Darkness. An almost dreadful, yet calming darkness. As I finally opened my eyes, they looked into what seemed like a sky. Only it was so awfully strong in color, that it hurt looking into it. A blue that I’ve never seen before. So strong in contrast, that I could’ve looked into a picture just as well. Only… I knew that it was real.
As my Tinnitus slowly faded and my eyes managed to adapt to the newfound colors, I tried to move around. I tried, but my body didn’t budge. I couldn’t even move my head, just my eyes and eyelids were responding to my movements. My mouth and lungs seemed to work too, or else I probably would be suffocating by now. I thought about what I could do, when I heard muffled steps through the ground. I tried looking in the direction they came from, but I quickly remembered what my problem was in the first place.
I closed my eyes to allow for my brain to focus on hearing instead. There they were again. Steps, many steps, like a herd of animals. No, I could hear three specific rhythms out of it.
“The hunting lessons paid off at last.“
I thought to myself, as I tried to determine, what kind of animal it was. Suddenly though, I heard voices. I couldn’t really hear what they said. Probably because my ears were covered in grass, but from their pitch, I thought of a group of girls, maybe around seven to nine years old. So I did, what anyone in a desperate situation would have done and shouted:
“HELLO?!”
automatically using English, likely because of my work experience. After all, I spent most of my worktime in foreign countries.
The talking stopped almost immediately and one of the girls asked something, which from the melody to it I could identify as a “What was that?” or something close to it. I heard steps again, this time coming closer to my position. I didn’t say anything anymore, as I felt, that the steps felt wrong. I couldn’t tell at the time. Probably from the short rush of euphoria I got from the possibility of salvation.
The steps suddenly stopped and I could hear a voice close to me ask:
“What is that? Ah’ma sure we didn’t plant somethin’ like this ‘round the Orchard.”
A southern accent? But how in the world should I have gotten to Texas from where I was?
I opened my eyes and looked at what seemed like an equine head with two comically large eyes, a yellow coat and red mane with a ridiculously large red bow tied into it.
“A… pony?”
I thought to myself. The filly, as I quickly determined, stumbled back and I heard a thud from outside of my vision.
“Applebloom? What happened? Did you see a ghost or something?”
I heard another voice ask.
“Wait, Applebloom?” I recognized that name, though I couldn’t immediately tell why.
“A ghost? Please tell me you didn’t because I don’t like ghosts.”
A third voice mumbled from the other side of my head.
“No, ‘course ah didn’t, Sweety Belle. It’s just… that thing… moved.” I heard Applebloom answer.
“Sweety Belle? That name’s familiar too! Wait, I remember, where I know them from… but that’s impossible, unless…” My thoughts were interrupted, as all of a sudden I had three equines staring into my half-opened eyes. My eyes flicked between their faces, as they mustered me with very disturbed looks. I decided to say something.
“Hello there.”
was all that I could come up with, though. The three fillies, unsurprisingly, made several steps back as soon as those words left my lips. Well, I’ve never claimed to be fit as an envoy, or anything of that sort, for that matter.
The first one to come back into view was Applebloom.
“H-Hello. W-What are you?” She asked with a slight shiver in her voice.
“What? Wouldn’t >>Who?<< be more appropriate? Nevertheless: I am Markus. Markus Becker. And I’m a human.” I answered. The filly tilted her head slightly.
“Human? Ah never heard ‘bout humans before. Where do you come from?”
“Yeah, where in Celestia do you come from all of a sudden?!” The third filly came back into view. She had an orange coat, a purple mane and small wings to her side. I had no doubts left, this was definitely Scootaloo. This could only mean that my theory was true, that I was somehow transported to Equestria, after what happened back home. Still, I had to be absolutely certain.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter, really.” I answered flatly. “What’s more important: Where am I now? Tell me: might this be Sweet Apple Acres?” I asked. Applebloom was still looking at me, now with a slightly worried look in her eyes.
“Y-Yes, it is. How do ya know?” The answer now proved what I had thought – and what I hoped for, to be honest.
“Oh, just a lucky guess, nothing more.”
With my location now confirmed, I still had my slightly more pressing Problem on me. Why couldn’t I move? Did something get damaged during my transit? Do I even still have a body?
“Say, Applebloom, could you describe what I look like?” I asked Applebloom, who by now calmed down a little. Yet, I managed to make her eyes widen yet again, and again she took a step back.
“How do ya know mah name?!” Her voice started to shiver again.
“Damn it, I got careless. I have to be careful of what I say. The first impression is the one that matters most, after all.” I thought to myself.
“Ah, you see, uhm… I-I heard about your sister and you crusaders aren’t exactly unknown either, so when you confirmed, that this was indeed Sweet Apple Acres, I presumed you were her sister…” While I’m pretty sure that she didn’t buy that, at least it managed to calm her down. Applebloom now looked down at my Body and without any further questions started describing.
“Ah see. Well, ya have yer head but ya should already know that ba now. Then there’s ya neck and then there comes the rest of ya body. Yer front legs are where I think they should be. I don’t see no broken bones at least. But your front hooves, they don’t look like hooves. They have long, wormy things growing out from them.”
“Yes, those are called Fingers and those aren’t hooves, those are Hands. I think Minotaurs have them too.” I quickly interjected.
With a short pause, Applebloom then continued describing. From what she described, I am still in my Uniform and my right hand is placed atop my belly with a >>black something<<, as Applebloom called it, sandwiched between them. My legs are also still where they should be and I am still wearing my steel-capped boots. Still, I need to see for myself, in case something else is wrong. I asked Sweety Belle to try and levitate a mirror before my eyes, so I could see for myself. Indeed, I could see my trusty, arid camo uniform still on me, together with my protective vest. The >>black something<< that Applebloom mentioned proved to be my trusty old G36k assault rifle. The only thing amiss was my helmet, but that was neglectable. So far, everything seemed to be in order, except that I still couldn’t move.
“So what now? We don’t know where you came from and you won’t tell us. You can’t move and we can’t do anything about it.” Scootaloo seemed to grow more and more impatient with every second that passed without me saying something.
“Could you please try to turn me to either side, so you could describe my back?” I finally asked. They mumbled something to one another before they did as I asked.
They rested me on my right shoulder and Applebloom looked at my Back. “Well,” she started, “Yer Back looks like most of yer front actually. Yer coat has the same weird color pattern as in the front, except…” She paused. I felt a slight chill run down my spine, even though I couldn’t even FEEL my spine. “There is a spot that looks like wood over ‘ere.”
“Wood?” I asked. “That certainly shouldn’t be there. Could you please arrange two mirrors, so that I can see for myself?” Sweety Belle produced another mirror from her Saddlebag and levitated both mirrors, so they reflected my Back to my eyes. Sure enough, there was a big splinter lodged into my spine. Judging by the formations around it, I would say it was neatly placed between two of my vertebrae. This left me with two possibilities: either it lodged itself into there when I arrived and I’m crippled now, or It was placed there by whichever deity brought me here in the first place and it’s now acting as some sort of a contact blocker, in case I’d run off as soon as I woke up.
Even though the first option seemed more likely, I absolutely wanted it to be the second one, naturally. “Ok, you can put me on my Back again.” I said and they turned me back around.
“So, what do we do now?” Sweety Belle asked. Meanwhile my own Gears were rattling about, furiously thinking of a solution.
“Could you please get Applejack? I might need her help on this one.” Applebloom nodded. It could be that the others nodded too, but I couldn’t see. They ran off to where I presume the farmhouse was located. It was then that I remembered Applejack’s personality. While she normally would be open to whatever I had to say, it was Applebloom whom I made contact with first and I remember Applejack to be very protective around her sister... I immediately started to pray to whatever God could receive me, that she wouldn’t instantly stomp my head as she arrived. That would be way too much of a pathetic ending for my taste.
After a short while of waiting and praying, I heard stomps through the ground, again. The fillies came back and they brought both Applejack and Big Mac. Well, I did originally only ask for Applejack, but having both of them here could also be an asset. Luckily my prayers were heard and Applejack was, of course, surprised to see something like me in her orchard, but was still calm enough to hear me out.
“Well I gotta say, this ‘here situation is just as unbelievable as an apple with wings.” She said, after I told her about my situation.
“Well, yes it certainly is and that’s why I need your help.” I told her calmly “I would like to ask you fillies, if you could get nurse Redheart over here, to help me with that splinter in my back. Applejack, could you please get the other elements? If my Hypothesis is true, I will need your assistance later on. Big Mac, could you please get that carriage you use for transporting the apples? We will use that one as an operating table.” I told them as if giving orders to my subordinates, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the best Idea. The fillies complied and started to run off, but Applejack stopped them in their tracks.
“Hold on a second!” she demanded, “How do you know about the Elements, if you’re from another world? And why should we do as you say? For all we know you could just eat us all, after we’ve helped you!”
She did have a point. To them I had an impossible amount of knowledge about them and their world. I had to come up with an answer… “Well, while that might be true, I’m sure Twilight will get very angry with you, if you neglected her chance to research a foreign species. From another world at that. As for the eating part: with all the elements AND Big Mac here, don’t you think, you could easily overpower me?” I was surprised at myself, how reasonable that one sounded, given my current situation. Applejack had to admit that I was right.
“Ah shoot, ok. But don’t ya dare tryin’ anythin’ funny!” She threatened, as she, the fillies and big mac ran off.
After yet another while of waiting, I heard the Elements approaching. Albeit that was not because I recognized the hoofsteps, but because I saw a familiar rainbow colored mane crash into the tree behind, or rather above me. Just as I expected, Twilight instantly started to ask things about where I came from, and how our society works. I was thankful to hear nurse Redheart arrive. Not that I wouldn’t want to answer Twilight’s questions, it’s quite the opposite, really. It’s just, that I wanted to concentrate on the problem at hand, first. I asked Rarity and Twilight to levitate me face-down onto the cart, so nurse Redheart could work on my back.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed, “That IS a big splinter you have here, but wouldn’t a Unicorn be more appropriate for the task? I can grab it with my teeth, but it won’t be as easy as using magic.”
I considered that, for a moment, but I answered “While that might be true, this splinter is lodged into my spine and as much as I have reasons to trust the skills of the element of magic, one move done wrong could cripple me forever, if that didn’t happen already.”
While I said that, Redheart already went to work at my spine. All I could notice from the actual >>Operation<< were some occasional shoves changing my angle of view. That is until the splinter became free from my body. I let out a slight groan of agony, as my whole body crackled back to life. It felt like a thousand needles piercing my skin from all angles possible and in all places possible.
Still, I immediately rose to my feet. It may have been just a few hours, but it still felt like an eternity.
“Well, now that this Problem is resolved,” Twilight started, as I walked over to where I was laying just a few moments ago. I crouched down to examine the spot. “I think, we can work on a way to send you back to your world.” She proposed, already floating a bunch of Spellbooks around her.
”There is no need.” I shortly answered, still looking around my place of arrival. I actually found my helmet lying in the grass. Judging by the dent in the Ground it fell from the tree, when Rainbow Dash crashed into it.
“What? But why, Darling?” Rarity exclaimed, audibly shocked from my answer.
“Because I already know, how I got here in the first place.” I put on my Helmet as I said that, awaiting Twilight to react in some way. But instead, it was Fluttershy, who asked first:
“Really? So, um, you know how to get back, right?”
Upon that, I only shook my head. Even though I couldn’t see them, I could tell, that they were confused.
“Wait, how DID you get here?” Rainbow Dash finally asked the question, I had waited for. I rose from my crouched position, putting on a wry smile. I turned my body halfway towards them, looked at them and tilted my Head slightly.
“I died.” I finally said.
The Ponies of course were shocked; if not by the fact itself then by the way I said it. Twilight was the first one to snap out of it.
“How are you taking this so calmly? You just said it yourself, you died! Wasn’t that just a horrible experience?”
I shifted my stance to face them completely. “Well, It’s not like it came unexpected. After all, I was a Soldier. An Officer at the Rank of Captain at that.”
I pointed at the three stars adorning the shoulderpiece of my Uniform. “Here, those stars on my Uniform state my Rank in the Army. At least where I come from.”
I immediately saw Rarity’s expression change. “Wait, those are CLOTHES?!, But Darling, this design is just awful!” she jumped around me, looking at every inch of my uniform. “This colorscheme is so uninspiring, and those Patches there!” She pointed at the Rectangles with a black bar on top, a red bar in the middle and a yellow bar at the bottom, adorning both of my shoulders. “They just look plainly awful!”
I answered quickly, hoping to stop her from rambling on. “Well, those >>patches<< are actually the National Flag of my home country and this colorscheme is not meant to be >>inspiring<<, it’s meant to conceal me in arid environments!”
Suddenly, it dawned on me. I looked at my surroundings, noticing: “Though it seems that this area is not really what I would call >>arid<<.”
Noticing the state I am in, equipment-wise, I started to check my Pockets. I had 5 Magazines for my G36 in my vest, a P8 pistol holstered to my side, with 4 Magazines for it and a combat knife. I looked around the tree, which I was inspecting earlier and walked around it.
“At least it seems like my being here does have a purpose.” I exclaimed after finding a Fieldpack with a woodland camo Uniform, a Parade Uniform, a few military rations, as well as a tent and some medical equipment inside on the other side of the tree.
Twilight, meanwhile has walked closer to me, still bearing a shocked look on her Face. “Well, what do you think you should do next?” She asked, expectingly.
I had thought about that already, but I didn’t know either, so I put on the Fieldpack and said: “How about I first Introduce myself properly. I am Markus Becker, Captain of the German Army, Mechanized Infantry. Don’t worry, there’s no way for you to know what that is and it’s not important. You don’t need to introduce yourselves as I already know your names.”
I looked at them, their expressions showing their confusion, as my left elbow hit something on my vest, I hadn’t noticed. It was a Hand grenade. I was surprised, that I missed it, considering I just checked. I looked on the other side expecting to find another one right there, as I always arranged them that way. Unfortunately I was wrong.
“Hey, look, I found a ball lying around!” I heard Scootaloo say behind me.
At first, I paid it no heed, until I heard the familiar sound of a safety pin unlatching itself from a live grenade. I turned around and saw Scootaloo toss the missing grenade towards Applebloom, the safety pin nowhere to be seen. I reacted quickly, kicking the grenade as far away, as I could manage, then darting to the ground, pressing the three fillies to the ground as well and screaming “GET DOWN!”
The grenade exploded only moments after.
I rose back to my feet dusting off my Uniform and checking if everyone was unhurt. Afterwards I turned to the crusaders, who, like it was routine to them, already sat in a line, their heads hanging low. “Crusaders, please try to connect the dots the next time. After all, around an unknown being like me, anything could be dangerous, no matter how harmless it looks.” I quickly lectured them.
Their ears dropped low and they answered in unison: “Yes, we are sorry.”
I checked my Equipment and the surrounding area one more time, in case there were any live grenades or worse still lying around. After I was sure, that Sweet Apple Acres wouldn’t suddenly explode, I suggested: “Now as a start, why don’t we see Celestia? After all, even though I’m certain, she already knows about my presence, it is rude to come to someone’s home and not introduce yourself properly.” I suggested to them and Twilight quickly agreed.
Applejack immediately told the Crusaders, that they could not come, even though they didn’t ask. So, with all said and done, we headed off to the station.