Alexander stood on the train platform, waiting for the eight O'clock train to arrive as he worked his augmetic hand. He had been told to expect phantom pains, but the icy numbness that seemed to radiate from his shoulder was maddening. The shrill whistle of a train coming into the station drew Alexander away from his arm. The train slid into the station with a sedate hiss, filling the air with steam from the brakes. As the mist cleared, Alexander beheld three familiar ponies disembarking from a passenger car.
"So, that's what Celestia meant when she said 'familiar with my brand of command.' Well, I must say, it is good to see you Sergeant Rain. You too, Sure Shot and Flame Dancer."
Steel Rain took the offered hand in his hoof. "Pleasure's all ours, sir."
"So, where's everyone else?" Alexander looked around with his one good eye, the left covered by an eyepatch he had found mysteriously taped to the underside of his desk. Steel Rain grimaced.
"Windigoes and that thing from the mountain devastated our Platoon. Most of the others took honorable discharges when offered, but we three stayed." He shook his head. "They were going to fold us into another unit, but when you sent for soldiers, Captain Armor decided to assign us to you as a supporting group. We even got a new recruit out of it."
"Oh?"
An absolute behemoth of an earth pony squeezed out of the train car behind them, several black duffels lying on his back. The bald, dark-chestnut earth pony spoke, a deep mellifluous baritone that one could not help but to listen to when he spoke. "Sir, I have our bags."
Rain presented the titanic pony with a flourish of his hoof. "This is private Nickel Lionheart, strongest damn pony in the Guard."
Nickel saluted crisply as he came to an impressively impeccable attention. "Sir, it is an honor to serve with you." He smiled broadly, perfectly white teeth standing out from his almost black fur. "I hope you don't make things too boring around here."
Alexander couldn't help but smile. "It's a pleasure." Sweet Emperor's golden ass, he's as big as a horse. Indeed, Lionheart was the biggest pony Alexander had ever seen, bigger even than Applejack's brother Big Mac. In fact, Alexander had to look up slightly to make eye contact. What in the warp are they feeding this guy? Alexander cleared his head with a shake. "Alright, fall in. Time to get you situated and get to work." Alexander lead the way off the platform as the train chugged away.
"Um, Sir? May-may I ask you a question?"
Alexander dropped back to march next to Sure Shot. "Still stuttering I see. Go ahead, ask away."
"Where are you from?"
Alexander stared pensively into space for a moment. "Well, to be honest, while I don't know where I was born, I was raised on a planet called Harlech. Come to think of it, Equestria does remind me of Harlech somewhat."
"Wh-what's i-it like there?"
"It is one of the most beautiful planets I have ever been on."
"Really? How so?"
Alexander stared off into space for a moment as music began to play in the background. Standing tall, he began to sing somewhat softly.
Let old Tanith boast of her wild wandrin' forests
Valhalla of ice planes and Catachan of strength
Forge worlds toiling to make almighty war machines
Where freedom expires amid hammer and flame
Alexander drew up as he began to sing fortissimo, the ponies following him beginning to prance in time to the song.
Harlech's black mountains wild where ho-ary cliffs are piled
Tow'ring in grandeur are dearer tae me
Land of the misty cloud land of the tempest loud
Land of the brave and proud land of the free
Enthroned on the peak of his own highland mountains
The gov'ner of Harlech reigns fearless and free
His green standard waving o'er blue rock and fountain
And proudly he claims looking over the sea
Alexander drew his sword and began to twirl it dramatically, a grin forming unbidden.
Here 'mong my mountains wild I have serenely smiled
When Chaos and xenos against me were hurled
Firm as my native rock I have withstood the shock
Of traitor, of Eldar, or Ork and the Tau
But see how proudly His war tanks are dashing
Deep groves of steel crushed down in their path
The eyes of His sons like their lasguns are flashing
Triumphantly marching through ruin and death
Alexander began to twirl the blade over his head as he belted out the last verse, the group of ponies following him cheering as he did so.
Bold hearts and nodding plumes stand o'er their bloody tombs
Deepeyed in gore is the green standard's wave
Shivering are the ranks of steel dire is the lasgun's yield
Victorious in battlefield Harlech the brave
Bold hearts and nodding plumes stand o'er their bloody tombs
Deepeyed in gore is the green standard's wave
Shivering are the ranks of steel dire is the lasgun's yield
Victorious in battlefield Harlech the brave
Victorious in battlefield Harlech the brave
Alexander found himself stabbing at the sky with his sword while his foot perched majestically on a large rock as the music faded. Dropping his arm, Alexander looked around in confusion as the parade that had followed him dispersed, leaving him alone with the guardponies. "Um...what the hell just happened?"
Steel Rain shrugged. "You started singing."
"Why? I can't even sing well. For that matter, where was that music coming from?"
Nickel spoke up, saving his sergeant from explaining it. "Every now and then, a pony is filled with a particularly strong emotion, pride in your case I would assume, and will get the urge to sing, usually before they know what's happening. Sometimes, the magic in the song can cause others to feel the same way and join in. I hear it happens quite a lot here." Nickel waved a hoof around Ponyville. Alexander sheathed his sword with a groan.
"Great. Let's just get back to base and work out a plan before anything else happens."
Alexander stood by the stage as he scanned the gathering crowd. Tapping his earbud, Alexander activated his comm. "All units report in."
<Deep Strike reporting in. Nothing yet.>
<Doc here. All clear on my end.>
<Pyro reporting in. Nothing to burn yet.>
<Um, ah, H-hawkeye REporting in. Um, ah, n-negative on, I mean, nothing!>
<This is Titan. Thought I had something, turned out just to be a Mare-Do-Well fan trying to sneak an autograph.>
"Alright, keep radio silence from here on out unless you get something suspicious." A chorus of rogers answered, Alexander turning back to the crowd before him. All he could do now was wait.
He didn't have to wait long. As soon as Mare-Do-Well appeared on stage, Rainbow Dash blitzed in from wherever she had been waiting and began accusing MDW of being a phony. When MDW ran off to avoid being unmasked, Rainbow Dash chased after her. Alexander began to run after them with a curse.
"All teams, concentrate on the town, I have Vigilante and Loyalty covered!" Another chorus of affirmatives answered as Alexander chased after the racing superhero and jealous weather mare.
He finally caught up to the pair at Sweet Apple Acres to find Rainbow Dash confronting several mares in Mare-Do-Well costumes. Leaning against a tree, Alexander smirked at Dash's befuddlement. "So, it was all five of you, huh? I must admit Twilight, I did not see that one coming."
Rainbow glared at Alexander, turning on him in a huffy fury. "You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"
Alexander chuckled at the mare's rage. "I didn't know for sure. I just know that I gave Twilight some advice on bringing your ego in check, and then a strange mare started showing you up, while Twilight was watching. So I figured she got somepony" Shit, did I really just say that? "To do it for her."
Dash looked at her friends for a moment before dropping her head in shame. "I...suppose I have been a bit pig headed lately. Girls, I'm s-"
BOOM
Alexander spun to look at the mushroom cloud forming over Ponyville as his combead crackled to life. <Sir, Deep Strike here! A bomb just went off at Sugarcube Corner! We have a suspect fleeing in your direction!>
"Roger. No kill shots, I want answers." Alexander turned to the mane six. Pinkie was frozen, her mane gone grey and flat in her horror, with Rarity and Fluttershy trying to keep her calm. "The lot of you, stay here. I don't care why you are coming," Alexander didn't let the open mouthed Applejack, Twilight and Rainbow get a word in edgewise. "You aren't coming." He drew his laspistol for emphasis. "You really don't want to see what comes next." The cold look in his eyes made even Rainbow Dash unsure for a moment, but a moment was all Alexander needed to take his leave.
Alexander had just entered Ponyville proper when his combead crackled again. <Sir, Titan here, we've apprehended the suspect. What should we do with him?>
"Hold onto him, I'm on my way. What's your position?"
<H-hawkeye here, Sir! N-nic..erm...T-titan's in an alley three streets north and two west of your position.>
"Roger! On my way! Hold tight Titan."
Alexander came around the corner into the alley to find Nickel sitting on a struggling mottled lime-green/fuschia furred unicorn with an aquamarine mane and purple tail. His broken horn lay next to him. Alexander crouched, bringing his face to the captive pony's eye level. "I'm only going to ask nice once. Who do you work for and what does he want?"
To Alexander's disconcertion, the unicorn began to laugh maniacally. "You can't stop it!"
Alexander quirked an his eyebrow, but the effect was somewhat lost considering it was under an eyepatch. "Oh, really? We seemed to stop you just fine. Now," Alexander pulled out his combat knife. "Who do you work for?"
The pony's maniacal cackling merely increased. "I may have failed, but the war has just begun. THE FOUR HORSES SHALL RIDE AGAIN!" The broken stub of his horn glowed cyan before his cackling gave way to a horrid gurgle as his lungs liquified. Nickel jumped off before the juiced organ spilled out of the twitching corpse's mouth. Looking at the body in disgust he shrugged an apology to Alexander. Alexander didn't notice. He was too busy staring at the corpse's flank. A familiar symbol had been carved into the flesh, the scar tissue destroying the cutie mark. A very, very familiar symbol.
"Oh, frak."