Leaving the clearing, I realized that the pony group was also dispersing. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash had decided to stay at the clearing, much to the confusion of everyone present. That didn't stop the others from leaving, however.
Following Twilight, I looked around at the Orchard. Now that I wasn't rushing through it with an adrenaline spike, I could see it for the postercard of nature that it was. Looking down at my gloves, I saw how blood-stained they were. I also saw the blood still over my uniform.
“Umm, Twilight?”
“Hmm?” she replied, looking back at me. I could see her eyes look briefly at the blood before looking at my face. Proof enough
“Don't you think other ponies will react negatively if I come walking through covered in blood?” I asked. Twilight halted as she went into thought. As she did, I heard a rustle of some leaves behind me. Looking back, I barely caught sight of a purple and pink tail zipping behind one of the trees. Chuckling, I looked back at Twilight.
“Well,” Twilight started, smiling, “We'll just have to take a back route won't we?”
I nodded and shrugged. Taking a moment to remove my gloves, I stuffed them into my empty thigh pocket before flexing my hands. Looking at the purple pony, I motioned for her to continue. As we continued walking, I couldn't help but run one of my bare hands against one of the trees. While the colors looked fake, the tree itself felt very real.
“Been awhile since I saw a tree,” I muttered with a chuckle.
“Really?” I heard Twilight ask, looking back again as she walked.
“Yeah. Where we were, there was just sand as far as the eyes could see. The few trees we did see looked nothing like this and, when we did see them, our first thought was always, 'I wonder if anyone is hiding in there?'”
Looking back at Twilight, I could see that she was confused. I gave a small smile before explaining, “Our world is not as harmonious as yours. While you have peace, trust, and love, we have-”
“There are ponies here who hurt other ponies,” Twilight said, interrupting me.
“How common is that though?” I asked, looking her in the eyes. She looked away from me before muttering, “Not common.”
I nodded, “Right. Humans, my species, lie and steal from one another. The few good souls are taken advantage of as the rest send humanity further into the spiral of self-extinction.”
There was a slight pause before Twilight looked back at me and gave a small smile, “From what I've seen, you seem to have a good soul.”
“How so?” I asked, interested in what she had to say.
“Well,” she began, “when you chased the fillies, you could have hurt them but you didn't. You could have tried taking on Applejack and Big Mac when they threatened you but, again, you didn't. That and,” she paused, looking at the blood on my blouse, “I did see you taking care of your friend.”
“Ah,” I said, “so you did see that.”
The unicorn simply nodded, “We got there as soon as you scrambled over to them to help. I admit, I've never seen a wound that bled like that before. What caused it?”
I gave a small smile before opening a pouch on my vest. The ripping of velcro made Twilight flinch, to which a muttered an apology. Taking out a magazine, I used my thumb to push the top round into the palm of my hand before replacing the magazine. Holding up the bullet, I saw a soft glow envelop it and felt a small tug. Letting go of the metal, I watched as it floated until it was in front of Twilight's face.
“This was inside of him?” she asked, studying the bullet.
“Not the entire thing,” I replied with a chuckle, “Just the really shiny tip was.”
She looked back at me in confusion, “How could something so small cause so much damage?”
“When fired from a gun, the thing I handed to my friend back at the clearing, powder in the wider part gets ignited. This pushes that tip out of the barrel and, when it exits the barrel, the tip is traveling faster than the speed of sound.”
A short silence, “What happens to the rest of it?”
“It gets kicked out of an opening in the side to allow another to take it's place.”
A longer silence this time as Twilight continued to stare at the bullet. As she did, we exited the orchard and got onto a dirt road. Looking down the road, I could see the town in the distance. A smirk grew on my face as I looked at the town. Just like in the show, I thought to myself.
“Interesting,” Twilight finally said before floating the bullet back to me and dropping it into my hand. Taking out the magazine, I loaded the bullet back into place before putting the magazine back. We continued to walk in silence. As we walked, a song crept into my head and, before I could think about it, I began to sing it softly.
“Well I grew up down an old dirt road in a town you wouldn't know.
My pops picked the place up for fifteen-hundred bucks back in nineteen sixty-four.
My grandfather was a drinker back in the day he put 'em down.
But war is known to change and the whiskey is known to change a man.
But, that's not me.
I rarely drink from the bottle but I smoke a little weed.
I still live in the sticks where you wouldn't go,
In a town of twelve-hundred off an old dirt road
And a country boy is all I'll ever be.”
The rest of the words slipped my mind so I was content to hum more of the tune. That was until I opened my eyes and saw Twilight looking up at me with a smile on her face.
“Sorry,” I muttered, “the road reminded me of a song.”
“No, it's okay,” she said, the smile still there, “I kinda liked it.”
I smiled back and enjoyed the rest of the walk in actual silence. Well, it would've been silent had I not heard subtle hoofsteps following the two of us. I just gave a small smile and kept walking, mildly entertained that Twilight hadn't heard them yet.
Sneaking through town was actually easy to do as many ponies were getting ready for bed. Reaching the library door, I watched as Twilight opened it with her magic and stepped through. When I didn't immediately follow, she looked back at me, confused. I just gave put a finger to my lips before putting my hand a little off the ground and mouthing, 'Followers'.
She still looked confused for an instant but soon understood. With her playing along, closing the door and grabbing a book to read, I walked around the library. Almost at the back, I peaked around a branch to see the three fillies from before standing on top of each other to allow the orange coat one to look inside.
“Where is he?” she whispered.
The one at the bottom, who had a yellow coat and a red bow in her hair, was the one who answered, “How should we know? You're supposed to be the one looking.”
I cleared my throat and watched in amusement as their tower came crashing down. They lie in a heap before they finally caught sight of me. They jumped to their feet as their eyes traveled up to my face.
“Howdy,” I said, kneeling down in front of them. I kept my hands out, hoping to put them at ease.
“H-howdy,” replied the yellow one, her body shaking. It tore my heart to see that I had scared them so badly.
“Now,” I started in a soft voice, “I know how strange it must be, seeing me here. I also know how scary it must have been when my friend and I chased you. For that I deeply apologize. However, you should know that spying is wrong. Right?”
I looked up as Twilight stepped into view behind the three fillies.
“What do you say?” She asked of the fillies, who jumped in surprise at her appearance. The three soon collected themselves and hung their heads.
“Sorry mister,” they said simultaneously. I nodded my head and smiled at them.
“No worries,” I paused and opened a utility pouch on my vest, “in fact, I think I got something to apologize.”
Pulling my hand from the pocket, I looked at the three Tootsie Rolls that now sat in my palm. I had put them in that pouch when I first pulled them from the MRE. It was a habit for me to put any candy I got into my vest for when I went onto patrol. Old habits die hard I guess, I thought as I held the, thankfully blood-free, candy out to the girls.
“What is it?” asked the white coat one.
“It's chocolate. Y'all can have chocolate right?” I asked, looking up at Twilight for confirmation. She gave a curt nod. When I looked down at my hand, I realized that all three pieces were gone. Looking up, I saw the three fillies pop the chocolate into their mouths and begin chewing. They smiled wide and even made a 'MMM' sound. The wrappers ended up on the ground but I just smiled as the girls chewed and swallowed the chocolate.
“That was amazing!” shouted the orange coat one, causing me to chuckle.
“Now run along you three,” Twilight ordered. The three fillies grumbled but a look from Twilight caused them to start to head away from the Library. Picking up the wrappers, I followed Twilight inside the building. Pocketing the wrappers, I looked around the building in awe. My sight finally settled on an amused Twilight sitting next to the closed door.
“That was very kind of you,” she said. I just smiled and shrugged.
“I've learned that candy can get little ones over almost anything.”
“I'm sure,” mused Twilight before shaking her head, “Now, about those samples.”
“What do ya need?” I asked casually.
“Hair, skin, blood, urine, and stool,” Twilight quickly named off. She looked at me worriedly but I just nodded,
“Makes sense.”
“Well, it's to- wait, what?” she asked, looking at me.
“I said, 'Makes sense'. I know that my government would ask the same of you if you ended up in my world,” Of course... they wouldn't ask.
“Oh,” she replied, looking at the floor before looking back up at me, “Lets begin, shall we?”
I nodded, “Lets.”