I looked at the pony, Apple Bloom, that was lying on my lap. I looked up at, well towards the general direction, of the sun. It was low. I checked my watch. It was a little after six.
"It's getting late, you should head back to your parents" I said.
"Right, my parents" she said, seeming uneasy about her words. It was subtle but I could sense it. Abusive parents maybe? No, can't be. She has no signs of physical abuse and she's not wearing any form of clothing to hide anything. It's not mental abuse either. She was pretty calm and collected yesterday. Wasn't shy either. No parents? A granny and big sister. Yes, she has no parents. Oh dear.
"Sorry for mentioning it" I said.
"What?" she asked.
"Sorry for mentioning your parents. I can tell that the topic isn't a good one for you." I laid a hand on her back and started to slowly pet her. "I know how bad it is."
"How?" she asked me.
"You do not go through with my career without seeing a few losses." Or be the one who caused those losses. "My life hasn't been easy or simple. I've experienced a lot. Too much by most standards but I stuck by. It was my choice to do that."
She looked up at me. "Why?"
"Because it was my choice" I replied. "Come on, let's get you home." I hoisted her up into my arms while standing up.
I was about to step off when I realized something. I shifted Apple Bloom to one arm before I turned around and picked up my rifles and backpack. "Can't be forgetting those" I said with a smile. I had to jump around a little and I also had to shift Apple Bloom around a few times but I managed to get my backpack on and my rifles slung across my back.
She chuckled at me. "No you shouldn't" said Apple Bloom in agreement with me.
"So where do you live?"
Half an hour or so later, we reached a large farm that unsurprisingly held groves of apple trees, all of them barely taller than I was. "We grow apples" she said with absolutely no excited tone in her voice.
"No I never realized that. The 'apple' in you and your sister's name, the trees that I see, and the apples from that gift definitely told me that you grew apples. Hey, did you know that the sky is red?" I said with absolutely no sarcasm in my voice. Absolutely no sarcasm at all. Absolutely none.
"Where's your sister or grandmother?" I asked.
A new voice sounded out. It was a deep male voice and he was likely someone who was protective of little Apple Bloom. "How bout her big brother?" said the new voice. "Put her down or ahm puttin you down." I turned around and saw a massive red pony. He was big, not nearly as big as Celestia but was easily a head taller than the other ponies that I had seen today. Another thing I noticed was that he was very built.
Apple Bloom spoke up. "Don't, he's-"
"Let me deal with this" he interrupted her.
"But-"
"Bloom, let me deal with this."
"But-"
"Bloom. Enough."
I carefully set her down to my left. "It isn't what you think" I said.
"Looks like a strange monster was holding my sister" he said.
"I was just taking her home. No bad intentions" I said.
"Right." And then he charged. While Apple Bloom jumped away to keep herself away from the mess, I sidestepped to avoid getting tackled. When he was close enough, I slammed my elbow onto his back while simultaneously tripping his front legs. When he fell to the ground, I grabbed his neck and held him in a choke hold while rolling him over, leaving me pinned to the ground but him in a more effective hold. He struggled to get out but only made his body's reserves of oxygen lessen .
"Don't hurt him!" yelled Apple Bloom. He continued struggling in arms but he started to slow down in terms in movement. "Please!" Before he lost consciousness, I let go and pushed him off of me. Before he could take any action, I drew my knife and rushed over to position it over his neck. He froze immediately.
"Careful now. I sometimes use that to shave" I said to him. His eyes were more focused on my knife than me. "Here." I moved the knife away and flipped it around, presenting it to him. My vest and it's extras covered my entire upper chest and upper arms, there was a kevlar neck covering, and going for the minor limbs aren't going to kill anyone quickly. I know my knife could cut through my kevlar neck covering with a stab so... "Go for my head or neck with a stab. Everything else has too much covering or armor."
He grabbed the knife with his left hoof(seriously, how the hell do hooves work) and eyed me. "Just takin her home?" he asked. I nodded. "Suppose no harm done." He looked down at the knife and then back to me. "Other than my back."
"Sorry bout that" I said.
He smiled at me. "You have a second knife do you?"
I reached behind me, under my backpack where I hid the Spetsnaz's knife, and pulled out the blade. "Yeah" I replied with a smile. "Then again, drawing a knife takes time. Time that you could use to take a stab but now, that time is gone. Then again..." I reached back and tucked the knife back in its sheathe.
"Eeyup." He turned the knife around and presented it to me. "Here." I took it and returned it to the sheathe.
I got back on my feet. "Here." I held my gloved hand out. He grasped it and I pulled him up to his feet, erm, hooves. "Good?"
"Eeyup."
"No hard feelings?"
"Eeyup."
"Want a free shot?" I smiled while asking that question.
"Eeyup" he answered with a smile that mirrored mine.
"Maybe later. I'm wearing way too much body armor and gear for you to hurt me." I dusted myself off and walked back over to Apple Bloom with Big Mac following me.
"Big Mac! Are you okay?" he asked.
"No harm no foul" said Big Mac. "Don't suppose yahr hungry?"
I had an MRE a few hours ago so why not? "I could eat again."
"You're going tah love granny's cooking!" said Apple Bloom. She then proceeded to run off.
I looked at Big Mac. "Let me guess, apple related or based food?" I asked. He nodded. "Figured." I started walking in the direction that
"So what an who are you?" Big Mac said while following me.
"Just call me Seal. As for who I am? I'm a SEAL" I replied.
"SEAL?" asked Big Mac.
"It's an acronym for Sea, Air, Land. The short is that I'm a member of one of the single most effective special forces from my world" I explained.
"Your world?"
"Your princess thought it would be a good idea to pull some people from my world to help her with some internal conflict or something. Course, every single person she pulled happened to be a member of a special forces from different militaries or something like that" I further explained.
"Are those weapons?" he asked.
He was behind me so he was most likely eyeing my pistols or rifles. I put my left hand on my M4a1. "One of these?"
"Eeyup."
"Then yes. They're my primary means of doing my job." I used the same hand to pull out my GSH18. "This is a backup weapon. To put it short, it propels a small piece of copper and lead at over a thousand feet a second via a small contained explosion. That small, fast moving piece of copper and lead can tear through flesh, bone, muscle, fur, clothing, metal plating to an extent, and just about anything." I reholstered my pistol. "The bigger ones are basically a bigger version of my sidearm. It is very, very dangerous in the wrong hands or hooves in your case."
"Are they in the right hoo- er, hands?" ask Big Mac.
"That can be debated. Yes I am using it against the quote bad guys unquote but I still end lives with them" I said.
"Well ah trust yah" said Big Mac. "You seem trustworthy."
"Well two sidearms, two primary weapons, two knives, and a shovel means that no one can say or do anything about it" I said.
"Shovel?"
"Imagine a sharpened shovel meant for throwing."
"Well ah still trust yah."
"Well your sister doesn't" I said.
"Apple Bloom? She seems to trust yah enough to let you hold her."
"Your other sister, Applejack."
"What'd yah do?" he asked.
I thought back to when I caused hearing damage to all of them. "Long story." By now, we had reached their home after passing a large red barn. On the front porch of the house was the one pony that we were just talking about. "Speak of the devil."
"You!" she yelled upon seeing me.
I looked at Big Mac behind me. "I think you're sister wants you" I said to him while taking a step aside.
"Ahm not talking about Big Mac. Ahm talking about you, Seal!" said Applejack.
"Yes?" I said.
"What are you doin here?" asked Applejack.
"Oh uh I walked over here because my legs function properly" I replied.
"Yah know what ahm asking!" said Applejack.
"I brought Apple Bloom home and Big Mac here-" I turned to look at him. "Invited me for dinner." I looked back at Applejack.
Applejack was glaring at her brother. "Ah know we've been tellin you tah make more friends but him? Really?" said Applejack.
"Applejack! What is wrong with yah talkin about our guest this way!?" demanded Big Mac.
"Do you know what our guest is?" asked Applejack.
"Seal? He's a SEAL" said Big Mac.
"Do you know what he's done? Earlier today, he beat up twenty guards!"
Big turned to look at me. "Guess he had good reason since he's still here." He looked back at Applejack. "He hasn't been arrested. Seems like nopony decided to do anythin to him especially with how you know bout it."
Applejack's frown grew. "Confound you and your logic, Big Mac!" she said. She turned tail, literally in this case, and walked into the house.
Big Mac turned to look at me. "Good one" I said.
"Eeyup." He walked into the house through the front door.
I followed suit but not without hitting my head on the door's frame. It didn't hurt because of my kevlar helmet but I was still surprised. "God damn it!" Inside, I could heard Apple Bloom laughing. "Okay, I'll admit it was funny." I ducked my head down and walked in.
Other than the three apple siblings, I saw someone new. She was a light green elderly mare and I'm guessing that she was the granny that Apple Bloom had mentioned earlier.
"Now Apple Bloom" she said. "I know yah said that he'll surprise me but ah expected a creature that ah at least know off. Don't suppose ah can get your name?"
"Sorry for not being a pony?" I said.
"Oh it's alright dearie. Ahm Granny Smith."
"Just call me Seal" I said.
"Now if what Apple Bloom has told me is true, Big Mac invited yah for supper?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am" I replied.
"Then wash your hooves and sit down!" said Granny.
"And why don't yah lose some of that gear?" Applejack said with obvious distaste in her voice.
"Guess I should" I said.
Big Mac left the room. "Ah'll get an extra chair."
"Grab me two will you?" Seconds later, Big Mac came back with two chairs on his back. How he got them on his back in the first place, I will never know. He placed one chair at the table and one in front of me. "Thanks." I started my hanging my backpack and rifles on the chair. Then sections and portions of my vest were next and then the vest itself. The jacket to my combat uniform and my helmet were the last to come off.
When I turned around, I found that everything was already set up including my position at the table. Everyone was seated and waiting for me. "Aren't you goin to take off the rest of that stuff?" Applejack asked from her seat.
I walked over and sat down in the obviously minuscule chair. At least it was able to hold my weight. "No" I said. "The rest of this stays on. Sides, there's nothing wrong with a grey shirt and pants." Still was wearing two pistols and my primary knife.
The food, like I had guessed earlier, was all apple based food.
"So Seal, what do you do?" Granny asked while handing out food.
"Military" I replied.
"Like the royal guard?"
"You could say that." Nope. Nothing even close to that. I actually feel a little sick saying that.
"Is that why you're bigger than Big Mac?" Granny asked.
"Hey!" Big Mac said.
"The only difference is that the difference between the royal guard and what I am is that what is a little harder to get into. That and we're called SEALS. Before you ask, it's an acronym that stands for Sea, Air, Land." I looked down at my plate. Apple stuffed sweet potatoes. Looks tasty.
"What do yah mean by harder to get into?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Out of two hundred candidates, about twenty will become a SEAL. It's a long and painful process that weeds out the weak minded ones" I replied. Everyone else was eating and was basically eating it from the plate directly into their mouths. 'No eating utensils, I guess.' I grabbed one by band and bit into it. "Oh my god, I think my mouth died and went to heaven."
Granny Smith looked up from her meal. "Why thanks! It's mah own recipe."
"How much can you bench?" Applejack asked.
I stopped eating. "Now that's a strange question to ask during a meal" I said. That part is only true if you are not a gathering of body builders.
"Why? Afraid that it's not much?" said Applejack.
I frowned. "Now land's sake child. Why do yah hate the stallion?" ask Granny.
"No reason" she lied with obviousness. She played poker, she would have lost her farm in less than five minutes. "But how much do you bench?"
I rubbed my chin a little. "Two eighty, maybe two ninety?" I replied. Everyone stopped eating and looked at me. "What?"
"Are yah sure that's right?" Applejack asked.
"Yes? What's with the weird looks?"
"Ahm at one ninety-two" said Big Mac.
"Oh that's why." There's a really big difference between the two of us. "Well it might be because of our difference in size. I'm a good two feet taller than you."
"True" said Big Mac.
"Why are you in Equestria? You said that this wasn't your world" asked Granny.
I stopped eating again. This topic once again. "Celestia used magic to bring nine of my kind to your world, Equestria. She apparently needs our help" I replied.
"That's nice" said Granny.
"Cept he's not helpin Equestria" said Applejack.
Both Granny and Big Mac looked at me. I stopped eating and looked at them. "Your beloved princess took me from my world. Me, an active member of the military. That could be considered an act of war! Not only that but she left me without my friends, my family, and my home. Other than what's on me, I have no money, no property, and no assets. Even worse, I have no way to go back home. Knowing this, she still expected me to help her. I refused by punching her in the face." I stood up and pushed my meal away. "I lost my appetite because someone here decided to be an ass." I went over to the chair that held my only belongings and donned all of them faster than what could be considered possible.
"Can I sleep in that barn?" I asked.
"Go right ahead" said Granny. I went out the door and slammed it shut as I left.
Once I was in the barn, I sat down on some hay and closed my eyes. What a world this was.