My name is Thomas Richardson, after spending over a year in a warzone I was really looking forward to some peace and quiet. That was until I find her, a young blonde girl who claims to be a pony from a place called Equestria?
My name is Thomas Richardson, after spending over a year in a warzone I was really looking forward to some peace and quiet. That was until I find her, a young blonde girl who claims to be a pony from a place called Equestria? Now that is good one! I decide to take her in till she regains sanity but as time goes on, I begin to feel something more for her.
First chapter enjoy. I am not in the military (At least not yet, I start Marine ROTC next year) So forgive me if my info is off.
I was jolted awake suddenly when the ground appeared to be shaking. My first thought was that I was under attack by enemy anti-aircraft fire, after a few seconds I realized I was on a commercial airline headed to Ronald Reagan International Airport. My military plane had arrived in Bangor Airport in Maine and I had to take a second flight to my home in Washington D.C. My name is Second Lieutenant Thomas Richardson, I am an officer in the United States Marines. I was rather on the tall side standing at 6'4 and weighing 220 pounds, I had very short brown hair with light blue eyes. I had spent the last year in the wastelands of Afghanistan. I had seen quite a bit of action and my body showed it, my entire left forearm was discolored due to thermal burns from when the HUMVEE I was inside of exploded. I also had a long scar going down my right cheek from when an insurgent got the jump on me and tried to knife me. I was able to put him down but the bastard put a deep gash down my cheek. There were also plenty of other minor cuts and bruises from numerous close combat fights. I normally don't like to wear my uniform in public for two reasons: One. it brings a lot of attention and two, i could get into real big trouble if i was caught doing something bad in uniform but I had no civilian clothes to change into so I was stuck with this. It is Marine custom to roll up the sleeves on their BDU's, this exposed my grossly colored forearm to the world. I had received many looks from many people due to my visible injuries but I just ignored them.
"We will soon be making our descent into Ronald Reagan International Airport, it is currently 42 degrees and cloudy in Washington D.C." The captain of the airliner said. I fastened my seatbelt as I felt the plane start to lower towards the ground. I never liked flying, mainly cause the last aircraft I was in got shot down and almost killed me. After twenty minutes the plane finally boarded into the terminal and the passengers began making their exit. I grabbed my backpack from the overhead compartment and slung it over my back. I began to walk out and I thanked the pilot and flight attendents who returned the thank you. I nodded and went on my way. My stomach growled as I desired to get some food, peanuts and pretzels don't exactly fill you up. I decided I wanted american fastfood and headed to the McDonalds that was in the airport. I ordered the traditional Big Mac meal. My mouth watered as greasy smell reached my nostrils. I took my food to a lone table in the corner and dug in. I could practically feel my arteries starting to clog as I ate the chunk of greasy goodness. After I finished I took my tray to the garbage and emptied the contents into the trash, I was never one to leave food on my plate. I then walked over to the bus station past the baggage claim. I didn't have anything with me that couldn't fit in my backpack. I saw some other soldiers in uniform across the hall, they look liked army to me based on how their BDU's looked. I boarded the bus and paid the fee to ride it before taking a seat in the back and settling down. My house was relatively close to downtown Washington D.C so it didn't take long for the bus to arrive at my stop. My home was simple two story house with a small basement and a yard. I chose to live off base and get my own house. My grandparents had been very wealthy and after they passed away they willed a quarter of a million dollars to me. That would be enough to last the rest of my life as long as I didn't go buying Ferraris or anything like that. As I rounded the corner to my house I saw a bright yellow banner which said "Welcom Home Tommy" on it. I smiled as I saw my family on the front lawn waiting for me. I saw my parents and my brothers and sisters with all their kids as well. Before I could even say anything I was tackled by all my nieces and nephews.
"UNCLE TOMMY!" They all cried out as they hugged me tightly.
"Hey kids!" I said returning the hug.
"Sally get off Uncle Tommy." My older sister Betty said to her daughter.
"I can't believe how big she's getting!" I said to my sister. Last time I saw Sally she was only starting to talk. My sister went over to me and hugged me.
"We're so proud of you." She said. I looked behind her and saw my dear mother crying. I went up to her and hugged her tightly. It was never easy for a mother to know their son was constantly in danger in a war zone but she was strong and she managed to pull through. I was very close with my mother and I loved her dearly.
"Oh I'm so glad your home Tommy!" She cried.
"So am I mom." I said.
"I made you your favorite apple pie." She said smiling as she held out a steaming fresh apple pie. My mouth watered at the sight of it, apple pie was my favorite and after eating MRE's for the past year this was going to taste extra good.
"Son." I heard a voice behind me. I turned to see my father in his old Marine BDU's. My father had served in Vietnam which is one of the reasons I joined up. I looked up to him because I know from history that whatever shit I go through in Afghanistan, it was much worse for him in Vietnam.
"Dad." I said as I shook my fathers hand. He smiled as he held out a stogie to me which I gladly took. I wasn't much of a smoker but I loved the occasional ciger. I lit it up and blew out smoke rings with dad.
"First I clog my arteries with McDonalds, now I'm rotting my mouth and lungs with tobacco. What organ am I gonna fuck up next?" I asked my dad.
"Your liver." He said pulling out a case of Miller Lite. Damn he was good. The party continued all night till most of my family left to go home at about 7:30. I waved goodbye to my relatives as I walked back inside. It felt so damn good to be home again! Being able to sleep without worrying about an ambush, eating real food, and best of all, no damn big ass bugs. As I sat down on my sofa I realized I didn't know what I wanted to do. Although I wasn't deployed that didn't mean I didn't have to work. Next week I would have to go to Marine Barracks for work. It wasn't so bad as I got to see the Silent Drill Platoon and the Commadant's Own practice. I decided to go for a walk in downtown D.C. I always liked walking around the city at night, it was very peaceful save the waves of protesters that had no idea what they were protesting at Capital Hill. Since I lived close to the downtown area I got on the Metro and got off at Union Station. It was quite cold out so I wore two pairs of pants and a sweater under my jacket. I began my walk down towards the Jefferson Memorial. It looked quite majestic in the night sky as I looked up at the monument to our third president. I was so entranced by the beauty of the statue I barely noticed a coughing noise. At first I ignored it but then it continued so I began to investigate.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked. No answer except more coughing. I walked around the building to look for the source of the coughing. It wasn't the 'i got something in my throat' coughing, it was more iike the 'im fuckin dying over' kind of coughing and that is what concerned me greatly. I continued to search when I saw a person under a tree cuddled into a ball. It looked like they had no clothes on, damn they must be freezing! I walked closer till I was only a few feet away.
"Excuse me?" I asked as I took off my spare pants and jacket and held it out. It wasn't in my nature to leave someone in the cold like this, besides I could always buy a new jacket. The person looked at me and i saw it was a young woman, probably in her early twenties. She had long blonde hair with emerald eyes, she had freckles and forgive me for being perverted but she had a very curvy figure. She had large rounded breasts and long toned legs.
"Here take thi-" I said holding out my jacket before I felt a force make contact with my nose. I was knocked back and I realized that bitch had kicked me! I wiped my nose and saw blood, damn she had some powerful legs.
"G-g-get a-away from m-m-me y-y-you h-hear!" She said shivering out of cold and fear. I could see she was scared so I tried to come friendly despite the fact she probably broke my nose.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." I said holding my hand out. She jumped back obviously preparing for another kick but she was cold and weak and she soon collapsed. I went up to her and wrapped my jacket around her. I also took my spare pants and gave it to her to put on. She looked at me quizzically.
"Put these on, it'll keep you warm." I said. She struggled to put the pants on much to my surprise. It was like she never worn pants before.
"Listen I just want to help, I promise I won't hurt you." I said again. She looked at me square in the eye and then she held her hand out. I took it and helped her up. She soon fell over again from bad balance. I noticed she was barefoot so I gave up my socks and shoes. My feet were very calloused from months of war so I could go an hour being cold.
"Where do you live?" I asked.
"A-ah'm not from here." She said. I figured she was from Texas from her accent.
"You mean like Texas?" I asked.
"No ah mean I don't know how to get back, ah'm lost!" She cried. She must have some sort of amnesia or some shit like that.
"You can come with me till we find out where you live." I said. I wouldn't mind having her at my house, money wouldn't be an issue and I did get lonely at times. I was never sociable, I never went to parties in High School or College and to my embarrassment I had yet to kiss a girl.
"Ah don't know-" She said nervously.
"Trust me, I would love to have you." I said as I walked with her to the nearest Metro station. She was intrigued by the massive structures and cars that zoomed by. I figured she must have been raised on an isolated farm where she never seen cities or cars before.
"Whats your name miss?" I asked her.
"Applejack." She replied. Applejack? Who the hell names their kid after an alcoholic beverage? Yup there is no more doubt in my mind she is Texan.
"I'm Thomas Richardson, you can call me Tom." I said.
I led 'Applejack' as she was called into the metro station. She had very poor balance as I had to hold her up to keep her from face planting for the fifth time tonight. People probably thought she was waster. We sat down on a bench as I heard the train come roaring down the tunnel and stopped. She jumped back when the doors opened mechanically.
"H-how did it do that?" She asked.
"Technology." I replied as I scooted her inside. People looked at me when they saw I was barefoot but I ignored them. I sat Applejack down onto a seat and I sat next to her. This was a strange one indeed and coming from a Marine, that was saying something. She seemed intrigued and scared of everything. The Metro soon came above ground and crossed over the Potomac River. Applejack appeared to be in a trance as she looked out the window. She didn't say a word till the Metro arrived at our stopped. Once again I had to help her up and out of the train. The moment we left the train the cold hit us like a fist and we began shivering. My house was only a block away from the Metro stop and normally I would have just sprinted to my house but Applejack couldn't even walk right, I can't imagine what would happen if she tried running. We quickly made it to my house and I pulled out my keys to unlock the door. I led Applejack inside who seemed nervous at going in. I flicked on the lights as the heated house quickly erased the cold that was all over my body. My toes were practically frost bitten and I lost feeling in them a long time ago. I led Applejack to couch and helped her down before running for the sink to dip my frozen feet into some hot water. I let my feet soak in the hot water for about ten minutes till I could feel something again. I then took a pair of socks that were on the ground and placed them on my feet. I walked back into the living room to ask Applejack if she wanted anything to eat.
"Hey Applejack are you hung- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I screamed as I saw her lying naked on my couch. I quickly looked up to avoid staring at her.
"We don't wear clothes where ah'm from." She said. I gotta visit that place sometime. I found it hard not to stare, her body had a perfect hourglass figure and her chest was- No I will not think anymore perverted thoughts.
"Well you have to wear them here. You'll get arrested if you go outside without clothes." I said. She would need underwear and a bra but since I was the only guy living there I obviously lacked womens underwear. I would have to go shopping tomorrow.
"Wait here." I said as I ran up stairs to get her some clothes. I walked into my room and pulled out some old pajamas from two years ago. They would be big on her but so would all my clothes. I came back downstairs and saw her laying on her back exposing her body again. I blushed as I quickly looked up again and walked over to her. Since I was looking up I tripped over my shoes and I fell over, right into her.
"SHIT! FUCK ME!" I thought as I fell into her. I found my head resting on her stomach. I could feel her abdominal muscles under a layer of soft cushion. Her warm stomach rose with each breath she took, it was very relaxing but I quickly got up with my cheeks burning red. I was expecting another kick to the face but it never came, I instead saw her smiling like she didn't mind.
"H-here put these on." I said wanting to just disappear. She struggled getting the clothes on but she finally managed. This was officially the most awkward night of my life.
"Are you hungry at all?" I asked her still embarrassed with myself.
"A little." She said.
"Well what do you like?" I asked.
"Some apples and hay would be nice." She replied.
"I got apples and wait-did you say 'hay'?" I asked.
"Yup." She said. Okay, of all the weird shit she has done or said tonight, this one takes the cake.
"Uh where did you eat hay at?" I asked.
"Back in Ponyville." She said. Ponyville? I was starting to think she was trippin on some serious shrooms.
"Ponyville?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "Is that a horse farm somewhere?"
"Nope, its in Equestria." She said. I have never heard of Equestria but I knew there were hundreds of tiny countries I have never heard of in Africa and Asia, but she definitely was american. Her accent and her physical appearance could only be found down south.
"Ah have some questions too." She asked. "Where am I?"
"Washington D.C." I said. She had a puzzled look on her face.
"Come again?" She asked.
"Washington D.C., United States of America, Planet Earth." I said getting a little smart-assy.
"Ah've never heard of any of those places! Oh no!" She began to panic.
"What do you mean you've never heard of Earth? Where else will you find humans other than Earth?" I asked.
"Whats a human?" She asked. You have got to be kidding me. I was about to haul off before I realized she was probably very drunk or on some very crazy drugs. That would explain why she had trouble walking and why she was so content with me seeing her naked like that.
"Thats what species you are." I said. "We are both humans."
"Ah ain't no human! Ah'm a pony!" She said. I have officially run out of words to describe how weird this is.
"A pony?" I asked. What really scared is that she was dead serious, she really thought she was a frickin pony! I now had two theories left, A: She was snorting crack or B: She must be one of those people who wants to be an animal so they start acting like it. Either way I'm taking this girl to see a doctor tomorrow but for now I just deal with it. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard sniffling. I turned to see her burying her head into her arms and sobbing. Great, now I feel like an asshole.
"Are you okay?" I asked with a gentle tone.
"Ah'm lost and ah miss mah family! Ah just wanna go home!" She cried. I shuddered as I heard those words exit her mouth.
"Your gonna be fine private, your gonna make it!" I said as I held onto a wounded Marine's hand. We had been ambushed by insurgents and one of our guys had been hit. He had been hit the stomach buy a shotgun round and his entire midsection had been shredded to pieces, I knew he was a goner.
"I don't wanna die! I just wanna go home!" He cried as he coughed up blood. He grabbed my hand and began to cry. "I just wanna go home!"
I blinked and found myself in my living room with Applejack sobbing into her arms. I cringed trying to get the terrible memory out of my mind. This was the first time I had a PTSD flashback in a long time. I guess it was because I saw the same pain and fear in Applejack's eyes that I saw in that young Marine's eyes before he died. They were both lost, scared, and wanted to be safe in the comfort of home. She must have really believed she was a pony from Equestria or could she actually be telling the truth?
"Hey." I said looking at her. "I'll help you find your way back home."
"R-really?" She asked sniffling.
"It's my job to help others." I said. Her eyes began to dry as a smile crawled across her face.
"Oh that reminds me." I said as went to the fridge and pulled out a granny smith green apple. "Here's your apple."
"Thanks." She said gratefully as she bit into the apple. She really enjoyed it as she ate the whole thing in practically three bites.
"Well somebody's hungry." I said as she blushed from her lack of manners. I went to the fridge and took out some leftovers from my Homecoming Party. I had some potato salad, some cheeseburgers and tater-tots, homemade mac and cheese, and some apple pie. I made her a plate with a scoop of potato salad and mac and cheese with a slice of apple pie and a cheesburger. I heated it up in the microwave and when I walked past a mirror that was in my living room, i noticed my nose was still broken from when she kicked me. I really am glad none of the guys in my squad saw that, I could just imagine what they'd say when the big bad tough Marine got his nose broken by a chick. I put my hands a the bridge of my nose and prepared to snap it back in place. Breaking my nose wasn't new to me as I did several times on my last tour. I used my hands to push the broken cartilage into place.
"AHHH! FUCK!" I screamed as loud pop was heard signaling that my nose was back in place.
"ARE YOU OKAY!?" Applejack came running into the kitchen almost falling due to her bad balance. She grabbed onto a chair at the last second before she face planted.
"Yeah just popped my nose back into place." I said rubbing my nose.
"Oh ah'm terribly sorry bout that." Applejack said rubbing the back of her head.
"Don't worry about it, I've had worse things than my nose broken before." I said. I remember when I was eight and I broke several ribs when I fell out of a tree, those following months were miserable "You got quite a kick."
"Years of apple bucking." She said proudly. I thought I misheard her for a minute and my mouth dropped but then I realized what she said. I didn't even bother asking what 'apple bucking' was. I heard the microwave ring meaning the food was done heating up. I pulled the plate out carefully since it was just heated. I put in on the table for her.
"Eat up, careful its hot." I warned.
"Ah really appreciate it, thanks so much." She said as she tried to get in the chair. I eventually had to help because she almost fell flat on her rear end. She examined the food and sniffed it before tasting it. The moment she smelled the apple pie she dove into it and devoured it. She then moved on to the potato salad and the mac and cheese. I could see her look of approval as she ate the food. What shocked me the most was that she didn't use the fork I gave her and she used her hands. She then moved to inspect the cheeseburger.
"What is this?" She asked.
"A cheeseburger." I said.
"What's this brown stuff?" She asked pointing to the meat.
"Beef." I answered.
"What's that?" She asked.
"Cow." I said. The color drained from her face as she dropped the burger.
"Y-you eat c-cows?" She asked very disturbed.
"Yeah most people do." I said. She must be die-hard vegetarian.
"AHH!" She yelled as she back off from the burger.
"Okay meat isn't your thing!" I said taking the cheeseburger and throwing it into the fridge. Good thing I found that out before I fried up bacon in the morning. I saw her yawning and beginning to drowse off. I went over and helped her out of the chair and saw that she passed out. Not wanting to wake her I picked her up and carried her upstairs to the spare bedroom. I gently laid her in the bed and pulled the sheets over her. I saw her cuddle up in the sheets. I smiled as I shut the door and headed back downstairs to clean up before I went to bed.
I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock going off. I slapped the thing in anger that it had disturbed my sleep but it was time for me to get up anyway. It was 5:45 in the morning and it was still dark out due to the shortened days of winter. I usually got up early every morning to go run and then weight lift but I didn't want to leave Applejack alone so I decided to just lift the weights. I put on some workout shorts and left my room not bothering to put a shirt on. I peeked into the spare room to see Applejack still sleeping. I silently shut the door and headed down to my basement. I went to my weight set and set up for bench press, my current max was 315 pounds so i put 235 on the bar for reps. I sat down on the bench and out my hands on the bar. I lifted the bar off the bench and held it over my chest. I inhaled as I lowered the bar to my chest and exhaled as I pushed it back up, my pecs contracting in the process. I did several more reps before racking the bar an taking a quick break. I did three more sets then I went to the pull up bar. I began pulling my body over the bar repeatedly until I couldn't anymore. I then did shoulder press, deadlift, squat, power clean, and abs. After I was done I was drenched in a layer of sweat and I smelled like death. I went back up the stairs not looking where I was going and found myself bumping in to someone.
"Good morning Applejack, what are you doing up so early? I asked. Applejack was eyeing my body up and down and I could see the blush on her face meaning she liked what she saw.
"G'morning Tom." She replied.
"What are you doing up so early?" I asked her. It was 6:30 A.M on a Saturday which was why I was surprised to see her up.
"Ah always get up this early to work on the farm." She said. Shit, here comes the pony stuff again.
"Well the early bird catches the worm." I said.
"Come again?" She said with a cute puzzled look on her face.
"Never mind." I said.
"What were you doin up so early?" She asked.
"Working out." I said. "I'm going to shower than I'll come down to make breakfast."
'Okay." She said as I headed upstairs. I walked up to my shower stall and turned on the hot water. The room soon became riddled with steam as the temperature of the water increased. The hot water felt good as it relaxed my fatigued muscles. I rubbed body wash over my body to quell the stench that was emitting from my sweat pores. I washed my hair with shampoo and I was out all in a matter of five minutes. I never like taking long showers, in fact I hated taking showers in general. I opened the shower curtain to see Applejack right there.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" I yelled as frantically tried to find a towel or anything that could cover me uo "What are you doing?!"
"Ah was just comin to check on you." She said innocently. Well I just couldn't stay mad at that.
"Well just don't do it again." I said finding a towel and wrapping it around my waist. I darted to my room and thew on some jeans and a long sleeve sweater since I was going out today to buy AJ some clothes. Luckily I found some of clothes that my sister had left after her last visit. They were going to be a little big on AJ but they would still fit. I came out of my room and saw AJ downstairs on the couch.
"Here, we're going out to buy you some clothes today. Put these on." I said tossing the clothes to her. I went into the other room while she changed and it took her about ten minutes because she struggled to get the clothes on. It was really cold to day so I gave her my spare jacket and hat. I opened the door and led her outside as I locked the door behind me. We walked to the driveway where my pickup truck lay waiting to be used. I opened the door for her and she went inside intrigued by everything in there. I shut the door and went around to the driver side and got in. I put the keys in the ignition and the truck roared to life. She was startled at first by the noise but she calmed down.
"AJ put you seatbelt on." I said.
"Mah what?" She asked.
"This thing." I said pointing to my seatbelt.
"Where is mine at?" She asked looking for the seatbelt not thinking to look behind her. I leaned over to grab it from behind her head and pulled it around her waist and into the buckle. I felt like a damn mom buckling her six year old kid in.
"Why do ah gotta wear this thing?" AJ asked.
"So I crash you won't go flying through the windshield." I said a little meaner than I meant to. She looked a little pale at the thought of going though the windshield but she shrugged it off. I rebuckled my seatbelt and pulled out of my driveway and onto the street. I would have to go to a Kohl's, shoestore, and *gulp* Victoria's secret for underwear. I decided to get the worst over with so I drove towards the Victoria Secret. She didn't say a word as I drove, she was too interested in what was outside which was alright with me. I didn't like talking while I was driving anyway. After fifteen minutes we arrived at the famed lingerie store and I still can't believe I was about to go in and buy a bra and panties.
"Come on AJ." I said as I unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door for her. I took her hand as she stepped out as she still had a little trouble walking. As she stepped out she fell but I was able to catch her before she hit the ground. She smiled at me as I helped her back and walked her to the store. We walked in almost immediately people began staring at me awkwardly, fuck me. I walked over to an employee for help.
"Excuse me uh." I said nervously, this was the most awkward moment of my life. "I need some bras and underwear for the lady here."
"I see, ma'am what is your cup size?" The employee asked.
"Mah what?" AJ asked.
"Your cup size." The employee asked.
"Excuse me AJ." I said as I went to the employee and whispered in here ear. "She has some really bad amnesia so you think you could y'know help her?"
"Alright then, come with me Ms." The employee said taking AJ's hand. AJ looked at me with worry in her eye as the women led her to the dressing room.
"It's okay." I said as I comforted her. The employee led AJ to the dressing room while I stood there trying to avoid all eye contact with everyone there. After about fifteen minutes the two came out with four pairs of bras and underwear. The male part of me couldn't help but notice how large the bras were. I handed the cashier my credit card and after making the purchase. Aj and I left the store.
"Uh Tommy?" She asked.
"Yeah AJ?" I said.
"The woman in there said ah had a large chest is that good er bad?" Aj asked. My body froze at the awkward question.
"Well, its not a bad thing." I said nervously. "I mean, I guess its good."
"Do you think ah have a big chest?" She asked innocently. Fuck me I saw this one coming.
"Uh-I-uh-uh-We still have stores to go to, lets get goin!" I said as I helped her back into the car and shut the door. I got into the drivers seat and headed towards Kohls to buy her some clothes. I got her two pairs of jeans and some undershirts. I also got her some sweaters and socks along with silk pajamas. I asked her if there was anything else she wanted but she was very polite and didn't ask for anything more than I brought her. I went to the shoestore next to buy her gym shoes and some boots for when it snowed. She had a pretty small foot, a size eight compared to my size fifteen. All this shit cost me about six hundred dollars but I didn't care too much. We arrived home at bout two in the afternoon so we still had a whole day ahead of us. I helped her back into the house and I let her get changed into the silk pajamas I got here. As she changed I tried to figure out what I was going to do when I went to work tomorrow. I obviously couldn't take her with me to Marine Barracks so I would have to trust her on her own. She came downstairs dressed in the silk pajamas looking very comfortable.
"Feel better?" I asked her.
"Mmhmm." She replied. "Tommy ah really appreciate all yer doin fer me, is there anything ah can do to repay you?"
"Don't worry about it." I said. She actually had already paid me back. Despite her odd behavior I really did enjoy having her here. She was a very pretty young woman who was also very kind and innocent, something that was a rarity in today's world. She had filled up the void I felt when coming home and secretly, I wouldn't mind her staying her forever.
"Tommy whats this picture of?" She asked pointing to a picture of me in my dress blues.
"That is me in my Marine dress blues." I said.
"Marine? You mean like the ocean scientist?" She asked. I knew this was going to come up eventually. she seemed so innocent and naive to the evil in this world. How would she react if she found out that I had killed before?
"No a Marine is a guardian." I said not wanting to reveal the truth of war to her.
"Like the Royal Guard?" She asked.
"What royal guard?"
"The stallions who guard Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in Equestria." She said. Dammit, we had gone almost a whole day without this pony crap now she was starting it up again. As always, I just went with it.
"Yeah like those guys." I said. "We protect the people of America."
"Thats mighty nice of you." She said. "Spending your days helping people."
"Yeah helping people." I said remembering all the dead bodies I saw on the battlefield. Marines certainly did help people though, I had participated in the Toys for Tots program numerous times and when I was deployed alot of Marines would play with the afghan kids and help the afghan adults with various tasks.
"Hey AJ you want to watch a movie?" I asked her.
"Sure, a movie sounds nice." She said. I sighed a breath of relief since she finally was familiar with something. I scrolled down my DVDS in the shelf: Saving Private Ryan, good but too violent. Full Metal Jacket, a classic but way too violent. Human Centipede, why the fuck do I own this? All the movies were too violent or too inappropriate save a few cartoon disney movies I had for when my nieces and nephews visited. I eventually wound up picking out Home Alone. I freakin loved that movie when I was younger. I remember literally peeing myself when the two robbers were hit by all the traps the kid set up. It was Christmas time after all so I figured this would be a good one. Funny, not too violent, and heartwarming. I put the DVD in the TV and I sat down next to AJ and we watched. She was giggling at the infamous house traps that Macauly Culkin had set up around his house to stop the two robbers but I noticed towards the end she was crying. I thought it was just because of the heartwarming ending but these were tears of pain.
"AJ?" I asked. "Are you okay?"
"Ah'm sorry, ah just miss mah family." She said sobbing. Seeing the large family in the movie must have reminded her of her own family. I never was good at comforting crying people so I just did what I thought was right and I hugged her. I rubbed my hand through her hair as she cried onto my chest.
"Sshh, its okay." I said. "I promise I'll get you home."
"Really?" She asked.
"You bet I will." I said smiling as I wiped a tear from her eye. She sniffled as she smiled back. I decided to put on Will Ferrel's timeless classic Elf on next. I figure she would enjoy the humorous movie and did she ever. I have never seen someone laugh so hard in my whole life. She didn't get some stuff due to her lack on knowledge on culture but she still found the movie funny.
Alright here we go, fourth chapter. Again I apologize for any errors, I have done research but I am not in the military so some stuff may be wrong.
I woke up to that damn alarm clock. Irritated that it had ruined my sleep, I pounded down my fist as hard as I could. It stopped ringing but it was probably because I broke it. I got up to examine and saw that my hit had indeed damaged it. I sighed and threw in an increasing pile of broken alarm clocks in the corner of my room. At this rate, that pile would be taller than me by Christmas which was four days away. I walked over to my laptop to check my email as I did every morning. I noticed an unread message from my CO, Captain Drake.
Dear Tom
It's been a while since we talked son, We need to get together sometime outside of work but thats not the point of this message. Im sending this to grant you leave through Christmas. Everyone knows you had to make some tough decisions on your last tour and we feel you deserve some long R&R. We all wish the squad made it back home but you all did your country proud.
Merry Christmas
-Captain Milo Drake USMC.
P.S. You might want to get that eye of yours checked out, heard you took a knife pretty close to it.
My breathing increased as I read the message. The tough decision he was referring to, I don't like to talk about it. Long story short I had two men in life threatening situations and I could only save one. After I saved one of them my entire squad got killed by a suicide attack. It was a huge bloodbath and I try to forget about it. I was happy to hear I had a nice long leave. Now I didn't have to worry about AJ burning the house down. Speakin of which I wonder if she was up. I closed my email and headed downstairs. She was already up and she was cooking! Damn I didn't see that coming, I was worried at first that she might burn my house down but she seemed to know what she was doing. I continued to look at her, she just looked so calm and seeing her made me forget about all my worries. I suddenly remembered it was the last sunday before Christmas meaning I had to go to church. I was a raised as a catholic when I was a child. You know how they say there are no athiests in the foxhole? Well, I've been in a lot of foxholes. I always wore my cross on deployments and it always brought me a sense of comfort. I was debating in my head whether I should take AJ to church. Sure I couldn't leave her alone but she might accidently offend someone at church. I eventually decided to bring her, if she did say something offensive, well catholics are supposed to be the forgiving type.
"AJ!" I called. She turned and smiled at me.
"G'mornin Tommy!" She said happily. "Ah made breakfast."
"I can see." I said intrigued to try her cooking. She made toast, pancakes, and waffles. There was no bacon, eggs, or sausage but I knew she was a vegetarian so I didn't complain. I took a bite of the pancake and felt like I was in heaven! It was fluffy and had a hint of apples in it. I looked out the window and saw that it had snowed a good several inches.
"Damn this is good!" I exclaimed earning a smile from AJ. "Hell if I had known you were a good cook I'd have you cook all the time!"
"Aw it was nuthin." AJ said blushing. She was the humble type, I liked that.
"AJ today I am going to Church and I would like to know if you want to go?" I asked.
"Church?" She ask confused.
"Weekend worship? Praise God?" I asked.
"God?" She asked. The catholic in me made me almost brown my pants because I thought she didn't believe. "You believe in her to?"
"Whew, she believes in God, WAIT! Did she say 'her'?" I thought to myself. "AJ did you call God a her?"
"Eeyup!" AJ said. "She created the whole universe and when ponies die, they go to be with her forever." Alright, sounds enough like Christian belief to me.
"Well God is a 'He' here." I said. Technically, God was genderless but they called him God the Father so the 'He' kinda stuck with it.
"Tell me about God here!" AJ said. I explained the creation of the universe and how Satan decieved Mankind into disobeying God thus bringing sin into the world. Then I explained about how God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us so we could enter Heaven.
"The holiday coming up is called Christmas, this is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus." I said.
"Y'know beside this Jesus fellar, the same exact thing happened to Equestria!" AJ said. Shit, not this pony crap again!
"In the beginning she created the universe and then the spirit of chaos, Discord, brought chaos onto Equestria and Princess Celestia and Luna were sent by her to stop him!" AJ explained.
"I see, so do you want to go?" I asked.
"Sure!" She said.
"Well you have to dress nicely." I said as I pulled out one of the dresses I bought her. It was a simple sunday dress that was not to revealing. I threw on a shirt and tie and we headed out. I pulled up to my local church, St Michaels and parked my truck. I could hear the choir and organs playing music. We entered and it was quite crowded. I led AJ to an empty pew in the back and we sat there in silence till the service began. Once the priest started the mass I found myself zoning out. Alright I love Jesus and everything but man was church boring sometimes. I looked over at AJ who seemed to be interested.
"Please turn to page 234 in your worship book, page 234." The music director said. I pulled out a book for me and AJ. I opened to page 234 and saw 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' YES! This was my favorite hymn.
"Hark the Herald Angels sing!
Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on Earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Adams likeness now efface!
Stamp Thine image in its place!
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love!
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!"
"Ah really like that song." AJ said. I was impressed with her singing, it had that nice southern twang to it. The service continued on till it finally ended. I was impressed that she behaved the whole time. As we were leaving, I saw a familiar face come up.
"TOMMY!" I heard a voice call. I turned to see my neighbor, Mrs Docherty, running up to me.
"Michelle!" I said as I hugged her. "How have you been?" I asked.
"Wonderful! Who is this?" She asked pointing to AJ.
"A close friend." I replied.
"Oh Tom, I didn't know you found yourself a girl!" She said causing me to burn up. "Well I have shopping to do, I'll see you later!"
"Bye Michelle!" I said. "Come on AJ lets get goin." We headed back to my truck and we began driving home. I wondered what we should do tonight. Dinner? Maybe. I should take around DC, the city was very beautiful at night. I remember when I found her which speaking of.
"Hey AJ? How did you get here?" I asked.
"Ah don't remember very good, ah remember mah friend Twilight doin some sort of spell an the next thing ah knew ah was here!" AJ explained.
"Tell me about this Twilight." I said attempting to carry on for conversations sake.
"She's the personal student of Princess Celestia, shes a smart one and she good at magic! Magic is her element." AJ said.
"Element?" I asked as some doucher cut me off. "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed giving my middle finger. I looked at AJ who was startled by my outburst. "Sorry, I have bad road rage."
"Oookay, anyways. There are six elements of harmony and each of my friends represents an element." AJ said.
"Do you have one?" I asked.
"Mine is the element of honesty." She said. I found it ironic that she claims to be honest when her whole pony story sounds like BS.
"What about your other friends?" I asked.
"Well theres Rainbow Dash, shes kinda arrogant at times but she is a sweet girl. Pinkie Pie who is the happiest and goofiest pony around. Rarity who can be a little stuck up sometimes cuz she likes all that fancy society stuff but she very generous. And finally Fluttershy who is the cutest lil thing you'll ever meet, shes really shy but she is a kind one." AJ said. "How bout yer friends?" I froze when she asked me that. All of my closest friends had been killed on my last tour right before my eyes. My oldest and dearest friend, Marcus Walker, had been my friend since Kindergarden. We both went through Officer Candidate School and were commisioned officers in the Marine Corps. He was the leader of the second team moving in on the comopund that was housing a high ranking Taliban leader. His bird was shot down and he died on impact. Not to mention all my other squad members who were killed. I stopped my truck as the red light came on at the intersection.
"They're not here anymore." I said grimly. AJ must have knowm by the tone of my voice what I meant because the next thing I knew, she placed her small hand on my larger one and rubbed.
"Ah'm sorry, ah didn't mean to-" She began to say.
"Its alright, they're in a better place now." I said putting my head down. I had it down for so long that I hadn't seen the light turn green and I was met with honking and curses as people yelled at me to move. I hit the gas pedal and got back to my house in ten minutes. I stepped out of the car as my boots crunched in the snow. I was walking towards the front door when I saw AJ lying in the snow making a snow angel. I felt a devious smile crawl on my face as an idea entered my mind. I crouched down and grabbed a handful of snow and rolled it into a ball. When I got back up to throw it, I saw she had disappeared.
"Where did she-" I began to say as I was met with a mouthful of snow and ice. I turned around to see AJ giggling and hiding behind a tree. So thats how it was gonna be. I dropped the small snowball I had and picked up a large clump the size of a bowling ball. As I lifted it over my head to throw it, I was met with another snowball which made me drop the mass of snow I was holding on my head. AJ's giggling had gone to full out laughing. Damn she was good.
"Now your gonna get it!" I said in a playful voice as I chased her. While I was running after her we slipped on a patch of ice and oth of us face planted onto the ice. Well atleast I did, AJ landed right on top of me-WAIT! She was on top of me? I looked up and saw her green eyes looking down on me. I wanted to move but for some reason I couldn't. We sorta just stared at each other for a while before AJ finally got up burning red. How cliche, the retty girl falls on top of me.
"Uh-" I said awkwardly. "How bout we go inside?" I asked.
"Yeah sure." She replied as we went in. I thought about it and I finally decided I would take her to downtown DC and for a nice fancy dinner. First I just had to find her a dress to wear.
Well looks like I better hit up the dress shop! Oh boy.