lie, as I had no sisters. I looked back down to where it normally was only to remember that I had hidden it in my magazine pouch. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to show my men that I watched, and enjoyed, a show meant for little girls. I was supposed to lead these men into combat, wasn’t I? I couldn’t let my men think that I would let them down in the field when they needed me most. These thoughts were all brought to an abrupt end when one of the men’s voices crackled over the radio “This is Hammer One to all Hammers. Five hundred meters to the Observation point. Grab your crap and get ready to move over.” I grabbed the dusty radio from the dashboard and responded, “copy that, Hammer Three.” I swallowed my anxiety and turned to face my men, wondering if they were as nervous as I was, though as their leader I couldn’t say it outloud. “Alright let’s get ready to move, men.” An issue popped up several times here. We set up on a ridge that overlooked some of the routes that insurgents had apparently been using to transport mortars, RPGs, and other small arms. None of which forward operating bases were too big a fan of. It had been about forty-five minutes since we had set up our observation point and nothing of interest, other than two privates setting up a bug fighting pit and having two scorpions fight to the death, had happened. Both said privates should have been watching the hill behind us to make sure we had full rear security. Only after watching the fight did I turn around and realize why there was no traffic on the road we were watching. A loud screech followed by a deafening explosion echoed across our line followed by shouts of, “contact left! 50 men. RPGs and small arms!” Attempting to keep control of the situation. I yelled though the radio.“Get on line! Alpha and Bravo teams return fire!” As I was reloading my rifle I thought to myself, “where did my stupid recon mission go to?” Another streak of white crashed right down at me and I did the only thing I could think of with my adrenalin-powered mind. I dove with all the force my legs could muster while shouting, “R.P.G!!!” It landed with a teeth rattling impact. When I looked back up, I could tell that my eardrums were ruptured from the constant ringing and the feel of warm liquid running down the side of my head. My sunglasses were also smudged with the blood running down my forehead. I spun around and began slamming rounds into the area where the rocket had come from with my own rifle. I looked left and saw my men fighting back with everything that they had. Our fifty Cal gunner was sending a wall of lead downrange and punishing the hillside, while doing his damnedest to keep us hidden behind his huge turret shield. To my right was one of my SAW gunners sending burst after burst of suppressing fire back up the hill, tearing into the enemy and sending many of them tumbling down the hill. I was snapped back to reality by a round ricocheting off the hood of the hummer I was behind. I popped up for a few seconds to fire back up the hill while rocket after rocket came down the hill at us. A soldier next to me shouted, “Just how many of those damn rockets do they have, sir!?” I responded with a quick, “doesn't matter, keep firing!” After a few more bursts of automatic fire, my rifle made the worst sound a soldier can hear on a battle field. *CLICK* I shouted to the men next to me. ,“reloading!” and reached down to my pouch to grab a fresh mag. However, when I looked down to find a magazine, I found something far more interesting. The Twilight Sparkle toy that I had carried with me for all these years was now shining with brilliant lavender light. I was dumbstruck at this point, thinking that I had hit the ground a little too hard after dodging that RPG, but as I went to touch it, something amazing happened. It flew out of my pocket and tugged hard on the dummy chord it was tied to, taking me with it. As I looked around to the horrified faces of my troops, I thought for sure that I was going to be cut down by the fire from above, and end my short career as an officer in the US Army. I fumbled for my knife, but it was wrenched out of my hand by a sudden tug from Twilight that pulled me higher into the air. That was, until Twilight glowed even brighter to the point where I had to shield my eyes with my arm, and everything around me started to slow down. I looked around and could even see the bullets in mid-flight. The orb of light surrounding Twilight expanded until I was completely engulfed in it. Everything went black and I expected to feel the cold that people have always associated with death. But that feeling never came. I didn’t feel the sensation of falling. What I could feel was my best guess for what zero gravity felt like. The weightless feeling didn’t persist for very long, and I was unceremoniously dumped onto the uncompromising earth. I then thought that I had landed back on the ground and the firefight was still raging around me. I went to grab my rifle that I thought was still beside me only for my body to freeze. I fought with all the fiber of my being to grab the one thing that could keep me alive in this world, but my limbs simply would not respond. I finally succumbed to my body’s stubbornness and simply tried to take in my surroundings. I was greeted not by a harsh, arid atmosphere but by a gentle warm breeze and the smell of wildflowers. I definitely wasn’t in the sand box anymore. “Where in god’s green earth am I?” Ignoring everything I had learned beforehand, I decided that my best option was to wait for my body to recover from whatever it had been subjected to, and tried to take a power nap in the middle of this new place. There was however a certain peaceful aura that persisted here, an aura that felt much like returning home after a long journey. *drip* “Son of a b-” *drop* It was at this point that I noticed something rather odd. There was no breeze, yet the clouds seemed to be moving incredibly fast. It was as if something was controlling them. It couldn’t have been ten seconds after that thought that a rainbow colored streak rocketed past my head. I didn't care what my body had to say at that point. I got up faster than I had ever moved before. I scanned the ground around me frantically for my rifle only to find it, as if someone had placed it there and said, “Keep a hold of this. You’re going to need it.” After grabbing it, I headed to the nearest cover I could find; a large forest on the edge of the field. I made a mad dash towards those trees. without even thinking of looking back. I didn't stop at the edge of the trees to try to find the best way through. I made my own way. As I barreled through the trees, I didn't care about them scratching at my face as I rocketed through the underbrush. Only when I couldn’t see the edge of the field did I stop running. I looked around quickly only to realize that I may have been better off in the field with the rainbow missile. My new surroundings were very much a downgrade from the peaceful, if not wet, field. The tops of the trees seemed to block out any light from the outside world, sealing me in a dark foreboding prison. I scanned the area around me for any way back to the outside world. All I was saw was dead and gnarled trees with trunks that seemed to make grotesque faces. mocking me. I looked down and checked my rifle. Detaching the magazine, I could tell by its weight that it was about half full. Five more mags in my vest would make me a formidable meal for anything that was looking for a quick bite. Next thing to check was my vest. It seemed to have all of the components save for the plate on my back that seemed to have shattered from the earlier impact. Even my knife was there despite losing it midflight. “Alright...Well screw this,” I decided that the best course of action would be to attempt to find some semblance of civilization. From there, I could contact someone to get me home. I began walking deeper into the forest, at least from my perspective. It wasn’t too long until I got the feeling that I was being watched. Too many things seemed off. There were no birds singing, and leaves seemed to move by the breeze despite there being no wind. Whoever or whatever was watching me was good.; not making any undo movements or snapping any branches. It was as if they simply hovered above the ground. This continued for a good while until I decided to investigate my mystery pursuer. I spun around on my heels as fast as my body could move and leveled my rifle at a row of bushes only to catch a glimpse of a yellow wing. “Who’s there!” I bellowed while simultaneously switching my rifle from safe to burst. Nothing but a small rustling from the bush. I approached the bush slowly. Ready to end whatever had been stalking me. *WOOSH* “GRAAAH!” I screamed as I let off a three shot burst, two hitting nothing but dirt, the third finding its mark. As pink mist erupted from her wing, a scream that I wish I hadn’t recognized echoed through the forest. I turned around only to have my blood freeze. “Jesus Christ.” The small pegasus skidded to a halt before a large tree. What I saw in front of me was no predator but a wounded yellow pegasus with a long pink mane, screaming in agony from a gunshot to her right wing. That scream was like nothing I had heard in Afghanistan. This wasn’t the scream of a soldier whose arm had been shredded by mortal shrapnel, nor that of a driver whose hands had been burned to the bone. Their screams echoed with rage. Not this one. This scream was much worse. It was a scream of both absolute terror and searing pain from a creature that was, up until now, untainted by the horrors of war. I couldn’t move. My body just seized up. On the first hand I was staring at a children’s cartoon pony that slowly leaked her life force onto the forest floor, crying for everything she was worth. The other hand... “SHIT! Fluttershy are you ok?!” Of course she wasn't ok you moron. I just shot her in the wing. She just kept screaming balled up in a small, but growing, pool of blood. For a split second I didn't know what to do. Then my training kicked in. I reached on my vest for my first aid kit. I opened it up and pulled out a gauze bandage and some quick clot. “Hey! Fluttershy! Can you hear me” “H-how do y-y-y know my name?” she said trembling, eyes slammed shut with pain “I’ll explain later, but right now you have to trust me.” I said, as I was getting the gauze out of its packaging. Yeah. trust me. don't mind the fact that I just about blew off your wing. “This is going to hurt a little bit but I have to do it to save you.” “O-ok, if it will *sniff* help. Just be gentle wi-AAAAAAAAHH!!!” She screamed again as I poured the chemical on the wound, and once more when I applied the bandage. It looked to me like the bullet had passed though, and there didn't seem to be any of it left in the wound, but my knowledge of pegasus autonomy wasn’t exactly up to date, so I had no idea how bad the damage was, or could be, if I wasn't careful. I was snapped back to reality as the blood began to soak through the bandage and flow down my hand. “Damnit!” I reached for another bandage and pressed it down. The additional bandage elicited yet another blood chilling scream. I had to bury those screams deep in my mind. I had to keep telling myself that it was to save her and that if I did nothing there was no doubt that she would die. I had to get her to her home. “Which way is your house?” She weakly lifted her hoof in front of her and squeaked out, “t-that way.” I picked her up in my arms. I didn’t care how heavy she was. She might as well have been weightless for how much adrenalin was pumping through my veins. I began sprinting through the woods, cradling the wounded creature in my arms. I moved as fast as my legs would take me. After a good bout of sprinting, my goal was in sight. I ran for all I was worth, striding with a greater power than I had ever felt in my life until I felt my boot catch underneath something. As I fell, I tried to turn my back to the ground as to not hurt Fluttershy any more than I already had. I landed, skidding to a halt in a small patch of blue flowers. As I looked over my shoulder. I saw her small cottage was only about one hundred yards away. Its chimney emitted wisps of smoke. As I approached the door I didn't waste any time in putting her down. I lowered my shoulder and slammed into the door. It swayed a bit as it swung open, indicating that it had nearly been torn from its hinges. I ran into the living room, clearing a place on the wooden floor. I set Fluttershy down as gently as was humanly possible. As careful as I was, she still let out a small whimper that tore at my heart strings. How could I have hurt her? Why did I have to shoot? I’m a trained soldier god damn it. I should have known not to shoot. Tears began to run down my face, and I slammed my blood stained glove down onto the floor. “I-I’m sorry...” she whispered. “What?” She looked up at me with half closed eyes. “Don’t cry. It’s not your fault. It... it’s mine. I shouldn’t have followed you like...I...did.” Her voice trailed off and her eyes closed as she uttered those words. “N-no...NO! Fluttershy, stay awake!” I bent down to check her breathing and her pulse. Both were weak, but, thankfully, still existent. I picked her up in my arms again and headed for the door. I didn’t bother with the whole process of opening the door, and instead opted to open in with a swift kick. By the time it had returned to its normal position, I was halfway down the path that led to her house, heading towards the only place I knew I could find help. I tried to remain as stealthy as possible to not shock the other inhabitants of the placid little town. I didn't think my or Fluttershy’s condition would much improve if someone caught a glance of a blood covered monster carrying one of Ponyville’s kindest inhabitants. I moved as quickly as I could towards the large tree located near the park. The park would make for great cover while moving to the library. While moving through the park, I carefully pushed each branch out of the way as to avoid harming Fluttershy more than I already had. I didn't want to look back down at her. I felt so ashamed for what I had done, but I had to. I had to keep making sure that she was still alive. After coming to the last building before the seemingly vast expanse between us and Twilight’s home. I looked down once more before the last sprint. When I checked her over she squeezed my arm weakly and whispered. “Don’t let go. It’s cold...” That was all the motivation I needed. “Don't worry. We’re almost there. Just a few more feet” With those last words I exploded out from the cover of the trees. My heart was pounding furiously, and I felt like was moving faster than ever had before. My energy seemed to erupt from the bottom of my boots. I didn’t have time to look back at the wake I was leaving. Fifty feet. Twenty-five. Ten. One. Just like Fluttershy’s cottage door, I slammed my back into the front door with all I was worth. This time, however, it sent me flying across the room. I landed with a loud thud as I fell into Twilight's home. I had just enough energy to see a small purple and green dragon come from downstairs. The sight must have been awful for him. A monster covered in blood clutching a wounded Fluttershy had just send his front door careening across his home. “WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!” I had only a few words to say to him before my I allowed my mind to slip into unconsciousness. “Help...her” As my head dropped to the floor I couldn't help but smell a small bit of ozone in the air. The smell didn’t persist very long, as it was soon overpowered by the smell of my singed uniform.
Chapter 2“WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!” I had only a few words to say to him before my I allowed my mind to slip into unconsciousness. “Help...her” As my head dropped to the floor I couldn't help but smell a small bit of ozone in the air. The smell didn’t persist very long, as it was soon overpowered by the smell of my singed uniform. “What happened to her?!” I didn’t feel tired anymore. I saw a blazing white light coming from the corner of the sprang up from my recumbent position. “What have you done to Fluttershy!?” Nothing would come out of my lips but a wimpy squeak. “I...” She commanded again, knocking books off the shelves and pushing my helmet back with a strong blast of magic I had to muster the energy I had left in me to simply stand back up. I slowly pushed myself up against the wall and leaned on my rifle to keep myself from slumping back to the cold floor. I could smell my vest and uniform burning. I had to tell the unicorn what happened or she might decide to attack me right there. When I met her eyes, they weren't just filled with rage. They were dripping tears that singed the wood burned into the floor. I raised my hand to attempt to convince her not to blast me again. “She’s been hurt badly...I came here to...find help for her.” I looked back over to Fluttershy. “She needs help right now. I can only do so much with first aid” As her aura started to die down, Twilight rushed to her downed friend. Her horn glowed a gentle purple, and slowly covered her friend in a similar aura. I could see the magic beginning to concentrate toward her wing. “Can you help her?” I whispered as I slowly slumped back down towards the floor. “I don't know very much about restomancy,” she said, “but what I can do is stop the bleeding momentarily.” It was amazing. Her magic lifted the bandage off her wing without her fallen friend so much as flinching. The bloodied wing was covered in magic, but not for long as the magic seemed to seep into it. As promised, the wound stopped bleeding. Twilight, however, seemed undaunted. “You’ll have to carry her”, she said without looking in back at me I raised an eyebrow after the unicorn. “Why?” “I can’t keep her wound from bleeding and teleport her to the hospital. You’ll have to carry her. That is unless you can teleport?” “That’s really not an option.,” I said from the corner of the room. “I’m covered in blood here., both mine and Fluttershy’s. There’s no way I can walk through here without causing an absolute panic.” “You’re right...I didn’t consider that.” After saying that, Twilight seemed to concentrate harder. “Ok. I’ve got it. Come over here and put another one of your bandages on the wound to keep it from bleeding. This will only take a second” Using the butt of my rifle as a crutch, I slowly made my way over to Fluttershy’s side. Her wing was soaked in blood. Its once elegant feathers drenched and matted down. Her face was contorted in pain as if, even in her sleep, she was unable to escape the pain. Pushing back the guilt, I grabbed my last bandage from the first aid kit on my vest. I nodded at Twilight. She slowly let her magic recede and the blood began to flow again., though not as bad as when she was first shot the blood still soaked through the fairly small bandage. I looked back at twilight and asked. “Just what exactly do you plan on doing?” “I’m going to turn you into one of us temporarily.” I took a moment to let those last few words soak in. “What...” “I’m going to make you into a pony for a short while. It’s a fairly complex spell. Give me a moment.,” she said matter-of-factly. She never even gave me a chance to argue. Not that I would object; this was the only real option. “Do I get a choice as to what I’m going to look like?” I asked inquisitively. “Not really,” she said, “the spell takes the qualities of the subject, and adjusts accordingly.” Twilight closed her eyes tight in effort and her horn glowed a bright purple again. Gradually, it became more intense and changed to a brilliant white. I tied the bandage to her wing so that it would not come lose after Twilight’s spell began. I stood to face her and a blue ribbon slowly began to wrap around my feet. It snaked its way up my body. When her spell had finally engulfed me it began to heat up and intensify until the formerly blue ribbon of magic sparkled with a brilliant glow. I could feel my limbs shifting, though I felt no pain. I didn’t dare look down to see my body being transformed. The spell suddenly exploded outward in a flash of light and magic, knocking books off of their shelves. I fell to the ground in a heap and attempted to get my feet under me only to realize that I didn’t have feet anymore. Furthermore, instead of two hands with five fingers., I now had two hooves. I stumbled like a newborn colt to get on all four legs. “Well this is interesting?” I said shakily as I outstretched my hoof to observe my new body. “You don't make a half bad unicorn.” Twilight levitated a mirror over to me. “If I may say so myself.” I looked into the mirror to be greeted by a desert brown unicorn. The spell had even managed to shift my vest so that it fit my new form. I also noticed something very interesting: A mark with two crossed rifles had been stamped onto my flank. “You’re going to need a name,” Twilight said as she moved back to Fluttershy to reapply her magic. “What do you think about Bolt Action?” I asked. “Sounds fine” she said flatly as her spell began to take effect again. “Now pick her up quickly, she needs professional help.” After a bit of running through back alleys and avoiding detection, we finally made it to the hospital. We were greeted by a look of shock from the nurse sitting behind the main desk. I didn’t give her that chance to snap out of it on her own. “We need a medic!!!” “A what?” she responded “Get us a doctor, now!” I shouted, “she doesn’t have a whole lot of time! She needs a doctor right now!” “O-Ok Bring her this way!” the nurse stammered She pushed open a door and led us to a gurney. I laid the poor pegasus down slowly and the nurse wheeled her off towards the E.R. As we were running down the corridor, we were joined by a bespectacled brown pony adorned in a bleach white lab coat. “What happened to her?” he asked. I responded as calmly and as clearly as I could. “She has a bad puncture wound at the base of her wing. She’s lost a good amount of blood and her pulse is very weak.” He looked back at Fluttershy “Very well. You two stay here. We’ll take good care of her, I promise,” he said as he and the nurse pushed through the another door. I stood there with Twilight, unable to move again. Oh god. What if she doesn’t make it.? “NO! She cant die! I won’t allow it!” I screamed while unceremoniously dropping to my new haunches Twilight responded by reaching out to my shoulder, then sharply drew it back as she realized that my uniform and coat was still slick with her friend’s blood. “She’ll be fine” she assured me. “She’s much stronger than you might think.” “...” “I’m going to go get the others. You stay here and wait for her.” I simply sat there, unable to move again. How in the hell could I be called an officer? I was supposed to help people. To protect people. Yet, here I was standing numb in a hallway, having put one of most gentle beings in this world in the E.R. I trudged back to the waiting room. I took my seat and stared down at my blood-soaked uniform. It may as well have been days since Fluttershy went into that operating room. Then I saw movement. The doctor emerged. He looked slightly pale but wore a stoic face. That was never good. Never had I seen a doctor with a flat face carry with him good news. He talked to the nurse behind the counter for a bit. She then gestured at me and he slowly shuffled over. “Excuse me sir?” “Yes?” I responded “You were with Fluttershy earlier today correct Mr...” “Bolt Action,” I stated “Well, Bolt Action, I have good news and bad news” My heart sank into my stomach. “What’s the good news, doc?” “Fluttershy is in stable condition and has a very good chance of pulling through thanks to yours, and Twilight’s quick actions.” “And the bad news?” “She’s going to be in a good bit of pain for a long time.” “What?” I asked again. I hoped I’d heard him wrong. “Whatever had hit her struck her base wing bone. My medical magics can fix many things, but her wound struck many vital areas. The wing may be healed but it will take a long time for her to fully recover. It may even be permanent.” I simply slumped back into my chair at the sobering notion of that word. Permanent. “She may want to have someone in the room,” he said in a caring tone “she seemed absolutely terrified when she came to” “Where is she?” “She’s in room 21 on the second floor” he said. “The door should be open. If not, get one of the nurses up there to help you.” “Thank you, doc” I said as I made my way toward the stairs. If there’s nothing else I could do for her. Maybe I could give some comfort to her so that she doesn’t have to spend the night alone. As I opened the door to the second floor, I realized something. I was still covered in my blood soaked uniform. I looked around for a while before finding a room with a sign that said ‘Stallions’ on it. I soon realized that this task was going to be more difficult than I had initially thought it was going to be. My hooves were of no use to me, as they couldn’t grip the zipper that held my uniform together. I kept on thinking, and ended up staring down at my zipper, puzzling for ways to get it down. I kept concentrating on it until something odd happened. My zipper, and horn, glowed a very faint yellow. “What the hell...” I tried again simply focusing on the zipper and envisioning it going down. It did. I was amazed at my new found ability. I experimented even further with it by focusing on taking off my uniform. Sure enough, it did just that. I then levitated my clothes onto my back and headed back toward my original goal. 19. 20. 21. I reached out slowly to open the door, but hesitated for a bit. What if I scared her even more than she already was? It may not be very comforting to have the person who put you IN the hospital be the only one to stay with you. I had to push these thoughts aside. I steeled myself for what might come, and I pushed the door open. She was in her bed. Her face was still contorted in pain and she slowly looked over to me; her eyes widened in horror. I felt my heart drop into my gut. I did this to her. This is my fault. I slowly approached her bed. Her face did not change. I fell back on my haunches. I tried to open my mouth to say “I’m sorry,” but nothing escaped my mouth. I let my gear fall to the floor. My rifle clacked against the cold tile. I looked at the cold, blackened steel of my rifle then back to her as tears began to roll down my face. “I’m...so sorry.” I said between sobs I don't know how long I sat there, imagining of the ways that I could have avoided this. “Don’t cry,” Fluttershy whispered, I looked up with tears still rolling off my cheeks. “What?” She looked at me now, not with horror, but with compassion. “Please. Stop crying. I told you before that this was my fault.” Her voice sounded so kind to my ears, but my heart wasn’t ready to accept them. “But. I'm the one who put you here.” “Oh no,” she said, “ I-I was the one who followed you throu-*cough* *cough* the bushes.” I stood up and sat down in the chair facing her bed. “Hey now. You shouldn’t even be awake, let alone talking.” She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “At the very least...I’m not alone in here. I don’t like sleeping away from my home.”
Chapter 3After sitting beside her for what seemed like hours, the fragile pony beside me tossed and turned in her bed, every once in a while wincing from the pain of rolling on top of her wounded wing. I stirred from the catatonic like state I was in and leaned forward from my chair and asked her in the nicest sounding voice I could muster. “Anything that I can do?” She responded by pulling her blanket up and hiding her muzzle underneath the soft fabric, and spoke in an almost unheard whisper. “Maybe you could s…” “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you”, I responded while still trying to be as kind as possible. “Maybe you could sing,” she said again much more clearly. I felt my cheeks heat up while trying to respond. “I- Well I’ve never been much of a good singer…” Her ears drooped and she seemed to sink even deeper into the protection of her covers. “But hold on I know what I can do for you.” I held a hoof up and began to go through all my pockets while I searched for the device that would hopefully help assuage her pain. Using the opportunity to sort out all my gear at the same time. First was my knife that had somehow found its way back into the sheath after my fall into this world. Next was my radio that seemed to be smashed beyond repair. Two grenades, five magazines, my trusty zippo and a pack of cigarettes later, I found what I was looking for. I drew the shiny black device from my pouch, trying my best to float it to her bed stand without accidentally flinging it into a wall or slamming it into the table. “Found it,” I said softly. She slowly turned her head towards me and watched the device come to rest on her bed stand. “I may not be able to sing,” I said, “but I know someone who can.” After fumbling awkwardly with the controls of the device, I managed to select the song I wished to play. http://youtu.be/6-3wp2VVhKQ She simply stared at the device for a few seconds after it started playing, and then slowly settled back into her pillow. Her pain seemingly being taken away by the voice emanating from the MP3 player. “She has a beautiful voice,” she said quietly. I could only sit there and mimic her. I leaned back in my chair listing to the music as the veil of sleep slowly enveloped me. “I know what you are even if they don’t.” I snapped awake and searched the room only to find it empty save for the sleeping pegasus. I slowly reached down to where my rifle lay before only to find empty air where the rifle once was. As I searched the room again, I found that my vest and all of the other equipment was missing as well. I began to panic. If someone had stolen those items, there was no telling what kind of damage they could do. “You won’t need those things.” My blood began to boil, though I wasn’t sure whether it was his demeaning tone or the fact that without my weapon I had absolutely no control over the situation. I hated that feeling. “Where and what are you? Where's my gear.” I whispered venomously, trying not to wake Fluttershy in the process. “What am I?” the voice asked “Why, I’m just the same as you. A warrior taken away from the battlefield. A soldier with his sole purpose in life taken from him.” “You’re wrong! Show yourself coward!” I shouted in defense before slamming a hoof to my mouth and darting my eyes back to my slumbering roommate. She still seemed just as peaceful as ever. My outburst didn’t even elicit so much as a twitch from her. With one issue resolved I stood up from my chair and began to walk out of the room. As I approached the door I noticed a small shadow on the other side. I walked as silently as I could, this being made difficult due to the hard tile floor clacking against my hooves. I remembered how my instructors had taught me how to walk quietly. I moved by inches slowly stepping and remembering to step quietly with the heel then transferring weight to the outside and finally to the front. After a few more agonizing steps I was pressed against the wall just behind the doorframe. As I readied myself for the upcoming confrontation, I began to wonder just what I was going to do if he had the advantage on me. No sooner had that thought passed through my head did the voice of that unknown presence made itself known once again. “If you won’t come out here, maybe your little sleeping friend will be more willing,” it hissed. His voice didn’t seem to be coming from anywhere in the room or outside. It seemed to be right in my head, ready to seep into the chinks in my mental armor like venom. No. I remembered how her face looked after I wounded her; twisted with pain, fear and anguish. I couldn’t bear to see that a second time. I wouldn't allow it. I made the mental decision right then and there. I would never let someone, or something, hurt anybody when I could be there to protect them. That was going to be my ethos. My warrior ethos. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit I will never leave a fallen comrade And now, I will never allow harm to come to those I hold dear. I felt a fire growing inside me. I felt my adrenaline start to rush. Just the same as when that first rocket was fired toward us from the ridge. I felt invincible. “I won’t let you touch her.” I said in a low growling voice. “And just what do you think you can do to stop me?” The voice echoed from inside the hall again. “Kill me perhaps? And show the ponies here what you really are? A cold blooded killer with nothing beneath your steeled carapace?” I remained silent, thinking of anyway that I could get around this. Trying to think of any way I could end this without violence. Despite my best efforts, I could think of nothing. There was no talking him out of here. I steeled myself for my potential last stand. I pushed off with all the strength my body would lend me and bolted out of the door. To my surprise, I found nothing there but a white room. There was nothing on the walls and no determinable ceiling. I looked back to where I had come from only to realize that there now was no door. “Damnit. Where am I?” I bellowed, hoping for a response. There was nothing. Just deafening silence. I felt something welling up inside me. Like someone had just dumped ten pounds of cement into my stomach. I fell to the floor and curled up into a ball, trying to make this horribly nauseating feeling pass. My eyes shot open when the mass made a sudden drive upwards. I kicked around randomly on the floor trying to get a grasp on anything, but I couldn’t get a purchase on anything, like I was floating. I attempted to breath but soon found it futile as I choked on the mass stuck in my throat. I was suddenly was droped to the floor rather unceremoniously. As I opened my eyes I felt body start to convulse due to the lump in my throat starving my body of oxygen. I made one last attempt to cough it up. I only partially succeeded. What came up with the hack looked like ink from a pen. It was jet black and seemed to be pooling together as if it had a mind of its own. I heaved again and managed to get the rest of the mass out of me. It looked much like the little bit that had came out before. It pooled together on the time floor. I reached out towards it so see just what the hell this thing was. When I was about an inch from the blob it seemed to shiver for just a second before a small needle-like protrusion erupted from it's surface and rocketed for my face. Pushing back as fast as I could I managed to avoid my head being impaled, and instead the spike only managed to cut the side of my face. I didn't even bother to check how deep the cut was. All I knew was that this thing was bad news and needed to be dealt with. Using the movement from my earlier dodge I continued backpedaling towards my rifle. I focused on the firearm and envisioned it resting on my shoulder. Sure enough it followed right where it needed to go. I flipped the safety off with the front hoof and slowly skidded to a halt. I didn't need to focus on my breath of the pulse rate to get off the perfect shot. I simply focused on the trigger being pulled back and sure enough three shots rang out and three rounds slammed into the blob. “Fuck!” I screamed as I continued to unload burst after burst into the thing. After the bolt had locked to the rear I looked down to what remained of the black pool in front of me. It seemed to have been splattered all over the door and the wall behind it. The barrel of my rifle was smoking and the end of the exposed barrel seemed to be a soft red color. I hadn't even though about how many rounds I had put downrange. I looked down to my hooves and saw 2 empty magazines and with one in the well I seemed to have gone through a large portion of my supplies. My ears where ringing from the prolonged firing indoors but as my haring slowly came too I heard a soft whimpering. “Oh shit. Hey Fluttershy. Its okay. I took care of that thing.” Rubbing her back like you would to a child who was afraid of the dark. I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes. Looking back, the jet black mass seemed to be accumulating in the center of the door. I nudged her again. “Hey I want you to get under the covers put the pillow over your head and plug yourears. Ok?” I said in a soft voice. “What for? You-” she began to speak back. “Just do it please” I interrupted. She did just what I asked her to. When I was sure that she was ready I pushed the magazine release and twisted the rifle clockwise. The magazine sailed out of the rifle and before the thing had even hit the floor I had drawn another from my pouch and had slammed it into the breach. Tapping the bottom of the mag to ensure that it was fully seated. I then reached up and slapped the bolt release on the left side of the rifle. It surged forward and closed on the chamber with the satisfying clack that only a soldier would know. Almost as if the blob knew what was coming it launched itself from the door at my face. I wrenched my head back and at the same time attempted to roll out of the way. It then ricoched off the the back wall and punched right through the wooden door making an almost comical perfectly round hole. I got back to my feet as quickly as a could and galloped out of the room to try and find which way it had gone. Looking left I saw many a terrified nurse splayed out on the ground to avoid the thing that had just bounced down their hallway at blazing speed. Following the black marks on the walls down the hallway I found myself at yet another heart stopping sight. There was Twilight. Ducking for cover underneath yet another hole in the wall with what appeared to be the rest of her friends and... Princess Luna. Shit.
