• Published 5th Feb 2014
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A Ghost And A Roach - Delta 727



Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson and Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley of Task Force 141 are revived in Equestria after being K.I.A. on the Russian-Georgian border. Is there more to their arrival though?

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Chapter 3: Back In The... Saddle?

Twilight was baffled.

Not only were two creatures from another world now standing only feet from her, pointing some sort of weapons at her, and now holding her and her fellow element-bearer in a tense stalemate, but somehow, most confusing of all, they all spoke the same language. She had no idea what her next move should've been. None of them did.

No one spoke. No one moved. No one even breathed.

After what seemed like an eternity, Twilight knew someone had to take control of the situation. She took it upon herself. She took in a deep breath, straightened up, and heaved out her chest to represent a figure of the authority she clearly didn't have.

"Um, my name's Twilight Spark-" Twilight was cut off when the first of the two creatures burst out in laughter. Twilight was taken completely by surprise, and she almost tripped over her words as she spoke again. "Uh, did I say something funny?"

The creature completely ignored her when he spoke through his laughter. "You hear that, Ghost!?" the creature said. "The bloody horse can talk!" The creature was bent over in laughter, and Twilight tensed up when it pointed at her. "A-and you're gonna tell me that you're the one who tore apart that Timber wolf?" Twilight felt like her tongue was disconnected from her brain. She just nodded slowly. The creature fell over, laughing hysterically. Twilight tilted her head in confusion, and Rainbow Dash just yawned sarcastically. Instinctively, Twilight looked to the other creature, completely forgetting that they were possibly a dangerous threat to Equestria.

"Um, is he okay?" Twilight asked. The other creature didn't respond. It just cast a small glance toward the other creature.

"Get yourself together, Roach. We've got a lot to straighten out here." The creature turned its attention back to Twilight. "I don't know who you are, or what you are for that matter. I don't know why we're here, and I sure don't know how we're still alive. And if we-" It paused, taking another small glance at his hysterical partner. "If I don't get some answers soon, I'm gonna be scratching the itch on my trigger finger. You got that?" Twilight's expression only became more confused, but Rainbow Dash still looked bored. Twilight spoke up again.

"Um, not really, no."

The first creature's laughter was starting to die down, and he was slowly getting back up to his feet. He didn't bother picking up his weapon, since his arms were occupied with cradling his aching gut. The other got back to the interrogation. His weapon didn't lower an inch.

"Alright, let's start simple. Where are we?"

Twilight took another deep breath, reassuming the authoritative stance she had before. "You're in the Everfree forest."

"Uh huh," Ghost said. "And where is that?"

Twilight deflated a little. "Um, Equestria."

"And where is THAT?"

"Equis?" Twilight thought these two creatures were absolutely clueless. What she didn't know was that she was absolutely right.

"You're really trying my patience here," the creature said.

"What?" Twilight fired back. "I answered your questions fine! You're in the middle of the Everfree forest on the edge of the land of Equestria on the planet Equis!"

The creature paused, then very slowly lowered its weapon. The other creature had stopped its laughing fit, and now both of them were staring at Twilight, but she couldn't read their expressions under their masks.

"Wait a second," the creature interrogating them asked. "Did you just say. On the planet?"

---

A few minutes later, after everyone calmed down, they finally got together to sort everything out. The two creatures sat down against a rock and a tree, while Twilight and Rainbow Dash had laid down across from them. They had taken some time to patch up the wound on Ghost's shoulder from the Timberwolf attack, but his shoulder was still stained with blood. Twilight had just gotten finished explaining many very confusing things to them when they had finished patching him up.

"So let me see if I got this right," the calmer of the two said. "We're on a planet that looks suspiciously like our home planet, inhabited by colorful ponies, one of you can fly, and the other's a wizard-"

"Unicorn," Twilight corrected.

"Unicorn," the creature corrected itself. "You're all ruled over by two bigger ones, and it just so happens that they control the time of day."

"That's right," Twilight confirmed. The creature sighed, leaning its head back against the rock.

"I must be drunk again," it barely murmured.

"What was that?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash just grinned.

"It was nothing," the creature said, but the other one spoke up almost immediately after.

"He has a drinking problem."

"Oh," Twilight replied, almost monotone.

The first creature cut a glance at the other, then turned its attention back to Twilight. "You tried to tell me your name earlier before my friend here cut you off. What were you gonna say it was?"

"Twilight Sparkle," she said with as much confidence as she could.

"Sounds like a character from a bedtime story," the creature said bluntly.

Twilight looked almost offended. "Oh yeah?" She said, far from threatening. "Well what's your name?"

"I'll get to that," the creature said. "When I'm sure I can trust you." It looked at the pony next to Twilight. "What's your name?"

"What's it to ya?" Rainbow Dash replied cooly. The other creature couldn't help but chuckle, and the first admired her brashness as well.

"Tough one, eh?" the creature asked. "You don't have to be so unruly with us. No one's keeping you here. But do you really wanna leave a couple armed men running around in the forest?" No response, just a smirk from Rainbow Dash. "I didn't think so. Now what's your name?"

"Dash," she said. "Rainbow Dash."

"Alright," the creature said. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Now what's your name?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I think now you owe us one." The creature paused.

"Riley," the creature said. "Simon Riley. You can call me Ghost. Don't ask why, it'll take forever to explain."

"Uh huh," Rainbow Dash huffed.

"And what's your name?" Twilight asked the other. "If it's alright that I ask." The other creature leaned forward, its tone turning serious.

"Gary Sanderson. Call me Roach."

"Roach?" Twilight was clearly confused, but she shook her head before she started asking questions. "Nevermind. I'm glad we understand each other now."

"Glad to hear it," the one named Ghost said. "Just one more question. "How'd you find us?"

"Well, it's a funny story, actually," Twilight said. "We were just on our way to get the rest of the element-bearers. You know, the Elements of Harmony?"

"Yeah, I remember," Ghost said. "The ones named after all those virtues or whatever."

"That's right," Twilight said. "See, when we're together, we're nearly unstoppable."

"So you were getting them to try and stop us?" Roach asked. "I'm flattered." Twilight shifted uncomfortably, and went on.

"Anyways, Princess Celestia, the one I told you about that controls the sun, sent a letter to me and my baby dragon, Spike-"

"Whoa whoa, whoa," Roach cut her off. "Am I hearing that right? Baby dragon?"

"Um," Twilight paused. "Yes? Haven't you ever heard of a dragon before?"

"Yeah," Ghost said. "That's his problem. Where we're from, dragons are a fairy tale."

"Dragons, huh?" Roach scratched his chin. "So if those exist here, is there anything else that lives here we should know about? Fairies, giant snakes, Gryphons?"

"You ever meet Gilda?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Best Gryphon I know."

Roach paused, then facepalmed.

"Well then," Ghost said, "Moving on. What were you saying about that letter?" Twilight went on.

"Princess Celestia sent us a letter that said two creatures appeared in the Everfree, and nopony knew how they got there. She said they were to be regarded as dangerous, and could be a threat to National security. So we were sent to find you. Considering I've never seen anything like you two before, I'm assuming you're them."

"Glad we got that figured out," Roach said. "So did your Princess tell you what to do when you found us? Don't tell me, lemme guess. Take us straight to her?" Twilight started to speak, then stopped. When she didn't respond, he went on. "And how did you think you were gonna do that?"

"Well, we were gonna gather up the rest of the Elements and try to bring you to her as peacefully as possible," Twilight replied.

"So you were gonna try to peacefully capture two national security threats-" Roach was cut off when Ghost started to speak.

"Alright. Then why haven't you taken us back to her yet?" Roach and the two ponies looked at him in utter shock. Ghost started to stand up, grabbing up his rifle. The two ponies tensed, and he froze. He slowly held his hands out to the side to prove he meant no harm, stood up the rest of the way, and slung his rifle over his shoulder. "Before you ask, the answer is yes. We're going to let you take us back to your boss." Roach stood up a little quicker, not caring about how the ponies reacted.

"Ghost," Roach said. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He grabbed Ghost by the shoulder, turning him around, away from the ponies. He leaned in close enough to whisper. "Are you out of your mind? You're just gonna let these talking ponies that we just met take us back to their leader? Are you even thinking about what they might do to us?"

"They sound nice enough to me," Ghost replied, a little less urgently. "They just said that they were gonna capture us 'as peacefully as possible'. They clearly aren't trying anything."

"We're a couple of creatures that just randomly appeared on their homeland!" Roach retaliated. "What would MI6 do if some random, unknown creature appeared on their land and was declared a national threat?" He put a hand on Ghost's shoulder. "Oh, that's right, lock 'em up and interrogate them until they either gave up everything they knew, or they drowned!"

"Roach," Ghost said, "Last time I checked, this isn't the MI6." Ghost pushed off Roach's arm, and turned around toward the two ponies. They were both standing up, and were staring down the two of them. Before ghost could talk, Roach murmured one last thing in Ghost's ear.

"They'd just better be glad that this wasn't the other way around, if they just appeared on our land from out of nowhere, we would've shot 'em dead." Twilight gasped, a hoof pressed to her muzzle in shock. Rainbow Dash didn't look too happy about the comment either. "What?" Roach went on. "I'm just being honest."

"Take it easy," Ghost told them. "You don't try anything funny, neither will we. Promise." Neither of the ponies looked convinced. "Nevermind. If you can just take us to where your Princess is, we'll get this all figured out. We'll even walk in front, if you just tell us where to go. Deal?" Twilight and Rainbow Dash shared a quick glance, then they both nodded. "Perfect." He turned to Roach, who held out his hands in an "after you" motion. Ghost turned to the ponies, staring at them almost expectantly. Twilight finally snapped out of it.

"Oh, right!" Twilight said. She stepped to the side, and pointed back in the direction they came. "That way." Ghost nodded, then stepped past the two ponies, his weapons all holstered or hung up. Roach soon followed, holding his hands up in a cautions position as he passed around the ponies in a wide half-circle, then caught back up to Ghost when he was a safe distance away. Twilight cast a slightly concerned glance at Rainbow Dash, who just rolled her eyes, and followed after the two soldiers. Twilight sighed.

"How do things like this always turn into my responsibility?" She followed after Rainbow Dash, still murmuring to herself as they headed off toward Canterlot.

Up ahead of them, the two soldiers were murmuring to each other.

"Hey, Ghost?" Roach asked. Ghost turned his head. "How are we gonna get back home?" Ghost just shook his head.

"We're dead, Roach. We don't have a home to go back to."

The two of them were silent the rest of the way.

---

Canterlot.

It was the biggest, cleanest metropolis the soldiers had ever seen.

That was until every single citizen they passed on the way to the castle started staring at them, and they did not look happy.

"Just ignore them," Twilight told them. "They're just not too happy seeing new creatures strolling down the street. Especially not with us."

"Oh, yeah," Roach said, "That makes me feel so much better."

"Hey," Ghost said, giving him a nudge with his elbow. "You remember what the squad always told us to do when walking through a hostile country?"

"Yeah," Roach said. "Don't talk, don't make eye contact, and whatever you do, don't smile at anyone."

"Atta boy," Ghost said, patting him on the back.

As soon as they reached the main doors of the palace, Twilight took the lead, making it a point to enter first. Immediately inside was the Princesses' throne room. But, unlike many times of crisis, it was empty of its occupants. All that remained were a few guards. One of them came to greet her.

"Miss Sparkle," he said, holding his spear straight up. "The princess is waiting for you."

"Thank you," Twilight said as Rainbow Dash joined her. "Can you do me a favor?" The guard straightened up. She took a discreet glance back at the two soldiers behind her. Roach waved, and Ghost nudged him with an elbow in the side to stop him. Twilight looked back to the guard. "Can you keep an eye on these two?" The guard saluted, and trotted past Twilight, spear in hoof. Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. "You can go now, Rainbow. I'll come get you if I need any more help."

"Whatever, egghead," Rainbow Dash said, shrugging. "Just don't do anything too crazy this time, okay?" Before Twilight could respond, she flew back out the door and disappeared. Twilight just sighed, and quickly headed for Princess Celestia's quarters.

The guard stepped past the two soldiers to meet up with the other guards, five of them in total. They deliberated for a moment, then one turned away from the crowd to approach the two soldiers.

"My name is Iron Hoof. I am a Royal Guard for the Princess Celestia. Do you understand me?"

Roach spoke up first. "Yeah, uh, dónde está el baño?" Ghost kicked him in the side of the leg.

"Sorry about him. Yes, we understand you."

"Good," the guard said. "Now, to make sure you are not a direct threat to the Princesses, we are ordering you to relieve yourself of any and all weapons you have on yourself." Ghost took the rifle from his shoulder, placing it slowly on the ground, and began unstrapping his gear. Roach shook his head, and started to remove his own gear. He murmured to Ghost when he bent down to unstrap his pistol.

"I'm not sure I like this."

"Just play along," Ghost said. "What're they gonna do? Poke you with those toothpicks of theirs?"

Just as they had removed almost all of their gear, a grenade slipped from Roach's combat vest. One of the guards immediately picked it up, and was recklessly examining it.

"Hey, hey!" Roach yelled. The guard immediately stopped, the grenade still in hoof. Ghost stopped too, halfway through arranging his gear in a stable pile at his feet. "Don't move." The guard froze like a statue, a look of sheer confusion in his eyes. The other guards were already alert, spears at the ready. "Do you speak English?"

"English?" the guard asked. "What?"

"Nevermind. What color's your blood?"

"What?" The guard asked. Roach repeated his question.

"What color. Is your blood?"

The guard tilted his head ever so slightly. "Red?"

"Do you wanna paint this entire room that color?" The guard's eyes widened, and he shook his head slowly. Roach pointed at the grenade. "Then I suggest you put that down as slowly as you possibly can." The guard paused, then gently lowered his hoof to the ground, gently setting down the grenade. It slowly started to roll, and the guard immediately backed away toward the other guards as fast as he could, leaving his spear behind. Roach grabbed the rolling grenade, and hooked it back onto his vest. He let out a deep breath. "Alright, we're good." All of the guards let out a relieved sigh, and immediately returned back to their original guarded stances.

Ghost rolled his eyes under his mask. "Amateurs."

---

In Princess Celestia's private quarters, Twilight was already discussing the two creatures with the Princesses. They were all laying on the furnished rug of the Royal study, and the Princesses were astonished at what they had heard.

"Are you sure you've never seen something like this before?" Twilight asked Princess Celestia.

"Not to my knowledge," the Princess replied. "There's no record of anything like them in any of Equestria's history. Did they try to harm you?"

"No," Twilight replied. "Actually, they were very peaceful with us. One of them's kinda annoying, but the other's very reasonable. I don't think they mean us any harm."

"Hm," Princess Celestia paused, and Princess Luna spoke up.

"We think that we should keep a watchful eye on these strange beings for a while. No matter what they have done, they are still not to be trusted."

"I agree, sister," Princess Celestia replied. "But they have to be here for a reason. New creatures such as them don't just appear for no reason without any clue why they're here. Somepony, or something, must have brought them here."

"Maybe it's just another one of Discord's tricks," Twilight suggested.

"No," Princess Celestia said. "He may be a trickster, but even he is forbidden from tampering with creatures from other worlds. It must be something else. Something with great power, and no rules or regard for other beings."

"We could compose a whole list of beings of such a stature!" Princess Luna said.

"Agreed," Princess Celestia replied. "But we need to go about this carefully. Twilight." Her student immediately perked up at the mention of her name. "I need you to buy us some time while we deliberate. Find out anything you can from them. Anything they remember, anything they know. But don't startle them, we don't know what these beings are capable of, and we need to make sure that they do not try to leave."

"I'll do my best, Princess Celestia," Twilight replied.

"I know you will. You always do." Twilight got up to leave. Her face was a mask of determination, but inside she was terrified. She was just put in responsibility of two strange beings from a whole other world. She thought she would just bring them here, and never have to worry about them again. How wrong she was.

Just as she was about to exit, Princess Luna stopped her. "Are you alright, Twilight? You look as though you have seen a ghost."

"I have, actually," Twilight said.

"A ghost and a roach."

Author's Note:

OH SNAP, SON!
Two chapters in two days? Could it be?

Well, I told you I was back, you guys. And I'll be doing my best to update this whenever I can. Thanks again for all your support, and I hope this makes up for all that time I took off. As always, comments and criticism are always appreciated, and a big thanks to JWR for entrusting me with this. One again, here's to you, buddy.

- Delta 727