POV: Markus
The battle up in the north has left me quite satisfied with my troops. They hadn’t broken line, their reaction time was minimal and they had kept their calm. Even if it was only a sample group, namely platoon bravo, that actually encountered resistance, I can safely assume that all of them would react in a similar manner, as they have all undergone the same training. Still, there was one thing that bothered me.
First off: I never thought them to be invulnerable. On the contrary, it was always clear to me that there would be casualties, should we ever get engaged in combat. Still, I found it unnecessary to equip them with helmets as, according to my plan, they would always only be engaged in ranged combat, where the unicorn’s shields would keep them safe and even if we would go into melee, a helmet would hardly shield them from a strike to their barrel. Also, a helmet is heavy and every gram of weight decreases the speed at which we can move and the ease with which said movement is done.
At least that was my line of thought when I neglected them said equipment. Now, after the battle, however, I was quite surprised to see that, out of four ponies that got wounded, three were hit to the head and even though none of these three were wounded by the enemy, it still sufficed to show me that helmets were indeed needed. Thus, with a little help from Rarity, I opened my magic workshop again to stamp some steel into shape.
I aimed to make them as similar as possible to my M92 helmet, which turned out to be quite a challenge. No wonder, given that the M92 is not made from steel, but from Aramid, which is likely a lot easier to shape, given that it’s a synthetic polymer. Still, I somehow managed to pull it off and after some test-wearing and precise cutting of the ear-slits, I had Rarity make similar covers like I had for mine, as well as some interior lining to keep the metal from freezing their heads in cold environments.
After the helmets were completely done, I gave order to wear them when on patrol, so they could get used to their weight. Still, it’s likely that it will take some time to get used to them, given that I trained them without helmets.
Still better than having them die because they ran into a low-hanging branch, though…
Today was a rather peculiar day, to say the least. A bit more than a month has passed since the battle in the north and I had decided that, after they had acquainted themselves with the new helmets, we all deserved a day off.
I planned to spend said day together with Twilight and Rainbow in the warm confines of the Library, reading books, talking and enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and each other on this day in early February. That is, until three certain fillies paid us a visit.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders entered just as I went downstairs to retrieve another book. A waft of cold air hit me, as they opened the door and then quickly closed it behind them again. They looked at me, blinked once and then ‘squee’-d over to me, jumping around my feet like carousel horses.
This commotion caused Twilight and Rainbow to stick their heads through the door upstairs and call down.
“Markus? Did something happen?”
“Yes, we have visitors! The Crusaders are here!” I called back up.
I heard the door creak open a bit wider, followed by hoofsteps on the stairs and the door clicking shut again. Soon after, Twilight and Rainbow rounded the corner in the staircase and greeted our visitors.
“Hey, girls.” Twilight greeted.
“Hey, squirt.” Rainbow followed suit.
“Hey, Dash.” Scootaloo greeted back, giving Rainbow a sisterly hug.
“So, what was it that you wanted from me?” I asked them, regaining their attention. All three lined up before me and looked at me expectantly, in a way that I almost already knew what was coming.
“Well, Dash told us about your super awesome trip to the Crystal Empire…” Scootaloo started.
“And we thought that it would be cool if we could do things like that.” Apple Bloom continued.
“So we wanted to ask you, if… um, you could maybe train us a little?” Sweetie Belle finished shyly.
Needless to say I wasn’t really surprised by this, as they have already asked me something similar before. “So, what would you need that training for?” I asked.
As an answer, they quickly shared a look with each other, before screaming out in unison:
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Soldiers, YAY!”
I face-palmed. Seriously, these fillies get the weirdest of ideas. First it was assassins, now it’s soldiers, what comes next? Cutie Mark Crusaders Waffen-SS? I can already hear the scream.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Waffen-SS, YAY!“
Better not think too hard about it…
ANYWAYS: I wanted to scold them for this poor idea and list off everything that wouldn’t work with this plan. However, before I could actually do that, the door flew open a second time, giving way to Pinkie Pie, who was vibrating like a Jackhammer.
Twilight and Rainbow immediately sought cover, hiding under the table that stood in the middle of the room, while the Crusaders and I were just standing there.
“What is it Pinkie?!” Twilight asked anxiously, “Twitchy Tail? Curly Mane? Flabby Hoof? All three together?!”
Pinkie stopped vibrating and started sniffing around like a dog. “No, my Party Sense tells me that somepony isn’t celebrating their birthday!” She answered, growing more agitated towards the end of the statement.
Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other, while the crusaders did the same. All of them seemed to silently note that they all knew each other’s birthdays, so they would have celebrated them. All, but one…
Slowly, everyone in the room turned their heads towards me, giving me expectant looks. All I could do in that situation was to laugh uncomfortably and scratch the back of my head.
“Euh, yeah, well, I am 29 now. Surprise?”
As soon as these words left my lips, I was instantly entangled in a tight group hug and being bombarded with a thousand congratulations. Pinkie almost immediately volunteered to throw me a party, which I declined as soon as I could get a word in-between. However, she insisted on doing so and since I know it’s no use trying to talk Pinkie out of a party, I just let it slip.
Thus, we had the most peculiar birthday party I’ve ever been to, because everyone was celebrating, except me, the one whose birthday it actually was.
I don’t celebrate my birthdays. Not since my mother died on the very same day. I know it isn’t my fault that she died, but it still feels like I would be celebrating her death…
The concept of winter wrap-up had always been pretty alien to me. No wonder, considering that in my world, we don’t control the weather or the seasons, though I must admit that it was very impressive to witness first hand. Also, being an officer, I like the idea of an organized change, where everyone is given a task. However, winter wrap-up isn’t why I started this entry, but what happened today.
Twilight, Spike and I were sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast when Spike gave the signature signs of an incoming letter. A letter from Princess… Cadence?
Yep, that’s right. Princess Cadence sent us a letter. In it, she invited us and the remaining Elements to have a relaxing day at the beach together with her, Shining Armor, as well as Celestia and Luna.
“So that’s what she meant by ‘leave it to me’, huh?” Twilight commented.
I looked over to her, forming a questioning look on my face, which she immediately picked up on.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Cadence wants to solve the ‘tensions’ between you and Shining Armor and this is probably her first attempt at this.”
I looked back at the letter, just blankly staring and not really reading it. “Well, I suppose if I just go there, keep up my act and hope that Shining Armor does the same, I suppose there won’t be much to be afraid about. Also, going to the beach sounds like a good change of pace for once, I suppose.”
And so, we made ourselves ready to go. There wasn’t much to be done, really. All I did was change my attire back to the arid camo uniform I wore when I got here, while Twilight put a large blanket and some sandwiches into her saddlebags. We then went to get the others, all of which gladly came along.
We took the train southward to the location the letter had called us to, where the three alicorns and one unicorn were already waiting for us. Shining Armor and I gave a short, friendly greeting over the thought bridge, before we commenced our act, giving each other some hissed pleasantries. Cadence tried to calm us down and we played along, following her to the beach. It was a large area, completely covered in light yellow sand and in the shape of a crescent moon.
The Elements gave a collective ‘Ooooh’ at the sight of the cove and even Celestia and Luna showed themselves pleasantly surprised. Twilight quickly whipped out her blanket and sandwiches, while Applejack and Rainbow drew some lines into the sand, where they then started playing what looked like the pony version of Volleyball. Twilight joined them as a referee and Pinkie, Fluttershy and the other Princesses went to test out the water, while Rarity whipped out a sun mirror and lay down on a blanket of to the side. That left only Shining Armor and me and we decided to just sit down on the blanket and enjoy the view. And what a view it was.
Every time Rainbow took flight to strike the ball, her back muscles flexed, causing her behind to squeeze out ever so slightly and upon landing, her hind legs dampened her fall, adding a slight jiggle to her otherwise heavily muscled butt. She turned her head and noticed that I was looking at her, but instead of looking offended, she smiled playfully and gave a short, but intentional wiggle with her behind.
A short flush of blood hit my head and I quickly chose to look in another direction… like towards the group that was playing in the water for example.
I looked over right when Luna used her wings to send a massive splash of water hollering towards Pinkie and Cadence, who were unable to evade in time. The result was that Cadence’s mane hung over her eyes in a wet bundle of hair and her coat reflected the light in sporadic bright specks.
Well, mostly sporadic at least… There was one bright line of reflected light that seemed to continue along her body. I followed it with my eyes, seeing how it perfectly outlined her wing muscles, coming down to highlight the well-rounded form of her behind.
I was probably looking a bit too long, as I suddenly felt Shining Armor beside me shove my shoulders back and forth.
“Hey, eyes off my wife’s butt!” He commanded in mock anger.
“Ah, don’t worry, I’m not really one for hearts anyways… I prefer stars and rainbows.” I said back, to which he gave me a friendly jab against my shoulder.
Soon, the game Applejack and Rainbow were playing came to a conclusion and we all sat down to eat. Before that, Shining Armor and I of course made sure that we weren’t seen sitting beside each other without trying to murder the other.
Everyone had brought a few things to eat, so in the end, we had a wide arrangement of salads, cakes and fruit laid out on the blanket, Twilight had brought, while we all sat around it. Twilight and Rainbow had, of course, instantly claimed my sides, while Shining Armor and Cadence placed themselves directly opposite of me, together with Luna. Celestia, Applejack and Rarity sat down to my left and Fluttershy and Pinkie to my right. When everyone was seated, we all dug in, enjoying the taste of the brought goodies.
But that wasn’t the only thing that these ponies seemed to enjoy. In fact, I caught both Rainbow and Twilight a few times, as they were giving short glances at my upper body, which was still concealed by my uniform. However, they were not the only ones. In fact, Rarity was looking at me as well, albeit her stare was of a different kind.
“Say, Darling, why are you wearing that uniform today? Isn’t this attire a bit too formal for a simple day at the beach?”
I looked down on my shirt, giving it a light tug with my right hand. “Out of habit, I guess…” That was when I spotted Rainbow and Twilight looking again and it gave me an idea of what to do next.
I looked up towards the sun, shielding my eyes from its rays. “Though I suppose, it is rather warm today.” I said, gripping the lower brim of my shirt, to then pull it up and over my head.
The effect was just as I had imagined, as the moment that my shirt passed my eyes, I heard five distinct *POMF*s and when I finally completely tugged it off, I came to see five pairs of wings, standing at attention, with only Celestia being able to control herself, albeit her face told me that she was barely holding on. Twilight and Rainbow looked in wide-eyed awe at me, while Cadence and Rarity went fully slack-jawed. Luna was pretending to look away, giving only short glances over to me. However that was betrayed by her deeply reddened cheeks, not to mention her massive wingboner.
“Whoa…” came from Shining Armor over the thought bridge.
“Don’t go gay on me” I sent back.
“Wow…” Rainbow mumbled, “I thought the scar in your face looked cool, but these… They look awesome!”
Yep, my whole body is littered with scars. 24 in total. A curtesy of the Afghan Campaign, where every mission had earned me another scar. All except one and that’s because I wasn’t there. At that time, I was receiving a medal and the local General wanted to use my absence to get himself a place in the spotlight for once. In the end, though, it turned out to be a severely rushed operation, resulting in a total defeat, nearly 1000 losses and the demotion of said General…
Buuuuut anyways: When we were done with eating, I wanted to go swimming, but was promptly stopped by a magic aura that surrounded me.
“Ah ah ah, Markus, no swimming after eating!” Twilight said in an almost motherly tone.
“Who are you, my mother?” I shot back and I noticed Luna wince slightly. Probably due to what she saw in my memories. Twilight, however, just set me down beside her and I concluded that any move towards the water would be completely in vain, as she would just levitate me back here. Thus, when Luna proposed to play some games, I gladly accepted the offer.
I fucked up. Severely. This was the end. Total defeat. I was as good as dead. My opponent, Luna, the mare of the night, Nightmare Moon stood victorious and all that was left for me was to hope for a quick end.
She raised her hoof up high, my definite demise firmly gripped within it. She brought it down, connecting with the board between us with a loud *clap*.
“Checkmate!” She exclaimed, as her queen sealed the trap that her rook had laid out, completely trapping my king in the H8 tile.
“Wow, that’s 5 to 1. You’re on a streak, Luna!” Twilight assessed, while I busied myself with burying my face in the solid wood of the board.
I decided that losing 5 games in a row was quite enough and went to take a swim instead.
Soon, the day came to an end and we all bade our farewells, packing up and going to fetch our respective trains to then take the ride home.
WARNING: NSFW-CONTENT UP AHEAD!!!
If I called my last entry a peculiar one then only, because I couldn’t know what would happen to me only a few days after! What happened? Well, let me tell you:
The day started relatively normal. I was the first to get up, as usual, eating breakfast and then going to work. The first peculiarity came as soon as I reached the guard station. The first subtle sign was that, today, the morning patrol consisted only of stallions. That wasn’t really all that remarkable in itself, however I also saw that the morning, afternoon and evening patrols of the entire week had the same setup.
I went to the barracks to ask Mystic about it, but that’s where the second, not so subtle sign greeted me. Mystic intercepted me outside of the barracks, effectively blocking me from entering them.
“Mystic?” I asked her, “Say, why are there only stallions on patrol for the entire week?”
Mystic glanced around, as if not willing to answer. “Euh, well, you see… All of our mares are currently suffering from a… condition. I am only okay because I’ve taken the medicine…”
“If there’s medicine, then why don’t the others just take it as well?” I asked, not quite buying her explanation.
“W-Well, the medicine can cause an itch… in a very improper place.” Came her answer.
She was now severely blushing and looking off to the sides. I noticed this, of course and decided to let it go for now, as it seemed like I made her uncomfortable somehow. That isn’t to say that I didn’t plan on asking her again later on, though.
I came back to the Library in the afternoon, still trying to figure out what was wrong. Especially since there was now a third thing that I had noticed: I hadn’t seen a single mare, except Mystic, for the entire day.
I didn’t get to think any further about this, however, as I suddenly noticed a weird scent. It somehow smelled like a mixture of lavender and that smell when you go outside just after rainfall. But it wasn’t just a smell. There seemed to also be some kind of gas or aerosol in the air that made me slightly dizzy, as soon as I entered the Library. I easily overpowered the effects of it, but it was noticeable nonetheless.
“Twilight?” I called out, causing some stirring upstairs, but nothing else.
I went into alarm mode, carefully advancing up the stairs and slowly opening the door. As soon as I did that a thick wave of said smell hit me. It wasn’t unpleasant or anything. In fact, it smelled quite nice.
I slowly stepped into the living area and as soon as I did, the door slammed shut behind me. I turned around and tried to open it again, only to find it locked. Then, I heard two thuds behind me. I turned around and saw that it was Rainbow and Twilight, though something was strange about them.
Firstly, they were breathing heavily, almost heaving. Secondly, their tails looked like their bases were standing straight up and thirdly they were looking at me with what I can only describe as a VERY hungry look.
They slowly closed in on me, their hips waving back and forth, while I tried to keep the distance by walking backwards. This was soon met with resistance, as I hit the door behind me. But Rainbow and Twilight didn’t stop, no, they closed in further, right until their muzzles hit me and they took a deep sniff from my… well…
ANYWAYS: As if it wasn’t bad enough that I was completely unprepared for this, my old friend angst decided to pay me a visit at that exact moment. The result was that I panicked. I bashed through Twilight and Rainbow and made a sprint straight for the window, which stood slightly open, presumably from when Rainbow came here.
I jumped down and into a bush, where I felt safe for the moment, due to the camo that I was still wearing. It seemed to work at first, as I saw Rainbow shoot out of the window above me without seeing me. However, as Twilight looked out, she looked down and almost instantly spotted me.
She jumped down and I quickly got up and started running. I heard her hit the bush, but as I turned around, I saw that she had properly entangled herself in it. That didn’t mean that I could take a break now, though, as Rainbow had turned around in the meantime and was now hot on my tail.
I sprinted as fast as I could, zig-zagging through Ponyville, trying to somehow get her off of me. The problem was that I was bound to the passages between the buildings, while Rainbow could just fly over them.
I decided that running through the narrow streets wasn’t going to aid me in the slightest, so I went for the central plaza, where I could evade her more easily. At least that was the plan. HHowever Rainbow managed to get ahead of me and blocked my exit. She then held true to her name and Dash-ed towards me, which I promptly sidestepped, causing her to crash face-first into a wall.
I didn’t waste a moment and took off again, this time heading over the bridge to the south to then dive into the first bushline that I saw. There, I watched the street for a moment, before finally being able to properly catch a breath.
A breath that promptly escaped again, as I noticed that I wasn’t the only one hiding here.
“Euh, hey, Mr. Cak-“
“Psssh” He hushed me, holding his hoof over my mouth. “Not so loud, or else-“
“Caaaaarroooooot~~” I heard Mrs. Cake call out in a sing-song voice. Mr. Cake immediately reacted by darting out of the bush and running away, causing me to chuckle slightly.
“Maaaaarkuuuuus~~” Twilight suddenly called out.
“Oh snap.” I thought, quickly darting out of my hiding spot as well and making a beeline for Sweet Apple Acres, thinking that I might be safe there.
I reached the barn and looked behind me and as I saw that neither Rainbow, nor Twilight were behind me, I allowed myself to catch my breath for a moment.
Just as I was about to walk off again, I suddenly heard Applejack’s voice from inside the barn.
“Great.” I thought, “Maybe she can explain to me, what’s going on all of a sudden.”
I creaked the door open barely enough for me to look inside and immediately froze as I did so. There, in the middle of the barn, was Applejack. Her chest was pressed to the ground, her behind held high and a garden hoe was perfectly aligned behind her.
I immediately decided to ‘nope’ the fuck outta there, making a quick run for the front gate to then run to ‘whereeverexcepthere’. But I didn’t run. Instead, I stopped for a moment to behold the beauty of what lay before me. For before me, there was a large field, full with blooming Tulips.
“Wait, Tulips?” I thought, as it suddenly dawned on me. Tulips are blooming in mid- to late spring. Most animals I know go into heat in spring and the behaviour they have shown towards me definitely would befit what I would expect of a heat.
Now, I don’t know if Ponies even go into heat and I don’t really care either. It seems like these ponies do and that meant bad news for me, because I knew that heat doesn’t stop after just one day, but lasts about a week. Thus, I decided that I would go into hiding until this all had blown over with my choice for a hiding spot falling on the Everfree forest. The problem was that my camping equipment was inside my bag and my bag was inside the Library.
I waited until late at night, before I made my attempt. I closed in on the Library cautiously, not wanting to be detected and was relieved to see that the lights were already out.
During my time with Twilight, I had made the observation that Twilight always keeps one window open during the night and that was what I planned on using to my advantage.
I snuck around the tree, looking upwards until I found the window I had looked for. I climbed up until I hung from a branch just above my target, from where I then flung myself into the lion’s den.
The moment I set down on the floor, the window slammed shut and multiple candles went alight around the room, revealing Twilight and Rainbow waiting in the darkness.
“Hello Markus. Where have you been? We waited for you for sooo looooong~~” Twilight groaned, slowly pacing closer to me.
“He-Hello, Twilight… umm, should we really… I mean, what about Spike?” I stammered, trying to somehow come up with another escape plan.
“Oh, don’t worry. He’s staying with the crusaders overnight, so we have the Library aaaall for ourselves.” Rainbow chirped, coming closer as well and pressing her flank into my hip and rubbing her head and upper body along me.
My panic peaked right then and I started to run again. However, I didn’t make it far, as Twilight got a hold of me with her magic and started to levitate me. First, she brough me closer to her, giving me a deep and passionate kiss, before Rainbow did the same. Then, we started moving… towards Twilight’s bed…
Long story short: After 29 years of life, I have finally lost my virginity and you know what? I am really thankful that I got this second chance here in Equestria, because I now know what I’ve actually missed out on back on earth.
I awoke this morning in one of the most beautiful positions I could ever have dreamt of. I lay in the middle of Twilights bed, while Twilight and Rainbow lay on either side of me, curled into my arms.
I slowly rose out of bed, careful not to disturb their sleep, and went to take a shower, after which I sat down to write this entry. And now I’m here, writing this entry, while the two most amazing mares I know are softly sleeping behind me.
Just now, Spike has opened the door to the living area calling for Twilight to come down. He is coming up the steps and now he is standing in the door, slightly out of breath and a letter in his left claw.
A letter from Princess Celestia…