Chapter 5: Friend Or Foe
Chapter 5: Friend Or Foe
"Marcus? Hey, you okay man? Marcus.....MARCUS!"
Dom's voice cut through the tempest of emotions in Marcus' head. He had been so caught up in his own confusion, he hadn’t noticed that they had already made it to the edge of town. Though he hadn’t said anything to the others about his dreams, subtle things often betrayed emotion between old friends, and Dom had obviously picked up on his long time squad mate’s unease. The slight dip of his head, his slower and more deliberate stride, a twitch of his fingers aching to feel the security of a rifle in their grasp. Any one of these were clue enough to Dom that Marcus was tense about something. He placed a hand on his old friends shoulder, outwardly a small show of support, but enough to refocus Marcus. Ever so slightly he relaxed the tension built up in his body, but he continued to keep his eyes open for any sign of trouble. With a slight nod, he let Dom know to do the same. Baird, Cole, and the Apple’s continued their trot into town, unaware of the silent exchange than had just taken place behind them.
As Marcus picked up his pace to catch the others, he eyed the small village warily. Was this really the same town he had seen consumed by ravenous flames in his dream? Or was his mind simply filling in details that hadn’t actually been there? As he gazed around, he noticed that many of the ponies were gazing back. They whispered quietly to one another, some scurried off indoors, others poked their heads out curiously. A few ponies even began following the group of humans at a distance.
The Gears and their pony guides stopped now at the school house, and Applejack fussed over her sister’s hair.
“Alright Apple Bloom, y‘all have a good day!”
“Applejaaack!” the filly whined, “Y’er embarrassin’ me! Besides, here come the other Crusaders!”
Sure enough, at that moment a small cart came into view. It was towed by a little scooter which was in turn being driven by an tiny orange pegasus, and in the cart was an equally small white unicorn. The scooter skidded to a halt in front of the group, and its driver spoke excitedly.
“Goooood morning Apple Bloom!”
“What are we gonna do to find our cutie marks today?” added her passenger.
“Scootaloo! Sweetie Bell! Ah want y’all to meet my new friend!” Apple Bloom replied as she stepped aside, and for the first time the tiny newcomers looked passed their friend and her sister. The intimidating sight of the Gears in their full battle armor was enough to make Sweetie Bell sink down in her wagon, and Scootaloo ducked behind her handlebars.
Applejack smiled. “Come on out y’all, they ain’t gonna hurt ya.”
Marcus watched in amusement as Apple Bloom did her best to drag Dom forward by his gloved hand.
“Diff iv Dom! He’v reawy nyff!” she attempted, Dom’s armored finger still firmly between her teeth. Realizing how it had come out, she released the warrior’s hand and tried again.
“This is Dom! He’s really nice!” Turning now to the tall human, she introduced her friends. “This is Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell! Together, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
“The WHAT?” Baird spat with a laugh, before Cole smacked the back of the engineer’s head.
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom continued proudly. “We crusade every day to find our special talents and earn our cutie marks!” She motioned to her side, which lacked one of the strange images that Marcus had seen on many ponies‘ flanks.
“So, the marks represent your special gifts, huh?“ He began thinking about the ones he had already seen, and tried to guess what they were symbolic of. Applejack’s apples were an obvious nod to her farm, but others were less obvious. A lightning bolt? A starburst? What was the significance there? He looked around and saw many more. An hourglass, some bubbles, a clef note; some were obvious markers of one talent or another, others seemed harder to place.
“Now remember y’all,” Applejack said to the three fillies. “We’re gonna be outta town for a few days, so y’all are gonna have a sleepover at the library with Spike tonight, then Granny Smith and Big Mac should be back by the time school gets out tomorrow. Don‘t go causin‘ too much of a ruckus at the library neither. Y‘all can crusade for your cutie marks quiet like, ya hear?”
As the three young ponies nodded to Applejack in earnest, Baird leaned in and whispered to Cole. “What do you think your cutie mark would be? A Thrashball, a train, or maybe just a sack of rocks? Get it? Because you‘re an idiot.”
“Well” Cole chuckled back, “It’d be better than a giant asshole.”
As Baird and Cole bickered to one another about their potential ass stamps, Applejack waved goodbye to Apple Bloom and her friends, then continued to lead the COG soldiers on to the train depot. The colorful locomotive stood waiting as generous amounts of coal were being loaded into the fuel car, and several passenger and cargo cars were being hooked to the back of the steam engine. Waiting for Applejack and the soldiers near first class as promised, were Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and two more ponies the Gears hadn’t yet met. The lavender unicorn greeted them with a smile.
“Good morning everypony!” she greeted, “Girls, this is Delta squad,” introducing each of them in turn. Looking up at the humans, she went on. “These are our other friends Rarity and Fluttershy. Rarity owns a fashion salon here in town.”
The white unicorn with a luscious purple mane bowed with great flourish. “A pleasure to meet you all, I’m sure.” She eyed Marcus appraisingly. ”While I can’t say I approve of the filthy state of your garments, you simply must tell me more about what you’re wearing! I’ve never thought add lights to my designs! It‘s a spark of brilliance!”
Marcus glanced down at his battle-worn armor. She had been referring to the “Friend or Foe” indicators that adorned their armor. Many Gears often complained that having large blue LED lights on their torsos equated to wearing glowing “kill me” signs, but Marcus knew better. It used to be that when you were fighting at night or in a dark cave, you didn’t waste time to see if a moving shadow was hostile. On the battlefield, a spilt second is often the difference between life and death, and if something went “bump” in the night you brought a swift end to it. This however, caused many Gears to fall to friendly fire when someone got spooked in the dark. The FoF lights were introduced soon after, and accidental friendly fire incidents had been cut in half almost overnight.
“And Fluttershy,” Twilight continued, “Lives near the Everfree forrest, where she takes care of many of the animals that live in the area.”
The butter cream pegasus with a swirling pink mane crouched shyly behind her lavender friend. She made something of a mumbling noise, possibly an attempt at a greeting. Cole knelt down and offered his hand.
“Hey there, the name’s Cole.”
Fluttershy moved cautiously forward, extending her foreleg. Cole shook hands/hooves with the pony, a giant grin plastered on his face. Marcus had long ago noticed that the muscle-bound ex-athlete had a special gift for making anyone feel at ease. The timid pony whispered almost inaudibly, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“So Baird,” Rainbow Dash said with a wicked grin. “Is it true that you bathe in manure? Because it smells like you were swimming in it.”
“You know, loud, conceited, and stupid is no way to go through life, Peaches.”
“Yeah,” retorted Rainbow, clearly growing agitated once again. “Well, at least I wasn’t voted ‘Most Likely to Fail at Life‘!”
“Oh, didn‘t you hear? The judges overturned the ruling after they heard how terrible that joke was. You were voted in unanimously. Congratulations, I heard the position comes with a lovely plaque. I’m jealous. No really, I’m overcome with envy.”
“Oh, you mother bu-,” At that moment, Rainbow noticed the rather large crowd of ponies that had followed the unusual visitors to the station. The crowd stood silent, every eye adhered to the spectacle. Nearly everypony in town had just witnessed Baird school her yet again.
“What’re you lookin’ at? Don’t you all have more important things to be doing?“ the cyan pony said as her cheeks flushed. To her dismay, the pitiable attempt at crowd control wasn’t working, and several whispered murmurs passed through the mob.
“Let’s just get on the train.” Twilight said sheepishly, the weight of hundreds of eyes closing in on her from all sides. They squeezed the Gears through the doors, and climbed aboard a private car.
“Well THAT was fun!” Pinkie Pie said as Rarity closed the blinds. “The whole town came to see us off! Gee, you’d think they’d never seen a human before!” Everyone in the car stared at the giggling pony, but no one could bring themselves to say anything to her.
“So what’s the plan?” Cole asked, resting on a bench. It was almost comical to watch him try and get comfortable on a seat made for beings half his size.
Twilight was storing what luggage they had brought along (mainly Rarity‘s clothes). “Well,” she said, climbing down from the luggage rack, “It will take the train the better part of the day to reach Canterlot, so for now we can just relax. Once we arrive, it’s straight to the castle.”
“Sounds easy enough.” added Dom.
Outside, the train’s whistle blew. Marcus could hear the loud puffs of the engine building steam, and with a shudder the locomotive crept forward. He slipped a finger between the shades, pulling them aside so he could watch as the town got left behind. They built up speed, and the ponies who had gathered to get a look at the humans began to pass by. Just as Marcus was about to sit back, he locked eyes for the briefest of instants with a unicorn on the platform. She was mint green with two toned hair, and she had piercing yellow eyes. In a flash, she was gone, out of sight as the train moved steadily down the track. Marcus pressed his face against the cool glass, trying to get a glimpse back at the crowd. Had he actually seen her? Or was his mind trying to play tricks on him again?
Marcus leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes, silently longing for the simplicity of fighting Grubs in open combat. It seemed preferable to possibly going insane.
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Sanguine was not pleased. Queen Myrrah had instructed the decrepit cult master to prepare a full portal ceremony, but to his astonishment, only a single warrior had crossed the threshold. The figure had been tall and intimidating, to be sure; but he was hardly the swarm that the Locust Queen had promised. To Sanguine’s further indignation, the warrior had taken a single look around at the gathered cultists, sneered his grotesque teeth at them, then sprinted from the temple and into the Everfree Forrest. The head of the cultists quickly reorganized his followers to contact Myrrah, and in minutes the cross-dimensional communication spell took shape.
Sanguine addressed the monarch with only thinly-veiled anger. “Queen Myrrah, there seems to have been some sort of…misunderstanding. I was promised an army, not one rogue agent. I would like an explanation!”
The Empress of the Horde took her time before answering. Sanguine could almost feel the bitter chill of her glare, even an entire universe away. The underlying irritation in her voice was almost palpable, as she replied with firm deliberation.
“My soldiers shall cross over once I have deemed that it is time, and not a moment before. Scryed, my child whom you received this morning, is not a member of the army that shall soon be entering your world, but rather a member of my personal guard, whom I have sent ahead with a singular purpose.”
“And might I inquire as to what that purpose is?” the old pony spat, his frustration seeping through. That the Queen had gone over his head infuriated the cult leader. Any unknown elements could bring his plan crumbling to the ground. He couldn’t help but let his anger show, and a small part of him was pleased for standing up to Myrrah. The rest of him quelled this small part almost immediately, as he realized his dreadful mistake.
“You dare raise your voice to me?.” The Queen’s voice burned with the fiery wrath of a volcano on the verge of eruption. “You will learn your place worm, or you will forget our bargain. All will be revealed in due time. Take heed Sanguine, my designs are not to be meddled with. I have authorized Scryed to eliminate anyone he feels is a threat to his mission. ”
Sanguine cringed at the thought of the dark warrior returning to turn his blade on the cultist ponies.
“Very well,” he conceded. “We await the arrival of your main forces.”
“You may expect them soon.”
Sanguine cut the transmission without another word, and stormed from the Sanctuary. How dare she? Did she not understand the lengths to which he had gone to ensure that their plans would remain secret? Did she not comprehend what would happen if her lone soldier was caught slaughtering some village before all was ready? If those accursed alicorn sisters caught wind of the storm that was brewing on the horizon, the Equestrian Royal Guard would be placed on high alert, their scouts would begin scouring the country for any sign of trouble. They would be found and banished.
No, he would not allow failure, even if it meant tempting the wrath of the Locust Queen. Once his lord was free, she would quickly learn respect. Sanguine gingerly lay on the cot in his private quarters. Soon enough, his lord would free him from the bonds of this decaying form. His reward for serving faithfully would be great indeed.
“She will learn respect…” the old cultist muttered to himself as his heavy eyes dragged him into deep slumber. “She will…learn….”
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“All right y’all, looks like we’re here!” Applejack said, poking her head through the blinds. The Ponyville Express chugged steadily up the final hill on its way to the Equestrian capitol.
“FINALLY!” blurted Pinkie Pie exasperatedly, “I was beginning to run low on confetti!”
“Finally…” Marcus thought to himself as he pulled a wad of confetti off of his COG regs. The bubblegum pony had brought along a large supply of games, snacks, and decorations, (though where she had stored them, Marcus had no idea) and had been partying non-stop since they left Ponyville. Despite Pinkie Pie's best efforts to include the Gears in bouts of "Pin the Tail on the Pony" and various food-related contests, Marcus and Dom couldn't bring themselves to join in, and Baird's participation amounted to wiping stray frosting from his goggles and throwing the occasional snide remark to Cole, who was thoroughly enjoying himself.
A loud "WHOOOOOOO" rang through the cabin and Marcus ducked just in time to avoid the sticky remnants of an airborne cupcake. Cole had just succeeded in defeating the ponies in a cupcake eating competition and was throwing back shots of fruit punch to celebrate. “The Cole Train can’t lose on the rails, baby! Home field advantage!” Marcus chuckled at the scene as their locomotive pulled into the station.
“Oh boys?” Rarity said sweetly. “Would one of you be a dear and help me with my things?”
Baird eyed the large trunk of clothes and said with a grin, “Private Cole! Sounds like a job for you!”
“Oh really Corporal?” retorted Marcus. “Sounds to me like that trunk is too important for the hands of a mere Private.”
“Aww, Marcus come on-”
“Suck it up Gear.”
Rainbow laughed uproariously at Baird’s struggles until Rarity asked the pegasus to help with her second trunk (one exclusively for her hats), when Dash suddenly became very interested in the floral patterned carpet design.
The Gears squeezed out of the car into the sunlight, and were stunned by what they saw. Canterlot was a marvel to behold. Tall spires topped with colorful flags fluttering in the breeze. Lush, fragrant gardens lined the streets, each full of colorful flowers that filled the air with intoxicating aromas. Extravagant fountains launched streams of water into high arcs, creating rainbows in the mist. Ponies dressed in formal attire trotted up and down cobblestone roads, whilst art merchants shouted above the din to advertise their wares. Even the very atmosphere seemed somehow grander to Marcus than Ponyville had been, and he immediately hated it.
It reminded him too much of his lonely days growing up on his family’s estate. It hadn’t been until his parents had sent him to a public elementary school in attempt to make him “mix with regular people”, that he made his first real friends in Carlos and Dominic. He spent much of his time at the Santiago household, learning to fix engines and playing Thrashball. They taught him about the joys of friendship, as well as the miracle of hot sauce. Those had been the happiest days of his life, right up until his mother had disappeared. After that, the Fenix estate only served to remind him of his missing parent, and Marcus began spending nearly every waking hour with the Santiago’s.
“Alright!” Pinkie bounced around excitedly, pulling Marcus‘ attention back to the present. “Where’s the party store? The confetti cannon won’t reload itself! Only the deluxe model does that!”
Rarity looked aghast, “Pinkie Pie! A visit to the royal capitol, and you wish to waste time on confetti? Hoity Toity’s summer line is in, and I simply MUST have a glimpse of his new designs!”
“Now hold on y’all,” Applejack firmly interjected, “This ain’t a social visit.”
“That’s right” Twilight added with a curt nod. “Princess Celestia will be expecting us. We’ll have time to visit the shops afterward.”
As they walked up the narrow streets, Marcus noticed that the ponies here gave them a much wider berth than those in Ponyville had, and they eyed the soldiers as if every scuff on their armor was a personal offense to the equines’ honor. ‘Yup, already hating it here.’ Marcus thought.
“Whoa,” Baird gaped as they rounded a corner. “That’s one hell of a stable.” Marcus followed the engineer’s gaze to an enormous castle, boasting the largest towers and brightest walls in the whole city. Armored ponies stood at attention in uniform gilded armor, and enormous golden doors barred the way.
“Good day sirs!” Twilight said to the guards as they strolled up to the gate. “The Princess is expecting us.”
“Of course Ms. Sparkle, we were informed to expect your arrival.“ said the Gate Captain, before eyeing the humans. He continued, “Are these your, uh…guests?
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well. The Princess will just be finishing her court duties at this hour, please proceed to the Great Hall.”
As the Gears followed the ponies into the palace, it struck Marcus that the guards had not taken their weapons. Was this due to the ponies’ unfamiliarity with projectile weapons? Or did Twilight Sparkle’s influence really extend that far? He decided on the former after discreetly eying the armored sentinels, taking note that they wore no weapons themselves.
Inside of the castle was a world wholly unfamiliar to the Gears The hallways were lined with colorful tapestries and vibrant paintings, servants dashed about worriedly, dignitaries were discussing foreign politics(Marcus was reminded of a political cartoon he had seen once), and every facet of every surface was absolutely pristine. The sterility of it all was the thing that threw Marcus for a loop. Such a grand structure, but untouched by bombs or bullet holes, and free of debris? It was unheard of back home.
They passed through another set of imposing doors and into a large chamber with a high arching ceiling. Beautiful stained glass windows cast colorful light into the room, and the entire hall felt warm and alive. At the far end, sitting upon a dais was easily the largest pony Marcus had yet seen. She had both a set of magnificent wings and a majestic horn, and her coat has the color of ivory. The hues of her multicolored mane were less saturated than Rainbow Dash’s, but flowed in an ethereal manner, granting a supernatural quality to her appearance.
Twilight and the other ponies ran forward excitedly, stopping a few feet from the throne to bow. When the Princess spoke, her voice was full of the warmth of pure sunshine, and Marcus found it soothing just to hear.
“My little ponies! Please, there is no need to stand on ceremony, it’s so good of you to come. Twilight, my dear student, it is wonderful to see you again.” Glancing up she locked eyes with Sergeant Fenix, and he suddenly felt like an insect being inspected by a being far his superior.
“And you must be the humans,” she continued. “Please, do come in…”
(A/N: Well, between watching the Olympics and my usual procrastination, this one took a bit longer to get out. Another boring chapter with no action, but I promise fun stuff is around the corner, lol! Super big thanks to Ciera_Bells for being my pre-reader and helping me through this tough chapter, and thanks to all of you for your continued support! I'll have the next chapter up soon! Well...eventually anyways!)
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Great chapter. Love Baird's lines.
This is gears of war we talking about. MORE SWEARING
1022587 In Gears of War they only swear alot when in battle, so he might have them swear alot when they're fighting something; like a Hydra.
Nopony beats Baird at a a sarcasm competion. I feel sorry for the ponies trying to challenge Cole to an eating competion though. 'Cause that's just not fair to them.
I hope Dash enjoys her new shiny plaque though. It sounds... neat.
1022587 Well it's not like they're under duress at the moment now is it? And there has been a fair bit of swearing when appropriate. I'm just not into overloading my story with "fucks" and whatnot just to make it feel more "adult". Anyways, thanks for the read!
1023219 I like to think that Pinkie gave him a run for his money :P
1023611 Well yeah of all of them Pinkie would be the one that could challenge him. Still though like he said he never loses on the rails.
He's Cole Train. WHOOOOOOOOOOO!
it might not have action but story building is vital (but just dont drag on for like 30 chapter)
For reasons I cannot fathom,I really hope that locust assassin breaks Celestia's muzzle, just like, cracks her one on the face all gangster like. Just saying, would be funny.
I have no idea why I'd want to see that.
1031189 That's....oddly specific, lol.
1037076
Yea for some reason I think it'd be really awesome if he just walked up casually and cracked her in the face without warning or provocation. I'm not suggesting you do that in the story, I just had the thought and decided to share it with everyone.
That and I have no idea why I'd want to see that so much.
1037076
i hate olypics and i hate not having the CMC in the chapter