//------------------------------// // Well Howdy Miss Dash. // Story: A Marine and His Ponies // by USMC517 //------------------------------// Three days had passed since the issue with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. James was still going out and doing his daily PT. This morning he planned for a three mile run and then would loop back around to the campsite he had made before he met Twilight, and do pull ups and push ups, then make the mile or so run back to Fluttershy's cottage. "Fluttershy I'm going out for a run," he said coming down the stairs from his room. "Oh James, I'm going to town in a few minutes so I'll leave the back door unlocked for you," she told him as she prepared her saddle bags. "Thank you ma'am." He started off, moving at about 5:30 minute mile pace. He loved to run, to exercise, just to get outside and do something; plus the Everfree was always full of some sort of new creature that absolutely boggled his mind about its existence. In truth though everything boggled his mind; talking ponies, this magic thing that he just couldn't quite wrap his mind around, and even just the existence of another planet with living beings that he could speak to. However, it started to just become normal life. The sun was bright today just like all of the others and it was always just the perfect temperature outside, never too hot, not ever too cold. "Why couldn't earth be like this?" He asked himself not really looking for an answer. He continued through the forest singing the running cadences they always sang during their PT drills. "One, two, three, four... Marine Corps; one, two, three, and four... Marine Corps. Back in 1775... Marine Corps, my Marine Corps came alive! Marine Corps. Paris Island where it all began... Marine Corps; a little rock, with lots of sand... Marine Corps; you can forget about Hollywood... Marine Corps; San Diego, and it's all good! Marine Corps." James imagined his drill instructor being there, singing the sweet words to him. He fell instep with the rhythm and mental beat. He continued singing to himself, unbeknownst to him though, he had a watcher; and she gave him much the same expression he had given her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash for the second time that week had gotten up early which really wasn't like her, but considering she could fly somewhat again, she decided to get out. She took it easy so she didn't put herself back in the same situation she was in three days prior. As she was flying from cloud to cloud she thought back again to how that day and her new stunt went. "Well the trick was good, but next time I'll just have to make it higher." She thought, then she remembered Fluttershy had a special somepony and she still didn't have any idea whom he was or what he looked like. She decided to be sneaky and hop around on the clouds around her friends' house. She had arrived just in time to see something dart off through the bushes heading into the Everfree forest. "That must be him! She said that he lived in the forest so it's gotta' be!" She said aloud to herself giving chase to the unknown 'stallion'. She flew into the forest just high enough to where she could see down and get a good look at the ground, even though the majority of it was covered by the tree canopy. She looked around for a few seconds then spotted something moving, something tan, but it didn't look very 'pony like'. "Was that him? It's gotta be... but... that didn't look like a stallion or even a pony." She said confused to herself. She gave chase again but this time saw the direction he was going and went down into the trees to hide on a branch. She found the perfect one and hunkered down, waiting for the stallion to come by, then she would surprise him. He came by but Rainbow's plan didn't go into action. She just laid on the branch, watching with her eyes as wide a dinner plates and her pupils the size of pin heads. She just continued to stare at him as he ran past, her mouth agape. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, it wasn't a pony; it was nothing she had ever seen before, not even something from the Everfree. She just stared where he had been for a while before snapping out of her trance. "What... was...THAT?" She said trying to search her mind for anything that would make sense. She didn't find any explanation for what it was, she did however realize that Fluttershy wasn't dating anypony. "Wait, those definitely weren't some sort of wing covers, they were waay too small to even fit on a wing. Did they belong to this... thing?" She asked aloud to herself. She decided what to do next, follow it, or tell somepony about it? "Well I guess if it hasn't hurt Fluttershy at all then it might not hurt me. I'm gonna follow it, but just in case I might need a weapon." She said to herself then broke off a small, thick branch that seemed like it would work as a dagger if she had to use it. She sharpened it a little by grinding it against a rock and went on again, chasing it down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Knew she would come out." James said as he ran past Rainbow Dash who thought she was being covert about following him. He kept running, but took a detour and headed west to his first establishment. He slowed his pace to allow her to catch up and get close. He acted as if though he didn't see her, even though her light blue skin stood out against the dark green foliage. He rounded a large tree that was about twenty feet around and dashed for his little campsite. He waited for her to come around and then he would surprise her, just how he planned the whole thing out. He took off his camouflage jacket and tried to make it look like he was standing in a place that he wasn't. He set it up and waited in some dense brush for her to come out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Where is it going?" She thought as it rounded the tree; "This is getting kind of weird, if it goes any deeper into the forest I'm just gonna' go." She continued coming around the tree after it. "Wait, where did it just go, it was right there!" She said aloud to herself. Little did she know 'it' was watching her movement. "There it is!" She reassured herself moving closer to the jacket. James couldn't help but snicker in the back of his mind from how she looked approaching the jacket. She was just a feet yards away now, getting ready to jump out and surprise it. "Okay Dash, now or never!" She thought as she got just a little bit closer to the jacket. She jumped at it and shouted out an awkward "Hi!" She didn't get a response though, so she moved closer. "Umm... hello?" She asked it again. As she moved a little closer she had realized she had been tricked. "What? What is this, that's not what I saw." She said out loud not caring if anything heard her. "Looking for something?" James said from behind her laying against a tree with his hands in his pockets. "Huh!?" Dash yelped out as she turned around quickly meeting the creatures' eyes and dropping the dagger stick she had made. "I said, are you looking for something? "Who... wha-... what are you?" Rainbow asked not sure of what else to say. "Well let me introduce myself first, I am Captain James Crossland, USMC. I am a human, and I have not the slightest idea as to how I got here." He replied with a happy tone, acting like they had met before and nothing was out of the ordinary. "Are you a spy or something?" Rainbow asked with a small amount of anger showing. "Time to have a little fun." James thought to himself; "Yes I am a spy, I am here to sabotage your Princess and bring all of Equestria to its knees so my kingdom can rule the whole world! Ha-ha-ha!" He lied to her, trying to hold back a laugh. Rainbow inhaled and her eyes went wide with fear. "No, I wont let you hurt the Princess or my friends!" She spat at him. "Rainbow Dash... I'm just kidding." He said trying to calm her down. "What!? How do you know my name!?" "Remember the other day when you came over to Fluttershy's cottage, and you found those things Fluttershy put over her wings?" "Yeah why, were you spying on us or something?" She spat again. "Okay well that time I kind of was, but anyway those were mine." "What does that have to do with anything?" "Well those were in her house right?" "Right." "And they belong to me right?" "Right." "So how do you think they got there?" He asked trying to make her see what he was saying. "Well you would have had to be ther-" She stopped finally getting it; "Oh, so you were just kidding about the spy thing then?" She asked still on edge. "That is what I said, no?" He said back in a smart-ass tone as he walked over and picked up his jacket. "How long have you been here for?" "Six days, and four hours." "How did you get here?" "I'm not really sure, one minute I was shooting at Hadjis and my platoon was taken down by the bastards, then the next I woke up here. I can't explain it, but my guess is that it was done by some sort of magic that unicorns have." He told her still very unsure how it happened. "What's al... whatever you said?" She asked confused by what he was telling her. "You have a lot of questions for me don't you?" He asked even though he knew the answer. "Well DUH! Everypony is gonna have a question to ask you." She exclaimed, forgetting about the whole spy thing. "Whoa, no no no, I can't go into Ponyville if that's what you're implying, not yet." "Why not? You know Shy and me so what's the problem just stick with us and we'll show you around." She tried to get the stranger in her land to go with her. "Well for one, just going out into your world and saying 'Hey guys! What's goin' on?' Wouldn't that freak you out, sure would scare the piss out of me. Plus, we barely even know each other; what if I actually was spy and I just tricked you into bringing me into town and gave me a perfect shot to hurt someone." He noted trying to convince her otherwise, her thick head getting the better of her. "Oh, well you aren't... are you?" She said with a gulp. "No miss Rainbow Dash, I'm not, but still you should always be skeptical of anyone no matter how innocent they may seem, I've come across people like that and it ended up bad for both them and myself; but I can assure you though, I have no intentions of harming anyone unless they initiate the first blow." He reassured her with a serious face, showing that he wasn't afraid of having to hurt somepony. She hung her head a little, showing that she felt bad that she could have endangered her friends, she perked back up though and asked him a question. "Who are you?" She asked completely mystified. "Miss Fluttershy tells me that you are very athletic, can you run pretty well?" He asked throwing her for a little spin. "I'm only the fastest pony in Equestria, so I'll let it speak for me. Why, are we gonna' RACE!?" She said as she started prancing at little then lifted off the ground a few inches. "Yes, and I would like to continue our conversation; the thing is is that I was out for my daily PT when you just happened to... drop by for a visit. So I would like to continue my run at least; how about a small race back to Fluttershy's house?" He said with a grin growing on his face. "I'm gonna beat you so bad!" She said with no doubt in herself, her wings buzzing as she got ready. "Whoa whoa whoa! Who said you could use your wings? And last I checked Fluttershy told me you hurt them?" "Oh... right... I'll still beat you with one hoof tied behind my back though." She boasted, still trying to show her new friend how good she was. "Okay let me make some rope real quick." He jokingly shot back at her. "Kidding... totally kidding." She said back with a slightly startled look, thinking he would actually do it. "Alright then, first one back to Fluttershy's cottage wins, and I'm not gonna hold back since I'm cutting my routine short by about two miles." He said drawing a start line in the dirt. "On your mark!" He started off then Dash joined in. "Get set!" "GO!" They said at the same time. They started off fast, dodging trees, ducking under low hanging branches, jumping over holes and rocks that would twist an ankle without a problem. The two battled to get a lead on the other, the first half mile had gone by quickly, almost two minutes, but they started slowing down a little as it almost seemed like a sprint. Rainbow had never ran that quick in her life, even during the running of the leaves race she had with Applejack. James was taking the next quarter mile a little easy and when they came up to the last quarter he would pour on all of his energy and leave her in the dust. To his surprise though she was gaining a lead on him, so he stepped it up and turned it on earlier than he was thinking. "Home stretch! Let's see what you've got!" He shouted to her when he caught up. She gave him a look that showed she wasn't going to let up the slightest bit, then started running faster; James saw it in her eyes, she wasn't a quitter and she wouldn't ever let someone beat her. He picked up his step as well and passed her; she just looked on at him dumbfounded as to how somepony could beat her. She tried to catch up but his longer legs would take up more ground than hers which kept putting distance between the two. They ran onto a small hill which turned out on the other side was a long way down. James stopped for a second to look back at Rainbow to tell her that it was a bad idea to go that way, he only had a second or two lead on her so he had to be quick. He could hear her coming up and tried to warn her, but she didn't hear any of it as she was dead set on beating her opponent, and ended up crashing right into him, shooting them both over the edge. They flew out about four feet horizontally, then James dropped down a rough eight feet while Rainbow hovered in the air. James hit the side of the hill and had the wind knocked out of him, then tumbled about ten more feet to the base of the hill. "James!" Dash shouted to him when he hit the bottom. "Oh-ho man." He said with his eyes closed making an expression that showed he wasn't in great condition. When he opened them he saw Rainbow Dash hovering just barely above him looking at something. "James are you okay!? I didn't mean to-" "It's okay, no biggie." He struggled to say as his breath returned to him. She offered a hoof to pull him up. He got up and brushed his pants off, then looked at his arm. "Damn, looks I'm gonna have to roll up my sleeves now." He said with a small chuckle, knowing that rolled sleeves were against military policy now, and if his DI had seen it he would be scrubbing the latrines with his tooth brush . He took a closer look at the tear in the fabric and found that his arm was bleeding. "Are you okay James?" She asked again. "Yeah I'm fine, I don't really even feel it." James told her while taking off his jacket, exposing his muscular upper torso. James wasn't a bad looking guy, he had even gotten a few looks from some of the random ladies he would pass down the street when he wasn't on base. Rainbow couldn't help but notice this and stared at him for a second while he took it off and wrapped his jacket around himself. "Wow, you're a lot bigger than you look when you take that off." She said without realizing she was still staring. He had to snap her out of it which he thought was rather funny because of the way she was gawking at him. When she did she turned away quickly and blushed trying to hide it as best she could. "Come on DASH! He's a different species than you, what are you thinking!?" She shouted in her mind. James understood what was happening and to spare her the embarrassment he just went to looking at his arm, which was actually in a lot worse condition than originally thought. He had a gash going down his arm about six inches long and it was bleeding. "Hey Dash! There's still a few feet to her house, still think you can beat me?" He asked her changing the subject. "You're on!" She shouted back and the two took off once more. They made it to the back door, laughing at how the whole thing went, even though James got hurt in the process, it was still fun. They went inside and sat down, still giggling a little, Fluttershy hadn't returned yet from the market and the other places she was going to. "I'm gonna go wash up a little bit and fix up my arm, Fluttershy is still out in town so I guess make yourself at home, I'm sure you've been here plenty of times right?" He asked Rainbow as he headed to Fluttershy's powder room. He took off his desert camouflage T-shirt and threw it on the stairs going up to the guest bedroom. Rainbow Dash sat patiently in the living room listening to the running water in the sink. James grabbed a wash cloth out of the linen closet and washed his arm off. The adrenaline from the race had worn off and he could feel the stinging pain of the cut. "Huh, it's only 1300, seemed a little later than that." He said looking at his watch. He looked through the medicine cabinet and found some bandages to wrap his wound in. Dash was still waiting in the living room but she had gotten up from the couch and was looking out the window, she still couldn't get the image of James out of her head from when he took is jacket off. Her train of thought was interrupted when he came back into the living room. "Hey, sorry about that, just wanted to give my arm a quick clean up, it was actually a lot deeper than it looked." He apologized for leaving her alone in sort of an awkward situation. "It's cool, and I kind of feel like I should be the one apologizing anyway. You know, for knocking you off the hill." She said back looking at the floor. "It's alright miss Dash, believe me I've had a lot worse happen to me." He said recalling a few things that he had experienced over the years. "Like what?"She asked with an excited jump. "Well just recently for example, before I met Fluttershy when I had first just awoken here. I had walked for a bit in the Everfree forest, then out of nowhere this goofy chicken thing popped out of the bushes and stared at me. I felt my leg go numb and I looked down and saw my leg turning a different color. So I took out my weapon and shot it." He said, his words flowing into Rainbow Dash's ears as she stared wide eyed at him again. "So you had a run in with a cockatrice!? And lived!?" She practically shouted at him in disbelief. "If that's what it's called, but yes... I am right here in front of you aren't I?" He answered her with a question. "How though? The only pony to ever escape from one was Fluttershy and she just BARELY made it!" "Well like I said, It was staring at me and trying to kill me in some fashion, so I took out my pistol and shot it." "Your what now?" She asked confused for the hundredth time that day. "I'll show you, come with me upstairs." He motioned for her to follow as he got up. She followed him up the stairs and entered his room, she stared in wonder at him the whole time until James turned around with his pistol he had stowed just before going into the powder room. "This is what I was talking about." He said taking out the magazine and checking to make sure there wasn't a round chambered, then lowered the pistol to her to get a better look. "So what is this again, a pis-tol? "Affirmative." "Bwahaha, you kind of sound like Twilight when you say big words like that." Dash laughed at him. He just looked back confused. "What's so funny? This is how I was taught to speak in the Marines, clear and precise." "Well it just kind of sounds like how an egghead would talk is all." She said back still laughing; "But the funny things is you don't really look like an egghead like Twilight." She continued, trying not to offend him. "And what's the Marines, some ponies that tell you how to use that thing?" She asked getting back to the topic. "Well essentially yes, but not just this. There is a whole arsenal of weapons we are trained to use.." "Wait, weapons? Like spears right?" She asked not sure what he meant. "Sort of... actually Rainbow Dash, I'm going to tell you something that I've told only two other ponies in my life, and even then it was just half of the story" "Okay, what is it?" She asked with a look of interest. "By some people's standards, what I've done is bad, so I need to know Dash, are you prepared for anything that I might tell you?" He asked, not able to be anymore serious about the matter. "Anything?" "Absolutely anything even something that might be your worst fears." "Not joining the Wonderbolts!?" She said with a fearful gasp of air. "I'm not even going to ask about them, but Dash... basically what I do for a living... is end lives. I am trained by people for that purpose, and almost that purpose alone. This... what I'm holding, is used to do that job. I have other weapons at my disposal to get said job done, and I am not afraid in the slightest bit to do it. Really though, it's not about how many lives we have to take, but how many we get to save." He stared right into her eyes and she understood every word he was saying. She stepped back a little with her eyes wider than they had been previously in the day. "So you kill things as your job?" She asked horrified. "I do indeed miss Dash, but let me tell you why I joined." He continued on trying to show her the other true part of it. "Okay James." She said with no tone in her voice. "The organization, for lack of a better word, that I work for is called the Marine Corps. I joined them because I wanted to serve my country and protect the people of the United States of America from tyranny, and terrorism. On 11 September 2001, there were some airplanes... flying machines... that were purposefully crashed into some high standing buildings as a deliberate act to kill American citizens. My brother and I both joined the military after that, he chose the Army and I chose the Corps. He got shipped out just before me, and after he did he was shot by al-Qaeda operatives in Kandahar, Afghanistan. After both of those events I vowed to myself and the people of my country that I would not sleep until every single one of those bastards was exterminated; and we no longer had to live in fear of those cowards that had the audacity to try and pull anymore of that bullshit." James said not looking away for one second, not even to blink. Dash just stared right back at him their eyes glued to one another. "So you kill other humans to protect the humans in your own country?" She asked finally breaking the silence. "That is exactly what I do, as well as the people of other nations; and whether it be humans, ponies, or whatever else may exist out there, I WILL defend to my very last dying breath they're right to live without fear. The ones who wish to cause harm unto other innocent civilians will not have the right to live that way though." James explained further as a tear started to well up in his eye from thinking back on everything he had lost again. "Wow, I thought that I was loyal to my friends, but somepony who will even lay down their own life for others he doesn't even know; I don't even compare to that." Rainbow Dash said as she hung her head once more, feeling kind of bad that she was the element of loyalty, but didn't have the courage to do such a selfless act by sacrificing herself for some stranger. James kept thinking back when the planes had first crashed, then his brother being shot down, the the last thing he remembered of earth; his last operation with the best Marines he had ever known. All of the memories of past battles and losing his fellow brothers in arms made the dams that held back his tears burst, and all of the emotions that he really never had shown before, not even to his own family, came with it. He sat down on the bed and threw his face into his palms letting them flow like a flood gate had opened. Dash came and sat down next to him putting an arm around his shoulder. He turned and embraced her in a hug and she returned it. He sobbed a little which made Dash start to feel the pain he did. She knew what it was like to lose family, her parents had been killed when she was little by a powerful storm, only parts of their bodies were found. When she thought of them again she started crying too. They embraced each other for a few minutes longer letting all of their emotions go. When they let go they looked at each other and knew that right then and there, a powerful bond between the two had been formed that neither would ever forget. After they had let their emotions go, they conversed for a long time afterwards; telling each other tales of adventures they had, the people or ponies they knew, family, life on both earths. James even told her about the training he had to go through, and she couldn't help but stare in amazement at him as he told her things that were almost unimaginable. They had become friends, maybe even more one might say, and it would only flourish from that point. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy was done with her errands and decided to go over to see Rarity at her boutique. She hadn't gotten the chance to get out all that much having to watch James to make sure he didn't do something foolish. She opened the front door cling. "Oh Fluttershy darling! How have you been I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" The white pony said to her yellow friend. "Hello Rarity, sorry that I haven't been in town so often, I've been a little occupied at home with a new critter." She lied again to one of her friends. "Oh well what's wrong with the poor thing?" Rarity asked slightly concerned it might be something bad. "Oh it's nothing really, he's just a little lost from his home." She said not truly having to lie this time. "Deary do you mind if I ask what it is?" She chimed to Fluttershy. "O-oh... i- it's... uu- um" She stumbled for a quick lie; "It's a bird, a really big bird." She finally spat out. "Just a bird is all? No special breed or... just a random bird?" She asked wondering what was so special about it that made Fluttershy stay home for so long, and to even miss their usual spa day together. "Yes, just a bird, but he's really lost so I'm trying to help him find his way home." She said with a fake smile as she backed towards the door to leave. "Well I hope you find its home dear, it's not good to be lost from home for too long." Rarity said surprised as to how she was acting. "Oh, yes very much so rarity; well I better get going back to the big guy before he tries to do something foolish." Fluttershy said as she was already half way out the door. She turned away immediately and ran back to her cottage. When she had gotten back she heard laughter from somepony and James. "Oh no, somepony found out about him!" She said as she unlocked the front door. "And then the guy turns to me and says 'you know James, I don't know you, and I don't know where this place is that you're from, but I like you, you're a funny guy, I like funny guys." James said to Rainbow Dash in his best fake Italian accent. The two erupted with laughter and didn't stop until they saw Fluttershy standing in the doorway with her mouth practically dropped on the floor. Rainbow Dash had been wearing James' boonie hat that he said was good luck, and every time he had it with him, nothing bad would happen. She liked how it looked, it was a different shade than the camouflage he had on; it was dark green and black and looked like it belonged in the woods rather than the desert. He had shown her all of his equipment and what everything did, but the thing she liked most was that hat, so he let her wear it. "Oh hello miss Fluttershy! Did you get everything you needed from town?" James asked as he put the chair he had brought out, back. "U- um yes I did." She said back not sure of what else to say. "Hey shy, thanks for helping me with my wing it's a lot better now." Dash thanked her. "Y-you're welcome." She said still trying to formulate what to say. "Sorry about the mess Fluttershy, I thought I would let miss Dash here have the couch to herself." He said trying to be courteous. "O- oh that's quite alright, but what are you doing here Rainbow Dash?" She asked her blue friend. "Just hangin' out with James." She replied as if nothing was wrong with it. "James, nopony can know you're here, we decided on that remember?" She said to him trying to show that the whole scene shouldn't be happening. "Miss Fluttershy with all do respect, I think it might be a good idea to introduce myself to your wonderful friends." He suggested. "Yeah Shy, there's no harm in that is there? Just you, me, Twi, AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie; I mean come on, how many things have we gone through that most other ponies wouldn't understand?" She pleaded to Fluttershy. "Well quite a bit actually." She thought about it for a second. "See shy, it will be fine, they would understand." Dash said adding more confidence to it that they would. "Are you sure this is okay with you James?" She asked him. "Well, I'm not too worried about getting shot, so yes." He affirmed. The time had passed from one to four thirty, so it would be better to do it tomorrow after lunch sometime the three agreed. So it was set, James would meet all of them tomorrow and what ever happened would happen.