Welcome to the Forest
"INCOMING FIRE, GET YOUR FUCKING HEADS DOWN!" You scream out to your squad, diving to cover in ditch before the sounds of explosions deafened you.
You clutched your hands over your helmet as the ground around you shook, sending chunks of dirt and your troops flying into the air, some of it hitting you. Pulling yourself from the ditch you took aim with your M16, placing the handle-like sights over the head of a gook before pulling the trigger and releasing a burst of lead. Watching as his head popped like a watermelon from the first few rounds, the rest sailing into the jungle through the red mist that was once a human head. Taking aim again you shouted out the locations of two more hostiles before dropping a different pair, effectively making the zone secure for the time being. Regrouping with the remaining men of your squad you began a headcount to see who was missing, it wasn't good. The attack had costed you four of your twelve men, now only having eight soldiers with you. Bringing the radioman over you began to call for an evac, but couldn't get a signal through.
"Permission to speak Seargent!" Private "Turnpike" Hutch spoke up, drawing your attention back to your men.
"Granted, what is it Turnpike?" You say with a hint of annoyance, not at him, but at your situation you were currently in.
"There appears to be a friendly outpost about twenty clicks west of here, I suggest that we make out way there and wait for reinforcements" Turnpike finishes and gives you the crumpled and bloodied map he was holding.
"It's not a good plan, but honestly it's the only plan we got. We've got no men, no munitions and no meals. We need a resupply of bodies and resources, keep up heading towards the outpost. We will make it out of this goddamn jungle!" You say, slightly boosting the morale of your soldiers.
"We should reach it by nightfall if we make good pace, if one of your brothers fall then you pick him up and help him along. We're not leaving anybody behind, but first gather the tags of the deceased and torch the bodies. Don't give the gooks anything to play with, strip em for ammo, lord knows they don't need it anymore" you say grimly as the remaining men in your squad salute and go about performing your orders.
You were not going to die in this goddamn jungle...
You're breathing heavy as you charge through the elephant grass, the tall blades slicing through your forearms as you blocked your face. You could hear shouting behind you, not in English though. You watched your squad die, you couldn't do anything so you ran. Your flight overcoming your fight instinct, now pushing through the razor sharp foliage away from hostiles and your death. Bullets whizzed around you, one finding home in your calf. Falling to the ground you let out a cry of agony, forcing yourself to your feet. You were not going to die in this goddamn jungle, a phrase that you had repeated to yourself for weeks now becoming a hopeful lie. Limping your way forward you finally cleared the elephant grass, now having to run in almost open jungle. And boy did you run.
You ran and ran, blood pouring from the bullet wound in your leg. You were close, you had to be. Giving the last of your energy into escsape your hopes were shot down as you fell through a trap in the ground, you knew this was the end for you. 'Tiger traps' one of the worst ways to go, falling down a pit and impaling yourself on sharpened bamboo. But as you fell, you began to notice a lack of impalement, in fact there was a lack of anything at all. Just blackness, the entrance hole you fell into not even visible. You continued to fall for what felt like minutes, until you felt a warmth against your back. Turning you found yourself falling towards what appeared to be the canopy of a forest! Bracing for impact you collided with the treetops, smashing through branches as you fell, until you hit a large branch and were knocked unconscious.
Coming to your senses you realized that you were suspended about four feet off the ground by a branch piercing through your harness, hanging you like a piece of bait. Drawing your knife you tried reaching behind you to cut the branch off, but as you reached up you felt a stinging pain in your side. Looking down you noticed a respectably sized branch protruding from your torso, it's gnarled wood coated with a steady stream of your blood. Placing the knife between your teeth you reached down and grasped the impaling branch with both hands, the slightest touch causing pain to shoot through your body like a lightning bolt, causing you to bite down on the cold steel of your blade. Biting down harder you began to wrench the wood from your body, inch by inch. Finally after what felt like hours, your teeth close to cracking on the tempered blade you eventually removed the brach, casting it weakly off to the side and listening to it hit the soft dirt beneath you. Pulling the knife from your mouth you reached up again to sever the branch hanging you, pushing through your pains you knew there were worse things. Finally making your way through enough of the branch you feel it snap and give, dropping you to the forest floor. A cry of pain emanating from your mouth as you landed on your injured leg, causing you to fall over, clutching your wound.
Forcing yourself to a seated possession with your sliced, bruised and blood coated arms you took a moment to asses yourself. Large wound in left abdomen, bullet wound in right leg, various cuts along arms and bruises all over your body. The red of your wounds staining your green fatigues a deep brownish color. Reaching into your harness you pulled out some gauze wrap, slowly wrapping your side as you took a hit of morphine to dull the pain. You then wrapped your arms, helping to cover the many lacerations along your forearms. Now reaching over to your knife you had one last thing to do before you would be done treating yourself, placing a stick into your mouth to quiet your would be screams of pain. Digging the blade of your knife deep into your bullet wound you scraped around until you were finally able to dislodge the bullet from your flesh, finishing by wrapping your leg with the remaining bandages and laying back to bask in the fact you were still alive.
You began to laugh, while you technically indeed didn't die in 'that jungle' you could feel that this forest would indeed kill you. It was funny to you in a dark kind of way that you had escaped one dense deathtrap, only to be literally dropped into another. If God was real, he had a really twisted sense of humor. Reaching into your pocket you pulled out your lighter a number seven carved into the side of it, admiring your trusty zippo you reached into another pocked and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Pulling one from the pack you remembered that these were the cigs that Corporal "Hardass" Mulroy had given you after you had won a bet against him, boy was he pissed to give up his last pack. Chuckling lightly to yourself you lit the cigarette and took a deep drag of the calming nicotine smoke, slowly exhaling the smoke, enjoying the burn in your lungs and throat that reminded you that you were still alive. You lied there for quite a while, until the sounds of snapping foliage brought you back from your blissful rest. Sitting up you reached for your trusty M16, only to find it not strapped to your back, but hanging from a branch in a nearby tree. Opting to leave it until you secured your immediate area you pulled out your trusty sidearm a classic Colt M1911, courtesy of the U.S. government. Flicking off the safety you held the gun in both your hands, aiming it at anywhere you heard noise. Standing up slowly, you made sure to hold in any cries of protest your body let out as you stood, slowly spinning to keep your attention focused on any point outside of your clearing that was making noise.
Suddenly it became completely silent, not even a bird chirping, or the sound of wind through the leaves. You held your pistol tighter, digging your palms deeper into the patterned grip of the firearm. Suddenly from behind you the underbrush gave way to a leaping creature that you had no idea as to what it was, barely leveling your gun at it and firing off two rounds into its body. This didn't stop the creature, it only made it madder, its strangely human face snarling and showing you it's long canines. The bat-like wings behind it extending outwards as its scorpion tail raised, poised to strike. Rolling out of the way just in time, feeling the claws of the creature swipe the air around your moving body as you dodged its pounce. Coming to a stop a few feet to its side you fired a few more rounds into its body, only agitating the creature more. The beast spun to face you and pounced at you with double its speed, catching you under its large clawed paws. Pinned beneath the creature you were just able to move your head out of the way of the large scorpion stinger as it came down, just inches away from your face and embedded itself in the dirt a good few inches. Pulling your arm from underneath the creature you fired your last four rounds point-blank into it's open maw, causing the creature to spill blood onto your face, stinging your eyes and blinding you. With your last rounds emptied into its head the creature collapsed on top of you, practically crushing you as you struggled to wriggle your way out from underneath it.
Finally having made your way out from underneath the creature you took a moment to look it over, it was a mix of a lion, a bat, and a scorpion. You were just attacked by a manticore, a fucking fairytale. You laid back against the beasts large frame, picking up your still lit cig off of the ground and took another long drag. Spending a moment to recollect yourself and reload your sidearm, placing it back in its hotter at your hip. After finishing about another two cigarettes you made your way over to the tree that held your M16, God knows that if you were going to be fighting fairytales you had better bring some stronger firepower than just a .45 sidearm. Looking over your rifle you were happy to see that it wasn't too badly damaged, a few dings and scratches, all cosmetic, but nothing that would effect the operation of the firearm. Ejecting the mag you counted your bullets, coming to a total of twelve in magazine and one more full magazine, twenty bullets, on person. Switching the gun onto semi-automatic you decided to only use your firearms if it desperately required it, pulling out your knife and sharpening a stick into a makeshift spear, finishing your creation with the end stinger of the manticore stuck to the end.
You were going to find a way not just out of this forest, but back home as well.
[Ponyville Castle]
"Princess Twilight, there are reports of the sounds of small explosions emanating from the Everfree forest. Should I sent a dispatch of guards to investigate?" The guard captain asked the princess, his face completely stoic.
"Yes, I'm going with the dispatch though. Moments before I felt a large surge of magical energy and I have a feeling that whatever is causing those sounds has something to do with that surge" Twilight said, standing up and began heading to her chambers to don her battle garb.
"But Princess, it's not safe. What if you got-" The guard captain started, but was stopped when twilight raised a hand to silence him.
"I am going to accompany your dispatch and that is an order, choose your best men and meet me outside of the Everfree" Twilight order and left the council room to her chambers.
"By your orders, your highness" the guard captain said giving a deep bow to her as she left, standing once she had gone. He had a lot of work ahead, unsure as to who or what was causing the commotion in the Everfree forest.
Now with her full battle dress on Twilight walked up to the company of armored royal guards, about ninety of them standing in full attention, saluting as Twilight passed and approached the captain. The captain was bust with the cartographer and didn't realize the arrival of the princess of friendship until the after the cartographer snapped to attention, causing him to spin around and mimic the hasty salute to the princess. This elicited a small chuckle from Twilight.
"So, what appears to be the situation captain?" Twilight asked as she approached the table, causing the cartographer and the captain to become at-ease.
"Well your highness, the sounds were reported to have come from this sector here. So I was thinking of deploying a small platoon of pegsai to surround the area as the rest of the platoon approach on foot, effectively trapping whoever, or whatever caused the disturbances" the captain explained, pointing to the map periodically as Twilight watched the plan unfurl.
"And what if the cause of the disturbances is a peaceful creature, or a pony?" Twilight asked curious as to the plan in that event.
"Well if that is the case then they will be captured and interrogated, nothing goes into the Everfree without a reason Princess" the captain explained, pausing to take a breath.
"And if it's hostile, pony or not then me and my men will put it down. I hope you don't have a problem with that your highness, but I'm just looking-out for the wellbeing of the entirety of ponyville, even if I have to take a life to ensure it" the captain explained, shocking Twilight, but she quickly recovered and adjusted her regalia.
"I will leave these operations in your hands captain, I only hope that you would allow me a few words with whatever it is, regardless of its hostility. Then I will let you... carry out your orders" Twilight said, swallowing deeply as she said the last part.
[The Everfree Forest]
You had skinned and sliced meat off of the manticore, now cooking it over a small fire as you enjoyed the peace and quiet off the forest. Pulling the meat off of the stick you bit off a large piece, the food was replenishing to say the least, especially since you had been surviving on MRE's for the last few weeks. The change to real food was indescribable with words, so you saved them as you ate the meat. Looking up at the sky you were amazed by how blue it was, it was almost as if it was painted onto the world. Suddenly something passed overhead, something small and something fast, it's speeding form shining in the sun. For a minute you thought that they were jets, but after finding the sound of their engines missing you knew something else was happening. Quickly stomping out your fire, you slid the body of the manticore over your fire's remains and quickly made your way as high as you possibly could in to a nearby tree, making sure to cover yourself as much as possible with the branches and leaves. Even going so far as to break some off and slip them into your clothing and helmet to cover your face, bits of manticore blood beginning to cake onto your skin. You sat in that tree and waited for what felt like hours, keeping as still as possible and taking shallow quiet breaths to keep your location hidden.
After a while of waiting you saw several creatures emerge from the forest and come into the clearing you were in. They were strange, while mostly humanoid in stature they had the legs and faces of stark white equines. They began searching around the clearing, looking into bushes and trees, causing you to push against the tree's core tighter, holding your breath. With their inspection complete and your location still unknown they regrouped around the dead manticore in the center. You heard them begin to speak, in English of all things!
"Well, something was defiantly here, broken branches, bloodstains, a dead manticore. All clear signs of life" one of them said, shoving the manticore's corpse with a crossbow.
"Yeah, the question is where is it now genius?" one said, leaning against a spear it had planted in the ground.
"Oh shut the buck up, like you'd even know Onyx. You would't be able to find your tail if it wasn't attached to your hind end!" the crossbow wielder retorted to the spear leaning creature, apparently named Onyx.
"Shut up, both of you! You sound like a couple of foals! And don't say anything Ace, you lost your marefriend if I remember correctly" another said, spinning a shortsword around in its grasp.
"Buck off Rose, if anypony shouldn't be talking about relationships it should be you. Miss: 'Please take me Captain Iron Heart, rut me like a mare in heat'" Ace teased, raising his voice to mimic a female one.
You were distracted by your thoughts upon hearing a few of their phrases, not focusing on their bickering as a few of the other 'ponies' tried to break them up. You called them 'ponies' because they were using equine-esque vocabulary and they had used the term any-pony, so it only made sense to you. Well, what little sense that was even believable at this point. Shifting slightly to keep an eye on the patrolling ponies, you caused a few small branches to snap and fall to the ground, alerting the ponies to attention.
"Shhh, did you hear that?" Rose said, clutching her sword in hand tightly.
"Yeah, it sounded like it came from that tree over there" Onyx said, pointing out the tree you were currently hiding in, causing your heart rate to quicken as you slowly brought your M16 to aim and switched it to full-auto. Prepared for anything to happen next.
"Go spook it out Onyx, I'll have my shot ready" Ace said, taking aim with his crossbow.
"Okay, on the count of three" Onyx said as he took a few shaky steps towards your tree.
"One," Onyx said, grasping his spear tightly in both hands
"Two," Rose and Ace said Simultaneously, looking at one another.
"Three" you let out quietly as you fire round after round into the armored ponies, punching bright red holes in their pure white fur, staining their bodies red with their own blood. After you had fired your magazine's worth of ammunition into the three anthropomorphic equines you dropped from the tree to salvage what you could off of their mangled corpses. Taking the sword and it's sheath and attaching it to your belt and and picking up the crossbow, throwing your M16 over your shoulder and placing the small quiver of bolts onto your person as well. Twenty bolts, twenty-eight bullets, a sword and a knife. You felt like a mobile arsenal, but deciding to not hand around much longer you crept off deeper into the woods before more ponies could come to examine the scene you left. If they wanted to hunt you, you were going to give them a challenge. It was time for the hunters to become the hunted.
You made your way through the forest, setting up small traps at points you found would hold some kind of strategic importance. Clearings, trails, streams, and ruined structures were all rigged with deadly traps. Stripping you down to only one grenade left and now with night beginning to fall you bent down to the creek and drank deep from the strangely clear water, filling your canteen. While hunched over at the bank you heard the clanking of armor approaching closely. Talking a minute you quickly jumped into a nearby bush, covering yourself with as much river mud as you could to mask your scent and make you blend in also.
"Captain, sir. We've lost contact with with squads 1, 3, 6, and 9. We're down to half our forces, should we retreat?" A small pony holding a crystal orb the size of a baseball said.
"No, whatever is doing this is using traps. Tell the remaining squads to be wary around any critical points. Tell them to double check clearings, trails, ruins and streams with a trap sensing spell before moving into the area. Now, take me back to Princess Twilight, I have some bad news to give" Iron Heart said, tuning to the small pony before being enveloped in a blinding light and disappearing.
Now you were really confused, teleportation? Ponies? Where were you? Deciding to not focus on those questions you decide to more so focus on your newfound knowledge of teleportation. Perhaps this could be your way home, home home, not Vietnam, but the god U.S. of A. Standing slowly you decided to find this 'Princess Twilight', hoping that maybe she'd be able to take you home. Even if you had to 'convince' her to.
[Castle of the Two Sisters, Temporary Ponyvile Guard Base]
Captain Iron Heart walked through the somewhat renovated ruins of the broken castle the Ponyville guards and Princess Twilight were using as a base of operations, noticing that the guards on watch had doubled. Reaching the throne room he gave a kurt knock against the ancient door, the sound echoing through the mostly empty castle.
"Come in!" Twilight shouted from the other side of the door, inviting the captain into the room.
Captain Iron Heart opened the door, followed inside by Marble Dusk, his tactical advisor and main source of communication and transport. Iron Heart didn't like relying on anypony else for anything, but his lack of magical appendage made performing many necessary actions difficult, if not impossible. He approached the makeshift HQ and gave a swift bow to Twilight, the action mimicked by Dusk behind him.
"Your highness, whatever is out here has already taken down half of my company. With your permission I suggest we magic-surge the area and call it done" Iron Heart suggested, knowing very well that he had gone to an extreme. An extreme that he saw necessary after losing forty-eight of his soldiers.
"C-captain, what about the innocent creatures of the Everfree also in the area?" Twilight asked, shocked that the captain would suggest such a violent counter-action.
"With all due respect Princess, only monsters live in the Everfree. Nothing out here is innocent, not even your friend the Zebra" Iron Heart said, giving Twilight another bow.
"Well, if you think it the most logical option. I approve of the use of a magic-surge, just make sure that you recall all units from the area. We don't need to lose any more lives" Twilight said somberly, dismissing the captain with a wave of her hand.
Iron Heart left the room, followed closely by Marble Dusk, leaving Twilight alone in the throne room. Was she really ok with the idea of using a magic-surge, a highly volatile spell that burned everything in its wake, on a zone in the Everfree. Her thoughts were conflicted, while on one hand it would avenge the deaths of the forty-eight ponies lost, but it would also eradicate any creatures in the area. Left with her thoughts she stepped out onto the terrace to contemplate, taking a note from her mentor Princess Celestia. She looked down and saw captain Iron Heart gathering a collection on unicorn soldiers, briefing them on his plan, the plan that she approved. Looking to the night sky she questioned if what she had chosen was the best thing to do, she would find out soon enough she figured and went back inside to continue her recordings.
[Six Clicks Outside of The Castle of the Two Sisters]
You clenched your teeth in pain as you removed the crossbow bolt embedded in your left arm, quickly binding the wound with a torn piece of your clothing, having run out of actual medical bindings. You didn't expect to get startled by a squad of the armed and armored ponies, having gotten hit by a shot and emptying the rest of your M16 rounds into them. Now with only your knife, crossbow, sword, and handgun you rested by the riverbed as you used the cool water to wash away some of the remaining viscera from your clothing and face. The forest was quiet again, a bit too quiet. The same kind of quiet that signaled some kind of attack on you, but you didn't see or hear any sign of life. Standing up you checked around more throughly, making sure you weren't caught unaware again, not sure you could survive it.
Then you heard it, like a rolling drumbeat. Suddenly the forest canopy lit-up in a brilliant rainbow-colored flash, practically blinding you and brightening your surroundings. It looked like the mushroom clouds that had been used back in the second world war, the plume of light rising into the sky above. You noticed some animals running towards you, you leveled your crossbow at the most hostile looking of them and prepared to shoot. But the creatures just ran right past you, speeding along behind you, confused you lowered your stolen weapon and looked in the direction they had run from. Looking through the trees you saw an approaching wall of brilliant white fire, its force consuming all of the foliage and any fauna unfortunate enough to get caught in it.
"Oh fuck me!" You exclaim as you turned tail and ran in the same direction as all the forest critters, now you knew why they didn't pay you any mind.
Sprinting along the river you tried to move as fast as you could, all the while avoiding tripping over rocks and twisted roots jutting from the ground. You could feel the flames getting closer to you, their heat warming your back as they begun to approach an uncomfortable level of proximity. Putting your head down you just ran as hard as you could, the smell of burning world behind you filling your nostrils as your body heaved its lungs for air, still you forced yourself to run. Up ahead you saw a clearing, a lake! Hopefully if you could reach it, you could hide under the water and wait out the firewall sweeping through the forest. With no other plan you set your sights on the black body of water, the night sky reflecting off of its surface like a second sky. Reaching the edge of the lake you waded through the water, eventually beginning to swim as the fire neared mere feet from you. Taking one quick breath you dove under the black water, hoping that it would not be your last.
You felt the force of the wall pass over you, briefly heating the water as it washed over the lake and continued onwards, leaving a trail of fire behind it. You held your breath as you hoped this blanket of blazing light would pass, allowing you to surface and breathe. Ten second, thirty seconds, a minute and a half passed with still no sign of stopping the blaze, your lungs beginning to sting as your body craved for the air just a few feet away. Nearing two minutes you began to release the air in your lungs, the bubbles floating to the surface and joining the still flaming surface. With your air exhausted and the fire still overhead, you forced yourself to stay under a burning sensation taking over your body as you asphyxiated.
Feeling the water becoming colder as your vision begun to darken and blur you finally saw the white flames disperse, leaving you in blackness. Thrusting yourself upwards towards the surface you swam as hard as you could, but you could feel that you were not going to make it. Opting to lose some of the items weighing you down, you unclipped your harness, dropping all of your weapons, except for the knife strapped to your boot. You swam towards the surface as your gun, spear, and sword all sunk to the bottom, becoming consumed in the endless darkness below. Breaking the surface of the water you took a deep breath, taking a moment to admire the scene around you.
All of the area around where you and the flame had come from was now noting but scorched earth, no signs of flora or fauna visible, the same scene mirrored going the way the flame went for a good ways, ending about four clicks away. Now there was nothing to conceal you, but the same stood for a now visible castle about two clicks from the edge of the cleared area. The stone spire of the ruins' tower jutting out of the earth like a knife pounding itself into the night sky. Swimming to the shore you began to make your way towards the castle, seeing winged ponies come and go from the spire. You assumed that that was their HQ, and you intended to infiltrate it and find a way home. Staying as low as you could, you slowly made your way towards the ruins.
[Four Hours Later, Outside The Castle of the Two Sisters]
You moved a branch aside to get a better view of the castle ruins, seeing that the area had been turned into a base of operations for these ponies. You saw a few patrolling the perimeter, holding torches and spears, a few more walked along the wall wielding crossbows. Getting into this place was going to be difficult, if not impossible. All you had was your wits and your knife, although those very same things had gotten you out of impossible situations before. Unfortunately, none of them even came close to what you had to do now.
Sinking back into the undergrowth you wait for some kind of an opening, watching the patrols of guards and memorizing their movements. You waited until the guards on the wall had gone to the far left side, whilst the guards on the ground had gone to the right. Making use of the opening between them you sprinted towards the wall, remaining as low as you could. Making it to the wall you pressed yourself against the cold stone, watching the guards overhead and on the ground turn and begin approaching you. Quickly moving against the wall as close as you could, you found a crack in the wall and pressed yourself into it. Effectively hiding yourself inside the wall, you waited until the layered patrols had passed before coming out.
Looking at the wall you realized that while it would be uncomfortable, there was an easy way to climb up its rough, wet surface. Taking quick surveillance of your surroundings, you figured you had only a few minutes to climb the wall before you would be spotted. Deciding not to waste any more time, you slowly began to climb the stone wall. The rough stones digging into your hands as you squeezed the rocks to keep hold of their wet surfaces. Making it half-way to the top you could begin to hear speaking above you.
"I'm just saying, nopony could survive a magic-surge. It's just plain impossible!" The first guard proclaimed as you continued upwards, listening to their conversation.
"Be that as it may, we're not even sure what it was that was killing everypony! What if it was a dragon, or a windigo?" The second guard asked as you neared the top.
"Well, whatever it is and or was doesn't matter now. Iron Heart is going to have one last sweep of the zone then we're all being pulled out, something about minimizing casualties. It's about time too" the first guard remarks as you pull yourself up onto the wall, now only a few feet away from the two conversing guards.
Unsheathing your blade you quietly approached the two guards, staying low and moving slowly as to not be detected. You struck quickly, lashing out with the blade at the guard on the left, catching him in the nape of his neck. The spray of blood coating your face and upper torso as you thrust your knife at the remaining guard, driving the steel blade through the back of his helmet and into his skull. Pulling out the blade, you felt the serrated teeth ripping through the pony's grey matter, opening the wound even more as you retracted your weapon. Flicking the blade to slightly clean it of the gore, you took a second to wipe your face with your clean hand, your wet palm moving over your features and clearing your sight of crimson.
Making your way along the wall you headed for a door that lead into the castle proper, having made sure to arm yourself with one of the guard's crossbows as you left. Opting the door you found yourself inside of a large room on the second level, a railed balcony overlooking a throne room bustling with guards. But one pony stood out from the golden armored white guards, a single purple pony, a horn and wings both on her body. That must be their leader and your best chance of getting home, you thought as you made your way to a better vantage point.
Making your way to the far-end of the room you noticed a large tapestry hanging on the wall, figuring you could use it to drop down and position yourself behind the purple pony and her guards. Grabbing your knife in one hand you climbed over the railing and dropped onto the tapestry, driving your knife into the thick fabric, effectively slowing your decent enough to not kill yourself. Your landing was rough, falling to the ground and stumbling forward, alerting the guards in the room. Fortunately you were faster than these guards and was able to drop one with a finely placed bolt to the chest, the sharp point punching through the breastplate like tissue paper.
Dropping the crossbow you sprinted toward the purple pony, grabbing her around the throat with one arm, the other brandishing the the knife currently pointed at her chin.
"NOBODY FUCKING MOVE OR SHE GETS IT!" You warn, slightly pressing the sharp tip into her supple flesh as a more decorated guard took a step forward. Your action of harm causing him to halt in his place and hold up a hand to the guards behind him, halting their aim at you.
"Y-you are the one that has been killing all of my ponies?" The purple pony asked as you moved back towards the end of the room with her.
"Shut up, I want you to do something for me" you whispered into the mare's ear as you continue to retreat with your hostage.
"W-why should I help you, you're a murderer!" She exclaimed, struggling against you. You responded by pushing the blade a bit harder, drawing a bit of blood and eliciting a yelp of pain.
"You can teleport shit right? I want you to teleport me home, back to my world" you explained as you passed through a pair of large doors and exiting out onto a balcony.
"N-no, I refuse to help you!" She exclaimed, this time not fighting against your grasp, the knife still pressed against her flesh.
"You will help me, you will send me home, or I will kill you and then all of 'your little ponies'!" You threatened, causing the mare to free in place as you pressed yourself against the door and spun her around to face you.
"A-alright" she said, being to emirate a glow from her horn.
"Don't try anything funny, I'm too tired and too fucked-up to deal with anymore bullshit" You threatened as the glow began to envelop you.
"Be gone with you!" The mare yelled before you were engulfed in a blinding light.
[Vietnam, Communist POW Camp]
How were you supposed to know that when you got sent back that you'd wind up right back where you started, the same patch of jungle, except this time no hole. It was like no time had passed, you were surrounded and captured, sent to some gook work camp. At least you survived. Bringing the pickaxe down on a stone, you couldn't help but to hope that the war would be won soon. Knowing that the U.S.'s superior technology and weapons would eventually beat-out the communist presence in Vietnam. You would survive, the thought repeating in your head as you worked in that camp for months. Until finally one day you were shot in the back of the head by a guard when you stumbled and fell, weak from labor and malnutrition.
You had died in this jungle, a broken and sad husk of what you once were.