Chapter 3: First Contact
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The farm that lay in the middle of the apple orchards looked pleasant as all could be. Red-painted buildings, white picket-fence and an entrance covered in greenery. The large buildings and the rolling hills carried different meanings for the members of Task Force 141. For the former SAS men it reminded them of the British countryside in many ways, or rather a more idealized version of it, the perfect little countryside paradise where hard work, honesty and tradition reigned. For Yuri however it was a bit different. During his formative years in the Soviet Union farms were not peaceful and idyllic but rather pure agricultural industries, a foundation of the socialist system where modern technology and industrial efficiency produced plenty for all sons of the revolution. This idyllic, rustic place seemed almost... quaint. Perhaps even bizarre. In his mind farms had never been this serene. He did not complain though.
As they wandered in through the gate to the farmstead proper they looked around, at first not seeing any other ponies out and about.
“Hello?!” Price yelled out when they had come up to the well, “Anyone here?” His voice echoed across the farmstead and they all waited.
“You know,” Roach said quietly after a while, “I've mentioned it before but bloomin' hay this place is idyllic.”
“It's like an old Soviet propaganda poster.” Yuri agreed with him silently before a glare from Price made them both quiet down. Soon something moved further away though and after a while somepony came out to meet them.
This pony was a stallion, a heavyset, burly farm worker of a pony with red coat and orange mane. He wore a harness around his neck and several of them subconsciously winced at how blooming heavy it looked. The stallion was rippling with muscles and looked like he could crush rocks between his hooves or single-handedly topple trees.
“Mornin',” he began with a southern drawl, his voice deep and rumbling. “I haven’t seen ya'll 'round here before. The name's Big Macintosh. Most call me Big Mac.” There was a slow, deliberate quality to his speech.
“I bet,” Gaz muttered under his breath in amazement at the sight, Price only clearing his throat.
“Good morning sir,” he said as well, “My name's Price. We're looking for the owner of this farm, would that be you?” Several of the ponies glanced at Price now, unused to hearing such a civil tone come from the mouth of this scarred old wolf. Price usually communicated through growls and snarls.
“Nope,” Big Mac said now. “That'd be my sis', Applejack. She's inside at the moment, lemme get her for ya'll.”
“Thank you,” Price said with a nod and watched as Big Mac disappeared into the main building, a giant, two-story barn-like thing.
“That went well,” Yuri remarked.
“Blooming hay that guy was big,” Roach muttered, “What do they feed ponies around here?”
“Apples,” Gaz quipped.
“Pipe down you two,” Price said just in time for another pony to come out on the patio. This one looked different. She was smaller than Big Mac, even though that said little, and had a more feminine appearance. Her muzzle was softer rounded, her body more gently curved. Her coat was orange, her mane was long and blonde and she wore a cowboy hat on her head. Gaz let out a small whistle upon seeing her and several of the others turned to stare at him.
“For buck's sake Gaz...” Soap growled, halfway between disgusted and disbelieving.
“What?” Gaz said with a shrug, “I like cowgirls... or well, cowponies now I guess.”
“Невероятно,” Yuri muttered to himself as the mare came up to them.
“Good morning,” she greeted them, being as different from her brother as day and night. Big Mac had been a big, burly stallion that moved slowly and deliberately. The mare however was much quicker in her step and attitude. She seemed no less hard-working though, what more she was a bit curt. “Applejack's the name. My brother said ya'll wanted somethin'. Hope ya don't mind if ah'm a bit curt,” she continued, “Some thieves' been sneaking around an' ah gotta head out to keep a lookout for 'em.”
“That thievery is actually why we are here Miss,” Price said and Applejack's eyes narrowed.
“Really now?” she asked now, a bit suspicious. Price nodded before looking back.
“Gaz, Roach,” he said, the old growl back in his voice. The two named ponies took a step forward to come up on each side of their captain. Gaz was all of a sudden very interested in the clouds and Roach refused to look up from the ground. Price gave them each a slap across the head with one front hoof before looking to Applejack again. “We're new in these parts and these two good-for-nothings got the bright ideas to steal from you,” he said, “I'd like to apologize on their behalf and offer what compensation we can to repay you for the lost fruit.” Applejack seemed somewhat taken aback now. She paused and blinked away her off-guard expression as she looked between the two awkward thieves in front of Price.
“Well that certainly makes mah day a whole lot easier,” she said eventually, chuckling a bit. “Ain't no problem though, your thieves didn't get away with any after all. Ah was just worried they'd try again.”
“We... actually did,” Gaz said with a grimace. “The sack we dropped weren't all the apples. It was a diversion, we got away with a few of them.” Applejack looked from pony to pony, the fact that she had a hard time knowing what to think evident on her face.
“How many?” she asked eventually. Gaz didn't answer at first but after a couple of seconds Price slapped him over the head again.
“Twelve apples all in all.” Gaz told her. Applejack leaned forward a bit to glance in under the brim of Gaz's cap which was hiding his eyes. Gaz didn't meet her eyes.
“Well since ya'll came to apologize ah suppose can overlook the thievin',” she said, “Let's say ten bits, that's market price.”
“Uhm...” Gaz said now, looking to Price, who didn't move a muscle. “We don't really have ten... bits?” he said uncertainly. Applejack blinked.
“So how much do you have?” she asked.
“Nae a bit,” Soap replied with a shake of his head, cutting Price off. The grizzled captain gave his younger peer a withering look which Soap met with equanimity. “Sorry, Price, but the fact o' the matter is we're tired, hungry an' broke in the middle o' nowhere. Everythin' we had is gone an' we ain't got a clue where we are.”
“You fellas don’t know where you are?” the farm pony inquired. The stallions shook their heads.
“Where did ya'll come from again?” Applejack asked now, wide-eyed, and Soap pointed towards the mountains.
“Through a cave up there.” the mohawked pony said. Now Applejack's eyes were huge.
“Ya'll came from the mountains?!” she exclaimed loudly, evidently horrified. “Landsakes! Forget about them bits, ya can take all the apples ya want. Actually hold that, Mac!” she yelled back towards the house.
“Look we're not trying to impose...” Price began, but to no avail; Applejack either didn’t hear him or chose not to.
“Eyyup?” Mac said, sticking out his head from one of the windows.
“Tell, Applebloom to set for ten!” Applejack said, “We're gettin' lunch guests!”
“There's really no need to...” Price hissed frantically, Applejack raising a hoof to cut him off.
“Horseapples!” she told them all firmly, “If ya’ll stumble outta the mountains without a bit on you an' with empty bellies you got a spot at the Apple family's tables. On you go now fellas, git!” she said as she shooed them inside.
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“How did this happen?” Price muttered as he looked down at the hearty serving of food on the plate in front of him. They had been more or less swept inside the barn-house and all landed around the table of the Apple family as they apparently were named. Along with Applejack and Big Mac said family consisted of a young red-maned, yellow-coated filly named Applebloom who seemed to be a classic young filly, IE full of energy and annoying as could be. The fourth and final member was a green-coated and white-haired old mare, Granny Smith, who seemed like she should be on her way to the glue factory post-haste.
“Who dares, wins,” Soap told his commanding officer as he dug in on the food with a hearty appetite. Price only glared at him, not amused by how the guy he remembered having called a “muppet” the first time he saw him now quoted the motto of the SAS at him. Soap shrugged at the glare though. “Nae offence Price, but this situation innae gonna be solved with sneaking about.”
“We landed arse-first in the best possible situation,” Price said sourly, grudgingly taking a bite of food as well. Around them things were going quite well by the looks of it. Ghost was still sitting in a daze and Roach splitting his time between forcing him to eat and fending off questions from Applebloom about seemingly literally everything between heaven and earth. Yuri had been seated next to Granny Smith and was politely accepting getting his cheeks pinched as the old mare cooed over his “Stalliongrad” accent. Meanwhile, Gaz was doing his best to stuff his face with food. Both Price and Soap were seated on the sofa, watching the scene silently.
“That's a bad thing?” Soap asked.
“Too easy,” Price told him, “This is an invitation for complacency. Look around you, we're in a bad way. Ghost's all but out of it, Roach and Gaz are fooling around. We've been here a few hours only.”
“A few hours after escapin' from weeks o' constant fightin',” Soap reminded him gently, “We're all exhausted cap'n, give the lads a couple of days tae relax.” Price only grunted at this, returning to his food.
“So where ya'll from?” Applebloom asked Roach, making Soap and Price both tense up “Ya sound like Pipsqueak, so are ya'll from Trottin'ham?”
“I'm from a small town,” Roach told the filly politely. The youngest member of their team was, if Soap remembered correctly, only twenty-four years old. Compared to him and Gaz, both in their thirties now, not to mention Yuri or even captain Price, in their early and late forties, he was the “kid” in the group. That might have been why he was landed next to the young filly but he didn't seem to have any problems keeping up with her.
“Where?” Applebloom asked curiously.
“Back home,” Roach informed her succinctly before taking another bite of pie. “This really is an amazing pie, Mrs Apple,” he said after having chewed and swallowed (Granny Smith had given Gaz quite the lecture when he spoke with his mouth full). Granny Smith smiled at him and Applebloom was impatiently bouncing where she sat.
“But where's that?” she asked.
“My home?” Roach asked and Applebloom nodded. “In a small town,” he told her with a wide grin.
“Ah come on!” Applebloom exclaimed with an exasperated tone. She taking a bite out of her meal, pouting as she chewed and frowned between her plate and the uncooperative stallion.
“Ain't nice to badger folks 'bout things they ain't willin' to talk about, Applebloom,” Applejack cut the filly off now, Soap taking a slow breath of relief. Roach handled that well. “So where ya'll headin'?” she asked now, looking towards Price and Soap. The two captains looked at each other, a silent communion passing between them.
“We aren't quite sure yet,” Price eventually said, “We are strangers in a strange land, Miss Apple. At the moment we simply want to collect our bearings and recover. It was a tough journey to get here.”
“Ah bet,” Applejack said, “Look, Ah'm headin' to town soon to get some things, if ya'll interested ya can come along an' get a tour of Ponyville.” Price and Soap both looked at each other again.
“That would be great,” Soap said, “thanks.” Applejack waved a dismissive hoof at this.
“Nothin' to it,” she said humbly. “If ya got the backbone ta come clean about stealin' from my orchards, then I ain't gonna do other than respect that. We need more folks like ya'll 'round these parts.” She stopped to let out a small chuckle, before waving her hoof airily. “Well maybe ponies that don’t steal anyhow,” she finished, sending a playful look towards the Gaz. He was merrily munching on his final slice with a content smile between his bulging cheeks.
Soap couldn't help but grimace at her words.
“No Applejack,” he thought to himself, remembering how he, only yesterday, had killed a man by slitting his throat from behind. “You don't. You really don't.”
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The lunch continued without any real troubles barring a certain awkwardness about the fact that they still didn't know jack about this place they had landed in. At least Roach kept Applebloom occupied, Big Mac wasn't one for questions and Granny Smith rambled about whatever tangent she had come across. Applejack however was bit of an issue. She evidently was curious about where they all came from and kept asking small questions about it. They all knew to keep their mouths shut but silence was an answer in and of itself.
Still, about an hour later they had found themselves wandering the path towards the small town of Ponyville. Like before, the weather was sunny, warm and serene. The green hills sparkled in the beautiful sunlight and a breeze blew across the landscape, carrying birdsong and the occasional sounds from the picturesque town. It was such a peaceful day as could be and it had its little effect on the squad of six.
Ghost was able to function somewhat as he walked but every few steps or so he jumped and flapped his wings in an attempt to take flight, despite Gaz and Roach keeping an eye on him. Yuri walked silently and kept his eyes on the surroundings while Soap and Price walked with Applejack. The shenanigans of their still dazed teammate evidently made the mare somewhat confused.
“Is he gonna be okay?” she asked after a while, Price sourly muttering something before he responded.
“He's an idiot,” he said succinctly, Applejack uneasily laughing at this.
“Y'know, ain't my place to have opinions but maybe y'oughta have the docs take a look at 'im?” she said.
“We’re low on funds at the moment, Miss Applejack,” Price replied. Applejack merely shook her head.
“Totally free,” she said, “That's what we're payin' taxes for.”
“Hmh,” Price said, looking around. “The castle up on the mountain there, what is it?”
“Canterlot?” Applejack asked with an arched eyebrow, “That's the home o' Princess Celestia, an' Princess Luna now ah suppose. It’s the capitol o' Equestria.”
“Mind tellin' us a wee bit 'bout these princesses?” Soap asked. Applejack looked towards him now, confusion on her face.
“Ya mean to tell me ya ain't heard of Princess Celestia?” she asked. There was nothing condemning or suspicious in her voice though. It was simply confused. Like this should be obvious.
“Strangers in a strange land,” Soap reminded her.
“Right,” Applejack shook her head, “Sorry, ah guess when ya spend ya life in the shadow of Canterlot you take some things for granted. Well, Princess Celestia's our ruler, she raises an' lowers the sun every day an' has ruled over Equestria for centuries.”
“Centuries?” Soap echoed. That was a long time to rule.
“Raises the sun?” Price whispered with scepticism.
“She's an alicorn,” Applejack informed them. “Blood of all three races in her. Wings, horn and earth pony bond with nature.” Soap blinked at this, once, twice and thrice. He eventually looked to Price, who glanced at him.
“Oi cap'n,” he said slowly, not able to stop the small smile creeping up on his face.
“What?” Price asked.
“Flying unicorn princesses,” he grinned now, actually chuckling upon remembering what Price had snarled that one time. Price's eye narrowed at this and he bared his teeth at Soap. The scot didn't flinch though. Having grown up in the dirtiest part of Glasgow, itself one of the grittiest cities in Britain, he had always been somewhat detached in the “fear” department.
That, and his military career may have made him too acquainted with absolute terror.
“Shut up,” Price eventually told him. Applejack looked between the two now.
“Feels like ah came in right in the middle of somethin' here.”
“Nae worries,” Soap grinned wolfishly, “Let's just say tha' when our cap'n says we're goin' somewhere, we're bloomin' going there.” Applejack raised an eyebrow but didn't push the matter. This was partially due to politeness and partially due to the loud splash that came from further ahead which made all three of them look forwards.
“Ah fer buck's sake, Ghost!” Soap yelled as he and Price both broke into a sprint to help drag Ghost out of the river he had managed to catapult himself into. The white pegasus pony was flailing frantically several meters from the shore as he tried to get out of the water. In the end it was Yuri and Soap who leaped into the water and dragged him out of it. It all got handled without too much of a drama since it was a shallow and not too wide river but Soap nevertheless cursed as he waded ashore, Ghost shaking his head.
“I'm sorry...” he said, “I... I think I feel better now, that cold shower cleared my head...” The shame was evident in his voice and his head hung where he walked.
“Yer not in a good way, Ghost,” Soap said now, patting him on the back. “We'll take care o' you. Don' worry lad, we're here for you...” It was roughly then that a raspy laughter pierced the air and they both looked up, coming to see a familiar cyan-coloured pegasus resting on a small cloud above. She was perched on the cloud like it was a flying beanie bag or something. At the moment she was looking down at Ghost, grinning widely.
“Nice flying, hot-shot,” she said with a husky, brash voice. “Aiming for the “top crasher” medal perhaps?” her tone was jeering, cocky, and Soap immediately took a dislike to her attitude against the wet, despondent Ghost. He took a step forward with eyes narrowed, already planning how he could take her off her cloud.
“That's enough outta you, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack said now, coming to their defence as she came walking up and stood in front of Ghost as well. Her voice was firm and disapproving. “These fellers came right outta the mountains, hungry, tired an' with not a bit to their names. They ain't in no need of your lip right now!” Rainbow Dash, as her name apparently was, blinked at this and got of her cloud now, leaping down to land in front of them.
“Really?” she asked, looking at Ghost now, a bit of a quizzical look on her face. “Seriously, those mountains?” she asked, pointing towards said mountains in in the distance. “Came out as in walked?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“Aye,” Soap said, still hostile to the pony. Rainbow Dash didn't seem to register that though. She only startled to slowly smile.
“That's so cool!” she exclaimed suddenly, pure glee on her face. “Are you crazy, do you know what lives there? And you walked through, that's so awesome!” she gushed. “Seriously, that's amazing!” Soap blinked now, not knowing what to make out of the once cocky and now almost adoring mare. His eyes wondered to Price, who was observing the scene with grin.
Ghost massaged his temples, idly looking around before double taking at the sight of the cyan mare. “You... you're...I saw you fly, by the water,” he said, pointing a hoof at Rainbow as she preened her wings.
“Damn straight,” she said, “I'm Rainbow Dash, future Wonderbolt and the best flyer in all of Ponyville,” she said with much bravado. As a display of her aerial prowess, and much to the white stallion’s awe, she bolted into the air and performed a quick summersault. Upon landing, she leaned into Soap. “Why were you even going through the mountains? Eh?” She asked now, being very close up in Soap's face.
“Hold yer horses, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack said now, cutting in with practised ease. It was truly fortunate, as Soap had been about to place the mare in a headlock. “You can ask yer questions later after we've get these fellers to the hospital!”
“Huh?” RD said. “They don't look sick to me, well except that one...” She trailed off as she gave a quick once over of Ghost. “Okay, point taken,” Rainbow Dash said, the last two words coming after a long-suffering look from Applejack.
“I'll go ahead and tell the doctors then!” Dash said, darting off into the air and disappearing in a blur of movement. Ghost's face was a study in pure longing as he looked after the mare, Gaz showing clear signs of it as well.
“Gaz!” Price snapped, “Get your head back in the game,” Gaz shook his head and then nodded, blinking furiously.
“Yes sir,” he said briskly and began down the road again, Roach gently pushing Ghost to follow as the small gathering moved towards the village of Ponyville. As they crossed the bridge into the village proper they all tensed up somewhat as the amount of strangers around them increased exponentially. They were still worked up, running on willpower as much as anything else after days of activity and the meal they had gotten did affect them, making them becoming more and more drowsy. They were still far from falling unconsciousness but they felt it bit by bit; they'd need to rest soon.
Applejack guided them through the village, across the packed plaza where all kinds of activity was ongoing, mostly trading between the stalls that populated the immediate area.
“Reminds me of Brazil, only peaceful,” Roach muttered to Soap, who nodded as he thought of the favelas through which they had chased one of Makarov's closest men. They had fought their way through a marketplace bustling with all kinds of food put up for display. He shook off an idle thought about how he would have fought his way across this place. Almost none of the stands were anything more than tables with a cloth roof above them, meaning there was zero protection to be found behind them. Also he was a horse, so he couldn't use weapons.
“These markets usually are good places to find things, normal things.” Yuri said absently as he walked beside them. “When I was with Nikolai in Himachal Pradesh we always went to the markets. It is... comforting, to buy food directly from the hands that grew it. There are no lies there,” he said, trailing off a bit as the melancholy settled over him again.
“Darn tootin'!” Applejack said, looking back at them with a grin. “That's some mighty fine view you've got there, Mr Yuri! Ya know, if ya'll need some work later on, me an' the farm's got a lot comin' up the comin' weeks. If it’ll help you feel less guilty about the little mishap this mornin’.”
“We'll consider it,” Price grunted non-committally, giving the others a killing glare before any of them took the offer. He caught Gaz cursing beneath his breath as he kicked the cobble floor.
Soap’s mind, meanwhile, was steadily focusing on the mental state of the captain. Price was in an awful mood, even by his standards, and Soap wondered just what made him this angry. They were all confused by where they were, but the anger Price responded to the situation with didn't make sense.
The hospital was not far away and the sight of the building brought some comfort to them all, bar Price obviously, and already at the door they were met by a pony in a doctor's robe and with a small beard as well as glasses. With a brisk, no-nonsense attitude the doctor shooed them all into the examination room, Soap honestly having a bit of a hard time following what the hay was going on. Say what you wanted about Ponyville's medical facilities (and really, what was he going to say after five minutes?) but they weren't inefficient. Aided by a couple of nurses, one of whom seemingly a nice, tender mare and the other was a block of ice as domineering as they came.
Of course he ended up with the latter, who unceremoniously checked his pulse and swiftly followed up with other medical procedures. The entire debacle was done within a few minutes.
“I must say, from what Rainbow Dash described I half expected you to be missing limbs when you came in here.” The doctor concluded when it was all over, his eyes studying a clip board I his hoof. “There is nothing serious with any of you as far as I can tell,” he told them all. “Only, I seriously recommend you get some rest, you all are showing clear signs of accumulated fatigue.”
He flipped the page and looked pointed over the clipboard. “For you two however,” he said, looking to the two pegasi among them, “I'd recommend at least three hours constant flight before trying to sleep. Your FAWS is among the worst I've seen. I don't know why you've stayed grounded for so long, but it isn't healthy,” he finished somewhat sternly.
“Uhm...” Gaz said. “Fa-what now?” he asked sheepishly, the doctor sighing.
“Flight Abstinence Withdrawal Syndrome,” he said patiently. “They go through these things at flight school, did you not pay attention there?” Gaz looked to Price for guidance now, the man's orders about keeping a lid on things clear in his mind but all the same, the doctor wanted an answer. Price only scowled, the old stallion eventually shrugging.
“I never went to flight school,” Gaz ‘admitted’, “Neither did Ghost.” The doctor frowned.
“Nevertheless,” he said, “Didn't your parents tell you then? It is hardly an unknown condition...”
“It is to me, doc,” Gaz said plainly, looking at the medical pony. The doctor stopped, looking at the six stallions in the room with an expression that shift towards worry. In the end he looked to Price and Roach.
“Do you know how to use this?” he asked, pointing to his horn. Roach shook his head and Price said nothing. The doctor looked between them all now and eventually turned around as he walked to lock the door, an act that that made the squad share uneasy glances. “It seems there is a story to tell here,” he told them when he was done. “First of all, I don't know where you are from, but you are here, and you will have the help this Hospital can provide. But I need to know who you are, otherwise I won't know what to do.”
“Forget it,” Price growled. “This is what you're getting. We're not from around here, we don't know things we should know, and if pushed any more we'll be ready to give it back ten times over,” he finished, the doctor clearly getting the wind taken out of his sails by the remark and actually flinching back a little. He bounced back admirably fast however.
“If that is your call,” he said icily, walking over to open the door. “You know where the exit is. As I've said, flight for the pegasi and rest for all of you.” Soap looked to Price now, open reproach on his face.
None of the others met Price's chilling gaze, which was rapidly dropping to absolute zero, and they all left the hospital. Soap thought he saw Roach give the doctor an apologetic nod as he was the last pony out but he wasn't sure. What he was sure of, however, was that when they came out and was met by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Looking to keep the veteran in check, he turned to look at Price with a burning glare of his own.
“Tha' bloomin' hay's up with yeh?!” he snarled. “Are yeh so eager for what we left that yer makin' new enemies already!?” he asked furiously. Price looked up, a wolf-like growl in his throat.
“Shut your mouth, soldier,” he hissed lowly, Soap shaking his head. Further away he saw how Gaz and Roach quickly moved to push the two mares away to give them some time alone.
“Make me!” he snapped the man as he pointed a hoof at him. “Ye can’t outrank me now, Price! You know that, and yer entire reinstatement was unofficial to begin with! And if yeh wanna pull rank yeh dinnae got nothin' to back that up with! I've bled for yeh Price, we all have, an' don't yeh dare try tae pull rank with us. The buck is wrong with you? I ask that as th' man who sprung yer sorry arse outta the depths of the Gulag! This ain't you Price!”
“And this is you?!” Price snapped now, finally reaching boiling point. After a quick gesture to Soap’s new form, he swept hoof towards his squad. “Is this is any of us?! We're blooming horses stranded in some obscene fantasy world where we can't even swear! I've spent all my life as one of the best, you all have, and yet I seem to be the only one that sees something wrong in having everything we are taken from us!”
“We're still here, ain't we?” Soap asked. “An no matter what's goin' on, why are you actin' like we're all gonna die just 'cause we're tryin' tae get a wee bit o' R&R?”
“Are you seriously that blind?” Price snarled. “Already Gaz and Ghost are tied up in this withdrawal nonsense and we’ve practically waltzed into an offer to become bleeding farmhands! This place, whatever it is, is trying to keep us here.”
“So, what?” Soap asked. “D' yeh remember the part where we became outlaws 'cross the globe? Where we won only to find there's nothin' left fer any o' us? Whatever this place is, it ain't tryin' tae kill us. Whatever this place is, perhaps we've earned it? Remember what Roach said? Paradise? As twisted as this is, maybe he's right? That it's over fer us, that we've earned peace?” Price stopped now, looking at Soap with a disgust in his eyes.
“Peace,” he spat, “You mean degenerating into some fat, lazy civvie with nothing left of the edge that made us what we are? We're not ponies, Soap, we're wolves. That's what we were made into, what the world made us, and this is an abomination. Tigers don't lose their stripes, and neither will we.” With that, he turned to walk away, looking at the others who were watching him from the distance. “I'm going to those woods,” he said. “Stay or follow, I don't give a damn, but I'm finding either a threat to deal with or a dignified end.” At that point however, Soap stepped up and clocked Price right in the face. He could still throw a punch despite his new shape and he put a lot of strength into it. Price was unprepared for it, meaning he only barely managed to raise one hoof to deflect some of the strength. He still was sent flying however, landing three feet away.
“Right ol' man,” He said now as he rubbed his hooves against each other and cracked his neck, “I'm tired of yer whining. Get up an' I'll get this outta yer system.” Price sat up on the ground, running a hoof over his mouth to check if there was any blood. A red streak was indeed running down his mouth and he looked up. Wordlessly, he bounced to his hooves with an agility that for his age was nothing short of amazing and was upon Soap in a second flat.
Both Soap and Price had reached Captain's rank in the best special forces units in the world, they had years upon years of active service under their belt and what Price lacked in strength and size compared to Soap he compensated for in almost supernatural skill. What more, both of them moved like they were born as ponies. Both of them discovered fast that four hooves on the ground allowed for a whole new level of agility and versatility compared to two feet. Kicks and punches more or less became the same thing in terms of power which demanded a new level of thinking. Thinking they were already blessed with somehow.
To fully describe just what happened, it might be best to describe how the furious fight seemed to the two mares. Having been firmly pushed away by Gaz and Roach, they only managed to see that the two elder ponies were arguing about something before one of them hit the other. Rainbow Dash, herself no stranger to scrapes, could only stare in equal parts disbelief and awe at the two ponies.
They moved like nothing she had seen before! She had a hard time remembering to even blink at the sight of their lightning fast moves, their skill and their simple technique! She didn't know half of what they were doing but she could tell that they were skilled as could be. What more, she could tell that they fought with equal tenacity, a controlled savagery. For all her bravado she realized she'd be twisted into a pretzel before she knew what had happened by either of these stallions.
‘Who are these guys?’ she pondered as she watched.
It was first after nearly ten minutes, during which one of the nurses had come out to try to stop them only to be held back by Yuri. He shook his head and gave her a cold stare to let her know these stallions needed this. Upon the tenth minute, the two old warhorses even came to a halt.
A sucker punch from Soap was met with an elbow from Price and they both stumbled away, stopping now to stare at each other. Bodies lowered, teeth bared and eyes narrowed, the two stallions stared down each other silently. In the end they both relaxed though, rising up from their stances simultaneously.
“Nice left,” Price told Soap lowly, wiping his mouth again. He had earned a fair share of bruises both in his face and on his body, Soap looking no better.
“Never could figure out yer elbows,” Soap offered in return. “Yeh cool now?”
“I'm not staying like this,” Price reiterated, “But fine, we'll do this your way. We're still looking for a way out, however.”
“Deal,” Soap said with a curt nod.
“Now if you're quite done with this asinine fight of yours,” the nurse, Redheart as her name seemed to be, snapped as she stormed up to them. She held a first aid bag in her mouth, and bore a scolding glare. Her voice was somewhat muffled but her tone was clear as day. Soap stopped her as she opened the bag.
“Nae worries,” he told her with a small smile. “Idiots heal quickly,” he continued, “We'll heal up on our own, better save that fer the people who dinnae beat the snot outta each other. “
“You don't need to tell me that twice,” the nurse said, her eyes filled with dry derision as she closed the bag and marched inside. “Get away from the premises if you're going to keep this up.” she told the two. Soap grinned a bit as he looked to Applejack.
“So...” he began, having no chance of saying anything before he was interrupted.
“That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash finally burst out. “Where did you learn to fight like that?! Is that how you got through the mountains? I've never seen anything like it, did you...” She was stopped now by Yuri, who looked at the mare with a sly expression on his face.
“You know, Miss Dash,” he said thoughtfully, his slavic-accented voice dripping with honey as he rubbed his chin with one hoof. “I think we can make a little deal between you and us. Help my two comrades to learn how to fly, and I'll teach you some of our little tricks. If, of course, they learn as soon as possible”
“You got it!” Rainbow Dash said with an eager grin. “So whaddya say hotshots?!” she asked with a look towards Gaz and Ghost. “Ready to learn how to fly?!” she asked, striking a dramatic pose in the air. Usually Soap found things like that silly but he'd be buggered if this lass didn't pull it off.
“You got it,” Ghost said, his voice calmer now than before. With an end to it in sight, his usual cool was returning in force it seemed. Gaz nodded as well.
“Are we taking the scenic route via air?” Gaz asked, looking to Price, who nodded in response. The two pegasi walked off with Rainbow Dash now, the almost childish eagerness displayed by their teacher to be mirrored to a shameful degree in Ghost's every movement.
“But yeah,” Soap said as he watched them walk off. “Any chance o' that tour yeh were talkin' about Miss Applejack?” he asked.
“...Sure ah guess,” Applejack said, glancing at Price. “You gonna start any more fights?” She asked a bit dryly.
“Nah,” Soap said with a small grin, “Just a wee bit o' a disagreement. Ain't gonna happen again, on me honour.” Applejack shrugged.
“Ya'll really one strange bunch,” she said eventually. “But ah said ah would and ah ain't no liar.” The small group began to move back down into ponyville, now minus their pegasi.
“Smooth moves there,” Roach muttered to Yuri, who shrugged.
“Easiest deal I've ever made,” Yuri muttered. “I'm not Nikolai, but after years on the black market you learn things. I teach a horse judo and we solve Ghost's addiction problem. Good deal.” Roach couldn't help but snort a little.
“You're a horrible man,” he said, Yuri sighing.
“It took you this long to realize, kid?” he said quietly, a look of melancholy coming over him. Roach slapped him now.
“No brooding,” he said, “Horses don't brood.”
“Заткнись” Yuri said, nevertheless smirking a little as they went back into the village. This time they passed the large tree structure by. The stallions shared a glance, the silent disbelief between them eventually broken by the former captain.
“This the library?” Price asked, finally able to start talking somewhat civilly. Applejack nodded.
“That it is,” she said, “Come on, Ah'll introduce ya'll to Twilight, the librarian.” Price's eye was twitching at the mentioning of the name. While the old wolf had accepted where he was, the more cutesy aspects of it was grating on him still.
Applejack didn't notice and instead only opened the door, letting them all inside the library. It was surprisingly spacey Soap had to admit, holding a lot more books than expected. At the moment there was one more pony inside it, a mare in this one too, who sat by the table reading. She was lavender, mane and fur both, and had a pink stripe in her hair. She seemed a bit more “rounded” compared to the sturdy Applejack and the athletic Rainbow Dash. While he didn't find her overweight he noted a certain amount of meat that indicated a sedentary life. What more, the way she hadn't even noticed their entrance made him peg her for the studious type.
“Howdy, Twilight!” Applejack said loudly, almost overly so. The mare evidently Twilight Sparkle was briefly startled as she looked up from her book, but upon recognising the farm pony, she smiled. It was a direct, genuine smile of happiness. Soap found himself almost a bit shocked by such a simple thing; how long since he had seen that kind of genuine, sweet smile?
“Hi there, Applejack,” she said whilst she pushed herself up, not without a certain amount of grace either. “Oh, and you’ve brought guests too. Who are your friends?”
“This here's Price, Soap, Yuri and Roach, some fellers who came by Sweet Apple Acres today. There’s two more of 'em too. Came right outta the mountains, would ya believe it?” She said. Twilight seemed surprised too at this, looking at the group.
“A pleasure to meet you all,” she said nevertheless with a small bow. Soap didn't find it in himself to not return it, so he did. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. What brings you to Ponyville?”
“Random chance and hunger,” Price quipped, only marginally less sourly than before. “To put it simple, we're strangers in a strange land and we're not quite sure where we go from here. Miss Applejack here was kind enough to feed us, even as SOME of us decided to steal from her,” he said, giving Roach a pointed glance. Roach looked away embarrassedly, mumbling as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“For the record that was all Gaz's idea and he outranks me,” Roach muttered. That last part caught Twilight’s twitching ear, and she began to regard them in a new light.
“Outrank?” she said now, looking a bit curious. “So… are you gentlecolts a part of the military?”
“Kind of,” Price said now, not missing a beat even as Soap tensed up a bit. “Not really though. It's a nice library you have here, Miss Sparkle,” he continued, changing topic. “We wondered what this building was; I got to say, I've never seen a library like this before.”
“The Golden Oak is one of its kind,” Twilight Sparkle said happily. “Starswirl the Bearded himself planted the acorn that rose into this tree. Some say it's...” she began. Soap's eyes widened as she launched into an enthusiastic retelling of what seemed to be half of this place's history.
‘Blooming hay, this mare was REALLY passionate about her books.’ He wryly thought as she rambled on.
Captain Price eventually cleared his throat after a while, somewhat loudly, and to the mare's credit she stopped now. “Sorry,” she said awkwardly. “So where are you from?” she hurriedly asked.
“Elsewhere,” Captain Price said evenly, Soap rolling his eyes in response as Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, but where would that be?” she asked, not getting the hint.
“Where we're from?” Roach asked now with a small smile, “It's in the direction we started from, about as far as we've travelled to come here and I suppose we've travelled about as many miles as we've currently got to where we're from – If you travel the road we took of course,” he finished with a grin. Twilight looked at them with a perplexed look on his face and Price proceeded to give Roach a small slap over the head.
“He does that,” the old warrior told Twilight calmly, “I advise slaps to the head.” Twilight hid a small smile now and the mood relaxed quite a lot. That, however, was when the dragon showed up.
Opening a door on the second floor, a figure came out of whatever room lay beyond and down the stairs. This short being was purple and green, scaled and fanged. It was unmistakably a dragon, even to the people-turned-ponies who had never seen a dragon in real life. It was only the fact that it was about the height of their legs as well as pudgy that stopped them from tensing up, what with the traditional earth image of dragons were.
“I'm done with the dishes, Twilight,” the little dragon said with the voice of a small child as he came down. At this point, Soap had given up trying to figure out this world. While still being all smiles outwardly, he mentally threw his hands up and laughed out loud at hearing that a dragon was doing the dishes. He simply relaxed, letting the glorious silliness of this world envelop him. Price, meanwhile, looked like he would have swallowed his cigar if he had had one. His eyes were closed and Soap could almost hear his muttered plea for somepony to end it all.