Chapter 9
I chuckled, stepping aside as the three fillies cantered inside the kitchen of Apple family's house and I closed the door behind me. Their excited voices echoed through the corridors as they put their saddlebags down somewhere else and galloped into the living room, eagerly taking their seats. I went over to Applejack, whom was shaking her head at the fillies' excitement.
“Nu tak. That's done. Need help with anything else?”
“Nothin' comes t'my mind, Alyona. Go on an' get seated. Ah'll be right over with the food.” I nodded at that and joined the rest of the Apples in the dining room, curious to see what Applejack had cooked up. Granny Smith trotted inside, smiling at the sight. She chuckled amiably and also took a seat, joining us in the waiting. Eventually, Applejack did show up, carrying a steaming pot with her, which she deposited on a tray in the middle of the table. She quickly trotted off and brought more food - bread, butter, the sort... a real feast. The sight of so much fresh food almost made me drool – most of the food in Metro existed in airtight cans or military-grade MRE packets - bland and tasteless stuff.
This, however... I couldn't wait until we began to eat. Others also muttered their approval, but then turned their attention to Granny Smith – the elderly mare put her hooves together, bowed her head and spoke, closing her eyes – others followed suit and I quickly did the same, feeling like a moron for some reason.
“We thank you, Princesses, fer this bountiful feast. Thank you, Princess Celestia, for ensurin' our crops didn't waste away. Thank you, Princess Luna, for guardin' us from our nightmares and makin' sure we get a good night's sleep. Amen.” Ah, a pre-meal prayer?
“Amen.” Six ponies and a human chorused. With that out of the way, we dug in, speaking little. Well, except for the Crusaders, that is – they tore through their meals with the ferocity of a Demon, and then sat, eagerly waiting for me to finish my meal, expectant smiles on their faces. I smirked a little before resuming to eat, but paused to speak for a moment, knowing full well what they wanted to do.
“Don't you three have homework to do? We can chat later. It's not like I'm going to run off all of a sudden.” They grumbled sullenly at that.
Busted.
Either way, they shuffled off their chairs and carried their dirty dishes to the sink, and then picked their saddlebags, trotting off into the living room to do their homework. After a while, others had also finished their meals. Big Mac volunteered to do the dishes. Applejack and Granny Smith went off to somewhere, leaving me to my own devices.
Ten minutes later found me back in my room, running maintenance on my weapons – I didn't really think I'd get attacked; last time I had fired anything was when Lyra had ambushed me. It was more of a routine thing, really. The old, tried-and-tested AK-74 was lying disassembled on the table as I cleaned its inner workings free of any grime or suchlike that might be there. There wasn't any, of course, but it felt nice to make sure. This rifle had saved my life quite a few times, and the least I could do was make sure it was in a good condition. Humming tunelessly to myself, I began to put the rifle back together, various bolts and pins locking the parts together. With that task accomplished, I racked the bolt a couple of times, squeezing the trigger afterwards. Every time, I was rewarded with a dry click and I nodded, satisfied with my work. I set the weapon aside and packed up the various tools scattered across the table, then sat, not really sure what to do now.
“Alyona?”
I turned to look at Applebloom, who was standing in the doorway, looking at me.
“Yes, Applebloom?”
“Could ya help us with our homework? We're kinda stuck on some of those tasks an' we're getting kinda frustrated by 'em.”
“What're you having problems with?”
“Math.” I cocked an eyebrow at that, chuckling.
“Math is easy, Applebloom.”
“No, it ain't!” The small pony argued. “All those numbers are so confusin'!”
“Nu ladno. I guess I can help you three out. But just that. I'm not going to do your homework for you, okay?” The filly nodded and I followed her to her room, where Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle awaited – they looked positively defeated, the unicorn in particular almost looked like she had a big, glowing K.O. floating above her head. I took a moment to take a look around – the room wasn't exactly big, but was well-lit and tidy, occupied by a bed, table, two chairs, and a locker. The Crusaders' saddlebags were piled on the bed, and their homework was on the floor, surrounded by crumpled sheets. A couple of posters adorned the walls. I looked at the two fillies sprawled despondently on the ground and sat down, giving a slight chuckle. “So, I hear you're having a bit of trouble with your homework.”
“That's putting it lightly.” Sweetie Belle gave a light huff, sitting upright. Scootaloo was scribbling something on a vacant page, her expression distant.
“Well, I might be of some help, in that case. Show me what you’re stumped by.” Sweetie Belle nodded and passed a textbook over to me. I eyed the page they had opened for a couple of moments before looking back at the three ponies.
“Multiplication, eh? Well, I could teach you a trick or two. It’s not like we don’t have any schools back at the Metro.”
It was true – when the nukes fell, there were some educated people that got to safety – teachers, technicians, the like. Stalkers would also recover books from schools on the surface on the occasion. Well, ones that weren’t burned to ash, that is. Or used as toilet paper by lowbrow bandits. Either way, I had some basic education and taught the three of them some tricks that'd be of help, and then left them to it. As I watched them three fillies, I smiled to myself at the sight of their renewed enthusiasm. They might falter on the occasion at their tasks, but the sense of accomplisment would be well worth the effort in the end. Like saving up enough MGRs to swap your Bastard out for a Kalash, or something along those lines. Their spirits lifted, they more or less breezed through their homework.
“See? Once you get the hang of it, math isn't that hard at all.” I sat up as the three small ponies packed their school things up, smiling widely as I spoke. “Well, I guess you've earned a little reward. Come on, you three.” I sat up and went to my bedroom, the Crusaders eagerly trotting behind me.
Once there, I knelt down at my backpack, and rummaged through it, pulling a couple of items out, laying them down on the bed – my gasmask, night-vision goggles, flashlight, and the battery charger. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak, pointing a hoof at the NV goggles.
“What's that for?”
“These are night-vision goggles. They let you see better in the dark. Want to try them out?”
Her answer was an unpony-like squeak and vigorous nodding. I chuckled to myself and carefully placed them on the young unicorn's face, adjusting the straps as I adressed Scootaloo. “Could you close the curtains, please?”
“Can do!” The orange pegasus cantered over to the window and pulled the two curtains shut, drastically darkening the room, and I closed the door, turning the room even darker. I plugged the goggles up to the charger and heard Sweetie let out a gasp of surprise as I turned the goggles on.
“Oh, wow! I can see all of you!” Well, that was expected. I could barely see my own hands, however. I swapped the goggles around, letting all three Crusaders see how they worked. I did the same with the rest of my equipment – Scootaloo did some spelunking below my bed, aided by the flashlight strapped to her head, and Applebloom made rather impressive noises with the gas mask muffling her voice.
In the end, I pulled out my music player, deciding to give the girls a last surprise. The small device's scuffed, time-worn screen lit up, and I scrolled through the long list of songs, eventually settling on one. A moment passed before the song started, and a tinny voice poured from the small speaker.
A little less conversation, a little more action, please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me
Satisfy me, baby
I smirked slightly as they cocked their heads sideways as one, curiosity taking hold as the song continued. A couple of moments passed and Scootaloo began to nod in rhythm, humming in tune, followed by me. The words were easy to learn, and soon, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom joined in as well.
Baby close your eyes and listen to the music
Drifting through a summer breeze
It's a groovy night and I can show you how to use it
Come along with me and put your mind at ease
My legs seemed to acquire a mind of their own and soon, the four of us kind of pranced through the upper floor rooms, singing as we did so.
A little less conversation, a little more action, please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me
Satisfy me baby
And so it went on as I let go of my concerns, instead of simply shoving them to the back of my head. The three fillies trailing after me also seemed to be having the time of their lives.
And then I reached the stairs, and took a wrong step. You can probably guess what happened next.
Come on, baby, I'm tired of aAEEHG-
Down the stairs I went, followed by three adolescent ponies, who landed on top of me, knocking me senseless for a moment. The music player clattered across the floor, still playing.
...come on, come on
Come on, come on
Don't procrastinate, don't articulate
Girl it's getting late, getting' upset waitin' around...
Applejack looked at the tangled mess of limbs that was me and the Crusaders, her jaw hanging open in surprise. A couple of moments passed and she started to snicker quietly.
“So, what've you four been gettin' up to, hmm?”
“Oh, you know. This and that.” I replied as non-chalantly as possible, and that did it for the orange farmpony, who toppled over, laughing. I already could feel bruises forming across my body.
“Ack~” I eloquently continued as the three adolescent ponies rolled off my back, and Applejack's laughter doubled. A new voice joined in, gravelly and rough.
“Hello to you too, Alyona.” I pulled myself to my feet, and looked at Bourbon, who stood near the table.
“Bourbon!”
“That's my name, don't wear it out. Been keeping busy, I see.” I could only nod at that.
“You're looking good. All patched up, I presume?”
“Da. I have to tell you, I'm feeling better than I've felt in years!” He cracked an uncharacteristic smile and I chuckled, sitting down more comfortably.
“Nice to know, man.”
“Oh, before I forget...” He rummaged through his pockets and withdrew a couple of golden tickets. “The Princess dropped by when I was signed out from the hospital. Says some sort of party's taking place in a week or so in that big, fancy castle of hers. We're both invited, apparently.”
Somewhere else, Pinkie Pie paused in whatever she was doing, and looked around thoughtfully. “Oh, somepony's pulling the cliché invited-to-the-Gala scene...” With a hum, she resumed her task, whatever that may be.
Applejack smiled at the news. “Well, tha's great t'know! Guess we'll be seein' ya there, huh? Oh, Ah should warn ya b'forehand, though – there is one requirement f'r the Gala.”
I turned to look at the farmpony, cocking an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Y'all are gonna need some formalwear!” She exclaimed, mostly at Bourbon, who was anything but sophisticated. True enough, he baulked in shock, while I gasped in surprise.
“I get to wear a dress?” I exclaimed, all but bouncing up and down, making Bourbon groan in defeat.
“Chyort.”
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The story is almost over!?! But I only just discovered it!
3893281 Sorry about that, dude. There'll be other stories from me. Hopefully, they'll be better ones. Fairly sure that at least two of them will be first ones of their kind to grace this site.
3893426 Well...
quickmeme.com/img/7f/7fa6b0be9d5614e6e8aa57089f47c718ec462a462188bb1b058a1456cfd02d12.jpg
3893473 Should be good, dude.
Make that three crossovers, actually. Just had an idea for another one.
In the meanwhile, feel free to take a look at the rest of my
insanity-inducing ramblingsstories.3894083 Alyona told the Mane six about him when she told them about her. That's a logical conclusion to draw to, isn't it?