Author’s note: Brace yourself for heartwarming moment and diabetes causing ‘da’wwww’s.
-
With Dash and Ulik still clinging to me, I turned my head to see that it was starting to get dark outside. Ulik had fallen asleep in my arms and Dash was not far off. I really wondered how old these two really were. I shook the notion from my head and peeled the two off of me. Ulik just slumped to the floor and Dash gave me a look of disapproval. I rolled my eyes and lifted the two up onto my shoulders. They must have weighed at least 200lbs together but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.
Dash nestled her head into the side of my neck and Ulik’s tongue hung out and laid across my shoulder, dampening it slightly. I with one solid grunt, I marched my way over to the door and pushed it open with my foot. My shoe clicked as it met the door and the door creaked open. The sun was saying its final goodbyes as it drifted onto the horizon. I slowly made my way out of the door and closed it with my foot before walking out towards my Hummer.
I felt a genuine feeling of belonging for the first time in my life. I never felt as good as I did just now. Even when I was a child I never felt like this. This was one of those feelings that they talk about in those cheesy romance novels that most of the women that I’ve dated read. My heart fluttered a bit as Dash gave a stir and flew back into a temporary state of awareness. She pulled herself back a bit and met my eyes as I walked along the long road to Twilight’s. She didn’t say anything and she didn’t need to. Nothing needed to be said to describe what we were feeling.
“I know this is a little strange but how old are you exactly?” I asked.
It felt a little awkward to be asking the question but I kind of needed to know whether or not I had a… girlfriend or another child to look out for.
“Why do you need to know?” She asked as if she was almost offended.
“Well, how do I know if you are a child or not?”
“Do I look like a filly to you?” She replied.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know? You just seem young to me.”
“I’m not sure whether or not to hit you or thank you.” She said as her eyes stared deep into mine.
The tree house came into view as I trudged along with the massive amount of weight that I was carrying. It didn’t help that Ulik’s leg was pushing my holster into my rib cage. I just toughed it out and lifted him up a bit higher with a little grunt of effort.
“Can I take the latter option?” I asked with a smile on my face.
My question was answered with a light hearted punch to my shoulder. Dash giggled before settling into my shoulder. I guess my question would go unanswered. Dash placed her head back onto my shoulder and drifted back off into her own world. I mentally shrugged and made my way over to the Hummer.
I noticed that as I walked along, most of the ponies that were walking the street were avoiding me. Just the way I liked it. I always wondered whether or not it was better to be loved or feared, I constantly doubted the validity of that question back in Youngstown. In Youngstown, it was definitely better to be feared or else you would end up in a grave by the end of the week with everything you ever owned going to a less-than-legal pawn shop.
When I reached the Hummer, I placed Ulik on the hood and reached into my pocket to grab the key. I gave a little laugh as I thought of the owner angrily stomping around when he noticed the empty parking spot. That is what you get for leaving it unlocked you dumb motherfucker. When I found my key, I shoved it into the lock on the driver’s side door and opened the door. The door squeaked on its hinges as I opened it and placed Dash on the front seat. She curled up as I set her down and soaked up all the heat of the dark colored seat.
Leaving the door open, I walked back over and grabbed Ulik. Ulik gave a stir as I lifted him up and walked over to the backseat. I tugged the handle and found that it was still locked. Berating myself for the dumb action, I press the powered locks button on the driver’s door and heard the door give a soft clunk as they all unlocked. I pulled the back door open and set Ulik on the seat. With both of my… dependents passed out, I grabbed my G36C from the backseat and slung it over my shoulder. I still had someone to go see.
I closed the doors and wondered if Dash actually had a place of her own. Of course she did! What am I, a fuckin’ idiot? I forced the thoughts out of my head as I turned around and walked over towards the center of town. The sun was almost down and most of the shops were closing up. I could see that Applejack had already done so. I needed to find someone who could direct me to the hospital or at least the local doctor’s office. I seriously wondered how advanced the ponies medical know-how was. I knew that they didn’t fight a lot of wars and probably didn’t even know what one would look like. The reason that I brought that up was because most of humanity’s medical progress came from times of conflict. Hell, the Red Cross was developed during the American Civil War.
As I walked around, I saw that one of the ponies hadn’t seen me yet. It was a light green with a tan mane (interesting combo) and was preoccupied with whatever it was doing at its stand. I walked up behind it and poked it in the shoulder. The pony froze in place and slowly turned around. The pony backed itself into a corner and cowered.
“Please don’t hurt me.” She said in a timid tone.
I laughed before saying “Don’t give me a reason and we won’t have a problem.”
“W-what do you want?” She asked before slowly pulling herself out of the corner.
“I need directions to the local hospital.” I pointed out.
“O-Ok, it’s on the other side of town. It is a large white building. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank ya kindly ma’am.” I said with a little two finger salute.
I turned around and casually strolled towards my destination while whistling ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ by Guns N’ Roses.
-
The sun was now completely down and the moon peaked its head over the horizon. I loved the night. The air began to cool and I wondered what would happen if Dash or Ulik would do if they found out I wasn’t there. As I turned a corner in the empty street, I saw the large building that I was looking for. I wondered if Twilight and Armor were still here but I figured that I’d find out soon enough.
I walked up to the door and pushed it open. I was greeted by the smell of bleach and antiseptic. Some things never change. The room I was greeted with was a 30x30ft waiting room with various chairs lining the length of the room. At the far side of the room was a desk with a single unicorn working on some paper work. The unicorn was of a tan color with a black mane. The unicorn’s horn was coated in a brownish glow as he worked a quill with staggering efficiency.
I made my way up to the desk and towered over the unicorn. The unicorn didn’t even acknowledge my presence as I stepped forward. I tapped my hand on the desk to grab his attention. The unicorn snapped out of his little dream world, looked over to me and recoiled a bit at my appearance.
“W-w-what do you want.” He asked.
“I’m here to see a ‘Shining Armor’.” I pointed out.
He looked over to a chart on the wall and examined it a bit before turning back to me.
“I hate to inform you that visiting hours are over Mr…”
“Laney. Ryan Laney and I wasn’t asking.” I said.
“Visiting hours are over and you need to leave unless you have urgent business.” He pointed out with a little annoyance.
“Listen, this is going to happen one of two ways.” I said “Your first option is to let me know where he is and let me through or I could ram your head against the desk until you comply. Your choice.”
The Unicorn took a step back before timidly looking over to another chart on the white wall.
“Through the door on the left and three doors down.” He said before ducking under the desk.
“Why thank you kind sir.” I sarcastically thanked.
The unicorn gave a scared wave I stepped into the hallway. The smells of the hospital only increased as I walked down the hall. The hospital seemed to be almost up to speed with the ones on my Earth. It seems that when you aren’t spending every waking moment trying to form new ways of killing one another, your species can get a lot done.
I stepped down the hall and found my target. The door was a brown oak color with a frosted window. There was a tag on the door that read ‘Armor, Shining. Small puncture wound to the back left leg with massive damage to the bone. Operation tomorrow at 12:00. Painkillers until then.’ Huh, guess I did more damage than I thought.
I opened the door slightly and heard Twilight talking to Armor about their childhood. I knocked on the open door three times before letting myself in and taking a stance in the corner of the room. The room fell silent as I stood there.
“Did I say something?” I said as I swung my rifle around and rested my arms on top of it.
Shining looked at Twilight as she nodded at him. Shining, taking this as some sort of signal, looked over to me and prepared to speak.
“I’m sorry I acted like that. I just-“ He said before I raised my hand and signaled him to stop.
“I don’t need a fucking apology. Just make sure it never happens again.” I pointed out as he looked almost defeated “Count your lucky stars that I didn’t shoot you in the alley.”
Twilight glared at me before Shining gave me a nod.
“Ryan,” Twilight said as I closed my eyes and placed my head against the wall. “Celestia wanted me to give you this.”
Twilight levitated a small canvas bag over to me before I snatched it out of mid-air. I opened the draw string and found 16 gold coins in the bag and a note. I yanked the note out and shoved the coins into my suit coat’s pocket. I broke the seal on the note and unrolled it.
Dear Ryan,
I’d like to thank you for your most outstanding job so far. Even though you made quite an entrance to the Gala, you still exceeded my expectations. Please keep up the good work and I’d love to hear from you later this week.
Sincerely,
Celestia
P.S. Thanks for handling the situation with Shining without killing him. Also, please take care of Rainbow Dash.
Well, At least I now had some cash. I rolled up the note and shoved it into my pocket. I returned my hands to my rifle and looked back up and saw that the Shining and Twilight were staring at me.
“What?” I asked flatly.
“What did it say?” Twilight ask with a puzzled look.
“Nosy are we?”
“Never mind.” She said before returning her eyes to Shining. “I need to get going and you need to get some rest for tomorrow.”
“Thanks for hanging with me Twilight, I’ll see ya later.” He said as Twilight got up and walked over to the door.
Twilight stopped in front of me and gave me an angry yet thankful gaze before walking out the open door. I looked over and out the door to see Twilight step out of the hallway. I narrowed my gaze and stepped over to Shining with my rifle in hand. I stepped over to his bed side and glared down at him. He tried to sink through bed as I leaned down next to him.
“Listen up,” I said flatly “you are lucky I didn’t shoot you in the alley. You better count yourself lucky that you are related to Twilight or you wouldn’t still be breathing. Celestia has assigned me to protect the Elements and your sister happens to be one of them.” I adjusted my rifle and grabbed my sunglasses. I flicked them open and slipped them on before continuing “I swear that if you try that shit again I will make you disappear.”
Shining didn’t flinch as I stood up straight and began to walk towards the door.
“Oh,” I said as I stopped at the door “Your guards need better combat training. They left me way too many openings.”
“I’ll get right on that.” Shining said as I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me.
-
It was almost an hour after I had left the hospital and began my walk back to my Hummer. I knew I had twenty gallons of gas plus whatever was in the tank. That wouldn’t last long. The night was nice and cool as the moon climbed into the sky. The town was eerily quiet and empty as I walked along. I adjusted my rifle and wrapped my hands around it. My guns were more than just tools to me. They were a part of me. Not only did I need them for my line of work but they also symbolized who I was and the world that I came from. They are not just machines. I hoped that one day I could create more or at least go steal some more from my world, but I figured that was a pipe-dream.
I thought about many things as I walked along but my mind kept returning to Hummer. I needed to find a sustainable solution for the fuel and replacement parts problems. I figured that I could give my… magic a whirl later but it had only worked for my guns so far. Not to mention that if my guns’ transformations hurt, I could only imagine what something the size of a Hummer could do to me.
The night seemed to move around me as I stepped around the corner and was greeted by a figure. I lifted my rifle and took on an aggressive stance. With my rifle’s sights locked onto the figure, I saw who it was. It was Luna. I lowered my rifle and gave my signature two finger salute.
“How’s it going boss lady?” I asked nonchalantly.
Luna rolled her eyes before saying “We thought we would stop by.”
“Walk with me, talk with me.” I said as I motioned forward.
Luna took up a spot at my side as I marched on.
“We heard about your… altercation with Shining.” She said as she looked over to me, trying to gauge my reaction.
I didn’t flinch as I said “He was lucky I didn’t plaster him against the wall.”
“Why didn’t you?” She asked as we walked along the main street.
The town was nice and quiet as the night pressed on and I think I was starting to enjoy it.
“I figured that it wouldn’t go down well with the locals.” I said.
“We think you did it for another reason.” She said as she turned her attention to the sky.
“Cryptic bullshit.” I said as I wrapped my left hand around the grip of my G36 and rested the barrel against my shoulder.
“Oh, never mind.” She said with a giggle.
“Sure.” I sarcastically agreed as my Hummer came into view.
We walked up to the black machine as I basked in its glory. I ran my hands along the metal and felt a little electricity run into my hands that was similar to the feeling I got from the slide of my handgun. I walked over to the driver’s door and opened the door. Dash was still passed out on and Luna gave a soft giggle when she saw her. I looked at Dash before looking back at Luna.
“I’m not sure whether I should be angry with you or to thank you.” I said as I lifted Dash up and on the shoulder opposite of my rifle.
“We will take the ‘thank you’.” Luna said before turning around and opening her wings wide.
Her wing span was almost 1.5x my arm span. It was quite a sight I must say.
Luna looked over her shoulder and smiled “Take care of her.”
With that said, she took the sky and flew off into the distance. I waved my rifle in a sign of goodbye and climbed into the front seat. I closed the door behind me and slid my rifle in-between the door and seat. I reclined my seat and opened the sunroof to see the moon. I gave a little salute before lifting Dash up and onto my chest. Dash stirred a bit and nestled up and under my chin as her rainbow mane brushed my five o’ clock shadow.
It was nice to belong. I wanted nothing else.