I think lots of things change depending on the background. If shit's fucked then everything is fucked too.
But if you're stuck in a funny colorful world everything too can be lighthearted and funny. If the said world isn't a facade for some crazy dictatorship of course.
Even physics are affected. I think. Or how do you explain this: reached for a piece of stale bread and pulled out a big juicy apple instead?
Chapter 2: In Equestria party finds YOU
Part 1: Unforeseen consequences or how to handle anomalous materials.
Ponyville Hospital. April 23rd, 2051
Something uneasy was lingering in the air.
"Huh. Fainted." Lyra's body dangled freely in Drakon's hands. "Didn't expect that. She's out cold."
Nika facepalmed "I should've guessed that you'll pull some stupid shit like that. Now what?"
He scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders "I dunno. How should I know?"
Siegfried interrupted his thought process "Ahem. For how long you gonna hold it, or whatever she is, under your armpit?"
Drakon looked at the Captain with incomprehension in his eyes for a while until he remembered about Lyra. He looked at her and then said "Huh. Now after I've seen her up close she's actually pretty cute. For a horse. Huh. *sniff* She' like, uh, a plushie or something."
Nika raised an eyebrow "Didn't knew that you liked plush dolls. And you're saying 'huh' a lot."
"I'm just a little tense that's why I'm talking nonsense, sorry. That asshole almost died on us [Jake exclaimed "Yeah, fuck you too buddy" from his bed, followed by Megumi's "Please don't talk, you need to rest."], so I'm guessing this is a stress aftereffects. Huh." Drakon placed Lyra on nearby seat and put his hands in pockets and after few moments turned to Siegfried. "Тарщ капитан! А че ща делать-то будем?"(Comrd captain! Whatcha we gonna do now?)
Captain turned "Сейчас подойду, погоди чутка."(I'll be right there, hang on for a moment)
Siegfried and Hilda were by the window, discussing their situation. After a short exchange of words he came closer "Heh, now that I thought about it, it's kinda weird to talk in Russian. We spent almost... Uhh, one year? Talking only in English that is. So, what you were sayin'?"
Drakon scratched his head once again "As I said, what we gonna do now? Ride home is busted, Jake is bedridden and we've scared the crap out of the locals."
Captain looked at Wulfin and they both nodded to each other. "Yeah, about that... You all should go wash yourself. Being all bloody and scary won't get us any popularity points with the locals." He pointed with his thumb on the window behind him "Crowd gathered at the entrance. Ugh, ideally we shouldn't be making first contact but... What's done is done. Protocol dictates... Ugh, well, now we've got to make it official to avoid any misunderstandings and unneeded troubles."
Upon hearing this Drakon sat down on the floor and started giggling "Don't tell me you'll come out and say something like 'We come in peace!'. This cliche line never work!"
"Man, you really did said that!" Drakon was busy laughing out loud in front of dispersing crowd "Now look at them go!"
Siegfried cringed. "That was... unfortunate. This will... complicate things, at least to some degree."
"Don't forget Master Sergeant, you're also at fault here." Hilda gave Vladimir a stern look.
"Wha? How come I'm the bad guy now?"
Nika boiled up rage finally broke through her calm demeanor "Why you didn't left that!... it!... her! Whatever, she is, back at the ICU, you dumbass?! Oh gee, I guess we'll be convincing if we bring UNCONSCIOUS, whom they might think of as DEAD, one of them with us to a negotiation? Surely this'll give us friendly points here! How are we supposed to convince them not to attack us on sight? DO EVEN YOU REALIZE THAT YOU POSSIBLY JEOPARDIZED WHOLE MISSION?!"
"Uh... Shit." Drakon realized how big his mistake was "Okay, I fucked up, bad. You all can kick my stupid ass later but for now we gotta fix this... Any ideas?"
"...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Nika threw a punch at Vladimir's face but it was intercepted by Siegfried
"Stand down Senior Sergeant. What's done is done. Master Sergeant created a problem, sure. So now we've got to fix this problem, ASAP. It's simple as that."
"First things first. Help me wake up our sleeping beauty." Wulfin was slapping Lyra on her cheeks "Come on, wake up!"
"...Fuck. Alright, let's just get this over with."
Part 2: Who dares, wins... An order to clean up the mess.
The squad (save for Megumi and Jake) gathered around Lyra.
"S-so... You want me to help you?"
Captain rubbed his forehead before answering "Something like that. We had a little... Misunderstanding with your people before you woke up. And we'd like to fix it before anything bad happens."
"But... How can I help?"
Suddenly Drakon interrupted "Can't we just sing and all be friends? That would be SO convenient." Cue elbow to the gut from Nika "Shut the hell up, please."
Lyra's face brightened "Wait, that's it!"
"What's it?" Captain gave her a puzzled look
"A song! A good song surely can prove that you are friendly!"
"Wha..."
"Heh-heh, now THAT'S convenient." Smug grin appeared on Drakon's face "I was right by the way."
"Uhh, who's gonna do the singing?"
Wulfin patted his shoulder with a smile "Ever heard good old saying of our Glorious Mother Russia: 'Initiative is punishable'? Well guess what, YOU gonna do it. Now hop to it, chop-chop!"
"Fuck. Me and my big mouth." Drakon sighed heavily "...Jawohl, Fraulein Oberleutnant."
Wulfin turned to Nika "And what are you standing around for? You're going with him, too. Oh, and bring our special guest with you."
"Whaaaa? How come? It's his mess, isn't it?"
"Sure is, but we're still doing it together. And besides, you guys are beta pair of Wolf Pack, are you not? You can take ATV for this task."
After brief pause Nika shrugged her shoulders "Well... Whatever. Let's get this show on the road."
"Anyways, Captain, what you guys are gonna do while we're off?" Drakon threw a question while cleaning ATV from blood spots.
Siegfried rubbed his forehead once again "Guard duty. Someone's got to keep an eye on Anderson and Hayakawa in case things go south and... Blah-blah-blah. I think you know the rest.
If anything happens, get on the horn, report that shite has hit the fan and burn rubber to our position. You pick us up and we gonna leg it back to our old outpost. Or something like that. You got that?"
"Yep, roger that. I think it's time you got up them apples though," Drakon threw his cleaning rag inside the ATV "We've been talking for who knows how long and they are all alone there."
Captain nodded "Good point. Now, proceed with the mission." He and Wulfin went back into the Hospital "And remember, failure isn't really an option here!"
Part 3: My people... Sons and Daughters of Equestria.
"Так, вернёмся к нашим баранам*..."(Ok, back to our business) Drakon rubbed his hands "You're... What's-your-name again? Lyra... Uhhh... Heartstrings, was it?"
"Um, yes?" Lyra was a little bit anxious, but that's a given with current situation
"Get inside." He pointed at ATV
"Inside THAT thing? What if it's gonna eat me? Or hurt me, or..." Funny thing is, Lyra probably understood that this was just a machine, just like Flim-Flam's cart, but this was ALIEN cart!
Anyway, Nika's patience finally had enough "Oh get on with it you plonker!" With this, she grabbed Lyra and tossed her inside. "See? You're fine. Now let's move it!"
[Jeez, I gotta stop being surprised. Magic? Clouds bleeding with goddamn rainbows? Now I've seen everything.]
"So tell me, which is the best spot here to draw attention?" Drakon was slowly driving through the Ponyville
"I think central town square would be good. Yeah, sounds about right." Lyra was still a little shaken and wary of the mysterious steel beast of a cart that moved by itself.
"If you say so." Drakon eyes still registered closing doors and windows as they rolled through the town "Now point me in the right direction, because everything looks the same to me."
After 10 minutes of arguing and driving in circles they finally arrived at the central town square.
Drakon parked ATV near weird Town Hall building. As soon as they stopped Lyra readily jumped out of the steel beast. Nika also stepped out to stretch her legs after long ride. Only Drakon remained in the car. Not a soul was in sight.
"So what's our plan? We just start singing like idiots and dem locals gonna pop out of their houses to cheer for us?" Drakon readjusted his helmet. "Wait, I actually have an idea. Lyra, get up here."
Nika took off her helmet and threw it inside the ATV "What do you have in mind?"
Drakon answered while stretching his neck "Да ничё особого. Возьму нашу лошадку и пусть она использует матюгальник** чтобы она в него вещала, типа 'Эти ребята норм, не ссыте и выходите' или что-то типа того."(Nothing much. I'll take our horsie and let her use the megaphone to say stuff like 'These guys are cool, don't be a tosspots and come out' or something like that.)
Nika sat on the side of the ATV "И ты думаешь сработает?" (And you think this'll work?)
Lyra tried to interrupt their talk "I'm sorry but I don't understand what you're saying or what do you want me to do..."
"Не, по-любому не выйдет, так просто никогда ничего не получается."(No, definitely not gonna work, nothing is ever this easy) Vladimir unbuckled his helmet strap, took helmet off and started playing around with it, juggling it "Фишка в том что это, ну во всяком случае я так считаю, привлечет изначальное внимание... Оп.. Блин!"(Point is, this will, or at least I think so, get initial attention... Op... Damn!) His hand slipped and helmet fell overboard. "Great. Ah well, whatever. Lyra, get yer ass here. Use this and say stuff like 'Don't be afraid, they are friendly and not gonna hurt us', that kind of stuff. Can you do this for us?"
"W-well, I can try, but I can't promise that they will listen to me, after all, they think I'm 'a strange one'... Um, how do I use this?" See looked at megaphone with interest.
Drakon grabbed the megaphone "Here, look. You hold it like this and push this button, and then... Just look." He cleared his throat "Testing... Testing! Ahem, everything seems to be in order."
His voice boomed through the silent town. And then he continued with goofy grin
"The world, has abandoned us. We fight alone against an insidious enemy, an enemy, who would destroy the commonwealth! Who would have our nation, crumbled, from within. But we are strong enough to prevail!"
Nika, surprised by sudden speech, lost her balance and fell inside the ATV, it took her some time to dig out from all the stuff "What the hell are you doing?!"
"You asked for greatness, I have given it. You asked for victory, it is within our grasp. Do not ask me to surrender to our enemies. I will not!" Drakon was busy with his speech and trying not to laugh out loud to notice Nika's lunge.
Nika and Drakon begin to wrestle for the megaphone "Ack! Our soldiers fight, for the glory of the commonwealth. *Give this thing back!* Our workers labor for the glory of the commonwealth. *Dammit Drakon!* Our children sing! *Stop it!!* For the glory of the commonwealth... Ouch!" Finally Nika timed a lucky strike and wrestled megaphone out of his hands.
"Attention citizens! This was... ahem... a joke, don't mind it please. We have a message to you from your friend and fellow citizen... Lyra Heartstrings! Please, a word... Lyra?" Nika turned to Lyra but she only stood in awe.
"Hello? *snap* *snap* Earth to Lyra, come in, over!"
"W-what? Oh, sorry, it's just that speech was so... Captivating, I don't know. Never heard anything like this before... *Ahem, it's your turn.* Huh? Or right, give me a moment... So you hold this like this and press this? O-okay, here goes nothing..."
Lyra picked up megaphone with her magic and started her own speech.
"Is this thing working? Ow, that's loud. Ahem, hello Ponyville! You all know me, Lyra Heartstrings, and I'm telling you, these guys are friendly. They not going to hurt us. I'm not pressured into telling you this, I'm doing this on my own volition. Their species are called Humans, yes those Humans I've been looking for all those years and they are finally here. So please, come out of your houses so we could talk. Then you will see for yourself that they are just like us. They even will do a song, just for you!"
"Was that okay?" She turned to the gang, and was met with Drakon's facepalm.
"She's really done it. Now we do have to sing. Jeez, this is embarrassing."
Nika patted him on the shoulder "C'mon, time to cowboy up!"
He gave her an exhausted look "Don't tell me to 'cowboy up' when I'm about to sing a child's song, jeez."
Drakon let out a small sigh, slapped his cheeks for a few times and stood up inside the ATV "Aw hell, why the hell not, anyways?"
Nika sat beside him "What song you gonna sing?"
Drakon gave her a wink "We both gonna sing you know."
"What? No way man, it's your mess."
"Oh c'mon! Besides don't you want to sing 'that' song? It was our favorite! C'mon, just for old times sake!"
"Wait, 'THAT' song? You don't mean..."
"Yup. I even have music ready on my tacpad."
"Heh, well alrighty then. But, jeez, this is gonna be embarrassing."
"Hah-hah, damn right. Set your headgear to act as microphone and... Let's get started!"
Part 4: Dosh, grab it while it's hot!
After Lyra's speech few ponies who was brave enough opened up their doors and windows, interested in what those aliens are up to and started to watch.
Lyra was sitting near strange cart and two aliens were doing something in it. Since it was quiet due to everypony hiding in their homes they could hear fragments of their dialogue.
Suddenly both of them started to laugh. To everypony's surprise this wasn't evil laugh, but very lighthearted, akin to children's laughter.
Finally one of them said "Let's get started!"
Upbeat music filled the air
And they started song Lyra promised.
Starlight...
Yes?
How would you describe our friendship?
Hardly a difficult question Rainbow, it's MAGNIFICENT!
All you need is a favorite song
Someone with you to sing along
Your best sidekick, your best chum
You start to whistle and you start to hum
Sing some words
Make 'em rhyme
Clap your hands
Have a good time
Best friends can do most anything with a special song to sing...
Best friends can do most anything with a special song to sing...
Let's sing it!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Giggle and clown and hang around
The special things we do
Play some tricks share popsicle licks
Tell our secrets too
Runnin' races makin' faces
I couldn't do without you
When you're gone I sing this song to chase away the blues..
How true!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
You're a charmer, what a gal, but more than that, you're my pal!
And you're the one I wanna be next to, if I'm gonna sing a song I wanna sing it with you!
This is when crowd started to gather, finally leaving their houses and coming closer.
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Incredible happened: crowd picked up the song and started singing along with the duo.
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Everybody!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be a friend of mine!
Starlite - Rainbow Brite
A little wish in the moonlight
Sunbeams sparkle and shine
You'll always be-e-e-e-e a friend of mine!
Just as when the song ended the gathered crowd exploded with ovations.
Drakon stood up and made a playful bow for the audience "Thank you, thank you for your support! Heh-heh-heh."
Then some of them noticed his helmet that was lying around and decided to show a little gratitude for a good show.
"Holy... Hot damn, is this real gold?" Crowd was busy throwing golden coins into Drakon's empty helmet as he and Nika was quietly talking with each other.
Nika's eyes were sparkling with excitement "Can't say for sure but it does looks like genuine gold... Damn, Vovka***, we're rolling in dosh here!"
Drakon also grew a smirk on his face "Heh-heh, just keep smiling and wave, smile and wave."
Part 5: Public relations, Red Propaganda and Skype.
Vladimir, quietly humming old 'Money, money, money' song to himself, was busy moving all those coins inside ATV.
Nika and Lyra on the other hand were giving an improvised Q&A conference
'So you're basically aliens?'
'What's your goal here?'
'How many of you are here?'
'What's your cutie marks?'
'Do you like muffins?'
'How do you move your cart?'
'Is it comfortable to walk on two legs?'
'Wa-ha-ha~!'
And other loads and loads of questions.
Well, their interest can be understood [You don't have aliens appearing in your town everyday, now don't you?], but barrage of them was so unstoppable that both of them couldn't even answer one before more of them appeared.
So, naturally, Lyra decided to take the matter in her... err... hooves.
"ATTENTION PLEASE! Not all at once! We can't answer a single question if you act like that. Please, form an orderly line and ask questions one at a time, alright?"
All ponies present quickly reformed into line. Nika even rubbed her eyes when she saw that. "Wow, impressive speed."
Q&A started to go rather smoothly than before.
But as question progressed, they unknowingly started to ask more sensitive information.
"Sorry, that's classified." Became the response to many questions.
"Hey, you tellin' us you come in peace yet keep secrets from us!" Someone from the crowd made a statement.
"Yeah, what's up with that!" Crowd started to grumble.
Drakon interrupted their grumbling with megaphone "Well excuuuuuuuse me, but see here, we're part of the military, we're soldiers, and there's some things that's not to be shared with anyone who's not directly involved without proper authorization. I bet your government also have classified information, no?"
He gave Nika megaphone with a pat on her shoulder "Yep, you can thank me later for this. Hold on to this, I'll get Captain on the horn. Oh and I'll be doing video-conference call, so be sure to join when you get free."
For a while crowd stood still, then someone from the crowd agreed with Vladimir "Yeah, that fella' has a point. I guess."
'fieldSkype' is loading...
Welcome, user Drakon1337rus
Loading RusGUI
...
Данная версия зарегистрирована на имя: Drakon; организация: Минобороны СССР, Россия
Авторские права. 2003-2051 Skype Limited.
Все права защищены.
Название Skype, fieldSkype, Skype Mobile и другие соответствующие товарные знаки и логотипы, а также логотип "S" являются товарными знаками принадлежащими компании Skype Limited.
Внимание! Данная программа защищается законами об авторских правах и международными конвенциями. Незаконное копирование или распространение данной программы или какой-либо её части может повлечь за собой суровые гражданские и уголовные наказания и будет преследоваться по всей строгости закона.
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Добро пожаловать и спасибо за то что пользуетесь нашими услугами.
"Semper fidelis, to my Motherland, and to my unit."
*Now reading log #### [You can disable privacy option in the settings menu]
D - User Drakon1337rus
S - User Siegfried_and_Hilda
H - User HildalvzZiggy<3
N - User VeroNika_victory
M - User megu-megu[nippon1]
J - User J4k3theawsum4lif3
D: Fuckin' thing... Why are we even using civvie tech again? Jeez. Is this thing even working? Where's my face? Oh, there it is. But damn... Wasn't there... How's it was called... KULTRACOMMS, by DARPA or CIA or whatever... So much money spent on some crap that doesn't even work. Brilliant! Genius Americans strike again!
Ugh, fuck it. *user sending outbound radio call* Ka-ching, ka-ching, money bling-bling, c'mon Cap, pick up the phone!
S: Hello?
D: WAZZZZZAAAAAAAAAP!!
S: WUZZ.. Ahem, is that you Drakon? Why Skype, something happened to your transceiver?
D: C'mon, don't be a sad mustard!
S: Wha... Master Sergeant, cut the crap and answer the question.
D: Nope, it's just SRDs we're issued have some weird glitch, or maybe it's a local interference, I dunno, but we need to set up an antenna if we want to talk on long distances. Skype on the other hand don't have such problem.
If you'd ask for an uneducated amateur opinion... Maybe there's problem with headset internal antennas or some shit, cause Skype uses my tacpad's. Uhhh, anyway, something just doesn't add up. We need expert's opinion on this.
Have Jake on this problem when he gets up, how copy?
S: Solid copy. What about your mission? From your reaction I take it, it was a success, right?
D: Uh-huh. Well, for the most part. Some of the questions they asked concerns classified stuff, so I'm requesting your presence here for answering those questions.
*background voice; user Siegfried_and_Hilda* 'Ask him exactly what info locals wanted to know.'
D: Is that Comrade Lieutenant? I run this in a conference mode so join too.
*new user joins conference*
H: Alright, I'm in. So what exactly they were asking about?
D: Pfft, ahahahaha!
H: Master Sergeant, did you hit your head or something?
S: You know, your discipline have became really poor lately. Drakon, you really want me to play drill sergeant?
D: Uh, sorry about that. Pheh-heh-heh. It will not *chuckle* happen... again... *more quiet chuckling*
Because, heh-heh, I mean, really? Is this really your username for Skype services?
H: *blushes* It's none of your business.
D: Damn, Lt. have a soft side. That's kinda cute, ahahaha!
S: You know, you can get your skull bashed for talking to my wife like that.
D: No-no-no, that's not what I meant, I mean, you guys are truly an awesome pair, honest! And no sir, I never intended to... Yeah. You are best couple I've even seen, I mean it. I would never cross your path Comrade Captain, sorry for the bad joke.
H: Whatever. Now back to our initial topic.
D: Yeah, about that... Hang on, I'll get Nika, she can fill you in.
*more static*
Nika! Hey! Cap 'n Lt. need you to report stuff, can you join our Skype conference?
*new user joins conference*
N: Comrade Captain, Comrade Lieutenant, this is Senior Sergeant Veronika Nikanorova reporting in.
S: At ease. No need to be so formal.
H: We'd like you to tell us what the locals were asking about.
D: Damn, my tacpad is acting up strangely again...
*user disconnected*
*attempting to reconnect*
*connection failed*
Try to reboot system or wait for awhile before new attempt.
Contact system administrator if problem persists.
And remember, violence and technology is not compatible.
*attempting to join conference session...*
N: ...mostly 'how it works' stuff, uhhh and also something about 'Royal Canterlot voice', but as far as I can tell they meant megaphone.
D: Damn, my tacpad is derping out on me. Did I miss anything important?
S: You can relax, only mundane stuff that I will clean up myself.
H: By the way, both Jake and Megumi are also joined during your malfunction. Anything serious?
D: No, I don't think so. Usual stuff, just a little program crash. Hi Megu... mi. Ahem. *muffled chuckle* Nip on Itchy Bun, indeed.
M: Excuse me?
D: No-no-no, nevermind. Uhhh, Jake? How come there's ceiling instead of your face.
J: It's because I'm lying on the bed you dumbass.
D: I see. Well, heh, J-four-K-three, this is, ummm, r0x0rz my s0x0rz, so to speak.
J: Oh shut up, you yourself have leet in your username.
D: Touche. But still, not so blatantly as you. "Jake is awsum for life", yeah right.
J: What's up with you, did someone cranked your jerk level up to eleven?
S: Ahem! We're not distracting you, no?
D: What if I say "yes"? Heheheh...
S: Drakon, are you trying to piss me off?
D: Oh no-no-no sorry, go right ahead.
S: ...Right. Well, with this I think we sorted this out. Drakon, Nika, I'm already en route to your position.
N: What's your 20, Captain?
S: Moving through some neighborhood. Lot of movement behind wooden fences. Probably curious kids.
N: We should probably log off, there's work to do.
H: Right.
M: Well, take care.
J: I'll be here if you need me. It's not like I can go anywhere else.
D: We'll wait for you here, cap.
S: Be right there.
*user logging off*
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Welcome, user VeroNika_victory
<...>
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Добро пожаловать и спасибо за то что пользуетесь нашими услугами.
"You can't win unless you try to win, but you can lose by trying not to lose."
*user sending outbound radio call*
S: Nika? Something happened? I'm basically just around the corner, can't it wait?
N: Um, I just wanted to ask in private... When Drakon called you, he didn't come as... Uhhh, rude? As in more than usual.
S: Come to think of it... Yeah, the way he acted was a little strange, usually he's not this impudent. Your thoughts?
N: Well, I noticed first signs after morning "accident" but thought this was normal, giving the circumstances... You see, he's cracking under extremely heavy stress. No way back home, unwanted mission assignment, unknown situation, etc... Guess all this combined gives very negative effect on his psyche.
When he's close to losing it he's getting... Rude, to say the least. I've seen him being like this before, like on his aunt's funeral. This is his way of blowing out steam I guess.
But if he fails to he can do bad stuff. Ranging from simple angry screaming and running around to crushing dinnerware, windows and other stuff.
S: I've read his psychological profile, there was something about 'small temper issues' but this... Someone made a sloppy job. Well, nevertheless, can he get extremely violent?
N: Hmmm... I don't think so. Even in nervous breakdown he sorts of keeps himself in check. But this can get us into unwanted trouble with locals. He's very good at controlling himself and MAY handle this on his own, but I think this time we should step in.
S: What do you have in mind?
N: ...One of his effective methods is... Well it's food.
S: Stress eating?
N: Yeah... Anyway, this is the safest option for now. After building a proper camp we could make a... improvised boot camp, I don't know, to relief accumulated stress by exercising and other training sessions.
S: So what do you want me to do?
N: Nothing much, just let me and him go back to our old camp, under the guise of necessity: we need tents, portable potty, this kind of stuff. Meanwhile I'll grab some things from my secret locker, there's a lot of his favorite treats.
S: I see... Good thinking, I'd rather also bring our Command Center truck but this may cause unwanted negative reactions. So, how are you gonna explain Drakon's favorite stuff for supper?
N: That's the easy part, we've not eaten a decent meal since yesterday and Jake's also feeling a lot better now. A small, but a little festive meal would be just about right.
S: Huh. Good. What's it gonna be?
N: The good stuff: I have marinated meat for shashlik. And frozen fish, chir and sea omul for you-know-what.
S: Wow. Stroganina sure sounds lovely. Now you got even me hungry, well, carry on with the task.
N: Affirmative, comrade Captain! By the way, even if Drakon will act like a total dick, sorry for the language, don't punish him just yet. He might explode.
S: Sure, of course.
*user logging off*
Part 6: Another World.
Drakon were sitting in the ATV with dull face, thumping out a simple rhythm when Captain Siegfried arrived.
"Hello comrade captain... *yawn* Need anything?" Drakon dropped his usual happy-go-lucky persona and replaced it with gloominess.
"Yes, in fact I do have a job for you. While I'll be here, dealing with locals..." He waved to a crowd and smiled a bit for them, then said in Russian "Метнитесь в наш старый лагерь и соберите кой-какие вещички чтобы тут обустроиться. Палатки, переносной "толчок", генератор там, ну понимаешь." (Go back to our old camp and gather things for us to settle here. Tents, portable potty, generator, that sort of stuff.)
Drakon thought for a bit, then asked "А может ещё шмотки притащить? А то не знаю как вам а мне уже немного жарковато в полной униформе таскаться повсюду. Ах да, можно... Нет, разрешите я ещё бумбокс с ноутбуком притащу?" (Maybe also bring our spare clothes? Because I don't know about you but for me it's a little bit hot to run around in full uniform. And, can I... No, permission to take along boombox and laptop?)
Siegfried nodded "Да, насчет одежды это правильно. И да, разрешаю." (Yes, clothes would be good. And yes, permission granted) He scratched his chin. "Мои вещи в грузовике, там сразу найдешь около моего шкафчика, в герметичном пакете. Пакет Хильды там же, на моем отштампован личный номер S-117GRU, на её H-118GRU. Всё ясно?" (My things are in the truck, you'll find them near my locker, in hermetic package. Hilda's also there as well, on mine there's a personal number stamp S-117GRU, on her's H-118GRU. All clear?)
"Эс-117ГРУ и Хэ-118ГРУ... Угу, понял. Так ещё раз пройдемся чтобы ничего не забыть... Палатки, толч, шмотки, еда-вода там, генератор... Бумбокс с компом... Вроде всё правильно?" (S-117GRU and H-118GRU... Yeah, solid copy. Let's recheck to make sure I didn't forget anything... Tents, porta potty, clothes, food-n'-water, generator thingy... Boombox and laptop... Is this correct?) He quickly typed all this into tacpad's txt file.
"Подтверждаю. Ладно давайте мухой, чтобы одна нога здесь - другая там. Я пока утрясу все дела заодно выбью место для нашего лагеря у местных властей.
Ну давай сынок, как там эти несчастные ВВэшники**** орали...? 'Я служу в войсках ВВ, это вам не ВДВ, есть у нас крутой спецназ, нет военных круче нас.'" (Affirmative. OK, get moving - double time. Meanwhile I'll deal with local authorities and get us a place for our camp. C'mon son, remember what those VV guys used to yell? 'I am serving in VV, this is not like VDV, also we got cool spetznaz, there's no army better us!'*) Both of them laughed at the last phrase.
"Не, товарищ Капитан, я предпочитаю ваше: 'Выше нас только звёзды'*1 Ну или своё 'Никто кроме нас!'*2. Даааа... Хорошо что ВВ расформировали нафиг в 40-ых. Ладно, что-то мы разговорились, ехать надо. Удачи капитан!" (Nah, comrade Captain, I prefer yours: 'Only stars are above us'. Or ours 'Nobody except us!'. Yeaaaah... Good thing VV got disbanded back in 40's though.
Damn, we're talking for quite some time now, we should move. Good luck, captain!)
"Да, и тебе не хворать старшина. Давайте за дело." (Yes, you too stay safe out there, master sergeant. Let's get going.)
With this Siegfried leaves to the City Hall, accompanied by Lyra.
Drakon scratched his back of the head and looked around, searching for Nika. For his surprise she was sitting on the right seat, reading something on her tacpad.
"Where did you come from?"
She raised her eyes and looked at Drakon "From your right." Nika readjusted her headgear before continuing
"While you were busy chatting I gathered all coins and put them into money bag Lyra gave me and also cleaned up ATV's trunk for stuff we gonna transport. I also had time to brush up my hair a little."
"Uhh... Right. Fasten your seatbelt then." ATV began to move, and soon it was out of town.
It was a bumpy ride. Drakon didn't notice that this morning but road was terrible. And yet Captain somehow managed to get them into town in less than 30 minutes on top speed. Drakon was an experienced driver himself but under his control car somehow managed to bump into all sorts of rocks while returning back to base. 'Damn', he thought, 'Captain skills sure are incredible'.
Finally, after a hour of 'bumpy trot adventures' they made it back. Drakon turned off the engine and it became silent again.
Time was long after noon so it was getting a bit dark.
Nika always loved nature, but this one was different from beautiful Russian forests she was used to. In fact, it was downright unnerving a little. No motion besides themselves. Almost no birds, and no wildlife. Not even butterflies or other insects. She remembered from talk with Lyra Heartstrings that animals are looking after themselves only in 'Creepy and dangerous Everfree forest, where even clouds isn't controlled by anyone'. Lyra talked about wild animals like it was something that went against the nature. As you can guess Nika felt exactly the opposite.
This no-name small forest in which they made their original camp now felt... Empty. It felt too quiet, like if this forest was dead. And that dead silence gave an eerie feeling to Nika.
She didn't notice that before, because of the squad and lots of work to do but now, when nothing was making noises, unusual silence was deafening.
It was true that Veronika Nikanorova preferred quiet reading to the loud parties Vladimir liked to attend when they were in the University, but 'quiet' doesn't mean total silence. A distant sound of a car driving down the street, some kids playing in the playground, sound of wind blowing through the open window, muffled music and happy laughter down the corridor... All this together created an unique warm atmosphere. All this made the world feel alive, colorful, vivid.
And even when she ventured into various forests, no matter alone, or with company of friends, no matter if she went to look for mushrooms and berries or just for a walk, even then it wasn't completely silent. Sound of birds chirping, occasional hare running through bushes, fox barking and other animals or insects minding about their own business. She loved this.
And this is what this world was lacking. Wind, you cannot hear it even if you feel it. Leafs don't make a sound. Nothing makes a sound. Sure, it was noisy back in Ponyville. But here... Here it was obvious. It was... alien. It was... Another World.
"Well, here we are. What's the plan? Big stuff first or personal belongings?" Drakon was stretching after long ride.
"Let's start small, get it out of our way. Then we'll focus on loading up big things." Nika made a crack with her fingers before heading out to the truck's trailer. "Let's get to it."
And hoo boy, this time Drakon definitely cursed his laziness. Because you can't just throw "somewhere under the bunk" something big like generator. Search was going to be pain in the ass. He looked at his COs neat packages with envy and cursed his laziness again. 'Why I couldn't do the same? Again it bites me in the ass, dammit.' With those thoughts in mind he was busy searching for his belongings under the bunks and other dark places.
Meanwhile Nika encountered similar problem, but for another reason. "What the... Vovka, did you search through my locker?!" Instead of tidy stockpile she found a mess, some things missing, other thrown around.
"Uh, maybe? I'm kinda busy searching for mine so don't bother me! ...Is that your bra?" He picked up a silk under-garment during his search.
Nika's face turned red "Now give that back! You pervert!" She yelled this at him as she snatched her bra from Drakon's hands.
"Yeah-yeah, like I've never seen something like that before." He shrugged and resumed his search. "Women."
"Jeez, sometimes you are unbearable! Stupid, foolish, stupid, dork, idiot... For whose sake do you think I'm doing it... Why the hell I should care anyway... Sigh..." She kept grumbling while gathering her belongings into a bag. Also in that bag she put several sealed boxes from her locker hidden compartment. "Don't you dare to touch my locker ever again, I'm warning you!"
"Yeah-yeah, whatever." He just waved her off.
"You! You!.. Ah, to hell with you. Why do I have to put up with this crap?" She wandered away into storage block, rummaging through stuff in search of something.
Pulling things together took longer that initially planned, but it were getting done. With clothes, water packs and MREs packed tightly into ATV's trunk, all that remained is the big stuff. First came the generator. A big hunk of metal, plastic and other polymers and hard materials that ran on ethanol. (which they also stuffed into ATV, ethanol is a ultimate fuel unit used everywhere - gasoline and basically any other oil-based product is quite rare these days. Not like back home.) You start it, and voila - here's your basic volts that comes in thousands, or even more. Who knows? I don't, because I don't know jack about technology. So anyway, it produces enough energy to keep their camp running, even with everything turned on. Just don't forget to fill 'er up from time to time.
And there's a "new, incredible, thing from future, portable potty!", now it's comes with auto-excavation mechanism for rapid outdoor emplacement. Decades of intensive military science that derails from original goal makes our life simpler indeed. Another credit goes to military origins: it's made so simple so even complete fool would be able to put it together and press a button. Only drawback is it's digging part - it's heavy.
"But wait, about those MREs... Most of them aren't your regular canned meat, or noodles, or whatever. It's the goddamn food pills!" Drakon fell down on his knees. "How could I be so stupid... Sure it was a little surprising hearing we stockpiled half a year worth of provisions in our MCC but this!.. No... I won't accept this! No! This is bullshit!"
He stood up and yelled at the top of his lungs "DAMN YOU BASE COMMANDER COLONEL DOUGLAS DAVID BRADLEY!! DAMN YOU AND YOUR FOOD PILLS!!" He dramatically raised his hands to the sky, following his skyward scream that went through the forest, scaring nearby birds away.
"Are you done with dramatics?" Nika asked him while packaging more boxes for transportation.
He just stood there, 'heartbroken', for a while. "Yeah... Hold on, don't close it in yet, I forgot to pack my Gillette! It's the..."
"Best man can get? Yeah, you keep saying this old ad." Nika chuckled a little.
Drakon made a mock frown. "Why you..! It's no fair stealing my lines! Oh well." He laughed at it too. "Do you think they'll pay me royalties for my advertisement efforts?"
"You wish."
"Yeah..." He smiled. "Oh damn, gotta also pack some disposable razors for Cap and Jake. Gotta run!" And he took off again.
So, Food Pills. Sure, many researcher folks like back at Maggi-Knorr Lebensmittelindustrie Ltd. and such who was responsible for this... Pinnacle of human achievement... Were quite proud with their product. Just imagine: you eat few of those pills and you're well fed and energized! Except the taste, it's terrible. No matter what they did, at best it was really bland. No one can eat this voluntarily for more than a couple days straight without necessity for doing so. But hey, it helped solving some key food shortages in Africa and other places. And it's cheap as dirt.
Either way, they ended up with about 10% normal food, and 90% of the goddamn food pills.
"Can we go now? You got everything? Didn't forget anything this time?" Nika was ready as ever, already changed from her uniform into light summer variant.
Drakon was busy putting his t-shirt the right way so he didn't respond to her immediately. "Uh? Huh... Yeah. Nice Converse by the way. Is that vintage 2012 skate model? How much you paid for it?"
"Around 50 bucks. Are we gonna go or what?" Nika took out small mirror and started brushing her hair. "I'm waiting on you."
"Yeah... Sure. Can you drive? I'll ride shotgun, someone's gotta hold all that stuff we loaded, make sure nothing falls out, yeah?" Drakon put on his jacket "Yep, that's about it."
Road uphill was hell. But road downhill, while loaded, no, overloaded with various stuff, was blazing inferno in the flesh.
Well, for Vladimir at least, having to keep all stuff inside the car and not letting them to fall out. Nika was only worried about driving, and didn't see what was happening behind her. Or more probably just didn't care - rocks, mud, bad road in general was too much trouble to be distracted by other things. One wrong move, and they will do a barrel roll - with a car. And that probably would be fatal. And since both of them preferred to be alive and not dead, extra carefulness was a given.
Oh, and it should be noted that they were contacted by CO via Skype a few times during their trip about things like 'Where are you?' and 'How much longer?' and such.
All in all, the supposed "fast trip" took them many hours, and evening was the time they made it back.
ATV stopped at the now familiar town center. But unlike their previous visit there was some activity, locals going about their business, with some stopping and giving our returnees a curious look.
"Cap? You there?" Headset was being useless as usual. So it took Drakon some time to get in touch with Siegfried and others.
"Goddammit, we're probably the only radio message senders around here, conditions are supposed to be ideal! Yet I have to put up with this crap. Jeez, looks like I'll have to use Skype again..." But before he could finish the radio cracked with incoming transmission.
"..*static*-kon is that you? Jake, get-*static*-thing working properly, will you?" Connection was fairly weak and distorted, but it was there all right.
"Cap? Hey cap! You got yourself an antenna?"
"...There. Is this thing working? *tap* *tap* Better now? How copy?"
"Hearing you loud and clear, comrade captain! This rocks! Much more convenient than that goddamn skype, I tell you.".
"You guys sure took your sweet time. Brought everything we need?"
"Yeah, sorry for the delay. We brought all you asked plus some extra."
"Good. I've managed to get us a few squares of land for our outpost. Made some basic fence and few other things. Move towards our signal and you'll find us."
"Affirmative. We're on our way, ETA 10 minutes. Over and out."
Outpost was fairly big complex(planned to be at least) with temporary wooden fence. Inside there was planned outlines for motor-pool and living quarters, along with place for future portal and other communications infrastructure. For now there only were a lone, crudely made antenna and foundation for buildings. To complete construction team would require their MCC, and for now it was unavailable.
Anyway, now (almost) official, first Human outpost, designated "Homeland-1", was created at the outskirts of the Ponyville.
Small, about 1.5 meter high, wooden fence, foundations for buildings and small wooden shelter with canvas cover on top were the starting point.
With time, wooden fence would turn into concrete wall.
Outlines would turn into magnificent multistory building, complete with motor-pool and trading post.
With time, this place can become a whole 'Human district' in this world.
A shining beacon of humanity in this new world.
ATV was finally parked in the shadow of said shelter.
"Hey guys, what's up?" An unexpected person called out to Drakon and Nika: Jake.
He was very pale, with bags under eyes but aside from that he looked quite lively.
"Oh-ho-how! Hey chief! Medbay churned you out already?" Drakon was glad to see his friend alive and well.
"But what about your injuries? Is it alright for you to be walking around?" Nika was also glad, but still worried about what happened this morning.
"Yeah, no probs. Well, for today at least. As if I'm gonna pass up such feast." Jake rubbed his hands in anticipation.
Drakon gave him a puzzled look "What feast? Wait a sec, you guys, do you... you plan something?" He looked at Nika.
She just smiled "Let's just say it's a surprise party in honor of our successful negotiations and Jake's recovery."
Drakon whistled "What's in the menu?"
"Classified info. Otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise, no?" Nika kept smiling.
"Oh come on, just drop a hint or something?"
"Well... OK. Frozen fish and marinated meat. That's good enough for you?"
"Woah... You mean...?" His eyes widened in excitement.
She nodded "Exactly."
Drakon made a happy grin himself and after brief pause he said "You have a wonderful smile, you know that?"
Sudden compliment caught her off guard, Nika blushed a little "..Thanks."
Part 7: Meet the meat. Meat came, juicy stuff so I fried it. Crispy. Tasty.
"...Damn. If we gonna have a party..." He ran off to the ATV and climbed on it "Then what are waiting for? Let's do it!"
"Whatever you say, master sergeant." Captain approached him "But before that climb down and listen. Let's distribute assignments, who's gonna do what."
Nika raised hand "I'll be doing all this... cooking business. No objections, right?"
Siegfried nodded "Sure. That's one down. Hilda, Megumi: first help Nika with grill and then tables, seats and other stuff, you're on it. Vladimir, you should get extra water, just in case. Heavy stuff is on me. Everyone okay with this?"
Hilda took a step forward "You got it. All right people, let's make it happen!" She clapped her hand a few times "C'mon, get moving, chop-chop!"
"Hey, what about me?" Jake asked.
"Rest. You've been injured. ...But I guess you can help our girls, just... don't overwork yourself, you hear me?" Siegfried grabbed his shoulder and looked right into Jake's eyes "If you start to feel bad, even a little, you tell about this immediately. Are we clear?"
"C'mon, what's gonna.."
Jake was immediately interrupted by Siegfried "ARE. WE. CLEAR?"
"Uh.. Roger that, sir. Crystal clear."
Everyone got their orders and then it was business as usual.
Few tweaks there. and some here. Trivial tasks, but a good day of work nonetheless.
Drakon took a few canisters and one big barrel with him, Lyra volunteered to help, or at least show him to the nearest river.
"Hmm... Listen. After we get back you should probably split. Know what I'm sayin'?" Drakon decided to strike up a conversation while filling up canisters.
"...Split?" Unfamiliar expression confused Lyra.
"Well, you know, call it a day? Just go home and relax, because, err..." He scratched back of his head.
Lyra just sat there "Why? ...Am I... Am I such a bother?" Her eyes started to tear up.
"No! No, it's just... Well..." Drakon rubbed his eyes and sighed "Fine, we're gonna eat meat! MEAT! Get it? I don't suppose your eyes will like something like that, now do you?"
"Um... I won't mind." Lyra shaked her head. "I understand that carnivores need meat and object to that, object to the nature would be... Stupid, yes?"
"Huh?" He did a facepalm. "Well, yeah, sure, whatever. It's your funeral pal. Just don't tell me I didn't warn ya. C'mon, we should get back then."
But Lyra just stood there, eyes wide open, ears twitching.
"What'cha doing back there? Stuck or having second thoughts?" He chuckled to himself.
"You're not... You... You... Gonna kill... Eat... Me?"
That response caught Drakon off guard. "What?!"
Lyra started to back up slowly. "I don't want to attend my own funeral yet..."
"You what...?" After realization Drakon started laughing. "Lyra you silly thing! Damn! That's just an old idiom, you know? It means 'if you do it, all the consequences are your own doing!', oh man... Hah-hah-hah..." Lyra quietened up and just sat there, not saying anything.
So there he was, finished task of filling up water containers. Now another task has present itself to the Drakon: transportation.
'Canisters were easy but barrel? I clearly didn't think this through. Technically you can strap it on your back but it's way too heavy. Either way, gentlemen, we've got a dilemma. Should I haul barrel first and then come back? Nah, it might get snatched by curious locals... Wait, I can leave Lyra to watch it... Ugh, but I don't want to make a double trip, my legs are tired. What should I do, it's heavy as fuck! Wait... What about magic? I guess it won't hurt to ask.'
"Hey Lyra.." Drakon turned to her and she jumped up in surprise "...You okay?"
"W-what? Y-yeah, yeah, I'm alright... It's nothing, I'm just thinking." Lyra was curled up near river.
"What's up with your face? Wait, don't tell me you still thinking about my stupid joke earlier?" He sat down beside her.
"..." Lyra kept quiet for a while. "No, nothing like that. I just did not think that humans would turn out to be carnivores... Wait, that's not right. I guess I'm more concerned what you guys will do if your food stockpile will run out... You're not gonna... Are you?"
"Is that why you're so gloomy? Heh, don't stress yourself out, didn't anyone told you we're omnivores? Veggies and stuff also have place in our ration."
"Hmm... But if you're capable of digesting vegetable diet, why would you eat meat then?" She wondered.
"Well, you see... Main reason is necessity. In a place where I am from, eating only vegetables will get you killed. Harsh environment require a lot of stuff, and meat there is basically is the only source of the much needed nutrition." Drakon sipped some water from his flask before continuing. "We need it to survive. Our bodies are made up that way so while we can eat and live only on plant food it's not... Well, one must have a balanced diet, know what I'm saying?"
"I see..." Lyra nodded.
"Listen kid... You have nothing to worry about." He ruffled her mane. "Well, I guess I'll be nervous myself if some aliens just popped up out of nowhere and told you 'you have nothing to worry about', heh-heh..."
He paused for a moment. "Look, you're our buddy now, and friends don't hurt friends."
Lyra looked at him, surprised. "Friends? You mean it?"
"Yeah. We all owe you for saving Jake's life." He ruffled her mane again. "Cheer up kid, you're a hero."
Lyra made a scrunchy face. "H-hey, um... I have a request that you might think of as a tiny bit strange..." Her ears twitched a little as she made a brief pause. "Would you mind doing this again?"
"Do what?.. Oh, you mean... Like, you want me to pet your head?"
"Uh-huh. Pretty please?" Her eyes sparkled.
Drakon just sat there for a moment looking first at his hand, then at Lyra who's in turn was looking at his hands too. "..Now that I thought about it, I suddenly don't want to."
"No! Um, you know ('No, I don't.') this sensation is very... different from a brush..." Her own wording turned out to be quite embarrassing.
Drakon drank up his flask, and filled it anew with water. "You better help me with that barrel then. Deal?"
Lyra made a happy smile. "Sure!"
What's better than a tasty meal and a good nap afterwards?
Only more of the same! Which Wolf pack was happy to do, venting out accumulated stress.
Small festivities continued up until morning.
And with first sun rays came another... event.
Jake noticed it first. "Yo... Yo, captain! We've got company, looks important."
And indeed it was, Canterlot's Royal Guards.
Siegfried dusted off his clothes and put on his field cap. "They sure love to come in numbers... Keep it cool. Hilda, you're with me?"
"Of course. Let's find out what they might want, shall we?" Both she and Captain went off to meet 'guests', rest of the Wolf Pack remained at the camp fire.
Jake and others tried to hear what they were talking about, but only bits and pieces can be heard.
"Hey, what do you think is gonna happen?" Jake asked Nika.
Nika only shrugged. "I dunno. Probably we all gonna get dragged to some official meeting or something like that."
Drakon nodded in agreement. "When it comes to politics and such, it's always the same, no matter if it's, pffffft *chuckle*, colored equines or anything else. Uh, no offense Lyra."
Lyra only tilted her head. "None taken."
Talk was brief and ended soon. Siegfried gathered his squad for briefing.
Captain cleared his throat. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, listen up! Drakon, Nika, Wulfin and I gonna visit local capital - Canterlot. I want all of you to be on your best behavior there, everything should go smoothly. We'll need to look our best for this. Locals are gonna provide us transportation. Questions?"
Jake lifted his hand. "Yeah, sir, about us..."
"Right. Considering your recent injuries I've arranged that you, 2nd Lieutenant Jake Anderson and Civilian Specialist Megumi Hayakawa can stay here for the time being. And besides, someone's gotta watch our camp. But if you wanted to come along, sorry. This will have to wait."
"Uhh... Roger that, sir."
Lyra asked. "But what about me?"
"Yes, regarding you Lyra... I'd like you to accompany us. Somebody we can trust, to show us around, that'll be perfect. Can you do that for us?"
Lyra basically beamed with excitement. "Yeah, no problem. I'd love to!"
"It's settled then. If there's no other questions..."
Drakon raised hand. "Actually, there is."
"What is it now?" Hilda sighed.
Drakon scratched back of his head. "How do I put it? Erm... I didn't bring my parade uniform with me."
Nika facepalmed. "Who said anything about parade uniforms? Just put on something neutral, like OD or something."
Ten minutes later.
Wolf Pack was finally on the move.
As they were walking towards Royal Guards, Hilda was going through 'objectives' one last time. "Alright, we just have to go in, talk for a bit and that's all. Simple, right? We don't even have to do anything, just stand there and look pretty. Siegfried will do the talking. And remember, we DON'T want to screw this up, you hear me?"
"Ay-firmative. So, where's our r... Errrr... Don't tell me we're gonna go... fly... whatever, on this?" Drakon stood before gold-plated chariots.
"That is correct." Captain answered his question. "Squad, meet Guards*cough*pony Silver Shield and his pegasi 'Shield' detachment of the Equestria's Royal Guard."
"Товарищ лейтенант." (Comrade lieutenant) Drakon whispered to Wulfin. "Как у товарища капитана получается говорить всё это вслух с серьёзным лицом?" (How comrade captain can say all this with straight face?)
Hilda whispered back. "Вот поэтому он и командир, старшина. Всё, отставить разговорчики." (That's why he's in command, master sergeant. Now quiet down.)
Tough-looking white Pegasus took a step forward. "All right you 'newcomers', first of all, let me be clear on this: I don't trust you and so does my team. We gonna keep our eyes on you in case you try something funny. And I want you to know that Silver Shield doesn't like when unwanted guests tries something funny on his watch. Just give me an excuse and I'll show you why 'Shield' is considered Royal Guard's elite. You got that?!"
Drakon only rolled his eyes. "Это он типа нас так напугал?" (Was that supposed to intimidate us?) And got elbow-poked by Nika for this remark.
"Заткнись. Сейчас не время для тупых шуток." (Shut up. This is no time for stupid jokes.)
Captain faced his squad "Wolf pack, at attention, eyes front!"
All of them quickly stood up in orderly formation.
He then turned back to the Silver Shield. "I understand that there's certain... distrust between you and us, but I sincerely hope that we can overcome this." Captain corrected his cap before continuing. "And I assure you, we mean you no harm. Officer's word, if that is of any value to you."
Silver measured him and the rest of the humans with his eyes. "Hmpf. We shall see." Despite his attitude his face expression eased up a little. Perhaps those affiliated with the military do get along faster with each other, another world or not.
"Princess Celestia herself ordered 'Shield' to escort you to the Canterlot Castle, so let's get on with it." Silver Shield nodded towards golden chariots. "Captain Zigf-... Ugh, captain, get your subordinates inside our chariots, I don't want Princess to wait any longer."
Siegfried nodded and turned back to his squad. "You heard him people, mount up!"
"Oh, and 2nd Lieutenant Anderson?"
"Yes sir?" Jake stood at attention.
"While we'll be there you gonna be in charge or our camp here. Take care of civilian specialist Hayakawa while we're gone."
"Sir yes sir!" Jake saluted.
"At ease, soldier. Don't forget to take it easy, you're just out of the hospital son."
Wolf pack loaded up into the chariots and Siegfried corrected his cap once again. "Isn't this festive, so many parties finding us themselves? Well, here goes nothing."
A little afterword
And here it is, finally, the long awaited (by those 3.5 anons who still waited for me to wake up, I'm sorry) chapter 2!
Spread the word!
Illustrations are different because I did them on different days.
Not much music this time, didn't thought that through.
I'm still kinda not entirely satisfied with my writing but this is slowly turning into DNF and I can't afford doing that.
This chap saw 3 complete rewrites, several partial rewrites and some info losses.
Welp, I hope you enjoyed it.