Assist, Protect, Defend... Equestria?

by Dat Merc

Formal Welcome

Chapter 5: Formal Welcome

*BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP! BE--*

Garrett was awoken by the sound of his watch's alarm and checked the time. It was now 0830, but he lazily attempted to fall back to sleep. Rolling over to lie on his back, he stared at the ceiling and took a peek at the room he was in. It was the same place he had awoken in yesterday. This was definitely not a dream. All of this was real. Everything that had happened so far was also real. Garrett was in Equestria and no longer in Afghanistan.

After dealing with some personal hygiene, getting into a clean pair of MultiCam attire, and putting on his watch and memorial bracelet, Garrett was in the kitchen eating breakfast with Fluttershy. "I hope the food is okay for you.... I.. I mean... It's not much,” said the yellow, timid Pegasus.

In fact, she was not lying. It was just some slices of toast with butter and a red apple for each. "That's fine, Fluttershy. This is good enough." The MP soldier made an assuring smile before he continued eating. The food was not as plentiful as the DFAC's from his FOB or whatever food he was used to eating stateside and in-country, but it was better than nothing.

"Oh. If you want, I can take you to Ponyville after breakfast... If it's fine with you, Garrett,” Fluttershy said as she looked down at her own food.

Garrett paused for a moment, thinking about the yellow pegasus' offer. Was Ponyville the place near the cottage, but further away from the Everfree Forest? "Well, that sounds like a good idea... If they don't mind a 5'8" figure they’ve never seen before wandering around." As much as he wanted to see the rest of the area around, the human might not receive much positive attention. Then again, Garrett was used to all of that since his first deployment, whenever he and his squad or platoon were sent outside the wire for missions.

"I'm sure everypony will understand why you're here." Fluttershy frowned, feeling concerned with what Garrett had just said. “Don't worry, Twilight and the others will convince everypony that you're not a big, evil monster." She smiled in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

"In that case, I hope so." The human nodded his head before taking another bite from his food. This could be a long day for him.

--

One hour later, Garrett and Fluttershy walked together toward Ponyville. Garrett was still wondering how the entire town would react to his presence. At least he was not wearing his gear or carrying his weapons to possibly look intimidating. There was no need for those for where he was going.

As they entered the town, the human was expecting an angry mob to appear at any second. Any second now... And then there was none. He could see everypony going about their business. Watching locals go around the busy streets was all too familiar to him, not to mention uncomfortable due to past experience. It felt like Garrett was on a presence patrol with the others in a village and trying to gather information from the local ANA or ANP forces on any possible Taliban activities or anyone affiliated with them and/or weapons cache in the area.

"Fluttershy, are you su--"

"Surprise!!" A familiar pink pony bounced in excitement as confetti was shot into the air. Fluttershy and Garrett shrieked, and Garrett fell on his back like a tree trunk.

"Wha...? Pinkie Pie?" The soldier blinked in confusion, trying to piece together what had just happened. "What was that for?" With the help of Fluttershy, he returned to his feet before dusting himself off and fixing his glasses and patrol cap.

Pinkie Pie giggled and made a big, enthusiastic smile. "For you, silly,” she answered. "It's the "Welcome-to-Ponyville-and-Thank-You-For-Saving-Applebloom,-Scootaloo,-and-Sweetie-Belle-From-the-Big-Bad-Timber-Wolves" Party! And you're the guest of honor, Garrett!!"

Garrett gave Pinkie a blank stare after hearing her answer. He could have sworn she had mentioned something about a setting up a party yesterday. Eventually, ponies began gathering around the three. He thought he saw some familiar faces among the crowd, but he shrugged it off. The numerous faces were showing a mixture of awe, skepticism, fear, and amusement. The human did not count on getting any kind of attention so soon.

"Is this the one Pinkie was talking about?"

"I wonder where he got that outfit from?"

"He looks kinda scary..."

"Um... Hello, everyone...?"

The crowd gasped in surprise and awe hearing the voice of the strange newcomer and began murmuring amongst each other. Garrett rubbed his forehead, wondering what would happen next. He figured that he’d be fine, as long as there was no angry mob coming for him.

--

This... party Pinkie Pie set up was taking place in and around a bakery called Sugar Cube Corner. Was this the same place she had mentioned yesterday? It looked as though the entire town was invited to this party. How could that pink pony manage to deal with all of this stuff on short notice? How was that even possible? Garrett sighed as he put that thought aside and took a seat. Fluttershy was sitting beside him as she looked around. The bakery was packed, both inside and around the outside.

"I hope you like this party Pinkie set up for you, Garrett,” said the yellow pegasus as she looked up at the human.

Garrett looked back at Fluttershy and nodded in agreement. That pink pony really kept her word about throwing a party. He thought she was only over-exaggerating or something...

"Hey, Garrett!"

"Huh?" Garrett heard a voice amongst the crowd. He looked around and discovered the source to be Twilight. Accompanying her were Rainbow Dash and some purple... lizard? "Hey, Twilight. Hi, Rainbow." He greeted them and smiled.

"It seems like you're already the center of attention here in Ponyville." Rainbow Dash said as she looked around the room. “There’s only room in the limelight for one of us, you know.” She could not help but let out some laughter.

"Right..." Garrett looked down at the rainbow-maned pegasus for a moment and turned his gaze to the purple lizard. "Twilight, who is that?” he asked, pointing at the unfamiliar figure next to the lavender unicorn.

"Oh. This is Spike, my assistant from the library. He's a baby dragon." Twilight smiled as she introduced the one called Spike to the human.

"You must be Garrett, right?" Spike asked as he extended his arm to the human. "It's nice to meet you."

Garrett smiled as he shook the baby dragon's arm. "Likewise, Spike." As he let go of Spike's arm, he noticed a number of ponies walking out of the bakery and heard some commotion outside. Wondering what was going on, the human, the purple unicorn, the two pegasi, and the purple dragon stepped out with the rest of the crowd.

In a matter of seconds, everypony was gathered outside of Ponyville as a chariot pulled by gold armored pegasi descended from the sky. When it landed and came to a complete stop, the passenger stepped out. As if on cue, everypony bowed before the new arrival. Noticing this, Garrett took a knee with his head down.

"Rise, everypony." An angelic-sounding voice called out before the crowd around her had done so.

Garrett was now able to see the one who had just spoken. It was a white-coated... winged unicorn? An alicorn, according to Twilight during that Q & A session he and the others had yesterday. If he remembered correctly, this alicorn must be Princess Celestia, the Co-ruler of Equestria. The alicorn's mane was wavy with its color consisting of pink, light blue, green, and teal. She was taller than the rest of the ponies and about a few inches taller than the human.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight rushed over to the princess happily. "It's so good to see you. You came here because of my letter?"

"That's right, my faithful student." The Princess replied and nodded with a smile. "I would like to see this newcomer you mentioned with my own eyes. Is he around?"

Twilight turned around, seeing Garrett sticking out of the crowd like a sore hoof. She gestured him to come over to see the alicorn princess, and he quickly complied.

Celestia stood in silence, studying the newcomer from head to toe before speaking. "You must be Garrett Mitchell. Is that right?”

"Uh, yes, Your Majesty." Garrett answered. Never mind Twilight and her friends, or even the residents of Ponyville for that matter. He didn't count on gaining the attention of such high a power as the princess.

The alicorn princess nodded her head and smiled. "Twilight told me about you and how you got here, including how you saved three fillies from timber wolves."

That much really attracted her attention so soon? Garrett had only been in Equestria for at least a day and was becoming quite well-known already.

"Why I came is because I would like to personally welcome you to Equestria,” Celestia continued. "I am aware that you were brought here with no idea what made that possible. There may be no guarantee for it, but I will find a way to bring you back to your home."

The human felt a bit uneasy at “no gaurantee.” However, he still hoped to find a way back home.

"Until then, you shall stay here in Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

"WOOHOO!!" Pinkie Pie jumped on Garrett from behind, causing him to fall on his face, and she wrapped her forearms around his neck in a hug. "Isn't this exciting?! You get to stay with us in Ponyville!!”

Garrett replied with gagging due to the pink mare's grip. He was eventually released and got on his feet. Twilight and the rest of her friends cheered after hearing the news.

--

As the party continued, Garrett got to know a bit more about Ponyville through Princess Celestia, Twilight, and her friends. For the second time, he got to meet Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle -the three fillies he rescued- who called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They told him that they have been trying to find their own talents to earn their cutie marks.

"Any luck on getting your cutie marks yet?" Garrett asked.

"No..." Scootaloo sighed.

"But I'm sure we'll get them soon!" Sweetie Belle said with spirit.

"Yeah, and once we do, no more being called 'blank flanks.' Just you wait." Applebloom smiled.

Garrett smiled seeing the 'can-do' spirit in the fillies. "In that case, don't give up. You never know when each of you will finally earn yours."

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom cheered, thanked the human for talking with them, and walked away.

"I see how well you interacted with those three,” Twilight said behind Garrett as she, Spike, and her friends - save for Pinkie Pie, who happened to be everywhere but there - approached him.

"You were really nice with them." Fluttershy said.

Garrett chuckled at her complement. "When you have younger siblings and/or nephews and nieces, interactions with other young ones tend to be a lot simpler."

"Ah guess Ah can't argue with you on that, sugar cube." Applejack said while scratching her cheek and smiled, knowing her sibling relationship with Applebloom.

"Likewise." Rarity nodded in agreement, thinking the same about Sweetie Belle. "And on an unrelated note, are you wearing another pair of that hideous outfit?”

The human looked down at his own MultiCam attire, remembering the white unicorn mentioning it yesterday. "This conversation again, Rarity?" He sighed with a bit of irritation.

Out of nowhere, a familiar pink mare appeared, surprising Garrett. "Hi, Garrett!! Areyouenjoyingtheparty!?" Pinkie asked with a wide smile.

Getting the wind knocked out of him again, Garrett's eye twitched from Pinkie's sudden and random appearance. “Ye-- Yeah, Pinkie Pie. I am enjoying it," he answered. "And next time, don't do that again."

“Okie dokie lokie!” she said as she and her friends burst into laughter.

Garrett rolled his eyes for being the receiving end of the laughter. It seems it’s just getting weirder here for me every second now...

Author's Note:

Finally I got a new chapter out... I swear. I thought I was never going to get this done, but here it is!

On another note, my new platoon sergeant has become the latest person to discover that I'm a brony. lol I got some funny looks and WTF's from people (either military or civilians) when I wear MLP shirts but I say, 'Deal with it!' While at the PX few months back, I was wearing a shirt with Rarity saying "Oh... It is on!" Someone came up to me and said, "I just want to say that I like your shirt!" and walked away.

Looks like I'm starting to discover fellow bronies on post. Fricken' A!

Comments

[myhe01]

A wild chapter appeared!

[craton765]

2496495
eyeballs use fast-read

[Sabban]

TOO MUCH U.S MILITARY IN EQUESTRIA.

[myhe01]

2496613 It was super effective!

[Dat Merc]

2496926

My story fainted.... Ah!!!! How could this happen?!

[myhe01]

2497517 I don' gotta explain nothin'!

[hungrykiwi]

he answered. "And next time, don't that again."
I'm guessing it's supposed to be "Don't do that again."?

[Dat Merc]

2500998

Good eye there, bro. Thanks, it's fixed now.

[Jman796]

Y NO UPDATE?

[Americanwastelander]

I hope this story didn't die. It is a good one and I hope it updates soon

[OfficerBarricade]

2502870
can you continue this story and quit being lazy for once if your not gonna finish it then cancel it and also your pony OC looks cringy please update it

[Tactically Derpy]

Oh. Wait wrong branch

[OfficerBarricade]

i think this story is dead