No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy

by Green Hills

Chapter 15: A Breed Apart

LCpl. Kevin Brooke
2nd Battalion 1st Marines
Ponyville, August 30th Day 8 19:32:16 PM

The loud engines of the MV-22 pierce through my ears. I look outside through the open ramp, where crew chief First Sergeant Hughes hangs close to the edge of the ramp. Trailing at least twenty meters behind is the princesses’ carriage escorted by four Pegasus Royal Guards. However, sitting right on my lap is the pearl-colored colt Banana Seed.

It was not even almost an hour ago, after having a stern meeting regarding our fuel situation for our aircrafts, Princess Celestia will be mailing a letter to a train company in Manehattan that is able to carry large cargo loads. The question is will it withstand the weight and size of our Ospreys? It was then we decided to place our aircrafts on the outskirts of Ponyville until we come up with a decisive solution. Until then, we may just have to go with the train. That’s when Banana Seed begged to ride with us.

And here I am, sitting with the commanders in one Osprey, while the rest of the marine squad are in the other next to us as we begin landing in an open field close to the railroad tracks.

“You enjoying the ride, kiddo?” Commander Gaines asks Banana Seed, raising his voice to overcome the loud buffering sound created by the rapid spinning blades. The little colt nods his head in reply, before returning to gazing at the wires and pipes traveling down the ceiling, and settling his eyes at the crew chief standing up and locking the M240 machine gun in place.

The tilt rotor aircraft lands with an audible ‘thump’ as it touches the flat open field, and the engines power down.

“Let’s move!” First Sergeant Hughes calls, motioning his arm for us to get out.

“Keep an eye on the kid!” Commander Gaines taps my shoulder, and I nod in reply. As the four Navy commanders exit the Osprey, I lower Banana Seed to the ground and pick up my M16 rifle.

“Stay close to me!” I instruct the colt. Before long, we jog out of the aircraft and into the grassy field with Banana Seed sticking close to me. To my surprise, the grass isn’t as tall as I expected. It only reaches below my knees by half a foot.

When the wind created by the spinning blades finally settle, the group of marines and commanders gather around to see the royal carriage landing before us. As it halts to a stop the moment it touches ground, the door swings open, and out steps the two princesses and the five ponies, including Spike.

“Will you be fine in an area like this?” Princess Celestia asks.

“We can handle ourselves from here, Your Highness,” Commander Harbort replies with a consented nod.

“I will mail a letter to the train company to have them transport your contraptions. As well as deliver the other two that crashed. Are you sure you want them back?” The four commanders nod at once.

“It is property of the US Military, Your Highness.” I notice an almost disappointed look in the princess’ eyes after Commander Harbort spoke.

“Very well. If you wish, you may tour around Ponyville until the train arrives. Twilight and her friends live here if you need any help. There is a small hotel on the other side of town if you would like to sleep there as well. My guards will stay here to make sure nopony sneaks in.”

“Thank you for the offer.”

“Now if you excuse us, my sister and I must return back to Canterlot. Enjoy your stay here in Ponyville.” The two princesses and our commanders bow, before the sisters return to their carriages. After a brief talk with the other five ponies, the Royal Sisters take to the sky, escorted by Royal Guards.

“Alright marines, listen up,” Lieutenant Martins announces, drawing both the ponies’ and our attention. “Let’s set up camp here for now. It’s best if we keep an eye out on our equipment after today’s event. Brooke, keep watch on your little friend.”

“Aye, sir,” I respond, while Banana Seed standing close to me smiles.

“Um, do you want us to bring any spare blankets, or pillows for you?” Twilight asks almost loudly raising her hoof. We all stay silent for a while, staring at the lavender unicorn.

“That’ll do nicely,” the lieutenant replies. “Thank you.” He then fixes his eyes back on us. “We’ll take turns in groups of four to set up a watch every two hours. Hopefully, we’ll be back to our fleet by tomorrow evening.”

“Lieutenant,” Commander Gaines interrupts Martins. “We’ll be heading out to the area where the princess showed us our downed bird. I think it will be nice if you join us. Staff Sergeant Alcatraz, you’ll be in charge of the camp.”

“Aye, commander,” Staff Sarge stands at attention.

“Y-yes, commander,” Lieutenant Martins replies, then twists his head to face First Sergeant Keane. “First Sarge, you’re with me.”

“Aye, LT.”

“I can take y’all there if ya’ like,” Applejack offers.

“Thanks,” Gaines says to the orange earth pony. “We may need help around town.”

I settle down my ILBE assault backpack with the others in the Osprey with Banana Seed still next to me like a magnet, at least a few minutes after the squad split apart. The Navy commanders, Lieutenant Martins, First Sarge Keane and Applejack left first to Sweet Apple Acres to check on the downed CH-53 Sea Stallion. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity went back into town to grab extra blankets and sleeping bags for us. Private Pelayo, Corpsman Smith, Corporal Hends, Lance Corporal Corey and Navy SEAL Cutup went along with the three mares. That leaves the cyan Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, with us to help set up. I admit, she may be quite the show off like Sergeant Mendez, but she can be very helpful at times.

I turn around to see Rainbow struggling to drag another assault backpack up the ramp. Apparently, carrying something that weighs over forty pounds is not something she is used to. I quickly rush over to her aid, and take over the bag.

“You okay?” I ask. Panting heavily like she just got out of an intense workout, Rainbow builds enough strength to give me a nod and a smile.

“I-I’m good,” she says, wiping off the sweat from her forehead. “Boy, that thing’s heavy. What’s in it?” I easily swing the bag over my shoulder, before placing it back down next to mine in the center of the aircraft.

“Necessary supplies for a soldier,” I answer. “MREs, ammo, usually a two day supply, radio, water canteen, and some important things you want to bring.”

“Wait, what was the first and other word you said?” Rainbow asks scratching her head.

“MREs?”

“Yeah. And also… the other one. Like, re- no… ray-?”

“Radio?”

“Yeah. What are those?”

“MREs are ready-to-eat meals. Pretty much just dried up food. All you have to do is add water, and ‘boom’.” I snap my fingers. “You got yourself a gourmet for a soldier.”

“Ew!” Banana Seed sticks his tongue out. Rainbow and I chuckle at the adorable face the colt makes.

“It’s not that bad. You get used to it,” I add in. “Okay, you said radio right?” The Pegasus nods. So, I remove my Motorola PRC-153, and show it closely to her. “We use this to communicate with our marines. Instead of just shouting, we use this to talk quietly to each other at good distances.” Rainbow Dash inspects closely at the handheld black device, an eyebrow lifting up.

“This small thing?” she points as I reattach it to my vest, and nod. “But the other one… back at the castle…”

“That’s for long-range communications.”

“Well, then. I wanna see you talk through that.” Rainbow smirks crossing her fore hooves, daring the easiest challenge to a marine like me.

“Fine then.” I smile, a feeling growing within me that this will be fun. I turn the dial to switch my radio on. “Hey, Michaels. Can you come in to one of Ospreys?” I wait for a moment before he replies.

“Got it. I’m coming. Which bird?”

“Three-two.”

“Roger.” I turn it back off, then cross my arms to see the still-hovering Pegasus, her eyes so wide they cover most of her face.

“You owe me,” I tease leaning forward.

“Hey! Watch what you say when talking to the greatest flyer in Equestria!” Before long, Michaels walks in and stops next to Rainbow.

“What’d you need help with?” he asks.

“Nothing really,” I say with a shrug. “Just proving our friend here about our radios.”

“O-kay.” Michaels moves his eyes back and forth between Rainbow and I for a moment, when I notice the sun is beginning to set from outside. I look down at my watch to check the time, 7:56 PM.

“Hey, Banana Seed,” I say turning down to the little colt still sitting next to me. “It’s time to go to your granddad.”

“Aw, do I have to?” Seed whines pouting his lips.

“Sorry, kid. I promised your granddad I would bring you back when the sun starts to set.”

“I can take him back if you want,” Rainbow offers, but I wave my hand.

“I can do it. Come on, Seed.” Seed lowers his head, feeling defeated that he can’t stay any longer than the expected time. As the colt shuffles his hooves after me, Michaels and the Pegasus follow suit.

“Hey, Brooke. Mind if I tag along?” Michaels asks as he catches up.

“Sure, why not.”

“Oh, so you fellas are gonna just stroll right into town and leave me here to do work?” Rainbow deadpans.

“Relax,” Michaels pats the hovering rainbow mane Pegasus on the head. “Mendez over there will keep you company.”

Rainbow Dash scrunches her brows as Michaels, Banana Seed and I walk off and enter the town. She turns her head to one of the marines, Sergeant Hernandez, giving her a glare while carrying his M4 over his shoulder.

“The hell are you looking at?” he says in a dead tone, before walking past the Pegasus and enters the Osprey.

“Don’t mind him,” Mendez says from behind. Rainbow turns her head to him as he stops.

“What’s with him anyway?” she asks. “You always have friends like that?”

“We pretty much have folks like that. But him, he just had a rough past, that’s it. It’s best if you leave him alone.” When the sergeant walks off to his squad mates setting up, Rainbow Dash twists her head back to where she last saw Sergeant Hernandez, and ponders for a moment. Do all humans have a rough past, or is their life like here in Equestria? Except, there is no magic or Pegasi. Just giant machines and advanced technology like what they explained not even a few days ago.

“Hey, Pegasus!” Staff Sergeant Alcatraz calls out, causing Rainbow to shake herself out from her thoughts. “You think you can get firewood for us?!”

“Please! I can do it faster than your contraptions here! Ten seconds flat to be precise!”

“Then hop to it!” In a split flash, the rainbow mane Pegasus dashes away to a nearby forest patch, leaving only a feather hanging in the air.

*****

“It’s going to be marvelous having you here, my dears!” Rarity, the fashion mare, exclaims as she and the two female marines, Corpsman Smith and Corporal Hends, strut along the quiet streets of Ponyville the white unicorn has been showing them for a short while.

“Well, it is a lovely town, I have to admit,” Smith comments as she looks around at her surroundings. There are a few ponies still taking strolls at this time, but not as busy and packed as earlier. All of them glance at the two humans and unicorn, which Smith in return, merely waves. Somehow, some of them stare at them like they are aliens following a pony, even though they were just introduced.

“Oh, and here is the square market,” Rarity points to her left as they pass a street. Smith and Hends stop for a moment to get a good look. Of course, it is an open marketplace, with all of its stalls closed for the night. To them, they all look like colored tents one would see at a fair. Hends lifts up her M16 to get a better view of the other buildings far back. They too, have looks similar to circus tents.

“Does it get busy here?” Smith asks as they continue on their slow walk.

“Every single day,” the white unicorn answers. “Except for Sundays. That’s where it’s most quiet.”

“Okay.”

The three ladies continue on down the street, Rarity showing them the different shops and cafés as they pass by like a tour guide. Though, Smith has been doing most of the talking with the pony while Hends remains silent for the rest of the way.

“So, what exactly do you do?” Smith asks curiously.

“Well,” Rarity begins with a charmed expression, “I am a fashion designer.”

“Interesting. Because, I thought the tattoo on you means you’re into jewelry.” Rarity stops abruptly and twists her head around, facing the two women.

“You never heard of a cutie mark before?” The two marines shake their heads. “They portray as who we are; our personality and our talents. If you hadn’t noticed, my cutie mark is three diamonds. Which means I like a lot of gems, and not to mention ‘dazzling’ my garments.”

“Okay.” Smith merely nods while looking at a glowing building that looks more similar to an over decorated gingerbread house occupies her, and Hends, as usual, remains as silent as the night itself.

Before long, the mare and marines arrive at a carousel. From the looks of it, it is a little too decorated, though less as compared to the gingerbread house. Every wall, curtain, roof, shingle and detail around has their own unique pattern design, surprising the two women.

“Here it is,” Rarity takes a deep breath. “My humble abode. The place where the ‘magic’ happens.” Smith turns to Hends, who merely rolls her eyes.

“Now this’ll be a doozy,” the corpsman mumbles.

“Now, please. Come, come. You must see my greatest work.” Rarity swiftly moves up and opens the door, before being stopped when Smith raises her hand in front of her.

“Now hold on a sec. Remember, we’re here to get spare blankets and sleeping bags. We’re not here for any tourism.”

“O-oh, yes. Quite right. S-sorry.” The unicorn blushes from embarrassment, and allows the marines to enter first.

“Sweetie!” the fashion mare shouts the moment she closes the door behind. “Sorry I’m home early! I’m pretty heard of the situation in Ponyville!” There is a silence for a quick moment. “Sweetie?!” Again, there is no response.

The entire room is laced with hot pink colored curtains, except for the ceiling. On the left side is a soft velvet couch between a medium bookshelf and drawer. A coffee table sits right in front. Standing right next to it are a couple changing rooms with curtains, each having a rack full of clothes. Covering up the rest of the large room are several tables littered with sewing machines and many different kinds of fabric, a small platform surrounded by mirrors, and a few mannequins. One mannequin, however, stands out to Smith. It’s layered with many shades of pink; the torso a hot pink color and rubies placed around the waist, while the dress itself puffs out in a much lighter pink with sparkles.

“Sweetie?” Rarity calls out once more, before grumbling. “Ugh! That little… it’s way too late for her to be hanging out with her friends.”

“Who’s this ‘Sweetie’ person?”

“She’s my little sister. Somehow, always getting into trouble by trying to find a way to get her cutie mark.”

“She doesn’t have one?”

“Heaven’s to bet, no. We receive our cutie marks when we are quite young.” Corporal Hends moves up to one of the messy desks, scanning at the different fabrics that lie around. When she turns her head, she spots a white cat with a purple bow on its head and a jeweled-studded collar, exiting out a door just five meters to her left, on what appears to be the kitchen. “Ah, Opal. How are you? Did Sweetie feed you?” The white plump cat ignores Rarity’s cooing as it stares its green eyes deeply at Hends. The corporal tilts her head to the side, and the cat does the same.

“Opal?” the white unicorn calls again, more softly this time. Once more, the cat ignores the fashion mare. Hends slowly moves her rifle to her side, and takes a step. That’s when the cat shrieks and scurries up the stairs in a moment’s notice.

“Oh dear,” Rarity sighs. “Do forgive me. My cat isn’t the type with new guests.”

“That’s alright,” Smith responds. “Do you know where you keep the sleeping bags?”

“They’re right upstairs. But uh…” Rarity pauses as she looks down at the marines’ boots. “How about this? I’ll bring them down and you can carry some of them. I-is that okay?” The unicorn smiles crookedly, giving the two marines each a glance with a confused look.

“Uh, sure. That’s fine. We’ll wait here.”

“Oh, marvelous! I won’t be long!” The unicorn rushes upstairs almost as fast as the cat, leaving the marines alone. Corporal Hends sighs, and resumes herself to studying at the tables of fabric and sewing machines.

“You alright?” The corpsman asks turning to the corporal. Hends nods. “Come on. Is that all you can say?” Smith walks up to Hends, and lays a hand on her shoulder. All of a sudden, she feels a tremble coming from the corporal. “You wanna wait outside?” After a few seconds, Hends takes a deep breath before speaking.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Well… I’ll be out having a smoke.” Hends removes Smith’s hand and exits the boutique, leaving the corpsman now alone.

“Now that’s just great,” she says quietly, panning around the room until she lays her eyes on one of the racks in the changing room. Smith bites her lip, wondering what would the fashion mare do if she ever touches her dresses. She looks at the stairs, seeing no sign of Rarity, then back to the rack.

Finally, after mentally debating, the marine gives in. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have a peak.” Smith paces to the rack in the first changing room, takes off her gloves, and kneels down. She closely inspects the many clothes, until a white one grabs her attention. She pulls it out the dress, and to her surprise, it’s a wedding dress, probably to a certain pony. The dress itself is pure white, with the torso area made of silk and a gold waist lining, before ending with a beautiful silk skirt with white petals scattered around. Smith does have to admit, Rarity does have excellence in taste for clothing.

“Lovely isn’t it,” Rarity speaks, catching Smith completely off guard.

“Oh, uh, yeah. It is,” the corpsman replies as she quickly stands back to her feet, almost tripping on her own words. “I-it’s uh, quite the collection you have there.” Smith crookedly smiles as the fashion mare trots downstairs with two sleeping bags and four pillows floating above her head surrounded in a sparkly blue glow.

“You can look at them, my dear. I created these through all my life, and—” The unicorn stops, and her eyes dilate when she spots something right on the marine’s finger. A tiny ring. But not just any ring, a diamond encrusted one. Before the Smith could figure what is happening, Rarity drops the pillows and bags, and races to the marine before she could blink. Smith suddenly feels herself pulled down when the unicorn grabs her right hand between her hooves.

“My goodness!” Rarity gasps excitedly as she closely stares at the jewel that is possibly the greatest thing she has ever laid eyes on. “Diamond encrusted, polished silver. Oh, what a marvelous ring you have there, my dear!”

“A-ah… th-thanks… I guess,” Smith trembles still processing of what just happened. “M-my husband gave it to me before I was deployed.”

“My, what a dazzling jewelry, darling. I haven’t seen something this fabulous since the Canterlot Wedding.”

“The what?” Rarity is about to begin explaining, when she realizes she is far too close to the marine’s face, let alone still holding her hand between her hooves.

“O-oh my Celestia! D-do forgive me. I, uh… I guess, hehe… I went a little overboard with that… hehe…” The unicorn blushes again as she frees Smith’s hand, and watches her put on her combat gloves.

“I-it’s fine. Just… just don’t get any ideas.”

“Oh heavens, I wouldn’t do such a thing, my dear. Come then! Let’s get these things back to your camp.” Rarity lifts up the sleeping bags and pillows in her magic again. As she looks around, she finds the other marine not present. “Where is your friend, anyway?”

“Oh, Hends? She went out to get fresh air.” Just as she is about to toss a bag to the corpsman, an idea pops in her head.

“Oh, m-may I suggest something to you?” Smith freezes for a moment.

“Go on.”

“Well, since you and your friend will be sleeping in that icky dirt, why not stay the night here? I do have a guest room.” Unknown to the marine giving her a perplexed look, Rarity mentally face slaps herself for pulling another stupid move. The two women remain silent; Rarity nervously smiling while her cheeks are flushed red from the ring incident, and Corpsman Smith still making debates inside her head.

“Let me talk to my friend and my squad leader. I think he’ll allow it.”

“Oh, that’s marvelous!” Rarity clasps her hooves. "Come then. Let’s head out immediately. Twilight and Fluttershy probably are already arriving with their stuff."

“Y-yeah. Sure.” Smith takes the two sleeping bags form Rarity’s magical field. As the mare exits her house, the corpsman stares at her, then rethinks again if she ever made the right choice.

*****

Spike yawns audibly as he searches through the large closet of unnecessary things that Twilight keeps in the Golden Oaks Library, while at the same time, Lance Corporal Corey and First Class Petty Officer Cutup inspects the neatly stacked and organized bookshelves in the main room. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand, hasn’t been seen since they arrived.

“Hey, Corey. Check this out,” Cutup points to a red book and pulls it out to read the label. “’The Science of Mating Rituals to Different Species’?”

“Hey! Careful with that!” Spike shouts as he pats his claws to get any excess dust off while exiting the closet. “Twilight is very, uh… uh… um, what’s that word?”

“Neat?”

“Y-yeah, I guess you could say that. She’s very persistent on where and how she wants her books organized. Kinda’ creepy if you think about it.” The Navy SEAL shrugs and puts away the book back in its original spot, and resumes looking around.

“Hey, you got a section on comic books?” Corey asks the baby dragon.

“Right over there,” Spike points to his left at the very top row just a meter to Cutup’s right. Corey makes his way over there, and reaches up to grab a random book.

“’Daring Do and the Golden Horseshoe’,” the lance corporal reads the title before opening to the beginning. “Sounds like an Indiana Jones type of adventure.” Much to the marine’s surprise, the language is in English.

“Who’s that?” Spike asks the marine.

“Indiana Jones?” The baby dragon nods. “A film series where an adventurer goes around the world seeking great artifacts, secret and evil rituals, and true love once in a while. Oh, and there’s this Chinese kid in one movie that likes to follow around.”

“Well, it does have some references to the Daring Do series, except for the true love thing. I’m not into that stuff.” Corey puts away the book and takes out another.

“Yeah, but the adventures are pretty good. Let’s see…” The marine scans the book for the title, only to find it neither on the spine or the covers. “There’s no title on this.”

“Oh yeah, the title is on the inside.” Corey stares blankly for a moment, wondering why anyone would write the title only on the inside. He quickly shrugs it off and opens the book.

“It’s empty,” he concludes, and shows the dragon.

“Hmm, that’s strange,” Spike says as he walks up and takes the book. “Usually, Twilight never leaves books blank.”

“Spike!!” a female voice echoes from upstairs, stopping the two soldiers and dragon from what they are doing.

“Looks like that pony needs you,” Cutup says. Spike lets out a sigh and marches his way up the curvy stairway. “Can you also tell your friend to pick it up a bit?”

“I got it. I got it.” Cutup and Corey watch as the purple dragon disappears behind a wall, followed by a door being shut a few seconds later.

“This’ll be one helluva night,” Corey comments.

“Hooyah to that,” Cutup responds as he turns around back to the blank book. With another curious look, the SEAL opens it up, now finding text and images. “The hell?”

“What?” Corey moves up next to Cutup to get a better look.

“This book has text now. ” Both men inspect each page that is turned. The only thing that is different is the text, which is not English. Rather, it is written in hieroglyphics. “Well, look at that.” Cutup points to an old drawing of a bearded alicorn wearing a robe and a wizard’s hat.

“So?” The SEAL turns to the next page, eventually leaving the two soldiers with a surprised look on their faces. “I-is that?”

“No two ways about it.” Both of them stare at a drawing of a human, but with little text. Without warning, the contents start disappearing, and vanish beneath the papers.

“W-what the?” Cutup closes the book and drops it on a table next to them.

“Well, we both know what that is.”

“Yeah, but… should we let the commanders know?”

“We’ll do it at the right time. Right now, we’ll wait.”

*****

Private Pelayo and Fluttershy casually stroll down the dirt pathway, which leads out of Ponyville. Both of them remain silent throughout the walk, waiting for one of them to bring up a conversation first. So far, none of them have the courage to speak up. As the sun starts to set, the sky begins to glow a bright orange, followed by the dark night almost a minute later. Pelayo flips his monocular night vision goggles over his left eye, the area around him glows in many shades of green through the scope.

“U-uh, um,” the butter Pegasus mumbles. The marine turns his head to face her, only to see her pink mane covering half of her face.

“S-sorry?” Pelayo asks. Fluttershy’s pupils shrink, and turns her head away when the marine spoke. She feels her heart begin to race and breathing becoming more frequent. She mentally panics as to what to say next, as the only things she ever talked to be her friends and animals.

“Um, everything alright?” Pelayo asks once more, forcing Fluttershy to lift her head up with a shocked look. “Oh, sorry to surprise you.” The private scratches the side of his face. “U-usually, I’m also a little hesitant when it comes to talking to other people… or, in this case, ponies. Hehe…” The Pegasus dimly smiles back, though the mane still covering most of her face hides it.

The two remain silent again as they continue down the dirt road, eventually coming up to a cottage sitting up on a small hill to their left.

“Is this where you live?” the marine asks.

“Y-yeah,” Fluttershy quietly replies, and leads Pelayo uphill until they reach the doorstep. With one swing, Pelayo removes his NV goggle, letting his left eye adjust to the lighting as Fluttershy enters the cottage.

The room is fairly clean and organized. Two couches lie close to the main door with a coffee in the middle as the marine enters. To his right is a fireplace. At the far end of the room is a dining table with four chairs. To its left is an open doorway, which probably leads to the kitchen, and a set of stairs not seven meters down to its left.

“Angel?” the butter pony calls softly. “Angel, I’m home.” Out of the corner of private’s eye, a snow-white bunny pops out from behind one of the couches. “Angel, this is our guest. Y-you know? The uh… the one we saw… back at the beach?” The bunny, who Pelayo thinks is Angel, furrows its brows to give him a snarly look, before scurrying back behind the couch.

“S-sorry,” Fluttershy apologizes with a sigh. “He’s, uh, n-not used to… um, new creatures.”

“I-it’s fine,” the private waves off. “So, uh, nice place you have here.”

“Oh, uh, um… th-thanks.” Fluttershy hides herself behind her hair, taken almost by surprise from Pelayo’s nice comment. “S-so, uh, I-I’ll get the sleeping bags.” The Pegasus begins to make her way to the stairs.

“Want me to help?”

“Uh, um… no thanks.” Fluttershy quickly floats away up the stairs.

Stuck alone, Pelayo begins to look around the spacious room. He begins moving around, his eyes first spotting a set of pictures on top of the fireplace. The first one shows Fluttershy when she was young, sitting next to a tree with two squirrels beside her. The marine smiles and laughs inside as to how cute she looked back then. The next one shows her still young, this time, sitting on a cloud looking down over the edge. The third presents the butter Pegasus and two other Pegasi, all of them still young. The first one, Pelayo easily recognizes as the cyan pony with the rainbow mane, Rainbow Dash, making an almost superhero pose behind Fluttershy. The second one, however, is grey with a yellow mane. Its eyes are crossed, and sticks out its tongue to the side. Pelayo continues down the line of photos, until he reaches the eighth one, showing Fluttershy grown up and sitting outside with her cottage in the background. Pelayo moves up to the last picture, displaying the quiet Pegasus and her six other friends grouped up. There is text written below, MY BEST FRIENDS. The private sighs, suddenly feeling an empty space within him.

The private then shakes his head to clear his mind, and shuffles his feet to the couch. He plops down on the soft furniture, and moves his M16 in front of him. He takes out his magazine and settles it on the table, before checking the cartridge for any bullet still in there. Eventually, he finds one still in there, and pops it out. The bullet bounces on the hardwood floor, and rolls under the sofa before Pelayo could grab it.

“Dammit,” he grunts softly. He looks around to see if the bullet rolled anywhere out, but finds nothing. The marine sighs, knowing he just wasted a bullet for no apparent reason. Even worse, he hasn’t even used it. Pelayo rubs his forehead to get rid of such a simple thing as he stares at his emptied rifle resting on his lap, when he hears a faint ‘squeak’. Looking down between his feet is a light brown ferret, pushing out the 5.56x45millimeter bullet from underneath the couch. The little animal holds up the round in its tiny claws, leaving the marine speechless.

“Uh, thanks little guy,” Pelayo says, taking the round and pets the ferret. He grabs the magazine, and fits in the NATO round, before placing it back on the table and resumes on checking his M16. That’s when he notices the ferret still standing on the floor between his legs. Both of them stare at each other for a while, Pelayo being the one wondering what to do.

“Uh, hi?” is all he can say, along with a small wave. The ferret squeaks again, and races up the couch until it is sitting on Pelayo’s leg. The marine sits there, staring at the small rodent. Slowly, he moves his hand over, and pets it. To his surprise, the ferret didn’t cower or scurry off. Instead, the little rodent seems to enjoy it, and it calms the marine.

“You live here?” he asks with a smile. He wonders if ponies can talk, maybe other animals could. He waits for a reply, but the ferret replies in a squeak. “I’ll… take that as a ‘no’.”

Behind the stair rails supports from upstairs, Fluttershy stares at Pelayo with one of her many pets. When she first saw the ferret close to the marine, she was to the point of breaking down if he ever harmed it. Or, at least stare him down, but she fears it may not work. Not what she was expecting, the marine does the opposite.

“So, you know this Fluttershy?” Pelayo asks to the ferret, as Fluttershy continues to spy on him. The little rodent circles around excitedly, causing the marine to giggle. She smiles gladly, her worries now diminishing away. She never thought that a marine like him could be gentle and friendly, as compared to the last one back at White Tail Forest Beach. Slowly but surely, she makes her way to the attic to retrieve the items the humans need.

“I guess some of them can be gentle as well.”

*****

“ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y!’ ” I chant.

“ ’M-O-U-S-E!’ ” Banana Seed sitting on my shoulders finishes.

“ ’We play fair and we work hard and we’re in harmony’, ” Michaels continues.

“ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!’ ” the colt cheers.

“ ’Mickey Mouse’, ” I continue on singing as the three of us march down one of the roads through Ponyville, reading off the lyrics written on a sheet of paper held by Michaels and completely oblivious as to where we are going since Banana Seed has been showing us around town.

“ ’Mickey Mouse!’ ” Seed repeats in a more straightforward tone.

“ ’Mickey Mouse’, ” Michaels takes place.

“ ’Mickey Mouse!’ ” the colt chants again.

“ ’Forever let us hold our banner high’, ” Michaels and I sing.

“ ‘High! High! High!’ ” the three of us sing in unison. As I chant the lyrics, I veer my eyes to the right, noticing two ponies hanging out of their windows, slightly bobbing their heads to our somewhat loud and obnoxious three-man chorus, or perhaps, two-man-and-one-colt chorus.

“ ’Boys and girls from far and near you’re as welcome as can be’, ” Michaels and I continue. “ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!’ ”

“ ’Who’s the leader of the Club that’s made for you and me?’ ” Seed and I start. “ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!’ ”

“ ’Who is marching coast to coast and far across the sea?’ ” Michaels and Seed begin. “ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!’ ”

“ ’Mickey Mouse’, ” I sing. Though the song is very old, and I only heard it in a movie a few times, it brings me cheers whenever I sing it. Even to Banana Seed, he loves it so much. He has never heard of the Disney famous Mickey Mouse, not to my surprise.

“ ’Mickey Mouse!’ ” the colt cheers in the same tone.

“ ’Mickey Mouse’, ” Michaels goes.

“ ’Mickey Mouse!’ ” Banana Seed screams, waving his hooves in the air.

“ ’Forever let us hold our banner high’, ” Michaels and I sing.

“ ‘High! High! High!’ ” the three of us cheer.

“ ’Come along and sing a song and join our family’, ” Michaels and I start again. “ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!’ ”

“ ’Who’s the leader of the Club that’s made for you and me?’ ” Michaels and Seed sing along the lyrics. “ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!’ ”

“ ’Hey there’, ” I call to no one.

“ ’Hi there’, ” Michaels sings next.

“ ’Ho there!’ ” Seed finishes with a shout to a couple ponies sitting on an outdoor café glaring at us as we pass by singing along. Both of them give us a smile, and the colt and I wave. Somehow, I’m slowly starting to like this town, even though I’ve been here in less than a day. The residents here seem friendlier than the ones at Canterlot.

“ ’You’re as welcome as can be’, ” we sing like a chorus again.

“ ’M-I-C-K-E-Y!’ ” I repeat the lyrics before Banana Seed finishes the last line.

“ ’M-O-U-S-E!’ ”

“Oorah!!” We cheer at once, finally finished with the song after possibly three attempts. Seed and I start clapping, followed by Michaels joining in after wiping his forehead with his free hand.

“Yay!” the little colt cheers. “We finally did it!”

“Sure did, kiddo,” I agree, my throat quenching from all the singing and failed attempts.

“Can we do it again?!” Banana Seed begs, bouncing on my neck and shoulders. “Can we? Can we?” I swear I nearly felt my neck melt from the softest coat I have ever felt in my entire life.

“Ugh, not for a while,” Michaels answers. “I’m getting a little tired after… what? Three times we tried singing this?”

“I think we did,” I agree.

“Yeah, also, it’s very late. Your granddad must be searching around town for us by now.”

“Aw,” the earth colt whines, and rests his head on my helmet. “By the way, where did you find this song?”

“We both saw a movie that took place at least fifty years ago. At the end of it, there was a whole group of men, just like us, marching along singing this song.”

“Ooh, what’s it called?” Michaels turns to me with a concerned look. I wonder myself if we should tell the little pony that it was based during a war era.

“Well,” I begin, before being cut off by someone from behind.

“Um, excuse me?” the pony asks, as it is a female. The three of us turn around, noticing a pony dressed in a light purple cloak and magician’s hat. The three of us try to get a look at the pony’s face, but to no avail due to her lowered head.

“Can we help you?” Michaels asks. The pony lifts up her head a little more, giving us a glimpse of her body color, a light blue. Still, I don’t see her face.

“W-well,” she begins, her voice a little trembling, probably at the sight of us. “I am fond of that song you were singing not too long ago.”

“Oh, thanks. It’s called The Mickey Mouse March, if you wanna know.”

“I… I see. However, I am more interested in you, my dear uh… uh… what was it again?”

“Human?” I give her the proper word.

“Y-yes. A human like you. I am very interested in hearing about.”

“Well, there was the presentation earlier today. A lot of these horses showed up,” Michaels explains.

“Ponies,” Banana Seed corrects my friend.

“Y-yeah. That.”

“I’m dreadfully sorry. I’m afraid I wasn’t able to show up on the event.” Suspicion slowly creeps up on me. There’s something with this pony, and apparently, she wants information out of us. Or worse, kidnap us. "So, I was thinking if you could, maybe, answer a few questions of mine?"

“Well, I’m sorry,” Michaels says slowly moving his hand to his M14EBR. “We’re not allowed to give information to other residents after today’s event. So, if you please, just walk along.”

“W-wait!” the covered pony calls lifting up her hoof. "I can make you a deal if you'd like." The suspicion has crept up further. I lift Banana Seed off my shoulders, even though I hate to lose the soft coat, and place him down behind me. Afterwards, I swing my M16 in front of me, and take a few steps forward.

“Ma’am, under orders of the United States Marine Corps, you are to leave this instant or you ‘will’ be forced to do so.” I put some effort in the one word to at least startle the pony. It did, for a while.

“W-well, at least let me explain my reason first.”

“Ma'am, you are to keep a distance at us this instant, or we will take action,” Michaels orders. With him standing next to Banana Seed, both of us stare down at the pony still hiding her face behind the magician’s hat. After a while, she lets out a sigh.

“Very well.” She turns around and starts walking slowly, making a right on the first street. When she disappears behind the cottages, Michaels and I scan the area for anything else. We got nothing else.

“Geez, that was weird,” Michaels comments as he swings his rifle behind his back once more.

“Tell me about it,” I agree, turning around to face Banana Seed and kneel down. “You okay, Seed?” A little shaken by our little actions, the young colt nods his head.

“It’s okay,” I try to calm him down. “Sorry you had to see that. But, that’s how we must do in situations like that.”

“It’s alright,” the colt chimes a smile. “I think it was awesome how you stood your ground against her.”

“You know who she is?” Michaels asks. Seed shakes his head.

“No, but I heard rumors of a pony dressed like that visited Ponyville almost last year, or, was it less than that?” Banana Seed ponders for a minute, making a thinking face that is too adorable for both us.

“Okay, kiddo,” I say, lifting up the colt and place him back on my shoulders. “How about you show us the good places in this town, and one more round of that song?”

“Really?!” Seed cries excitedly. Immediately, he starts bouncing up and down. Trying my best to resist the warm soft coat, I turn to Michaels pulling out the paper of lyrics.

“Well, why not,” Michaels says. The earth colt cheers with his hooves in the air, and we start singing from the top again.

Author's Note:

FACTS:

"A Breed Apart" is a motto for Oliver Hazard Perry-class USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34).

Comments

[Lucasnaka]

What could Trixie possibly want with them?

[The564mumble]

Oh damn..... why did my heart race at the end? For a moment i thought they were going to shoot

[CMD]

That ending things are getting intense.
This will be interesting.

[Azuras]

I was hoping Trixi would do something stupid at the end. But no such luck eh?

[Arxsys]

Writing is getting a lot better. Only comment on this chapter is about the MRE's. They are ready to eat as is. The water is used for the heater pack that most guys toss out anyway.

[Kevin Lee]

Just a few comments regarding the ponies' capabilities. It's show canon that despite being a pegasus, Rainbow Dash is nearly a match to Applejack, who herself is better than the average earth pony in speed, physical strength and endurance--which together are considered the key factors in measuring overall performance.

Now, one might argue just how strong ponies are compared to humans since we don't really know their physical size--I've seen where stories vary between real pony size (1.4m at the withers, 200-300kg and capable of pulling 450% of their own weight) down to the size of a cat (which is just fucking moronic, but hay, you can find such stories here).

But given that RD has not only routinely broken the sound barrier, but caught and carried four full grown ponies from the ground and carried them to Cloudsdale at speed, I seriously doubt a 40 pound rucksack is going to give that mare any issues. After all, even full grown cats weigh 10 pounds each--I'd like to see any marine try to run at Mach 1 carrying 40 pounds....and so would just about every marine drill instructor!