> It's not late yet > by kartingister > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > It's not late yet > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My body hurts. I feel pain all across it. I hear female voices, but I can't tell what they are talking about. With all my will, I'm trying to open my eyes. Oh yes, they are opening now. Slowly, but surely. Grey sky. Strange. I remember the sky being blue. Still, it doesn't really matter now -- the pain's too strong. I'm trying to move any muscle of my body, but nothing happens. "Hey, he's awake!" Perfect English language. Strange. We with our men were talking Russian all the time. Still, doesn't matter now. Not human-like face appears in front of my eyes. It's lilac with purple hair, and has too much animal atributes. Did I miss something when I was out? I see more faces. Different colors, but all are female. Hell, this makes me dizzy. Concentrate, you useless prick! Or else the red mist will fill your mind until you die... "Alright, Fluttershy, you take his right side. Applejack, you take the left. Others, keep the crowd on distance." Huh. That purple one must be the leader of their group. As others are lifting me and going somewhere else, she controls the situation. Hell, that hurts a lot... Great, they leaned me on something, and I can see the surroundings. These are very unfamiliar. I remember being in a lifeless desert, not in a big city, first of all. And how the hell it's filled with these creatures? All are multicolored, all have tails, some have horns and wings. And something tells me that my mind is not playing tricks with me. Well, now I can see my injuries, at least... Oh. My left leg is a goner. What's below my knee, has gone into Tartarus. My pants are impregnated with blood, along with my coat. My tactical vest is still on me, weightening my chest. That's why it's so difficult to breathe, huh? Alright, what else... My AK-74 rifle is still strapped to me, too. Well hello there, at least someone here is not injured. Arms... Well, must give them a try. "Look, he's moving his limbs! Hello sir, do you understand me?" I like that yellow one. Her touch is soft, her eyes are caring. Fighting the pain, I nod, and take more air into my ribcage. "Yes. But pain... Be quick." Something strange is happening with the lilac one. Her horn starts glowing, and purple aura emerges around my body. After a few seconds, it disappears... But the pain now is much easier. Huh, cool. "Thank you. Don't know how I could talk without this... Eh, what was that?" "That was a simple painkilling spell, so no problems with that! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and here are also Fluttershy and Applejack. And who are you?" So, Twilight Sparkle is the lilac one. Fluttershy must be the yellow softie, and Applejack is an orange cowgirl. At least, she looks like one... "It doesn't matter. Let's just say that I'm an infantryman. 59th Guard's shooting division, 176th Guard's shooting regiment." "So, you are from some sort of an army, right?" Huh, that Applejack is thinking fast. Who said that looks can lie? Well, now this man is officially GODDAMN RIGHT. "Yes. The Russian Federation Armed Forces. And who are you?" "We are ponies! And we are in a land of Equestria! And I am pretty sure that you don't know, where it is and who are we." Well, she has a point there about our location. However, I am pretty sure that ponies are not anthro creatures with clothes, horns and wings in my world... Ponies. Well, let it be. "And you don't even know, how good it is. Else your cities would burn under bombing runs, huh." "Excuse me?" "Just kidding, don't worry. Black humor." Well, they don't understand these jokes. Perhaps their world is much more friendly than ours... "Anyway, what happened to you? How do you feel? You have a blood loss, after all!" Finally, Fluttershy speaks again. I really like her, must say. And she's the first, who paid attention to my wounds. I like how she takes care of them, and especially the place where was my leg. Her touch feels nice... "I feel... Not TOO bad, thanks to Twilight's spell. Still, the pain is strong, but I can at least move now. About what happened... Well, some handmade-exploding crap, I guess. We were defending... Let's just say, one city in a desert. Too bad that it ended like that, though." "And why it's bad, if you are alive?" "First of all, I've left my squadmates on a battlefield. They would probably die a bit faster without me. And secondly, maybe this place is my personal kind of Hell. Who knows? Maybe you've just come here to end my existence." "That's rather dark. And why do you think so?" Huh, these ponies really have no idea who am I and what I have done. And how they will react, if I tell them? They will find out sooner or later anyway, so no reason to hold up. "War. Killing. Slaughtering. Strangling the crazy headcutters. Fighting for good, but always being bad. Something like that." They are shocked. Understandable. Still, doesn't make it better. Seems like that they are not used to killing. What an irony -- despite all the talk, our politicians act like a complete douchebags, and instead of saying "YES, WE MUST KILL THEM ALL" are acting like a hypocrites and organising useless political rant. "You are saying horrible things with such ease... Is it what you really do? Murdering for good?" "Absolutely. I'm not a saint, but if you will ever see our enemies, you will understand why I agree with these methods." "That's shocking, I guess... Yet, I don't think that you lie. I'm an Element of Honesty, after all." That Applejack is an element of what? She doesn't look like a talking lie detector. However, that lilac one eased my pain with a single spell, so should I even care about that? I guess no. This situation is way too strange to think about. I look at the sky again. Some of these ponies are hovering above, using their wings. How they are doing that? Doesn't matter. Heck, I'm thirsty... And the flask is almost empty. Still, better than nothing -- alcohol helps easing the pain and disinfect the organism. And the warmth is pumping through my body again. Good. "Anyway... Feeling any better? We will bring you to the hospital, and find a good doctor." "Only if you say so." Twilight's magic aura lifts me up. Ticklish feeling. Well, at least my nerves are not dead yet. I can see the crowd stepping away, as others from this strange group of six lead the way. The streets remain almost silent, as some ponies whisper something. Not good. I wonder, if my player is still with me... Aha, here it is. It's lying inside one of the pouches. The old good "iconBIT" is still with me. And seems like it's still working. Let me just turn a few switches... "Esche ne pozdno, a den' uzje prozjit. Voidi prohozjiy, ya tebe ver'u. Sdiraya kozju, vho-o-odit luna v uzkie dveri." Yes, that one fits well. Some ponies are turning towards me. Well, let it be. Right now I am too tired to care about that. The grey sky looks unfriendly. Probably, there will be raining soon. And my mood is... Uncertain. If something has thrown me here, that could mean that all politicians in the world would be interested. And if not... Well, my name will be written in a list of missing. Noone will find me, and I will be left here for good. Probably, die alone. But right now... Right now the music is flowing through my nerves. "Esche ne pozdno". Huh, that's a good one. Maybe there will be a lot of problems in future. Maybe I will never get back home. But right now I am still alive, no matter what. My heart is still pumping blood through my veins. What about dying... It's never too late for that. Will do. But later.