//------------------------------// // Not From Around Here // Story: An Angelic Soldier // by Korten //------------------------------// Not from around here “You know…” Fiery began as they walked through the desert. “I have been meaning to ask you this for a while… I just didn’t know how to bring it up…” “Just spit it out would you?” “Well… Why do you wear clothes all of the time? Seems unnecessary.” Ember stopped in her tracks and just stared at him blankly for a while, “Never- nope. We angels don’t have fur like you. Without clothing we’re bare naked and we… Well we have more to protect and I will leave it at that.” “Oh...” he said. “I get it- it’s to protect those lumps on your chest isn’t it? What are those by the way? They’re kind of large and I’ve been meaning…” He was cut off when she began to speak, “You know. I am hungry. You know what for? Meat, animal meat, I wonder if a pony would make a good steak.” Fiery quickly backed away in horror, “Dear Celestia! You wouldn’t.” “I don’t know. I am an omnivore, so meat is part is part of my diet and it has been lacking recently…” She said as she looked at him with a sly expression. The pony began to look around for an escape but then watched in horror as Ember began to laugh and even gasped her arms around her stomach. “Oh wow. You took that so serious. Your expression was just great!” she spoke as she wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. “You mean you won’t eat me?” She put her hands on her hips and looked offended, “Did you really think I was going to?” His eyes shifted to the sides, “Well…” “Really? You honestly believed it for a second?” she snapped back. “Well…” He simply stuttered again. Ember looked away from him, “Well. I guess you can get back by yourself.” She began to take steps forward but then the pony ran at her, “Stop! Sorry- I shouldn’t have thought that.” And once again she laughed, “I am just joking.” “Oh…” Suddenly she put on a serious expression, “Although not about being an omnivore, before being here I did eat meat fairly often.” He wanted to take a step back but then stood his ground, “Are you still joking?” “No, I’m being serious,” she said and he had a horrified expression. “Oh calm down. We’re I come from we don’t eat horses or ponies.” Fiery slumped to the sandy ground, “I guess I feel better after that. But may I inquire as to what you do eat?” “Pigs, cows, chickens, turkey… The list goes on,” she explained. “Well… I doubt you will find any meat in Canterlot. We don’t eat animals, in fact it’s frowned upon.” Ember was sad about that, steak was her favorite food and going a week without it was always a disappointment, “Is there anywhere on this world that does eat meat?” “The Griffon Kingdom has meat…” She smirked at that, “Really? I must visit them if I don’t get off world after I reach Canterlot.” “…It’s across the sea,” He finished. “Oh…” She looked disappointed . *************************** Just before they reached the Macintosh hills, they stopped and made camp as the moon came up but they wouldn’t sleep just yet. “Alright,” she began. “You’re going to show me your fire. Let’s see if all of this work has done some good.” Fiery nodded and breathed in and out and stood up on his hind legs and stretched out his front legs, he could feel the energy flowing through his body a lot clearer than before. The image of what he wanted appeared in his mind and then from out of his hoofs a large flame flew out and slammed into a rock and damaged it. He then held back one hoof and then slashed the air with his other and a crescent fire shot out and hit the rock again. The pony jumped up in joy, “Woo! I did it! I can feel the energy flowing through me.” He then fell over on the ground and Ember ran over helped him back on his four legs. “Thanks… I guess it took out more than I thought.” “All that says is that you still need more training. Now let’s get some rest. We need to get up early so we can get Appleloosa sooner; we’re running low on supplies.” “Right,” Fiery said and walked over to the fire and then lies on the ground. *************************** She relished in the new sights of the Macintosh Hills, it was much better than the desert, even if things did get a bit colder. Ember hadn’t been wearing her armor since they had escaped the moles so she did get a bit too hot in the desert. Since it would take too long to go get to the Ghastly Gorge and go through there, they decided to just head through the Macintosh hills which meant a lot of flying and climbing. Due to the height being much more than the cliff she had flown up two days back she couldn’t fly the entire time and needed to climb so to let her wings rest. However it would be worth it, as according to Fiery, Appleloosa isn’t that far north of the hills. So going through it would be better than going around. Since there wasn’t much of an official path to take, they had to improvise and even had to go high enough that snow even fell on their camp during one night. “So we need a game plan or something,” she began as they sat around the fire. “How should we proceed to introduce ourselves to the locals in Appleloosa? I mean you’re a pony, so you got it easy but not me.” “To be honest, I haven’t thought out it. Everypony will be frightened initially but I think they will be good. It is again the time to be cheerful.” “It’s what?” Fiery took a bite of an apple, “Well its Hearths Warming Eve in just a week.” “Huh- you didn’t mention that yet when you told me about this world.” “Hearths Warming Eve celebrates the founding of Equestria. Typically a play is run in Canterlot that shows the events. Maybe if we get there in time we can go see it.” She nodded her head to that, “We’ll see. But let’s get back onto focus… How exactly will this aid us in revealing me?” He finished his apple and then replied sleepily, “Well… People will be more cheerful and accepting of others differences? The whole story of Hearths Warming Eve is about the three tribes, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns coming together despite their differences. I guess you could think of this like us being one tribe and you being another.” “I guess I can accept that logic but we need a plan, is there someone in Appleloosa that you can talk to first?” He went into a thinking position, “Maybe Sheriff Silverstar. I don’t know him that well, but I have talked to him before. Mostly during the night I stayed in Appleloosa before going south.” “And do you think he will be of use?” “Yeah,” he shrugged. “I mean he is the Sheriff, he will make sure no pony lays a hoof on you. Then again I pity the pony that does.” After that they both fell asleep and awoke the next day which began to their descent down the hills. By this point she had put back on her armor. She had to admit, her normal clothes were nice but she felt safe and at home in her armor. Ember understood why though, once she had gotten into advance training they had their armor on nearly every time of the day as if it was part of them. That and being warm from the cold was certainly a bonus, something that Fiery was happy about having both clothing and fur to compensate for. When they reached the half-way point, and seeing the sun was still up, Ember had an idea. “Fiery, remember how I flew us up the cliff?” Fiery leaned forward and looked at the land beneath and ahead of them, he kicked a small rock and it began to roll down the side for a while. “I think I know your suggestion and if you think you can do it, then alright,” he said as he looked back at her. He grabbed a hold of her just like he did on at the cliff, unlike before however she did give a running start or at least the best she could do and then leapt off the ledge and summoned her wing. Fiery closed his eyes the entire time until he began to feel the wing flowing through his fur and past his ears, and he turned his head and watched as they descended down. Since they were going down, naturally they were gaining speed. Before he knew it, the hills were no longer beneath them and instead of rock they saw a mix of sand and barren ground with little grass. Appleloosa was now in sight, and mere hours away, and while she would have loved to keep flying it was getting strained and they slowly landed on the ground. “You know. Now I understand why Pegasi love to fly. It feels incredible,” he spoke as he let go. She shrugged as her wings vanished, “I guess. I will admit I loved flying as a child and racing with my friends but after a while, it sort of becomes boring. At least personally it did. When I got into the military, because of guns, we don’t get to use them that much.” Ember walked past Fiery and they began to make their way to Appleloosa. She noticed tree’s surrounding the flanks of the town; they also noticed a lot of cactus and large rock formations everywhere they looked. To the east she could see train tracks, which seemed to go through the hills and to Santa Mare. She remembered seeing them in the destroyed town but even if they had waited, there was no guaranteed of the train coming anytime soon and if anything more moles would have attacked them. Hours passed as they walked and the sun was starting to set and lights were being lit all throughout the town. However as they reached a large group of rocks just on the outskirts, the two of them stopped. “Alright, you go ahead and talk to this Silverstar fellow. After that come back here.” “Right,” he said. “Guess I will be off. Hopefully back shortly.” He leapt off a rock and began to run in the direction of the town and Ember watched him and then laid her back on a rock and looked up at the stairs as they became more visible. Seeing them so clearly reminded her so much of home, just sitting with Andrew, her human father and going to the park behind her house and onto the large drumlin in the center just near the lake. Sometimes they could even spot ships flying just out of orbit and from down below it looked almost like a shooting star if they went fast enough. Her eyes began to flicker and she shook herself to stay awake but the setting was almost too relaxing. All she could hope is that Fiery would get back soon. *************************** Fiery walked into town and headed towards the Sheriff’s office. Ponies were out and about during the night and no one batted him an eye. As he passed the saloon he could hear the sounds of patrons singing and chatting. Some even hanging outside and simply speaking while sipping down liquor and other various drinks. As he entered the main street he could see the Sheriff’s office which was dwarfed by the Town Hall sitting right next to it. He could see decorations put up to celebrate Hearths Warming Eve, and he had to admit it was nice to see civilization, more so one that was in tip top shape. Almost made him forget that he had been through a traumatizing event and been traveling around with an alien f or the past couple of weeks. He walked up the steps to the office and opened the door and entered the small office, it was just like the one in Santa Mane, a desk to the right and three jail cells on the opposite side wall. All empty. However unlike the one in Santa Mane this one wasn’t in ruins. “Is that you Fiery Slate?” he heard a voice and turned towards the voice and saw the Sheriff sitting at his desk. The pony nodded, “The very same.” “Boy Ah haven’t seen you in weeks. What’re you doin here?” The Sheriff asked as he got off his chair and moved towards Fiery. “Well… About that… See I have a problem, sort of. I know you’re probably going to look at me like I’m crazy for saying it.” “Boy just spit it out!” Fiery sighed and began to explain to him exactly what had happened since he met Ember, he didn’t go into great detail, exempting the powers the pony had gained and made up how they escaped the moles and the part of about her being an omnivore. The Sheriff just nodded but was horrified at what happened to Santa Mane as he had many friends in that town and to learn of their untimely demised was devastating. “And now I’m here to see if you can help,” he finished the explanation and a silence set in as the Sheriff took it all in. A wild range of emotions came over the older pony and wasn’t sure exactly what to say, while he was interested in this alien, the destruction of Santa Mane was the biggest aspect he was having problems with. “Ah can’t believe they’re all dead…” Fiery put his hoof on the Sheriff’s shoulder, “If it’s any consolation, we can’t say that for sure. We didn’t have the time to count the bodies, so some may have escape!” Hope filled the Sheriff’s eyes, “Right. Now about this… alien of yours. Is it- well… good?” “Well she saved me from the Timberwolves and the moles, so yeah. I would say she is. And it’s a she, don’t call her an it.” “Right, sorry. So she needs to get to Canterlot to meet the princesses?” he spoke and brought up what Fiery told earlier. The pony nodded, “Yeah. It’s the only way she can think of trying to get off this world.” “Hm… How about I meet this alien of yours first and I will see what I can do for ya.” “Okay, so I was supposed to meet her back at the rocks. Do you want me to go get her or you follow?” The sheriff looked back at his desk and then to Fiery, “Ah will go with you. Better than having her come through town without an official. Plus it’s a peaceful night; I don’t think the town’s folk will need me.” *************************** They arrived at the rocks and Fiery began to call out Ember but no one came, the Sheriff stayed on the ground but Fiery jumped up onto the rock and went forward and found the angel lying down with her arms behind her head. He walked forward and tapped on her, “Ember…” she didn’t wake and simply rolled over onto her side. “EMBER!” he yelled out and she suddenly jumped up and pulled out her pistol. “What?” she winged her pistol around. “What’s going on?” Fiery sighed, “Nothing. I got the Sheriff with me and I found you sleeping.” “Oh sorry… I just I was more tired than I had thought. Well then let’s meet this guy,” she replied. Fiery turned and headed towards the Sheriff who was just waiting and looking into the distance. Fiery landed on the ground next to him and Ember after, the older pony turned and saw them and stepped back a bit when he saw Ember in her armor. “I-Is that the alien..? Doesn’t look like how you described em.” Fiery looked up at Ember, “Oh sorry, she’s in her armor.” Ember took a hint and opened up her helmet and revealed what she actually looked like and the Older Sheriff relaxed a little as she didn’t look threatening. “I see… Well I’m Sheriff Silverstar, nice to meet you,” he said and stretched out his hoof. Ember grabbed it and shook, “I’m Lieutenant Ember. I assume Fiery explain the situation?” They both let go, “Yes… So you really are not from around here, are you?” Ember nodded, “Yeah. I am from a very faraway place. I seek your aid since I will not doubt need to take your train to Canterlot and I feared if I waltzed into town that I would frighten the people.” “Ah can see that. Smart of you as that probably would have happened and I don’t like trouble in my town. No I do not.” “So Sheriff, how can you aid us?” “Well the train isn’t coming into town tonight so you best just stay in the inn in town. I will show you the way; with me no one will say anything.” Fiery smiled at that, “An inn with a bed… That’s really nice.” Ember also smiled, “Yeah, I can’t stand to sleep on rocks again.” “But you just did…” “Not the point.” The Sheriff was happy, the alien Ember seemed kind but also dangerous based on Fiery story but not someone who would attack without reason, in fact when Fiery talked about the mole incident, and explained his scar he told him that she carried him to safety. Together they went towards the town, it was Ember first glance at a living town and was surprised at the large variety of ponies and their colors. Back where she came from horses and ponies came in few color variants. Ponies that saw them just stood and stared and some even looked freighted and hid behind barrels but no one dared to get in their way with the Sheriff on their side. “Um…” Ember heard a child voice and turned to see a filly, which she had to admit, was very adorable with a light green fur, a blue mane, and large red eyes. “W-What are you?” The three of them stopped and Ember knelt down, “I’m an angel… I am visiting.” “An angel? That sounds pretty. Are you… Nice?” she asked softly. Ember smiled and petted the mane of the filly, “Don’t worry, I am the nicest.” “Really?” Her eyes beamed. “Yup,” she said as he lifted her hand. The filly turned and ran over to who Ember assumed to be their mother or older sister; she could hear the filly talking about the angel she had just met. It really settled in then that these ponies weren’t that different from humans or angels, sure they seem friendly but how they act is very similar, had she just heard the voice but not seen the filly there would have been no reason to assume they weren’t human. Standing back up she followed Fiery and Silverstar to the inn where they found an older mare working the counter. She didn’t appear to be paying attention but the Sheriff pressed the bell and she shot up and looked at the three of them. Initially she seemed calm until she saw Ember standing taller than the two of them. “Dear Celestia what is that!?” the old mare yelled out. “Calm down my lady,” Silverstar spoke calmly. “This person is an angel, her names Ember. She means no harm; all we did was come here to rent a double bed room.” The mare continued to stare but eventually calmed down, “Right. We have a room open, the first on the right upstairs. It will be 10 bits for the night.” Fiery opened his saddlebag and took out 10 bits and handed them to the lady who in turn gave the keys. Before they went upstairs however they turned to the Sheriff, “It seems things have gone smoothly,” he began. “Tomorrow morning, at around 8 AM, the train will arrive, but before then please visit my office. I need you to deliver a letter to Canterlot about Santa Mane.” His voice became solemn at the end no doubt still hung over about it. “We will be there,” Ember assured him. “Thanks and have a good night you two,” he said as he exited the inn. The two of them headed up the stairs and opened the room; it was a modest room with two medium sized beds, a bathroom, and a counter on the walls on the sides of the beds. Ember went into the bathroom and quickly took a shower, which another surprise functioned the same as a Human shower. After feeling refreshed and cleaner than she had in weeks she put on her normal clothing and went over to her bed. Fiery then went into the bathroom as she pulled up her sheets. Her feet reached to the edge but the bed was a good size and so she couldn’t complain. By the time Fiery exited and got into his bed she had already fallen fast asleep in the comfort of her own bed.