Chapter 17: Collection of the Past
Isolated and away from civilization, our group now sits at the Everfree's heart, with Tim's wounds and everypony's thoughts still fresh in the aftermath that followed the Timberwolf incident. Despite the ponies' previous opinions of Tim and his intentions, everypony now stood stunned and even fearful after witnessing the power of man's gun, but trust, is what will matter by the end of the inevitable exchange...........................................................................................................
"SHIT!" Tim grunted, teeth clenched in pain.
"I need you hold still." Fluttershy instructed.
"Tim, It would hurt a lot less if you could stop fidgeting." Celestia said.
"I know that, but that ain't exactly easy when it hurts like hell." he said.
"I was only trying to help."
Tim sighed, realizing his mistake.
"I know, sorry it's just-" he apologized
"I'm fully aware of why you're so quick tempered Tim, just know that we're here to help."
"I'm very grateful for that."
"Need to sit back and take a quick breather?" Applejack asked. "Calm your nerves."
"Nah, keep going. Honestly it's best we get this over with." he insisted.
With the green-light, Fluttershy continued to stitch his wound, a process that wasn't pleasant for him in any regard. Celestia had already properly cleaned and disinfected the wound but Fluttershy's First Aid Kit for some reason lacked anesthesia to numb the pain, so to endure the feeling of each puncture going through the inflamed and damaged tissue sent pulses of agonizing pain all over Tim's arm and upper torso, testing his resolve with each weave. After she finished a few more laces, Fluttershy had finally finished. The yellow Pegasus tightened her handiwork till the wound was properly closed shut. Tim hissed in pain and Celestia severed the excess wire with her magic. All that was remaining was to cover his wound with a bandage.
Applejack was thankfully on standby through the whole ordeal, and was able to quickly grab and hand out the proper things when needed. As she went through the contents of the kit, Tim took his eyes away for just a moment to see what the others were up to. Rainbow Dash had her attention solely focused on Tim, but also kept her distance from him.
He was still pissed with her, but he couldn't bring it in himself to hate her for what happened. Tim knew it wasn't entirely her fault, the Timberwolves were mainly to blame. She wasn't trained for these kind of situations like he was, she was only a civilian. But trying to show off in a dangerous situation just to spite him like that pushed more than a few buttons, and it resulted in his injury and almost got him and herself killed. Even if she apology from earlier was sincere, the wounds were still fresh, metaphorically and literally, so talking to her wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Tim took his attention away from Rainbow Dash and looked towards Rarity and Spike. They both stood behind Applejack, merely observing the treatment process. He then noticed that Princess Luna had been keeping a guard around the perimeter, just in case any more unwanted guests showed up. Tim then eyed Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be in the process of scribbling something down on a piece of paper, with her arts and craft kit already out for the job and a blue marker between her teeth. Tim, perplexed as ever as to what exactly she was up to, completely gave up on trying to figure her mind worked, deciding it was too much crazy to handle. He then turned to Twilight, but to his astonishment, he found that Twilight had her attention on him. Twilight then noticed she had his attention, and did something completely unexpected. She smiled. ever so slightly, but still a smile.This was no nervous smile forced out of fear, it was smile that expressed gratitude, uncertainty, but also a willingness of trust, of. Tim wasn't expecting this kind of response from her and honestly expected her to be cautious around him from this point forward.
"There, all done." Fluttershy announced.
Tim was almost in the process of smiling back himself, but Fluttershy's voice snapped him out of his thought, and his observation was turned to the wound. And sure enough upon inspection, the wound was treated, at least until they could get proper medical help back in Ponyville.
"How does it feel?" Fluttershy asked.
"Still hurts like hell, but it's better then the way it was. Thanks for patching me up guys, I really appreciate it." Tim thanked the three.
"Ah shucks, sugarcube, it ain't no biggie." Applejack said modestly.
"I'm glad to help." Fluttershy chirped.
"It was our pleasure." Celestia said modestly.
It was then that Luna walked up to Tim. Tim instantly recognized the look on her face. A look that said "I want answers and want them now".
"Tim, you need to tell us a few things." she demanded assertively.
Tim had been praying that they would forget about the little stunt back there, but considering that it just happened and the fact that Princess Luna, who had up to this point had been referring to him as "Mister Berfield", just dropped his first name with a very bold tone told him that there was no sliding past this particular subject. He knew what she was referring to and how serious she was about it.
Should've known better than to think they'd forget about it. Tim thought to himself. Alright Tim let's get this over with.
To his surprise, Celestia was on the gun to put a stop to Luna's inquisitiveness.
"Luna, I don't believe now is the ti-." she said.
"No." Tim interrupted loudly. "I said we'd talk about it after I got patched up. The wound's patched. What do you need to know?"
Luna didn't hesitate to jump on the opportunity to ask what everypony was thinking.
"Tim, what is that thing?" Luna asked, demanding an answer.
Tim picked up his AK by the hand-guard with his good arm, lifting it at her eye level. Luna took a tiny step back, unsure of how sensitive it was or how easy it could go off. Tim spoke calmly, giving the company minor relief, knowing that his temper had not risen, despite Luna's current attitude.
"We call it a gun. More specifically, an assault rifle."
"An assault rifle?" Luna asked in a chided tone. "You mean to tell us that this is a weapon for war?"
"It was a weapon for war. Now, it's the only thing in my world that guarantee a chance of survival."
Tim's words were firm on that, giving the impression that it wasn't as dangerous as believed and that he had no intent of using it in the regard Luna suggested. Still, the ponies remained wary, and wished to get better acquainted with the alien weapon.
"Is it dangerous, Tim?" Spike asked warily.
"By itself, no. But in the hands of someone dangerous or stupid, then yes." Tim answered.
The company present took the time to now examine the weapon in extreme detail. Everypony closed in to get a better look of his weapon. Beforehand, they had merely thought of it as some poorly constructed hodgepodge of a device. But upon second look that previous assumption couldn't have been farther from the truth. The weapon seemed to be composed of various parts that inter-weaved and connected with each other by either screw or some unseen component. The outer wooden casings and protrusions were used for holding weapon, which were fit for human hands only. The metalwork was very complex, with the frame stamping in at places, screwheads bulging out in others, inner parts serving as part of the external mechanisms and several unknown attachments that seamlessly wove within the intricacy of the weapon.
But what they really found impressive, and what shocked everypony, was its combat capability. It's method of delivering death was still a mystery, Twilight could have easily passed it off as magic if Tim hadn't informed her of his world's lack of it. So whatever it did had to be at least equally or far more complex than it's design.
"I don't think I've ever seen something that powerful in my life." Twilight admitted. "No spell I know of could have done something like that."
"There are a few spells that are capable of killing, however they take tremendous amounts of power to cast, and those that cast them usually have sinister intentions or sadistic mindsets." Luna asked.
"In truth, I do share my sister's worries. The spells capable of taking a life cannot be repeated within the same sequence that quickly." Celestia added.
"If I'm not mistaken, I believe the sticks by my foot was a part of one of those thing's leg." Tim pointed out.
"But we didn't kill them though." Luna informed.
"Really? Their blown apart bodies say otherwise." he argued.
Luna was about to reiterate when she realized he was unfamiliar with magic, and the spell she and Twilight were casting.
"I see your misconception, so allow me to clarify. The spells we used were meant to temporarily immobilize them." Luna informed. "Timberwolves are literally a combination of fallen tree limbs. When we cast the immobilization spells on them, their bodies dispersed, however in a matter of days they will eventually fuse back together. But notice that when you used your weapon the Timberwolves remained intact. It signifies that they are dead."
Tim eyed the lifeless corpses laying to the far left of him. Sure enough, they did remain in one piece, with the exits wounds still oozing the sap-like blood. He began to grasp just how out of touch these ponies were with violence, but he had no regrets for what he did, and he made it known to them.
"Look considering the circumstances I wasn't left with much of a choice, I didn't have time to come up with another option." he argued.
"Tim, we're not condemning what you did." Celestia said.
"Well it sure sounds like it."
"Our intent is not to accuse you of wrongdoing, Tim. " Luna said. "I believe that each of us is grateful in their own regard for what you did. Had you not taken action I believe we would have lost the life of Miss Dash. But the weapon you have is quite advanced, and easily capable of killing. It is well beyond anything of our capability. Which gives us cause for concern."
"Fair enough. But I suspect you have something else on your mind. Am I wrong?" Tim asked.
The ponies looked to each other with looks of uncertainty of who was going to ask the question. Luna turned to her sister, to which the latter gave a reluctant nod to the former.
"I can't speak for everypony else." Luna stated. "But I know I'd feel safer and a lot more comfortable if we could get better acquainted with it. I formally ask of you how it functions, and if we could hold onto it for safekeeping and study."
Red alarms popped up in Tim's mind, signifying that crossed the line. By now Tim was used to not-so-easy-questions, by either evading or trying to answer the question as best he could without giving too much away whenever they emerged, but this time was different. Tim could immediately foresee the fatal consequences should he give in to her request.
"No. I can't let that happen." he proclaimed.
The ponies seemed a little unnerved by his response, as it was such a stark contrast than his usual attitude towards them. Uncertain of what it meant as a whole, it didn't stop Luna from inquiring why and asking again.
"Tim, we at least deserve some knowledge of how that weapon functions." she reiterated.
"I'm sorry, I can tell you about minuscule things about our other tech, but that's cause I don't have a full grasp on how they work, but there's no way in hell I'm about to tell you how our weapons function, not by a longshot. It's not fuckin' happening." he reaffirmed.
To make his background and loyalties known was one thing, but to explain human weaponry and how it functioned to another race wasn't a sacrifice he felt was necessary to make, and overstepped both his authority, his duty, and his own moral and ethical bounds.
"Why? Is there something you're hiding? And if so what is it?" Luna asked in a frustrated tone.
"I'm not hiding anything, Princess, but I can't just explain how our weapons work, it's about the worst damn thing I could ever do against mankind."
"Tim, your technological advantage just showed us what you're weapons are capable of, and as difficult and hurtful as this may be, what your kind is capable of. Your technological advantage gives you a superiorty ov-."
"It's our technological advantage that's kept us safe." He boldly stated. "It's what's helped us slowly rebuild society, and it is the only thing that's kept us from being wiped off the map! If I tell this you this information, hell, the very concept of how it functions, to anyone who's not human, there's a chance it could be used against us. I already told you how few of us are left, imagine how easy it'd be for a race that outnumbers us to wipe us out if they had this kind of power. It's a risk that could, and probably would, be fatal for my kind."
"Tim, we're not asking you to surrender your weapon or technology, we're not a danger to you or your people." Luna insisted.
"My answer is still no, Princess. I've taken risks today, but I can't take one like this. Not with the lives of my people on the line. It's nothing personal, but I have my duty, and that duty demands I keep humanity safe, which keeping that information a secret."
"And I have a duty to my subjects as well, Tim. And it requires that we must be made aware of it."
Everypony was silent as the two stared at each other. His reasoning for secrecy was legitimate, and the resolute stance he took on the subject only served as a message that he was being serious and wasn't going to be talked down from it. Luna could already tell that his decision wasn't out of stubbornness but out of fear for what could happen. She knew Tim was a survivalist, and was tight lipped on things for a reason. She couldn't imagine how just the slip of a tongue could cripple an entire people. It was a burden she didn't wish to know, but her duty required that ponies be kept safe, and if this kind of weapon fell into the possession of Equestria's enemies, it could very well mean the end. She was about to press the issue further when Twilight intervened.
"Princess Luna." Twilight said. "I don't think that's a fair argument to make. Tim just saved our lives and took an injury just to do it. I understand your concerns, his weapon is far more powerful than what we once thought, and you're worried about it falling into the wrong hooves. But right now, Tim's the only one who's in possession of one and it's probably the only one in the whole world. If Tim says it's too much of a risk then we should take his word. Every time we've asked something about himself or his world he's either given us an answer and when he hasn't he explained why. He's already given us a lot of trust when he told us about his people, I think we need to give him the same trust back."
Luna was completely caught off guard by the young Alicorn's intervention. She was about to make her own argument when she stopped, thinking back onto what happened the night they confronted Tim upon their first meeting.
Could she be right, maybe I'm just being paranoid again. Luna internally spoke.
Luna was now beginning to second guess herself, wondering if her questions were born from legitimate concern or the raw fear and hysteria of the event. Luna was only in the midst of compiling a response when Celestia stepped in, adding an additional opinion that backed her student's.
"Luna, I understand you care for the safety of all our subjects, I do as well. But after what just happened I can say that Tim can be trusted to handle his weapon and use it appropriately."
"I was reluctant to use it for this exact reason, I didn't want to scare y'all. But the situation got too risky, I'm afraid I didn't have a choice."
"I suppose you're right, seeing something like that was rather, disturbing, to say the least." Celestia confessed. "But I would rather be mortified over a weapon's capabilities than the death of a friend. So I'm thankful for that."
At this rate, her views were practically reversed, deciding that her fears got the best of her. It happened sometimes and it would seem that it would take more time to not let them have major sway in her decisions.
"I see. I suppose you're right, sister. Tim, I wish to apologize for my intrusive behavior. I understand the current situation isn't easy for you and I'll respect your decision on the matter." Luna said apologetically.
Tim could clearly see Luna feel ashamed, and he couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for her case. She was only looking out for her people, but so was he.
"Thank you for understanding, Princess. I'm not trying to keep you in the dark, but just like you and your people I just want to do what's best for humanity, and sometimes that calls for secrecy." Tim cleared up.
"Huh, that's something I think we can both agree on." said Luna with newfound optimism.
Tim gave her a half-smile, expressing his gratitude. With that said on done, Tim felt it best if anything else needed to be addressed.
"Any other questions?" he asked.
"Uh, Yeah!!! Are you okay? Do you need any more help? That mean old Timberwolf hurt you really bad, are you sure these stitches are properly sewn!? Do you need anything else? Washcloth? More bandages? Foot rub?" Pinkie Pie asked in a barrage of questions and popping in out quickly, ready with the items she listed off.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I'll be fine with what I have, I can still walk!" he reassured her. "Speaking of which, we should probably get moving."
Tim sat up from the log and attempted to find the trail again. A spasm of pain from his wound then ensued, and he grabbed it tight in an attempt to alleviate some of it while the others watched.
"Are you sure you're alright, Tim?" Celestia asked with concern. "I have to agree with Pinkie Pie when she said that wound looked pretty nasty. I think after that kind an encounter such as that we could all use a rest. You especially, as rest will give some time for that wound to heal."
"I can deal with it." Tim insisted. "We need to try and cover as much ground as possible to make up for lost time."
Tim looked up to the sky past the tree canopy. Judging by the position of the sun, Tim could only guess it to be either somewhere in the early afternoon.
"It's already past noon, but we still have daylight. If we move fast we might just get there by nightfall."
Tim reached for his things, slinging the rifle across his shoulder putting on his pack and began to walk back towards the trail they were following once before, but Twilight urged him to reconsider.
"Tim I think you should listen. Despite what you think is best you're still really hurt, you shouldn't be pushing yourself like this." she argued.
"I appreciate your concern, Princess, but my legs work fine and I still got one good arm. My wound's been patched up so I don't really see in delaying. C'mon let's go."
Like the situation involving the secrecy of his gun, his stubbornness once again gave everypony the clear message that he wasn't going to alter curse. Twilight and the others had no choice but to follow, and see to it that he not get hurt.
Another three hours had passed and the sun was low in the afternoon sky. His injury was still taking its toll, making rapid movement for his upper body and even walking a strain on his resilience. Nevertheless, he managed to keep his pace up and make up for a lot of lost time. Multiple times the ponies offered to relieve some of the burden he was carrying, but every time Tim declined. He was focused on getting there before nightfall, which would take place in just a few more hours. He looked over his shoulder to see how the others were doing. From the looks of things they seemed t be ding just fine. When Tim turned his head back around he almost stopped dead in his tracks when a familiar pink Earth pony snuck up on him.
"Ah!" he cried out. "Why do you keep doing that?!"
"So I can give this, here you go!" Pinkie Pie cheered, presenting him with a small folded piece of green construction paper.
Tim took it in hand and looked over it. On it was a playfully drawn representation of himself and the rest of the group all dancing wildly with smiling faces with the words, "Get well soon" written in the pony alphabet at the top. It was also adorned with wavy lines and covered in some sort of shiny reflective dust-like material that Tim was unfamiliar with. Unsure of what he was holding, he looked to the pink earth pony for some sort of explanation as to what exactly this was.
"Oh, uh, thanks. What is it?" he asked.
"It's a get well card, silly!" Pinkie explained. "I made it for you and I got everypony else to sign it."
"Sign it?"
"Yeah, open it up!"
Tim did as instructed, and sure enough, all the names of his current company were on there, they must have done it while they were walking. Tim turned around and where the others were smiling at him, expecting a sign of appreciation from him, but what they got was a look of pure confusion.
"Uh, Yeah, can someone explain the purpose of this?" he asked.
"It's a get well card, darling, we all signed it in hopes for your speedy recovery." Rarity clarified.
"How's a card supposed to make a wound heal?" he asked. "Does it got magic in it or somethin'?"
"It's just a friendly gesture, letting you know that we hope you get better." Twilight explained.
"Oh. Well, it's the first I've ever heard of it. But I do appreciate that y'all found it in your heart to care. Thank you." he said with a smile.
Tim found the gesture so innocent and caring. It made him think on how much these ponies were giving, and the more he kept thinking about it, he realized he wasn't really giving anything substantial back. He put it in one of the empty pouches his bag.
Upon passing a few trees, the group made their way into a decently sized grass covered clearing in the forest. It was then Tim started to notice some things that struck in familiarity.
"Hold up." he said, raising his hand in a stopping gesture.
The ponies stopped as requested, awaiting a further explanation.
"What's up?" Twilight asked.
"This place, it's....."
He didn't bother to finish his sentence, instead opting to slowly walk forward and make his assessment of the surroundings, Tim remembered this clearing, it was the one he came across upon first entering Equestria, right after he retrieved his hat. As Tim walked forward he kicked something small up into the air from the underbrush. It landed a few feet in front of him and he went to retrieve it. Picking it up, the object in question happened to be a large bull clip. After inspecting it, he quickly raced towards the other side of the clearing, disappearing past some thick foliage and instantly garnering the ponies attentions, wondering where there guide just ran off to.
"Wait Tim, where are you going!?" Twilight yelled after him. "Tim!?"
"Wow, he darted out pretty fast." Applejack noted.
When she didn't get a response Twilight and the others chased after him making it about third ways across when he reemerged.
"Good news guy and girls, we're here!" he exclaimed, gesturing them to follow him.
The others eagerly complied, with feelings of excitement and anticipation as to what may lay in wait on the other side. Passing the tree where Tim first awakened from his unconscious state, was the remnants of a hectic entry. Suffice to say they were immediately greeted by what they were looking for. Tim wasn't lying when he said that an abundance of clutter came in with him as everything was scattered around the vicinity of the area, with objects ranging from small as a rock to large as their very own heads. They laid on the forest floor and hung from the branches of trees."
"Oh my goodness, look at all of it." Fluttershy said in awe.
"Just how big was the room exactly?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Well, don't have an exact measurement, but it was big. And the device that sucked me in had to be at least 30 ft tall."
"Whoa, you could throw one heck of a party in a room like that."
That estimate and the contents that surrounded her gave Twilight, Luna, and Celestia something to think about, giving them the impression that whatever pulled Tim into Equestria must have been one serious operation. Twilight's friends branched out in several directions, taking the scene into account.
"Some of it looks so.......complex. " Rarity noted in amazement. "I mean really, just have a look at this thing."
A light blue aura enveloped one of the objects on the ground.
"And what thing would that be?" Tim asked as he approached her.
Rarity levitated the item in question to him, and upon inspection, it happened to be a busted laptop computer.
"Any idea what it it is?" Rarity asked.
"Sure do. This is what we call a computer." Tim informed
"What does it compute exactly?" Luna asked.
"Can't really say a lot, not much of a computer person myself, but from what experiences I do have and what I've seen and heard there used for, well shit, just about anything really. Math, data, writing, files, a game called minesweeper, and all stored and manged within the confines of its hard drive."
Twilight seemed absolutely mesmerized by it, as before her sat a device that was once capable of carrying information and performing deeds that could take weeks to years to do with the current methods for ponykind.
"May I hold it?" Twilight asked of Tim.
"Sure, knock yourself out."
Twilight's magic enveloped the relic as it slowly began to levitate towards her. Looking at its remains she could tell that it was in bad shape, with a shattered screen, missing keys, wires hanging from the bottom, and its casing cracked in a few places, but Twilight was outright geeking out at what the thing may have looked like if it were completely intact.
"A device like this could make organization in the library a breeze." Twilight awed. "Amazing."
"How, it's a flat box that's all busted." Spike blatantly said with disinterest.
"Spike!" Twilight scolded.
"Well he's gotta point. Considering how the thing probably came flying into this world at about a million miles per hour, its insides are probably shattered." Tim agreed. "Besides, the thing's battery probably died way before it even got here, so even if it wasn't damaged, we still couldn't turn it on."
Spike gave Twilight a smug look as she gave him an irritated glare. Twilight levitated it back over to Tim for him figure out what to do with it. Tim grabbed it and then cleared his throat.
"Well, we're here, so I'd say now's about time we get to work."
"Yep, came here on a mission and time to see to it." Applejack agreed.
She immediately unhitched herself from her wagon and with a single kick from her hind-leg, she spun it around for easier access to all. The group began to take off their packs and lay them in a pile by the wagon while Tim threw the first object in.
"Try to spread out some, these things probably got some distance." Tim informed.
Rainbow Dash approached Tim in a timid demeanor, with him instantly noticing.
"Hey........uh............Tim, are you gonna be alright,...........y'know..........................to look for................" Rainbow asked Timidly.
Tim gave her a disgruntled stare, as he wasn't entirely sure he was ready to speak to her yet. Had she listened to him the injury on his arm probably wouldn't even be there. But in truth, it's not like she inflicted it upon him, that was the Timberwolf's handiwork. The glare seemed to making Rainbow Dash feel uncomfortable. Tim turned his head away when he saw it was effectively making her shy away.
"I'll be fine." he said. "Why don't you and Fluttershy try and search the trees, see what y'all can find.
Tim walked away before Rainbow even had a chance to respond, add additional input, or even get to say, "okay". Heeding his advice, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took to the trees to look for items that had made their way into the branches of trees whilst the others began looking elsewhere. Twilight herself started by picking up bits of loose leaf papers off the ground and stacking them neatly with her magic. However, curiosity got the best of her yet again ans she couldn't help herself from surveying the contents of the pages. The papers were written in a language unknown to her and displayed what looked like a structural outline or possibly even blueprints to a giant arch, and that's when her curiosity reached an inquisitive level. But at the same time, she needed to convey it in a way that wasn't in the form of just direct question after direct question. So deep was her thought that she didn't notice that Tim approached to her right, as he was collecting some old rusted coke cans.
"Hmm, wonder what's written on here?" she mumbled to herself.
Tim overheard her and was uncertain to what she was referring to until he saw the papers she was holding.
"Well, let me take a look, maybe I can take a crack at it."
"Hmm? Oh Tim, uh, sure."
Twilight levitated the papers over to him and he grabbed them once they were in reach. A second hadn't even passed when a perplexed look struck his face.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"Well, in retrospect I should've guessed, it's not written in my native language."
"It's not? Then what's it written in?" Twilight asked.
"By the looks of it and considering the area where I was stationed, it's written in German."
"German? Well do you know how read German?"
"Sort of, I know some of the basics, but, well, just by looking at this thing I can tell it's pretty damn far from basic. But I'll try."
Tim attempted his translation, but between the different tenses and his lack of knowledge of what case it was in, the translation came across as an incoherent mess of a few nouns and verbs that sounded less like I language and more like he was speaking in tongues. Knowing he wasn't going anywhere with it, he stopped almost immediately. Twilight gave him a confounded look, expressing that her newly adopted plan of information gathering had backfired on her first try.
"So you can't read any of it?" Twilight asked.
"Eh, no." he replied in disappointment.
Twilight sighed, but her optimism was still on a high note. She once again fell into her curious habits, pulling the journal she'd been keeping notes in whilst she levitated the papers over to the wagon and placed them inside before turning back to Tim.
"You know Tim, it's always curious to hear new dialects, I'm sure we'd be delighted if you were to speak some of it for us." Twilight chimed. "At least what you know that is."
"Uh, sure." Tim said. "Let's see, German, German, aha! I got something."
Twilight leaned in closer as Tim cleared his throat to speak.
"Guten Tag! Ich bin ein Mensch und meine Name ist Tim. Wie gehts?" he said slowly.
That gave Twilight enough time to record the phonetics.
"So, what dis you say?" she asked.
"It means, 'Good day, I'm a human and my name is Tim, how are you?'"
"Interesting vocabulary." Twilight mumbled, writing something down in her journal yet again. "Do you perhaps know where it originated."
It didn't take Tim very long know what was happening and what would come next. So Tim decided to take the initiative to put that particular fire out before it started.
"Hey Princess, I don't mean to be rude, but we really should focus on gathering things for now, maybe save some of the questions for later?" he urged politely.
She mentally groaned when she noticed what she was beginning to let her curiosity take over, only this time she wasn't self-consciously doing it.
"Sorry, Tim. I didn't mean to do, it was just a force of habit." she said somberly.
"Hey it's nothing to beat yourself up over, I've-."
"No, it is!" she replied in distress.
Tim took a tiny step back, as he was aware that the problem stemmed from just more than her curiosity but was unaware at what exactly was the cause her distress.
"Princess, what's wrong?" he asked.
"It's nothing, really." she replied. "You're right, we should just get back to work."
Twilight stored her notebook and walked off in the other direction, deciding to play it cool with the questions for now and continue to retrieve objects. Tim was still baffled at what just happened, wondering if he had said something and performed an action to make her upset. After about a minute of just standing there he decided to just mark it off as her just being tired after walking all day. Unbeknownst to him Twilight began to regret her little outcry.
Way to go Twilight, you've just made it more weird, at this rate he'll practically stop talking to me all together. she thought to herself. Did I make things wired when I smiled at him earlier, was it just the wrong time, am I-
Twilight almost went face first into a tree and was lucky that she stopped to see what was in front of her. Realizing she had worked herself up too much, she did her best to force herself into a cool and mellow state.
Alright Twilight, keep it together, you haven't completely ruined his image of you just yet, he doesn't hate you, just calm down.
After a few deep breaths through the nose she seemed to successfully calm her nerves.
Alright Twilight, just focus. What you need to do is just stay calm, and keep it cool. Promise to yourself, no matter what's found and no matter how amazing it may or may not be, you need to just play it cool. Listen to your Teacher's advice, maybe then can I truly learn from him, and maybe he'll even trust me like I trust him.
Easier said than done, as attached with each new item found was another question Twilight had to find it in herself fight back. Her friends and mentor on the other hand had no such dilemma of asking, partly because they hadn't kept a barrage of them going for the last couple of days. The items in question ranged from menial to advanced, with each one at least somewhat correlating within the interests of the one who found it.
Rarity found a maroon military beret with some sort of old German insignia on it. She admired the color most of all, and commented that it might make for a good tone for her next set of dresses. Fluttershy found one of those plastic dancing flower toys, and asked Tim what it was out of a personal fear. She was worried if humans somehow replaced real flowers with the plastic ones. Tim put her worries to ease saying the plants and animals all burned up and mutated because of the war. Leaving Fluttershy standing in her shocked state, Tim then answered Celestia's question as she brought over the remains of a adjustable lamp, and so on and so forth. Questions ranged from what it was, what it did, and how it was made. Tim did his best o answer the best he could, and after an hour of nothing but answering people's questions he was beginning to feel irritated again.
The search for items lasted for about two hours or so, and the ponies still marveled at the construction and purpose of each individual object. However they were about to witness one of these objects in action first hand. Pinkie Pie was popping in and out of the bushes surrounding them, retrieving objects and storing them in Applejack's wagon in a quick and sporadic fashion when she came across somet6hing that hadn't been seen yet.
"Hey Tim, what's this doohickey?" she asked, pulling it out of the bushes.
Pinkie handed the device over to Tim for inspection. At first he looked at it with disinterest, until he saw what it was.
"Holy mother of Mary, it's a Walkman." he said with excitement.
Everyone in vicinity heard the enthusiasm in his voice, and turned to see what the commotion was about. Currently in Tim's hands was a black and silver box with a clear sheet of plastic exposing something on one side a large round speaker on the other, and several buttons and other unknown features on its top. More specifically, The Sony WM SR-10 Walkman.
"Pray tell, what is this Walkman?" Rarity asked.
"Y'all ever heard of cassette tapes?" he asked.
Everypony gave Tim an odd look.
"Come again?" Applejack asked.
"Okay I guess not." he said, putting his excitement on temporary halt. "Okay, quick history lesson, cassette tapes were a form of recorded audio, like music and stuff."
"Oh, so like a vinyl record?" Twilight asked, hoping her comparison was similar.
"Exactly." Tim confirmed. "Only this came directly after that they were much more compact, less likely to get damaged, and much more practical to use. This Walkman, is able to play em'. And by the looks of it, seems there's already a tape inside."
That got everypony's attention, the chance to hear the music created by humanity seemed like a tremendous privilege to behold. But Twilight thought of something that just seemed off to her. She was stunned that humans managed to create vinyl record like ponies did, but had never sought to advance past the next thing after it. Vinyl Record had been around for about eighty years, and from how Tim described his race it almost seemed as if humans were always trying to advance to the next thing.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that your kind has been using the same format for recording audio since it replaced vinyl record?" she asked.
"Oh hell no, the cassette tape was invented like over a hundred years ago. Turn of the century introduced digital recording and storage through electronic devices. That computer we picked up was probably capable of doing that or something similar."
"So why not just use that?" Celestia asked, seeing where Twilight was now coming from.
"Well, when The Conflict came around, everything digital went off the grid. Got rendered unusable and unrecoverable, so cassette tapes kinda made comeback. And now I got something that can play em' on the go."
Luna raised an eyebrow at his newfound glee.
"I thought the purpose of this endeavor was to use these objects to create your way back home." Luna inputted.
Tim gave them a brittled look, as if caught in a net he couldn't escape.
"Is it possible that this one teeny tiny little item could come under my possession." he asked.
The group gave each other looks, one that expressed devious intent that their human compatriot would be unaware of. Whispers were exchanged for about a minute before they readdressed Tim, who was still standing there.
"We'll let you keep this one item, if you let us each take one of the items for ourselves." Twilight announced.
"Sure, that's cool, this stuff ain't exactly mine, just come and see me before you keep it. Last thing I need is one of y'all to find something dangerous."
The group smiled with content, with some, mainly Twilight, expressing their excitement with a held back squeal.
"Okay, now, where were we?" Tim asked.
"The cassette thingy." Pinkie Pie reminded.
"Ahh, right. But first, this thing probably needs new batteries."
"What are batteries?" Twilight asked.
Tim set his satchel down and opened it. Digging around, he pulled out a yellow box, which made a noise similar to that of something rolling on the floor of one's house. Opening it up he pulled out two cylindrical objects, no bigger than a nail.
"These are batteries." Tim said, showcasing them. "Think of them as a small and disposable electrical charge. They power almost every handheld electronic I can think of.
Tim then proceeded to take a detachable piece off of the Walkman, with the ponies only guessing that's where the batteries were stored. Tim discarded the two dead AA batteries and replaced them with the ones he had in his satchel, closed the lid to the battery compartment and then proceeded to press the play button. The sound that followed was a scratchy and continuous loop of nothing but white noise. Tim and everypony else cringed as the sound was anything but appealing to the ear, but signified the tape was broken.
"Oh, um well, the music sure is, uh, different." Twilight said, mistaking this for the music.
"Are you kidding me Twilight, this sounds awful!" Pinkie shouted.
"This ain't music, the damn tape is broken, probably-"
*-----------------April 12th, 2046, The wa-------------------------------------------------*
The audible annunciation of a date got everybody's attention. The voice was male, probably in his late thirties or early forties. All of those in earshot remained quiet, waiting to see what else it might playback.
*-------------------------------------------------------------------The report--------ities of Rig------ and Warsaw were confirmed to be in Russian hands this morning. Langley tells me the war will reach Germany in a matter of days. They gave me what I consider a flawed pla-----------------------------------------------nd I have no-----------------------------I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to tell them, the last I need is panic, and especially when we're so close to achiev--------------------------------------------------. But the oth------------------------------------------I'm starting to think we need to change-----------------------------------------------------------irst thing's first, we-*
*(The faint sound a door opening and closing. The conversation has now switched to German.)*
*Doktor Friedrich, war dort etwas-*
*(The sound of click, distinct to that of cocking a handgun.)*
*Sind Sie verrückt?!?*
*Nicht mehr Ihrer Lügen Kimball! Wir verd----------------------------------------------------Die Russen brachen durch!? Als dies ta------------------------*
*-----------Sven, haben wir keine Wahl, ich hab-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------eine------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------verlass--------------------------------------------------------------------Die Welt wird sterben, keine Richtung von uns sterbend mit es.---------------------------------------------------------.......................................*
When the audio cut off the group was left with what to make of what just happened, but Tim, he had a firm grasp of exactly when that little argument took place.
"This had to have been recorded at the very beginning." Tim whispered to himself.
"The argument sounded very heated, but it almost sounded as if he beginning to give a report." Celestia noted.
"What do ya think happened? Sounded like they were both pretty spooked about something." Applejack asked dubiously.
"The war." Tim informed them. "Half of it might have been in German I couldn't understand, but when I heard the gun being pulled out, well, let's just say people did desperate things towards the end."
"Before the other man came into the room he talked about something called Russians and how they took a place called Warsaw." Twilight added.
"And it sounded it's as if they were making their way towards that Germany place." Pinkie Pie added.
"No doubt they were perpetrators, but do you know if these Russians started the war?" Luna asked.
"Well, whenever this happened in was definitely early in the war, but in all honesty I doubt it really matters who started it. All those countries began biting the dust as The Conflict raged on, and by the end of it, they were all gone, no borders and no more arsenals. If the Russians did start the war, they sure as hell couldn't finish it."
Tim opened the cassette tray up, and discarded the broken tape on the forest floor.
"Anyways, I really don't wanna talk about the war." Tim pleaded. "Let's finish up and get back."
"Well, Tim, believe it or not we pretty much have as much as we can take." Applejack announced.
Applejack gestured over to her wagon, which was looking pretty full at the moment, filled to the brink with the man-made items they recovered. Tim stepped in closer to inspect, as did Luna, Twilight, and Celestia.
"Think it'll be enough?" Tim asked Princess Luna.
Luna looked over the quantity they collected, letting a small smile stretch across her face.
"More than enough I'd say." she said with satisfaction.
"Good, cause if y'all pile up any more, pulling this thing might become a two-pony job." Applejack retorted.
"And I believe we agreed we were able to pick any one item from the wagon?" Twilight reminded.
"Yeah, but how about we wait till we set up camp before we do that?" Tim suggested. "It'll give y'all time to get acquainted with it."
That suggestion hit hard for Twilight, but he had a fair argument, it was probably best for everyone that they all settle down for the night before digging through the cart looking for something to keep. They then began to make their way back, a journey would definitely result in an over-night stay in the Everfree forest. As they began to walk, Twilight expressed her feelings of disappointment.
"Wish that tape had been music." she said. "I would've loved to hear what a human composition sounds like."
When Tim heard those words a smirk spread across his cheeks.
"Well Princess, I think I can grant that request." he said with a smug tone.
He opened up his satchel once again and retrieved a cassette tape labelled "Driving Mix .4, Achmed keep your damn hand's off!" in sharpie marker. Twilight's eyes almost popped out when she saw it.
"Oh my goodness! You mean have something that has music on it?"
"Eyup. This one's mine, now you'll be able to see why I wanted this little Walkman."
It was then that Pinkie Pie popped out in front of him, almost giving him another heart attack.
"Gah! Will you stop doing that!?" he yelled.
"Only if you play that music so everypony else can hear." she bargained.
Tim noticed that the others were now all urging him to play the tape, all waiting to the first to hear human music.
"If it'll get you to stop popping in outta nowhere, I'll gladly do so."
With that, Tim put the tape in, buckled the Walkman to his belt, turned the volume to max, an hit play. The whir of the tape began smoothly and the first cords of the song were beginning to play as they made their exit out of the forest.
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Were should be we're, as in we are. Were refers to the past.
Condoning means to allow. I think you meant to use Condemning. Also, awesome chapter, as usual!
7336399 Thanks for the heads up, I'll fix that one asap. And thanks for the support!
7338021 Thanks. Did it myself.
I am always so happy when i see a new chapter for this story has popped up. If luna is worried now, just wait till she sees what the rest of humanity is packing (even if its all ruffed up) .The end of next month simply cannot get here fast enough. Keep up the great work and congratulations on 2,000 views (although this deserves way more).
7340576 Thanks man, I'm pretty damn excited too, writing it is gonna be a blast.
Don't ever stop writing this awesome story dude!
7343689 Don't plan on it anytime soon. Next chapter is already underway.
7343887
You know, this story has really grown on me. It's inspired me to make a few fictions of my own. The first one has seen positive reviews. 6 likes to 2 dislikes is a good start. Keep up the fantastic work, and haben Sie einen guten Sommer-Urlaub!
7352810 Danke, und Sie auch haben eine guten Sommer as well. Good luck with the writing, I'm glad I could serve as an inspiration.
I saw a few scaling issues in the cover image and couldn't help it I just had to correct them. Sorry.
Here is a comparison of the differences.
Most noticeable correction is the boots, as they now resemble proper tac-boots, other changes such as detailed GI clip pistol belt, added missing cargo pockets to trousers, night vision goggles and tactical helmet rescaled properly, leg holster added, Mi-24 hind turret rescaled accordingly, and trousers bloused in boots properly, as well as curved edges on the uniform blouse straightened.
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/zgxu-1463003332-300222-full
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YnngfAoN3K8/V4RJII6cGAI/AAAAAAAACng/7yPH0n6e1eUTWWNjm8FytE62VvomPwiQg/w530-h763-p-rw/16%2B-%2B1
Please do open the images in new tabs and have a close look at the changes they are more detailed than they appear.
Ps these guys look like the russians from Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.
Here's something I drew almost 2 years ago based off of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vug3XPGygbU/V4RXrGr_rDI/AAAAAAAACn8/qS7ASpcU3hQRABZifVfQDB1snVBr84voA/w706-h942-p-rw/15%2B-%2B1
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9dpkU-zWupQ/V4RahsqQCtI/AAAAAAAACo4/5OkHtkOt_scuqMwWMV7sFNrBB2PeQhIjg/w706-h942-p-rw/16%2B-%2B1
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D4Tw6I4SSCo/V4RakvZBWOI/AAAAAAAACpM/10a3UmzU1n09nJTjTpKcanZeZCE5HMTeg/w706-h942-p-rw/16%2B-%2B1
Ill finish it eventually.
7384666 I appreciate the critique of my work, it's always good to know when something could be better. I saw all the changes you made and I think they're really good changes. In all honesty, I've had my own personal gripes with the new cover as well. It was unfortunately part of a 3-week deadline with 5 other drawings so time had to be diverted to those and if given more time, I probably would have taken a little more time on the more minute of details. But for what it's worth I think the cover is pretty good, and I know that may sound biased, but for right now I think its enough to serve the needs of the story, at least for now. If the story were to ever get super popular I might make a recreation piece. Anyways thanks for the tips, I think I'll keep them in mind for future drawings.
BTW, love your drawing.
7384881 No i understand and agree with you its a great image, there's no need to change it, Im just a little OCD about certain things, mainly anything military related.
It looked like you couldn't get the boots right and just gave up on them, no offense of course.
If you ever need to draw a boot keep these shapes in mind when you need to.
ep.yimg.com/ca/I/policestuff_2427_22403878081
image.rakuten.co.jp/digisto/cabinet/c93/1_5t121101207h_600.jpg
And the trousers looked good but the wrinkles where to evenly spread throughout the legs, it makes the fact there is excess fabric visible but the excess fabric should be focused more around the boots and the base of the leg as shown below.
nexternal.com/armynavy/images/prmi001%5B1%5D.jpg
rs186.pbsrc.com/albums/x300/marionnsw8/m13.jpg?w=480&h=480&fit=clip
i186.photobucket.com/albums/x300/marionnsw8/m2-2.jpg
i186.photobucket.com/albums/x300/marionnsw8/m6-1.jpg
Woops to many images, like I said i can be a little OCD about this stuff.
Well at least you know where to go if you ever need reference material XD
7384952 and I thank you for the tips.
7384961 its no problem.
Oh i almost forgot the tail on the hind is supposed to be straight not curved.
XD I kid, I kid.
My brain is trying not to crash from this illusion.
2.bp.blogspot.com/-joQjYjFZ8xo/UsGUjdr-F7I/AAAAAAAAGv8/Jmpw4p3TgPs/s1600/hind+swarm.jpg
Great story so far. I sit in quiet hope for the next one. Chapter I mean.
7393056 thanks.
I completely agree with Tim's choice of music... I'm so fucking happy...
To.
thank god he dident teach them how a gun works
Luna desperate to study our weapons to reverse engineer it 💀
Against mankind?? Introducing guns to them IS AN ABDOLUTELY HORRIBLE IDEA!!!
7336400
Tim just stared at her. "Germany"
7336400