Two U.S. Air Forces pilots are brought to Equestria. They just want to get home to their families, but something is forcing them to stay
2 of the most skilled pilots are sucked into Equestria. Upon landing they are greeted with mixed emotions. It's obvious that they aren't suppose to be here, but something, or someone has brought them here. It's certain that what brought them to Equestria was no accident. Now they must find out who brought them, and "Kindly" ask that pony to send them back.
"I'll see you when I get back honey. Kiss the baby for me."
"Jason! Hurry up! Mission starts at O-700."
I watched as Jason shut off the T.V. and started praying. Some where in the back of my head I could hear the old war phrase repeating over and over again.
Go to war expecting to live, and you will die. Go to war expecting to die, and you live.
I couldn't help but feel bad for my partner. A week away from our rotation back home and we get called on a top secret mission. His baby girl was just born 3 months ago and he has yet to hold her in real life. He is a man that I consider my only family. His wife is so kind and no matter what happens she always finds a reason to smile at the end of their calls. He is a down-to-earth man and I respect him for that.
"Hey James. My wife said hello. And she can't wait to see us when we get back. She also said you can stay as long as you want under the circumstances." Jason said while putting on the standard grey flight suit.
"Well at least I have something to look forward to when I get back." I said with a fake smile.
At the beginning of our 15 week rotation, my girl friend.... Well ex girl friend, had told me she couldn't handle the long distance relationship. I knew it was a lie. A week before I went on duty she was never around. She always had something to do and never could fit in anytime for me. I never asked questions because I trusted her with all my heart. That is, until I saw her with a "best friend" making out in front of her house. I was glad I went back to this hell. I'm not sure I could've held in all the anger I had.
"Hey James. You going to be okay?" Jason asked.
I closed my locker and looked at Jason. "You know..... I'm not sure." I said with a smile on my face. "Come on. We got work to do."
He nodded and we made our way through the small metal hallways. Soliders and crew members saluted as we walked by. Being part of the elite Sky Scorpions was no laughing matter. Our rank and our kill count added to our fame. I was a captain. We passed the final door and we could see the vast ocean we sailed on. The cool air and ocean mist brushed past me as we climbed on deck. Crew members were rushing to get the 2 F-22 Raptors ready. Jason walked past me and got into his jet simply named Angel of Death. My jet was named ghost because no matter how many dog fights I got in, I would sneak up behind an enemy's tail and blast it off. It was recently people just started calling me Ghost. I would never walk around the ship, but when I did I wore a blank expression on my face. Only few have seen me on the ship and only a hand full of them have talked to me.
"Here you go sir." One of the crew members said while handing me a helmet.
I didn't reply. I just took the helmet and climbed into the cockpit. I began a pre-flight check and closed the canopy.
"Check 1. 2. James can you hear me?" Jason said over the radio.
"Full copy. Radios are hot. Flight deck are we clear?" I asked
"Stand by." A couple seconds passed by. "Okay you have the all clear. Your target is a base located in the northern hills of Afgan. Don't be to surprised when you see trees. Be warned, there has been a lot of activity at that base. Soldiers have spotted mobile SAM's and radar dishes." The tower bellowed.
"Full copy. What's our call sign and designation for this mission?" I asked.
"Call sign is Hunter Killer and designation is X-RAY. How copy?"
"Full copy. Clear to fire engines." I said while checking wings and rudders.
"Stand by we are lifting the blast shield now."
Just as he finished speaking, 2 huge slabs of steel came up from the deck. I flipped a switch and a low humming came from my jet. I flipped a second switch and the jet jumped forward.
"Hydro launch has you locked in. Go full throttle and stand by." A crew member said over the mic.
I eased the stick forward and the jet responded with loud hissing.
"5...4....3....2....1...."
The jet sprang forward and my head was nailed to the seat. A single second passed by and I felt the jet start to dip. Pulling back on the stick cleared the dropping and soon I was heading toward the sky.
"Jason when you are up go half throttle and get on my wing." I said.
"Roger."
"Okay. Hunter Killer 1. you have the sky. Make sure to fly in the cloud layer to not be detected."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Jason asked.
"Only way not to be spotted. Sorry Hunter Killer 2."
Jason formed up on my wing and we climbed into the cloud layer. The clouds were white and scattered which made flying through them was as easy as cutting butter with a hot knife. I strapped my oxygen mask on and looked over to Jason. He gave me a thumbs up and looked straight forward. We were in business and we were about to leave the US Airforce's calling card in a Afgan forest.
"Hunter Killer this is the last transmission. Let it be known that if you do not take down your target, Bulldog Squad will be there to level the place."
"Thanks for the words of encouragement. Hunter Killers out"
---------------
"Dam these clouds got dark real quick." James said in a nervous tone.
"Relax. Clouds never brought down a jet before." I replied calmly.
We were an hour away from out target and it looked like we were about to hit a storm. Suddenly heavy turbulence started shaking the jet violently. The instruments started going wild.
"James we got to pull up!" Jason yelled.
After seeing some electrical bolts form in the clouds I gave the all clear to head up above the cloud layer. One last violent shake and everything started working. We broke the cloud layer and saw the open sky. There was nothing but sky, sun, and clouds as far as the eye could see. Some pilots say you could go crazy flying up there. You lose all sense of time and direction. I slid the HUD visor off my helmet visor to see the vast emptiness. I saw why pilots would go crazy up here. There is nothing for miles.
"Jason you okay?" I asked while looking at his jet.
"Yeah. Sorry I got a little scared back there. I just want to make it home to see my daughter." He said.
"Everyone makes mistakes. You are fine now. Trust me we are all human."
---------------
"Hey James do you have a target on you HUD?" Jason asked while looking around.
"No. I'm sure we should've been over the target by now." I said looking down at the floor waiting for the target to appear.
"Do you think the electrical storm blew out our computers?" Jason asked frantically.
"No. My HUD is still giving an attack angel and height readings. Lets go down and see if we can identify and land marks." I said while preparing my counter flares and weapons. "Weapons hot."
"James are you sure that is a good idea?" Jason asked nervously.
"It doesn't have to be a good idea. It our orders to take down a base and go home." I said as I looked across to see Jason checking our surroundings.
He nodded his head. "Your right. We are Sky Scorpions! We don't back down."
"Damn right! On my command we dive........... Go."
I pushed the stick down and the jet quickly responded by dropping its nose down. I looked over and saw Jason close to my wing as we entered the could layer. The clouds were pure white and it made my eyes hurt when we passed through them.
"Go quarter throttle." I called out on the radio.
I pulled the throttle stick back and waited for the clouds to pass. When we finally broke could cover, we were met with a huge surprise.
"What the hell!? It's so green. Did we fly into Germany or France?" Jason yelled.
The ground was dark green and covered in trees. We passed a few small lakes and saw wild life scatter to the sound of our engines. I pulled up and then pushed the stick slightly to the right. The jet rotated slightly and I got a clear view of the ground. It was so beautiful and green. It was like a garden made be the angles. As I scanned for life, my scanner for air contacts came alive. It read an object was closing in fast from 5 O'clock.
"War speed on! Get ready to go weapons hot!" I called out.
I went balls to the wall full throttle. The jets pure power forced me head back into the seat. When the jet hit full power I pulled straight up back to the clouds. I wanted to shake off the bogey so I could get a clear shot.
"Clouds now!" I yelled.
I yanked back on the stick and soon passed back into the cloud layer. We broke the top of the cloud layer and were alone. I looked back and the contact hadn't followed us. I was breathing heavily and I could feel sweat under my helmet. For a second I thought I was going to die.
"James! Break left now!" Jason screamed into the radio.
I looked back and the contact was coming at me faster than before. I slammed the stick to the left and forward. The jet quickly began to spin over and dive. When I regained control I kicked in the afterburners and dived into the cloud layer. I looked back to see Jason and the contact following me.
Nothing is faster than a Raptor in a dive with afterburners on I thought as we passed the bottom of the cloud layer.
The jets were moving so fast that we both broke the sound barrier. The contact was now just a blimp far away.
"Go full speed until we lose that bogey." I said to Jason.
Just as he was going to respond there was a massive explosion behind us. When I turned around I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"James are you seeing this!? Am I going crazy?" Jason yelled.
There was a huge blast in the sky that made a rainbow explosion. A rainbow was flying directly towards us. We were both at full power, but the rainbow made us look like we were standing still. It passed between us and continued to fly straight. I pulled up and so did Jason. When we could see each others jets we leveled out. Suddenly the rainbow turned a 90 degree turn. It made a perfect right angle and I wasn't sure if we should be worried about something that could make a rainbow by just flying. The rainbow creator turned back towards us, but this time I didn't feel threatened. Jason on the other hand was freaking out.
"Shit! What do I do?" He yelled.
"Cut throttle to half and kill afterburners. No need to get violent." I said calmly.
"What the fuck?! Are you fucking crazy?" He screamed.
"Do you really think something that makes a rainbow just by flying fast could be a threat to and F-22 Raptor? Cool your jets and just fly straight. I promise nothing will happen." I said while dialing back the throttle.
The rainbow disappeared and the contact was flying towards us. I really hoped I was right about the contact. If not..... I might have gotten us killed. The contact screamed past us. It must have been flying close to the speed of sound. I pulled the throttle back more and opened the air brakes. The jet slowly flew across the sky and I waited for the contact to pass again. When I looked back to see if my HUD still picked up the contact, It registered about 20 to 30 more contact flying towards our jets. Once again, Jason felt the need to be afraid.
"Oh hell no! It brought a lot of friends! I'm heading back to the clouds." He yelled.
"Fine. I will wait down here. I will call you when I need you." I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice.
His jet pulled up as I prepared for my death. I couldn't hurt to be ready. I took a deep breath and turned around. The contact were about 100 yards behind me. It wouldn't be long before they would be right on top of me. I shook my head and tried to believe in my own choice. I looked back and they were 50 yards away. I couldn't really tell what the hell I was looking at. They were to far away to make out the model of jet we were fighting. I relaxed and slowed my breathing down. They would be here any second. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I waited for my own death, but nothing happened. When I opened my eyes I was still flying straight with nothing coming towards me. I looked over to my left and.....
I don't believe it. I thought.
My jet was surrounded by small flying horses of many colors. I looked at them as they looked at me and my jet. I could tell, we were both confused.
"Jason..... You wouldn't believe what was chasing us. Come out of the clouds. It's clear." I said over the radio, never breaking eye contact with a blue flying horse thing. It had rainbow colored hair and I wanted to believe it was the thing chasing us. It started looking for something else and I wanted to know what. I saw Jason's tag show up in my HUD. He would be seeing the little horses soon and I really wanted to hear his reaction. The flying horses opened up a space for him to fly right next to me.
"Are we dead or going crazy?" Jason asked while looking around. "What are you seeing? I just want to make sure you are seeing what I'm seeing."
"I'm seeing a lot of colorful flying horses. You?" I said looking around.
"Well we must be dead." He said in a confident tone.
Just as I was going to respond, the light blue horse got right next canopy and tapped it. It was pointing down and I was sure it wanted me to land. I nodded and tilted my jet looking for a place to land. Some of the flying horses were flying toward a long stretch of grass fields. It looked like it was 300 or 400 yards long and about 60 yards across. More than enough space for the F-22 to land.
"Jason see that patch of land?" I asked while dropping my gear.
"The one on your 9 o'clock?" He asked
"Yup. I'm setting my bird down there." I said while coming around.
I put the throttle to idle and started my descent. Slowly my jet passed the tree line. I cut the engines and prepared for the landing. There was a loud thud and the whole jet shook. I had put the wheels on the ground. It was actually very smooth for a grass field. The jet rolled to a stop and I looked around. There were a number of colorful horses running to my jet. I reached for my emergency survival pack and a little oxygen tank. In the survival kit I never packed food or water. My "Kit" was actually a M-16 gun case I kept behind my flight chair. My M-16 had a standard rifle scope with a bidpod mount. I kept this because I accepted death, but I wanted to take as many enemy's as I could.
"Jason you are clear for landing." I said while unlatching the locks that kept the case closed.
I looked back and saw his jet making a descent. Looking back at the small horses I realized they looked more like ponies. It made me feel stupid calling them small horses this whole time. I puled off my breathing mask and I took off my helmet. Jason had landed a couple yards behind me and began preparing for his exit. Like me, he carried a gun instead of food or water. The one thing the Aircore taught us was to never be caught. We were special flyers and if they caught us it would be a death sentence. So each member of the 383th carried a rifle to fight their way out, or take the easy way out.
"Are you sure about this?" Jason asked.
"To late now."
I put the O2 mask on and opened the canopy. I stepped on the seat and jumped onto the back of the jet. With my M16 in hand I jumped on the wing and then on the floor below. The ponies were looking at me with confused gazes and some with fearful glances. I walked over to Jason's jet and tapped the side 3 times. He handed me his gun and got off the jet the same way I did. The flying ponies had landed and joined the group in wonder, and fear. I scanned the ground for the light blue one that was brave enough to tap the glass and trust me enough to land in a crowded zone. All the ponies were about 3 1/2 feet tall, but it seemed like none of them had the same color pallet as the one next to it. At the end of their bodies it looked like each pony had a picture of something. I'm not sure if it was a tattoo or dyed in, but they all looked different as well.
I took a deep breath and just spoke in a confident strong tone. "Hello. I'm James and this is my friend Jason. Does anybody understand me?" I said in a way that made me look like a person in movies trying to speak to a person from another country.
"Is that how your people really talk?" The light blue pony stepped forward. It had a female voice, but it sounded very confident.
"They fucking talk!?" Jason yelled.
This is going to take some getting used to.
"Wait you know what we are saying? You speak English?" I asked.
"Well for us it's Equestrian but I guess it is the same." The light blue pony said.
"Okay okay..... I really like how you can just dive right into a conversation with a talking, flying horse thing." Jason said while trying to piece together how calm I was.
"Your friend is right. You seem to be just fine with us." The light blue pony said getting closer.
I tightened the grip on my M16 and waited for something to happen. I really hoped that I didn't have to use it.
"I just accept things as they are so I could be able to adapt to this easy." I said while trying to keep everyone calm. "Now exactly what are you and why are we here?"
"Well that's something our princ......" It was cut off by a loud howl coming from the edge of the forest.
Jason raised his gun and looked me dead in the eye. "What the fuck was that?" He asked returning his eyes to his ACOG on the top mount rail.
"I don't know. Lets ask our new hosts. Care to explain what is making that howling sound?" I asked.
When I looked back to the group of ponies I was shocked to see them huddling together with their ears straight up and their eyes searching the edge of the forest for any signs of the creature that made this noise. Suddenly I heard a twig snap in the forest. I could hear the steps of a large creature walking just along the edge of the light. The ponies cowered in a corner and watched for the creature.
"Contact at the tree line." I whispered.
Jason tapped my back and we advanced on the creature. I heard a growl and I dropped to a knee. Whatever it was, it didn't like me getting close to it.
"Uh James. That thing decided to br-bring fri-friends." Jason stammered.
The sound of steps were coming from behind me. That's when the first creature howled louder than before. More and more of the creatures howled around us.
"Fall back and cover the civi..... Ponies!" I yelled.
Jason pulled away and started for the group of ponies huddled by our jets. I stood up and started after him.
"Look out!" The light blue pony yelled.
A huge figure hit my right side, just above my hip. I hit the floor and the creature was on top of me. My face was practically inside it's mouth. I put both of my hands on the mid section and pushed it off. The creature flew a couple feet before hitting the ground with a loud thud. When I stood up I finally saw what was attacking us. They were like wolves, but they were made of wood. More of them showed up to help their wounded comrade. Once it shook it's head it set a death gaze on me. I slung my M-16 into my hands and took aim. The wolf thing charged.
Big mistake.
I pulled the trigger and a single shot left my gun. I hit the wolf right between the eyes. It fell to the ground and I set my sights on the next attacker. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, something clamped on my leg with a painful amount of force. It kept squeezing and I knew it broke skin. I looked down and saw the wolf I just shot trying to bite my leg off. I flipped the M-16 to full auto and shot the wooden wolf until it stopped moving. I felt helpless as nothing worked. My mag was empty and it was still trying to kill me. To make matters worse, the other wooden wolves saw I was trapped and began advancing toward me. I began to panic.
"Let go of me you piece of shit!" I yelled while bashing its head in with the stalk of my M-16.
Every time I hit it, the pain would intensify. I could see the blood running down its wooden fangs. Finally I lost control.
"Fuck you! I'm not going to die here!" I yelled.
I reached for my holstered SnW 500. It was a 5 shot hand cannon that use .50 pistol rounds. I put it directly on the neck of the wolf and pulled the trigger. Bits of wood flew every where as I fell to the floor. I forced my self up and started hobbling to the jets about 20 yards away. One of the wolves jumped away from the pack and charged toward me. I took aim and pulled the trigger. I'm not sure where I hit, but there was a huge piece of its upper right shoulder missing. It dropped back and I continued. Finally I could see Jason and the group of ponies. He ran out to get me, but a wolf had a different idea. It jumped at me and knocked me to the ground. This time I was ready. I unloaded 3 shots to its gut, each of which made a huge hole through and through. The body went limp and broke into twigs and branches. I stood up and Jason got under me and helped me walk to the group of ponies. He set me down and I took a knee while reloading. The wolves started an all out attack and Jason was putting shells into them. I reloaded My M-16 and looked down the scope. One by one the wolves fell to the 5.52 mm M-16 round. At the end there was nothing but sticks, logs, branches, and twigs laying around the jets. Jason dropped 3 of his 10 mags. i dropped 2 of my 10 and 5 .50 cal rounds for my pistol. Jason helped me up and we turned to see the ponies faces. They were in complete horror.
"Demons! They can only kill! The timber wolves were only a warm up! They are going to kill us next." One pony shouted. They all started screaming and started for a little dirt path way.
The only one left was the light blue one. It winced when it looked at the wound on my leg. It frantically searched around the area flew off quickly.
"Jason. Get the med pack from the jet." I said before falling back down.
Jason ran for my jet. "Guess this is what we get for saving them. We are the monsters." He said while pulling the canopy open.
"Let me get patched up and we are taking off." I said trying to keep my mind off the pain.
He rummaged through the jet and I tried to keep pressure off the leg where I was bit. I closed my eyes and tried to think of happy memories. Needless to say all that came to mind was the pictures of my girl friend making out with that guy. When I was about to lose my mind I felt a gust of wind roll past me and something came down next to me. When I opened my eyes, the light blue pony was there with a little kit being held by her teeth. She had a little pale of water behind the kit and she set it all down gently.
"I'm here to help you. It might hurt a little. Are you going to be okay with that?" She asked in a clam tone.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." I replied.
She pulled my pant leg up past my knee and looked at the gashes that still had blood coming out. It looked like she was having a hard time trying to look at the blood. She picked up the bucket with her teeth and carefully pored it on my leg. The blood and water trickled down my leg and on to the ground to form a small pink puddle. The gashes were fully visible now and it didn't help her condition. She burred her face into her hooves and was trying to take deep breaths. I extended my hand and rested it on her head. She took her hooves away and looked at me with tears starting to stream down her fur.
"My friend will take care of me. You don't need to force yourself to do this." I smiled and tussled her hair a little.
She looked shocked. "How can you smile? Aren't you in pain?" She asked.
"Yeah but I have felt a pain that is worse than physical." I looked to my jet and Jason hopped off of it and ran toward me. "Now run along before your family or friends think we killed you."
---------------
"Okay begin pre-flight check."
"Clear and re..... What's that?"
I looked out to see a group of armored ponies coming towards us with spears. One of the ponies landed on the canopy of my jet.
"You are under arrest and will be taken to Canterlot to decide your punishment."
The sun light broke through the window and shone on to my dirty face. Sweat, dirt, and traces of dried blood covered my face. I pulled myself up and stood on my tired feet. The ponies had locked our arms in chains and left us for 3 days. I was tried and very thirsty, but there was no one there to hear us call. This was something I feared in my world and now it was happening in this world I knew nothing about.
I wonder why they have done this to us. We saved them from those things and let them go without a single protest. My thoughts were interrupted by a loud metal clank.
The door started to slide open. The old un-oiled door hinges creaked and clanked as the heavy door was opened fully. The light was so intense that I couldn't see what was coming. Jason's chains shuttered and I could feel something on my arms. Suddenly the cuffs unlocked and I fell to the floor. Something hit me right in the stomach and I heaved in pain.
"The princess has requested you in the throne room. We are just making sure you aren't going to try anything stupid when you get up there." It must have been one of the guards that has been "taking care" of us for the past couple of days.
I heard the other guard hitting Jason over and over again. My guard joined in. Something lifted me by the neck and I was thrown across the room. My eyes were adjusted to the light and now I could see the shadow of the pony attacking my. Its horn started to glow and I was lifted again. It stood on Its rear legs and started throwing body blows. Each hit felt like it was swinging a hammer directly into my ribs. After 2 minuets of being beaten by the guards we were thrown on the ground and cuffed again. The chains went from our wrists to a large ring around our necks then a separate chain was in the guards hoof. He yanked on the chain and we slowly got on our feet. The warmth of the sun did nothing to calm me down. The halls were filled with the sound of the chains rattling and heavy steps. We got to a stair case the seemed like it went on to heaven and began the slow walk up. The guards became more and more angry with our slowing pace. Every time we stopped, we were beaten until we were back on our feet. We stopped again and they followed with a beating. I was quick to get up, but Jason laid on the ground being beaten. The guard in charge stopped him and looked closely at Jason.
"I don't think this ones going to make it." He said while kicking at Jason's lifeless body.
I looked over and spoke with whatever energy I had left. "Jason. Your child is waiting for you at home. You need to get up."
Jason's eyes shuttered and he put both of his arms under him.
"Well I guess you are tough creatures. Come on. The princess is waiting for you." The leader said while pulling on my chain again.
Another long walk and we finally reach what seemed like the top of the world. One last hallway that lead to 2 huge doors then we would get to see the ruler of this fucked up world. The doors opened to a large room with huge stained glass windows, painted with different ponies. I saw one that looked familiar. The cerulean girl pony with the rainbow hair style was painted on a couple of the pictures. I wondered what she did to have a painting like that in their leaders room.
"As you requested princess." One of the guards said with his head lowered.
I looked at the large pony, with her wings expanded she looked like she was about to fly some where. She stepped down from the large throne and proceeded towards us. One of the guards held a hoof up.
"Princess I would advise not to come any closer. You never know what these things can do."
She looked at him with a stern gaze. "I'm perfectly capable of defending myself captain. Please don't give me orders."
The captain took a step back and the Princess walked right up to us.
"Oh dear what have they been doing to you?" She asked.
I lifted my head and looked directly into her eyes. She actually looked concerned for our well being. She walked away and her horn began to glow. A little cart rolled in with food and I assumed drinks.
"I was going to have this for lunch, but I think you should have it." The princess said with a caring smile.
The glowing went around our cuffs and they fell to the floor. Looking at the little cart, I almost couldn't control myself. Jason jumped and started eating what ever he could get his hands on. I quickly followed. I had no clue what I was eating, but it looked good and I ate it. Within a minuet there was nothing but cleaned plates on the little cart. It all tasted like salad, but it did taste a lot better than the rations on the ship.
"My my. I see that my guards have treated you without any kindness and I'm very sorry."
I looked up from the cart and stared at the princess. "I find it hard to believe that you called us up here to apologize."
She seemed offended. "Well that may be true, but I have my reasons. I'm just trying to show some hospitality."
"By hospitality you mean lock us in a cage with no food or water for 3 days." Jason said from behind me.
"It had to be done. My fellow princess's and I were trying to work out a deal with our ponies." The princess said with her head down.
"You are the rulers of this kingdom. Why can't you just decide what should and shouldn't be done?" Jason asked.
She looked back up. "We are trying to run a kingdom, not a dictatorship."
"So wait, we get no say in our own fates?" I asked.
"The ponies are scared of you." She looked around and got closer to us. "I'm not to sure what to think either. The citizens want you to be locked up for all of your days."
"If you really felt that way we would still be in that jail, so what stopped you?" I asked
"A loyal subject of mine contacted me and told me you are no threat unless attacked. She is very loyal and I can trust her word." She walked over to a large window overlooking the castle and took a deep breath. "My sister and my loyal student have consulted our citizens and come up with a deal for you."
"Why should we take this deal?" Jason asked.
"Simple. Accept or we have no choice but to lock you up." The princess replied rather cheerfully.
"Okay whats the deal." I asked before Jason could give his opinion.
"We will allow you to stay in Equestria if you preform simple tasks to prove you are good. If you fail then you are going to be locked up."
"Great. We only have one path to take. So what kind of tasks do you have planned?" I asked.
The princess's horn started glowing and a chest was lifted in front of us. It opened and reviled our guns, ammo, and knives.
"You will not have these until your tests are complete. I want you to know they are here in the castle as motivation."
I put a hand on my face and took a deep breath. "Yeah whatever. Now what are our tasks?"
"Just know that you will never see these again if you fail."
"Alright what are our tasks?" I asked again.
The princess turned and looked at her guards. "They will be locked away at....."
"We get it! Just please give us the mission so we can come back and get out of this fucked up world!" I yelled.
The princess looked surprised. "You don't care about the danger or the fact that you might die trying to prove you worth?"
"No because if we fail we are dead anyway. It doesn't matter how you cut it. We are dead one way or the other. Unless we pass and then what? We live in a world where we are feared? Yeah sounds great." Jason said grimly.
The princess raised a hoof to her chin. It looked like she was thinking about the way we looked at the situation. For us it was simple. If we completed our task, then we would come back feared and hated. If we failed and returned then we would be locked up. If we failed and died then it wouldn't be anybody's problem. Life would continue as it has been, and the only way we would be remembered is by story of the ponies that feared us.
"Okay your task is simple. One of my subjects has reported her animals going missing next to the Everfree Forest. She wants you to go in and check what is taking them. You will be sent to Ponyville right now so go to the armory to get weapons."
"What happens when we find the thing that's taking her animals?" I asked.
The princess looked at her guards and nodded. "If it's a pony, take it into custody. If its something else, then try to get it to move on. If it doesn't and decides to attack, then you are free to do what you want."
"Sounds simple enough." Jason said with a smile.
"Once you have completed this task come back to the castle for the next one. My personal guards will take you to the armory." The princess dismissed the guards who beat us. "Sun Furry, Divine Wind you may enter."
2 guards stepped out from behind the throne and took place at her side. "I want you to escort these...."
"Humans." I finished.
"Humans to the armory. Give them weapons and lead them to a chariot. Make sure you get them out of Canterlot with out being spotted."
The guards nodded and started for the door. It was a long walk down the stairs we were beaten on. There were service ponies cleaning the blood we left. When we got to the bottom floor it was a quick walk to a room towards the back of the castle. I had seen the door before. It was close to our cell and I saw the door on the way up. One of the guards went inside and looked around. He came back outside and gave the all clear. The room was full of spears, swords, and crossbows. The actual armor was to small so we stayed in our combat gear. We washed our cloths in a sink and found showers. Since every thing was built to be pony size we didn't exactly have the most relaxing time. When we left the armory our cloths were some what clean, and we were ready for what waited for us at Ponyville.
It was surprising to see the 2 ponies pull a chariot that could fly. The physics of this world still throw me for a loop, but I can't think about that. The mission seemed clear and I was sure it wouldn't be much of a challenge. We began our descent into the town of Ponyville. The guards couldn't walk us through the center of town so we landed on the outskirts. I was glad to hear that the pony with the complaint lived on the outskirts of town. After a short walk through a forest we arrived at a cozy little cottage with lots of animals. The pony guards told us to wait at the bottom of a small path leading to the front door. Me and Jason took time to check the surroundings. There was a clearing in that turned into the forest. It was a 20 yard distance from the edge of the fence the pony put up, to the forest. It made getting to the little animals would be no problem in the cover of night. A guard walked up to me and tapped my arm.
"Okay. Miss Fluttershy is here to tell you exactly what she saw." The guard said in a hushed tone.
A little yellow pony inched towards us. It was light yellow with a pink hair style that cover one of her eyes.
"Go ahead and tell these two what you told us." The guard said.
"Oh... um o-okay. Las-Last ni-night I heard so-something running a-away from my animal pen." She whispered.
"Well I think I got most of what you said. Where did... It run off to?" I asked.
The little pony put its head down. "It went that way."
It pointed to a patch of bush that was disturbed. It was like someone carved a hole in the bush so they could get away without being hurt. The hole in the bush reviled a old dirt trail. I signaled Jason to follow me and we started down the dirt road. We were only allowed to have a single spear the was about 4 feet in length, which didn't match our size, and a small sword. Personally I would enjoy hunting something with my knife, but since our knives aren't allowed, we had to use the mini weapons. We walked the trail for 10 minuets and soon we left the yellow pony's house. We were in a completely different forest. The trees that shaded us had apples on them and it looked like they were planted in rows.
The yellow pony finally spoke in a voice that everyone could hear. "Hey this is Sweet Apple Acres. My friend Applejack lives here."
"Do you think it's her?" I asked.
"I don't think so." She whispered. "But I think we could try....."
There was a loud bang and me and Jason dropped to the floor. When we looked up There was a clearing with a single tree standing alone in the middle. Me and Jason advanced to the edge of the trees and waited in the shade. In the tree there was a little club house. I could hear animals making a lot of noise and 3 little girl scream.
I tapped Jason on the shoulder. "Some sick fuck is taking children with the animals."
"Lets kill the bastard even if it's a pony!" He whispered a little loudly.
I pulled out my spear and charged out of the bushes. Jason was quick to follow. We got to the tree house walkway in no time. We advanced up with caution knowing that the wood could break and alert the kidnapper. When we finally got to the door, I noticed the guards didn't follow us.
I guess we are expendable. I thought.
Jason tapped me and I refocused on what we were doing. I nodded and he reached for the door knob. Jason carefully turned it and pushed the door open. That's when I realized it wasn't terrified screaming. It was giggling and playful screaming. I set the spear down and got down to look in the door. It was painted bright orange and there were little decorations. 3 little ponies were chasing the animals around and having fun while doing it.
"Apple Bloom the rabbit is going your way." The white one said.
"Ah got it! OW! Watch it Scootaloo." The yellow one was rubbing her head.
"Sorry about that." An orange one replied. "The rabbit is going to......"
The orange one locked eyes on me and instantly froze up.
"Scootaloo? Are..." The yellow one saw me as well
"We've been spotted!" I yelled.
The three ponies screamed and huddled in a corner.
"Fall back!"
I jumped off the side of the railing and Jason followed. As we ran back to the guards, I could hear something coming towards me. Suddenly, I saw an orange pony making a break towards the club house. It didn't even stop to notice us. But then I saw what did notice us. There was a large red pony on a collision course with Jason. I stopped and pushed Jason out of the way. By that time, the large red pony had passed the edge of the forest and was in full view. There was no time to dodge so I just braced for impact. It stopped, dug its front legs in the ground and some how turned its body around using the momentum. It used its rear legs and kicked me right in the gut. I was pushed off my feet and flew a couple feet before hitting the ground. The pain was intense, but I stood up and spit a bit of blood.
"Lets go!" I yelled.
The red pony charged again, but this time I jumped out of it's way. It used its rear legs to try and kick me again, but I caught one. I pulled it back and the large pony fell onto its face. I jumped in front of him and took out my sword to make sure he knew what would happen if he got up to attack. As I began to relax something hit me in the back of the leg. The red pony saw I was hit and tackled me. Just as he was about to hit me the yellow pony flew in and and grabbed the red pony's arm.
"Stop!" She yelled. "There with me."
"Fulttershy?" The red pony asked. "These...Things were going to attack mah' little sister."
"Oh no. They were looking for my lost animals." She said a little louder than a whisper.
"Apple Bloom. Did you take Fluttershy's animals?"
There was an orange pony staring down the little yellow pony. "Amh so sorry. Me and the crusaders wanted to get our cutie marks in animal care. Amh so sorry Fulttershy."
"Well it's okay. I went to check on the animals and they seem fine."
"Would anyone mind asking this one to get off me." I said.
"Oh amh sorry. I thought you were trying to hurt mah sister." The large pony sounded like a guy so I just took a wild guess.
"It's cool man. You are just trying to protect your family." I said while brushing myself off.
"Ah' hope ah' didn't hurt you." He said while rubbing the back of his neck.
"I will be fine." I said. "I'm just glad this didn't turn into something worse."
------Froggy Bottom Bog------
"Come on I know it's here. Spike said he saw one." Snips said as he threw rocks in the brown water.
"Well thank you for helping me find my little animals." The little yellow pony said with a kind smile.
"No problem miss..." Jason tried to remember her name.
"Fluttershy." She finished.
We smiled and shook her... hoof. It defiantly felt different but it didn't bother me or Jason to much. We started for the chariot when the guards stopped us. The one named Sun Fury pulled out a basket.
"Okay I haven't been honest. I have a date today and I'm not going to miss it. Just hang out here with Wind until I get back." Sun said while taking off his armor.
I got a little angry. "Hey we came here to do our job so we can fucking leave. You can have your little fuck fest later."
"What's that word you keep using?" He asked while taking the main piece of armor off. "I don't know what it means, but it sounds like an insult. F-Fu-Fuck?"
Well that takes the wind out of my argument. I sighed. "Look it's a really bad insult where I come from, but can we please just go back to the castle?"
"Why? If Celestia isn't there, her little guards are going to throw you in the dungeon. Just relax. There is plenty of shade and the breeze is cool."
Jason looked around. "He does have a point. Better to get some real rest now, before we go back to the castle for our next mission."
"See now you're thinking. Hey Wind, think you can handle?" Sun asked while stretching.
He smiled and removed his helmet. "Go for broke. I got this."
Sun started for a dirt road that lead to the little town of Ponyville. I took off my combat shirt and laid on the grass. It was time for some real rest.
"Hey if you need me I'll be napping in the tree above you. Oh and don't try anything, because other ponies aren't as nice as us. They will kill you on site." Wind said with a smile.
"Um sure." Jason replied weakly.
The breeze blew gently and the leaves swayed in response. There weren't many places on earth where you could just lay down and enjoy beauty of nature. This place is so perfect and it still doesn't seem real. The real world we came from is so terrible. Fulttershy handled the little ponies so well. If that was on earth, there would be hell to pay for taking someone else's animals. Here they didn't even get a slap on the wrist..... Or whatever they call it here. I really think this is some kind of heaven because it's just to peaceful.
---------------
"JAMES! WAKE UP!"
My eyes shot open and I jump to my feet. I could see smoke coming from some where and I could hear screams. There was a tan giant mutli headed snake thing rampaging in the town.
"Jason? What the fuck is that thing?" I asked while grabbing my shirt.
"I don't know! It's attacking the town." He shouted from the top of a tree.
"Sun Fury is there!" I yelled.
"I know! Wind went to the castle to get our weapons!" He shouted.
There was no way he could be back in time. The monster was destroying the little town.
"No time! I'm going now!" I yelled while picking up the little sword and spear.
"Jesus dude. There is no way you can stop that thing!" He said while coming down.
I started running down the dirt road as fast as my legs could take me. I have got to try!
When I got into the town center, ponies were running away to the forest. I set the sword in the holder and gripped my spear with both hands. I charged toward the beast and stabbed it in one or it's massive legs. The creature howled and all four of its heads turned to face me.
"Leave this town alone and fight me!" I screamed pulling the spear out.
The creature hollered and one of its heads came right at me. I jumped back and the head smashed against the ground with an impact that shook the town. I stabbed it in the center of the head, only to find a skull the was stronger then the little spear. The head retreated and the monster lifted a leg to smash me. I put the butt end of the spear in the ground and jumped away. The monster dropped its huge leg right on top of the spear. It quickly retreated and screamed in pain. I unsheathed my sword and waited for a counter strike. The monster shot one of its heads at me and I jumped back. When it hit the ground it started hacking away at the head and the nose. Blood poured form the gashes and covered me and my sword. More of its heads started to attack. I dodged them and started for the edge of town to and open field. It continued throwing its body at me to no avail.
I stood in the open field and put the sword into my right hand. The bloody head growled and the others were angry. All four heads came at me from different directions. Two came straight, one was to my left, and one was to my right. I dropped to the ground and all four heads collided. I started stabbing at the heads of the monsters. Their blood showered me as I continued to hack and stab at the bottom of their heads and necks. They pulled back and looked at me. I stood up covered in the blood and looked back at them. They growled and I strapped my helmet on tighter. It actually ran towards me. Each step was like thunder and the ground trembled. One of its heads flung its self forward. I waited until the last minuet then jumped out of the way. It stopped before hitting the ground and looked me directly in the eyes. Its huge green eyes burned with hate and the blood that poured out of its neck was boiling. It opened its mouth and tried to kill me right there. I side stepped and jumped on the the neck of the creature. I turned my sword down and cut into the creatures neck. It screamed and tried to throw me off. I jumped off the side with the sword still cutting the neck. When I finished, the monsters neck was cut in half. The head started leaning and the skin and bone holding the neck together snapped. The head and part of the neck slammed against the ground with a thunderous smash. The field was tainted dark red and rivers of blood moved to the pure green fields.
"One down. Three to go."
Ponies started gathering at the edge of the town and watched as I cleaned my sword in the grass. Sun shot out from the crowd and blew past the monster. He landed next to me and lowered himself to the ground.
"Here to help. What do you need?" He asked.
"Distract it. If I can put enough holes in that thing, it should bleed to death."
A voice from behind me spoke up. "Well you are going to need extra power for that."
Jason and Wind were standing with a large box. When he opened it, our guns and knives sat inside. I pulled out my scoped M16 and my holstered SnW 500 and looked back at the beast. Sun stood to my right, Jason to my left, and Wind to his left.
"Lets kill this thing."
"For the princess!"
Just as Sun and Wind took off, something was changing on the monsters severed head. The skin reformed and two heads replaced the one.
"FUNKING SHIT! IT'S A HYDRA!" I yelled.
Sun and Wind were knocked out of the sky and landed far apart. The crowd gasped and watched for me and Jason to make a move.
"Units down! Recover at all costs!" I yelled.
Me and Jason started for the guards. We were yelling to keep the attention on us, not the defenseless guards. Finally when the Hydra stopped paying attention to us, I took aim and fired a single round into one of the big green eyes. The Hydra started falling back and quickly adjusted it's fury to me.
"Jason recover both. I'll lead it away." I yelled.
I started down the dirt path away from the little town and kept running, unsure of where this road took me. The Hydras heavy foot steps were a constant reminder of how close I was to death. Suddenly the road split in two and I found myself running down into what seemed like a canyon. The large clumsy Hydra had a hard time following me so I turned around and fired a couple more round into the eyes. I hoped to blind the giant so he would smash into the walls of the canyon and cause a rock slide. At the very least I could put enough holes into the damn thing to make it bleed out. I shot out most of its eyes and continued deeper into the canyon. The Hydra banged and smashed against the walls of the canyon. Only one head had a set of eyes, but the other heads were making it hard to see I started firing rounds into the neck to make it bleed out. When I stopped again, the Hydra threw one of its heads at me. It hit me straight into a wall ten feet away. I hit the wall so hard the wind got knocked out of me and I dropped to the ground. The Hydra hissed in victory as I struggled to gain my breath. The steps stopped and the plopping of blood against the stone floors, and heavy breathing struck fear in my heart.
Come on... S-stand up.
I forced myself back up and took aim with my rifle. The huge orange body was something I couldn't miss, even in this state. I pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. I was out of ammo. I set my gun down and watched the Hydra smile at my defeat. Ponies had found us and gathered around the rim of the canyon. We weren't that far down, but they looked so far away. I set my hand on my holstered SnW 500 and waited for the Hydra to make a move. Without warning the Hydra swooped its huge leg and hit me to a wall thirty feet to my right. I hit the wall and slide down until I was sitting on the warm canyon floor. I pulled out my SnW 500 and took aim. The Hydra smiled again and started towards me. I took aim and fired. The recoil cause me to miss. I fired again and hit the Hydra some where in the body. It hollered and blood came flowing out. I fired again and hit the Hydra some where I couldn't see. I continued the process until I was out of .50 cal ammo. The Hydra toyed with me. On my last round it just stood right in front of me and took the hit. All five rounds were gone and I didn't have the power to pull myself up and stab the beast with my knife. I set the gun back in its holster, and looked up at the Hydra. The sun hid its expression, but I knew it was over. I closed my eyes and thought about all the things I had done with my life. I took a deep breath and waited. The Hydra squealed and hissed as it moved closer.
"This is it. GO TO HELL!!!!" I yelled as the Hydra's heads jetted towards me.
A burst of gun shots caused my eyes to open. Jason was on the ledge unloading his magazine on the back of the Hydras head and neck. It squealed and tried to attack him. Three shadows caught my attention as they seemed to fly out of the sun. They passed the Hydra so fast I don't think it saw them. Sun Fury, Divine Wind, and that rainbow pony landed next to me.
"Can you move?" Sun asked.
"Not really. My leg is badly h-hit and my s-sides hurt just b-breathing." I huffed out.
Without a word The guards lifted me off the ground. The guards were supporting my arms while the Rainbow pony was holding my feet together. I could see that they were struggling, but I could do nothing to lessen my weight. Jason had reloaded and continued his onslaught of bullets, not even aiming, just firing from the hip. The Hydra tried to avoid the bullets, but it smashed into the canyon walls. Its body was to big for it to do a 360. It have to take a slow walk backwards to even consider the monster a threat. The ground behind it was littered with sharp broken rocks, so the pain would be to much for the Hydra to get away. The amount of blood pooled under it the Hydra was starting to reach up its feet and every time it put a foot down, there was a loud splash. When I reached the top, the rainbow pony set my legs down first and the guards gently set me on my back. As far as I could see, there was no cuts or wounds, just some bumps and bruises. Finally the Hydra's cries were getting softer and softer. It had lost a lot of blood and now started feeling the effects.
"Die you giant fucking lizard!" Jason screamed.
He walked away to check on me.
"Any bleeding?" He asked while sitting next to me.
"No. Just got banged up a little." I said.
When I tried to sit up, six hooves and two hands stopped me.
"Look. Fluttershy is a great care taker. Maybe she can put you up for the night. We can take Jason back, or he could find a place to stay the night. We'll cover the cost, since you saved our lives and our jobs."
"As long as its better the that fucking dungeon we were in."
The day ended with Jason checking in to a local hotel...... I think it's still called a hotel. and I went to Fluttershy's cottage. There was a nice bed made of hay waiting for me. As bad as it sounds, I slept like a rock all night. I only woke up once to some thing making a noise outside. When I went to check what it was, I couldn't see anything except the large, bright moon.
It's not to bad here. I just hope there aren't any more monsters like that. I drifted back to sleep.
The smell of fresh waffles and eggs drifted into my nose. Slowly I started coming out of my dazed state. Fluttershy's cottage was a hard place to forget so I wasn't to surprised when I realized I wasn't in my dungeon. I pushed the blanket off me and set my feet on the floor. Something got right next to my warm body and rubbed up against it. I looked down to see little animals running around the cottage. There was a little bunny curled up around my feet. It must have enjoyed the warmth. I slowly bent down and picked it up. The bunny didn't squirm or fidget. It just balled up and rested in my hand.
Aww. It likes me.
I walked to the kitchen and Fluttershy was just finishing up setting the table. She looked up and gasped.
"Oh my goodness. Is that you Angel?" She asked.
The bunny looked up and did some kind of nod, like it understood what she asked.
"That isn't something you see everyday?" She hovered over to me and slowly lifted the bunny out of my hands. "Angel bunny never likes new people. He always throws a fit when someone new shows up."
I shrugged. "He seems cool to me."
I looked at the table and saw the amazing spread. Eggs, toast, waffles, juice, pancakes, and fresh apples. It looked so good and for a second I was about to jump on the table and just eat everything, but something was missing. There wasn't any sausage, bacon, or meat in general. I started thinking about why she didn't make meat. Just as she walked.... trotted into the kitchen it hit me like a ton of bricks.
God damn I'm so stupid. These aren't people their ponies. They can't kill animals because they are too closely related.
"Um I don't mean to bug you but... Um I made this for you so you could get better." She said quietly.
I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the little yellow pony. "Thank you." I said with a smile.
I grabbed a plate and started filling it with food. "So Fluttershy.... Where can I go to learn about this place?"
"Oh my cottage? There isn't much to know about it." She said while looking around.
"No. Sorry I guess I asked it wrong. I mean who can I see to learn the laws of the land?" I asked.
"Oh. Twilight knows the most about Equestria. I could take you to her library." She said with a smile.
"Sounds great."
---------------
Twilight lived in a tree towards the center of Ponyville. The walk there was a bit awkward because everyone was looking at me. Jason hadn't shown up to see me so we figured that he was still asleep. Fluttershy knocked on the door on there was the sound of light footsteps then a lock clicked.
A little purple lizard looking creature opened the door. "Who's... Oh hey Fluttersh...."
The little lizard looked at me and raised a brow.
"Is this Twilight?" I asked.
They both looked at me and laughed. Fluttershy stopped and caught her breath. "Oh no. This is her helper Spike. He's a dragon."
"That.... is..... a dragon?"
"Well I'm a baby dragon." Spike responded.
"Oh.... Okay good." I said while getting on a knee to shake his.... Claw.
"Why do you say that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well in my world there are legends of dragons and they are very big and extremely scary." I said while remembering the old legends in books.
Spike looked at me and laughed. "There are big dragons in Equestria, but they never bother ponies."
"Spike who's there?" A voice called out from the library.
"It's Fluttershy and... um."
"James." I finished.
"James." He repeated.
He stepped out of the way and let us pass. I had to almost crawl to get through the door. The tree house was very nice inside. I could stand up all the way and have plenty of head room. There were bookshelves cut into the walls with a big Trojan head as a center piece. There were books floating around the room and some going into their shelves.
"Twilight. James wants to know somethings about Equestria."
The books stopped floating and a purple pony appeared from behind the Trojan head.
"Wait is that the thing that killed the Hydra?" She asked while scanning my body.
"Yes I am. And I prefer being called a human, not a thing." I replied.
"Oh my.. Where are my manors. I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?" She asked.
"I'm James. It's nice to meet you." I said.
She smiled, "Like wise. Now what do you need to know?"
"I really don't know anything about this world. Can you just teach me about the laws and social norms?" I asked.
She just finished setting the last book in it's shelf. "Sure. I already took care of the chores today and set my letter to Celestia."
"Great." I said with confidence.
"Okay. Fluttershy you can head home. This will take a while. Spike get me History of Equestria, Pony Anatomy, and a map of Equestria."
Spike saluted and disappeared.
---------------
"Fluttershy!? I brought Jason over! He needs to see James." Rainbow yelled while knocking on the door. She looked back and shrugged. "She isn't home. I don't think James is either. What's so important?"
Jason scrunched a piece of paper her had in his hand. "One of Celestia's guards came by and said we had one more task and we could be set free."
"Already? But you said Celestia wanted you to do a bunch of tasks." Rainbow replied.
"Yes, but with our heroism from the attack of the Hydra she says that 'you would risk your lives to save my guards. There is no questioning you integrity.' She assigned us one more mission so we could be seen as hero's across the land." Jason started walking away.
"So she sent you here so we could see you as friends? Not monsters." Rainbow asked.
"Yup. But now I can't find James and I'm getting really angry. Celestia's guards are waiting for us at the rally point." Jason picked up speed.
"What kind of mission is this?" Rainbow was concerned.
"We have to go some where called the Gates of Tartarus. There we need to clear out any enemy's we see."
Rainbow stopped and her face was completely full of dread.
"That's surprising. The laws here aren't much different from the rules back home. Just got to remember to say anypony once in a while."
"Oh and there is one more thing you really really need to know." Twilight looked at Spike. "Spike can you run up stairs real quick. I think I left my good quill in my bed room."
The little dragon saluted and started up the stairs. Twilight motioned me to move closer. She whispered in my ear,
"Mares go through cycle called heat. When a mare is in heat, she won't think straight so just keep that in mind."
I dropped back and rubbed the back of my neck. "Not sure I needed to know that, but thanks anyway."
She smiled and went to a little table with a book on it. "Feel free to drop by and ask questions. I'm always around."
"Thanks Twilight." I smiled and started for the door. "See you later spike!" I yelled from the doorway.
I left Twilight's and started for the Inn Jason was staying in. The rules here were simple and strange. There were the simple ones: don't steal, don't destroy other ponies property, pay taxes and what not. There were some that I kind of didn't understand. Apparently whenever in the presence of the Princesses or high class pony you have to bow you head and watch you manners. I was never used to bowing to people even in my world. We didn't really have rulers so formalities like that weren't needed. I walked through the town center without a care. A lot of the ponies were watching me like I was about to punch a baby in the face. I was glad for my height, so I didn't need to look them in the eyes. It's so strange that the innocent looking ponies were so hostile. A voice called out and broke my chain of thought.
"James!"
I looked and saw Jason walking toward me.
"Hey dude. I came to see you at the Inn, but you were gone." I said.
"Look Sun Fury came by early this morning. He dropped off our last mission." He held out a scroll.
"Celestia said that we would have to perform a lot of missions and tasks to earn her trust."
A small gust of wind blew. "Yes but I put in a good word."
We looked up and Sun Fury was hovering just above us. "Now come on my stallions are waiting."
He landed and started leading us out of town. Jason brought me up to speed on where we were going and what we had to do.
"Hey Sun. What's Tartarus?" I asked.
He shivered. "Some where I don't want to be."
I looked at Jason and he was worried. "What do you mean?"
He stayed silent. The journey was quiet and long. We reached a group of soldiers around mid day. They stood around a large ravine. A golden armored pony came up to us and removed his helmet. He had white fur and a blue mane with light blue streaks. He extended his hoof.
"I'm Captain Shining Armor. I'll be overseeing this operation."
This place has military ranks.
"I'm James, and this is Jason. In my world I would rank Captain and Jason was a first Lieutenant."
His expression lightened up. "Well welcome. I'll skip the formalities and get straight to the mission. Celestia believes the creatures that live in Tartarus are getting ready to mount an attack against the kingdom. She wants us to clear it out or restore order."
I shrugged. "Sounds easy enough. What exactly lives down there?"
The captain's face quickly changed to one filled with horror. "I don't even want to think about it."
"Okay what the fuck?! All day we've been asking what Tartarus is like and everyone keeps saying shit I don't want to hear." Jason yelled.
"Tartarus is a place where monsters of Equestria live." A voice called out.
I know that voice.
Twilight jumped over a bush followed by Fluttershy, a pink pony, a white pony, a pony wearing a cowboy hat, and the rainbow pony.
"Twily what are you doing here?" The captain asked.
"Rainbow told us that a group of soldiers were about to attack the gates of Tartarus. We came here to stop you." She answered.
"Twily this isn't any of your worry. Celestia gave us a direct order to go. We can not disobey. No matter the risk."
I could hear the captains voice change. It sounded like he already accepted defeat, but there was a hint of depression somewhere in his words.
Twilight's eyes started to water. "You know what lives in there. Why go down there? The monsters are being held back by Cerberus."
Cerberus.....I've heard that name before......
------3 Years Ago------
"Okay class. Today we will discuss Greek Mythology. Now can anybody tell me the names of the main Greek gods?" The pale face teacher asked.
My head hurt for drinking the night before. I really didn't want to be here, but as long as I got a degree I could be an officer in the AirForce.
"Correct. Now Hades was the ruler of the Underworld. Much like the devil is ruler of hell. The Underworld is guarded by..."
"Cerberus." One of the students answered.
"Good. Now according to legend what was Cerberus?" The teacher asked.
"A three headed giant dog." Another student answered.
"Correct, and some people say that it has the tail of a dragon, but that won't appear on a test."
------Present Day------
"Wait a minuet. Cerberus the three headed dog Cerberus?" I interrupted Twilight and Shining's argument.
"Yes.... How did you know that?" Twilight asked in full tears.
"NOPE! FUCK THAT! NOT GOING DOWN THERE." I yelled.
Everyone looked at me strange. The silence hung in the air for a solid minuet until the captain spoke up.
"Why?"
I almost snapped. "What do you mean why?! That's fucking hell! No way in shit you are making me go down there."
Jason walked over to me. "What do you mean? You mean the actual hell or like war is hell?"
"Actual hell! Fucking devil hell."
His eyes went wide.
I stepped forward and tried to calm down. "Look if you want to charge in there, be my guests. All I know is that I'm not going down there."
The captain put a hoof under his chin. "Well we are in a bit of a pickle."
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Celestia made you and your partner acting commanders of this unit."
I heard sighs of relief. Seems like the loyal soldiers didn't want to die just yet.
"Well if you don't want to go then I will lead the stallions in. Prepare your weapons!" The captain yelled.
"Brother don't do this." Twilight pleaded while holding onto his fore legs.
"I'm sorry little sister, but Celestia gave me direct orders to take Tartarus with or without these two." He looked over to us. "As for you two I'll make sure to put you as cowards in my report when I return."
I almost laughed. "If you return."
He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean if? We are the best the Princess has to offer and we will stop at nothing to do as she pleases."
"Fucking patriot Pete here? Okay listen I was in a Military force before I came here and I lead a squad of fly boys. If I felt like we couldn't do a mission I backed down and let so other death wish squad take it. I look out for my guys." I looked at Jason and he nodded in approval.
"I don't back down." The captain replied.
"And you were the kind of people that would take the death missions. I always felt bad for you and your men. If that place is like hell then I doubt that any of you will make it back." I said.
He stomped his hoof in the ground. "Then we would have served our purpose to our Princess."
Finally I got mad. "Hey retard. If your Princess told you to jump off a bridge would you do it? For fuck sake your sister is begging and pleading with you not to go."
He looked down and Twilight buried her face in is fore leg.
"She knows I have to serve the Princess."
"Well I'm acting commander of this unit and I say anypony that wants to stay gather around."
The soldiers looked at each other and started coming toward me. Once they all gathered around me I made one last attempt to talk him off the edge.
"Shining Armor don't do this. Think about your family. Your friends."
"I must do as I was told." He started for the crack.
I ran in front of him and pulled out my knife. "If you want to go down there, you'll have to go through me."
Twilight stopped crying and being comforted by her friends and looked at us. "Why are you doing this?"
"Simple. You helped me. I help you."
He charged towards me and I got low to the ground and spread my legs. We were almost eye level as he closed the gap. I stuck my right shoulder out and waited for the impact. When he hit my shoulder I slide back, but I quickly recovered and forced myself under him. I up rooted his fore hooves and pushed him up where I had an advantage. I pushed him on his back and stood above him. He spun around and got on his hooves. He used his rear hooves to kick me in the gut. I got knocked off my feet and landed and couple feet away from where I was last standing. I forced myself back to my feet just as he trotted by. I turned around and jumped on his back. I wrapped my arms around him and with all my might, I picked him up and threw him back. When I walked out of the entrance he was back up and his horn was glowing. He shot a blast and I jumped out of the way.
Shit. He has range on me.
With in seconds he fired another magic blast. I hit the deck then sprung up after it passed.
"James!"
I looked to see my M16 in the air and about to land on me. I reached up and caught it. In on swift move I disarmed the safety and took a knee.
"Shining Armor don't make me use this." I yelled as I centered my cross hairs on his chest.
Just as he was about to reply something shook the ground.
A huge boulder came flying out of the canyon and landed near Twilight and her friends. There was a loud hissing sound then two huge claws appeared from the canyon followed by a stinger and then the body. It was a giant scorpion. I quickly re-aimed my gun and shouted.
"Captain get you men out of here now! We'll cover you!"
"I'm not running!"
"That's not a suggestion! That's an order!"
Shining stayed and I yelled at his soldiers.
"Get him out of here!"
They quickly scooped him up and left. The scorpion's mouth was dripping with green liquid and its claws started extending. Once I saw the soldiers were clear I started firing rounds and walking backwards The shell was no match for the 5.56mm rounds. It swung its claw to hit me but I jumped away. Just as I was about to run to a better firing position I heard Twilight scream. I looked over to see Rainbow's right wing and rear right leg was caught under the boulder. To make things worse the scorpion turned and started for them. The second I went to help I could hear Jason's M16 putting rounds into the creature legs. The scorpion hissed but continued its charge. It was slow, but he was half way there. I got to the girls and stood in front of them. I got on a knee and started unloading my mag. I quickly ran out and reloaded. Each of the thirty shots was a hit, but the scorpion was hell bent on getting at least one pony. I looked back and the girls were paralyzed in fear.
"Jason! Get them out of here!" I yelled.
In a flash Jason was helping me lift the boulder. Rainbow got her leg and wing out and tried to run away. The scorpion's stinger was in range and it eyed Rainbow. She was on her belly and she couldn't stand because of the boulder. The stinger shot out. Before I knew It, I had my back facing the scorpion. The stinger punctured my back and put me on my knees. Jason must have shot off the stinger because it went limp after he fired a lot of rounds. Rainbow looked up with tears in her eyes and she was surprised to see me smiling.
"Why?"
"I-I moved be-before my body knew wh-what it was doing."
Slowly everything started fading away. I couldn't feel the rock under my knees and I couldn't taste the blood coming from my mouth. My hearing started to go and I felt tired. I started leaning over and closing my eyes. I never felt the impact to the floor.
In the whole of time, there have been many mighty warriors. King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. The mighty Roman army. The United States armed forces. They were the stuff of legends. Me, I was a random Air Force pilot lost in a random universe with my M16. I don't want to brag, but I slayed a Hydra with basic equipment. It took gods to kill one in many legends. I must be something of a god because I killed it. Actually I can't really talk. The last thing I remember was getting in a fight with a hard headed asshole Captain then I jumped in the way of a giant scorpion from hell to save some random talking pony that could fly. Hell of a way for a 'god' to die. I'm kind of glad that I was dead. There wasn't to much to live for in that world. Really the only thing I could hope for was returning to my world and continue the fight for my country. Sure I could stay in the world I was in and live a peaceful life, but there was nothing here for me. Life looked bleak in both worlds, so death seemed appropriate. I guess this must be what's left of myself. I never believed in the whole god or heaven, or any kind of religion for that matter. I stopped believing after my parents died.
My dad was in the military and he survived operation Desert Storm and a couple of 2 year deployments to the middle east. He came home and was discharged when I was 17. We had a nice home on the California coast just north of LA. Everything was great back then. My father deserved a warriors death, but what he got was terrible. He went to LA to purchase some suits from a good friend of his. My mom warned him to be careful, LA at night could be a dangerous place. I went with him, he said he was going to buy me a suit to. We got to our friend on 8th street and bought the suits. As we left, my dad spotted someone crying just down the road. He was a caring man so he told me to wait while he checked on the person. I never heard the words that were exchanged, but after a couple minuets of silence, my dad yelled at the top of his voice.
"James RUN!"
The person wrapped a arm around my dad and brought him closer. I ran over to my dad and saw something dripping on the floor. The drops came into the street light. Blood. The crying person stood up and pushed my dad to the floor. Their scruffy face and cloths were all I could see. His eyes were hidden by the shadow of his beanie. He started laughing as he walked toward me.
"Why hello James. I guess I get two money bags for the price of one."
He looked up and I saw the face of fear. His yellow teeth and eyes made me guess he was homeless. I looked down and saw the knife covered in my dads blood. I froze in fear and watched as the man advanced toward me.
"L-Leave m-my son alone."
We looked down and my dad was on his back covering the open wound. Blood was coming from his mouth as he struggled to get up. The man walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry pal. I need to eat and your suits and wallets are my meal ticket. You shouldn't bring your son to LA."
On the last word he stabbed my father again and again. I lost count after 5 stabs. He stood up and looked to me. I started walking back and he followed. I knew I wasn't going to get away, but at least I could call for help.
"ROBERT! CALL THE COPS!" I yelled to the open air.
Robert was the man we were friends with. I stood my ground and waited. My dad trained me as a soldier, and now it was time to put that to use. The man charged me and held the knife low. When he took a stab at me I jumped to the side and caught his arm. I bashed it against a wall and at that time Robert came out of the store with a phone. He saw my dad on the floor and a pool of blood around him. He ran back inside as I knocked the knife out of his hand. With that I pushed him back and waited with my fists up. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another knife. He ran again and raised the knife high with the pointed end coming down. I got low and punched him in the stomach a couple times. He didn't drop the knife, but he was way to close for comfort. He pushed me to the ground and tried to stab my chest. I put my hands on his and fought back. He must have been on drugs, because no matter how hard I tried, he was getting closer. The tip touched my shirt and I thought I was going to die. That's when Robert threw himself at the man. They both fell to the floor and I stood up and looked at them. Robert and the man started fighting and I looked for something to use to kill the man. Robert yelled and got my attention.
"Next to the register!"
I ran back inside and hopped over the counter. Next to the box where he kept larger bills there was a M9. It was loaded and the safety was disengaged. I pulled the slide back and ran back outside. The man had picked up the bloody knife he used to kill my dad and was swinging at Robert. I fired a single shot into the air and they both stopped. Robert used that as a distraction and ran back to me, but the man chased him. Robert was ex-military, so he could run a lot faster. He was behind me and the man stopped and put his hands up. There was about ten feet of distance between us. He smiled and his dirty yellow teeth showed again.
"Come on now kid. You can't kill me. Your just a little bitch." He was slowly walking froward.
I held the gun tighter and issued one warning. "That man you just killed was my father. He was a soldier who survived Operation Desert Storm, and a couple deployments to Afgan. He taught me everything he knew and now his killer brought a knife to a gun fight .You have one chance. Stay and live or get closer and die."
"Ha like a teenager can kill me!"
He made a jump for the gun and I fired and hit him in the left shoulder. He dropped his knife and fell to the floor.
He cupped his arm and screamed. "You shot me!"
I trained the sights on to him. "You are so lucky I have a gun. If I was alone with you in a room where nobody could hear you.... I would make you suffer every second of your life."
He looked up in shock. He finally knew that this teen was a trained killer. "Please show mercy.." his voice shook and tears started flowing. "I-I-I'm just a homeless and hungry. I haven't eaten in days and I'm so tired."
I felt a surge of power over come me. "Say the first part again."
He was full on crying. "P-P-Please sh-show mercy."
"AGAIN!" I yelled.
"Mercy!"
I lowered the gun and walked over to him. I squatted down and whispered in his ear. "You didn't show my dad mercy."
I fired a shot through the stomach and stood up. The man cried in pain and fell to his side.
"What do you say Robert? Mercy? Or self defense?"
Robert was saved by my dad during Desert Storm. "Self defense!"
I turned around and fired three more shots. One pierced the leg and the others went through the stomach. He screamed and shook as blood was absorbed by his cloths.
"Kill me!"
"Almost. Thirty more seconds. That's how long my dad suffered."
He rolled in the blood and cried in pain. When the thirty seconds were up, I put the barrel of the gun to the back of his head.
"See you in hell."
I pulled the trigger and the body went limp. The cops would report that the man killed my father and tried to kill us. The report would also say that when the gun was discharged, I kept pressing the trigger because of a mental break down. It was the dead mans fault. Days before the funeral, my mom was found dead at our beach house. She over dosed in the bath tub and left a note saying she couldn't live with out the love of her life. I was all alone at the age of 17. That's when Jason and his family took me in. I lived with them until I was 19. Jason and I left home and went to college on the east coast. Things were okay, but I never really liked college. When I was 21 an Air Force recruiter came to my school and I was hell bent on joining. Jason followed because he wasn't to pleased with his grades. Off we went to fight for our country.
Now I was here. Death finally caught me. I was ready.
"Life signs...." Who could that be? "Get him in here!" Why do I feel warm?
"James? Can you hear me?"
My eyes slowly opened and a bright white light blinded me for a second. Something moved in the way of the light and looked at me.
"James... James are you okay?"
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Just relax. I'm a doctor. You are in the Canterlot emergency center. You were teleported here so I need to ask you a couple basic question. Are you okay with that?" The doctor moved back.
I moved my hand over my eyes and pushed myself to sit up. "Is that a question?"
He looked back and I guess he didn't find humor in that question. "Okay. What's your name?"
"James Ramirez."
"Good. Where are you from?"
"Malibu California."
"Good. How old are you?"
"24"
The doctor smiled and set a clipboard down. "Well the teleport spell didn't mess up your memory and you motor functions seem to be good. Are you okay with visitors?"
I mindlessly looked around the room and replied without thinking. "Sure."
The doctor smiled and left the room.
So close. Death still taunts me. Why?
There was a knock on the door. Jason let himself in.
"Hey man. Everything okay? How you feeling?" He walked in and sat in a chair next to a medicine closet.
"My head hurts a little and I'm really tired. Besides that I'm feeling pretty good." I stretched a little and adjusted my pillows. "I'm going to assume he got all my information from you."
Jason smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but it was to see if you remembered who you were when you woke up."
I shrugged. "No harm I guess. How long was I out?"
"2 days."
"H-How did they save me?" I asked.
His face went pale. "I'm not to sure. They explained to me once, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. They used magic to isolate your blood flow and compare your blood to other parts of you body. When they found a patch of blood that had different chemical signs they extracted it."
It made sense, but it seemed so crazy. They stopped my blood, but kept me alive. I shivered at the thought. "So anything new with our missions? I know we didn't complete our last one, so that must mean Celestia has more for us to do."
"She hasn't sent a single letter since that captain returned to the capitol." Jason looked out the window. "Maybe we can power up the F-22's and get out before something bad happens."
I got agitated at the thought. "Where would we go? This land belongs to her and I doubt any of her subjects would chose random creatures over their princess. If things get hairy, then we'll ask to leave and never return."
He looked back with a worried expression. "And if she won't let us leave?"
"I don't think that will be necessary." A voice said from the door way.
Jason and I looked back and Princess Celestia was standing next to the door. I spoke up first.
"Princess forgive me. I felt that invading hell was not required to prove our loyalty."
She had a blank expression before she spoke. "You disobeyed your orders, and got into a fight with the Captain of my guard unit."
I better unplug my I.V.. Gotta book it to the window.
"But... You showed that you care for beings other than yourselves. You saw the danger and chose to avoid it. You also told others to stay away. Compassion, loyalty, and strong willed. I believed you have passed my tests with flying colors. You are now citizens of Equestria."
------2 months later------
Life was getting better. After waking up in the hospital I stayed for a week to make sure I was fine. I was visited by a number of ponies. Some were from the guard, and the others were the 6 ponies I always bumped into every once in a while. I did physical therapy for a week and was given the okay to be released. I had to say, the nurses and doctors didn't see me as a threat, just a patient. It really helped me warm up to the idea of living in Equestria. Celestia offered us a room at the Canterlot castle, but we refused. Our reason was along the lines of "If ponies there see us they would be scared and ask for our removal." She couldn't really argue. Rich ponies always want what they want, and the princess has to listen. Twilight offered a spare room of the library, but once again we refused because we didn't want to burden anybo.... anypony. I asked Celestia if we could have a place of our own and she wasn't against it. There was an empty 2 story cottage near the center of town and I had an idea to set us up.
"So I was thinking, instead of being free loaders and living off the princess, we could open up a odd jobs place. Ponies from around town can come and hire us to do work." I suggested.
Twilight and Celestia looked at each other and smiled. "That sounds wonderful. The ponies around Ponyville already know of your existence and they saw you save their town." Twilight exclaimed happily.
Celestia smiled. "I shall bring in the necessary paperwork."
We set up the business and named it "J&J Handy Work."
On the grand opening almost all of Ponyville showed up to celebrate. They liked us and I knew we would get orders quickly. The first day we had over 20 jobs. Just last week we finished all of our orders and enjoyed a relaxing day.
I leaned back in my chair and enjoyed the breeze flowing in through the window. It was a bright and sunny spring day in Ponyville, and ponies passed my shop now and again. Some stopped and waved a hoof at me and I would smile and wave back. It was just so peaceful. Jason had gone out to get some things for the store, so I sat alone in an empty house humming songs from my past.
Owner of a lonely heart..... Owner of a lonely heart.... much better than Owner of a broken heart
The song played in my head and reminded me of my thoughts before coming to Equestria. The hanging bell over the door rang and I came out of my relaxed state. A mare came in an I greeted her with a smile.
"Welcome to J&J, where no job is to big, crazy, or weird. What do you need help with today?"
The mare chuckled at my rehearsed speech. "I just need my fence adjusted. One of my posts got lose and it's bringing the whole row down."
"That's a simple job. I'll do it for free." I said while looking around for my boots.
"Thank you."
---------------
The job was simple enough that I was done in 15 minuets. While I worked, I struck up a conversation with the mare. Her name was Daisy and she sold flowers for a living. A lot of her orders came from out of town so she never had time to do upkeep. I told her a little bit about where I came from and what I wanted to be. Before joining the Military I wanted to work on cars and race them in the national events. It was a bit difficult to explain what a car was, but I think she got it. When I finished she gave me a couple of flowers and a single rose. I thanked her and started for home. On my walk I bumped into the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The 3 little fillies always made me laugh and (I don't know how), me and Jason were apart of them since we didn't have our cutie marks. I wanted to tell them that humans didn't get cutie marks, but I didn't want to spoil their fun. They talked and talked all the way home. I enjoyed hear their stories about the stuff they tried to earn their special talent. When we got home, I squatted down and patted them on the head.
"Listen girls. Maybe you should focus on having fun. I think that you having no cutie marks is cool. You don't want to grow up to fast."
The sentence haunted me and sent a chill down my spine. Like I did.
"Hey down there."
We all looked up to see Rainbow Dash coming down to land. "Don't you fillies have some crusading to do?"
Scootaloo was the first to react. "Rainbow Dash is right! Come on, lets try pig wrangling."
Sweetie Belle sighed. "I thought you said we weren't going to try that."
The continued talking as they headed for Sweet Apple Acres. I took a deep breath and stood up.
"Hey Rainbow. What's up?"
"I was thinking of going to lunch, and I was passing by so I thought it would be nice to invite somepony to eat with." She said.
I shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind grabbing a bite." What's in my hand? Oh yeah Daisy. "Hey Rainbow. Here." I handed Rainbow the flowers.
She was a bit shocked as she grabbed on the flowers with her fore hoof. "T-Thank you."
I smiled. "Don't mention it. Come on, I'll race you to the cafe on the other side of..." I started running "TOWN!"
"YOUR ON!"
After a one sided race (She literally flew circles around me), we sat down and enjoyed a quick bite. The food here was good, but adjusting to no meat was very hard. I just quit cold turkey...that doesn't sound to bad... but salad and juice wasn't bad either, so I made due. Rainbow talked about her job as a weather pony. It was so bewildering to see the ponies control mother nature. Somethings still shocked me today.
"Hey where you come from, can you control the weather?" Rainbow asked.
I snapped out of my thought and looked back at Rainbow. "No... Well not really. There were rumors that the government would use some kind of chemicals to make it rain, but it was a load."
"Oh... Hey I got something cool in the mail today." Rainbow looked through a bag on the floor and pulled out a sealed envelope.
I forgot they could write.
"It's a letter from my parents."
I stopped eating. parents... Everything started to get cold. The memories poured into my mind.
"They live in Cloudsdale and I haven't talked to them in a while. I'm glad I still.... Hey are you okay?" Rainbow asked.
Death. I couldn't feel my hands and my vision began to get blurry. So young. Why was I left alone int the world? I was just a kid. My body was cold and my hands started shaking.
"James are you okay?"
WHY!
"James?"
Rainbow set a hoof on one of my hands. "Are you okay? Just nod of your okay."
My breath was heavy and I started to regain feeling. It was so strange. I felt like something within me was trying to get out. "Yeah. Sorry, just kinda.... blanked. Anyway, you were saying something about your parents?"
Celestia sat on her throne and enjoyed a cup of tea. She had a break in her meetings, so she took full advantage. She had dismissed her guards and removed her crown. She carefully inspected the room with her magic, so nopony could get in. When she felt safe, her horn removed a piece of stone next to her throne. When the stone was removed, steam rose up and traveled across the floor.
"I know I shouldn't.... but..... It's just so good." Celestia whispered to herself.
Her horn lit up and out of the steam came a piece of chocolate cake. It was cold to the touch as it glistened and shed a little steam in the glow of the warm sun.
"Ooooohhhhhh yes my sweet. Come to mommy."
Just as she was about to smash her face into the cake, a dark energy swept across the the throne room. Celestia stopped and shivered.
"What... What could that be?" She asked an empty room.
Suddenly her doors burst open and Princess Luna flew as fast as she could.
"Tia! did you fe...."
The cake was floating in the air.
"Tia! You should not be eating that."
Celestia looked at her piece of heaven. "Isn't there more pressing matters?"
Luna smiled. "Yes dear sister. Your growing flank will not fit on that chair soon. We must handle this!"
"Luna! Please." Celestia barked. "Didn't you feel that?"
Luna was laughing on the inside. Oh yes dear sister! We did feel you sit down this morning. "Yes I did sister. The presence of something evil."
Celestia had devoured the piece of cake so fast, Luna thought she had teleported it away. "Something of pure darkness has descended on Equestria. I shall contact the other princesses quickly."
Time passes slowly in the little town. When I'm not working, I try and stay in shape. Recently Jason discovered that's it's okay to eat fish in Equestria, so we quickly adapted that into our diet. Every morning I would go on my run to a river on the edge of the Everfree forest, then I would fish. Some days I had company, like Rainbow and Applejack, and others I would be alone enjoying Celestia's sun rise in the morning. After taking home the days catch, I would shower up and head to Rarity's. She had mastered making cloths for us, and we always need more. One morning Rarity went off topic from our normal discussions about why I only wanted black and white shirts.
"Oh. Did you hear the good news? The princess is suppose to be coming to town tomorrow." She said from the other side of the changing room.
"That's good. I haven't seen her since the summer sun party." I said while trying on a black shirt.
"She's going to be at Twilight's library if you want to see her again."
I chuckled. "I bet she's going to give us some kind of mission."
"The princess? Why would she do that?" Rarity asked.
"She has a tendency of being unpredictable when it comes to us."
"Oh you worry to much. At least stop by and say hi."
I stepped out in my new black shirt and light blue jeans. "What do you think?"
She looked back and smiled. "Oh this must be my finest work on you! I caught the shape and size perfectly. Now try not to rip this one doing work."
"Yes ma'am. See you at Twilight's." I said while leaving the shop.
Recently I've had to open a tab at Rarity's, because I was there so often that paying each day bothered her. She would say, 'oh no darling you don't have to pay for this one. I'm taking all of you hard earned bits.' Then I would feel bad because I would pay her. So we agreed to a monthly bill.
The day was pretty slow after that. I did some minor lifting for a pair of mares that moved from Canterlot. It was weird because one looked classy and sophisticated while the other looked like a wild party pony. From their cutie marks it looked like they had something to do with music. The unicorn and earth pony mares bickered for most of the move in, but in the end they kissed and made up. I got paid a hefty amount from the white unicorn. I was bothered because, the work I did didn't amount to what she paid.
"Hey uh... I don't deserve this much. It was a minor job and we charged 200 bits. There's like 1,000 bits here."
She looked at me and smiled. "S'all good. Besides you did almost all the work while 'Tavi and I fought."
Those eyes. "Well I can't accept this. It would be rude of me. You just moved here."
"Just chill. Trust me, me and Tavi have have enough to buy this house over and over again. We just want a quiet little town to enjoy each others company. Don't sweat the small stuff." She said while heading for the door.
I looked down at the bag of bits. "Thank you miss...."
"Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch."
The sun was setting on another peaceful day in Ponyville. When I got home Jason was cleaning his guns. We talked for a while before I went off to bed. Had an early start tomorrow.
---------------
The morning routine went by in a flash and before I knew it, it was time to head to Twilight's library. Jason locked up and we went to the library. When we reached the front door, there was a laugh from inside as we snuck in. When we reached the main room, 7 sets of eyes and smiles greeted us. We sat down for tea and joined the conversation.
Some time passed before Celestia steered the topic of conversation away from the lighter side of things.
"Well my little ponies," She began. "I suppose it's time for my departure back to Canterlot. I have quiet a bit on my plate regarding a event coming up."
Applejack was the first to speak. "Aw shucks your highness, T'ain't nothing to worry about."
"Yeah." Pinkie added. "We know your super duper busy with all your princess stuff."
Celestia smiled. "Thank you for the wonderful time."
"Thank you for taking the time to be here princess." Rarity stood and bowed. Her friends followed suit.
"Thank you. Girls could you go outside for a second. I have important matters that I must discuss with Jason and James."
We nervously shared a glance as the six girls went outside. When the room was empty, Celestia sighed.
"How have you been?"
"Great. The town loves us and we are doing better than ends meet." Jason said enthusiastically.
Celestia smiled. "That's great to hear. It seems to me that you've completely adapted to living in Equestria."
"Yes Ma'am." We said in unison.
"That's wonderful...but, I did not come here just for pleasure. I have an important job for you. If you complete the job, then I will pay twelve thousand bits."
I raised a brow. "Who do we have to kill?"
"Huh,, Oh no no. It's nothing like that. I need you to protect my nephew, prince Blue Blood. He is heading up north to the Crystal Empire to visit a mare he's been seeing over the past two weeks. The Royal guard will accompany him, but I would feel more safe if I had you two on board." The princess gave a warm smile.
I quickly followed up. "Would you mind If I asked some follow up questions? I don't mean to pry, but I think it will make me feel safer about doing this."
"By all means."
"Has there been threats toward him?"
"No."
"Does he have enemy's?"
"No."
"Does somepony want to over throw the throne?"
"No."
I tilted my head. "So there is no danger at all, but you want two professional killers to guard him?"
Celestia nodded. "I feel safer if you protect him."
I nudged Jason and motioned for him to move closer. "This is a cake walk. Easy money."
Jason nodded and smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Where are we meeting the prince?"
"I will dispatch my personal guards to take you to the Canterlot station." She said with a smile.
The princess said her good byes and left for Canterlot, and soon after everyone left Twilight's. The rest of my day was uneventful. Went home, balanced the expenses, and had a wonderful trip down memory lane while enjoying a fried fish sandwich. It was off to bed early for me. Had a big day coming up.
---------------
The guards were knocking on our door at 3 in the morning. Jason was first to roll out of bed, and he actually rolled out of bed and hit the floor. The loud bang woke me up. We gathered our equipment and headed out the door, we were no strangers to early morning starts. The cool morning air rushed past us as we were flown to our destination.
"So how you guys been?" Sun fury asked.
Jason cracked his neck and sighed. "Been good. Doing a lot of hard work around Ponyville."
"That sounds good. Everypony adapting to your presence?" Divine Wind asked.
"Yeah. Nopony really has problems with us." I answered.
"Good. You guys seem to be doing great here." Sun turned and smiled.
"Hey Sun, why does the princess need us to guard prince Blueblood?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Because he's a pompous rich pony and none of the other guards like him."
Wind nudged him. "Hey you aren't suppose to say that. You'll get us in trouble again."
"Nopony is listening and were up really high." Sun waved a hoof dismissively.
Wind sighed and rubbed his temple with his hoof.
"So we're guarding a ass hole..."
They both looked back. "Ass hole?"
"N-never mind."
When we arrived at the train station, the train was sitting in the station waiting for it's early morning passenger. The train cars weren't much bigger than me or Jason, but there was enough room to stand. We sat on a near by bench waiting for the arrival of the prince. After an hour of waiting, he finally showed up. His was a larger unicorn and just from the way he walked, he looked like an ass. When he noticed me and Jason, he stopped.
"What are these things doing here?" He asked.
Sun took a deep breath. "These are your guards. Jason and James."
We stood straight and saluted.
He closed his eyes in frustration and mumbled something under his breath. When he looked up, his face had changed from pompous to angry.
"I will not have these monsters guarding me! I swear if this is your fault I will tell my aunt and she will fire you. Doesn't matter how long you have been her personal guards, she trusts family more."
Wind interjected. "It was your aunt who hired them. You'll be safe from any kind of danger."
"Yeah and once you get to the crystal empire you'll never have to see them again." Sun added.
He sighed. "Ugh fine. I shall allow them to guard me."
Oh this is going to be a long ride.
---------------
The train departed from the station and headed north. Apparently the crystal empire was in the frozen north. The prince found a car that had rooms in it and stayed inside his room. Jason and I stood guard in the hall. We were talking about jobs that needed to get done when we got home. The train conductor came into our cars and greeted us with a smile.
"How's he doing?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"He's been sleeping the whole time." I replied.
"Ah that's good. I'll be back to check on you in another hour."
He tipped his hat and headed for the door. Jason tapped my shoulder.
"Hey.did you see something moving outside?"
I looked out the window into the dark early morning sky. "No. It's just your imagination."
Jason rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah maybe."
Another hour had passed without incident, and the prince hadn't woken up. I was starting to get tired of standing around, so I started walking into different cars of the train. There were four standard cars and one food car that was empty. On my way back I saw something strange in the corner of my eye. When I looked outside the object was gone. I went back to the post and alerted Jason. Suddenly the lights in the train went out.
"What the shit?" I said. "Jason you got a light?"
"Yeah hol..." Breaking glass cut him short.
Jason's light lit up the hallway and we could see the glass on the floor. He pulled out his M9 and moved his left hand, with the flashlight, under he gun. Jason slowly advanced toward the glass while checking other rooms in the car. When he got to the glass, he shined the light out of the broken window and lowered his gun.
"I got nothing." He said.
I lowered my M16 and checked on the prince. He was still sleeping. The conductor came in with a candle and smiled when he saw us.
"Oh I'm glad to see you are all right."
"What caused the power outage?" I asked.
He set the candle down. "I'm not to sure."
I looked at Jason, but he was staring at something in the car ahead of us. "Hey Jason, what's wrong? Looks like you've seen a ghost or something."
"Yes my boy. Come here so we can make a plan to secure the car."
Jason shuttered and looked over his shoulder. "I would conductor..... But how can you be sitting over there if your dead in front of me?"
Jason took a step to the side, and the conductor was laying lifeless on the floor. I jumped back and grabbed my rifle.
"What the fuck?"
The 'conductor' chuckled. "I really wish you hadn't seen that."
Jason aimed his M9 and I raised my M16. "Hands..... Hooves where we can see them!" I yelled.
The conductor hissed and his body was enveloped in green flames. When the flames disappeared, a black four legged creature stood in place. Jason fired a round into it's side and it hissed. The black creature reviled bug-like wings and darted for Jason. Just before the creature could get to Jason, a door flew open and the angry prince yelled at the top of his lungs.
"WOULD YOU TRY AND KEEP IT DOWN! I'M TRYING TO GET MY BEAUTY REST!"
We all froze. The prince looked at me and huffed. "What are you doing, pointing that thing at me?"
The creature saw his chance and bolted for the prince. I pushed the prince out of the way and fired three rounds while holding the rifle with one hand and my hip. One shot hit the creatures eye and it screamed in pain. Jason quickly finished the job with two more shots. Jason approached the creature slowly and nudged it with his foot.
"Dead"
"Right. Prince Blue Blood, is there any reason somepony would be trying to kill you?" I asked.
He put his hoof under his chin. "Other than being extremely hansom and being a royal?"
"Yes other than that."
"Then nothing. I don't have enemy's."
I took a deep breath and looked around. "Well let's..."
"James do you feel the train slowing down?"
I hadn't noticed, but he was right. The train was slowing down. I picked up my rifle. "Prince Blue Blood, we need to get off this train right now. Somepony or something is trying to kill you."
He scoffed. "Let's wait for the train to stop."
I sighed. "Look these things are probably waiting for us, so now you listen to us. Princess Celestia put you under our care and now it's time to act. Jason take the prince to the last car, I'll cover your six. I'll leave a little present for our unwanted guests."
Jason pushed Blue Blood down the train, against Blue Blood's good wishes. I pulled out a single grenade and tore up a section of the carpet lining. I set the grenade down and wedged it behind a door. Using the carpet lining, I tied it to the pin of the grenade and set it across the hallway. Using another door, I pulled the slack and closed the door making a trip wire. Hopefully it was enough to pull the pin and turn the door into a wooden shrapnel cannon. I picked up my gun and started for the back of the train cart. As soon as I got in, Jason opened the back door and we got against the rail. The train was still going about twenty MPH, but we needed to get off.
"You're first your highness."
"I WILL NOT JUMP!"
Jason looked at me and I smiled. "Okay. Hold still."
We lifted the prince and threw him into the bushes and jumped off the train. We hit the brush on the side of the rails and quickly pushed prince Blue Blood down. We didn't know if we were being followed.
After a minuet of waiting we rose and looked around.
"Looks like a couple hours till sunrise. We need to get gone." Jason was looking to the grey area of the sky.
"Let's hoof it."
"Why me? I'm a prince! This shouldn't be happening to me."
There was a small boom in the distance. "Bye bye."
