//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Ponyville // Story: A Forgotten Trooper // by TheIronPone035 //------------------------------// The dirt path leading to into the village slowly increased in width, forming the streets of the town. Strider had already started seeing other ponies all over the place, some shopping, some talking, and some trotting by. The whole place looked right out of a younglings holovid show.  The standard building seemed to be a simple rustic two story house, with tan walls, wooden support beams, and thatched roofs. Most of the windows were made of stained glass which ranged from pink and magenta to aqua marine and sky blue.  There were a few buildings that weren’t styled the same as the standard home, one of those buildings appeared to look like a house composed of sugary sweats with ice cream on top. They walked past the town library which was built inside a tree, some windows seemed to be supported by the leaves themselves.  Overall, it wasn’t the strangest place the trooper had been, but it wasn’t the most tame either. The population also seemed to be solely ponies of three different races. A unicorn, a pegasus, and a pony that had neither. Each one however had different colored manes, tails, coats, and marks on their flanks. Every here and there a pony would match another almost perfectly, but Strider chalked it up to them being twins.  Fluttershy led the way to what appeared to be a simple outside park which had several trees, bright green grass, and a fountain in the center area. The two had passed several ponies on the way there, each pony who had spotted him either ran in the opposite direction, stared at him, or just simply ignored him. One pony just looked inside a sandwich they were eating, before taking another bite.  Fluttershy halted before a tree which had several birds standing on the branches, each one having brightly lit feathers and small beady eyes. This was probably that chorus of birds Rainbow Dash had been talking about.  "Well, i'm gonna go look around. Good luck with your… singing lessons." Strider said, before continuing on his way down the path.  Overall, the park wasn’t exactly eye catching, so Strider focused more on trying to contact any nearby G.A.R. units. His helmet’s built in comlink struggled to find a signal but all that came through the speakers was static, earning a grumble from the trooper.  “Dang it, no signal. I need a stronger transmitter to reach any ships beyond the planets atmosphere.” Strider exclaimed to himself, ignoring yet another stare from a pair of colts who had been playing with a ball.  The trooper continued on his way down the path while attempting to establish any sort of contact, but something caught his eyes. Outside the park was a nearby market, its streets filled with simple wooden stalls and being managed by tons of ponies. Some were selling fruits and vegetables, while others sold nic nacs and old books. But the big thing Strider took note of was the fact that the place was only full of ponies, no other species from any other planet.  Strider made his way over to a nearby building and took cover behind it, masking himself from view from the streets. He took a quick peak around the corner just in time to see a few ponies trot away from a market stand with smiles upon their faces.  "So these ponies have a marketing system, I wonder if they use galactic credits or something else." Strider thought. It wouldn’t be a stretch if this planet is as isolated as it seems.  He turned around to make his way back into the park, but halted when he heard the sounds of a twig snapping nearby. He stared in the direction the snap had come from, but spotted nothing dangerous or even alive to attack him.  “I really need to keep my head leveled.” Strider muttered to himself, trying to calm down his paranoia.  “HI!” A voice suddenly said from behind, making the trooper jump into the air.  With a startled shout, Strider backed away from the pony that had snuck up on him until he hit the back of the building. Once his breath returned to normal, he glared at the pony.  "What was that for? I know i'm not your kind but do you have to scare me half to death?" Strider emphasized. "Half to death? Woops, didn't mean to scare you that much! I was just trotting by when I noticed your white armor sticking out like a pink orange and decided to introduce myself. By the way i'm Pinkie Pie!" The pink pony greeted, smiling.  "CT 3719 of strike team indigo, but I prefer Strider. You’re one of the few ponies who isn't scared of or has ignored me." Strider pointed out, now realizing how strange that was. Why was this pony so calm and quick to introdu-- "That's because when I see a new face around here I want to know them! I'm Ponyville's proud party pony! Speaking of parties, I was already planning a welcome to Ponyville party for Twilight Sparkle! She just got here from Canterlot! CANTERLOT! Can you believe that? A unicorn all the way from Canterlot is now going to be staying in the Golden Oaks Library! Now that I think about it, isn't it strange to stay in a library and not a hotel? I mean you have lots of books to read but libraries don't exactly have all the things that could made a house cozy. Ooh! Maybe I could do some remodeling for the library so she feels right at home from Canterlot and----"  "I GET IT! You like parties and want to throw them to new arrivals. But can you please talk normally and not like you’re on a sugar rush?" Strider barked.  "Sure!" Pinkie answered, cutting her rambling off.  "Oh thank the Force… Sorry if that came out more violently than it should have." Strider claimed, putting a hand onto his helmet in relief.  "Don’t worry, I know being new can get on ponies nerves, or whatever you are. Anyways, I think I might be able to squeeze your welcome party into Twilight's but i'm not sure if everypony wouldn't judge you by the cover and..." Pinkie Pie went back into rambling, causing Strider to groan loudly in annoyance.  After what felt like hours, Pinkie Pie finally stopped rambling and outstretched her hoof. "Welcome to Ponyville Strider!" However, the clone wasn't there.  Strider was currently being as sneaky as he could, couched down low as he shuffled down an alleyway to put even more distance between himself and the mare. He turned around, backing up as he watched the alleyways entrance for any signs of pink. "That pony could rival Hot Shot with words," Strider muttered to himself, still trying to wrap his brain around what he had been able to take from Pinkie Pie’s one sided conversation. His thoughts were interrupted when his back made contact with something. Next thing Strider knew, he was on his back in the remains of what appeared to have been an apple cart. Several apples fell right onto his helmet, bouncing across his visor. Some of them fell with enough force to break through their skin and smeared apple juice all over the visor.  "Can't I catch a break?" The trooper questioned to himself. Turns out this world didn't want to give him one, because a set of emerald green eyes were glaring down at him. Those green eyes belonged to an orange pony with a blond mane and tail. They had white freckles on their cheeks and a brown stetson hat, as well as three apples on their flank. "Care ta explain ya’ self?" The pony asked in a female accent that he had only heard before from a few Jedi.  "Ok, wait a second. Before you start pointing fingers, I was trying to escape an avalanche of sentences spilling out of a single pony's mouth." Strider exclaimed.  "Well, Ah have a pretty good idea as ta who your talk'n 'bout but ah don't think she pushed ya into mah apple cart." The pony stated. "Also, what the hay are fingers?"  Strider slowly got up from the pile of apples that had fallen around as well as on top of him and looked down at the pony. Due to him being much taller than a pony, several ponies quickly spotted him and began to get curious. Which was probably increased with the fact that his armor was now covered in apple juice.  "It's just an apple cart." Strider emphasized. "Ah sixty bit cart with fresh ripe Sweet Apple Acres apples on board." The pony corrected.  "Look, i’m sorry but I don’t have any bits or whatever you use. I can help you put the thing back together but that’s all i’ve got.” Strider stated. The orange pony was about to reply, but a familiar voice caused Strider to turn around. His gaze was met with Pinkie Pie bouncing through the alleyway he had rushed down, her eyes locked onto him.  "WELL I'VE GOT TO GO MA'AM!" Strider shouted, forgetting completely about the car as he took off in a military sprint down the path. Strider didn't really care anymore if the ponies around him were giving him a weird look, he did NOT want to have to listen to that pony ramble again. The clone trooper dashed through the market, ducking and weaving through unplaced stands and wagons.  Strider had made quite a bit of distance with Pinkie Pie, not stopping to catch his breath. He spotted a wagon full of what appeared to be watermelons being pulled across the path. He didn't have enough time to slow down and no room to go around, so he used his momentum to slide under the wagon, the tip of his helmet scratching the bottom of the wood. He jumped back to his feet on the other side and kept running.  Strider took a sharp turn and rushed down another alleyway, appearing on another path through the town. He took a peek around his back from where he came from, not seeing Pinkie anywhere.  "Whew! That was a close-WHOA!" Strider's sentence broke off as he tripped over a pony and landed hard on the ground. He heard the noise of several items crashing to the ground and the gasp from the pony he had tripped over.  Strider got to his knees and looked over at the pony. The pony appeared to be a unicorn with white fur and a purple mane and tail which seemed to be sparkling somehow. The pony's eyes were blue and seemed to have eye shadow on the eyelids.  "Who do you think you are? Tripping over a lady?" The pony asked, yet another female tone.  "Oh don't even get me started ma'am." Strider said, but quickly froze up as he saw Pinkie Pie bouncing through the alleyway he had come out of. "DOESN'T THAT PONY KNOW WHEN TO STOP?"  Strider took off again in full sprint, leaving the mare with their confusion. That was until Pinkie Pie bounced over her head, still giving chase.  The two ran across Ponyville, both not slowing down in the slightest. Strider ducked through an alleyway and spotted a dumpster, which he quickly jumped behind and tried to catch his breath. "Huff, That pony is fast..."  Strider said between pants.  Slowly, Strider peeked around the dumpster and scanned the area for Pinkie Pie. There was no sign of the energetic pony anywhere, which made Strider sigh with relief. He began making his way through the town, using the back alleyways to stay out of sight until he was back in the open fields.  Strider spotted Fluttershy's cottage on the horizon and decided it would be best to regroup there. He could handle Fluttershy, so the trooper trudged up the hills that led to the cottage and stopped at the front door. Not knowing if Fluttershy was home, he knocked first. When no reply sounded, he tried to open the door. Strangely enough, it was unlocked.  "Maybe Fluttershy assumed I wouldn't stick around Ponyville. Well she was right in thinking that I-" Strider stopped dead in his tracks.  Two things were wrong when he stepped into the cottage. One was the fact that there were no animal noises. They had been faint when he had first entered, but they were still there. But now, the cottage was as quiet as a deactivated droid. No scurrying of small paws or claws. No quiet noises in the walls. Nothing.  The second thing wrong was the table. The table that was standing between the two green chairs. The table that used to have the DC-15A on it, was now empty.  Strider suddenly felt like he was being watched. He looked around, trying to see if anything was near. But the room was empty with the exception of him.  That was, until Strider spotted it. Standing on top of what appeared to be a resting area for cats, was a familiar looking white bunny, a grin across its small face. In it's paws, was the DC-15A, the barrel pointing directly at him.