Forward Operating Base Swan Afganistan, Helmand Provience August 5th 2049 1400
“For fuck sake, Stevens, turn that shit off!”. A few murmurs and quiet snickering could be heard on the beds around the one I was currently lying on, however, the music persisted and in fact, I could have sworn it had just gotten louder.
” I'll never let you go, baby, ill love you till the end of my little led days!”
“Jesus, right fuck this,”. Moving into an upright position I took the towel off my face throwing in the general direction of laughter.
I was instantly greeted by the glaring sun of the Helmand Province beaming right down on me through the door of the tent. Ignoring the pain the best I could I pushed my body upwards and began to stumble across the large tent that I was currently residing in with the rest of my merry band.
Finally reaching the other side of the tent I unceremoniously swung my left arm downwards smashing it into the small 90’s style radio that was undoubtedly the source of the terror that was currently infiltrating the tent.
The music (if you could call it that) abruptly ended as the laughter continued to rise in volume. As the volume of the laughter raised so did my ever-growing frustration, not being able to take it anymore I snapped.
“Why is it that I have to listen to this shit from all of you?!” Silence quickly fell upon the tent like a blanket of snow. “Jesus Christ lads, honestly it's bad enough that we have to sit here and get shot at by fucking dickheads in the mountains but I’d rather be out there pissing in a foxhole than lying in here with you lot!” As I vented my anger and rage decreased substantially.
“Captain, If you're wanting some peace and quite why don't you take a break in your own tent?” A voice rose from behind me. Turning around to face the voice I saw the face of my corporal to match it.
“You know why Archer, the moment I leave this tent you’ll set the bloody place on fire. There’s not enough IQ here to register in the bloody double digits,”. As I spoke the men all seemed to silently react in different ways.
Some appeared to find amusement with their current predicament, whilst others were still trying to hold back laughter for the previous “radio incident”.
“Not to worry Captain, I’ll watch them for you,”. Another voice came from behind me. Doing a quick 180 on the spot I saw the figure of my Sergeant, Sergeant Fletcher.
“Fletcher, I didn't realise that your rotation was up so soon,”. I commented. I hadn’t thought so much time had passed since entering the tent to babysit the others.
“Yep, just finished the now sir,” he said with professionalism laced through his voice. That demeanour quickly changed as his gaze drifted over the group of men sitting in the tent opposite me and the corporal. “Right, Garland, Brown, McHugh and Kirby, piss of the lot of you take over from the lads outside,”
The four men quickly nodded responding with a quick “Sergeant,” before quickly grabbing their kit and leaving the tent.
"Alright then, I guess I could use a little rest from these fuckwits," I said motioning my hand over to the aforementioned fuckwits currently trying open an old Nintendo DS.
"Don't worry sir, there'll be no trouble here isn't that right lads," he said looking over to the men stationed in the tent.
"Yes Seargent," came the low-intensity reply all in low muffled tones.
Looking between the Seargent and the rest of the men I nodded slowly before turning around to leave the tent.
As I moved out into the operating base I made sure to take notes of the tents and walls surrounding me. As the Soldier in command, I was supposed to keep this place running in a somewhat orderly fashion, at least that's what the SOP's said anyway.
I quickly noticed that things had slipped.
"That dickhead," I murmured under my breath.
Without having to save a moment for a second thought I began marching towards the command tent, upon entering I spotted several new faces. No doubt the new arrivals from intelligence here to help us with this weeks world-changing op. Stowing my faked excitement for another trip to hell, I made my way over to one of the desks where an unlucky Private was about to taste my anger.
Placing my arm down forcefully on his shoulder the man jerked and turned to face me, clearly startled by my sudden intrusion.
"Y. Yes, Captain" the man structured.
"Where is the lieutenant?" I said in a surprisingly restrained voice.
"He's um... I think he just went out to check the stations," The private said his eyes sweeping the room for any sign of help that would never arrive.
"Did I say where do you think he went?" I asked again applying slightly more pressure onto his shoulder.
"No, No sir,"
"Well then please tell me if it wouldn't take up to much of your time where he is," I said.
"He went outside to check the stations," The private responded this time with a bit more assertiveness.
"Good man," I said releasing the pressure and patting the man on the soldier.
As I exited the tent Immediately caught sight of the smug fuck walking across the base. Bastard. I thought silently. I didn't have time to contemplate my thoughts as before I knew it he was walking towards me with a big stupid fucking grin on his face.
"Captain, good to see your up and about," He said not wiping the smile from his face whilst holding his head higher than usual.
"Alright Docherty, planning to take the parade stick out your arse anytime soon?" I replied, unable to contain my frustration at this idiot.
Ever since Lt. Docherty was transferred to his command he had been a constant pain in the arse. The guy was posh born and bread with a manner of Eaton smugness about him. He would often regale the men of his many personal triumphs and successes that no one in the right mind gave a single shit about.
However, unfortunately for me and the rest of the base, we were stuck with him for the foreseeable future. Or until the mountain people took a pot shot at him.
Docherty didn't seem to appreciate the comment but even he wasn't brave enough to mention it to my face, no doubt some poor private would receive the tale later tonight of how I mentally assaulted him.
"Sir?" he replied, his features slowly turning as his bright smile disappeared.
"Give me your task sheet," I demanded.
With some slight hesitation, the Lieutenant reached into his vest and pulled out a scrawny piece of paper that was covered in cracks and was littered with sand and dust.
Grabbing the sheet from his hands before he had the chance to hand it to me I started to scan the paperwork, my face taking the form of a scowl as I read further.
"Right Docherty, follow me," I said as I began to march towards my own tent without giving him a chance to reply. I was pissed.
"Your fucking out of line!" I snapped throwing the piece of paper down onto the small camping table provided by her Majesties finest craftsmen.
"Captain, if I can explain to y," Docherty started to explain before I promptly shut him up.
"No! I don't give a shit what your reasons are, for fuck sakes your suppose to be my XO and yet you can't even complete a basic task rota!" I shouted, facing away from him I put my arms over my head and exhaled allowing my anger to dissipate. "
"You keep doing this to me Docherty and I can't rely on you to do anything right. You're putting me in an impossible decision if id to discipline you what kind of message would that send out?," I sighed turning back to face him.
"Not a very good one sir, I understand.
"Aye, I bet you fucking do," I stated. I was conflicted. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with this idiot standing in front of me.
"I can improve sir, you just need to give me a better chance to show you my potential," Docherty pleaded setting both of his hands down on the table.
I looked at him with a hint of amusement. "Prove yourself?" I said with a half chuckle. "Where do you think you are a Yankee high school show? You've got fuck all you need to prove, you here to do a job, not to audition for the army's biggest wank,"
We stood in silence for a few more minutes before I finally reached a decision. "Right, here's your opportunity, swap with Archer for tonight's patrol and please don't fuck anyone in the arse if you'd be so kind,"
Docherty's face slowly changed from one of defeat to one of determination. "Yes sir, I won't let you down again,"
"Aye, I know you won't, now off you fuck," I said gesturing with my hand to the open exit of my personal tent.
Quickly saluting, Docherty about-faced and marched out of the tent leaving me to finally take a seat in my chair.
Docherty was an arse, there was no getting about that. However, I suppose I have seen worse at the academy and at my previous commands. He'll grow out of it in time I mused to myself.
Slowly I moved myself over to my poor quality tent bed and rested my head onto my brick pillowcase. For one of the worlds best fighting forces, you would think that they would have provided better base equipment and amenities but apparently not in this particular instance.
As I let my cap slide back over my face I let out a large exhale before taking a deep breath of fresh Afgan air. "God, I hate my job,"
Forward Operating Base Swan Afganistan, Helmand Provience August 5th 2029 1845
As I exited my tent I began to make my way over to the vehicle bay in the search of something to brighten up my so far pretty shit day.
"Ah! Fuck!"
"You're not doing it right you fucking mong!"
"Aye and I suppose you would know"
"Well, I'm in charge so yeah it would appear so,"
"Oh, aye right pull rank and see how well it goes for ya pal,"
Clearing my throat I made a loud enough coughing noise to attract the attention of two engineers, both of whom were currently entangled with our main IFV our Warrier F510 Infantry Section Vehicle. It was an older model of mechanised units but she was sturdy enough and had never failed on us, well until now.
"Gentlemen, hows our fine lady looking tonight?" I asked laying my hand onto the Warriors side.
The lead engineer stood up to face me as he wiped the sweat that was visibly dripping from his brow. "I'll be honest with you sir, she's in a bad way,"
I wasn't surprised by the engineer's comments the Warrier was an old fighter that saw action in the gulf back in the '90s, I was surprised she was even assigned to the base given the importance of our location. They were in the process of being replaced by newer and sleeker models but it was a long wait to get your hands on one as most of them remained sitting in a depot back in the UK.
"What's the issue with her?" I asked as I began a quick visual inspection myself, although, in all honesty, I'm not quite sure what I was actually looking for.
"Ack, the filters fucked Captain, the intakes been swamped with so much sand and dust that it will take a good few hours to clear out," the other engineer replied stepping fully into view as he emerged from the top of the Warrior.
"How long?" I asked not looking forward to the prospect of giving up one of the most vital components of our base.
"However long you'd like sir, shell still runs fine though I can't guarantee the engine will hold for a prolonged amount of time mind, but, should you need it shell be here for you,".
"Good, that's what I like to hear, keep up the good work lads," I said relieved that we'd still have our main mode of transportation besides the Afghans MRAP.
"Will do sir,"
[Forward Operating Base Swan Afganistan, Helmand Provience August 6th 2029 2143
"SEAL Teams will move onto the compound and perform a sweep for Jackhammer. Section three will provide cover for Sections one and two whilst Section four holds a 100-meter perimeter along with the Yanks in the north here,".
As I sat in the tent listing to the briefing from the Major I couldn't help but feel the anxiety building up inside myself. We were finally going to bag this fucker Jackhammer as he was referred to by the rest of the world was the key man within the Helmed Province.
Word was that the Yanks had got his location through an internal leak and apparently he was set up in a compound about 10 clicks west of the city. As per usual, the Yanks had secured the top role with us providing two sections for backup in securing the compound after the fact and with us holding a perimeter to make sure no more reinforcements could arrive.
As the briefing went on Docherty leaned in to whisper "so apparently they're sending in the SEALS for this special fuck," it wasn't a question so much as it was a statement.
"Yep, Blackhawks and all no doubt,". It honestly wasn't surprising. The SEALS had taken out Osama and this guy was just as bad, he'd been the ringleader of several terror cells and if sources were to be believed he had a blood count way past 2000.
"And we're the only people on earth that know this is going down,". Docherty said with an excited tone that reminded me of a young teen.
"Yes, now shut the fuck up before I boot you out of this tent," I snapped trying to divert my focus back to the briefing.
"I understand how sudden this is but we need local assets on this op. As far as every citizen and every Afgan soldier is concerned this is a routine op. Do I make myself clear?"
A number of sirs and yeses went up across the tent, showing that we had passed the point of no return. This was it.
"Alright, let's get this done quickly and let the Yanks take the glory,"
Outskirts Of Marker Gold Afganistan, Helmand Provience August 7th 2029 0021
"This is Starshot. We have a go order from up top. Start the clock on Operation Jackhammer. That is a repeat, start the clock on Operation Jackhammer. Confirmation Code. Tango, Whiskey, India, Six.
"Alright lads, this is it. I want every one of you out there to stay calm and keep with your number two. If we come under fire we find cover and return fire, is that understood?"
"Sir!"
"Excellent,"
As our Warrier dragged along the long worn out road silence fell over the IFV, every man had their own little ritual that they were now performing in preparation for the battle ahead. Some said a prayer whilst others checked their weapons and gear. I was performing the second, checking that all my gear was ready for combat.
I had the standard British loadout that apart from my insignia was no different from any other rifleman. In my hands, I held a standard-issue SA80 Rifle which had been the bane of my existence for the last decade and a half. Alongside that, I had another standard-issue Glock 17 as my sidearm just in case things went sideways.
I just hoped that it was enough to keep me and the rest of my men safe from harm's way.
"Captain! Were approaching the town ETA 10 Secs til disembarkation!" the driver yelled from the front of the Warrior.
"Alright! Right lads, here we go sort a diamond on exit, gunner face North!" I barked making sure everyone could hear my voice. Everyone in the vehicle tensed up as it came to an about stop and the back ramp dropped down to the ground.
"OUT, OUT, OUT!" I yelled in rapid succession as the men of the section began to fan out from the vehicle forming a protective diamond around it.
"Docherty, you have command hold the perimeter here and get some cover for everyone!" I yelled. I wasn't exactly comfortable leaving the Lt. in charge, but he was still a Lieutenant and I had to give him the benefit of the doubt that he would perform well under pressure.
"Copied Captain, the perimeter is secured!" Docherty yelled back.
"Okay, Overwatch team on me double time!" I yelled motioning for the overwatch to join me as we broke off from the section to provide cover.
Captain, Section three is reporting that they have established a watchpoint but do not have us in visual range," A voice came blaring out through my radio.
"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. "Well, why the fuck can't they see us," I shouted through the radio
"Wait one,". We needed to have some form of protection other than just us.
"They can't see us due to the houses on the right, should we pull ourselves back into the open area?"
"Pull the Warrior back and keep the section in cover with the buildings!" I couldn't risk exposing the section to an open area but its the best I could do for them now.
"Acknolged,"
"Right lads we need the highest point on this hill to establish and overwatch from," I said to the two marksmen behind me.
"Sir, we can utilise one of the houses on that ridge for overwatch if we breach discretely," one of the marksmen (Miller) suggested.
"Okay, it's the best we have right now, remember no shots quite but forceful," I said as we approached one of the houses that were seemingly built into the ridge.
Pulling out my Glock I slowly cracked the door open peering to see if the house was occupied. As I opened the door the three of us entered the main room which lay deserted. Quickly I used hand signals to motion to the staircase on the left.
As we moved up the staircase the floorboards began to creak and groan beneath our combined weight causing an unsettling amount of noise. If anyone was in here our cover was sure to be blown by now.
"Move up!" I whispered forcefully as we increased our pace up the stairs and into the front upper room.
We were instantly greeted by a young Afgan man standing by the window clearly aware of our presence on the stairs. He was holding a piece of wood in order to defend himself.
"Fucking, Drop It!" I forcefully whispered at the man bringing my gun to aim directly at his chest.
Quickly realising he was outgunned (literally) the young man dropped the wood and dropped to the floor as he was restrained by Miller.
"Miller, get ducktape on him now," I ordered as I came kelt down towards the now shaking man.
"Do you speak English?" I asked trying to sound calm but assertive. The man frantically shook his head up and down trying to speak only to be stopped by the ducktape over his mouth.
"Don't speak, we're here to help you, but we can only help you if you help me okay,". Slowly the man began to calm down from the point of having a heart attack but he continued to shake. "Right Miller, Brown get this shit set up," I ordered as the two men began to turn the once bedroom into a looking post.
"Lieutenant, we have visual contact with you, status over?"
"Still all quiet sir there's not a soul out tonight," The fact of empty streets made me shiver, it was never a good sign.
Craaack
All four of us spun to face the window in surprise as a massive boom emanated from the sky.
"What the fuck was that!" Miller half-shouted only to be shushed by Brown.
"No fucking clue," I replied bluntly "Starshot please advice over,"
"Just thunder Captain, storms are forming south-west of your position, damn things came out of nowehere
"Fan-Fucking Tastic," I muttered under my breath.
"Well that's got to be the loudest thunder I've ever heard," Brown remarked as I nodded my head slowly in agreement.
Regardless of what happened next, the still air had just been broken.
The sound of rotors began to increase at a fast pace, I could hear them coming. Quickly grabbing the binoculars sitting on the bed I shifted myself to the window to get a better look at the show.
Two black silhouettes could be seen directly above the compound. Their sleek shape and rounded noses gave their distinction away immediately.
Blackhawks. Designed for stealth and infiltration, the best insert money could buy.
I could make out the side doors open as the men from the first Black Hawk began to rappel into the compound below them.
"Here we go," I said casually
BOOM
A massive crack of sound flooded my ears as the compound lit up in several shades of yellow and orange.
"Fuck, Choppers hit!" Brown said standing up to get a better look at the Black Hawk that was now spinning out of control down into the compound.
"ONES DOWN! REPEAT ONE IS DOWN!"
As the chopper continued to spin the second Black Hawk tried to pull away from the spinning fireball. The helicopter pitched up violently pulling the helicopter back, however, the pilot's actions came to no avail as the first choppers burning tail slammed into the middle of the second chopper creating an even bigger fireball in the sky.
"STAR SHOT THIS IS THIRD SECTION BOTH TEAMS ARE DOWN. REPEATING BOTH TEAMS ARE NOW DOWN.
"Lieutenant hold your position," I said over the chatter, trying to establish some form of communication over the constant garble.
"Sir, we can move into the compound now with the Warrior!" a crackly Docherty replied.
"Your going fucking nowhere, we maintain this perimeter no matter what happens!" I all but yelled through the radio.
"But Captain they need our.....Crack
A shot rang out, then another and another.
"DOWN, DOWN, STAY FUCKING DOWN!" I screamed as bullets began whizzing down the street.
"Ambush!""Gunner Building To The North 50 Meters!"
"Return Fire!" I barked at Miller and Brown who were currently hiding under the shattered windows.
"Lieutenant, Sitrep Over?!"
....
"LIEUTENANT!"
"Its Archer Sir, Docherty's down,"
"Shit Shit Shit!" I yelled, "Alright, hold your position and return fire on the buildings down the street!"
"Solid Copy!"
Crack
"Sniper! Get Down"
Craack
Without warning everything around me went white and if I had just shone a bright torch directly into my eyes. The light burned my retinas as the intensity increased. The pain slowly surged through my body until the point that was unbearable. I felt as if I was being lifted and I was increasing speed.
The white light began to faze shift to an even brighter white until its purity was unmatched. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped and everything went black.
Throughout life, we are born with a little bit of chaos inside us. The chaos acts as a balance to our harmony and makes us who we are. It balances us. It defines us.
However, too much harmony or too much chaos... Things can get interesting, to say the least.
The Lord Of Chaos sat atop a throne of pudding as small servants ran about in the form of tiny Gerbils. The Gerbils worked as teams carrying food and no doubt many important documents around on their backs.
"Ah, Canterlot, what a wonderful city," Discord stated floating out of his throne and looking down upon the city that was currently engulfed with pink clouds and chocolate rain. Usually, the city stuck out of the mountain like a diamond shining in the sun, however recent events had caused it to lose its shine and now it looked as if it was in serious need of renovation.
"But so drab, I mean look at those colours, now they just don't go with the environment," Discord commented. Waving his claw up and down Discord started clicking at random making colours of the houses change from Green to Red and from Red to Pink giving the houses below an increasing chaotic nature about them.
"Ah! Much Better," He sighed looking out across the new chaotic empire that was now his to control.
"Squeak, Squeak, Squeak,". As Discord looked down he saw around forty of his Gerbils cladded in golden armour, all of them were armed with tiny swords and shields and were ready for battle. Formally, members of the Royal Guard, Discord had seen fit to give their pony like nature a rebrand into something that he thought would strike fear into the hearts of his many enemies.
"Ah, my greatest generals! A delight to see you, how goes the war?" Discord said poofing a military uniform onto himself giving him a general look about him.
"Squeak, Squeak Squeak Squeak, Squeak"
"Really? You don't say, the two young princesses? Making Gains, Capturing back land!" Discords face turned sour as he descended to the Gerbils level.
"You know this isn't what I need right now," with a click of his fingers the Gerbils were poofed out of existence in a flash leaving nothing behind them.
"I need the top general to command my mighty armies, how about you?" Discord asked floating up to a suspended royal guard that was currently hanging to the roof.
"Forget it scum, I would never surrender my services to the likes of you!" The guard replied trying to free himself from his current predicament on the ceiling to take a swipe and the Lord Of Chaos.
"Oh you Royal Guards all say the same things, seriously now that must get boring for you," Discord moaned as he floated back down to his pudding throne.
Suddenly a thought came to Discord. An evil thought, a very bad and very evil thought. "You know generic goon guard there are worse things out there than good old moi. Take the Mongols for example in our opposite universe they've successfully captured nearly all of Asia. Incredible is it not?"
"I will not succumb to your mad rantings demon!" The guard yelled as he continued to struggle to break free from the anti-gravity spell currently surrounding him.
"Well, I suppose If you're not going to talk to me I should take care of these pretty little princesses before they get out of hoof so to speak," As Discord spoke he rose to his full height as he cracked his back and flexed his paw and claw ready for a battle of the century.
"Oh Ha Ho, this is so much fun, how bout a game of pin the tail on the pony?" Discord said raising the larger princesses tail with his paw much to the shock of the princess.
"Playtime is over for you Discord!" The Princess yelled moving forward with her sister in formation.
"Oh, I doubt that," Discord scoffed stuffing his face with some more delicious food "Hungry?" he asked flicking some seeds in the princesses direction. However, the Princesses remained headstrong and defiant.
"Suit yourselves," He said before stuffing his face again. As he did the princesses levitated six gems from their saddlebags and positioned them around themselves.
Taking notice Discord flung his bag away from his makeshift thrown as an evil grin spread across his face. "Oh! What have you got there?" He asked stroking his beard with his eagle's claw.
"The Elements Of Harmony," The larger princess responded beginning to spin the elements around herself and her sister.
"With them, we shall defeat you!" The Smaller Princess shouted.
"Bwahahaha!" Discord burst out laughing falling over his thrown unable to keep his balance. "You should see yourself right now, the expressions on your face, so intense, so sure of yourself haha!"
Suddenly a rainbow trail exploded from the bubble that surrounded the two princesses making a trail directly for Discord.
"Hillarious!" "Let's see how you deal with the other master of chaos, let's see how the princesses like dealing with the Mongols," Discord Whispered as he started bursting into laughter once more.
Suddenly the rainbow hit him as his body became constricted by unbreakable rock. Knowing the time was here Discord raised his claw to snap only to be stopped halfway by the rock surrounding him. As the spell continued Discord suddenly became aware that he had only managed to complete half of his spell, leaving him without any reinforcements to generate chaos.
"No!"... "NOOOOO!"
As the process complete nothing but a stone statue remained of the once Lord of Chaos.
The two princesses breathed a sigh of relief before embracing in a long overdue hug before gazing up to the statue of Discord who even defeat was still striking a dramatic pose.
The first thing I was able to sense was a ringing in my ear, no doubt from when the bullet hit me.
Shit! I got hit. Fuck!
My memories slowly began to flood back to me in waves. We were ambushed, the operation went to shit, Docherty went down, poor bastard.
I felt like I was currently lying on the most uncomfortable surface known to man and I should know what uncomfortable is given that I sleep on an Army issued tent bed every night. I still couldn't see shit, my eyes where jammed closed and refused to open no matter how hard I tried. Pain still emanated from them as if I had stared at the sun for way too long.
The sound slowly began to make its way back to me although it wasn't what I was expecting. There was no sound of life or anything for that matter. No hospital monitors and no idle chatter, just the wind blowing against my face. Cold wind. The sensation was unfamiliar to me given that id been living in a desert for the past 6 months, it was unusual and quite uncomfortable to feel.
I couldn't seem to get my arms or legs to respond to my commands and I still couldn't see shit, dark thoughts began to plague my mind. Was I paralysed? Was this it for me, left to die in a cold room or wherever the fuck I was? Had I been captured. Shit. If Id been captured then I was in for so much pain I'd rather just die here and now.
As my anxiety started to work its way up my body I tried to force myself to retake control of my body sending messages to every part of my body to start doing something, anything at all to wake my body up from its current state of paralysis.
My efforts began to pay off as very slowly my eyes began to slide open revealing a darkly lit sky with a million stars above me. It must still be night, so I can't have been out here for too long. As I tried to move my eyes from side to side panic encompassed me once again as I noticed something wrong.
I was no longer in the deserts of Afganistan. Far from it, in fact, I appeared to be in the direct opposite of that. I was in some sort of grassy clearing surrounded by a thick forest on my right-hand side. Clearly, someone had moved me whilst I was still unconscious, although how Id been moved to a completely different Biome remained a complete mystery.
Slowly I was able to try and raise my left hand up to look at my mission watch, the watch unbelievable was still in working condition and read the current time as 04:23. Shit, Id been out for almost four hours in which time Id somehow been shot in the head, survived and moved into a completely different area with no sign of life anywhere.
I stayed in a lying position for a couple more minutes before eventually trying to set myself up using my now both working arms. Slowly but surely I began to raise my body into a sitting position, although I still felt very dizzy I was able to hold the position. I must definitely have some sort of concussion after getting hit.
Being in a better position to analyse myself I quickly ran over my kit. I still had my MTP's and my Osprey vest on with all of my equipment attached. In addition, I was still armed with my Glock and my SA80 that I had been lying on top of. My backpack was also still attached to my back so I knew that I still had supplies to sustain myself for a little while longer if need be. I could feel my helmet weighing down on me but I knew better than to take it off, especially when it had just saved my fucking skin.
After a few more minutes of making sure my gear was all in working order I slowly raised myself to a standing position, although not without falling on my ass more than once. However, in my defence Id just been shot by a fucking mountain dick so Id says I was doing great all things considered.
Rising to my full height I began to survey the land around me, however before I could get a chance I heard shouting directly behind me.
"Seize Him, he must be one of the Nightmares Demons!"
Doing a quick 180 I came face to face with the strangest sight id ever seen. I was currently facing down a group of horses all clad in golden looking armour with spears pointed directly at me.
It was official, I was dead.
This must be some loopy hallucination that I get to live through before reaching fucking purgatory. Unable to contain my anger, frustration and sadness I raised my SA80 and shouted back.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU MIND FUCKERS!" Taking the safety off my weapon I pointed at the guard in the middle who had blue markings around his gold plates identifying him as the leader of the pack.
"Seize Him!" The lead guard shouted lowering his spear and advancing towards me.
I felt the fear build up inside me as my mental walls that I had spent years building up suddenly came crashing down with a resounding Crack
The lead horse fell to the ground as two now empty shells ejected themselves from my rifle and fell onto the ground next to me. The world seemed to slow down into a slow-motion movie and the lead guard shouted out in pain as my rifle dropped to my side only being held on by the strap. Unable to keep still I moved to make a B line for the forests edge moving as fast as I could given the circumstances.
As I began to limp I noticed a blue looking laser appear out of the corner of my eye. Before I had time to react to the beam impacted with my lower right led making me fall to my knees, I yelled out as my pain went from 60 to 100 like magic.
The pain was real as it sored up through my right leg. This couldn't be fake, this pain was too real, everything here was too real!
It seems I had entered some sort of horrible loopy land where horses reigned supreme and id just shot their leader. Knowing I couldn't stay in this position I pulled my self back up and began to run with all of my remaining strength into the forest.
As I ran I saw a couple more beams of colour shoot by me impacting the trees that exploded around me in all different colours. As I increased my distance from the group of horses I heard their voices become quieter and quieter, telling me that they weren't going to follow me in here.
"We cant follow that thing into the Everfree its too dangours, we'll be killed!"
"We need a medic over here! Its the Captain he's been hit!"
I must have run for around 10 minutes before I finally stopped in the middle of another clearing. Although this time I was surrounded by trees and thick foliage on all sides preventing me from seeing more than 10 meters in any particular direction.
"Alright Danny, think logically here horses don't talk, horses don't shoot lasers and horses aren't in control," as I spoke to myself I didn't take notice of the increase in blue mist that began to surround the clearing.
"Ok, mission priorities. For all intense and purposes, I am in and behind enemy lines being hunted with minimal supplies at my disposal,". Setting myself down in the clearing I took the water canister from my bag and took a quick swig allowing the cold substance to revitalise my dry lungs.
"Survive, Adapt, Win," I told myself. I need to set up a camp around here somewhere and treat myself without getting fucked over by the cavalry.
"Such Strenght, Such Resilance,"
Spinning Around I raised my SA80 to my shoulders and flicked the safety off finally taking notice of the blue mist. "This is Captain Daniel Peters, British Army, Identify Yourself!" I shouted constantly turning around trying to connect the voice to a visual source other than the mist.
"A Soldier?" The voice sounded surprised but slightly patronising. "And here I thought that my kingdom had gone soft after all these years,"
"I'm warning you, Ill use lethal force if I need to, now show yourself," I said trying to sound as authoritative as possible.
"But of course, it would be my pleasure Captain," Out of the left corner of my eye I noticed the mist forming up to form a shape. It continued to grow until it represented a horse, all be it bigger than the one that I shot earlier.
Its body was black with blue armour like that from the Medevil times surrounded its head, torso and hoofs, it had wings that spread out from its sides with the tips edged like those of a bat. Its eyes were slit, reminding me of a snake-like predator. In addition to this, the mist began to form around its head and back forming a floating see-through main and tail that hovered in place. However, its most notable feature besides the wings was a giant horn protruding from its head. I hadn't noticed them on the other horses but I would explain where the beams came from.
"A Unicorn?" I said raising my Rifle towards the being's chest.
"A UNICORN? MWHAHAHAHA. You little foal, do you really know nothing of us?" The being laughed in a mocking tone throwing its head back as if unable to contain its amusement in the situation.
We are an Alicorn and I am Nightmare Moon!" The creature boomed as lightning crackled above her as clouds formed in swirly patterns above her. The sound of the lighting nearly deafened me.
"Jesus Christ lady, mind turning down the fucking special effects for a second!" I yelled over the lightning and crackles still pointing my rifle directly at her chest. Although I doubted if it would do any good against this creature of mist.
"And it's resilient as well, my I am impressed. What are you, little one?" The creature asked with a mocking tone.
"I'm a Human, Captain Daniel Peters, British Army, Service Number 20102320," I stated my gaze not wavering.
"A Human? Really, like from the stories of old. Well, you have impressed me, little Human," The creature moved forward as if to examine my shape and structure but stopped when I cocked my weapon in an offensive manner.
"Oh, a fighter too? We'll just have to..." The creature stopped in her tracks, lifting her head as if she had detected something else. "Huh, they have reached the next phase, how unfortunate and here I thought we would get to know each other a bit better. Oh well, it doesn't look like you'll be going far but how about we just make sure?"
Without warning the horn of the creature lit up in a dark blue mist that shot towards me without warning. Before I had the chance to react the mist engulfed me making me dizzy and unable to stand straight.
"Sleep now, ill be back for you when this is all over," The Creature said before fading away into the mist again. Without warning, I fell to my knees and collapsed into a dreamless sleep.
I awoke sometime later yet again in another place, although upon waking I didn't feel as much pain than I did before. "At least that's something," I muttered to myself. Doing a quick once over I was happy to see that all my equipment was still where it had been left.
Taking a moment to go through my stuff, I took in the atmosphere around me. No longer was I in a forest. I was now lying on a stone cold floor in what appeared to be a grand ancient hall of some sort, further adding to my confusion. As I was about to look around something stopped me.
Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt
Reaching into my vest I pulled out my iPhone. I completely forgot I had it on me. However, it wasn't the iPhone that took me by surprise rather, what it said on the screen.
Missed Call One New Voicemail 1420
Not knowing when or how this even happened I looked towards the phone to unlock it before clicking on the voicemail tab.
"You have, One New Message,"
"God, I don't know why I just did this but I feel like because they never found you, you'd still be out there somewhere,"
"Mum," I whispered into the phone.
The service for you was lovely, all your old friends were there as was the whole town and the local MP. They even gave you a fancy medal an all, we were so proud.
As the voicemail continued I felt myself start to shake uncontrollably as emotions were brought straight to the surface.
"Some of your section was there too, well the ones that made it were there. Your friend Archer said some really nice things about you. Told all of us tales from your deployment, told us how you all got along and that you were one big family,".
"No," I said into the phone as if I was expecting a two-way conversation.
"I just want you to know that I and your Dad are so proud of what you did with your life, we couldn't have asked for a better son. We... We know you died doing what you thought was right and just and we'll never. Ever forget you, our little Danny,".
Tears were now rolling down my face as I knew that this was now coming to an end.
"Remember we love you always and well meet one day again, lots of love, your mum and dad, the proudest parents in the whole wide world,".
"End Of Final Message Tuesday 14th December 14:21PM,".
I sat there for what felt like hours just sobbing. All of my emotional firewalls were completely shattered. There was no denying it now. I was dead. I was either dead or not dead and somehow taken here to this fucked up place. I had to go on. I had to survive even though I didn't want to. For them and for their memory of me.
Saying this in my heads did little to lift my spirits or hope but it was all I had right now to stop myself from putting the Glock under my chin.
"Twilight! Where are you?"
Lifting my head I directed it towards the sound of the noise coming from down the hall. Raising my head I stood up and walked down the hall to what looked like the outside world.
"Look!"
As I made my way towards the next hall the voices became more pronounced, obviously, someone was nearby and judging by their voices they were in some serious distress.
"Come on!"
As I entered the back of the new hall I noticed that it was in much worse condition than the one I was just in. The roof was broken clearly after many years of disregard. The sky was clearly visible from the hall and vines supported from different pillars along the hall. However, it wasn't the decor that was the most surprising, rather the five small horses that were now starting to run out of the hall in the opposite direction from me. Quickly seeing that this was my only chance to get some answers I raised my rifle.
"DON'T MOVE!" I yelled.
The five mares gasped and stopped in their tracks all turning to face me, clearly startled by my presence.
"What the Hay is that thing!?" The blue one with a rainbow mane yelled spreading her wings in a defensive posture.
"I was gonna ask you the same goddam thing skittles!" I yelled keeping my weapon trained on them as I switched to burst fire mode.
"Uh, Duh were ponies mister tall and strong!" A voice appeared from behind me. Spinning on my heals I found that one of the ponies (the pink one) had someone managed to move behind me without noticing.
"Gah! How the hell did you do that!?" I yelled, moving back from the pink smiling demon.
"Do what?" she asked innocently.
"Just, never mind," I said leave it for another time. "Ok, Ponies. I'm Captain Peters, British Army, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on!?"
"Army, like a soldier?" The white one with an Eaton sounding accent asked.
"Yeah exactly that, now again can someone please bring me up to speed here?" I said getting more and more frustrated.
"Nightmare Moon has taken Twilight!" The Blue one yelled.
"Nightmare Moon?" I asked. "You mean the big black and blue thing?"
"Yep that's the one," the orange one said stepping up.
"She's a big blue meanie, she's trying to plunge the world into eternal night!" The pink one yelled once again appearing in front of me.
"Fuck it! Stop doing that!" I yelled again moving back from the pony.
"Oh Captain, please help us get our friend back she's been taken by that, by that monster!" The white one yelled as if putting on a play of some sort.
I quickly considered that option. This Nightmare Moon didn't seem the friendliest type when I met her. Plus now that I think about it she must have been the one to kidnap me, leaving me for later I suppose. Plus these little ponies seemed harmless enough.
"Alright, where is your friend now?" I asked using my rifle butt to lower myself down to their level.
"Up there Captain, look!" The blue one said pointing a hoof up to a larger intact structure which currently had bright white lights shining out of it.
"Good, right stay here Ill retrieve your friend," I said. Standing up I began to double time it towards the door only to be blocked by a rainbow blur.
"What! You're not going to just tell us to wait here. Twilights our friend and were not leaving her behind!" The rainbow pony said getting closer to my face.
Sighing to myself, I pulled my bandana down and removed my helmet to in order to let them see my face. "Look ladies you guys are civilians I cant put you in the line of fire, it isn't safe," I tried to reason with them.
"Rainbow Dash is right, we made it through the Everfree and we could do it again!" the orange one spoke up moving closer to "Rainbow Dash" as she called her. Jesus these names.
"Fuck, Fucking fine but stay well behind me, I don't want to see any of you out the corner of my eye, understood?" I said. In return, each of the ponies returned a small nod. "Good, right lets double time it up there quick!".
As we approached the top of the staircase of the hall we could hear lightning and thunder emanate from the room up ahead.
The ponies began to shout ahead calling to their friend only be shut up by me. "Fucking hell, are you idiots? Trying to give away our position? Shut the fuck up before she hears you!" I ordered them. The ponies weren't pleased but they listened.
"You think that you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that?"
I could hear another voice coming from the hallway. It sounded young and feminine. Must be their friend I thought to myself.
"Okay, remember to stay behind me," I whispered to them as I raised my rifle and disengaged the safety.
Running into the room I quickly made out two figures, a small purple one and a larger black and blue one which I immediately identified as my target. Raising my sights to her chest I fired two bursts into her chest.
Crack Crack Crack, Crack Crack Crack
"AHHHHH!" The Nightmare screamed out in pain as the six NATO rounds collided with her chest unexpectedly. The Nightmare instantly reared up on her two hind legs and then pushed them down with a shockwave effect throwing me and the purple one off our feet.
"YOU ARROGANT FOAL!" The Nightmare boomed, shattering the remaining glass in the windows of the hall.
"YOU DARE TO ATTACK ME!" She screeched lowering her horn she fired a large energy beam in my direction.
As the beam propelled itself towards me I didn't have the time to even contemplate moving out of the way of the incoming attack.
"NOO!"
As I braced myself for the impact I heard a shout from across the room. When I didn't feel any contact from the beam I looked back towards the Nightmare only to see a very pale pink shield that had been erected in front of me that was absorbing the brunt of the attack.
The shield was clearly being overpowered and within the second the shield faltered and broke allowing the rest of the beam to collide with me with devastating force.
The beam knocked me back a good couple meters and slammed me into the stone wall. I could feel the beam burning into my kevlar vest as I started to lose concinnous yet again.
"CAPTAIN, TWILIGHT!"
"HAHAHAHA YOU PONIES THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT THE NIGHT!?"
God, I hate these ponies, curse their existence, curse everything and curse fucking beams.
With that, I fell unconscious yet again leaving the six small ponies to their obvious fate.
The sounds of hospital monitors filled the air as I once again regained consciousness. I believe I speak for myself, the entirety of the army and for that sake the whole of the human race when I say that was the strangest trip I'd ever had. I could only imagine the ribbing I'm going to get from everyone for this, getting hit in the head, then proceeding sitting the whole fight out only to then dream that I went to Candy Land and defeated the evil monster.
No... Wait that was wrong, I didn't defeat the monster if I remember correctly I got squarely fucked in the chest with a laser beam. Well that's a pretty shit ending to a trip if ever I heard one, I mentally remarked in my head.
My whole body hurt all over: my head rang, my legs ached and most importantly it felt like I'd gone a round or two with a tanning bed. My entire torso felt like it had been burnt over twice. I could only imagine how nasty it would be to feel as well.
Finally trying to open my eyes I was assaulted by the sun shining directly in my face. I winced in pain moving from side to side. "Oh, Great Afgan Sun. Thou art truly a heartless bitch," I complained to no one in particular. At least my sense of humour had made it through the whole ordeal relatively unscathed.
The sound of something hitting the floor along with a feminine gasp brought me out of my inner monologue and forced me to adjust my eyes to see the person directly in front of me. Unfortunately for me, this was when the universe had decided to hand me one hell of an Uno reverse card.
Standing in front of me was a snow white hors... Pony. Here navy eyes stared directly into my own. None of us dared to break the silence or the staring match.
"Ha Ha," I chuckled quietly to myself, making the small pony shake with, fear?
"You're not real," I said softly causing the pony to look at me quizzically for a moment, her left ear dropping slightly and her face contorted into one of slight offence and confusion.
"You're not real," I repeated again, although albeit this time with additional force applied.
Again the pony didn't move, her eyes still locked onto mine as if she was physically trapped into place.]
"You're not real!" I shouted causing the small pony to flinch. As I went to raise my hand to point at her I was stopped. Stopping for a moment to look down at my hand I saw it was being kept in place by a set of old-style police restraints that were firmly attached to the bedpost. "No no no no no," I said in rapid succession as I attempted to break free of my restraints. This isn't happening, calm down, it's all fake, none of its real I said to myself.
Utilising the moment of broken eye contact the small pony finally came to her own senses quickly turning on the spot and shouting "Guards! Guards! It's awake! Quickly, It's awake!"
Within the moments the room I was in became a flurry of activity with more, beefier ponies in clad gold armour came bursting into the room armed with spears and charged horns.
I suddenly felt as if I was surrounded by an invisible force that was constantly weighing me down. In the midst of my struggle, I failed to take notice of the pale white aura that was currently accompanying my whole body from head to toe.
"Stop Resisting!" A loud voice commanded. Probably one of the guards shouted.
"Fuck you, ill resist all I like, you're the ones that have captured me for no reason!" I shouted back continuing to struggle with the group of guards that were now attempting to attach additional cuffs to my legs.
"No Reason!? You call trying to kill us no reason!?" The same voice replied back anger clearly laced through his voice.
"What the bloody hell are you on mate, I haven't tried to kill any of..." I stopped mid-sentence. My memories began to come flooding back to me in droves. Arriving in this place, shooting the soldier, confronting the demon, helping the ponies and getting shot by a beam.
It all made sense now, I'd helped those little fucks survive and now id been backstopped and handed into the pony authorities. Fuck them and fuck this.
"Look, buddy, you've got the wrong idea here," I said still struggling.
"You dare to insult us any more you monster!" The guard continued to shoot.
"BE STILL!"
At once everything stopped. I stopped struggling as my eyes turned to the doorway where the guards had entered from. In the entrance to the room was the largest pony id seen so far. Her height rivalled mine, her white coat with similar to that of the suns intensity. Her wings were spread out in a regal looking matter and a large horn protruded from her head. Her mane appeared to be floating as if suspended in zero gravity.
In many ways, she was the polar opposite of the demon that id shot at before I got knocked unconscious.
As she entered the room she was flanked by two guards, both of whom's armour was adorned by purple decoration indicating that these were some sort of elite pony people.
"The Princess!" One of the guards bellowed.
Immediately all of the ponies fell to their knees if ponies have those, whilst all the guard ponies stood at attention and saluted her.
Princess I thought. Ive really fucked up this time.
"Be still everypony, I am simply here to see the creature for myself,". Creature, I thought. Well, she can go fuck herself.
"At once your majesty," The voice that had been heckling me before said. Immediately all of the other ponies and guards (with the exception of the two purple ones) began to filter out of the small room.
After the party had left the room the "Princess" came closer to my bedside as the two purple guards took positions at the door both looking forward at nothing.
Doing my best to be somewhat respectful to the pony that would probably decide my fate I tried my best to sit up and face her.
"Now, I've heard you can speak?" She pondered
"You hear well," I said bluntly. Well so much for my respectfulness. Although to be fair I did shoot one of her ponies so I probably wasn't on her Christmas card list anyway.
The princess leaned back slightly as if she hadn't expected me to speak at all, as she relaxed a small smile cropped up on her face, or at least I think it was a smile.
The guard's reactions, however, were not as pleasant. "You shall speak to the princess with respect, creature," the one on the left shouted lowering his spear to face me.
"Hey, how about you shut the fuck up whilst the grown-ups are talking fuckface," I spat glaring in his direction. Fuck that guy.
"Enough!" The princess shouted, Sir please do not speak to my guards like that I won't tolerate it.
Jesus this would be harder than I thought, however, a bit of appeasement never hurt anyone, right?
"Alright, however, I would advise that they are removed,"
The princess looked at me as if she was studying me before nodding to her guards. "Stand outside, I shall call you should I need you," she asked. The guards hesitated but knew better than to reject orders.
Turning back to me the princess spoke again. "So, now that's out the way how about we start with your name?"
"Captain Daniel Peters, Britsh Army, Born August 1st 2000, Designation 20102320," I said almost robotically. I wasn't about to give up information I didn't have to.
"Its good to meet you, Captain Peters, my name is Princess Celestia, however, you may call me Celestia if that makes you more comfortable here. May I first ask you, what is it that you are doing in my land?"
"Captain Daniel Peters, British Army, Born August 1st 2000, Designation 20102320," I replied again looking at her with a deadpan tone.
"Captain if I may ask why won't you answer me?" The princess asked tilting her head slightly and frowning somewhat.
"I refuse to answer question whilst in enemy captivity," I replied.
"And you see us as your enemies?" The princess asked looking troubled by the statement.
"I'm not sure, do you see me held captive in chains tied down to a bed by a foreign nation?" I replied sarcastically shaking my chains against the bed for additional effect.
"I do, but that was simply for your own protection, to make sure you didn't lash out upon regaining consciousness," the princess reasoned.
To be fair to miss high and mighty, I probably would've lashed out at the first pony I saw. However, I saw no need for them now that she could see I was obviously not an immediate threat.
"Well, surely you see I'm not going to kill you with my bare hands if you'd please release me from all of these restraints id be much obliged and see it as a gesture of goodwill between us,". To be honest, I'm not a skilled negotiator or diplomat in any sense of the word, but here I was. A dead man making the first contact with Alien life for the first time in humanity's existence.
The princesses smile faltered slightly as I mentioned the word "kill". I could only assume that this was a peaceful planet. Although the demon I fought before I was knocked out seemed to stand against that theory. Never the less she simply nodded flaring her horn in a majestic yellow hue as the restraints around me crumpled to dust in front of me.
"Something tells me you could have taken them off without crumpling them," I remarked semi-glaring at the Princess.
Diplomatic Mode Danny, Diplomatic Mode.
"I mean to say, thank you for the showing of good faith," I responded bowing slightly and putting my hands together in a prayer-like hand.
Danny you fucking idiot she probably thinks your having a stroke doing that!
I looked up to see Celestia looking at me with an inquisitive look, however for whatever reason she choose not to pursue it any further.
"If you are willing, we could do a question for a question, I would ask you something and then I could ask you, would that be acceptable?" Celestia asked her warm smile returning to her face.
I hesitated slightly. "No offence intended but if I may ask, why are you the one interrogating me, why am I not being probed with like, a thousand different needles right now?" I asked raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
Celestia's smile once again vanished from her face. "You really expect us to do such a thing?" She asked, concern drawing across her face about the impression she had been making thus far.
"Well, to be honest, it's the first thing pretty much every country on Earth would do," I replied.
Danny, Fucking Zero IQ Everyone.
Celestia's ears perked at the mention of Earth. "Earth, is that where you come from?" She asked leaning in closer.
"I suppose, well I know for a fact that this definitely is not Earth, for starters on Earth the animals don't talk and we don't have fucking telekinesis and magic!" I said raising my voice at the end as Celestia was levitating a cup towards me.
Dropping the cup onto a table next to my bedside Celestia looked up in curiosity. "No magic you say, would you mind if I ran a quick scan of your body, I promise it won't hurt a bit?"
"I suppose that would be alright given the circumstances," I replied not being very comfortable with where this was going.
"Ok, hold still, this shall only take a second," As Celestia spoke her horn once again lit up in a light golden aura that produced a small, low-intensity beam that was directed at my chest. As the beam made initial contact I recoiled myself slightly at the tingling sensation that the beam produced.
After a few seconds, the beam cut out as I looked up from where the beam had been to watch Celestia's expression.
"Impossible," she whispered, pondering her head upwards it appeared as if she was running through every plausible scenario in her head, even though in the end it would most likely prove fruitless.
"What's impossible?" I asked, concern lacing my voice.
"You, put it simply should not exist and how you are alive and breathing and talking is just simply. Beyond me," Celestia said analysing me with her own eyes.
"Oh trust me, princess, I've been thinking the same thing about you ponies for the past few hours now," I chuckled lightly not being sure if I was being insulted or being advised on my existence in this world.
"I don't think you properly understand the implications of what I'm trying to tell you," Celestia said shaking her head slightly. "You have no aura, no magical core to interact with, in all senses of the word, your an empty shell,".
"God, you sound like my mother Celestia," I said chuckling again. "To alleviate any confusion you may have, we do not possess any source of real magic where I come from, we have illusions and cheap parlour tricks for sure, but real magic? It's simply not a realistic possibility.
"Truly?!" Celestia remarked gawking at the very prospect. "I'm sorry for my unprofessionalism, it's just it all seems so far fetched to me that you could exist in a world without magic. Every part of our world is infused with some sort of magical property, from the plants and animals to the people and the buildings, magic makes us who we are, to live without it would be to live without a soul,".
Clap, Clap, Clap.
Celestia looked up, surprised by the sound of the clapping coming from my hands.
"Oh, sorry, it's just good speeches come so far and few between, I always like to appreciate a good one though," I cracked a small smile that was returned.
Ok Danny, so far so good, making one of the most powerful people in the land smile is a good start. I thought to myself as I contemplated my next move.
"So I believe we were going to do some questions and answers?" I asked politely.
"Of course," Celestia responded her smile not wavering. "By all means, you may start,"
"Um, okay well I guess my first question would be where am I?" I looked around the room as if trying to answer my own question. It was obvious I was in some form of medical ward. However whether or not I was in a secure government facility remained to be seen.
"That's simple enough to answer," Celestia responded lighting her horn up. The light emitted from her horn as a blue-hued map shone downwards onto the bed I was currently positioned in. The map showed a large mountain with an unrealistically sharp incline with a giant city carved into the side of it, with smaller settlements formed around the base of the mountain.
"At this moment you are in the Royal Infirmary in the East Wing of Canterlot Castle and in a more broader sense you are currently in the nation of Equestria, our planet is named Equss.
Taking a moment to digest the information I tried the new word out on my tongue. "Equestria," I said slowly as if analysing the taste and flavour of the word itself.
"That's correct," Celestia responded as if I was asking her a question. "Now I do believe it's my turn Captain," Celestia reminded me cutting off her horn as the holographic type map faded away.
"Go ahead," I replied making eye contact with her.
"What are your intentions here on this planet?" Celestia asked her smile faltering and her brow forming into one of seriousness.
"Hmm," I hummed out loud thinking of the best way to answer the question now posed to me. Suddenly a thought sprang to mind.
"I see you have my equipment locked away there," I started pointing to the small metal cage that sat beside my bedside. Ev everything was there including my weapons.
Idiots I thought to myself.
"Yes, I fail to see how this relates to the question," Celestia responded.
"If I may ask would you be able to bring my bag over to me, I promise not to do anything rash, I simply wish to answer your question in the most efficient way possible,". I replied.
Celestia looked at me for a moment and then at the cage as she analysed her options here. Then a second later her magic lit up unlocking the cage and floating my combat bag over to me. "I'm operating on good faith here Captain as you said, be sure not to misuse it," Celestia warned as the bag dropped into my bed in front of me.
"Trust me, Celestia, I know you've only known me for a few minutes and I've recently just died but I'm thinking that we both try and keep our minds in the collective positivity that we've generated here today," I said as I searched through my bag for what I was searching for.
Finally, after a few more seconds of searching, I found what I was looking for. As Celestia peered in closer I withdrew shinny looking tablet no bigger than my hand.
"Computer. Run a self-diagnostic on yourself and me," I commanded. The little sliver tablet quickly blinked to life as a blue display appeared on the screen. Celestia's eyes widened at the sight.
"Running Self Diagnostic, Please Stand By,".
"Incredible," Celestia said, clearly now captivated by my PDA. "What is it?" She asked not taking her eyes of the PDA that was currently halfway through its analysis.
"It's my PDA, it gives me pretty much every little detail I like to know, think of it as a little encyclopedia that follows you around and collects more data over time," I said as I pulled the PDA back towards me.
"Amazing, however, I fail to see how this answers my original question,". Celestia reminded me.
As if on queue the PDA booted back to life.
"Diagnostics Completed, Main Systems Operating At 100% Capacity, GPS Location Error Recorded, Battery Fully Recharged, Showing Results For Diagnostics Of Captain Daniel Peters.
Celestia watched in awe as hundreds of Megabytes of information began flashing onto the screen.
"Information Log, Captain Daniel Petters, Assigned to 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade, 7th Battalion March 22nd 2021. Twice Decorated, Five Tours Of Duty Recorded. Current Status, Assigned To Forward Operating Base Swan Awaiting Further Orders,".
"Computer, please tell the princess our mission statement," I asked placing the PDA into Celestia's hooves allowing her to look at the screen.
"Mission Statement Of British Armed Forces: To Defend And Protect The United Kingdom, Its Overseas Territories And Crown Dependencies. Also To Promote The Interests Of The United Kingdom And NATO Throughout The World Through International Peace Keeping And Humanitarian Aid.
Celestia's eyes widened as several images of the British Flag and several key political and military figures flashed onto the PDA.
"To fully answer your question princess, I have no intentions here. In all honesty, I'm not sure why I'm here talking to you. The last thing I remember I was out on a dangerous operation and was shot in the head by the enemy. As far as everyone's concerned I'm now considered to be dead," I finished looking at Celestia with sombre eyes.
"I believe I understand now," Celestia said as her eyes softened as she made eye contact with my own.
"Are you sure, because I sure as hell don't and its actually happening to me so.," I said flatly.
"Look enough of questions, please just tell me what you want with me, I'll admit to killing your guard but it was in self-defence and I didn't know what was going on and I just was scared and confused and..." my ramble was cut off by a hoof placed onto my mouth.
"Captain," Celestia said. "You never killed anypony, the guard you mentioned is alive and in our care and receiving the best medical attention he can get. I may not fully understand your reasoning however all I want is to find out your intentions and help you the best I possibly can,".
"But, why?" I asked now extremely confused. "I tried to kill one of your nation's soldiers, all due respect but id expect to be in a lot more chains by now" I finished.
"Do you also remember what you did after?" Celestia asked with a knowing smile.
"Uh, I ran into the forest and met a, a. Shit, yeah I ran into a big demon, pretty nasty lady, she was torturing these ponies in a castle that she took me to against my will, and I shot at her and kinda got my arse handed to me on a platter," I finished.
Shit, I had completely forgotten about the ponies that I was trying to help. "What happened, did they make it out alright?!" I yelled trying to move further up into my bed.
Celestia quickly put a stop to that holding me in place gently with her hooves. "Relax, there fine. In fact, I really should be thanking you. Not only did you help defeat one of this nations oldest foes, but you also helped save the life of my personal student Twilight Sparkle,".
Sighing I slumped back into my hospital bed. "So what now?" I asked.
"Now I believe I shall leave you to take in everything you have just heard, if you need me I just ask one of the staff and I shall come, I will be back later on today with a few ponies Id like you to meet," Celestia said as she rose from her sitting position beside the bed.
"Alright, look Celestia I know it's not a standard protocol but do you mind If I keep my PDA with me, you can place the rest of my stuff back id just like to start keeping a little journal if that's alright with you?"
"Of course," Celestia said. Slowly Celestia started to make her way towards the doorway. "Captain, whilst you may have earned part of my trust through this conversation, make no mistake that you have committed a crime against one of my ponies and I hope that you understand that there may be consequences that you must face in the future,"
Fuck, Shit, Fuck. Oh yeah real clever Celestia, act all nice at first and then hit me with that bullshit bombshell!
"I, um, I understand that princess,"
"Ok, I shall return later on,". With that, the door opened and the princess departed leaving me now alone in an empty windowless hospital room.
"Well that enough," I said to myself. Lifting my PDA I began to speak into the device.
"Computer, authorisation: Captain Daniel Peters, security code: Two-Alpha-Zero,".
"Authorisation Code Accepted, Input Command,".
"Can you acquire a signal lock anywhere?" I asked the machine.
"Negative, No Communication Sources In Range,".
"Hmm, no surprises there," I said to no one. "Computer, begin automatic distress call and implant the following message on a loop broadcasting in all directions on every available frequency,"
Let's hope these fucks don't have radios yet. Fuck Consequences, ill be damned if I'm spending the rest of my life in horse prison.
Canterlot Royal Infirmary Equstria, Canterlot Unknown 1742
It had been a few hours since my meeting with the princess of Equestria, who apparently wanted to introduce me to some more of her people. In all honesty, given the way that the ponies were going about this, I would have thought the king or queen would have paid a visit by now to say hello to me. However, as the minutes ticked by no such people arrived, thus I was forced to keep myself entertained with my PDA.
The PDA was an old invention that had really just been altered slightly during the second half of the '20s for combat use. It didn't rely on internet use as it used an internal memory core making it ideal for soldiers to take with them into the field for whatever purpose they may have.
Personally, I just used mine for mission-related activities, medical diagnostics and keeping up to date with all the new SOP's that were rolled off of the assembly line every two months.
Currently, I was trying to get the PDA to get a fix on my location using whatever means necessary. If cut off from satalite connections say for instance, if you were trapped in a cave. The PDA was designed to work on internal sensors to show a basic map of the immediate surroundings to prevent people from getting lost.
I had only been able to map the room that I was currently in as the door was shut but my hope was that once I was allowed to move about id be able to get a better idea of where I was should I need to escape.
Celestia seemed like a nice enough pers... Pony. However, there was something about her that I just couldn't trust. If anything she was too nice. Releasing my restraints, giving me my PDA, talking to me. She had played good cop the entire way through the interview. She had managed to obtain lots of information from me and my PDA whilst I had only a tuppence to show for it.
If my theory was correct then I suppose that sooner or later I will be meeting the pony version of the bad cop to try and frighten me into giving up all of my secret plans for conquering pony land.
A small knock on the door caught my attention and pulled me out of my mullings.
"Enter," I said in a loud enough voice as to let whoever was knocking here my response.
A second later the door slowly opened as Celestia's head popped through the door the same smile plastered all over her face.
"Captain," She said walking over to me closing the door behind her. "I hope you don't mind but I brought you some visitors that I thought you might like to see again,".
See again? I thought to myself trying to think of who it would be.
"Uh, yeah sure that would be fine by me," I replied civilly.
"Oh, wonderful!" Celestia explained as her magic involved the door to my room. "Girls, you can come in now,".
My eyes widened as six colourful ponies trotted into the room. Well, Five colourful ponies trotted whilst one seeminly bounced into the room. In all, there were 2 Unicorns, 2 Pegasi and two. Um, two normal ponies. I immediately recognised them as the girls that I had tried to save whilst I was in the forest, including the princesses purple student.
"Captain may I introduce, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and my personal student Twilight Sparkle,". Celestia spoke pointing with her hoof to each pony as she told me there names.
God, these names are going to get some getting used to. I thought as I tried to figure out why ponies would have those sorts of names in the first place.
Amidst my personal thoughts a range of "Hellos," and "Heys," followed as the six ponies all gathered around my hospital bed. One of the ponies, the princess student, Twilight I believe stepped up the closest to me and cleared her through as if preparing for a speech.
FYI I hate speeches, expect from when I'm making them of course.
"Captain Peters, on behalf of my friends and myself we would personally like to thank you for trying to save us from Nightmare Moon. If it were not for you intervening when you did Equestria would most likely be wrapped in enternal night right now," Twilight explained.
"That's very thoughtful of you to say, um Twilight was it?" Twilight nodded. "Yeah, that's very thoughtful of all of you to say, but all I did was run in and fire some shots before getting shot myself, id hardly call that saving the day," I explained to them.
"Yeah but dude, you totally swopped in there all hero style to save Twilight, now that takes some guts!" The blue one, Rainbow dash explained as she hopped into the air and remained hovering above me using her wings to steady herself.
"I'm a soldier," I reminded her hoping that she would accept my thanks and back off.
Unfortunately, that seemed to have the opposite effect as Rainbows smile doubled. "That just makes you even more awesome, you know, risking life and death and going on super cool missions!" She exclaimed throwing both her front hooves up above her for added effect.
"Let me stop you right there skittles, risking life and death isn't super cool and for your information, I never go on as you would put it "super cool missions" I go out of operations to do my job. I appreciate that you think highly of my actions but I assure you I'm just doing my job,". As I finished my rant Rainbow deflated a little as she lowered her body to the ground clearly hit somewhat by my words.
An award silence seemed to linger around for a few uncomfortable seconds before Celestia broke the silence. "I do believe that Twilight wanted to ask you some questions Captain,".
I looked over from Rainbows face to Twilights. I Immediately caught sight of her clear anticipation to ask me a thousand different questions.
Oh joy, another one of those people I thought to myself knowing that trying to deny it would only lead to more pain. I suppose helping the personal student of the princess would put me in good favour down the road.
Deciding my course of action I smiled slightly at Twilight and spoke. "Alright Twilight, ask me anything,".
Twilights face instantly lit up as did her horn as she summoned a notepad as well as a, a, well I've honestly got no idea what it was, a quill I think they're called but I couldn't be sure. "Ohhh," Twilight cheered. "I've got so many questions to ask I don't even know where to start,".
"Well, why don't we try something I did with Celestia here?" I proposed. Suddenly the room went semi-still as a few feminine gasps could be heard.
You just addressed Celestia by her name and not her title in front of others you fucking twit I scolded myself. To be honest I believe rank is earned and until I knew more about Celestia then that's all she would be to me right now. Well unless I'm put in front of the King or Queen.
Celestia quickly stepped in again to defuse the situation. "Its alright everypony, please don't stop on my account Twilight,".
"What did you have in mind?" Twilight asked, curiosity creeping through her voice.
"Well tell me the first thing you would like to know," I stated as I brought out my PDA from my pocket.
"Um, Princess Celestia told us you don't come from this world, so, I suppose my first question is, where do you come from?" Twilight asked looking directly at me as did the other five ponies curiosity in all of their eyes.
"Okay, Computer answer Twilights question, where do I come from, give her the full description please,"
"Accessing,". All of the ponies with the exception of Celestia recalled back as the sound emitted from the PDA before all leaning in closer to see what I was showing them.
"Captain Daniel Peters. Aged 29, Born August 1st 2000 In Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom, Earth,"
"Amazing,". Twilight breathed gushing over the simple piece of technology before her. The other five seemed similarly in a state of awe. Even Celestia seemed impressed despite knowing most of the information.
"This United Kingdom you come from, what's it like?" Twilight pressed, dying to know more about my home.
"Your wish is my command. Computer, bring up the current file on the United Kingdom," I said into the PDA.
"The United Kingdom Is A Sovereign Nation Off The Coast Of Western Europe. It Is A Constitutional Monarchy, One Of The Few Nations Left With A Monarch As Head Of State. One Of The Most Influential Nations On Earth, The UK Is A Leading Member Of The United Nations, NATO And The United System Of Planets,".
Once again as the computer finished its monologue the ponies were left speechless. "Wait!" Twilight cried. "Planets?" Twilight asked making sure to put emphasis on the S at the end.
"Its a little hard to explain, its a really recent thing on Earth. Humans currently inhabit three bodies of mass in our solar system. Earth being the first, our Moon is the second and the closest planet to us Mars is the third. Although the second two aren't much more than a couple of scattered colonies as of now,". I tried to explain.
"So humans have the ability to travel into outer space and live on other worlds?!" Twilight asked begging for me to confirm her suspicions that weren't really suspicions at this point.
"Yes, however, we have only had that ability for less than a decade and it took a lot of trial and error to do it,".
Twilight once again scribbling down various short notes onto her notepad, whatever shes hoping to use this information for though I have no idea.
"Captain," Celestia interrupted. "If you don't mind I'm sure the girls would like to hear about Earth from you, and not from a machine,"
I turned my attention back towards the six small ponies that were positioned around my bed who all gave small nods as if to formally approve the idea.
"Uh, alright, well you know I'm from Earth. Its a busy little place, in fact, we just hit 8 Billion on the population counter last year..." A sound of loud gasps escaped the mouths of everyone present, including Celestia herself.
"8, 8 Billion?" Celestia whispered to me not looking convinced. If anything she looked kinda scared to me which definitely was a first.
"Yeah, why what's wrong with that?"
"Equastiras own population is around 5 million and we are the largest nation in terms of population, we can't say for sure what the population of Equss is because there never has been a full census recorded worldwide at any one time," Celestia clarified.
"I see," I said. Given their small population I had to assume that these ponies were mainly living pre industrially from the information I could gather from Celestia. However, the equipment that surrounded me in the hospital bed pointed to the exact opposite. It was beginning to become rather confusing and for now, I decided to let it go.
I had a feeling that these questions could take a little while longer.
The six ponies remained with me for the better part of the hour, all throughout that time I was bombarded by questions (mainly from Twilight) about my world and life. The questions seemed to range from animals to food, however nothing majorly political or world concerning surprisingly.
Eventually, however, the Nurse came in to give me a dose of meds and so the six ponies were slowly ushered out of my room leaving just me with the Nurse and the Princess.
Not being able to tell if this was supposed to be some form of conversation starter I just replied with a small nod and "yep,".
"Before I leave you for the evening I have one other pony that I think you should meet," Celestia told me as she walked around my bed coming along my right side in order to let the Nurse give me the new line of medication.
"I'm assuming the Queen?" I guessed figuring it was time I met the head honcho around here.
Celestia stared at me for a moment with a confused look in her eyes. "The Queen?" She asked me, her eyes should visible confusion as if I had just said something completely random. As I looked to my right I saw that the Nurse had stopped installing my latest line of medication and was now looking at me with the same confused gaze that Celestia held.
"Yeah, you know the ruler of um, Equestria like your head of state," I tried to explain as I carelessly fumbled over the English language to get my point across.
However despite my best attempts to explain to Celestia who I was expecting to see her confusion only increased as she looked at me.
"Captain, I'm sorry I thought you knew," Celestia said her confusion slowly dissipating as her warm smile returned.
"Knew, what exactly?" I asked.
"I am the Head Of State and by proxy the Ruler Of Equestria we have no King or Queen,".
...
"Um, why?" I asked, not really knowing how to continue the conversation.
Celestia seemed to sense this from me and quickly drew the line of questioning to a quick end. "I'm afraid it's a longer story than we have time for today, perhaps another time,".
I decided not to argue with her but was now left confused about who I was going to be meeting.
Celestia gave a slight nod to the Nurse that had finished inserting my new medication for the day. The pony quickly retreated out of the room to bring this new pony to me.
"I must ask you, Captain, to please give her a chance, she has been very close and shy since her return and will not openly talk to anyone, I hope that given your current predicament you two may be able to forge a connection,". Celestia's line of dialogue made me even more confused and curious than I was a moment ago and it was now getting to unbearable levels.
"Okay, what the hell is this. Are you paring me up with the kid that's been bullied and feels alone because if you haven't noticed I'm in a bit of a shit predicament myself and I'm not exactly in the mood for helping out kids right now!" I snapped. I couldn't believe that Celestia was trying to already put me to work in her kingdom.
"Captain, I believe you have misunderstood my intentions here, the last time you met her she was in a bad way and I feel like you two can support each other through this difficult transition," Celestia explained to me pacing back over to my bedside.
Wait. Met Before?
"Celestia for the love of God who is this pony your talking about!?" I all but shouted at the Princess.
As if on comedic queue the door to the hospital room was slowly pushed open, stopping my glare at the princess I shifted my head to see who was coming through the door to my room. As soon as I locked eyes with her I paused.
The pony was another Alicorn. She had a blue coat and a lighter blue mane. Her tattoo represented what looked like the Moon and Starrs dotted together on her flank. She was still larger than the average pony that I had seen so far but she was definitely smaller than Celestia was.
The new pony had also frozen when I locked eyes with her and the two of us remained in these states for several seconds as we processed and analyzed each other. All though for what purposes I could not determine.
Sensing the rising tension Celestia cut in. "Captain Peters allow me to introduce my recently returned sister, Princess Luna,".
Canterlot Royal Infirmary Equstria, Canterlot Unknown 1921
"Captain Peters allow me to introduce my recently returned sister, Princess Luna,". Celestia had spoken with the caution and tone of a diplomat introducing me to the new pony as if I was Earths ambassador to Equestria meeting with my counterpart for the very first time.
I chose not to respond to Celestia's comment, instead, I continued to analyze the new pony in front of me as pieces of the puzzle began to collectively manifest inside my head.
Within a few seconds, the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Under normal circumstances, I would have scolded myself for not figuring this out earlier, however, given my current predicament I was willing to let such a mental blunder slide under the rug for now.
Part of me felt angry, another scared and the largest part of me just felt general confusion at my current situation.
The Pony standing in front of me was no doubt some part of the demon horse that had attacked me back at Luigos mansion however at the same time all I could see was a scared light blue horsey thing. On any world even in one so magically fucked up as this, the situation still didn't make any sense to me.
"Captain?" I turned my head away from the new pony to face Celestia (all be it hesitantly) to see what she had to say now.
"Yes?" I inquired, trying to keep one eye on the blue one and the other on the white.
"Is there something wrong?" Celestia asked as her eyes began to slowly shift between me and her "sister".
I was about to respond when another voice entered the awkward fray.
"Sister, maybe... Perhaps it would be best we left and..."
"No,". I stated. Turning immediately I plunged both my eyes into the pony causing her to shrink back into a smaller form of herself.
Sensing a palpable tension Celestia tried to speak up. "Captain if you would allow me to explain then I..."
"Shut up,". I snapped in Celestia's direction this time causing Celestia to recoil slightly, although not to the extent her sister had.
"You don't need to explain shit to me,". I remarked my frown slowly disappearing as a smirk appeared across my face.
"I know this is your sister, who judging by the look is also a Princess and I suppose something shit happened and she ended up being turned into an "evil villain" and tried to take over the world and it just so happens I got caught up in it and ended up getting shot by her before she was magically restored to her no doubt lovely self!" I yelled as both the sisters looked on with mixed looks and emotions scootching close to each other as I continued.
"This is the most cliche shit I have ever heard and you know what? I'm more than happy to spend the night with little blue here, we can be the best of friends whilst you can go somewhere else and stop asking me questions and find a way to get me home!"
For the ten millionth times today, an awkward silence descended upon the room.
Well, Danny. Your diplomatic skills are top par! Why join the army when I could have been working for the UN as a chief negotiator?
Sighing I calmed myself down looking away from the two princesses opposite me.
"Look, guys, I'm just a soldier, I'm not used to what I'm assuming we would call a first contact scenario with another race, that shits above my head by a million miles." Pausing I looked back up to see Celestia somewhat relaxing as she began to return to all fours pulling her sister up with her.
"This has been the most stressful situation I've ever been in and that's saying a lot considering my job is getting shot at, I apologize for the way I've been talking to you and the tone I've used. That's not humanity so please don't judge us upon my behavior here,". I finished talking as Celestia listened to my words.
Either they believe me or they just think I'm Bipolar either way, I need to get some kind of relationship established here.
Finally, Celestia cleared her throat. "Capt... Daniel, I won't judge your species based on your actions over the past few days, I understand your situation is a lot to go through and I promise you I will allocate resources to finding out how you arrived here in the first place and hopefully how to get you back home, all I ask is patience and understanding,".
Wow. That went better than I had expected.
"Thank you," I said. Pausing I turned my head slightly to her sister, "Luna" I think it was. At present, she was still standing behind her sister as if I was going to leap out and attack her at any moment.
"Luna was it?" I asked locking eye contact with her again.
Luna appeared to shrink back at the mention of her name being uttered by me but tried to pull herself back up into a respectable form. "Um, yes its Luna," she muttered under her breath breaking eye contact with me to face the ground.
Shit, it's almost like she's afraid that I will bring down my hammer or retribution any minuet now for her actions in the castle.
"Ok, Luna, just so we're on a clear page where I want you to know that I don't really know what kinda stuff you went through that led up to you shooting me with a laser beam and at this particular moment its not the most important thing in the world,"
Sensing the calmness in my voice Luna slowly peered up towards me as if ushering me to continue.
"Your big sister does seem to have a point here, we've both been placed into a situation that we're not too familiar or comfortable with, so it seems that maybe whilst I'm here we can help each other out, what do you think?" I asked trying to put on my best smile to show her my genuine kindness that I showed so very often.
A few seconds of silence followed as Luna appeared to contemplate her decision at moments switching her gaze between myself, her sister and the door positioned behind her. However, after a few more seconds of hesitation, she spoke up.
"Um, ok,". It wasn't much by any means but it was a start and I had to capitalize on what I had.
"Great, so how about we do something then? God knows I'm sick and fed up of sitting in this room," I said. Slowly I began to pull myself up from my current position in the bed as I swang both my legs over the sides of the small hospital bed.
I had expected that doing would have produced a lot of pain but, to my surprise, it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought and so I continued my struggle to get out of bed much to the surprise of Celestia and Luna who just seemed to stand there watching me.
I had half expected Celestia to show some sort of protest at my actions especially when I started to pull the plugs and lines out of my body in order to better free myself from the bed. However, instead, she just stood there albeit not looking overly happy at my actions but then again what was she going to do? Force me back?
Before I could attempt to stand up from the bed the door to the room swung open almost crushing little Luna as four ponies all dresses in nurses and doctors uniforms rushed into the room with what appeared to be a crash kit.
All of them came to a screeching halt however when they saw me sitting up staring right back at them. I began to once again enter a staring contest with some more random ponies, it was starting to become somewhat of a cliche at this point.
Eventually one of the doctors spoke up. "What are you doing out of bed?!" He half yelled dropping the crash pad by his side completely blanking the two princesses standing next to him.
"Uh, I'm going for a walk with my pal here," I replied motioning to the princesses that were still positioned behind him.
Upon hearing my answer the doctor spun round to see what it was I was pointing at. I could only imagine the shock he must have felt when he came face to face with the two rulers of the country staring back at him.
Immediately the doctor and the rest of the "crash team" dropped to their knees all muttering words of grace directed at the two monarchs.
"Rise my little ponies," Celestia said extending her wings as if for dramatic effect.
Slowly the ponies all started to rise as the lead doctor cleared his clearly dried throat to speak. "A thousand apologies your majesties for the intrusion but when our friend here disconnected himself we got a notification that he had gone into cardiac arrest, hence the quick response,". The doctor said motioning his hoof to the other medical staff behind him.
"It was very impressive, you should be proud of your diligence that your staff shows whilst on duty,". Celestia commented bowing her head in respect to the group of ponies that now surrounded her.
The doctor clearly hadn't prepared to be complemented by the ruler of the land as was apparently now finding it hard to stand on all fours as he muttered an incoherent "thank you".
"The Captain would like to go on a short walk with my sister, I will keep an eye and make sure that they do not encounter trouble whilst you and your staff take a little break,". Celestia spoke to the doctors in such a way that you simply couldn't argue with her even if she was talking rubbish.
The doctor seemed to hesitate, clearly not wanting to leave his patient (me) unattended. However, it seems that not even the royal doctor could say no to her majesty and so without uttering any form of rebuttal he simply bowed his head in acknowledgment.
"Of course, whatever you wish your majesty," The other medical staff followed once again bowing towards the floor in worship.
A small smirk appeared to form across Celestia's face as they did so.
Wait? Did she just... Did she just play them?! What a champ. Immediately I found it within myself to give her a little more respect from my severely depleted supply.
Slowly but surely the medical team shuffled their way out of the room leaving just me, Celestia and Luna inside in awkward silence.
"Now Captain, are you sure you feel okay to walk, your injuries were quite severe?" Celestia asked. Clearly, she was concerned about my wellbeing. Under usual circumstances I wouldn't be so quick to trust however, im need to keep reminding myself that these are hardly what anyone could or would call usual circumstances.
"Trust me I feel brand new, it's like I've never been injured," I replied as I flexed my limbs to show her that I was telling the truth.
Celestia was not convinced and moved to position herself directly in front of me. "Don't be fooled Captain, you may feel "brand new" as you say however it is nothing more than an illusion," Celestia stated.
"Illusion?" I said in an almost mocking tone. "What the hell are you talking about now?" I said as I tried to stand only to be held in place by a familiar golden aura.
Fucking magic bullshit. I thought as I glared at Celestia.
"Yes, if you'd allow me to explain without trying to force your way out of your bed" Celestia replied calmly never raising her voice as she maintained her hold.
Recognizing my disadvantage and in the spirit of diplomatic relations, I relented as I stopped pushing against the aura that had enveloped me.
As if detecting my drop in resistance the golden aura around me dissipated into nothingness allowing me to see normally again without the golden hue.
Smiling Celestia started to explain. "As I was going to say the hospital ward is covered in a regeneration blanket which is used to give an additional magical boost to patients healing. It also helps alleviate any pain you may be experiencing, however, the effects will quickly wear off once you leave the hospital ward,".
As Celestia finished her explanation I took a moment to gather all of her words together to analyze. Apparently, the moment I left the hospital wing I would become stricken with pain. Somehow I didn't buy it, I mean I felt completely fine. Plus she said it helps to alleviate pain not remove it and currently I was feeling no pain at all except for the sleepy muscles in my body.
Deciding to put Celestia's warning aside, for now, I decided to take some action. Starting slowly I flexed my rigged muscles and flexed my body side to side causing all sorts of cracks to sound from within me causing my to release a pleasant exhale much to the bewilderment of the two princesses.
After properly flexing my body I threw both my legs down at the floor as I supported myself by placing both my hands onto the side of my hospital bed. It took a few seconds longer than normal but before long I was standing at my full height.
Happy with my accomplishment I sent a massive grin right into Celestia's face who I was now eye level with. Celestia seemed a little taken back by me now that I was standing at my full height. I was definitely taller than any pony I had seen so far with the exception of Celestia of course.
After establishing a proper balance and taking a first few shady steps I made my way across the room to the window. It had been one of the biggest things on my mind since I woke up and now I was truly going to see where I was.
Upon reaching the window I came to an abrupt stop as I measured what was before my eyes.
A CITY!!
A Huge, Medevil, Happy, Pony looking city was right there in front of me!
I couldn't even begin to describe it, the first thing that came to my mind was bright. The city was almost aglow with the colors of gold and purple, presence stone roads could be made out from the window and although I was far too high I swear I could see hundreds of little ponies walking around the streets.
I was so captivated with the city space that I didn't hear Luna walk up behind me before she spoke.
"It has been a, a long time since we saw our home," Luna said softly causing me to jump slightly at the sudden presence beside me.
"How long?" I asked not moving my gaze away from the cityscape.
When I didn't get a reply I managed to slowly tear myself away from the view to look at the smaller blue pony next to me.
Luna was avoiding eye contact with me her face locked to the ground with her ears pinned against her head. I looked over to Celestia who simply looked on with sad eyes neither of them speaking to me.
"1000 Winters,".
Luna spoke softly, her gaze never leaving the ground as I looked back to Luna in surprise.
"I'm sorry I don't really understand your timeframe here," I said looking back to Celestia for confirmation. "How many winters do you guys have in a year here?"
"One," Celestia answered also looking down to the ground.
"Huh," I said. "Go figure,".
Again under normal circumstances, I suppose id be freaking out around now but given the current state of my day it didn't seems like the strangest thing, although definitely in the top five.
"Well if you haven't been around the block in 1,000 years I guess we could both go out and have a little wander then," I purposed looking back towards Luna.
Luna looked up towards me upon hearing this. "You, you want us to go with you?" She asked in an almost bewildered tone.
"Yeah sure, since we're both relatively new here," I said. "What do you say?" I asked as I reached my hand out towards her ET style.
After what appeared to be hours Luna slowly reached her left hoof out towards my hand as I reached my hand out to grasp her hoof in a shake.
"Well, since were frien...," I began to speak but was cut off by a background buzzing. Without even having time to think about it my vision went white then dark as I could hear shouting and screaming around me.
BOOM
"MAN DOWN!" A voice echoed from around me as the buzzing got louder in my ear.
"THE CAPTAINS BEEN HIT BAD!" I could hear another voice shout from around me but I was too disorientated to focus correctly.
Crack Crack Crack
"RPG!!" The sounds of explosions tore around my body as flashes of white and yellow filled the corners of my vision.
"CAPTAIN!!"
"CAPTAIN!"
...
"Captain?" Opening my eyes I saw Luna standing in front of me again her hoof was now out of my hand and back on the ground. The sound was gone and my vision had returned to normal. Without even thinking I twisted my body around to try and identify the source of the previous sounds that I had heard.
"Captain?" Twisting my head back round I saw Luna now staring at me with confusion and, fear?
"Ye, Yeah," I answered.
"Are you ok?" She asked finally making full eye contact with me for the first time.
"Yeah, Yeah I'm fine Blue,"
"Are you sure Captain you seemed to be quite distressed?" Celestia asked moving closer to the two of us.
"Yeah, just a little glitch I'm sure, just getting used to my surroundings," I told her as I tried to build a story up on the fly.
Celestia seemed concerned but didn't seem to press on the matter much to my relief.
"Right, so Blue," I said capturing Luna's attention. The fact that she had taken to the nickname that easily was quite entertaining but unfortunately it did little to calm me down.
"Are we going to go for that walk or not?" I asked straightening myself upwards.
"Um, yeah if you want to," Luna replied slowly walking towards the door.
"Cool, Are you coming to Celestia?" I asked looking back to her.
"I would, however, I believe I should leave you to alone for now, if you need anything just ask one of the guards of service ponies for help," Celestia responded.
"Um, yeah sure," I responded. "Well let's go for a walk then," I said as I pushed the room door open and stepped into a whole new world.
"You know for someone who claims to be brand new here you sure seem to know your way around the castle," I said. I had been walking down the many hallways of the castle with my new "friend" Luna. She had been pointing out all of the main attractions such as the servant's alleyways and important rooms that littered the castle.
"Whilst you were unconscious I couldn't focus properly on how you would react to me once you woke up, so I distracted myself by memorizing all of the places in the castle," Luna replied.
I stopped walking to look at her. "Wait, just how long was I out for exactly?" I had assumed I had been out for a day but for Luna to memorize all this, I must have been out for longer than I realized.
"Oh, well you were out for the better part of a week, once my sister's student and her friends defeated us they attended to you instantly. They took you directly here to Canterlot once they realized what kind of state you were in. They didn't even know if you were going to wake up at all," Luna explained.
"But weren't you hurt too? I mean the last thing I remember is shooting you with two burst rounds from my rifle before you shot me back," I asked looking Luna over for any sign on an injury that I hadn't noticed.
"Yes you did and you hurt me severely however when I came into contact with the elements of Harmony they were able to heal my wounds instantly," Luna said spreading her wings to her side to show that she was indeed free of any injury to her body.
"Well, that's lucky for yo... Argh!" I stopped mid sentence and fell to my knees as a sharp pain shot up towards my chest. "What the fuck was that!" I yelled towards Luna who was looking at me with concern.
"We believe we have just exited the range of the infirmary's healing ward," Luna summarised coming closer towards me obviously intending to help. When she tried to extend her hoof out to help I stopped her by raising my hand.
"No! Wait, I've got to do this myself, just give me a few seconds to adjust," I asked placing my hands down onto the floor trying to adjust to the newfound pain. The pain itself wasn't that bad, however, the way that it had hit me had taken me completely by surprise and had temporarily immobilised me.
After a few seconds of more rest, I began to stand back up to my full height. Luna winced as I painfully stood up. "We could always do this another time if you don't feel up to it?" She suggested.
"Hell no!" I replied. "According to you, I've been vegetating for the better part of a week and ill be damnded if I'm going to go back to that room without stretching my legs properly,"
Once I had stood up properly I took a moment to catch my breath before looking back down towards Luna. "Ok Blue, where to next?" I asked mockingly standing at attention.
"Um, we could always go to the throne room," She suggested pointing her hoof down the hallway.
"Well looks like we're going to the throne room then," I laughed as I began to slowly walk down the long tall hallway.
"So how come you don't look like your sister?" I asked looking back to Luna as we walked turned a corner towards the throne room.
"What do you mean?" She asked back stopping in her tracks behind me.
"I don't mean anything by it Blue but if you two are co-rulers then wheres your waving hair?" I asked smirking at her. However, instead of being met with a smile back I only saw a frown. "Hey I didn't mean to offend or anything," I quickly added.
"No!" Luna blurted out looking straight at me. "We, I'm just not used to ponies saying that," She said sadly.
"What do you mean?" I asked kneeling down slightly to match her height.
Sighing Luna spoke. "I haven't looked like this since I was a filly, before my banishment I did resemble my sister in her hair and stature, however upon my revival it appears to have dissipated along with much of my magic I once possed,".
Luna looked back down the carpet, appearing to sulk in misery about that prospect.
"Well it could always come back to you in time though," I suggested trying to put a nicer light on the conversation.
"We doubt it," Luna whispered back to me. "I don't even have the magic to perform my duties as guardian of the moon, even though I am back my sister still has to keep up the responsibility,".
"Look Luna, I don't know half of the words your saying right now, but I do know that this place has magic, something that my world never had apart from in fairy tales, and whilst I'm no expert I'm pretty sure magic can do anything," I tried to reason with her however the frown failed to leave her face.
"We are gracious for your attempts to lighten our spirits but we see no point in the endeavour," Luna replied looking up towards me her sad demeanour replaced by one of stone. "We should keep walking, the throne rooms just after the next set of doors,".
"Alright then, I'll let it go," I said defeated. Was it weird for me to say I felt sorry for this little pony that had lost her magic? Even though id only knew her for under an hour she seemed like a nice enough pony to me and she could be a friend to me whilst I'm stuck here.
Stop it, Danny, you don't know how long you'll be here. I reminded myself. Stick to the rules: no permanent attachment with the civies. I hated to admit it but in this case, I might just have to hold off on becoming too close to these ponies. It'll just make it harder to eventually leave this place.
As we continued walking we approached a large set of doors. They were huge and looked like they weighed a ton.
This must have been some construction efort I thought to myself.
The doors were guarded by two guards that were plated in golden armour from head to toe or hoof I guess. In addition, they both wielded spears.
So much for a peaceful race of cute ponies.
However, just as we approached the door the two guards tilted their spears across each other with one of the ponies shouting.
"Halt! State your business creature,"
"Fucking excuse me?" I said moving towards the guard that had just spoken to us. I swear to god all of the guards I have met so far have been complete arses towards me like I get I'm new but I'm not going to suck out there brains if they even have any which at this stage is debatable.
"We said state your business creature!" The other guard spoke up reinforcing his fellow guard.
"Call me a creature one more time and I swear ill shove my boot so far up your arse you'll be choking on leather for the rest of your fucking life!" I waned inching even closer the guards.
"Enough!"
The sound of Luna pulled me out of my tunnel vision as I turned back to face her. She was standing by my side as if to reinforce me or at least I hope she was here to reinforce me.
"You shall halt insulting our guest and allow us access to the royal hall and throne room,". Luna demanded in a calm yet assertive voice. I was actually quite impressed not only did she stand up for me but little Blue had some voice in her after all.
The Guards, however, did not seem to respond to this command instead of taking their attention off me and onto Luna.
"Does your sister know about your whereabouts and your company?" The lead guard questioned.
Are you fucking serious! I thought to myself. From what I had seen so far these golden boys seemed to kiss the ground the Celestia walked on, in some instances quite literally. However, when it came to addressing Luna they didn't bow, stand at attention or even address her with her title. It was if she was just a regular pony.
I'm not sure why, but that really pissed me off. Blue had been the first person to talk to me normally. She hadn't flooded me with questions like Twilight and her friends nor had she held some form of moral high ground above me, to me she had just treated me like I would expect anyone to treat me, normally.
Upon hearing these words Luna seemed to immediately shrink down, all of the confidence she had built up over the past half an hour had been completely shattered by this dick. Luna appeared to be the closest thing I had to a friend and id be damned if I was going to let some twat walk over her like that.
Quickly thinking I recalled my first interaction with the guard here and how I treated Celestia I quickly devised a little plan of my own.
"GUARDS!" I bellowed at my loudest volume possible. My shout seemed to catch not only Luna of guard but the guard as well who both repositioned their spears to point directly at my chest. Nevertheless, I pressed on now that I had committed myself.
"YOU! Are in the presence of the keeper of the moon, Princess Luna! You will show the appropriate respect she is due! IMMEDIATELY!" My rant had definitely caught the guards by surprise as they now exchanged glances with one another clearly trying to understand what game I was playing. Luna too was looking at me in complete confusion however she seemed to relax when I gave her a quick side smirk and a subtle wink.
Finally, after a few seconds of contemplation, the first guard appeared to tighten the grip on his spear and spoke up. "We don't take orders from you, creature,". As if to provide additional effect the guard jabbed me with the tip of his spear. Not so far as to injure me but definitely enough to make me recoil back.
Alright fucker, bring it on. I was just about to rip the face of this little git when a voice shouted out from behind me.
"Perhaps you should Corporal!" Upon hearing the voice I quickly did a 180 only to be met with a double column of guards dressed in darkish grey armour. The collum was at least 20 strong and was led by an older looking pony than the rest. I assumed he was the source of the voice I had heard.
Immediately the two ponies withdrew their spears and stood at attention. "What is the business of the Night Guard!" Both guards shouted as if reading off a script.
"We are here to relieve the day, the night has begun!" The lead pony shouted back.
"We stand relieved!" With that, the two guards stepped to the side and opened the doors with their magic. The aura surrounding the door changed quickly as two "Night Guards" took up positions beside the "Golden Guard".
"Guard relieve and adopt your posts!" The lead guard shouted side steeping to allow the collum to pass in the hall.
Slowly the Night Guards began to march into the hall leaving just me, Luna and the remaining guards outside.
"You're relieved," the lead guard said to the two dickheads now positioned alongside their night-time counterparts. The guards gave a quick nod and began to march off before the night guard stepped in front of them.
Without even having a chance to register what was going on the lead Night Guard pushed his face right into the faces of the two guards with a death glare that could kill. In fact, it kind of reminded me of my very first NCO.
"If you two ever disrespect our princess again I will personally buck your teeth out and throw you out of that castle window is that understood!" The Guard forcefully whispered into the faces of the two guards. Luna didn't seem to here the guard but I sure as hell did.
Wow, a nice guard. I suppose there is some hope after all.
The two guards frantically nodded as the lead guard continued. "Good and if you think Captain Armour won't hear about this then your dead wrong. Now get out of my sight before I buck you out of it," With that, the two guards marched away at breakneck speeds.
I was so focused on the two guards marching away that I didn't even notice the night Guard approached Luna.
"Your Highness,". He said with a bow "are you alright?" The guard asked as he rose up to all fours again.
"We are fine Captain, thank you,". Luna responded giving him a warm smile.
"Anytime Princess, and thank you too," I heard the voice change tone as it shifted in my direction. As I turned around I saw the guard looking at me with a hard smile.
"Uh, yeah no problem," I said back not sure exactly how to progress here.
"I must admit I had heard rummers that some of the day guards were acting a bit hostile towards the princess but to see it with my own eyes was horrible. I must thank you for standing up for our highness when we could not," The Captain said raising a hoof to me.
Raising my hand back I moved to shake his hoof. "No problem Captain...," I said completely forgetting I had no idea what this guys name actually was.
"Captain Steelhoof, Head of the Night Guard," he responded as he shook my hand. "And who might you be if you don't mind my asking I've never seen one of your kind before.
"Captain Daniel Peters, British Army," I replied.
My response caused the Captain to raise his eyebrows. "A fellow Captain, well that explains your actions then,". This new revelation only caused him to shake my hand with more force. "You must be the one that's causing all the ruckus down in the infirmary, the being from another world if I hear correctly?"
Well news spreads faster here than I thought it would.
"You do, I'm a human from Earth," I said finally releasing my grip of his hoof as he did the same.
"A Human!?" He asked a wonderous tone in his voice. "Well that is a surprise indeed, last time I checked Humans were only to be found in legends, not on other planets,".
"That's okay last time I checked Unicorns and Pegasi were legends too," I countered causing the Captain to laugh at me.
"Well let me tell you this Captain, after your actions, today you've made a few friends here in the night guard, ill make sure of that, although I suppose you've made a few enemies so it all balances out,".
I simply chuckled in response. The Captain seemed like a genuine guy and was definitely friendly enough to me so I suppose I could say that overall this encounter was going rather well.
Perhaps I could have made a diplomat after all. I thought to myself.
"Well id loves to stay and learn more about you sir but I really must get to work, is there somewhere you were going, your Highness?" Steelhoof asked as he straightened himself.
"I was just about to show the Captain the royal hall and the throne room," Luna said motioning to the set of doors that were still being held open by magic.
"Ah, you'll enjoy that Captain, it is truly a sight to behold ill tell you that for free," the Captain said motioning with his hoof. "Follow me and ill see you get inside with no more trouble,".
"Thank you, Captain," Luna replied walking up beside him.
"Of course Princess, I'm the first Captain of the night guard to serve the Princess of the night in over a millennia mind you, so I'll jump at the opportunity to make anything you command happen,". The Captain chuckled as we entered the long hall as the large doors closed behind us.
Whilst I was happy that the Captain had shown up when he did I was in a way disappointed that I never got to kick that other guards arse. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
"So Captain, what's the deal with the different colour of guards I had guessed one for the day and the other for the night?" I asked as I walked alongside the Captain and Luna.
"Aye, the guard is split into many different sections, all of those sections have different aims and prerogatives but at the end of the day they are all under a central command," Steelhoof replied as I motioned for him to continue. "Anyway your pretty much spot on with your assumption, the day guard protect the castle and the city during the day and the night guard will protect it during the night,".
"Hmm, I suppose it's fair to say that the two departments don't get along splendidly then given that little demo out there," I mused as I looked at the stained glass art that lined the hallways.
"Yeah, you catch on quick, nothing we can do about it, just old rivalry is all," The Captain said as we approached the throne room door. "Well ill leave you two to finish your little tour and ill make sure to give all the guards the heads up so you don't receive and more trouble,".
"Thank you once again, Captain, for all of your help tonight," Luna said her smile and confidence slowly etching back onto her face again.
"Not a problem your highness, just doing my duty, if you'll excuse me, Princess, Captain,". With a quick nod of the head, the Captain about turned and began to walk back down the hallway.
"He seems nice enough," I thought out loud.
"Yes, the Captain has been most helpful in helping us find our feet in this new place," Luna affirmed.
"Still I can't believe how those soldiers treated you I mean surely you outrank them, right?" I asked looking down to her.
"Historically we would have been, however, our rank and title within the guard has not yet been established,". Luna walked over to one of the empty stained glass windows and rested her front hoofs on it. "With everything going on there simply hasn't been the time for any sort of formalities to be reestablished,".
"Well I'm sure everything will fall into place eventually, now I do believe you were going to show me the throne room?" I asked teasingly.
"Of course, this way," As we approached the door the night guards snapped to attention and the door swung open revealing the throne room.
"Huh, I kinda thought it would be bigger,"
"Well thanks for the little tour," I said as I sat back down into my bed.
"It was nothing it was good getting to know you too Captain," Luna replied as she stood by my side.
"Hey, just call me Danny, I'm not a Captain here and besides my friends call me Danny," I said chuckling a little to myself.
Friends with a pony, good god.
"Okay, Danny," Luna said testing the word with her mouth.
"Good, good. Well hopefully your sister can find a way to sort this whole mess out and we can get me home,". I was feeling a little more confident now that I felt better and had gotten a little walk around. I was still a little freaked out by the ponies presence but not as much now that I had spent some time with them.
Despite this promising news, I noticed that Luna seemed to deflate a little when I brought it up, but given everything that had happened today, it's probably just a little flux.
"Well we shall retire also, we aren't used to being up this early," Luna complained as she pouted all be it adorably.
"Blue it's nearly ten o'clock!" I stated as I looked to the clock to make sure I wasn't insane.
"Yes, we know the time thank you," Luna said and with that, she began to walk out of the room. "Goodnight, Danny,"
"Yeah, night Blue," Luna gave me a little glare when I brought up the nickname again. She had seemed to have grown accustomed to it throughout the day but I suppose it could get annoying after a while.
Well that sucks for her 'cause I ain't stopping.
As Luna left the room the lights went out leaving only the illumination of the city below as a light source.
After I made sure everyone was gone I whipped out my PDA from my trouser pocket and turned it on. To my delight, the PDA had pretty much mapped every room we had been in giving me an excellent 3D layout of the castle. I wasn't sure if I would need to use it but you could never be too sure and it was always handy to have as a backup if things with the ponies went south.
"Welp Danny boy time to try and get some proper sleep now," I said. As I stowed the PDA by my bedside I turned over and drifted back into the world of dreams.
Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown
"Come on!" A voice echoed throughout the empty warehouse. "I almost had it!"
"Come on Sparky give it a rest, even if you do get it to work its never going to replace scrolls or letters,"
"I can't just give up Skies, think of the impact this could have on Equestria. Not only Equestria try all of Equss! Youll never believe how amazing this is!"
"Your right I won't, look Sparky I love helping you with all this stuff but the weather teams got me doing a 12-hour tomorrow, we've got a big storm due next week," The female voice echoed through the building as she swopped down to the ground.
"Look, If you think this gizmo will do something amazing then stick at it, but I got to go,"
"Yeah, I understand see you later Skies,"
"See ya," The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard the left side of the warehouse the sound of a bustling city filtered in through the door until it was abruptly closed off with the slamming of the door.
"Argh, SKIES! Why do you always have to slam the door!? You've made my mess this whole crystal up!" The figure appeared to slump down on the desk in defeat.
"Maybe she's right, this just won't work,".
"Shzzz Shzzzz,"
"What in the name of Celestia," The box in front of the figure flashed with light and sound as the sound grew louder and louder.
"It's on," the figure whispered. "IT'S WORKING!"
"Shzzz Shzzzz,"
"Come on give me something anything,"
"Shzzzz Thi Shzzzz Is Shzzzz,"
"A little more finetuning aught to fix it, a lot of interference,"
"Shzzz A Shzz Priority Shz One Distress Call I Repeat A Priority One Distress Call
"What in the world?"
"This is Captain Daniel Peters Service Number 20102320 if anyone is receiving listen closely..."
Canterlot Royal Infirmary Equstria, Canterlot June 30th 1000 0630
As I opened my eyes I was immediately greeted with the blinding light of the sun which assaulted my face with no regards for my feelings. Thinking quickly I flipped over to the other side of the bed hoping to escape the beam of light that was currently assaulting my face.
My plan worked as the light level on the other side of the room weren't as bad allowing me to rest my eyes as my body began to wake up. If I was being completely honest I shouldn't have been complaining about the sun.
I was in a relatively comfortable bed and in a room with good air conditioning although how the ponies had achieved this I had no idea. If I had to hazard a guess id say magic, that seems to be their solution to everything around here. Comparing this to what I had as quarters back in Afgan and I would say I was living the high life.
After a few more minutes of waking up, I finally gathered the strength to push myself up into a comfortable sitting position. After a few seconds of fidgeting with my pillows and cover, I was finally able to make my self comfortable again and allowed myself to sink into the softness of the cover whilst I looked over my PDA.
It was probably the first routine thing I had done since arriving in Equestria. Normally when I was on deployment the first thing I would do would be reading over my PDA with a nice cup of tea which was the only thing currently laking.
I wonder if ponies have tea, god I hope they do otherwise this will be an uncomfortably long stay. I thought to myself as I looked over some of my personal readings.
It was only now that I really started to wonder, what would happen if I even got home?
I thought back to the voicemail I had received the day I had arrived in Equestria. Everyone back home already thought I was dead and going by the date it had been months since I left. Maybe our universes ran at different times. If one day was just a few months then it could be years in the future when I return.
I battled within myself over this conundrum for the better half of an hour before eventually deciding to drop it not wishing to dwell on the matter any longer. I was a soldier first and despite being in a completely different plane of reality I still had work to do here.
Although I should make a note to bring this up with Celestia later.
About an hour later I was sitting in a chair clearly not designed for Humans watching the city of Canterlot bustle to life, I couldn't make out much but I could still just about make out a mass of tiny ponies going about their day trotting along the coble streets no doubt on their way to their jobs something equally as dull.
My musings were interrupted when I heard a small knock on the door behind me.
"It's open!" I yelled to however was on the other side. "Or at least I hope it is," I mumbled. I didn't expect that Celestia had locked me in hear given our "friendly" status with each other, but I wasn't about to put it past her.
Luckily for me, the door was flung open without the sound of any locks being undone. Instantly the smell of breakfast filled my nostrils as my eyes followed the scent to its origins.
"Good morning Captain," a cheery voice spoke.
Recognising the voice I took a closer look at the figure coming through the door. "Twilight?" I asked.
"Oh, you remember me!?" She exclaimed happily.
I quirked my eyebrow slightly. "Well yeah, we were just talking yesterday were we not?"
Twilight blushed slightly as her ears flopped against her head. "Oh yeah, sorry, I wasn't sure if you would remember my name given all that your going through right now,".
"Hey, don't worry about it, I didn't know you worked here," I said surprised. Twilight was currently standing on all fours with a stethoscope around her neck with a cart of food beside her.
"Oh, this, I don't, this isn't mine," Twilight explained sheepishly.
"Uh, okay, well I'm quite confused then," I chuckled.
Walking over to where I was sitting Twilight levitated a bunch of food items onto the small table beside me, the food ranged from eggs in several styles to... To, grass. Well, I can't say I'm surprised I suppose. However, I wasn't about to say no to having eggs again.
"I don't work here, I was coming to see you anyway and I bumped into a nurse who was bringing your breakfast so I offered to bring it here for her," Twilight gleamed as she pulled a chair over with her magic.
"Oh, well thank you, I suppose but um, what's with the stethoscope there pal?" I asked taking it off her neck and holding it in front of her.
"Um, I was coming to see if I could run some of my own tests on you," Twilight said looking more nervous by the second.
"Tests?" I asked. "What do you need to do tests on me for?"
Immediately Twilight jumped out of the chair and stared at me as if I had just said some completely idiotic.
"Captain, your an entirely different lifeform not indigenous to Equss, you come from another universe we know literally nothing about other than we know its where you come from, for all we know you could be dangerous!" Twilights rant, as crazy as it sounded to me did seem to make some form of rational sense.
When Christopher Columbus landed in the new world he brought all sorts of European diseases that the people there weren't protected against. As much as I hated being wrong Twilight may have had a point after all.
"Okay, so how do we make sure that I'm safe for ponies to be around?" I asked.
"Well, there's a quick way to be sure that no one is in immediate danger," Twilight said. Intrigued at the idea of a quick fix I motioned for her to continue. "Well I can just do a quick medical scan with my magic which would detect if there are any infectious viruses in your system that are harmful to us but other than that the only way to tell is through time,".
"Well, I must say and I hope you don't take offence when I say I was feeling a lot more confident about myself before you brought me breakfast," I said as I forked a piece of scrambled egg.
"Of course not, now if you hold still, this should only take a minute," Twilight explained as she lit up her horn and I was covered in a very pale lavender aura.
For the next few minutes, that's how we set. Twilight ran a complete scan of my entire body as I sat and ate breakfast minus the grass. Finally after what felt like forever Twilight powered down her horn panting slightly.
"Well doc, give me it straight, how long have I got?" I said putting on my best drama pose only to be swatted in the face with a hoof.
"Knock it off, your completely fine as far as I can tell, a bit of bruising from where you were injured but otherwise your completely healthy!" Twilight exclaimed happily.
"Well that's a relief," I said as I stood up from my seat near the window and walked over to my bed picking up my PDA."I have some basic medical files on human anatomy if you'd like to read over them?" I suggested. Before I even got a response the PDA was out of my hand and I was pinned against the bed.
"Really!?" Twilight gasped holding my PDA in her magic. She was up on her hind legs resembling an excited puppy getting its first squeaky toy.
"Um, yeah I figured the doctors and that would need my medical files anyway so they know how healthy I am," I reasoned swiping the PDA out of her aura much to Twilights disappointment. "I can't let you keep it obviously but you're more than welcome to look over it whilst I'm here or transcribe it onto paper or something so you can have a written copy,".
Upon hearing this Twilight perked up again and was about to start praising my generosity when another knock interrupted us both.
"Twilight, you in here," A young male voice could be heard emanating from the hallway.
"Yeah Spike I'm in here," Twilight yelled out into the corridor.
After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal... No one, or at least that's what I thought until out of the bottom of my eye I saw a small figure enter the room and then abruptly stop as we made eye contact.
We stared at each other for several long seconds before Twilight spoke up clearly trying to break the ice. "Captain this is my number one assistant Spike,".
"Um, Twilight is this the monster you were telling me about?"
"Spike! I did not call him a monster!" Twilight said looking frantically at me to see if I was displaying any signs of anger. To behonest, I found this whole situation kind of funny.
"Well I must say I never thought I would see the day where a dragon called a human a monster, usually its the other way round," I joked kneeling down to match Spikes tiny height.
"Um, sorry dude I didn't know what to expect,"
"Yeah forget it mate its fine with me, so your Spike?" I asked reaching out to shake his claw.
"Yeah, names Spike im Twilights assistant," Spike said proudly puffing out his chest for effect.
"My number one assistant," Twilight emphasised pulling him into an embrace.
"Ack, Twilight not in front of the Alien,". I simply chuckled at the peculiar sight of a pony and dragon sharing an embrace.
"So Spike what's wrong?" Twilight asked looking down towards Spike.
"Wrong?" Spike asked. "Nothing, Princess Celestia just told me to give you this letter this morning,". Seemingly from out of nowhere, Spike pulled out a fancy looking scroll with some form of royal seal imprinted onto it.
"Oh, well, read it out Spike," Twilight said seemingly eager to hear the contents of the letter.
Unferaling the letter Spike cleared his throat and spoke. "Hear ye, hear ye. Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of, eh, yadda yadda yadda, cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest,".
Upon hearing the contents of the letter Twilight gasped with excitement. "The Grand Galloping Gala!"
"Whats the Grand Galling Gala?" I asked with curiosity.
"Grand Galloping Gala," Twilight corrected. "It's only the biggest social event in the Equestrian calendar, I've never been to the gala. Have you, Spike?"
Looking down to Spike he appeared to stick his tongue out in disgust of the idea. "No, and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want any of that girly frilly frou-frou nonsense,".
Chuckling at Spikes antics I simply patted him on the head. "Yeah I feel you, little buddy, I was the same when I was little but big governmental gatherings aren't that bad, well, mostly,".
Twilight giggled too levitating Spike onto her back. "Aw, come on Spike. A dance would be nice,".
"Forget it Twilight, you'll not get me into that gala,". Spike seemed adamant not to lose this battle and so Twilight simply bowed her head in defeat.
"Well I'm sure one of my new friends would like to come, but, which one should I pick,".
"Whatda mean?" I asked looking at her as she seemed to run mental calculations in her head over and over again.
"Well, since the events during the Summer Sun Celebration I've made lots of new friends but I've only got two tickets from Celestia!" Twilight explained.
"Oh, well that sounds like a toughy, could you not just ask Celestia for some more tickets?" I suggested.
"Are you kidding!?" Twilight yelled. "I can't ask the most royal ruler in all of Equestria for more tickets to the biggest social gathering of the year, this needs planning, research... I gotta go,".
With that Twilight did a 180 galloping out of the room taking Spike flying along with her leaving just me in the ward.
These ponies have issues.
Canterlot Castle Equstria, Canterlot June 30th 1000 1122
"So Celestia what's this about," I asked.
I was currently in a completely different part of the Castle. Celestia had come in to visit me not long after Twilight left and had taken me to a meeting room with herself and Luna.
"Captain, we would like to discuss a sensitive issue with you but it is one that we feel must be handled sooner rather than later," Celestia explained.
"And pray tell what would this pressing issue be?" I asked crossing my arms and leaning back in my small but rather comfortable chair.
"We need to formalise your races contact with ours in some capacity and we must make it known to other nations of the world that we are hosting you here in Equestrian territory,".
God, not politics, anything but politics. My inner thoughts cried out at the realisation however I managed to keep a calm face despite what I was hearing from Celestia.
"Well I must admit I am very apprehensive at the idea, I've honestly been content with the status quo if we can even consider this "status quo", nevertheless I agree that we have to face this issue, so any good ideas?"
To my suprise, it wasn't Celestia that actually answered my question. Instead, Luna spoke up for the first time since last night. "We have given it some serious thought and after some deliberation, we could offer you temporary citizenship as an Equestrian citizen,".
"Why would I need Equestrian citizenship?" I asked leaning forward into the conversation.
"At the moment we are limited in our capacity to protect you from other nations, for example, if the Griffon Empire saw you as a threat to world security which they most likely would they could make a case to kidnap you for questioning as unlikely as it sounds. If you were an Equestrian citizen they wouldn't be able to simply lift you off the streets,".
"Not that we'd let them do such a thing," Luna added. I smiled at her, it was good to know that no Griffon was going to be able to kidnap me.
Wait a second. Griffions!?
"Excuse me I think you might have left a few details out about your world did you say you guys had Griffons here as in the eagle looking things with lions paws and shit?"
"Equss has many different nations with all kind of species from Ponies to Griffons and from Griffons to Zebras," Celestia confirmed. This world just kept getting stranger and stranger by the day.
"Well as much as I appreciate the offer, I don't think I'll become an Equastrain citizen anytime soon I like my staus the way it is now, no offence intended of course," I said looking Celestia straight in the eye.
In response, Celestia simply sighed. "That is, of course, your prerogative, however, the question still remains on how to approach this issue,".
We all sat in silence for a couple of seconds all dwelling on possible solutions to our problem. Just as I was about to speak up the door behind us swung open causing all of us to look in the direction of the door.
"I'm so so sorry Auntie, I know you said you had a surprise planned and I didn't mean to be late but I overslept after spending some time with...".
Nope. I'm completely done. I thought, standing in front of me was another tall pony with wings and a horn. Seriously at this point, everyone in this damn place might as well be royalty.
The new pony quickly caught sight of me and made her way over in somewhat of an awkward hurry before tilting her head forward slightly. "Ambassador, it's so good to finally meet you, I'm Princess Cadence, niece of Princess Celestia, please forgive my untimely arrival I've been trying to catch up all morning,".
I had no idea what was going on but I'm pretty sure my brain had gone into lockdown mode.
"Um, Cadence," Celestia said trying to catch the attention of her "niece".
Cadence quickly seemed to catch on that she was causing somewhat of an awkward scene and quickly moved to her seat muttering a quick apology to her aunt.
"Cadence you must know that Captain Peters is not an ambassador, he is actually..."
"No, wait! That's a great idea!" I shouted startling everyone in the room as I jumped up from my chair.
"Danny, I'm not sure we follow," Luna said as Celestia and Cadence nodded in agreement.
"Think about what the cute pink pony princess said," I said walking over and patting cadence on the head much to her displeasure. "Ambassador Peters representing the United Nations Of Earth,". I quickly strut a pose of a heroic figure much to Lunas amusement and Celestia's confusion.
"So what we're saying is that you're a visiting ambassador from your people?" Celestia questioned.
Shaking my head I continued. "No, what I'm saying is, we can tell them the truth but whilst I'm here I will act in the capacity of Ambassador to Equestria from the UN,".
"So wait, your not an ambassador?" Cadence asked using magic to stop me from patting her head.
"You know sister we may not be as adverse in modern politics as of yet, but we see no reason why this couldn't work,". Luna said completely blanking Cadence much to my amusement.
"Hmm, we would need official treaty between our two peoples as well as a flag to be hosted within the signatory hall and within your residence but apart from that it may be our best option," Celestia conceded. "Okay Captain if this is what you want we will do everything we can to help you,".
"Good, I should have some images of the flag for you," I said getting my PDA out.
"That's a good start I'll have a tailor stop by your quarters tonight, and that reminds me you've been discharged from the infirmary wing and give assigned you some quarters in the castles guest wing," Celestia said moving around the table to stand next to me.
"Oh, so I'm living the life of a dignitary now am I?" I asked sarcastically.
"Well in a sense for the meantime I suppose you will be," Celestia said in a very diplomatic tone.
Smiling I reached out my hand to shake her hoof. "Well then your majesty on behalf of the United Nations Of Earth I thank you for your gracious hospitality," I said bowing whilst doing so causing Luna to chuckle slightly. In addition, I could have sworn id heard a small laugh come from Celestia.
"CAN SOMEPONY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!" A voice screamed from behind us.
"Later Cadence," Celestia replied.
"You know for a pink pony princess shes sure got a, um, volume,".
Canterlot Guest Suites Equstria, Canterlot June 30th 1000 1400
After the meeting had concluded I had been told to wait in the meeting room until my escort arrived to take me to my room, Celestia and Luna couldn't stay as they had to start working on preparations for my "official arrival" and I had a speech to prepare to the populace of Ponyland.
I still wasn't sure what I was going to say when I stood up on the big stage but whatever I was going to say I had to think of it fast.
After waiting for a few minutes I was greeted by two guards who identified themselves as my personal escort for my stay here at the castle. Like all the other guards they were just as stonefaced in the way that they presented themselves referring to me as "Ambassador". However, unlike the other guards, they wore neither completely golden or dark blue armour. Instead, these guards armour were coated in splotches of white and light blue covering over parts of the gold.
I thought about asking them about it but decided against it noting wanting to end up on the end of a spear again like I had the night before and so here I was standing in the massive guest suite that could probably fit six all to myself.
The room itself had just the one bed in the middle of the room and shared the same checkered floor as the rest of the castle had however there was a small rug placed under my bed for my feet to rest on as well as a large desk and stool for working at along with a set of drawers and nightstands. Overall it was a nice room and definitely an upgrade compared to the medical ward.
My room also had two large windows that faced outwards away from the city. From the windows, I realised that this city was hardly on the ground level. We must be on some form on mountainside city as the drop from my window was just incredible. We must be at least a good 10,000 feet up. I must confess I spent a good couple of minuets just staring out of the window. For all of the downsides of this world, the view certainly wasn't one of them.
I was also happy to see that the cage containing all of my gear (including my weapons) was moved to my room however the cage was still locked shut and knowing Celestia it probably had about one million magical locks around it to prevent me from going on a Rambo style rampage. Not that id want to.
I was soon pulled out of my musings by a sharp series of knocks at my door.
"Come in," I yelled not bothering to face the door still too infatuated with the view from my window.
From behind me, I could hear the door creak open as a voice spoke up. "Ambassador the Element of Generosity requests to see you,". Turning around I saw one of my guards peering her head through the door. She was the first female guard id seen which had taken me by surprise when she initially spoke.
"The fucks an elemental generosity?" I asked giving the guard my best-confused look.
The guard to her credit appeared to break from her stoic form for the first time to respond. "Uh, I have no idea, sir,".
"Well at least that makes two of us then, send them in I suppose," I responded waving a hand in the direction of the door.
Quickly the guard pulled her head backwards and opened the door fully allowing for a familiar-looking pony to walk in.
"Captain! How marvellous to see you again,". The white pony trotted into the middle of my room bringing a bunch of books and pens with her suspended in her magic.
"Uh, good to see you too, um, Rarity was it?" I said standing up to shake her hoof which she quickly took hold of to shake.
"Ah, so you do remember me!" Rarity said her face lighting up as she spoke.
"Oh yeah, although I didn't realise you were a generosity element,".
"Yes yes, of course, it was a title granted to me and my friends after we defeated Nightmare Moon!" Rarity explained setting all of her materials down on my bed.
"So your all elements then?" I asked looking at her quizzically.
"Yes, although most of them dont like to use their titles however I see no reason not to especially since nearly everyone in this marvellous city has one," She said pouting with her lips. I simply looked at her not sure what to say to that. However, I really wasn't given a chance to reply as Rarity quickly bounced up towards me her face lighting up again.
"Now Princess Celestia told me that you needed a few flags designed?"
I paused, giving Rarity a strange look. "You're a tailor?"
"Eh, not exactly the word I would use darling it lacks excitement or inspiration, I am a designer and a somewhat self-proclaimed fashionista, I own my own little boutique back home!"
"Oh well, then I suppose you'd like to see the flags then?" I asked pulling up my PDA as I started to search through my various flags.
"Yes darling of course as well as take your measurements,". I stopped flicking through the list of flags and looked up at Rarity.
"What would you need my measurements for?" I asked placing the PDA down by my side.
"Well for the gala of course! Why else," Rarity said pulling a measuring tape out from under the pile of supplies she had brought in with her.
"The Grand Galloping Gala?" I asked.
"Yes, that's the one, I can make you a smashing suit if you wish free of charge, and if you haven't picked anyone I'd be more than happy to be your plus one," Rarity said as she started to measure me much to my annoyance.
Quickly batting away the tape I stood up annoyed. "Plus one? Rarity I haven't even been invited to this thing, why would you want to be my plus, my plus one,". I stopped as the gears in my head started to fit all of the pieces into place. "Wait is this all about Twilights tickets?" I asked crossing my arms.
Rarity looked down at the floor as a small blush appeared around her cheeks, but before she could even offer an explanation the sound of talking on the other side of the door caught my attention.
"Ma'm we can't let you through these are the Ambassadors personal quarters,"
"Its okay were totally besties,"
"Ma'm you need to listen to my colleague and leave the area these quarters are off-limits... Hey!"
The door quickly burst opened as a rainbow blue flew into the room almost colliding with me in the process.
"Seize her!" I quickly changed my vision to focus on the door that was now hanging on only one of its hinges where I could see my two very angry looking guards with their spears pointed at the rainbow intruder.
Quickly identifying the pony I raised my hand to stop my guards. "It's alright I'll handle this, just get someone to fix that door," I said sighing.
"As you wish Ambassador," the guard said as she and her fellow guard backed out of the room attempting to close the broken door all the while glaring at Rainbow.
"Wow, what's their problem," Rainbow said finally standing up from where she had crashed.
My lower eyelid twitched slightly. "Their problem? Their pro, Jesus Christ, what the hells your problem Rainbow why did you crash into my room!?" I shouted moving right in front of her giving her no room to escape from me.
"What! They wouldn't let me in to see you,". Rainbow protested trying to fly upwards only to be stopped by a pain shooting out from one of her wings making her fall back to the ground.
Serves her right. I thought looking down at the now injured pegasus.
"I dunno did you try asking them nicely?" I said sarcastically.
"Well um," Rainbow tried to explain but was quickly cut off by me.
"Just! Just please tell me what you want Rainbow we're really busy here," I said motioning to Rarity and all of her equipment.
Looking up at me a small blush spread across Rainbows face too.
Oh god please dont, please dont say it! I screamed internally.
"Well I know you're a Captain and since Captains usually get invited to this sort of thing I was wondering if you had an extra ticket to the gala?" Rainbow said as she limped over to the bed.
"Rainbow Dash, dont even think about it I was here well before you and all you've done is destroy the poor Captains door!" Rarity said finally looking up from the floor to face Rainbow.
"It was an accident!" Rainbow retorted jumping down and pushing her face into Rarity.
"That's hardly an excuse!"
"ENOUGH!" I screamed. Both of the ponies present appeared to jump out of their skin at the sheer volume of my voice.
"Look, ladies, I dont know why you think id even have tickets to this thing but I promise you I don't have and dont believe I even will get invited! Rarity I'll load the sketches of the flags I need onto my PDA for you and you can copy them as quickly as possible and Rainbow please get out of my room!"
Both ponies simply nodded as Rainbow quickly limped out of my room Rarity pulled out some sketch paper.
As Rarity got to work I slowly walked over to the door and quickly slipped out.
"Something we can do Ambassador?" The female guard asked.
"Yeah, once Rarity is done do you think you could fetch Twilight Sparkle for me?" I asked politely.
"Of course sir, anything else?"
"Yeah, apart from her and her little dragon dont let anyone else in here," I pleaded.
"Of course Ambassador,".
"Hey look, guys, I'm not really an Ambassador I'm a soldier so you guys dont need to keep saying that, I'm just one of you in a really awkward position right now,".
"We understand sir, but we have a protocol to follow," The female guard said.
"However if you ever need a place to rest we can show you a guard hangout area when we're not on duty," The other guard spoke up.
"Is their alcohol?" I asked.
"Affirmative sir," he replied smiling slightly.
"Good work soldiers, please come retrieve me when your off shift and ill buy you two some drinks," I said as I went to move back into my room.
At least some of these guards are cool, must just be those golden pricks I thought to myself as I re-entered my room.
Canterlot Guest Suites Equstria, Canterlot June 30th 1000 1823
A couple of hours had passed since the incident with Rarity and Rainbow and both ponies were finally out of my room allowing me to finally relax somewhat. I was also happy to report that my door was already fixed by one of the castles handymen. I had to give it to them, they worked really fast. I could have sworn that they were only here for a few seconds.
Nevertheless, I was finally able to lay back on my bed and relax my muscles for the first time all day. That was until another knock came at the door.
"Yeah," I shouted.
Again the door cracked opened and the guard stuck her head through. "Twilight Sparkle here to see you, sir,".
"Good, send her in please," I said moving up into a sitting position on my bed as Twilight and Spike both walked into the room.
"Hello Captain," Twilight said somewhat deflated. If I'm being honest when compared to how she was she looked awful. Her mane was now separated into unorganised strands and her whole body just seemed tired. Spike appeared to be concerned as he looked her over with sad eyes.
"Hey," I said moving over on my bed. "I kinda thought you'd had a bad day so far," I commented patting on the bed for her to jump up.
"How did you guess," Twilight said jumping up onto the bed before lying her head face down between her hoofs.
"Because I also got a second-hand effect from Rarity and Rainbow earlier today and it wasn't very pleasant,". I said as I recalled the tale to Twilight all the while stroking her back like that of a dog, she tensed up at first but slowly just started to relax.
After id finished my tale Twilight looked up towards me with sadness and frustration in her eyes. "I'm sorry that happened its all my fault anyway, I'm the pony that can't decide who to take to the gala, I wish I could take all of them but it's just not possible,".
"Hey, it's not your fault, if anything its Celestia's for only giving you two tickets knowing that you've just made five new friends," I pointed out.
"Six," she corrected.
"Who did I miss?" I asked curiously.
"You silly," She said leaning into my chest as if to give me a hug.
"Me!?" I said incredulously looking down at her with surprise.
"Do you think I forgot what you did for us in the castle and how nice you've been to us despite your circumstances, of course, I consider you a friend!"
"Well, that's nice to hear Twilight, I'd like to think of you as a friend too but for my people friendship takes a lot longer than just one day even if they did try to save the other from a crazy magic laser beam," I joked. "Anyway if I wanted you to take me to the gala I would understand if you picked someone else it's a hard opportunity to pass up and sometimes friends just have to be mature enough to live with your decisions,".
"I understand, I just wish my friends would too,"
"I think we do now Twilight," A voice spoke from behind us.
Shocked by the sudden intrusion I quickly snapped around reaching down to where my holster would be only now remembering it wasn't on me. Although after Identifying the source I relaxed somewhat my surprise replaced with anger.
Standing in front of me was all five on Twilights friends. "How, when, what!" I shouted my brain not even trying to work out what had just happened.
"Duh, silly we came in through the window!" Pinkie shouted appearing right in my face.
"But, How!? We're on one of the top floors!" I shouted quickly moving over to one of the windows and peering outside. To my complete shock, my window was no more than a foot off the ground all be it is was quite close to a ledge, hence why I hadn't noticed it before.
However, it still didn't answer my question of why five additional ponies were now standing in my room. "But! Why!?"
"Well, its kinda embarrassing," Applejack said removing her hat.
"I'm listening," I said.
"We thought you were going to convince Twilight to give you her extra ticket and we wanted to be able to present all of our reasons too we didn't realise what we were putting her through," Rarity said looking ashamed.
"Twilight, sugar, I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you, and if it helps, I don't want the ticket anymore. You can give it to somepony else. I won't feel bad, I promise,". Applejack said moving closer to Twilight giving her a short embrace.
"Me too. I feel just awful that I made you feel so awful," The yellow one said too.
What was her name again? I thought as one by one each of the ponies moved across my room to comfort Twilight leaving just Rainbow standing near the window.
"Yes! That means the ticket is mine. Ha ha!" She shouted trying to jump into the air without the use of her wings only to be stopped as I moved right over the top of her and shot her my best death glare. "You know, I haven't perfected my signature moves for the Wonderbolts anyway. I don't need that ticket either," she said sheepishly moving out of my way over the Twilight.
"We all got so gun-ho about going to the gala that we couldn't see how un-gun-ho we were making you,"
The fucks a gun-ho?
Smiling Twilight stepped away from her friends and over to Spike. "Spike, take down a note. Dear Princess Celestia, I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala,".
All of the ponies in the room turned around and looked at her in shock shouting a loud "What!" in surprise. A split second later the door to my room burst opened and my two guards rushed in obviously at the loud noise everyone had just made.
"Uh, sir," The first guard spoke up.
I simply sidestepped back allowing both of them to see the open window opposite them. "Just resume your posts I think everything's alright now anyway right Twilight?"
"Yep, if all my friends cant go I dont wanna go either,".
"Twilight, you don't have to do that," Applejack said placing her hat back on top of her head.
"Nope. I've made up my mind. Spike, you can send the letter now,". Without missing a tick Spike threw the letter up in the air and released a small burst of green fire that engulfed the letter causing it to disintegrate within the fire,".
"Spike why the hell did you just burn the letter?" I said puzzled at why Twilight wasn't freaking out.
"I didn't burn it dude, Its mail magic. It allows me to transport and receive letters," He said shooting out some flames again for effect.
"Oh, so that's what that was," I said. As I spoke Spike started to gag. As I went to pat the little guy on the back another jet of flames burst out causing me to fall back on my arse much to everyone's amusement. "Yeah laugh it up guys," I said as I pushed myself back up.
"A letter from the princess? That was fast," Twilight said grabbing the letter with her magic.
She sent her a letter. She's like two floors away she could have just come down and spoken to her! I thought as I finally got to my feet.
"My faithful student Twilight, why didn't you just say so in the first place? Seven tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!" Spike said holding the tickets up to show everyone.
"Now we can all go!" Twilight shouted as her friends cheered around her, however in the midst of her cheering a loud rumble interrupted their celebration causing Twilight to go scarlet.
"Maybe we should get something to eat," I suggested as I moved towards the door as I opened it we all began to shuffle out.
"Looks like ill be making you that suit after all," Rarity said walking up beside me.
"I dont know why she decided to give me a ticket, ill probably be gone by the time the gala comes around," I said looking down towards her.
"Oh, well darling it never hurts to be prepared," She said smiling at me.
"No I dont suppose it does," I conceded.
"And that reminds me, I have something for you, Twilight dear could you help me with this?" Rarity called out as she pulled a piece of light blue fabric out.
Twilight and Rarity both lit up their horns as they slowly moved backwards unfolding the small piece of fabric out into a decent sized rectangle.
I froze.
"I was able to get some good quality fabric from the castles storeroom, and it came out marvellous dont you think?"
"Its, it's incredible," I said running my hand along the fabric.
"What is it, Captain?" Twilight asked trying to move back to get a better view.
Canterlot Signatory Hall Equstria, Canterlot August 1st 1000 1130
"Princess Celestia will make the first announcement, followed by yours. There'll be a short Q&A session before you sign the treaty and raise the flag, during which the national anthems will be played, is there anything else you need to know Ambassador?"
I was currently pacing up and down the floor behind a strip of red velvet curtain waiting for this press conference to start. I was currently alone minus one of my guards who was currently running me through the procedure of the event.
If I was being completely honest I was near enough shitting bricks, id had given speeches before, being a Captain and all it sort of comes with the job title. Although I had never given one which would have such lasting importance like this one. I was basically throwing all convention out of the window and acting on behalf of my entire planet, not something I could really take lightly.
"Ambassador?" The guard spoke up again moving into my line of sight.
"Oh, yeah, no I think ill be fine,".
"That's good to hear Danny," a voice came from behind me, turning to the source my face cracked a small smile.
"Hey Blue, coming to watch me tank this thing?" I asked giving her a soft punch in the sides.
"Neigh, we have simply come for support," Luna affirmed.
"We all have,". Looking behind Luna I saw Twilight and her friends standing behind her along with Celestia and the pink one.
"Huh, I thought you guys would be out in the crowd?" I asked moving forward to talk to them.
"Dont worry big guy we will be," Rainbow said hoofing me in the shoulder. You know for a squishy looking ponies they sure packed some force behind their little hoofs.
"I must say Darling the staff have done a fine job with your uniform," Rarity said as she began to use her magic to straighten up my shirt which was currently tucked into my trousers.
I was wearing my MTP's that had been washed thoroughly. To be honest, I didn't have a choice in the matter, very early this morning I was harassed by who I can only assume was some form of Royal Stylists who made me get a proper wash and shave. Not that I was complaining of course. I did feel a lot more like myself now.
Apart from my MTP 's, I was blank minus my rank insignia which I had attached to my chest in the middle of my MTP's.
"Yes I agree it does make you appear more official," Twilight said trotting up to me.
"Thanks, I only hope looking the part will allow me to properly act the part," I said as I looked at myself in a nearby mirror.
"Well sugarcube, we have every confidence that you'll do great," Applejack said before being interpreted by a pink blur.
"Yeah! And then we can have a big huge massive "Alien Welcome Party" whatcha think!?" The pink blue was suddenly pressed into my face in the form of Pinkie who was bouncing up and down in order to match my height.
"I think, id like some personal space," I replied taking a few steps back.
"Okie Doki Loki," Pinkie said bolting her self to the floor before bouncing one step back. "Better?"
"Sure," I said sighing at the hyperactive ponies antics.
"Well I think we should take our seats before there are none left," Twilight pointed out as she poked her hoof through a gap in the curtain.
She was right, the room was quickly filling with a large variety of ponies and other exotic creatures.
Celeastia really wasn't kidding when she mentioned the whole planet of different species thing I mused as I poked my head above Twilights to get a slightly better view.
I could make out several different types of ponies as well as a large number of mythical creatures ranging from Gryphons to Minotaurs and from Minotaurs to Hors, wait, Horses!?
Taking their seats in one of the front rows were a group of Earth-style horses.
"Celestia!" Motioning for the Princess to come over to where I was standing I gave a quick point in the direction of the horses. "You never told me you guys had actual horses here!"
Celestia to her credit just smiled slightly. "That would be the delegation from Saddle Arabia,"
I paused to look back at her. "I'm sorry did you just say Saddle Arabia?" I asked giving her my best "What The Fuck Look".
"Yes, is that a problem?" Celestia asked giving me a concerned look.
"No, its, it's just on my world we have a nation called Saudi Arabia that's all," I clarified giving her an amused look one she soon shared after hearing my explanation.
"Very Intriguing," she said before sealing the gap in the curtain with her magic. "However, I do believe it is time I made an appearance in front of the curtain instead of behind it,".
"Any last-minute advice Celestia?" I asked placing a hand on her withers.
"Actually, there is one piece of advice," Celestia said stopping and turning to face me before leaning in close to my ear. "Believe it or not I like the fact that you dont call me by my title it makes me feel like we're just two poni, well you know what I mean. However, during the conference, you may wish to address me and all others present by their titles as to not, upset the balance,".
"Ah, I see, that seems fair enough," I reasoned.
"I'm glad to hear it, now good luck," She said as she walked out onto the stage.
"Well, let's see how this goes,".
Celestias POV
As I walked out onto the stage I could feel the eyes follow me. It was like being under the lens of hundreds of tiny microscopes. Not that it was an uncommon feeling for me, however, I did worry how the Captain would react in such a scenario. Regardless of his reaction, it was now too late to back down and so I pressed on.
I began making my way over to the podium that had been positioned in the middle of the stage. The podium was showing the Equestrian Coat of Arms and the Equestrian Flag stood proudly behind it. Next to the flag was the covered up flag of the Captain's homeworld that was to be revealed upon the signing of the treaty.
It was a little hard to make out with all of the light pouring down onto the stage, however, I could still make out the shapes of all the different creatures that had congregated for this conference. I knew nearly every one of them. I could just make out the shape of the Count Of Wingfarn (the Griffion ambassador to Equestria) sitting with his nation's delegation along with several other influential ambassadors on the world stage.
Well Celestia this is it, make or break the future of Equss with this press conference. Lead us into an era of peace or an era of war. My mind was racing at the implications of what was about to happen here by my actions, nevertheless, it was finally time.
As I looked out to face the crowd the room fell completely silent as I began to speak.
"Ambassadors, Distinguished guest and members of the world press, I welcome you here today to the famous hall of signatories for this most auspicious occasion. For today we celebrate the inclusion of the first nation-state not to originate on this planet but from another,".
Instantly the room exploded into a frenzy of murmurs, shouts and protests. Shouts of "I knew it!" and "Impossible!" lit up the room. Camera flashes lit up like a disorganised firework show from the back wings whilst others shouted for calm. All in all, it wasn't the best start.
"Everyone, please! If you could all just calm down for a moment," I tried to reason with the growing noise but my small voice was slowly being overpowered by the noise of the room.
"I will be able to answer all of your questions!" I shouted trying to quickly regain control of the situation.
"What gives your government the right to withhold information of this kind!?" The unmistakable voice of the Count could be heard piercing through the crowd causing others to cheer in agreement, or in disagreement, I honestly couldn't tell anymore.
"Please, I promise to expl.."
"ALRIGHT!" I froze my head not wishing to move to the source of the sound.
Buck.
As I stood watching Celestia get hounded on stage Luna looked on with sadness and anger at the way creatures were shouting at her.
"This is outrageous!" She shouted stomping her hoof on the ground. "She has done nothing to deserve this!"
"Easy Blue," I said placing my hand on her withers. "I'll fix this," as I started to walk out onto the stage I was held back by Luna's aura of magic.
"Danny," Luna started.
"Blue, let me go," I said calmly. After a few more seconds of being held in her aura, it dissipated in front of me allowing me to enter the stage.
Here goes nothing I thought to myself as I cleared my throat. "ALRIGHT!"
The effect was immediate. A wide variety of high and low pitch gasps filled the room as silence quickly fell upon it as if gravity itself was pushing all of the noise downwards out of hearing range. Some mouths remained opened however no words came out. Even the many old fashioned cameras refused to flash out of fear of retaliation from me.
It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, it was their collected fear. It was palpable and it was strong.
Slowly I stepped up to the podium besides Celestia giving her a curt nod.
"Hello, I would like to introduce myself on behalf of the United Nations of Earth and her colonies. My name is Captain Daniel Peters of the British Army. Now before we go any further than that let me make something explicitly clear. As cliche as it sounds to me, I come in peace, I mean you no harm and I want to assure all of you that my arrival here is as much a mystery to you just like it is for me,". I paused for a moment trying to gauge the response of the creatures that were arranged out in front of me. Each one had a different expression but all wore a face of shock and awe.
"To my knowledge, my world had no intention of establishing first contact with yours. It remains unknown whether I am in a different part of my own Universe or indeed another. Regardless of what is done is done and for the moment I am trapped here with you all. Therefore I have no choice but adhere to what I believe my government would want me to do. My people have a strict set of rules regarding the first contact with another intelligent world and I can guarantee I've violated nearly everyone, however, no I will strive to no longer do so. From today I will act in the capacity as Earths ambassador to Equestria. I shall do so for as long it is necessary to find my way home. I am not interested in cultural exchanges at this time and I have no desires to visit other nations at present. My only goal is to get home safely to my people and to prevent any more cultural contamination. Finally, I know this must come as a shock but I will try to answer any questions that your governments may have to ask me,". I said taking a breath and releasing the floor to the other ambassadors.
Unlike with Celestia, no one moved an inch, no one wanted to speak up first it seemed, I really couldn't tell if this was a good thing or bad thing.
"I have a question!" A voice rose up. Looking down I could see the scrawny figure of an old-looking Griffon.
"Yes?" I asked.
"I am the Count Of Wingfarn and am the Ambassador to this land from the Griffonian Empire. You claim to us that you are not interested in any form of cultural exchange, however, undoubtedly the Equestrians have already been given access to such devices. This hardly seems like an Equal balance of world power to me,".
"I can assure you sir that I have given no such access to any of my technology, and I dont intend to do so, I intend to try and leave this world as I came into it with minimal cultural contamination,".
"What makes you think you can hold our people back!?" A voice shouted for somewhere in the crowd.
"That's not my intention at all, I simply want to,".
"To take control of us, this could be the first wave a scout, are we honestly expected to trust you. Someone who refuses to give us anything other than its word and allies itself with one of the most powerful nations,".
"And what of the smaller nations around us what are we expected to do!?"
"What should we do to protect ourselves!?"
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" I yelled once again grabbing everyone's attention. This was complete and other bullshit, to hell with being diplomatic.
"I've seen little of your world but from what I have seen ill give you my prognosis. Your weak, your solders sit in castles wielding swords and shields whilst my nations have the ability to destroy whole planets within an hour. Do whatever you like, run home and plead to your governments to build the biggest nastiest armies that your money can buy. However, if someone comes along to visit your world ill guarantee that you won't last a day!"
"Are you trying to say we should deploy our armies against your forces!?"
"I have no forces!" I yelled at the voice. "If I did I certainly wouldn't be here with you miserable lot but let me tell you if you want to raise the worlds biggest armies for a war that will never come then dont let me stop you, I just want to get home. I have a life and a job just like every one of you and ill tell you right now I'm not a diplomat,". Quickly turning around I riped the cover that was concealing the flag of the UN and exposed it to the room leading to more random spots of gasps.
"See this!?" I said grabbing a part of the flag. "This is the best flag I have to symbolise my world! It symbolises peace and freedom for all if you all can't see that or won't accept that then I'm sorry but that's the truth," Without thinking I ripped the flag off the pole and turned back around the face the stunned crowd. "This meeting is over, tell your governments what you like, it makes no difference to me, I'm not going to be anyone's ambassador".
Without even smiling for a photo I walked off the stage with my flag in tow, pushing past Luna I approached my guard. "Take me to that bar please," I asked defeated.
"Sir I,"
"Take me to that bar, please!" I snapped.
"This way," Thankful that the guard hadn't stopped and forced me to stay I left the room as no one tried to follow me much to my relief.
Well, there goes my career as a politician.
Canterlot Signatory Hall Equstria, Canterlot August 1st 1000 1240 Celestias POV
"Where is he, Luna?" I asked my calm facade shattered after taking a hundred more questions from the near frenzied ambassadors.
"He asked his guard to escort him somewhere, his quarters perhaps," Luna answered. I started to move in order to make my way there when my sister stepped in front of me.
"Sister, you cannot confront him now," she said holding her hoof out to stop me.
"Luna! He just indirectly threatened every notable power on this planet, encouraged them to raise armies and then walked out on the whole affair leaving me to deal with the backlash. The Griffons have already pulled their delegation out of Canterlot and with their influence in the East who knows who might be next, all because of his inability to sign a piece of paper and reassure everyone!" I ranted trying to push past her only to once again be stopped.
"He is not a politician, you just put the equivalent to a royal guard out there in front of the delegates and presses of the world to answer unanswerable questions!" Luna retorted.
"It was his own idea!" I pointed out rasing my voice.
"And clearly it was a flawed one, our best course of action should be to allow him some space in his quarters, allow him to calm down. Perhaps now that we know how he cant handle the political scene he might be more open to accepting citizenship,".
"Luna, please I understand you're trying to readjust to this time but you know that the leaders of the world would never accept that,".
"Do not think me so nieve sister that I wouldn't recognise that but we must do something!"
"I know that, and I'm sorry it's just that this situation is getting out of hoof too quickly we must try and contain him and prevent his exposure to the masses, anything he says or does now will be taken way out of proportion,".
"Your Majesties,". A sole gruff voice of one of the day guards interrupted our discussion. Quickly I turned to him as he lowered his head in a bow.
"Yes?" I asked trying to restore my calm demeanour onto my face as quickly as possible.
"Apologies for the interruption but there appears to be a disturbance in the guard's recreation building,".
"Guard, why has thou interrupted our conversation with such a petty matter," Luna cut in before I could make an enquiry, although I could already feel dread building up inside of me.
"Sorry your highness it is just, it is just that the person causing the disturbance is our guest the, ambassador from Earth,".
"Take us there at once," I ordered, the guard quickly saluted before about turning and leading us out of the room.
One international incident is enough for one day, I know, I dont need another.
Canterlot Castle Equstria, Canterlot August 1st 1000 1145
I was in a hypnotic state as I walked down the vast corridors of the grand castle, the only constant being the footsteps and hoof steps of me and my guard against the hard marble floor.
My mind was still racing from the past few minutes. In those precious moments I had without anyone’s assistance or guidance threatened every large power on this little world encouraging them to raise their largest armies to fight me. Though to be honest if they were going to just send an army of fucking dribblers then I really wasn't that worried.
Plus I’m pretty sure Equestria would help in some way, or at least I hoped that they would if push came to shove.
However now was not the time for that, Now was the time for drink and God knew I needed plenty of it to quench my sorrows right now.
Trying to bring myself out of my self induced trance I cast my eyes downwards towards one of the few decent guards I had met whilst I had been here.
Don’t get me wrong I didn’t really like the guards that much. They reminded me of the world’s shitiest MP and CO combined into one massive monster. Of course, there was bound to be exceptions such as the nightguard captain I had met a few days back and of course present company included.
Although being completely honest I really didn’t know anything about her, she looked, walked and talked like all the other guards that I had come across, the only thing keeping her distinct was her different coloured armour that indicated she was assigned to some form of a protective branch.
"So what's your name?" I asked aloud keeping my eyes locked onto the guard.
She turned her head back in response shooting me a strange look. "Sir?" She replied slowing her pace to analyse if shed heard me correctly.
"Sir? Well, that's a pretty shit name," I replied sarcastically cracking my first smile since my "incident".
"No! Wait, sirs not my actual,".
"I mean I suppose I've heard of stranger names since I got here, I mean who the fuck calls their kid Rainbow?" I interrupted, the small smirk not leaving my face just yet.
"GOLDEN!" The guard shouted twirling round in front of me. "My name is GOLDEN ARCHER!"
I blinked, I was actually surprised at how she had broken her stoic nature that quickly, I had been led to believe that these guards were part rock but apparently in this instance I had been mistaken.
Not knowing what to do next I simply shrugged in her direction. "Cool, I had a friend called Archer on my world, out of interest what's your rank?" I asked kneeling down in order to become eye level with her.
"My, rank?" Golden asked as a confused demeanour began to construct itself on her face. "I'm a Seargent," she answered as her confused demeanour was quickly replaced by one of pride and a sense of duty.
"Well fuck me," I muttered to myself. Using her helmet for support (much to her annoyance) I stood myself upright again before looking back down at her. "Well, Goldy, I'll tell you this for free the universe is full of fucking weird coincidences,".
Golden just stared back at me clearly not impressed with her new nickname. "Uh..."
"Anyway, we should get moving, every moment your standing there is another moment I'm going without the sweet embrace of alcohol," I moaned as I began walking in the same direction we had been walking a moment ago.
"Uh, yes right along this hall sir," Goldy replied as she trotted a little faster to catch up with me. Her speed would be her downfall however as just as she picked up her pace I came to a dead halt causing her to almost smash into my back legs.
Turning around I looked down at her with a pair of sharp eyes. "Listen, Goldy, from this point onwards I'm relaxing, so dont call me sir, I'm Danny and your Goldy or Archer or whatever the fuck, got it?" I asked as I leaned over her.
"But Sir! I'm required to address..."
"Look Golden, I'm not a diplomat and I never will be, I'm a soldier just like you and although I may be a Captain when I'm relaxing I just want to be treated normally, can you please just give the sir shit a rest for a little bit?" I pleaded.
After a few seconds of tense silence, Golden finally sighed as she looked up towards me. "Alright, I'll try," She said giving me a small smile.
As I heard her reply my face lit up as I patted her on her back. "Atta girl! Right come on, first rounds on me, or well I'm sure It will be when I get their majesties to lend me some money anyway,".
With that, we both began walking down to my much-needed salvation.
As we approached the bar I began to hear some familiar sounds, the loud drone of idle bar chatter was audible to my ears even at this distance from the door. The drone was also accompanied by the sounds of glass being placed on hard wooden surfaces followed by scattered but audible chatter and laughter.
"Home sweet home," I muttered as I looked down to my Golden companion. "Ready to head inside?" I asked my eagerness clearly evident within my voice.
"Si, Danny I'm really not that sure that this is a good idea, you might not be aware of this but your not the most popular pon, person around after what you did in Ponyville," Golden explained as she looked up to me. I was about to comment on how she was actually showing me some genuine concern when her other words caught my attention.
"Wait, did you say Ponyville?" I asked giving her an incredulous look in the process.
"Yes, why is something wrong?" She replied looking at me as if I'd just said something stupid.
Okay! That's It! I'm Fucking Done With These Names! I thought to myself. My anti cringe circuits reached maximum capacity as I let out a deep breath that I didn't realise I was holding.
"No, no, the only things wrong is that I haven't had a drink in over a week and I'm not sure if my brain can take much more of this, if the guards in their want to start something then I trust you my noble and fearless guard to guard me whilst I get properly pished. Besides, I'm pretty sure I have diplomatic immunity or something similar so I think we'll be fine,". I finished as I began to make my way towards the dark wooden door.
It was the first door I had seen that wasn't covered in bright colours of purple and gold. Instead, it wore darker more standard colours that you would expect to see in front of a medieval pub.
Without waiting for Golden to make up her mind I placed my hand on the wooden door and swung it open. The noise that I had been hearing increased tenfold as I opened the door.
However, as I made my way into the pub the noise vanished. The atmosphere of the room immediately dissipated as if someone had just opened an airlock into the vacuum of space. Or at least that's how it felt to me. I continued walking slowly towards the bar in the middle of the room trying not to look at anything in particular, although I could already tell that every eye in the room was focused on me.
Trying to ignore them the best I could I finally looked up in order to scope out where the bartender was. After a few seconds of looking, I locked my sights of a large brown pony who had a dark apron covering the front of his body. Immediately I plotted an intercept course as I locked eyes with him.
Finally, after another second of walking, we were just a few nose lengths away from each other. The bar pony seemed to quiver slightly but otherwise remained in place.
"Some, Something I can help you with laddy?" He asked, the shakiness evident in his voice.
"Yeah, you could actually, I need a Large Whiskey," I replied casually as I leaned in resting my arms onto the counter.
"I'm sorry, a, what was it you said there son?" The bar pony replied as he took a slight step back.
"A, Large, Whiskey," I said emphasising the drink in question as my calm demeanour started to crack.
"Eh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've not heard of that one yet,". He said as he turned around to pull something from under the counter.
"No Whiskey?" I asked unconvinced that a bar in the castle of one of the leading nations of this planet didn't have one single glass of Whiskey. "Well, what do you have?" I asked my annoyance clear as day in my voice.
The bartender turned back around, this time with a menu of sorts in his hoofs. "Uh, here's a list of what we sell,".
Snatching the list out of the ponies hoofs I scanned the menu. "Cider, Mead, Ale, Salt Cubes.. Are you shitting me!? Do you sell anything that isn't out of a fucking medieval storybook?!" I shouted placing the menu back onto the bar.
"Sir, I can assure you this is the strongest stuff you'll find in Canterlot if not Equestria," He replied as he picked the menu back up from where I had placed it.
"The strong.. Strongest stuff?" I laughed. "This is some of the most embarrassing shit I've seen all day," I yelled, about to continue I felt a hoof being placed on my leg. Turning around I saw a concerned-looking Archer.
"Danny, it's okay the stuff tastes great, let's just get something and find somewhere to sit and relax,". Golden said as she extended her wings flying up to sit on one of the barstools that were placed all around the bar.
"Tastes Great!?" I half-shouted at her causing her to flinch ever so slightly. "Goldy, I dont want it to Taste Great I want it to taste like shit, I want it to burn my neck and remove my pain and anger I dont want to sit sipping Ale or fucking MEAD!" I yelled.
"Hey! Calm it down!" A loud voice barked from behind me.
Immediately I did a 180 coming face to face with one of the guards flanked by two others. This guard was different from the rest, the main bulk of his armour was Purple and indicating a higher rank than the other grunts behind him.
"Who the hell are you!?" I asked moving up towards him only for the two guards that were behind him to move in front of him lowering their spears in the process.
"HALT!" They both shouted at the same time.
"What you gonna do, stab me with your spears, well go right ahead fuckers I'll give you a clean shot!" I shouted stretching my arms out to either side leaving my stomach directly exposed to their weapons.
"Go on then! FUCKING DO IT!" I screamed as I moved forward towards the tips of their spears.
The guards looked between each other before moving back slightly away from me.
By this point, other guards had risen from where they were sitting and had begun to encircle me whilst others appeared to flee out of the door no doubt calling for reinforcements.
"COME ON THEN! WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG!?" I screamed completely losing all sense of reasoning.
I honestly didn't care anymore. I'd had it with this shit ponies, their shit castle, their shit country and their shit beer. I just wanted out.
"Stand Down Monster!" The purple guard spoke up anger clear in his voice as he lowered his horn lighting it up for dramatic effect.
Screaming at the top of my lungs I lunged forward pushing the two toy soldiers aside as I retracted my right arm before thrusting it into the side of the purple guard's face.
Pain shot up my arm as it connected with the armour causing me to yell out in pain as my bones vibrated from the impact. The guard, who had been taken by surprise fell back falling over his back two hoofs as the force of my impact made him struggle for balance.
Seizing the oppertunity I lunged again going in for another blow in the same place. However, before I could strike the guard he reached his hoof out with full force as it connected with my chest making me expel most of the remaining air from my lungs. Before I could even analyse the situation the guard was back on all fours and fired a purple beam directly at my chest.
Instantly I was thrown back as my back smashed into one of the wooden tables causing it to be shoved backwards by the force of my impact against it. I let out a loud yell as I struggled to remain conscious. Before I could even try to move another beam came my way again collidng directly with my chest.
I tried to brace for the impact, however as the beam hit I didn't feel any force push me back, slowly I began to lose awareness of my surroundings as my eyes began to close. Gradually everything around me started to go black as I was pulled back into the black void of unconsciousness.
As my senses began to return to me I was instantly greeted with pain emanating all over my body, specifically a large amount of pain was coming from my chest where I had been... Where I had been shot.
Shit! I yelled at myself internally for using such undisciplined moves to strike my opponent.
As I opened my eyes I wasn't met with the comforting colours of my quarters nor was I greeted by the colours of the infirmary. No. Instead, I was in a small confined cell resting on a hard stone floor that was icy to the touch.
Well, I suppose this is my fate. Locked up in a tiny dungeon in a magic pony world for punching a pony guard. I should have just pushed myself into their spears instead. I tried to push the dark thoughts away from the forefront of my mind however my current situation definitely wasn't helping.
"Well Danny, youve finally stuck your foot in the mud this time," I muttered to myself as I sat up and pushed my head down into my legs.
"We would be inclined to agree,". A familiar voice echoed through the long and winding corridors of the dungeon.
Recognising the voice instantly I looked up to see Luna standing there looking less than happy with me. "Hey, Blue, come to oversee my execution?" I asked trying to put a small smile back on my face.
Luna, however, didn't seem to find my attempt at comedy amusing. "Dont, Hey Blue us! We cannot believe the stupidity of your actions today, we pleaded with our sister to come and see you alone first to talk to you and all you can do is make jokes! Does thou have any idea what he has done?!" Luna shouted stomping her front hoofs with such force they caused small cracks to form beneath her hoofs.
"ALRIGHT!" I shouted as I stood up. "I get the message, I fucked up the conference, I fucked up my chances and most importantly I fucked up your guard, it doesn't matter anymore!"
"Of course it matters! Your actions today could have long-lasting consequences on your future here!" Luna continued to shout as she moved closer to the bars.
"I DONT WANT TO HAVE A FUTURE HERE!" I Screamed as I threw a punch at the bars in anger. Luna gasped, her ears folding back and her face of anger contorting into one of sadness and pain. "DONT YOU PONIES GET IT!? I HATE IT HERE! I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY WORLD! IF I CANT GO BACK TO MY WORLD THEN I DONT WANT TO LIVE IN ANY! WHY CANT YOU PONIES JUST ACCEPT THAT AND LET ME DIE!" As I finished my rant I collapsed onto the ground near the bars not having the strength to keep upright after expelling that much force through my voice.
As I tried to bring my breathing back under my control I began to here soft sobbing from just beyond my bars. I didn't have to even take a look to know who it was that was crying.
"We, W, I am sorry," Luna spluttered out between sobs tears now visibly falling from her face and splashing onto the hard rock. "We should have told you before, but, but we didn't and we, I just.." Luna continued to sob on the other sides of the bar as I felt my heart start to crack from the emotional strain, somehow I knew what was coming I just didn't want to hear it from her.
"Luna, please tell me," I whispered as I sat slumped in front of her, a broken man.
After a few more quiet sobs Luna looked up at me her face full of regret and sorrow. "I, We... We cannot send you home,".
The words that I didn't want to ever hear had just been spoken, I wanted to jump up in anger, I wanted to scream and tare the bars straight out of the concrete holding them in place, I wanted to... I just wanted to go home.
As the energy drained away from me, I let my head lean into the cold metal bars as I released a quiet breath.
"How long?" I whispered, trying not to look at her instead of focusing my view on the stone walls.
"Since last night, we wanted to tell you but my sister insisted we waited until after the conference and you had signed the treaty with us, she thought it would be better for you,".
I didn't reply instead just breathing slowly as my breath condensed itself due to the cold conditions within the dungeons.
"I did what I thought was best for everyone,". I clearly recognised the voice of Celestia but I was too tired to even acknowledge it at this point.
"We thought that we could send you back to your universe by simply transporting you through the gap in space-time where you originated, however when we sent a team to analyse the fracture it had vanished. We tried to bring it back Captain, I went there myself and poured as much magic as I possessed into the surrounding areas but there was nothing I could do, the link was gone. Even if another rift appeared the chances of it being your universe let alone your planet are around a trillion to none. For what it's worth, I'm sorry,".
I tried to take in what Celestia was telling me but I was still too drained to focus. "What now?" I muttered still not even trying to make eye contact with Celestia.
"I dont know, the only thing I can offer you is citizenship since your diplomatic possibilities have ended with your actions,".
"Fine," I said still not looking up.
"Fine?" Celestia echoed clearly taken aback by my response.
"Fine, as in yes, as in do whatever the fuck you want with me as long as I dont have to stay here,". I sighed.
"In that case, if you have no objection I would like to place you under the care and supervision of my student, Twilight Sparkle. You can live with her until such time as you learn to adapt to our society. I do not expect this to happen overnight but it will get you out of Canterlot and away from us if that is what you wish,".
"As I said, I dont care anymore, I have nothing,".
"Danny you know thats not true,"
"Luna please stop, I know your trying to be helpful but I dont want to think positive right now. I accept I made a royal fuck up by threatening war and then assaulting your guard and I accept whatever punishment you wish to place on top of me if I'm going to be a citizen of this place," I said finally repositioning myself to rest my back against the bars looking completely away from the princesses.
"The guard in question was my personal Captain of the guards and isn't pressing any formal charges against you, I made sure of it. However, even though you're going through the worst situation in your life I can't allow you to attack ponies whenever you get upset. That is why additional guards will be sent with you to make sure you stay out of... Trouble. You will also be restricted from leaving the perimeter of the town unless accompanied by my student or a member of the guard,".
The more Celestia spoke the more deflated I felt, it was bad enough that I was going to be here forever but at the same time I was going to be watched 24/7 by Celestias KGB. However, none of it mattered anyway I simply didn't have the will power or the energy to argue with her.
"Fine,".
"For what it is worth Danny, I am truly sorry for your loss," Celestia said sympathy dripping from her voice.
"Your sympathy means nothing to me, Celestia, I just want to leave this place,". As I finished speaking I could hear the bar gates clicking behind me and after a few seconds, the door finally opened.
"You can return to your quarters to rest, you can leave tomorrow with Twilight and her friends,".
Without saying a word I stood up and exited the cell and began to follow Celestia down the long hallway. As we walked I felt Luna walk up beside me as she slowly leaned her head into my chest her face still contorted into a mournful expression as if she had just lost a loved one. "Things will work out Danny, I promise,".
Not wanting to talk anymore I simply sighed and patted Luna on the back as we continued to walk out of the darkness and into the light.
My life was set out in front of me now. I was stuck here, forever with no escape.
Eventually, after about 10 minutes of walking we reached my room. Two-night guards were standing at either side of my door both of them expressionless and identical in every way, though I paid them no attention at all.
As we approached the door I stopped as I felt a hoof being placed onto my shoulder. I didn't want to turn around although my will to fight was gone and so slowly I turned around and stared straight into the eyes of Celestia. Her face appeared almost mournful, her usual kind smile replaced by one of sadness.
"I know first hoof what you are feeling just now, believe me, I know it's hard right now but I'm sure in time things will come together,". Celestia spoke down to me, her motherly voice returning.
I scoffed slightly. "I've lost everything, my home, my job, my friends, my colleagues and my family, my fucking family are gone and you want me to be optimistic, what is exactly you expect from me?" I asked using the last of my energy to push my face just a nose away from hers.
"I would never speak for your family, but I'm sure they were loving and caring people that would want you to be happy and for you to make the most of what you have to work with. When you go to live with Twilight and her friends all that I ask is that you give them a chance, they are nice ponies and they can help you,". Celestia spoke her face not showing any sign of discomfort or aggression only further fulling my anger towards her.
"You're asking me to just get on with my life and make friends!" I scoffed turning away from her and moving towards the door.
I can't believe what shes suggesting! She's fucking nuts!
"As I said just give them a chance, I can tell you from personal experience that having people around you who care will help ease you through this,".
"We're done here," I said as I opened the door and slammed it behind me.
I wasn't even able to make it all the way to the bed before I simply collapsed onto the floor and wept as my body began to shut down out of exhaustion.
My one reason for being here, living here was destroyed. Forever.
Canterlot Castle Equstria, Canterlot August 2nd 1000 0620
Slowly but surely the golden light that emanated from that damned sun breached the slim curtains of my guest suite and preceded to begin their attack runs on my eyes. Thinking quickly I turned my head sharply to the left in an attempt to block my attackers from claiming a victory.
However, my actions were for nought as I had been roused from my dreamless sleep and forced back into another day of hell.
Last night I had been told quite bluntly that I was stuck here in this magical candy land permanently. Id like to have thought that I had been a relatively good soul for most of my life, I had made one or two fuck-ups in my time on Earth, but I hadn't done anything to warrant this kind of punishment.
Still. Here I was laying spread out on a slim rug that covered part of the floor beside my bed, having slept like a dog would next to its master, a colourful reminder of my current (outnumbered) predicament.
My PDA was still wedged between my hands but had since powered down after I had fallen asleep, the PDA power cell appeared to be degrading and would have to be recharged soon. I had a solar cell with me that could recharge it if it was exposed to sunlight, however, the cell and all my other kit were currently locked in the cage at the end of my room making it all but useless.
Seeing as I could do nothing more about the situation just now I shifted my body away from the sun in order to make it more comfortable for my now twisted head before trying to get back to sleep.
My attempt at comfort, however, was abruptly suspended as a sharp series of knocks struck the door to my suite.
"Fuck Off!" I yelled, my own voice muffled by my own arm my head was resting against.
Much to my displeasure, however, my response hadn't seemed to have satisfied the pony at the door as once again a series of sharp knocks could be heard against the door.
Getting aggravated I partially raised my head to look at the door. "I Said Fuck Off!" I yelled again hoping that the prick on the other side of the door would get the hint and leave.
To my relief, no more sharp knocks followed and I slowly began to rest my head back onto my arm where it had been resting. However, not a second later the doors cracked open as the sounds of hoofsteps filled my ears.
Not bothering to look up I simply spoke.
"You ponies have to be fucking retarded because I SAI...," My rant halted in its tracks when I saw the who the Victim was.
Luna was standing before me her size now meek and her ears withdrawn she looked at me with what could only be described as sad eyes (whether or not that's a real term I have no idea but it's all that came to my mind).
"Shit, Luna, I didn't know come on in," I sighed, walking over to comfort my only sort of real friend here.
Friend... I thought. Did I really consider Luna to be a friend? I mean I'd only known her for a matter of days and in that space of time, we'd both shot at each other. However, she seemed to be the most tangible thing around. Maybe due to the fact that she felt real to me, she wasn't so crayons jammed up the nose optimistic and happy as everyone else seemed to be. Maybe that made me relate to her more, but I digress.
"We can come back if thou is having a bad time?" Luna offered softly turning her head back towards the door.
"Fuck Blue, it's all a bad time right now you leaving the room ain't gonna change that so you might as well stay and say your piece before I'm incarcerated,". I said giving her a soft pat on the back before moving back over to my bed.
"Tho, you. You make it sound like your going to be locked within a dungeon,". Luna said as she awkwardly danced between old and modern tongue.
I looked over at her shooting her an incredulous look. "Aren't I? Last time I checked I'm about to be shipped off to a place I dont want to go to all the whilst being offered no opportunity at escape and if that weren't enough I'm supposed to learn how to make some friends like I'm a fucking toddler!"
Not waiting for me to continue Luna quickly shot back. "Dose thou look down so much upon our people's way of life?!"
"What!? No! I'm just telling you that it's not and never will be my life, my life is gone so yes I feel like I'm in a dungeon!" I retorted throwing myself back onto my bed and placing my hands over my face to calm me down.
The room quickly descended into silence and remained so for a couple of awkward and hard minutes before a series of short knocks on the door broke the uneasy silence. Composing herself Luna managed to squawk out a short and sharp "Enter,".
Without looking up I heard the sound of hoofsteps enter the room as a familiar voice spoke up. "Your highness, sorry for the interruption, but its time to go,".
Looking up I made eye contact with Archer who was still dressed in her special guard outfit. She didn't say anything rather offering me a quick and courteous nod.
Well, maybe two sorta friends I suppose.
"Alright, Danny are you ready to see your new home?" Luna asked clearly trying to be optimistic. Unfortunately for her, I failed to grasp the same sense of optimism.
"This isn't my home I,". I said sharply. Quickly grabbing my PDA from the other side of my bed I began flipping through random files before selecting one to shove in Luna and Goldens face. "Here! See this, Planet Earth. That's my home. This place? Is nothing but a crazed drug trip fantasy land.
Realising her poor choice of words Luna quickly withdrew as an apologetic look began forming on her face. Before she had a chance to respond the silence was interrupted by a series of beepings.
"Power Cell Depleted, Going Into Emergency Mode, Essential Services Only For Remainder Of Cell Reserves, Recharge At Next Opportunity Avalible
"Aw, piece of shit," I said throwing the PDA back onto the bed.
Both ponies present turned their heads curiously before Archer decided to speak up. "Something wrong with your, device?"
Sighing I bent down to retrieve it making sure that I hadn't done any damage to the device in the process, I wasn't, however, that concerned as these things were generally pretty sturdy. Anything set for use in Afghanistan kinda had to be otherwise it would be as useless as a well without water.
"No, it'll be fine it's just out of charge, I have a solar cell in my kit back if you could let me have my stuff back?" I asked seizing the sudden opportunity to gain access to my equipment.
"Sorry sir, we're under strict orders from the princess not to allow you access to your equipment," Archer said doing her best to appear sincere.
"Princess?" I asked making my lack of S at the end obvious enough.
"The order came directly from Princess Celestia,". Archer all but confirmed my suspension as I just jammed my fingers into my forehead in frustration. Looking over to Luna I could only watch her begin to back peddle herself as I began my rant.
"See! This is the shit I'm talking about right here Blue. I'm not in prison apparently but I'm not allowed access to any of my personal possessions and Celestia has the fucking audacity to place them all in a box at the end of my bed just out of my reach! She just seems to love toying with me the fucking phyco..."
"Danny! Do not refer to our sister in such a way! She only has your best interest at heart,". Luna tried to reason with me but I pressed on.
"No. She has her own best interest at heart. Just cage up the little monster and lock away all his toys so he can't hurt anyone around him! And then, and then if that wasn't enough not only am I being sent to prison but I'm being sent to prison with a shit load of her personal guards to keep tabs on me 24/7. Whos going to be in charge of that? I dont even know, your sister has just taken an innocent little town and turned it into her own private jailhouse just for me!"
Seconds passed where neither of us spoke, instead just staring at each other, my arguments had either completely shut Luna down or she was conjuring up one hell of a long rebuttal. Either way, for now, we stood in an almost Mexican standoff with Archer standing in between us both waiting for someone to make the first move.
After a few more seconds of waiting, I started to become impatient and so I decided to try again. "Do you trust me, Luna?"
Again moments of silence passed with none of us daring to make a single move in this verbal cold war for fear of each other's response.
Suddenly without warning a low hum began to originate from the base of Luna's horn as a light blue hue wrapped around it engulfing the horn in a bright light which then without warning erupted from the tip of the horn towards me.
Not having time to even contemplate what was happening I could only watch as the light blue beam soared across the room towards me, as I closed my eyes I prepared myself for what was about to hit me...
I heard a small click and the dropping of a metal door against a marble floor. Realising I hadn't been hit by the death ray I slowly opened my eyes to a somewhat humorous scene. Luna was stood using her two back hoofs as some sort of support as if she had just fired an artillery shell whilst Archer looked on in shock slash horror at what had unfolded. However, what was odd was that both of their eyes were not directed at me but instead an object behind me.
Turning to match their gaze I was surprised to see the door to the cage that held my belongings was no longer locked and instead was lying down on the marble floor, small cracks emanating from where the edges of the cage had collided with the floor. Taking a moment to look over the cage I turned back to Luna who had also changed her gaze so that she was now looking directly at me.
"What is this?" I asked without any trace of emotion.
Mirroring my actions Luna simply responded. "We trust you,".
Whilst I processed this information another present pony clearly wasn't on the princesses wavelength. "Princess Luna! Princess Celestia made it very clear to us that we were not to give the Captain access to his equipment until a further assessment had been conducted,". Archer pointed out trying to be as respectful as possible.
"We trust him,". Luna repeated her gave unwaveringly.
"And I sort of trust him too but many others dont and are going to feel unnerved by this especially your sister,".
"You have said enough Seargent, please, leave us for now,". Archer simply stood in her place until Luna broke her gaze to stare at her instead. "That wasn't a request,". Luna said, now with more force causing the pony to straighten her back.
"Yes, Your Highness,". Archer responded in an almost robotic tone quickly taking her leave from the room, no doubt on her way to warn Celestia of what had just transpired.
Again the room descended into that borehole of awkward silence, I wanted to believe Luna was being sincere and part of me knew she was being so, however, I needed to know for sure.
"So, you trust me?" I asked trying to keep my tone as neutral as possible as if I'd just been handed a bad set of cards in poker.
"We thought we had made that clear by our actions,". Luna said disarming her stance somewhat now that it was just the two of us.
Slowly I began to back up towards the cage that contained all of my equipment that id brought here. "Why?" I asked trying to keep a conversation afloat whilst I tested my theory.
"We have no reason to doubt thous intentions,". She said again matching my tone of voice no doubt wondering what I was planning to do.
Reaching the cage I spotted what I was looking for an in a matter of milliseconds I managed to reach down and grab it before aiming it directly at her head. "Wrong, you have every reason to doubt my intentions,".
Canterlot Castle Guest Suites Equstria, Canterlot August 2nd 1000 0625
"Wrong, you have every reason to doubt my intentions,". I spoke calmly and softly as I levelled my pistol directly at Luna's forehead.
My pistol was a standard-issue British Army Glock 17 8th Generation, it was a hybrid pistol which could set itself onto stun or onto kill depending on the circumstances. Thinking quickly I pushed the small button on the side as the pistol emitted a light blue colour indicating stun.
"This pistol is set to kill and I want you to listen very carefully to me otherwise things are going to get really ugly," My tone changed to one of assertiveness as I tried to gain tighter control of the situation in order to make an efficient escape.
"Danny?" Luna said her ears drooped as she slowly backed up as her rear made contact with a set of drawers causing her to jump slightly.
"No! I'm talking here. What does your sister want with me?" I asked pushing the pistol closer to her head for effect.
"Danny! Please! I don't know what you're talking about!" Luna shouted back as tears began to form in the side of her eyes.
"Yes, you fucking do! I heard you both last night, now tell me what she's planning or you're never going to be able to keep another secret again!" I was bluffing, of course, I had gone straight to sleep last night, however with my growing lack of faith in the princess of the Sun it never hurt to stay on the safe side even if this scared Blue.
Luna, however, seemed taken aback by what I had just said, in fact, she looked downright mortified as her watery eyes darted from the guest room windows to me and then to the door "I.. I can't!"
Now it was my turn to look confused as I lowered the weapon slightly before catching myself and raising it again further tightening my grip on the handle. "What did you just say?" I asked in an almost whispering tone. I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing from my supposed friend.
"I can't tell you! I promised not too!" Luna all but shouted tears now rolling down her face.
What happened next seemed to be a blur of events as my apparently unfounded suspicions were being confirmed right in front of my eyes.
"She's trying to lock me up isn't she?" I asked as I took a step forward.
"No!"
"She's trying to sell me off so it's not her problem anymore is that it?!" Another step forward.
"NO!"
"Is she going to kill me?!" One final step forward.
"NO!" Luna all but screamed into my face as her tears fell downwards as they soaked my boots.
"THEN WHAT! TELL ME LUNA!" I screamed backwards as I jammed the barrel of my pistol into her forehead just below the base of her horn.
"A PONY!" Luna Screamed as she collapsed onto the hard marble floor bursting into tears.
"What?" I asked dumbfounded as I dropped my pistol to my side not being able to hold it in that position any longer.
"She. w..wants to turn you into a pony, s, so you can be one of us!" Luna spoke between her sobs as tears streamed from her face as my reality came to a sudden stop.
Suddenly losing all the momentum I was carrying I dropped to my knees besides Luna as I struggled to process what I just heard.
For the next few moments, we sat in silence with only the occasional sob echoing throughout the tall chamber. After what seemed like an eternity Luna slowly lifted her head her eyes failing to lock with mine instead they stayed glued to the marble tiles that had been soaked with her tears.
"I tried to convince her not to do this, but she, she insisted this was the only way we could have peace, shes afraid of what you're going to do to upset the balance of the kingdom. Luna said as her eyes stayed firmly fixed to the ground.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, for all of her faults so far I didn't for a moment believe that Celestia would do something so, so human. What was hardest to hear was that Luna didn't seem like she was planning to stop this.. unless...
"That's what that was about, the cage full of my gear? You wanted me to have it? Why?" I ask, looking over to wear all of my gear was resting before turning back to Luna.
After a few more seconds Luna finally raised her eyes to lock with mine before speaking. "Because we weren't going to let her do this to you."
I paused, as I looked to Luna with surprise. "You were going to defy your sister and the ruler of the nation?" I asked once again dumbfounded.
Luna stopped as if to ponder that question for herself before replying. "I did not stay imprisoned for 1000 winters just to see more evil be enforced upon good people."
I scoffed as I stood up turning my back to her as I walked over to the window on the edge of the room. "You think I'm a good person, even after what I've done here?"
"Danny!" Luna shouted as she rose back onto all fours again. "In our eyes, you haven't done anything!"
"What do you mean, I mean don't get me wrong I don't mean to side with your sister here but I'm not going to pretend I've had a positive impact whilst I've been here,".
"You may not have had a positive impact on the international stage or the domestic one, but you've had a positive impact on me and on my sister's student and believe it or not even on some of the guards, ponies care about you Danny," Luna explained trying to reason with me.
I turned around once again locking eye contact with her. "Yeah, well they shouldn't, there just going to be let down in the end,". I said crossing my arms.
Luna raised her right hoof placing it onto my arms trying to break through my wall. "Just let us try to help,".
The logical side of my brain screamed trap but after a few seconds of internal deliberation I had made up my mind. "FIne, just when were you planning on telling me all of this anyway?" I asked as I walked back over towards the bed placing my hands onto my forehead to wipe away the mass amount of sweat that had begun to form.
"We were just about to before you levelled your weapon at our head!" Luna huffed with annoyance.
"Yeah, well it was set to stun so you had nothing to worry about anyway," I retorted. "Anyway, do you mind telling me what your great escape plan involves?" I asked still wary of what was going to happen to me.
"Equip your gear and get ready to depart I shall return promptly to help you escape undetected!" Luna proclaimed as her horn lit up brightly before vanishing causing me to take a step back.
Fucking magic! I screamed internally.
Even after Luna had vanished from the room my thoughts were still caught in a swirl. A Pony? I thought to myself as I pulled my gear out of the now opened cage.
"A fucking pony," I growled. To say I was pissed off was an understatement. I still didn't believe that Celestia would go this far. Although how well can you really know someone when you've only known them for a few days and half that time was spent in a hospital bed. I couldn't really be surprised.
Trying to push past my anger my attention moved to my kit that was now placed out over my bed. With almost automatic timing I began to equip each part of my gear back onto my body starting with my vest.
As I pulled the vest up I was able to get a good look at it, the front of the vest had a pinpoint singe mark but was otherwise still intact with the blast from the castle apparently not penetrating the kevlar underneath. So much for pumped up pony power.
Storing the fact for later I lifted the vest over my head and began to secure the straps making sure it would be able to protect me again if needed.
"She'll pay for this,".
Canterlot Castle Guest Suites Equstria, Canterlot August 2nd 1000 0633
A few minutes had passed since Luna had departed and I had now successfully packed up all of my equipment and was now outfitted in all of my combat gear, I still hadn't had the chance to check my kit bag however there didn't seem to be enough time because as soon as I'd finished strapping my combat helmet on a large flash emerged from the air and exploded outwards into the room revealing Luna alongside two other ponies.
Eyeing the newcomers warily I approached Luna who appeared taken aback by my new lock despite seeing it before. "Uh, hey Blue, whos your friends here?" I asked gesturing to the two newcomers.
They were both outfitted in what appeared to be night guard armour or rather a lightweight version of the design I had seen a few nights earlier at the throne room. The first pony was clearly a guy and looked as if he was ready to tear my guts out, the other a chick, I think was simply eyeing me with curiosity.
"Captain, these are two guards from the Lunar Rangers an elite branch of the Equestrian Protective Force. I'm tasking them with protecting you on your travels once you escape,". Luna said as she gestured to the guards with her hoof.
My neutral face suddenly turned into a semi scowl. "Protect me? Royal guards? Did you not forget these are the guys I'm trying to get away from?!" I half-shouted trying not to look at the guards in question.
"Danny you misunderstand these aren't my sister's guards, they are mine," Luna declared as she spread her wings over each of their backs.
I was once again dumbfounded as I thought back to previous nights spent in the castle. "Hold up, I thought you didn't have control of the Night Guard yet?"
"We are not Nightguards Human,". The male spoke up moving forward past Luna's wing.
Eyeing the interrupting guard I pushed my face into his "Yeah, and I don't believe you, Pony,". The guard looked up to me growling at my words and was about to push his face back into my own when a call rang out.
"Both of you cease this pointless bickering at once," Luna called out.
I was a smart enough adult to know that now wasn't the time to be making more enemies within the Equestrian Guard so I opted to simply withdraw my face as did the dickhead guard albeit more reluctantly.
Satisfied that we weren't going to rip each other's heads off in the near future Luna seemed ready to continue with her explanation. "The Seargent is correct Captain, they are not night guard like the others you have seen, they are something more. Special,".
Eyeing the two of them carefully I simply snorted before turning to my kit bag that was still lying on the bed. "Yeah, lets fucking hope so Blue,".
"Here is our plan friend, you and your guards will head south through an area known to us as the white-tailed woods, I will send assistance when I can but I'm afraid until this settles down you must live off of the land around you, however, I assume you will cope?" Luna asked.
"I've been deployed to a dry and disgusting desert with no trees for miles, I think I'll manage to survive," I replied chuckling to myself somewhat at the irony of the situation.
"Meanwhile I will try to win our sister over and convince her that this course of action is not a just one,". Luna continued with a newfound determination that I had not yet seen in her, however, I remained doubtful that this A-Team style plan would even get off the ground never mind succeed.
"You really think you can convince Celestia not to mutilate me?" I asked sceptically.
Dipping her head slightly Luna spoke. "It may not be an easy task, however, it is one I'm sure we can succeed in,". I stared pensively into the space between Luna and the door before slowly nodding to her.
"Ok, let's get this over with,". I said looking back to Luna. I still wasn't fully sure how Luna planned to get me out of a fully guarded castle but I suppose I could give her a little benefit of the doubt.
Luna scanned her surroundings before lighting up her horn allowing a low hum to emerge. As the brightness of her horn grew so did the humming which was now getting progressively louder and louder. Eventually, the brightness and noise came to a climax as a piercing blue beam shot out of Luna's horn and onto the floor beneath us.
Lines of white and black grew out in spiral formations along the floor creating a medium-sized circle of which I was now standing in the middle of. Whatever Luna was doing I appeared to be taking part in some form of bullshit witchcraft.
Eventually, the light ceased to be and Luna now examined her work. "Respectfully Blue, what the fuck was that? You trying to sacrifice me here?!" I asked gesturing down the albeit cool-looking circle pattern.
"Relax friend, If we had to teleport you out of the room it could easily be traced back to me, this way my sister will never know of what has transpired," Luna explained as she ushered the two guards into the circle with her wing.
"Uh, sure, I mean you know magic and I certainly don't so how does this thing work exactly?" I asked moving backwards slightly to allow the guards to fully enter the circle of death.
“Once you are ready simply read these words followed by your destination of choice,” Luna explained proofing a small scroll into existence before levitating it over to me to read.
I quickly scanned the words written on the scroll before nodding to her. “Ok I’m ready,”.
Luna smiled turning to leave before turning around suddenly on the spot and embracing me in an awkward hug pushing the two guards out of the circle in the process. “We shall miss you, Daniel, remember to have faith that we will find a way to help you,”.
Awkwardly I embraced her back although I’m not sure the two guards were all too keen, aw well fuck em I suppose no one ever said they had to like me.
A small yelp broke the embrace as Luna looked towards me with mild concern. “What is it?” I asked checking her over to see if I’d hurt her.
Pushing my arm away with a wing she simply frowned before sighing. “We shall need to make this look believable for my sister,”.
Oh, please don’t tell me she’s about to ask me to do this! I thought to myself as I looked down to my holster.
Sensing my thoughts Luna tried to calm me down as best she could. “Relax Danny, for you, this is something that I shall do,”.
Hesitating slightly I finally gave in.“Ok Princess, see you on the other side,” I said pulling my Glock out of the holster.
Closing her eyes Luna simply smiled before extending her wings fully. “Safe travels friend, may we meet again,”.
A bittersweet smile met my face at her choice of words as I raised the pistol towards her chest. “May we meet again,”.
Crack
Goldens POV Canterlot Castle Equstria, Canterlot August 2nd 1000 0635
Standing at attention I began to find it harder and harder to stay in place. I was never one to question orders (especially those that came from the princess) however the thought of falling behind schedule on such an important day was becoming too much to handle.
"Common Princess, hurry up already,". I muttered under my breath but to no avail.
As I stood in place outside the door I could hear the sound of muffled conversation that was getting more agitated by the second, no doubt the Captain was getting himself worked up again.
I really couldn't understand why the Captain was acting like this, from the little I've seen and from the very little he has told me you would have thought he would be happy to escape his previous situation. Then again, I suppose he is a completely different species from the rest of us and an alien to this world so I suppose he deserves a little leeway, although I could already imagine a few of the other guards that would disagree.
Again more silent seconds passed by as the conversations inside had died down to the point where they were no longer audible much to my relief, at least we would be leaving soon.
My spirits were lifted even more by the sound of hoofsteps coming down the long tall corridor of the castle.
I quickly straightened myself out and shifted my wings to remove any aches before coming to attention for whoever was coming to retrieve the Captain.
The voice that spoke out was a familiar one, the princesses pupil: Twilight Sparkle. "Hello, Seargent!" She exclaimed happily.
I let a small smile slip. "Good morning Miss Sparkle, here to retrieve our guest?" I asked as she came into view of my left eye.
A small dip of her head confirmed my prayers had been answered. "Yep I thought he was going to meet us at the platform but when he didn't show I just came myself, you know how I like to keep everything on a tight schedule!" She exclaimed again blushing a little.
"No problem at all, he's still in with the Princess right now they should just be finishing up,". I explained relaxing slightly.
Twilight seemed to tilt her head slightly. "The Princess?" She asked.
Nodding I confirmed her question. "Yes Miss, Princess Luna wanted a chance to say goodbye to the Captain,".
Happy with the explanation given Twilight simply smiled. "Oh, well I suppose that's fine, I suppose the Princess can always come and visit the Captains once he settles in at the Libary with me,".
"I'm sure the princess would like..." Crack
I loud crack erupted from inside the Captains room causing myself and Miss Sparkle to jump, acting on instinct I extended my wings pushing Twilight back behind me with my left-wing.
"What in Equestria was that?!" Twilight exclaimed panic dripping from her voice.
"Stay here!" I ordered as Twilight slowly moved back from behind my wing as I moved slowly towards the door. Grabbing my spear I turned around on the spot before raising my two hind legs upwards and smashing them into the door causing it to blowback onto its hinges.
As I entered the room I spun around to face whatever danger lay in front of me however the sight of it all made me take great pause.
The Princess of the Night lay in front of my hoofs clearly unconscious whilst the Captain stood looking over her decked in his full armour with a weapon drawn. In the other hand, he held what appeared to be a small scroll of which he was currently reciting off.
Without hesitating for a single moment, I lunged towards the Captain in order to restrain him using my wings to propel me further.
The moment my hoof made contact with his armour I felt a strong vibration impact my armour as everything suddenly went white.
"This Is A Priority One Distress Call I Repeat A Priority One Distress Call! This is Captain Daniel Peters Service Number 20102320 if anyone is receiving listen closely, I am calling in from an unknown land, there is a good chance I'm just on some sort of drug trip right now however whoever is receiving this should be able to see that this transmission is not native to any Planets from the USP. I was a soldier deployed alongside a NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan for reintegration efforts when we were attacked. In the process of the attack, I was knocked unconscious and when I was awoken I had found myself in a new world completely different from our own. This world appears to be populated by sentient Equine creatures from Greek Mythology, I'm aware of how crazy this sounds. I have made contact with one of the leaders of the nation I am currently in and at present their technology does not see to pose a threat to Humanity. From what little I have observed of them so far they appear to be in a medieval state of technology however they seem to be able to compensate by their use of what they refer to as 'magic'. I am in good care as of the time of transmission and I hope to be able to make another transmission soon if this one is received. If any other humans are on this planet that can read this transmission please respond as soon as possible. This broadcast will be sent over all known spacial channels and should reach Sol and the UPS at some point depending on where I am in relation to it although honestly I'm not entirely convinced I'm in my own universe at this point, which in that case I suppose I'm just talking to myself here, nevertheless on the off-chance that this does reach anyone in the USP or any other human please contact my family and let them know I'm alright. Thank You. This message will now repeat... This Is A Priority One... Shzzzz
The message was suddenly cut short by a flash of light as Spark Wire powered down the machine he had created. His one true dream seemingly fulfilled overnight. A working way of communication over long distances. No longer would creatures have to rely on outdated mail systems that would take days and weeks. No. This was it. This was his big break and he'd be stinking rich by the end of it.
Spark was brought out of his fantasy future as a large clanging of doors opening and closing broke his attention as did the beating of pegasi wings.
"Hey! Sparky? Where you at?" A female voice rang out throughout the warehouse clearly in search of him.
Lifting his head from the table Spark cleared his throat before shouting back. "I in here Skies!"
A few seconds later a grey pegasus came flying through one of the connecting hallways with a newspaper in the hoof. The pegasus had a brown mane and tail with the main extending down to her chest most of which was held in place behind her right ear, in addition, she adorned a single violet stripe that ran through her mane complementing her green eyes.
"Hey!" the pegasus called out more energetically than she was known for.
Meeting her gaze Spark smiled as he jumped off of his chair that had been sitting on for most of the evening and morning.
"I have the most incredible news!" They both shouted at once, they paused for a second before breaking into a laugh.
"We've got to stop doing that," Spark said chuckling to himself.
"Yeah, it's getting ridiculous at this point," Skies concerned dipping her head slightly.
Motioning for her to come closer Spark pulled her in close to the work station he had been sitting at all night. "So tell me whats your incredible news?" Spark asked as he scribbled down some notes he had recorded earlier.
Giving him a slight shove with her wing Skies pushed him to the side. "Oh come on! I always tell you my news first, why don't you go first this time?" She exclaimed with a smile.
Not seeing it as a point to argue about Spark simple dusted himself off before nodding. "Well okay," he replied excitement filtering into his voice at the opportunity to tell somepony about his discovery. "Right, remember when you said this 'heap of junk' would never work?" He asked.
Unaware of where this was going Skies simply nodded along "Uh-huh?"
"Well, turns out you were wrong since you left last night I've been receiving a looped transmission from somewhere else!" He exclaimed his smile now extending so wide it would appear to be unnatural to some.
Skies face transformed into one of pure shock and wonder. "Wait! You're telling me your idea worked!?" She shouted jumping of our her chair and into the air.
Frantically nodding Spark lit his horn and fired a small concentrated beam into the machine in front of them. The machine garbled slowly but after a moment the crystals inside began to light up upon receiving the influx of magical flux. As the lights grew a faint buzzing noise could be heard from within the machine.
As the buzzing increased Sparks concentrated beam grew in intensity before branching off into four separate streams all leading to a large crystal node causing the buzzing sound to increase to a more than audible level.
With one last burst Spark beam flew off into the machine finally cranking it into life as a static sound started to play through the speakers that had been set up around the machine.
Skies had heard this before the static would play for hours on end whilst Spark jotted down endless pages of notes. It was nothing new to her. However, this time something was off. The pitch of the static began to increase and decrease notably until it began to become sore to listen too, she was about to tell Spark to turn it off when a new sound stopped her dead.
"This Is A Priority One Distress Call I Repeat A Priority One Distress Call! This is Captain Daniel Peters Service Number 20102320..."
A scratchy voice rang out throughout the warehouse as both the ponies simply listened in awe to what they were hearing.
As the message drew to a close, the gems that had been powering the machine slowly began to fade out and the message was cut off ending in a loud whine of static before the machine went dark again leaving both ponies illuminated only by the skylight streaming in from the sky roof.
Both ponies were once again left speechless by the recording that they had listened to. Eventually Spark piped up closing Skies wide open mouth closed with a push of his front hoof. "Yeah, sorry you couldn't hear the whole thing, the receiver still requires a massive amount of my own mana to maintain and I'm kinda poofed right now," he explained sitting back down.
"Spark, do you know what you just found?!" Skies shouted pushing her face into his perhaps too enthusiastically.
"Yeah, a guy whos claiming to be an alien who also has a working transmitter?" Spark guessed, in all honesty, he had no idea where the signal was coming from and as far as he knew there was no way to be sure if the signal was coming from next door or from across the Celestial Sea.
Pulling her head back Skies shook it violently "No no no no, look at this!" She shouted shoving her newspaper into his muzzle so close that all he could see what white and black.
"Ugh! Sky! Knock it off," He complained pushing her back with his magic before grabbing the newspaper in his hoofs to see what the fuss was really about. As his eyes scanned the front of the paper he suddenly saw why Sky had incredible news.
"Impossible," He whispered so quietly that only he could hear it.
He scanned his eyes over the headline again and again even going so far too rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly. However there was no doubt about it, the headline was correct. In big bold letters clear as day the page read:
'ALIEN LIFEFORM ARRIVES IN EQUESTRIA! NATIONAL COVERUP?'
Below the headline was a picture of the Princess stood next to a truly bizarre-looking creature. It appeared to have the body of a Minotaur or an Abyssinian but with no fur coat apart from the top of its head. Its features were very small in comparison to an average pony with its facial features much smaller than a hoof. It was tall, dominating. Scary in an unknown sort of way.
The article went on to describe how the creature had called himself a 'hue-man' and that he had arrived in Equestria completely by accident, the hue-man claimed that he only wanted to get home before going on to threaten all nations of the world to try their best to stop him by raising their best armies. The most striking detail of all was its name.
'Daniel Peters'.
"That's him!" Spark shouted with such excitement that he had to physically stop himself from jumping up and down with excitement.
Skies stood someone confused but also curious. "Whos him? What are you talking about Sparky?" She asked.
Tossing the paper over with his magic he pointed to it with his hoof. "The alien transmission that I've been receiving all night, that's him. He's been the one sending the same message over and over again. Why the power that must be required to keep a transmission running so long could only be phenomenal, their race must be very advanced!"
Skies eyes widened as he spoke as the puzzle pieces began to click together inside her head and Spark rambled on and on. As Spark slowly calmed himself down Skies fluttered over towards him and placed a hoof on his withers.
"Oh Sparky, I'm so proud of you! What are you going to do now? The mayor will have to give you the funding you wanted now, if not you could go to the Princess herself, why she'd probably give you the fortune you've been looking for to fund this research now you have proof it works!"
Chuckling Spark gave her a quick hug before pulling back and frowning. Skies could see that he wasn't as happy as he should be.
"Hey, what's wrong? This was your big idea and now you've officially done it! Wheres all the crazy jumping around and balloons and stuff?" She asked.
"Well, I and the mayor don't have the best track records with each other so I highly doubt hed give me the time of day and the princesses? Well with all this stuff going on there's no way they're going to let a half bit inventor in to see her! I mean the lines probably as long as the Canterlot Mile!" Spark huffed before plopping himself down onto his chair.
"Well I'm sure you'll figure something out, now get the frown out of your muzzle were going for something to eat!" Skies declared jumping up into the air.
Looking towards her then back the array of machines and equipment dotted around the warehouse Spark dipped his head in defeat as a small smile began to grow.
"Alright, let me get my hat first," He said with a growing enthusiasm matching his smile. Spark trotted off into as side room no doubt containing all sorts of junk for previously failed experimentation and soon returned featuring a small brown top hat on his head big enough to contain his horn.
Skies simply groaned. "Dude, seriously, why do you have to take this thing everywhere with you? We're not in Canterlot you know!"
Laughing slightly Sparky simply responded, "I just feel so naked without it,".
Rolling her eyes Skies conceded that she wasn't going to be able to get the stubborn inventor to change his mind. "Fine! Let's just get going already my belly needs a Hay Burger now!".
"I thought we could try somewhere a little more upmarket this time... Franicos perhaps?" Sparky suggested.
"Ha! One breakthrough and you're already switching to the life of a princess?" Skies laughed as she floated down to meet him on the ground.
"Hey! There's nothing wrong with a little bit of the finer things in life Skies, now let's go," Spark replied as she pushed the door to the warehouse open with his magic.
"Finally!" Skies moaned. "Wait right here and I'll get us a taxi,". Spark simply nodded as Skies shot up into the air scanning the surrounding roads of a pony pulling a cab before eventually spotting one and letting out a loud whistle to catch his attention.
Floating down she had just touched down as the yellow cab pulled up beside them both with a high pitched screech.
"Where are you guys heading to today?" The driver asked his thick accent whilst hard to understand to any tourist or traveller was easily deciphered by Skies and Spark.
"Franicos, San Prancicolt Reastruant District please," Skies replied as the driver simply nodded.
"No problem, hop on!" The driver instructed as both ponies made to embark at the same time. Noticing a good opportunity for a little joke she simple backed up and bowed in front of Spark.
"After you, your majesty,".
Canterlot Royal Infirmary Equstria, Canterlot August 2nd 1000 0700
"After you, your majesty,". The doctor simply bowed as the Princess of the Sun rushed by him entering the intensive care ward.
"What happened to her!?" She shouted her voice exceeding its normal vocal capacity by quite a few decibels much to the fear of the doctors surrounding the Princess of the Night.
All of the doctors went quite none of them willing to answer the Princess directly lest she decided to exact her anger out on them.
"Well!?" The Princess asked again her voice ever raising.
After a few more seconds of silence, a small voice broke through the crowd as a short funny looking unicorn appeared from behind the team of Doctors.
"We.. We think that the alien attacked her before escaping," He answered nerves clearly present in his voice. The room went silent as all eyes looked towards the princess, even the heart monitors appeared to stop making noise as if waiting for her to respond to the doctor.
"Yes. Yes, Doctor. I can see she's been attacked. I want to know How and Why!" Celestia shouted her ever calm demeanour fracturing slightly before she took a deep breath as the anger began to wash away. "I apologise for my behaviour my little pony, please do not be afraid, I am simply concerned for my sister's wellbeing," Celestia tried to explain.
The doctor not wishing to challenge the Princess simply bowed. "No apologies needed your majesty I should have been clearer, from what we have gathered so far we believe that the Human hit her with some form of shock device that has incapacitated her. From what we can tell the device has hit dangerously close to her mana core and has reacted negatively with the core,". Finishing the doctor slowly raised himself up from his bow.
"You're saying it has absorbed her mana?" The Princess asked leaning towards her sister as if to examine her personally.
"No, your majesty, there was no absorption as far as we can tell, for what we've observed the mana appears to have simply vanished..."
Coming to a stop suddenly Celestia pulled her head back from her sisters to look over the Dcotor as now to examine him. "Doctor, surely I don't need to tell you, a pony of science that mana cannot simply vanish into thin air?" Celestia pointed out.
"Of course not your majesty, we were just as surprised as you were, however, all evidence supports this conclusion,". Another doctor chipped in.
Celestia appeared too absorb all the information being presented to her as another deadly silence fell over the ward, however, after a few more seconds of tense silence Celestia simply motioned for one of her personal guards to come over causing the group of doctors to flinch in fear ever so slightly.
Leaning down Celestia simply whispered into his ear. "Get me S.M.I.L.E at once,".
The guard, a highly decorated veteran of the Solar Guard simply nodded before retreating out of the room at a brisk pace.
As she watched the guard leave Celestia simply turned back towards her sister before looking down to the short Doctor. "Will she recover?"
Border Of The White Tail Woods Equstria, San Prancisolt August 2nd 1000 0640
The warm autumn breeze flowed freely between the trees, bouncing from one oak to another giving a fresh feeling to the surrounding area. The air was peaceful and quiet, a perfect day for a pleasant outing with family and friends. Just beyond the forest walls, the faint noise of the city could be heard as ponies of all kind went about their daily business oblivious to what had been unfolding in the capital.
The silence of the forest slowly began to fade soon to be replaced by a low winning sound that echoed an animal in severe pain. As the time passed the whine got louder and louder before a small section in the forest shone brightly with a blue and white flash before completely dissipating as the forest quickly returned to its natural state of peace and serenity.
I was thrown back a fair bit by the force of a pony slamming into me mid transport, I couldn't notice much about my surroundings only that it was a lot brighter than it had been in the castle which clearly indicated we have transported outside.
My sudden feeling of momentum came to an abrupt halt as my back smacked against the hard surface of an oak tree causing my breath to suddenly be ejected from my lungs making me wheeze uncontrollably as my head ricocheted back onto the tree acting as a final punishment to my body.
My mind was clearly rattled as I struggled to even see what was going on. I could feel my body being pinned to the ground and noises around me however they all appeared to link together as if it were one hive mind of voices.
Trying to break free of whatever was pinning me down I was only met with more pain and resistance as once again I was slammed onto the ground causing my vision to blur even more as my coughing fit continued.
Finding it harder and harder to resist I eventually was forced to concede as my head continued to roar with pain, I could only have imagined what injury would have been sustained if I hadn't been wearing my combat helmet.
Whilst I was lying on the ground I tried hard to recollect my thoughts of the past few minutes while I recuperated physically.
I remembered stunning Luna before reciting the transport scroll and then it all had gone white? Right? No.
The guard! I thought to myself. As my inner thoughts searched the picture became clearer and clearer. A Solar Guard (who'd probably come to collect me) had entered the room mid transport, they'd obviously seen me and Luna and put two and two together.
From what I could tell said guard was still on top of me pinning me down with all their might. These ponies might not look that tough but I can tell you they're hardly what I would call light (especially when they're wearing solid gold armour).
"Stop Resisting!" The first clear voice I'd heard since arriving rung throughout the air and into my ear. Assuming it was the guard on top of me I tried to push up against them as if to say 'Fuck You' to them. I had expected them to push down even harder however they didn't apply any additional force.
Seems like I'm not the only one starting to wear out. I thought as I began to create a quick strategy in my head. Stopping my attack on all fronts I rested myself for a few seconds before bringing my left knee up as hard as I could. My knee clearly hit its target as the guard cried out in pain.
However just as I was about to go back on the offensive and push them off the entire weight of the guard pinning me down vanished followed a millisecond after by a strong breeze of wind and a thud sound nearby a second later.
The absence of pressure on my body allowed me to rest for a few seconds as my vision slowly began to clear revealing a thin canopy line above me. Between the gaps, a clear blue sky illuminated the sky with help from the shining sun that was burning directly behind me by the looks of it.
"Are you alright sir?" A female voice sounded off in my left ear as I was slowly lifted up from my sunbathing position.
Coughing again I rested my back against the tree I had just been pinned against a moment ago before answering. "Uh, yeah I think so.." realising I hadn't caught the names of my bodyguards I turned my head slightly to make eye contact with them coming face to face with the smaller guard.
"Corporal Astra, sir," She replied, as she pulled a small medical bag out of her uniform. I continued to keep eye contact with her until I saw her pulling out an old WW2 looking bandage. Clearly she could see something I couldn't.
I knew I only had limited "advanced" medical supplies and hitting a tree didn't really qualify as a good reason to use any of them even though I would have loved to stab myself with an auto-injector right about now.
Astra slowly began to wrap my head with a thick feeling bandage as I slowly came back to my senses after having the shit knocked complete out of me. "Wheres the golden guard pony?" I asked in between taking breaths of air.
"On your right, sir," Astra replied automatically not taking her eye off of the bandage work she was currently doing on my head.
As I shifted my eyes to the right they widened at what I saw.
The male guard had the solar guard pinned against the tree and trapped in a telekinetic field with what appeared to be an arm, or well hoof blade held up to the guard's chin.
The day guard in question was squirming around within the aura however due to the tree they were being pinned up against they hardly had enough room to manoeuvre. Nevertheless, the guard was definitely trying their hardest to get out of the aura they were entrapped in.
My mental capacity was slowly beginning to recover however I felt very light and quite sick to the stomach. I felt like at any moment I was going to lean over and spew the contents of yesterdays lunch out onto the forest floor, however, when no such event happened I was left trying to get my eyes to better focus on the day guard.
My 'bodyguard' that had been pinning them down had clearly had enough of their squirming as he pulled her towards him before slamming her down onto the grass below and pushing the blade right up to their neck. "If you so much as squirm again I will slit this knife right across your throat! Do you understand?!" The guard asked.
The guard never raised his voice to a noticeable level yet he spoke with such intensity he reminded me of those interrogators that would try and break you for 10 minutes during basic training back in the UK.
The guard he had pinned down coughed harshly as they were thrown against the ground before trying to reply. "Your, your night... Your Night Guards! He attacked the princess!" The voice was shaky and weak however I recognised it in an instant even in my semi-lucid state.
"Golden?" I shouted, "Golden, is it you?" I began to shift my back so I could get a better view however a hoof blocked my path causing my advance to halt.
"Sir, you must stay still your losing blood!" Astra insisted but my own instinct overrode hers as I continued to push my way up.
"Is it her?" I asked trying to crawl my way towards her. The male guard simply looked at me before looking back to her.
"Well, you heard him, answer the question!" He ordered.
"... Yes, it's me! I don't understand? What's going on!?" Goldens voice was clearly on the verge of tears either out of confusion or pain. Either one made me feel equally shitty inside as I knew I was going to have to explain this to her somehow, something I wanted to avoid at all costs.
"Listen to me Archer I can explain..." I began before being cut off by an enraged Golden.
"You attacked the princess!" She yelled trying to push her way towards me with no avail. It was clear that we had both knocked lumps out of each other and were still in no condition to continue the fight.
"Because SHE asked me too!" I yelled back at her.
If Golden could have looked me in the eye at that moment she probably would have given me some sort of crazed look however her current predicament only permitted her words to reach me and not her glare.
"Ponyfeathers!" She cried, "the princess would never ask you to do that!"
Sighing slightly I tried to calm myself down as I slowly lost the will to shout at her anymore. "Look I don't know if you just tried to swear at me but that aside I'm telling you the truth here.
"And I sai..." Goldens reply was cut off as a thud sound followed.
"Shes lost consciousness," the male guard called over to me.
'Fan Fucking Tastic! I screamed internally. Clearly myself of any wrongdoing wouldn't be that tricky. All proceedings that led up to this moment would have been captured by my PDA that was hooked to my chest plate.
The PDA was designed to record everything you did whilst you were out in the field to ensure that you weren't fucking about with the locals or anything although I'd say on this occasion I'd gone past that particular protocol.
Slowly I pulled out the PDA to check the recording to see what id be showing Golden when she woke up however what displayed on the screen shattered that hope.
"Power Cell Depleted, Going Into Emergency Mode, Essential Services Only For Remainder Of Cell Reserves, Recharge At Next Opportunity Available"
"Fuck!" I shouted out loud causing both of my guards to go into attack mode before realising I was just pissed off.
"Sir?" Astra asked as she put her medkit back into her pouch.
"Peace of shit recorder didn't record shit corporal,". I said stuffing the PDA back into my vest.
"And that's a bad thing?" The male guard scoffed as he walked over to me.
"Yes, you fucking moron, it's a bad thing!" This would have contained all the proof I needed to show Golden that I didn't murder one of the fucking princesses!" I shouted at him as I threw my combat helmet onto the grass causing it to bounce and roll over towards another tree. The situation had officially gone from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.
The guard still didn't seem sympathetic to my plight instead opting to lower his head towards me before unleashing a dark blue beam in my direction causing me to jump up onto my feet in surprise. The beam only lasted a second however I still managed to throw a punch his way causing him to fall back in surprise.
"Fuck!" I yelled. "What is it with you Fucking Ponies that you can't stop shooting shit out of your horns for 5 fucking minutes!?"
"You fool! It was a small healing spell to help You!" The guard yelled back getting back on all fours before trying to push his face into my own.
"Vesper stop it!" A third voice entered the foray as we both turned to see Astra standing between us with her wings extended. "The Captain is still not use to our magic, you should have at least warned him,".
'Vesper? Well, at least I know his name now even if he is an arse'. I thought to myself.
"Whatever," Vesper grumbled before grabbing my helmet in his magic and throwing it over in my direction. Luckily I caught it before it could impact my stomach but the I could feel the hostility from his throw, not that I particularly cared. "We need to move further into the forest, we're far to close the edge, I'm surprised we haven't been discovered by somepony already,".
"Well, for once I'd say we're in agreement, I'm assuming you guys know the area?" I asked as I fixed my helmet back onto my head.
"I know the forest well enough to lead us inland to some rougher terrain, nopony is going to find us in there sir,". Astra replied a confident smirk on her face.
"Good," I replied. I'd had just about enough close encounters with ponies to last me a lifetime, I certainly didn't need any more today.
"I guess I'm carrying our dead weight then," Vesper commented annoyance laced through his voice as he peered back to a still unconscious Golden.
I looked back to him with a smirk. "Fuck me, you catch on quickly Seargent, if I'd known you were so clever I probably wouldn't have gone for the head. After all one of us needs to have the brains around here right?"
The Seargent didn't respond although his expression told it all which was enough to satisfy me as we began the long trek deeper into the woods.
White Tail Woods Equstria, San Prancisolt August 2nd 1000 1000
We'd been walking for what felt like hours, the pain on my feet reminded me of our Afghan patrol routes, albeit without the searing hot desert air penetrating your face. No, no this was much better, except for the fact that I'd rather be doing anything but this.
However cruel fate had cast this situation upon me and so I found myself trudging through the thick foliage along with two ponies in armour and one unconscious pegasus.
'Fuck you fate' I thought to myself as I manoeuvred my way around a particularly thick log that had fallen across our path.
"How much further are we taking here corporal? I'm not sure about yourself but having the shit beat out of me has severely drained my motivation for an afternoon hike," I commented my eyes trying to follow the ranger as we moved through the foliage.
Looking back Astra stopped for a moment as if contemplating her answer before looking back to face me. "Were already off the track, its doubtful well run into anyone out here, not many ponies dare to stray this far into the White Tail Woods these days,".
"Pray tell, why would that be? Is the forest full of bad scary monsters that eat up little ponies?" I asked putting on a mocking voice.
The corporal didn't seem fazed at all by my comment as she turned back around and started walking again. "Yes,".
I paused for a moment "seriously?" I asked as I climbed over another tree.
My question remained unanswered before a subtle snort behind me broke the silence. Looking behind me I saw Vesper with his face contorted into a smirk a style unfamiliar to me. 'I didn't think that had another face other than his pissed off divorced dad face'.
Keeping my thoughts to myself I simple cleared my voice before asking. "Something funny, Seargent?"
Still carrying the unconscious Golden on his back he simply scoffed. "Of course there are no beasts around here, this is the White Tail Woods, not the Everfree Forest!" He exclaimed almost dropping Golden in the process gaining a sharp glare from me.
"Technically that's incorrect, there have been rumours that the White Tail Woods has one of the largest Timberwolf Dens this side of Equestria," Astra interjected.
Not being one to easily back down from an argument Vesper quickly retorted. "Exactly corporal rumours the local city officials in San Prancisolt kick up a fuss in court about it nearly every moon, trust me its a load of horse apples,".
Stopping on the spot I quickly pulled a 180 to face the grumpy night guard my face contorting into one of confusion then cringe. "San Prancisolt?" I asked putting an emphasis on the obvious pun.
"Is there a problem with the names of our cities now?" Vesper asked clearly becoming tired of my constant nitpicks of their country.
Honestly, fuck em. It's hardly my fault that their planets one massive pub ball of annoying.
Trying to quickly move on I returned to the question at hand.
"So are there or aren't there wolfs around here?" I asked quickly growing tired of the conversations.
Sensing my impatience Astra quickly cut to the chase. "Officially no, there's been rumours, the occasional 'sighting' and sometimes people go missing but they've never been officially spotted this far North of the Everfree,".
"I take it some ponies just wander off the trail and starve?" I asked, my cynical nature taking over. Perhaps this place wasn't full of sunshine and rainbows after all.
Astras face fluttered before returning to trekking. "Yeah, in a nutshell. Anyway, the point is this woods been given a reputation, it's unlikely that anyone will have the guts to wander of the trail this far into the woods so we should be safe, all we need to do now is find someplace to camp out until we receive word from Princess Luna,".
"And how long will that take?" I asked specifically.
"Honestly sir?" Vesper replied from behind. "We have no idea,".
White Tail Woods Equstria, San Prancisolt August 2nd 1000 1823
By now the sun had begun to lower itself from the sky its the final concentrated beams of sunlight showered down from the burning ball of gas breaching the canopy of the thick forest in small concentrated beams give a scattering affect to the ground below.
We had made a quick base camp in a small clearing deep within the forest. The camp was in a good defensive position with trees surrounding most of the camp with our flank being protected by a small cave that had been implanted into the foot of a large rocky hill.
Vesper was currently out foraging for some food. Given our location, I was hardly optimistic but I was hoping that he could at least salvage some edible berries for us to eat. In the short term, I still had an MRE in my pack, I had planned on eating it before my last deployment however I had never gotten the chance and so it had sat there uneaten, my last peace of Earth food.
The MRE would do me for about 24 hours but after that, I was pretty much fucked when it came to food so I was hoping that the foraging quest would yield some promising results.
In the present, however, I found myself resting against the entrance to the cave. The cave only went a few meters inside the rock. Enough for us to flee from the rain should it come but hardly large enough for us to fit our entire camp inside. Currently, I was watching over a still unconscious Golden Archer who was lying passed out on top of my roll mat that I had prepared for her.
The air was still warm enough for her to do without a fire but I knew that our stint in the sun wouldn't last forever.
I was currently debating in my head on what to do with Golden. On the one hand, I didn't really have much in the way of proof, my body cam hadn't recorded anything that had happened once she had left the room so I had no tangible proof to give her other than the testimony of myself and the rangers. However, it was doubtful she would take our word as gospel.
On the other hand though, Golden had been relatively nice to me since I had arrived in Equestria, she had been polite and hadn't been little arseholes like the other guards around the palace. If we could get her on side it could go a long way in getting me some real help.
However, this would clearly require some mature CO tact the type of which I hadn't been able to use properly since I ended up here.
I was broken out of my train of thought by the sound of several logs impacting the ground at different times as they rolled slowly towards me being spurred on only by the momentum of the fall.
Looking up I saw Astra who now had her helmet off allowing her purple mane to fall through covering the back of her neck. She strode over to where I was sitting before plopping herself down on the opposite side of Golden.
"Okay, there's enough logs there for a good fire tonight and tomorrow if we're conservative, hopefully, Vesper can bring something edible back for us to consume," Astra said as she pulled here wing blades off one by one allowing her to stretch her wings in the open air.
"That's good to hear, I've got enough rations to do me for 24 hours 48 if I push it, mainly human food I'm afraid not much here to suit a pony,". I replied showing her my MRE bag.
"What's the difference between Human food and Pony food?" She asked as she examined the bag I had placed onto the ground.
'Well I knew this conversation would've happened sooner or later, might as well get it over and done with'.
"Sir?" Astra asked again clearly seeing my distracted state.
I turned to her with an almost sheepish look. "Well Humans, unlike ponies, are omnivores, so whilst we do eat a lot of the same food like eggs we also require a substantial amount of meat products,". I said finishing my brief explanation. I thought I had done a pretty good job of explaining it to her.
To Astra's credit, she didn't leap up and run for the hills like I was excepting initially. "So, you have a similar diet to a Griffion then?" She asked.
"Uh, I guess if they're omnivores too, I'm honestly quite surprised you're not warier of me knowing I'm a meat-eater," I commented.
Astra simply chuckled. "With respect, your not the only species on the planet that eats meat, I've been on deployments across the Celestial Sea before and the Griffons there had no problem in chomping down on meat,".
I was still getting used to the multiple sentient species thing on this planet but nevertheless I was glad that Astra wouldn't be cowering in fear each night that I might suddenly turn around and decide to have pony steak. "I'm glad you understand,".
Astra nodded with a small smile on her face. "Most ponies in the guard that have been on deployment to other lands will understand you, however, I can't speak for the entire pony Populus, many here see our way as the purest way to live so maybe dont bring it up everywhere you go, although some Pegasi do eat fish as a delicacy sometimes, however, restaurants like that can only be found in the cloud cities,".
Not having the strength to challenge her on the topic of 'cloud cities' I simply nodded in return.
After a while of sitting I got up to stretch my legs, I walked around the small clearing that we had established ourselves in. The trees would be a disadvantage if Celestia deployed their forces into the woods to find us. Luckily Celestia wasn't the only one in possession of a bit of magic.
As I walked around the tree line I started to drop small metal triangles onto the forest floor, they impacted with a light thud before beeping slightly.
Curious to what I was doing Astra floated over to investigate for herself. “What are you doing?” She asked peering down at the small objects.
“I’m trying to give us a fighting chance if Celestia and her goons come chasing after us,” I replied setting another one of the objects down. I only had four in total so they had to be used sparingly.
“And these little... things are going to help us?” Astra asked looking unconvinced.
“These little things are proximity darts, they’ll let us know if anyone comes near our camp, at the very least it gives us a chance to prepare,” I replied. Taking the last two sensors I lobbed both of them in different directions into the forest in front of us. Their impact was accompanied by the sound of leaves being brushed aside and one very loud yelp.
“What in Tartarus!” A voice yelled.
The voice. Which was instantly recognisable made me smile to no end as a very annoyed Vesper came trailing out of the foliage rubbing his helmet with his hoof.
“My bad,” I said nonchalantly.
“What did you do?!” He demanded stomping his hoof on the hard surface causing an audible thump.
“Well I was trying to set up a sensor net before you got in the way of my throw,” I told him though I’m not sure my answer satisfied him in the slightest.
“Whatever, anyway I've got bad news for all of us, I couldn’t find any food other than some berries but they’re hardly what I’d call a sustainable food source,” he explained as he trotted into the clearing setting down his gear next to mine.
“What’s the closest settlement to our camp?” I asked moving to follow him.
“There’s a small village called Cherrie Cross a couple of hours walking distance from here, we could probably buy some produce there but we don't exactly have much in the way of bits,”.
I sighed moving back over to sit down next to Golden. “Well it's better than being stranded in the desert, we’ll just need to find a way to get a steady amount of supplies but for now were going to have to rely on our rations and stretch them if possible,”.
“That gives us 48 hours at most, how exactly do suppose we get bits Human? Are we just going to waltz in and take some without paying?” Vespers condescending attitude was really starting to piss me off, as of yet we hadn't exactly formed any sort of command structure other than they were supposed to protect me, but something had to change.
“I dont know!” I yelled. “If I was in this situation on Earth it would be a million times easier! But I’m not, I’m here in a place I know literally nothing about, we’re all in deep shit and whether you like it or not we're all in this shit storm together so maybe you could start brainstorming with me here ranger!”
Vesper scoffed “You think I wanted to be in this situation? We’re only helping you because the Princess commanded it not because we willed it, we hardly know whats going on ourselves and yet we’re still sticking our necks out for you, potentially against our own forces so maybe a little gratitude would be nice!”
I paused as I buried my hands into my head. Arguing was clearly getting us nowhere. We had to focus on working as a team whether I or he liked that prospect.
“Look, I appreciate you guys helping even if you haven’t had much say in the matter, but the fact of the matter is that right now I need both of you to help me, if we work together we can get through this, but we can't do that if we keep arguing over what our course of action should be,”.
Several moments of tense silence followed before eventually, Vesper bowed his head slightly much to the relief of myself and Astra. “Okay, Captain, I’m not immature enough to deny the fact that working together is our best course of action and if our Princess believes your important then I do too,”. The statement, whilst short was a breakthrough in this brief Cold War but nevertheless it was a relief.
“Alright then,” I said outstretching my arm for a handshake, both ponies eyed me curiously as I mentally slapped myself in the head for being an idiot. “Oh, yeah your suppose to shake it,”.
“Like a hoofbump or hoofshake?” Astra asked.
“Uh yeah I suppose,” I replied awkwardly. Thankfully Vesper placed his armoured hoof in my hand as I clasped it before giving him a firm shake.
White Tail Woods Equstria, San Prancisolt August 2nd 1000 2000
The fire slowly crackled as the moonlight began to shine onto the clearing of our basecamp.
I was currently tucking into my chicken and veg whilst my guards were left with just a few scavenged berries and a ration cube for their meal.
It hadn’t been fun explaining the whole meat-eating thing over again to Vesper but like Astra, he was understanding of the situation, however, neither of them seemed to appreciate the smell of the cooked chicken. In reality, I couldn’t really blame them as the meal in question smelled like shit. Although the taste wasn't bad.
“Well it's good at least one of us is eating like a king,” I said in my first real attempt of humour.
“I’d rather be a Peasant than a king if it meant I didn’t have to sit here and smell that horrible thing,” Vesper replied eliciting a small laugh from myself and Astra.
“Fair enough mate, fair enough,” I admitted.
However, the brief dinner time conversation was soon interrupted by a groaning sound behind me. As I turned around I could see Golden slowly regaining consciousness from her hour-long slumber in our camp.
Sitting my meal down I quickly moved over to her side along with Astra we kept her in place as her eyes slowly opened. “Hey Goldy, its okay, dont panic, I need you to stay calm for me okay?”
Goldens eyes were now wide and full of terror and fear. She tried to move but immediately winced in pain as her injuries from the fight hit her like a truck.
“Don’t move soldier, we’ve restrained you for your own safety so you don't do anything stupid to hurt yourself or us,” Astra interjected hoping to calm her down.
“Wha... What's going on, wh... where am I?!” Goldens voice was rough and laced with pain and fear but she was in no position to put up a meaningful fight against us.
Before we had started prepping dinner Vesper had cast a ‘ward’ as he called it which would prevent Golden from moving, similar to zip ties I suppose.
I was about to try to explain what was happening when a small beeping started sounding off on my chest. The sharp hearing of the ponies picked up on the noise instantly as they all turned to me looked to me in visible confusion.
However, unlike them I wasn't feeling confusion at all rather concern and worry was now starting to set in.
The feeling of dread slowly began to surface inside me as I pulled my PDA out of my vest to get a proper look for myself.
“Captain, what is it?” Vesper asked moving over to me to see for himself.
”Shit,” I whispered.
“Sir?” Astra asked confused as she looked up to meet my gaze.
“Grab your weapons!” I shouted as I reached out for rifle.
White Tail Woods Equstria, San Prancisolt August 2nd 1000 2005
"Tripped? By what?!" Vesper practically shouted, not very stealthy if I say so.
"Keep your voice down!" I forcefully whispered to him as he quickly realised his own stupid mistake. "I dont know by what I'm not a fucking mind reader. It could be anything out there,".
Vesper quickly circled around me powering up his horn as he did so. After a few seconds of humming his horn erupted with a steady stream of light, catching both myself and Astra by surprise momentarily.
His beam impacted with the perimeter of the treeline before drawing a luminescent line around the perimeter of our camp partially illuminating the thick foliage just beyond the safety of the clearing.
Turning towards Vesper I noticed his face was becoming strained as sweat began to form on his forehead as the beam got more intense. Suddenly and without warning the line around the camp shot up forming a semi-transparent dome around the camp cutting off as it hit the rocks.
If I wasn't concerned about what might be out there in the darkness I would have called it an impressive light show, maybe even enough to rival some of those pyrotechnics at Epcot.
Vespers face became somewhat less strained as the beam cut off allowing him to take a breath as he briefly examined his, uh dome?
"There," he panted slightly as if he had just finished a ten-mile run. "The shield should be able to hold most animals or random ponies away from camp," he explained as I began to understand what he was doing.
"How strong is the shield?" I asked viewing it with caution not being willing to go up and actually touch it.
"It's only as strong as the caster, I'm hardly a mage so probably not long against any sustained attack but they won't get any further without us seeing them at least,".
I smirked slightly at his quick thinking before cocking my rifle. "Right, take cover behind those bushes and put out that fire quickly!" I again forcefully whispered.
Both ponies quickly set about putting out the fire as I quickly grabbed my Night Vision googles. As I put them on I realised that one of the lenses had been shattered, probably during one of my first engagements in Equestria. It was hardly ideal but it would have to suffice for now.
Vesper and Astra both ducked behind a small set of bushes whilst I dragged Golden over behind a larger rock as I flicked the safety off of my rifle.
Silence followed...
Bang!
A resounding crashing sound erupted from a large object from hitting the shield wall causing myself to jump out of my skin. Over by the set of bushes I could here Vesper and Astra shouting over to myself and Golden before preceding to start shouting at each other.
I couldn't move, paralysed by the sound. Unbeknownst to me at the time my whole body was shaking violently as if it was having a strong seizure.
Familiar and faraway voices called out around me like, the voices were muffled together as if shouted from a distance all at once. The hollowness in the voices made it sound like they were being echoed from far across the River Styx.
"Ambush! Docherty's down! I can't even see the enemy! CAPTAIN!"
I felt myself being forced onto the ground as if I was being pushed back into the moment. As I looked up I found Astra standing almost on top of me.
"Captain!" She yelled again, this time much more clearly.
Taking a brief glance at my new orientation I could clearly tell I was now lying on my back facing upwards at the night sky.
I took a brief moment to orientate myself before pushing Astra off to the side of my chest. "I, I'm fine, SITREP!?" I asked causing her to cock her head slightly as I inwardly groaned. This was hardly the time for a classroom lesson.
"What the fuck is going on!?" I yelled, this time trying a more direct and simple approach to get my message across.
Astra looked up over the rock I was currently lying behind before looking back at me. "Monsters," she replied, disdain clear in her voice.
Confused I pushed myself up to peek over the rock I was currently cowering behind. As my eyes edged up over the edge of the rock it suddenly became clear why the title monsters had been given to these, these things of Satan.
The creatures (whose eyes glowed a sickly green colour) were smashing themselves against the coloured shield causing small cracks every time they did so.
It was far too dark to get a proper look at the monsters behind the green eyes. I quickly pulled down my NVG's to get a better look at what we were dealing with.
As my sight suddenly became a green fuzzy image I was subjected to the full horror of what laid before us.
Behind the shield stood 4 large creatures, they were clearly wolfs of some kind but they seemed to be made out of. Wood?
"What the fuck are they suppose to be?" I asked Astra who was now looking at me with some level of fear.
She sighed as she adjusted her helmet. "Those, those would be Timberwolves,
"Shit," I concluded. "I didn't think they would actually be made of fucking wood!"
My rifle wouldn't do much good if they consisted entirely of wood, then again maybe it would these being magic creatures I had no idea.
The scraping and cracking quickly intensified as more and more cracks began to appear in the shield becoming clear that our dome wouldn't last much longer.
"Seargent! Reinforce the shield!" Astra yelled to her fellow ranger across the clearing fear now overcoming her. Clearly she didn't think we were a match for these Timberwolves which wasn't giving me much confidence.
Vesper was once again pouring magic into the shield wall causing some cracks to dissipate. "What do you think I'm doing!" He yelled back his voice becoming strained.
"No, Seargent stop feeding the shield and save your energy!" I ordered.
"Are you INSANE!" Astra practically screamed in my ear. "You're going to get us all killed!"
"Calm yourself, Corporal, you're a ranger and you're not going to get through this if you keep screaming," I said back in a much calmer tone.
As Astra's breathing calmed slightly I tried to quickly measure the rate at which the cracks were increasing before turning to both of my bodyguards. "The shield is only acting as a stopgap, if these predators are like the ones back on Earth then I doubt they're going to give up with their reward so close. Better off three against four than two against four, we need to keep the Seargent in the fight with us," I concluded trying to explain my plan as best I could in the little time I had.
Looking over to Vesper I called out. "Once the shield collapses I'm gonna need you to do some magic or something!"
Vesper looked slightly confused but nodded nonetheless.
BANG!
Another large crack appeared on the shield causing us all to flinch slightly. "Corporal, you guys are the resident experts here, what is the weak point on these things?" I asked.
Astra peered out from behind the rock as if trying to make a sudden assessment. "Corporal! What are the weak points?"
"Th, The eyes and legs are our best bet to immobilise them, sir," she responded.
"Alright, good enough for me, now get ready!" I shouted to them both as they unsheathed their swords from their hilts.
With one last resounding crash the shield appeared to fragment into thousands of tiny pieces of glass, I was worried that the shards would impact us on the floor of the clearing. However, my fears were apparently unfounded as the shards simply evaporated like snowflakes upon touching the ground.
With the shield now gone the wolfs green eyes were the only clear thing, the ponies could reasonably see. Luckily despite its flaws, the Night Vision still held up to its name providing me with a better view of the battlefield.
The four wolfs had begun to spread out just behind the tree line snarling and barking as they did so, most likely to intimate us. The tactic was similar to an ancient Zulu war trick that was performed against the British Army centuries earlier. Though I knew what their game plan was it still succeeded in being intimidating.
Their intimidation tactic, however, would only serve as their downfall as I slowly unclipped my second last flashbang trying not to draw any attention towards myself (although in hindsight that comment seems rather foolish).
As the wolves now began to push their muzzles through the tree line to test if the shield was still there I gave one cursory glance to the two guards before quickly pulling the pin.
"Cover your eyes and ears, stun out!" I yelled as loud as possible before lobbing the grenade into the clearing.
Both the ponies and I ducked down closing my eyes and waiting for the explosion to come.
The wolfs burst through the treeline and into the clearing with the intent to kill barking and yelping as they ran.
BANG!
The stun grenade erupted in towards the edge of the clearing causing a loud popping bang to emanate from the area. As the initial blindness came over the beasts I could hear they're howling seemingly amplified by the explosion.
As I opened my eyes I caught a glimpse of the two guards beside me, they were still ducked down with their eyes glued shut and their ears pinned against their heads. They seemed to be trembling in pain at the sudden explosion. I stopped.
I hadn't even considered their larger ears and probably greater hearing.
As I glanced to my left I saw Golden who appeared to be in a similar state as I cursed myself out internally.
Not having time to dwell upon my reckless error I pulled my rifle up to face the wolves and began firing burst rounds.
Crack Crack Crack, Crack Crack Crack
I quickly fired two bursts towards the first wolfs head. As expected the 5.56mm rounds impacted on the wooden surface with incredible force causing small splinters to erupt as if they were old navy ships being hit by cannonballs.
One of the shots managed to clip the side of the first wolfs eye causing it to howl in pain as the other wolves followed suit.
All four wolfs were still blinded by the effects of the stun grenade and were pretty much-sitting ducks waiting to be put down.
Crack Crack Crack
Following up my first volley I sent another burst towards the wold with all three bullets making their targets as the wolf was knocked back by the impact of the rounds.
At this point, Vesper appeared to have slightly recovered as he was now shooting straight fucking beams from his horn. If we weren't in a life or death situation I would've considered that pretty fucking cool.
Many of his shots appeared to miss their target with the mana making hard contact with the trees on the edge of the clearing. Vesper was obviously suffering from the after-effects of the stun grenade, however, right now it was the only thing that was giving us a fighting chance as I continued to fire.
After a few more shots the wolf I had been firing at slumped to the grown as the green from its eyes poured out onto the forest floor.
'One down, three more to go' I thought to myself boosting my own morale in the process.
Astra was still suffering heavily from the stun grenade and Golden was in no position to fight back, therefore it was left to me and Vesper to hold the wafer-thin line against evil.
Suddenly and without warning two of the wolves broke off from the main group heading directly towards Vesper (clearing being attracted by the beams from his horn). Changing the targets I began firing multiple rounds into the wolves approaching him however the bullets had little to no effect on the wolves strongly armoured backsides.
Vesper, clearly getting desperate began to fire off beams in quick succession with one eventually catching one of the advancing wolves in the eye causing it to squeal before dropping to the ground, motionless. However, the second wolf didn't halt and without warning lept onto Vesper pinning him against the rocks causing him to now cry out in pain as the wooden claws began to tear through his armour into his flesh.
Realising the danger he was now in I quickly moved to intercept raising my rifle to fire off the last rounds from my clip. However, before I could even get a shot off I was thrown clean off my feet by the other remaining wolf.
I landed several feet across the clearing with my rifle being thrown about only being left attached me by the thick strap.
"Ugh, shit!" I cried out as I rolled over trying to ignore the pain the best I could.
The wolf quickly followed up with another attack, thinking quickly I pulled my Glock out of its holster aiming it directly at the wolfs forehead.
Fate apparently wasn't on my side as the wolf quickly pounced knocking the Glock out of my grip before I could even get a shot off.
The wooden claws pinned me down as pain erupted in both my shoulders as the claws began to dig into my own body.
The situation had gotten dire as I was totally immobilised by the wolf digging into me. I could hear the cries being made by Vesper across the clearing, clearly, he was in a worst state than I was. I tried to push myself up, however this only served to make things worse as the claws sunk much deeper than before causing me to yell out in agony.
'Fuck Fuck Fuck!' I screamed internally not being able to muster the words out through my mouth. I had been stupid and now we were all going to die because of my fucking mistakes.
'Craack!'
Like magic, the massive weight pressing down on me was lifted which was quickly accompanied by a blast air allowing a fresh breeze to hit my face for the first time since the battle had started blowing some of the blood and sweat away.
I was far too weak to move, however, I could hear more yelling and shouting followed quickly by the howling cry of a wolf.
After a moment however the sound vanished as if the voices themselves were sucked out into an empty vacuum, now all that could be heard was the natural sounds of the forest and some very laboured breathing.
From my left side, I could hear hoofsteps hitting off of the hard forest floor approaching me.
I tried to turn my head only to be stopped by a wave of sharp pain which dulled my senses somewhat as my brain went into overdrive.
My eyes started to feel heavier and heavier despite my best efforts to stay awake. Slowly the world got dark as I lay motionless on the forest floor amongst a sea of dead logs.
White Tail Woods Equstria, San Prancisolt August 2nd 1000 2010
"By Celestia! Look at it! Look what it did!"
"I know, quickly we need to get out of here in case any more decide to show up!"
