//------------------------------//
// Chapter 125: Freaking 
// Story: XCOM: Ranger 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//


Ranger


Chapter 125: Freaking


By Wanderer D






The chariot landed in front of the Town Hall, allowing Alejandra, Tala and Spike to step down. The pegasi troops landed around them, looking at them expectantly.

"What do we do now, Galejandra?" Spike asked.

She gave him an odd look, but faced the troops. Normally she might be more nervous, but these ponies were supposed to be professionals, and thankfully, she didn't report to any of their direct officers. "From the way Twilight was approaching this situation, we're going to follow the protocol for a standard Terror Attack."

The griffon quickly counted heads. "Divide into pairs. We're going to divide Ponyville into four sections," she said, using her claw to draw a quick map in the dirt. "Thankfully there are no enemy combatants this time around, so we can be efficient without worrying about immediate loss of life."

She pointed at two pegasi. "You two should procure a large tent for the citizens. The vines are moving North, towards Canterlot, but the South West seems to be safe. We'll set their camp there." She glanced at the rest of the guards. "The rest of us will clear all the houses in the first quadrant," she indicated the impromptu map on the floor as the pegasi gathered around. "This will give our friends up in the sky time to finish up and then come help."

"Excuse me!" a voice called out from the City Hall.

"It's Mayor Mare," Spike provided, watching with the others as the gray-maned mare walked out of the building. "She used to freak out more often."

"Who's in charge?" the mare asked, "I want to make sure that our citizens are taken care of!"

"We're doing our best, ma'am," Alejandra spoke up, drawing the mare's eyes to her. "We're setting up a temporary camp for the citizens outside the town while Princess Twilight and her friends solve the issue."

Mayor Mare seemed surprised, but when she noticed Spike, her guard relaxed a little. "Thank you, miss…"

"Alejandra," the griffon said, nodding carefully. "If you wouldn't mind assisting, Mayor, I think we could use your help in calming the citizens and guiding them to the camp."

"I would gladly do so, Galejandra," Mayor Mare replied. "What is the plan?"

Blinking and shaking her head, Alejandra faced the guards again. "As I was saying gentle..colts, you are to perform a home to home search by quadrant and guide everyone you find here. Once they're all here, we'll assign some guards to escort them out with the help of the mayor, while the next quadrant is searched.

"Make sure the refugees only bring what's necessary for maybe a night. Twilight seemed to imply that this situation could be solved relatively fast, but even if it can't, too much clutter won't help anyone. Any questions?"

When there were none, Alejandra nodded and the guards dispersed in pairs to perform their search and rescue instructions.

"What a cooperative bunch of people," Tala murmured from where she was sitting on top of Spike's head. "It is enough to almost make me wonder whether we were truly needed or not."

"Well, to be fair they don't have to worry about dodging plasma blasts, being dismembered by giant bugs or implanted with eggs that will rip them inside out," Alejandra said, "We don't know yet what's causing this, and by all accounts none of Twilight's friends are well versed in combat."

"I'm sorry," Mayor Mare said, looking slightly green, "how exactly do you know Princess Twilight?"

"I don't." Tala crossed her forelegs. "I was tricked by the Commander into coming here. The only time Princess Twilight and I crossed words before coming here was when we crossed fists."

"What does that mean?" Spike asked.

"They got into a fight," Alejandra explained. "As for myself, I did combat training with her, and we…" she trailed off, looking away. "We've gone out on missions before."

Spike's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh… you were part of the mission where Twilight was captured?"

Alejandra nodded, then almost jumped when the little dragon gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry." Spike's words were a bit muffled by her fur and feathers, but the sentiment still made her smile.

"Thank you, Spike."

"A-anyway, miss Galejandra, I wasn't aware that the Princess had combat training," Mayor Mare said, "but it seems you are well acquainted with her. Do you know when she'll be here?"

"She went to meet some so-called 'Elements of Harmony'," Tala replied, sounding bored. "She informed us she would meet with us here as soon as she discussed her strategy with them."

"Why are you—"

"Hey, it's Spike!" a childish voice called out, interrupting Alejandra. They turned to face the upcoming crowd of ponies being guided by the guard. Among them, almost at the front, were two fillies, a unicorn and a pegasus.

"Hey Sweetie Belle, hey Scootaloo!" Spike said, waving amiably.
"So, what's going on?" Sweetie asked, drawing murmurs from the crowd of ponies behind them.

"We're trying to figure it out! Galejandra and Tala here came with Princess Twilight to find out who's behind this and fix it!"
"Okay, why does everyone here keep calling me 'Galejandra'?"

Spike turned to look at her. "Aren't you a griffon?"

"Well yes, but what does that have to do w—"

"Everypony knows that all griffon names start with G," Scootaloo said as if it were a no-brainer.

Alejandra grimaced. "Can you say 'Alejandra'?"

"Alejandra!" Sweetie repeated immediately.

"That's my name."

"Galejandra?"

"No. Alejandra."

"That doesn't make any sense."

Alejandra looked down at the little filly. Then sighed. "The 'G' is silent."

"Oooh! That makes sense!"

"How?!"

"Um, ma'am?" One of the guards cleared his throat, motioning with his head at the gathered ponies.

"Right. Sorry. Okay, everyone, here is what you're going to do. Follow Mayor Mare and these two guards over here out of town. We're setting up a camp for you away from the vines."

"But I don't want to leave my house! Why should I do this just because of a stupid vine?" a gray filly shouted, just as one of said vines wrapped around her torso withers and lifted her off the ground.

Before any of the guards could even go assist the screaming filly, a loud noise, like the crack of thunder, made all of the ponies cringe, just as the vine exploded below the filly, who fell a down to land in the forelegs of a nearby guard.

The gathered ponies looked from the vine to the smoking gun in Alejandra's claw.

"You do it because I say so. We are not only acting under the authority of the Princess, but also with the added benefit of having experienced worst case scenarios. You all saw how the vines are semi-sentient at least. We don't want to risk anyone getting hurt. So, you're following the Mayor and the nice guards, and you'll be back home before you know it. Understood?"

The ponies nodded fast, and followed a nervous looking Mayor Mare, as well as a pair of guards, while the rest went off to start working on the next quadrant.

Alejandra, Spike and Tala watched them go.

"Geh. Civilians."

Amidst short buzzing sounds, Twilight's voice emanated from the radio. 'Alejandra? I heard a gunshot.'

"Just helping the locals, Twilight, they were freaking out a bit… the vines just keep snaring them."

'Understood, we're on our way.'





"Wait, so you didn't just bring your guns and equipment, you brought soldiers from the other world too?" Rainbow Dash asked, eyes wide. "Do they still look human?"

Twilight shook her head. "I did bring my classmate, Alejandra, and a Skirmisher named Tala, but they don't look human anymore."

The group followed her out of the library, as she moved towards the center of the town. "But you'll meet them soon enough. What we need to make sure of, is that we know what to do when Discord appears."

"But… what if it isn't him?" Fluttershy said gently. "It wouldn't be nice to accuse him just like that…"

"Are you kiddin' me, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, glancing at the pegasus with an arched eyebrow. "Just look 'round! This has his signature all over!"

"But we don't know for sure, right?"

"We'll see what he has to say for himself," Twilight said. "If he's innocent, then he can try and help, if not… well, he deals with us."

"Right!"

"I do hope that whoever is responsible is easily defeated and that all these… ghastly… vines disappear post haste." Rarity sniffed disdainfully at a vine, then batted it away when it tried to grab her. "I dread to think what our guests' first impression of our lovely town is!"

"And we can't really have a Welcome to Ponyville party until they're gone!"

"Trust me girls, I also want to show them what a peaceful world is like, but for now, let's focus on the mission." Twilight sped up a little, not noticing the worried looks the others exchanged.

Soon enough they reached the Town Hall, just as Mayor Mare was departing with the latest batch of ponies. Above, the area had been mostly cleared of clouds, with the skies being kept clear by Captain Whirlwind's troops.

"Only one more quadrant to go, ma'am," a pegasus was saying to Alejandra, when they noticed their approach.

"Report," Twilight ordered.

"Captain Whirlwind's squad took care of the clouds with the assistance of a couple of locals," Alejandra said, "He's split up that squad again, and added the extra troops to the evacuation teams. The Royal Guard has done an excellent job making sure all citizens are safely transferred to the temporary camp outside of town."

Twilight nodded, smiling at the pegasus sargeant that was talking to Alejandra when they arrived. "Well done, Sergeant. I'm afraid I don't know your name?"

The Guard saluted. "Flash Sentry, ma'am."

Twilight's smile widened. "Well, Sargeant Sentry, if you would relay my orders to Captain Whirlwind, I want only my team to remain here for now. We are summoning a potentially dangerous entity and we are the best equipped to deal with him at the moment. Please make sure the troops know to take the refugees straight to the camp and not here."

Flash hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want anyone from the guard, ma'am?"

"Yes," she replied, her smile a bit more formal. "Don't take it the wrong way, soldier, you all are more than capable. It's just that this situation requires a skill set that only we possess, and additional presence of the guard could antagonize our… friend. As it is, there is a chance he might assist us still."

Flash Sentry nodded, looking slightly disappointed. He took a couple of steps back so he could salute both Twilight and Alejandra at the same time before flying off to relay the orders. Once they were on their own, Twilight sat down heavily on the floor, groaning. "I hate doing this."

"Hey," Alejandra spoke up, "you're doing a great job, these situations need firm leadership, I'm sure you'll be back to your normal nerdy self in no time."

"I hope so."

"Sooo," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Who's your hot friend?"

Alejandra frowned, looking closely at the—now that she thought about it—familiar-looking pegasus. "Wait. Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"

"I swear Chrysalis has to give me a promotion just for the faces everypony here make so often," Twilight mumbled before standing up. "Okay, let's get the introductions out of the way. Girls, the griffon here is Alejandra, and the breezie is Tala. Tala, Alejandra, meet Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy."

As each name was said, each of the ponies in question smiled and nodded, waved or posed.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Alejandra. "Nice to meet you! So you're a griffon huh? That's awesome! One of my uh… former friends was a griffon, but I learned all about them. Let me know if you want some pointers, Galejandra."

"It's Alejandra," Twilight said.

"Right. Galejandra."

"But—" she was interrupted by Alejandra's raised claw.

"Don't worry, I got it," the griffon said, turning to face Rainbow Dash. "The 'G' is silent."

Twilight frowned. "Wait, that does—"

"Oh! I get it! Alejandra, right."

Twilight closed her mouth.

"Anyway," Applejack said, also approaching them, "It's mighty nice to meet y'all. Ah'm glad you were able to help bring Twilight home."

"Can we please dispense with the meet and greet until later?" Tala spoke up, drawing everyone's attention, and a squeal of delight from Fluttershy.

The pegasus flew over. "Oh my, a Breezie that can speak at normal volume! How unique! And look, you have armor! How adorable!"

"That's not the only thing she has," Rarity noted with a tone of slight distaste, "Really darling, was it necessary to be so rude? We're just trying to make you feel welcome."

"I—" Tala blinked, unsure of how to react. Never before had she been put into place in such a polite way. "Um. Apologize?"

Rarity was about to accept the apology and dismiss it as nothing when Rainbow Dash spoke up first. "Anyway, what's with the breezie Twilight?"

"She's Tala, a Skirmisher from the other world."

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight for a few seconds before glancing at the breezie. "Wait, aren't Skirmishers supposed to be freaking badasses?"

"Twilight," Alejandra sounded offended. "Did you censor your frakking friends too?"

"I did not!" Twilight growled. "And yes, Rainbow Dash, they are… badasses."

"That thing?" Rainbow Dash cracked a laugh. "Ahaha! That's hilarious!" She leaned down, grinning at Tala. "What you gonna do, follow Twilight around and shout, 'Hey, listen!' when you need something?"

Tala was on her in an instant, pulling her mane back.

"Hey! Stop that!" Rainbow Dash hollered. She twirled in place, but Tala had already let her go. The pegasus growled and flapped her wings, putting her head level with the fluttering breezie. "I dare you to try that again!"

Tala simply lifted her tiny, bladed hoof up and pointed it at Rainbow Dash.

"What's that supposed to do-oo-oo-oo-ooo-aaaagh!"

Pinkie looked down at the collapsed, twitching pegasus. "Did she just electrocute Dashie?"

"Tala!" Twilight hollered.

"Nah," Applejack spoke up. "Dashie was just asking for it. We heard about Tala before. She's the Skirmisher that knocked you out, isn't she? Luna mentioned it to us."

"Oh." Twilight chuckled. "Well, not exactly, but she was involved. Did Sunset mention it in her diary?"

"Maybe? Ah just know what the princess said. She was also laughing."

"Great."

Rainbow Dash shook off the remaining lightning and stood up slowly, looking at the breezie with a suspiciously calm expression. "I like you."

"Well, if we're done with the shenanigans, we should probably just get this done and over with," Twilight said. "Tala, Spike, Alejandra, please stand behind us."

The trio followed orders, and watched as the six mares formed a semi circle, facing an empty space. Twilight summoned her magic, and soon all the elements glistened with power. In a flash, Discord appeared, wearing of all things, a nightgown along with a fluffy-ended hat.

"Oh, Alejandra, oohhh…" Discord said, his voice high pitched as he held a plush-toy version of Twilight, which was currently being necked by the plush-toy version of the griffon. "Please! We can't do that here! What will Rainbow Dash say?"

"Discord!"

The Draconequus quickly hid the plush toys behind his back as he twirled around to face them. "My my, didn't anyone teach you to knock, Princess Squaddie?"

"Put away the toys. We need to talk."

Discord rolled his eyes and threw the toys and nightgown away, the items disappearing into the air. "Fine." He looked around and grinned. "Well, I must say I love what you have done with the place."

"Cut the freaking bull canticles, Discord, this is serious."

"Bull canticles?" Alejandra asked. "Really?"

"Shut up!" Twilight hissed and turned to face Discord again. "This whole thing has your name written all over it, so want to tell us why exactly this place is covered in vines?"

"Well! I have no idea! And I hate the implication that this is my work. I think you ponies are very eager to point fingers at others."

"Haha, fingers," Tala's unamused voice drawled from behind the mares. "This guy is funny."

"Very well then, since I sense a distinct lack of humor from you mares and… other… I will entertain your silly notion that this is somehow all my fault," Discord said, stretching and laying on top of a particularly large vine. "So tell me, Twilight. What do you really want from me?"


o.0.o End Chapter 125 o.0.o