He wandered through an alien land, in search of his friend
He wandered through a strange land, haunted by visions of battles past. Wandering not aimlessly, but wandering in search. In search of a partner, a friend.
He knew not where he was, or why he was there. He did not know where his friend was, or why they were separated.
He was sure of one thing however:
If someone hurt his Titan, they were going to pay.
As the sun rose and its light swept across the land, waking its diurnal inhabitants and sending the nocturnal ones to sleep, a very peculiar sight was illuminated. A bipedal creature lay against a tree on a hill, wearing armour covered in an assortment of various blues and greys. Laying alongside it in arm's reach was a sizable metal object. As the light passed over it, the creature slowly awoke with a sigh.
“Why in the flying fuck does that sun rise so damn quickly and so early,” the thing grumbled in a masuline voice.
With one last groan, the creature got up on its two legs and placed the large object on its back. He then started to head off towards the river at the bottom of the hill. Upon reaching it the biped reached behind his back for a cylinder shaped object before unscrewing the cap. Submerging the object in water the thing then screwed the cap back on, before pressing a button on the object and placing it beside him
As the object whirred and some steam escaped, the creature then sat, gazing around himself as if contemplating his environment.
Hearing a ding he picked the cylindrical object up and then placed the object in its place behind his back, seemingly attaching itself to his armour, despite the absence of anything to hold it.
The biped set off at a rather relaxed pace, following the river, knowing civilisation would exist at some point alongside it.
He strode along, kicking rocks as he went in an attempt to amuse himself.
****
As the sun went down, and the moon appeared in its place unnaturally fast, the creature sighed before finding himself a cluster of trees near the river to sleep under.
Using the trees as his pillows and trusting his armour to keep him warm, he closed his eyes and began to drift to sleep.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Now very awake, the creature was quickly on his feet and the long metal object was in his hands. Looking down the barrel of the object he scanned the forest on the other side of the river, where he thought the scream originated from.
“AHHHHHHH!”
Once again the scream sounded, now confirmed without a doubt to have come from the forest. Without a second of delay the creature sprinted towards the river. Instead of slowing down near the water, he jumped. As he began to fall, a device at his hips flared, propelling him forward and up, clearing the rest of the distance.
Now over the river, he sprinted into the forest seemingly without abandon. But a skilled eye would be able to see that every object he dodged and every ditch he avoided was done deliberately, the creature somehow being able to see and process the objects passing by in a blur.
It was not long before the creature found himself at the border of a clearing. Peering past the branches he was able to spot a very weird sight.
A small horse-like animal was on the ground, covered in white fur and a black mane. It stared up at a group of wolves advancing towards it, growling at its freshly caught meal. Wolves made of wood, to the creature's surprise. Thinking he had simply stumbled across nature at work, he began to turn back.
“MUMMY! PLEASE HELP ME!”
Turning back around, the creature found that the cry came from the horse. Despite the dark, his helmet allowed him to see tears coming down from the horse’s eyes. Fear and worry was obvious in its all too human expressions.
Suddenly a crack echoed through the forest as the lead wolf fell to the ground with a hole in its head. The other wolves turned to see the creature, the black of its visor staring into them as vapour rose from the barrel of his weapon.
Wolves, not being stupid, knew when to fight and when to flee. In this case, they chose to flee.
As the wolves fled from the clearing, howling and whimpering, the creature approached the horse. Upon seeing the rather terrifying armour clad biped move towards it, the horse began to move backwards, away from the new monster.
Dropping his weapon, the creature slowed his movements.
“Hey, it’s ok. I’m not here to hurt you. Scared off those wolves didn’t I?” The creature said softly.
The horse stopped its retreat and nodded slowly, but fear was still clear in its blue eyes as it stared into the creature’s intimidating visor.
Upon realising his mistake, the creature reached for his helmet. With a twist and a pull, the creature’s face was visible to the horse.
Not many features could be seen in the night, but a set of brown hair was visible to the horse's naked eyes.
“Not so scary now huh?” He spoke with a voice full of care and kindness as he placed his helmet on his hip. Moving towards the horse, he stopped just before it. “Now I’ve got to get you somewhere safer. We can search for your mother in the morning, when it’s safer. Can I pick you up?”
The horse, still somewhat fearful, thought for a moment before sheepishly nodding its head. Seeing this, the creature scooped up the small thing, picked up his weapon and began to carry the little horse out of the forest, towards his clump of trees.
After some time, and some fear filled moments for the little one, the horse was sleeping peacefully beneath the trees. The creature was close, with his weapon out and ready to take down anything that came to harm his new charge.
And there he stood vigil for many hours, committed to protecting the strange little one he had come across. Eventually however his eyes grew heavy, and sleep found him too
****
His sleep was not peaceful however, as it so rarely was for him.
In his dreams he saw fire, metal and death. He saw those he knew, those he’d call friends obliterated and destroyed by towering behemoths. He heard people trapped under rubble, heard their cries as metal soldiers found them and silenced them.
But at the end of these visions, these nightmares, he saw one last behemoth. But this one did not fill him with dread or fear, but rather happiness, familiarity and love. A blue light illuminated him, and as he felt darkness overtaking the world he heard a soothing, but worried voice, speak to him.
Early morning found Sol sat across from his new charge, he watched the little horse as its chest rose and lowered with every breath. It would occasionally twist and turn, obviously caught in a nightmare of sorts.
Not surprising after last night’s events, Sol thought, a sad look on his face hidden from the world by his helmet.
Getting up, he began preparing breakfast for it. He didn’t know what little horse things ate, but if he had to hazard a guess he didn’t think their diet would be too dissimilar from an Earth horse. Although he didn’t really know what exactly Earth horses ate.
Looking through the pouches on his armour, he found a tube of nutrient paste. The packaging indicated it was vegetable soup flavour. Tastes like piss, but it keeps me from starving on long missions, so it should do for the little guy.
Sol then began picking through the grass on the ground, plucking the greenest and cleanest looking blades from the ground. After a while he had gathered what he thought would be enough.
Grabbing a rather large rock from the riverbed, he set it down in front of the horse, with all the food items on top of it. Call me Gordon fucking Ramsay.
As the long dead Scottish chef no doubt turned in his grave, Sol grabbed his own tube of paste and began chowing down, thinking on his current situation. Finding other intelligent life has always been a fascination of the IMC, glad I managed to beat those assholes to it, even if it was by accident. Looking at the sleeping horse, he smiled. Doesn’t hurt that said intelligent life is adorable.
It wasn’t long until the horse began to stir, slowly opening its eyes. With a groan, it sluggishly got up on all fours. Looking around, its blue eyes found Sol staring at it with a grin on his face. Now that it was day, the biped’s features were clearly visible. Messy brown hair rested on his head, with pale skin and brown eyes.
Picking up the nutrient paste, Sol unscrewed the cap before placing it back on the rock. “Eat, then we can talk.”
The horse cautiously picked up the paste, somehow holding the tube in its hoof. Giving it a lookover, it squeezed the contents of the tube into its mouth. Almost instantly, the little thing’s face scrunched up.
Seeing this, Sol gave a hearty laugh. “Yeah doesn’t taste the best does it? It’ll fill you up though, so keep going.”
The horse glared at Sol, before slowly squeezing the rest of the paste into its mouth, grimacing the whole time. He then directed its attention to the grass. ”I really hope you can eat it, getting all the blades was really bloody tedious.”
Upon seeing the grass, the horse’s features instantly brightened up. Sol didn’t imagine the grass was a delicacy around here, considering its availability, but anything much better then the paste.
The horse dug in, devouring all the grass within a matter of seconds. The speed at which the grass was eaten unnerved Sol, who was used to little kids being the fussiest and slowest eaters in the galaxy.
Now that its stomach was full, the horse looked quite a bit happier.
"Wanna talk now?” He received a nod in response, “So what’s your name?”
“Steel Hammer.”
“This is gonna sound weird, but are you male or female?”
“I’m a colt silly, a male, can’t you tell?” Steel gave a little giggle, like Sol had just asked the most obvious question in the world.
Sol raised his hands in mock defence. “Sorry, kinda new around here. In fact, you’re the first member of your kind I’ve seen. What are you?”
Steel gave a puzzled look. “You don’t know what a pony is, mister? How can you not? We’re, like, everywhere! Oh yeah, where are you from? And what are you? And what’s your name? And wh-” Sol put a finger to the colt’s mouth, silencing his rant.
“Well my name is Sol, I’m a human, and I come from… a place you wouldn’t be able to reach.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can’t really explain it to you. Just trust me when I say it’s really far away.”
Steel was definitely not satisfied with the answer, but decided to stay quiet for now.
“Now, I think we should stop talking. We’ve gotta go find your mother right?” As soon as his mother was mentioned, Steel’s face instantly darkened, looking down to the ground.
“Yeah…”
Frowning, Sol picked up the little guy, getting a little yelp in response. “No need to be so down, I’m sure she’s alright. But if we are gonna go see her, I’m gonna need you to tell me how you ended up in that forest.”
Steel didn’t really seem sad, but more like he was… ashamed. ‘I-I got into an argument with my mum, I was getting really mad and I just… I snapped. I ran out of our house into the rest of the woods. My mum has bone problems, so she wouldn’t have been able to chase me.”
Sol pulled him close, moving a hand over his coat to let him know he was there. “And where is your house?”
“It’s a little cabin in the middle of the woods.”
Sol was rather confused at this, the woods didn’t seem like the best place to live for a kid and a crippled mother. He voiced these concerns to the little pony.
“Oh we get a delivery every month for the items we can’t get. And we don’t stay there all the time, only when school isn’t on. Mum also didn’t always have her problems, and I used to have a dad. But he had a heart attack and…” Tears were beginning to form in his eyes.
Sol grabbed and put the colt onto his knee, giving him a noogie while Steel cried his complaints. “Hey, no need to be sad. We’re gonna get you home, find your mum and have a more edible meal then the one I gave you. Alright?”
A light smile appeared on Steel’s face. “Yeah, that sounds… good.”
Setting the colt back onto the ground, Sol put on his helmet before moving towards the river. “Well c’mon, let’s get going then!”
As he made his way to the river, Steel soon galloped to his side. Looking down, Sol could see a wide smile on his face, obviously eager to see his mum again. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine I’d one day be helping a sapient, talking horse return to his mother.
Reaching the river, Sol picked up the little colt, who knew what was going to happen from last night. By jumping and flaring his Jump Kit, Sol landed on the other side and set Steel down.
The colt ran behind Sol, looking up at the device. “What IS that?”
Motioning for Steel to follow him, Sol began moving into the forest. “It’s my Jump Kit. It grants me an insane amount of mobility. Primarily it allows me to survive any fall, double jump and run on walls. With some creativity it can help me in other ways as well.”
“That’s super duper cool!” Steel exclaimed in excitement, his eye were filled with curiosity.
Sol gave a small chuckle. “Yeah, I guess it is. But right now you need to lead me to this cabin of yours, think you can do that?”
Steel jumped up, pumping a hoof into the air. “Sure can do!” Running in front of Sol, he began to lead the way.
As they went further into the forest, Sol pulled his rifle, his R-201, from his back. He did not feel safe in this place, and as they say, better safe than sorry. The forest was extremely quiet, the only sound being the occasional bird and the pairs’ footsteps. Or is it hoofsteps for Steel?
Steel eventually broke this silence however. “So Sol?”
Tearing his gaze from the trees and shadows, Sol looked down towards Steel. “Hm?”
“Why are you here anyway? I mean, I’ve never seen anything like you, and you have all this cool stuff! Well, except for that paste.”
Sol pondered his answer for a moment before responding. “To be honest, I don’t know. One moment I’m… home… the next i’m under some trees.” There was some omission of the truth there, but he wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know.
This answer didn’t seem to satisfy Steel’s youthful curiosity. “Well, then what’s your home like?”
“That’s… a story for another time.” If Sol did not have his helmet on, Steel would have been able to see the human’s empty look.
“But that’s-”
“Please… not right now,” The emotion in Sol’s voice was apparent to Steel, and he held his tongue.
****
“There! It’s one of our totems!” Steel ran ahead towards a small stone figure of what looked to be a Pony in armour.
“A what?”
“A totem. It’s enchanted to keep the mean animals away from the house. But it’s broken.”
Enchanted? What the fuck? “What do you mean by broken?”
Steel pointed towards the statue’s head. “It’s meant to be a unicorn, but the horn has been broken off.”
Looking closer, Sol was able to see that there was a part on the head that used to have something on it. It looked like it had been… torn off.
Readying his rifle, Sol stood in front of Steel. “Stay behind me, do not run off. You see anything, you tell me. You got it?”
The little colt nodded and got behind Sol’s large form. As they moved together into the clearing, Sol could see a double story wooden cabin. There were no lights on. Moving up towards it, he stopped at the door. Putting away his rifle, he drew his B3 Wingman revolver from its holster on his right. With the smaller weapon ready, he slowly pushed open the door.
As he entered the building, he aimed his B3 at every corner and space he could see, making sure there was nothing waiting to spring on him or Steel. Moving forward through the hallway, he heard a rustling sound coming from the door on his left. Looking back to check if Steel was with him, and he was, he slowly opened the door.
A deafening crack sounded through the enclosed space, causing Steel to cover his ears in pain. Inside the room a body slumped to the floor, right on top of a second.
Howls rang throughout the entire cabin, coming from many rooms ahead and the floor above. Sol could hear movement coming from where the howls originated. He grabbed Steel and put himself between the direction of the noises and the terrified young colt.
Then from around the corner, four of those wooden wolves from before appeared. He could still hear some coming from above as well. The ones that had arrived growled at the pony and human, but otherwise did not move towards them.
Waiting for the rest no doubt.
Rather than let the wolves’ reinforcements arrive, Sol decided to take the initiative. Aiming the sights of the B3 on a wolf’s head, he pulled the trigger.
*CRACK*
The wolf fell to the floor with a bullet hole in its head. Upon seeing their fellow wolf slain, the rest charged him.
He managed to fire off one shot and down another wolf before they entered melee range. As one leapt for him, he drew back his fist before punching it in its chest, sending it flying with his enhanced strength. It crashed against a wall, shattering into pieces. Another tried to bite at his legs, but he kicked out with his leg, dooming the wolf to the same fate as Sol’s previous victim.
As Sol began to reach for two more bullets to reload the B3, he saw that the shattered remains of the wolves he’d sent flying began to move back together, forming their former bodies with no apparent injuries.
You’ve gotta be fucking with me.
Not letting them get into melee range again, Sol fired two more shots from his B3.
*CRACK* *CRACK*
When the rounds entered their heads, they went down. This time for good.
Knowing that he needed as much firepower as possible for the next wolves, he put away his B3 and retrieved his R-201 from his back. Moving into a crouched stance, he trained his HCOG sight on the end of the hallway.
As if on cue, the rest of the wolves piled through, and his weapon sounded its fury. A symphony of screams and thunder raged throughout the household.
At the end of it, the ground was littered with wood and spent casings. Waiting for a couple minutes to make sure there were no wolves remaining, he let out a sigh of relief. Sol then turned to face Steel, only to see that he wasn’t there.
Panicked, Sol began to frantically look around, desperate to make sure nothing had happened to the only good thing he had found in this world. It didn’t take him long to find Steel. He found Steel standing in the doorway to the room containing the first wolf.
And its victim.
Rushing to the colt, he pulled Steel away and embraced him, letting him cry on his armoured shoulder.
As the pony cried and wailed, a fire burnt in Sol’s eyes when he looked upon the sobbing foal. He pulled Steel in tighter, and didn’t let go.
The shovel dug into the ground, upheaving the dirt with every grunt of exertion from its user. Sol’s physical abilities may have been enhanced beyond normal human limits, but every strike from his shovel felt heavy, each more so than the last. It was a feeling he was familiar with however. Burying the innocent wasn’t a foreign activity to him.
It may have been better to organise a proper service for Steel’s mother with whatever pony settlement was nearby, but Sol knew that funerals weren’t for the dead. They were for the living. And right now, Steel desperately needed to grieve, and even a makeshift funeral would help with that.
Giving himself a momentary break, Sol looked over his shoulder at the colt. He was sitting on a tree stump, his gaze pointed at the ground. Tears matted his coat, but he had passed crying. Just silence, with little movement. Sol recognised this all too well, having seen it not just in his comrades, but in the mirror as well.
Sol returned back to his morbid work, and before long there was a suitably deep and wide hole. Leaving the shovel, he moved inside the house, where Steel’s mother rested. Picking up the body, he moved her to a table which already had what he needed. The body was not pretty, having been torn apart by the wolves. Picking up the cloth he had gathered from various items around the house, he began covering her in it. When the body was covered to the point where Steel wouldn’t have another breakdown by looking upon it, he carried her outside.
Laying the body in the grave, he called Steel over. Looking over to the sad colt, he spoke in a soft voice. “Do you have any words?”
Giving a nod, Steel looked up at Sol before returning his sight towards his mother. “Mum… I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can…I love you. I-I’m so sorry… for- for running out like that. I miss you.” He was trying his best to appear strong, but tears were beginning to well up in his eyes.
Sol then spoke next. “I didn’t know you. So I guess I don’t know much of your character. But what I do know is that you raised a good kid, so that has to count for something. From what I’ve seen, you were a good person. Now, rest in peace.” Picking the shovel back up, he moved all the dirt he had dug up back into the grave, covering the deceased.
Looking back to Steel, he saw that the colt was still trying to not cry. “Hey, it’s ok to cry,” he rested a hand on Steel’s back, “Let it out.”
And so the colt began to cry once more, tears flowing from his eyes like a tsunami.
****
It had been a couple hours since the funeral, and Steel was inside the house resting. It was still daytime, but recent events had tired the young colt out. Sol was outside, wandering the clearing.
Poor boy...colt. Losing his mother so young, and so violently at that. At least I didn’t have to see Grace’s body.
Stopping at the same tree stump Steel occupied before, Sol sat down, hands in his lap.
Now he’s my responsibility...fuck. I like him, and I’m gonna do my best, but at the same time…I can’t look after him, not when I still need to find her...
Looking into the sky, he could feel tears fall down his face.
Where are you Beck?
Wiping the tears from his eyes, he got up and walked towards the treeline. Looking outwards into the forest, he saw another of those statuettes. Picking it up, he gave it a lookover.
When Steel said they were enchanted I didn’t believe him. But now that I’ve gotten a closer look at those wolves, and the way they reform themselves...maybe it isn't bullshit. But if it really was magic, and the animals stayed away, then it wasn’t the wolves that destroyed it. And since this one also has its horn snapped off then something deliberately targeted them, knowing what they did, Sol felt a chill throughout his body as he came to one conclusion, Someone is out there, and they want Steel dead.
Dropping the statuette to the ground, he sprinted back towards the house. Busting through the doors, he used his Jump Kit to double jump up the stairs and slide along the floor when he landed, the Jump Kit flaring to propel him along. Reaching the door to Steel’s room, he almost knocked it off its hinges when he barreled into it. Looking around, he only found a rather startled Steel in his bed.
Giving a sigh of relief, Sol sheathed the data-knife he had drawn without realising. “We can’t stay here.”
Steel’s face contorted in confusion. “Whaddya mean?”
“Just meet me downstairs okay? I’ll explain later.” Turning back, he exited the room and went downstairs.
He began to gather supplies from around the house, not wanting to eat another tube of nutrient paste. As he was doing this, every sound, no matter how quiet, gave him a fright.
He was looking out the window when Steel came down the stairs. “I knew we’d have to leave eventually, but why are you in such a hurry?”
Giving one scan of the outside Sol turned back to face him. “Remember those statuettes?’ Sol got a nod in response, “Well where I come from, we don’t have magic. So when you said those statues were enchanted, I didn’t believe you. But after seeing the way those wolves-”
“Timberwolves.”
“After seeing those timberwolves reform, I think that magic might be real, at least on this planet.”
Steel’s eyes widened upon hearing Sol’s slip. “‘This planet!’ Do you mean you’re an alien?! What planet do you come fr-” He was silenced by a hand on his muzzle.
“While I’m glad to see you’re back to your usual self, I just need you to listen for now,” Steel looked like he was about to start ranting again, before he took a deep breath and motioned for Sol to continue, “Thank you. So if those statues did prevent ‘mean animals’, as you put it, from getting close then something intelligent had to break it. And it wasn’t some freak accident either, as I found another statue that also had its horn broken off.”
Fear, as well as no small amount of anger, was now evident on Steel’s face. “Then my mum was murdered...”
“And they might still be nearby.”
The fear on Steel’s face was gone now, as it was completely consumed by anger. There were however some tears once again forming. “Then we’ve gotta find them! Bring them to justice! For mu-mum!” Steel’s angry features were beginning to slip as his eyes began to grow watery.
“Revenge is a fool’s game Steel. I will not put you at risk to find your mother’s murderer. What we need to do is get you somewhere safe.”
“NO!” Sol was taken back when the little colt yelled loud enough to make his drill instructor proud, “We need to find them! I-I need to find th-them!” His voice was beginning to lower as his watery eyes opened like a dam, tears spilling down.
Pulling him in close, Sol lowered his voice to a soothing, quiet tone. “Trust me when I say this Steel. I will find whoever killed your mother, and I will bring them to justice. Either this land’s, or my own. But right now, I owe it to both your mother and you to keep you safe. And pursuing our culprit will not keep you safe.”
Pulling out of his grip, Steel looked to Sol and then himself. “Okay... we’ll leave.”
Sol smiled and walked over to the bag he’d found in the storage cupboard. Hefting it onto his back, he was surprised just how heavy the supplies were. Nodding towards Steel, they left the house.
Once outside, Sol just realised there was one little problem with his plan.
“I have no idea where to go,” He looked to his short companion, “You?”
Steel rolled his eyes. “Of course I know where to go, I live around here remember? The closest place is Canterlot. I think it’s East of us,” He then pointed in four directions, whispering as he did, “Never eat soggy wheat… Yep! It’s East! Follow me!” The colt began moving in what Sol assumed was East.
Can’t really tell since that Sun only ever seems to move during the morning and at night.
Following behind as they moved into the forest, Sol kept his right hand firmly on his B3 in its holster. “So what’s this Canterlot place like?”
Steel explained as Sol dodged under a branch the diminutive foal just walked under. “Oh it’s really cool! It’s built into the side of a mountain, I’m not really sure how it stays up. Probably a spell one of the Princesses cast when it was founded.”
Sol raised an eyebrow at that. Or he tried to at least, he always ended up raising both. “‘Princesses’? You guys have got a Royal family?”
“Yep! Although the family isn’t that big. We’ve had the same Princesses in charge since Equestria was founded.”
Hearing that, Sol was bewildered to say the least. “So are they immortal or do Ponies live that long and you are actually my elder?”
Steel gave off a little laugh. “No you silly billy, I’m only 10. But yeah, the Princesses are immortal. They also raise the Sun and the Moon!”
Sol’s face then resembled that of a goldfish. That can’t be real… there’s no way... although that would explain why they move so quickly and so suddenly. Luckily Steel was looking ahead and didn’t see Sol’s rather embarrassing display.
“Can we talk about you being an alien now?” Sol was brought out of his thoughts by the colt’s question.
“Uh, sure.”
“So where do you come from? If that question is okay with you that is.” Steel obviously remembered the last time he asked this question.
“Yeah I guess I’ve gotta tell you now, you deserve that much. So before we get into me, I’ve got to clarify one thing about humans. We originated on the planet Earth, but we have developed technology that allows us to travel to other worlds.” Looking at Steel, the colt’s face was awestruck, “Back to me, I grew up on the planet Harmony, one of the finest planets in the Frontier. My family came from Earth when Harmony was first settled, got there with one of the settling programs that departed from the Australian continent. They stayed in an area of Harmony where all those Australian settlers were placed, resulting in my silky fine accent.”
“I wouldn’t exactly describe your accent as ‘silky’.”
Intentionally putting on a stereotypical Australian accent, he acted offended. “What do ya mean mate? My voice is as fucking silky as a the taste of a VB longneck at twenty to eight in the fucking morning!”
“The Tartarus was that?!”
Sol smiled as he remembered that old 21st Century video he’d found on the extranet. “An icon.”
Steel looked at him as if he was a mental case. “Uh huh. Anyway, I’m guessing from your armour and your weapons that you were some kind of soldier?”
Sol nodded in response. “Ya got it right. Proud Titan Pilot of the Militia Special Recon Squadron! ‘United we stand! Divided we ambush!’”
“What does ‘Titan Pilot’ mean?”
“It means I control a...giant metal vehicle...in the shape of a human. Although that is massively simplifying it. And I don’t really control my Titan, Beck is her name, it’s more fifty fifty.”
“And where is Beck?”
Sol stared absently into the distance, as if looking through Steel. “I...don’t know. I was on a mission with her, dealing with some enemy soldiers, when everything went black. When I woke up, I was on a hill like I said before. I know she’s on this planet. I can still feel her.”
“What do you mean by ‘feel her’?”
“It’s hard to explain to someone who isn't a Pilot. My mind is linked to her’s, like each is one half of a whole. Using this link, I can feel she’s on this planet. I can’t tell where she is though,” Sol looked as if he was about to cry, “I’m worried about her. I know she is very powerful, but she isn’t invincible.”
Steel now seemed rather nervous to continue his questioning, not wanting to cross a line. “So is that what you were doing before you found me? Searching for her?”
“Yeah. Well really I was trying to find some kind of civilization, maybe try to get some help from the locals. Didn’t expect the locals to be quadrupedal aliens though.”
Steel seemed to bounce with excitement as he seemed to realise something. “Wait! I know just who can help you!”
Sol’s eyes widened, desperate for any help with finding his lost partner. “Who?!”
“The Princesses!” Hearing this, Sol’s features instantly deflated.
“Steel, I appreciate the help, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be pretty hard to get an audience with the Princesses.” He was reminded of several times when he tried to get into contact with his commanding officers, only to be either outright refused or politely turned down.
“Just hear me out!” Steel looked back at Sol with his eyes wide, pleading.
Oh god, it’s my fucking Krytonite: Cuteness. “Alright, explain.”
Steel gave a big smile upon hearing Sol’s permission. “Well the two Princesses are Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun, and Princess Luna, Princess of the Moon. There’s also Princesses Twilight and Cadance, but they aren’t a part of my plan.”
A corner of Sol’s mouth raised in amusement. “‘Plan’? Got a little schemer here eh? Might start calling you the blood-brother of Odin then eh?”
Steel looked at him as if he had grown a second head. “What?”
Sol waved his hand in dismissal. “Never mind, just a little human mythology reference.”
Shaking his head in disbelief at Sol’s antics, Steel continued. “Celestia holds Day Court during the day, and Luna holds Night Court during the night. Both hold them in the Royal Palace in Canterlot. I’m pretty sure the specific hours change depending on whatever is happening in Equestria, but it shouldn’t be too hard to ask somepony the hours. The Courts allow anypony to ask requests of the Princesses.”
Sol was beginning to catch on. “So if we were to attend a Court session…”
“Then you can ask whatever Princess is there for help finding Beck!”
And to help you Steel. “That’s...actually a good idea. We’re already on the way there, what have we got to lose?”
****
My fucking legs apparently.
The pair had been walking for many, many hours, most of it with Steel on Sol’s back, head resting on his shoulder. It was currently night time, and Sol found himself at the gates of Canterlot. He’d originally thought getting up the mountain would require another day of walking, even on a path. But upon reaching the base of the mountain, Steel pointed out what Sol could only describe as a magic elevator. The contraption had levitated itself all the way to Canterlot, leaving Sol completely dumbstruck.
When he walked through the gates, he was surprised to find that the guards didn’t stop him. They did stare at him, as he was admittedly a strange sight, but other than that he passed through unmolested.
As he passed through the streets, he found that it was still fairly busy despite the time, it was still a city after all. Here he got his first look at the other types of ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi. Steel told Sol their names, but he already guessed what they’d be. He did tell Sol that Steel himself was an Earth pony, which he wouldn’t have guessed. All of the ponies gave him wary looks, and he tried to ignore them. He was never a fan of being the centre of attention.
Eventually he found himself at the entrance to the Royal Palace, where he was approached by a Pegasus guard. “Hello sir, and foal, what is your business here?”
He maintains his professionalism despite the strange creature in front him. Good lad.
“I would like to attend Princess Luna’s Night Court...assuming it’s still in session that is,” Sol added quickly.
The guard nodded. “Aye, it is. Please follow me.”
Sol followed the guard as he was led through the gardens and into the palace itself. Now that he was right next to an adult Pony, he was able to compare their heights. He was about two heads taller than the guard, who was a bit taller then others he’d seen. Amidst the equines, Sol was practically a giant.
Walking through the palace was a treat, the whole place was like a work of art. No palace he’d ever seen on the extranet could compare to it. The white marble and gold shone brilliantly in the light given off by what Sol assumed to be magical torches, given their brightness. The mosaics detailing events in Equestria’s history outclassed any such works he’s seen. He took a particular interest in what seemed to be a recent one where six ponies blasted a black pony with horns and wings with a rainbow. Looks like something Dylan would come up with.
Before long the guard stopped in front of a rather imposing set of doors. “The throne room.”
Sol pulled Steel off his back and put him on the ground. “Sorry Steel, gotta look presentable.”
Steel shrugged. “I don’t mind, I was about to suggest it myself.”
With that, the guards opened the doors.
****
Yet again, Night Court had been a bore for Princess Luna. She currently found herself sitting on her throne trying to look presentable as she counted down the time till she was free.
Oh Creator how I hate this duty. All the ponies go to Celestia’s Day Court anyway.
She looked towards one of her guards, Ruby Moonlight, she believed her name was. “How much time left, Lance Corporal Moonlight?”
The Lance Corporal gave the Princess a sympathetic look. “Just 10 minutes Your Majesty.” Giving a thankful nod, Luna returned to her thoughts.
What to do once this is over? Maybe I can play with Tiberius? Maybe-
“Your Majesty! There is a visitor to your Court!”
Suddenly Luna was fully awake and aware. It had been a long time indeed since somepony had come to Night Court. “Well send them in.”
The doors to the throne room opened, and in walked a very peculiar creature. Covered in armour coloured in blues and greys, the creature walked on two legs. It’s pale skin, brown hair and brown eyes were exposed. Beside it walked a white Earth pony foal with a black mane. When both neared her throne, they kneeled, and the creature spoke.
“Princess Luna, my name is Sol.” The creature looked up at her with its small eyes, “I am here to ask for your help.”
My help? What with? And what is he? “Greetings, Sol,” Luna looked to the colt, “But before I inquire as to what you would ask of me, I would like to ask your name, my little pony.”
The colt looked rather nervous, obviously, he was scared he was going to do or say something wrong in front of a Princess. “St-Steel Hammer, Princess.”
A smile appeared on Luna’s face, a genuine one, not the kind she has had to put on a lot around Canterlot’s nobility. “A pleasure to meet you, Master Hammer. May I call you Steel?”
“Ye-yes Your Majesty.”
“No need to address me as such, we are on a first-name basis now, no?”
The colt began to appear a bit more at ease. “I guess so...Luna.”
Luna turned back to Sol. “Sorry to get off-topic, I could tell he was nervous.”
The biped waved a hand in dismissal similar to a Minotaur. “Eh, it’s alright. I appreciate your kindness towards Steel, kid’s been through a lot. But may I explain my request now?”
My own questions can wait I suppose, I’m not in a rush. “Proceed.”
Sol nodded in thanks. “Now what I am about to explain may sound a bit...far-fetched. But if what Steel has told me about your immortality is true, then you’re no stranger to weird things, given your long life.”
“I have seen much in my lifetime, yes. Although I have a feeling that what I’m about to hear is going to be very unusual indeed.”
Luna could see a sparkle of amusement in Sol’s miniature eyes. A very curious individual indeed.
“Now I understand that my appearance may be foreign to you Princess.”
“Correct, I have never seen your species before. Not to mention your unusual armour and equipment.” The metal object on Sol’s back stood out to her in particular.
“That’s because I am not from around here Your Majesty. Specifically, I’m not from this planet.”
Hearing this, Luna was not shocked. She was, instead, ecstatic. An alien! What planet is he from? How’d he get here? Looking to Sol, she could see he was trying to contain a laugh. Luna realised that her excitement was apparent for all to see. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down. “Forgive my excitement, during my many years on the moon I was left with little more than my own thoughts. Many of them revolved around the possibility of intelligent life on other worlds. It’s rather hard not to when every time you look up you see stars. But before we continue, do you have any proof of your extra-terrestrial nature?” Please say you do.
Sol’s features creased in thought, it seemed as if he didn’t consider this. “Well I guess I do not have any concrete proof, but I do have technology that from what I can see is unmatched by anything in this world,” Reaching over his back, he pulled the metal object off and held it in his arms, “This is the R-201 Special Operations Assault Rifle. If you couldn’t tell, it’s a weapon.”
At that, all the guards around readied their halberds. Luna motioned with her hoof for them to stand down. “If he wanted to harm me, he would not have told us he had a weapon and he would have simply used it to kill me,” She looked back to Sol, “Please, continue.”
“Thank you, Princess. This may appear to be a very unusual weapon to you lot, but trust me, it is very effective. The R-201 is a firearm, meaning that when I pull this trigger here, a piece of metal called a bullet will shoot out of the barrel faster than the speed of sound. Its mass combined with its speed allows it to pierce plate armour, flesh, and bone fairly easily.”
She could see Steel was not surprised to hear about the weapon, meaning that Sol had likely used it in front of the young colt before. Another question for later. By now, Luna’s curiosity outweighed her natural fear of such a weapon. “May I request a demonstration?”
Sol gave a nervous chuckle. “I do not feel that would be wise Princess, not only does this room appear very expensive, but it would wake many of the castle’s sleeping residents.”
A wide grin appeared on Luna’s face. “No need to worry about damage to this room, everything can be replaced. And I have a solution for the noise problem,” Her horn lit up as a light blue aura flashed around the throne room, “I have cast a soundproofing spell, not even a dragon roar could be heard by those outside.”
Sol opened his mouth as if to protest, before sighing and giving a shrug. “Well, here we go.” He flicked a switch on the side of the weapon before leveling it to his eye level. He directed the weapon towards the pillar.
A crack rang through the air when Sol pulled the trigger. Looking towards the pillar, Luna could see a hole in it. Sol flicked the switch again before placing the ‘rifle’, as he put it, on his back. Clapping his hands together, he returned his gaze towards Luna. “So, was the demonstration good enough?”
Nodding, Luna looked around at the various facial expressions of her guards. Many were in a mix of awe and fear. “I do believe it was Sol. I believe your weapon proves that you are from a society very...alien...to us, if you will forgive my pun. Your technology and physical appearance are enough evidence to prove that at the very least you are from a land very far away indeed. We can get into the exact details later. Now, if we could finally get to that request of yours?’
Sol waited a moment before speaking. “Back home, I was a part of a military. The Frontier Militia. The war I was in isn’t relevant to my request, all you need to know is that the Militia was, is sorry, currently involved in a war with a group called the IMC. My place in the Militia was as a Lieutenant in the Special Recon Squadron. My combat role was as a Titan Pilot. A Titan Pilot is a special type of soldier that controls a Titan, a giant vehicle in the shape of a human that wields immense power. Do not think of Titans as simple tools however, they are very capable of thought. And sarcasm, definitely sarcasm. As you can probably tell, I am missing a seven-meter tall metal giant.”
Sol looked to her with pleading eyes. “My Titan’s name was BK-3891, or just Beck. When I came to this land, I did so unwillingly and without any knowledge of how. All I know is that my Titan, my best friend, is missing Princess,” His expression grew steely, his eyes burning with a rage Luna had not seen in millennia, “And God help whoever took her from me.”
Sol breathed deeply, his face softening as he did so. “And so I come here before you, Your Majesty. I come here to request your help in finding Beck.” The biped looked down to see Steel hugging his leg. Sol picked up the colt and embraced him, using Steel as a cuddly stress ball.
Luna lowered her head into her hooves as she thought. First contact and I’m being asked by the alien to help find a giant, thinking weapon. But what do I do? I need time to think and inform Celestia before any decision is made, Looking up she saw Sol and Steel still embracing one another, the hardened soldier trying to hold back tears with the little foal trying his best to help with that, But for now, they need a place in the castle to rest. Celestia and I should have reached a verdict by tomorrow.
Pushing her head back up, she motioned for two guards to come forward. “I cannot come up with a decision just yet. This is an issue that involves my sister as well,” Sol slumped at hearing this, tearing at Luna’s heartstrings, “But do not worry, I am already willing to help you. And I am sure my sister will be willing as well. The main issue is figuring out how exactly we will help you, and that should take some time to figure out. For now, these two guards will escort you to a room for you both to stay in. It is late, and you both look tired.”
The two hesitated and whispered to each other. After a little argument that seemed to have been won by Steel, Sol spoke up. “I just want you to know that even considering helping me, a complete stranger to both you and your kingdom...it means a lot.” A small nod of appreciation and the pair followed the guards out of the throne room.
Luna gazed to the roof, trying to pierce her gaze through to look at the sky above. Oh Creator, what have I gotten myself into?
****
The bedroom Sol found himself in was much grander then he was used to. The two massive beds were adorned with the finest sheets, blankets, and pillows he’d ever seen.
Definitely a step up from my barracks.
There was also a bathroom, and while Sol desperately wanted to wash up, he was far too tired to do much besides take off his armour and lay in bed. With his B3 under the pillow of course.
As he found himself drifting off to sleep, he felt something press against him in his bed. Opening his eyes he found that Steel had moved from his own bed into Sol’s and was currently giving him a hug.
Sol was fine with this, the colt could do whatever he wanted in the human’s opinion. With Steel snuggled up against him, he closed his eyes and slept.
****
“WHERE THE FUCK IS OUR AIR SUPPORT!” Sol screamed into his helmet’s radio as rounds pelted the ground around him and whizzed past. Poking his rifle over the sandbags, he fired off a burst in an effort to keep the IMC riflemen pinned.
His radio gave a response. “30 seconds.”
Looking around he could see his squad in various states. Some were lying on the ground, either dead or unable to fight, while others were trying their best to keep the enemy from advancing. Grabbing a fragmentation grenade, he primed it before throwing it over their cover. Not too long after an explosion sounded and screams were audible.
Peeking back over the sandbags, he spotted a rifleman running to cover. A shot from Sol’s R-201 sent him tumbling to the ground. Aiming towards another target, all the feedback he received upon pulling the trigger was a click. Cursing, he ducked back into cover and began to unload the magazine.
As he was loading a round into the chamber, he saw on his HUD that his air support had arrived. A smirk appeared on Sol’s dirt-covered face. Have fun with this, assholes.
The ground in front of Sol’s position was torn asunder as the air-to-surface missiles and 30mm rounds destroyed the enemy positions in a spectacular fashion. The telltale sound of the autocannon only reaching his ears soon after.
Sol activated his radio. “Thanks for the assist Maverick, we were cutting it pretty close there.”
A chuckle came through. “Any time, good luck squad lead.”
Looking around, he could see his squad all giving sighs of relief, happy to be surrounded by relative peace, with only the distant sound of gunfire disturbing it. While Sol shared in their elation, he needed to get them moving.
“If you’re able, get the wounded and grab the deads’ tags.’ We’ve got to return to base.”
His squad nodded and grunted in affirmation, moving to do as they were ordered. As Sol began to pick up one of the wounded, Amy her name was, he heard rumbling coming from above him. Looking up he saw an object shrouded in fire fall towards them, and dread pierced his very being.
“HOSTILE TITANFALL INCOMING!”
As the object collided into the ground, and he was knocked to the ground, he saw a pair of light blue eyes piercing through the dust.
****
Sol violently woke from his slumber, expecting to see a Titan’s optics staring straight at him. His skin was shining with sweat as he looked around the room. He only calmed down upon looking down. Steel was still fast asleep, looking at peace as his chest rose up and down. Running a hand through his mane, Sol stopped shaking, which he only just noticed he was doing.
He carefully got out of bed and crept towards the bathroom, trying not to wake Steel. Once he reached it, he shut the door and laid his eyes on his objective. The shower looked to be the most heavenly thing he’d seen since arriving in this land. Stripping himself of his fatigues, he entered the shower, turned on the water, and was embraced by the hot water, ecstasy in liquid form.
He stayed in there for longer than was proper, he was far too used to the short and cold showers he was allowed on the MCS Vulcan. Eventually, he left the bathroom, entering the bedroom with his hair still a little damp. He found Steel to still be asleep. Smiling at the sight, he began to put on his armour and gear. The ponies were very friendly, but better safe than sorry as they say.
He opened the door to the hallway and was faced by a Unicorn guard. Sol noted that this one was wearing what appeared to be gold armour.
The guards last night were wearing darker tinted armour, curious.
“Good morning, I am here to take you to breakfast. Will the colt be accompanying us?”
Sol shook his head. “Nah, the kid’s buggered. Be best to let him sleep some more.”
The guard nodded and began to turn away. “There’ll be another guard to bring him as well then.”
Sol followed the guard, fidgeting with various items in his webbing as they walked. The guard stopped at a small set of double doors. She motioned for Sol to walk inside. Thanking her, he pushed open the doors and walked in. Inside he found a large dining table with two occupants already seated. There was Luna, who waved him over. Across from her was a white unicorn with wings like Luna, although she was bigger than Luna, who was already bigger than the average pony already. If Sol had to hazard a guess, he’d say this was Celestia. She gave him a wide smile as he approached.
Getting near, Luna gave chair next to her a pat, which looked to be made for his bipedal form. Sitting down, he looked at the two Princesses. “Good morning Princess Luna, and good morning to you Princess Celestia. At least I hope you’re Celestia.”
The alabaster pony gave off a chuckle. “I am, and no need to be so formal, we’re having breakfast, not sitting in court.”
Sol massaged the back of his neck. “Yeah sorry, don’t often deal with royalty in my line of work. Thought it’d be better to be over formal then under formal.”
Doors at the opposite end of the room from where he’d come in from opened and servants entered carrying assorted dishes. One was set in front of him, and his stomach audibly grumbled when he saw what it was.
Luna laughed at his display. “The omelet is to your liking then?”
Sol responded by picking up his cutlery and digging in. The omelet itself was really good, but the fact he had been living off of nutrient paste since he’s arrived in Equestria made it so much better. “Could do with some ham, but otherwise it’s the best omelet I’ve ever had,” The fork stopped in the air when Sol realised what he’d admitted, “Oh yeah, I’m an omnivore, I hope that isn’t an issue.”
“Not at all,” Celestia shook her head, “We have many carnivorous guests here at the palace. If you wish we can get meat from our stores for you to eat.”
“Well I’m sure I’ll be full after this, but I’ll keep that in mind.” Sol returned to his meal, and he noticed the sisters began to eat as well. Celestia ate a small cake, and while Sol thought it was a bit early, he didn’t know enough about pony biology to make a comment. Luna on the other hand, or hoof rather, appeared to be more health-conscious, choosing to eat a salad instead.
It didn’t take him that long to eat his omelet, and he patiently waited for the two to finish theirs. Once they were done, he asked them the question that had been on his mind. “So what’s the verdict on helping me?”
Luna wiped her mouth with a serviette. “We would like to, but our method for helping does require us to be more knowledgable of you before we do anything,” She looked to Celestia for her to continue.
“Before we give our final verdict, we would like to know more about you and your people,” A frown reached Celestia’s face, “In fact, we do not even know your species name.”
“Don’t blame your sister, she had more pressing questions that our name. I’m a human.”
Luna spoke up. “What are humans like? Humans besides you I mean.” Her tone of voice indicated she already had some inkling, something to ask about later.
Sol sighed, wondering how he’d present his species. “Humans are…well we’re complicated.“ We’ve created weapons that can wipe out entire continents. Our ships can eradicate a planet’s surface. Many genocides both young and old plague our history,” Sol looked to the enraptured yet mildly put off faces of the Princesses, “But do not think we are monsters. We travel the stars, plagues are a thing of the past, we’ve created self-aware Artificial Intelligence, and we are capable of immense compassion. Humans are complicated and messed up, but in the end, we are good. At least I like to think so.”
Luna gave Sol a look of approval. “Being able to speak negatively of your species speaks highly of both yourself and your fellow humans. You are capable of reflection, that alone shows that humans are at least not a completely destructive species.”
Celestia nodded in agreement. “Those who are unable to see their flaws are doomed to fall victim to them. Now, can you please tell us of your war?”
Images flashed before Sol’s eyes, retelling his many experiences in the Frontier War. “Oh, I can tell you alright. The war I was in is called the Frontier War. The Frontier is basically a collection of star systems located a good distance away from our homeworld, Earth, and the Core Systems. The place was settled by those brought over by the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, or IMC for short. The IMC had to leave however, due to conflict back in the Core Systems. When the IMC returned decades later, they found that the colonists they had left there had established very successful colonies all throughout the Frontier. Due to increased demand back home, the IMC began to take control of the Frontier, claiming that since they originally started these colonies, they were under the control of the IMC. The colonists did not like this, and began to fight back. Eventually, the various militia groups would combine into one organised military force, the Frontier Militia.”
“And what is this Frontier War like?” Celestia asked.
Sol looked her square in the eyes. “Hell. The war has been fought with some of the most advanced and experimental technology available, and since we are so far away from any of Earth’s monitoring, there is little to no adherence to any basic rule of war.”
Both Luna and Celestia looked quite disturbed by his description. Luna spoke with a quiet voice. “But if this war is so horrible, why fight in it?”
“Because if we don’t then the IMC will rule over us with an iron fist, destroying our lives in their efforts to increase their profits,” Sol’s gaze turned to the ground in shame, “At least, that’s why everyone else signed up. I originally didn’t want to. I thought that any contribution I would have made would be meaningless, and there was little point to risking my neck. My sister Grace though, she was quick to enlist with the closest militia group, before the Frontier Militia itself existed. Then one day I received a message informing me she’d been killed in the Battle of Demeter. One of the last few Pilots remaining when Macallan destroyed the facility’s reactor. It was then I decided to enlist, to honour my sister’s memory.”
Both Luna and Celestia shared a look with each other before nodding. Celestia got out of her seat, fully revealing her impressive height to Sol, before approaching him on his side of the table. “My sister and I’s plan to help you required us to know if you were a moral creature, one who could be trusted with what we want to grant you. I consider myself a good judge of character, and everything I have heard tells me that you are good, and can be trusted.”
Luna got out of her seat to stand beside her sister. “By speaking as you did, you proved yourself not a warrior, but a soldier. You do not fight for the love of what is in front of you, but for the love of what is behind you. We offer you a place in the Royal Guard. By entering its ranks you will be granted the full backing and resources of the Guard in your search. But know that by accepting you will be entrusted the lives of all those living in Equestria’s borders, to protect the innocent, to uphold justice, and to eradicate evil wherever it lies.”
To say the least, Sol was stunned. Well, I didn’t expect this. Maybe just a point in the right direction perhaps, not a place in this country’s military. While this is technically treason to the Militia, I’d be a fool to pass this up. “I... accept your offer. I only hope I live up to your expectations.”
Luna smiled. “I suspect you will.”
“Now comes the issue of which Guard you shall join,” Celesia spoke up, “The selection is between the Solar Guard and the Lunar Guard. The one under my command, as you can probably tell, is the Solar Guard. They are the guards you would have seen today. It is the face of the Royal Guard, the one Equestrian citizens interact with the most. In terms of police work, it mainly operates in the day time. Do know that this only works that way in areas where both the Lunar and Solar Guard exist, such as Canterlot. In areas with only one, they will operate in all hours. In times of war, both are very similar, with some specialisation.”
“That leaves my soldiers, the Lunar Guard,” Luna drew Sol’s attention, “We aren’t as popular with the people with us operating at night, and my banishment of course,” Sol noted to ask about that later, “You already got the rundown on how each Guard operate, so I don’t think I’ll get into that.”
Now that just leaves my decision. Both sisters were looking at him expectedly, both wanting him to join their own respective group. “Well Pilots are known for our ability to operate behind enemy lines and to operate under the cover of darkness. So I guess I’m gonna have to pick the Lunar Guard.”
Luna jumped into the air, pumping a hoof up in celebration. “YES! WE KNEW THEE WOULD PICK US! HAHA!” The Princess froze as she realised how she’d acted. “Forgive me, I just got a bit...excited.”
Her horn flashed, and a simple yet beautiful steel sword appeared floating before her. “Kneel.”
Sol was admittedly a bit giddy as he did so, his obsession with European history coming through. The sword floated towards him, lowering itself onto his right shoulder and then touching his left.
“Now rise Sol, Titan Pilot of the Lunar Guard.”
As Sol stood up, he was able to use his slightly taller frame to look past Celestia and Luna and see an open-mouthed Steel in the doorway.
“Oh by the Creator, that was the best breakfast I’ve ever had,” Steel had a huge smile on his face and a hoof on his stomach as he lied back in his chair next to Sol
After explaining Sol’s initiation to the colt, and a light-hearted scolding from Celestia for his language that still left him mortified, Steel had received his breakfast and devoured it all in record time. Despite the equine appearance, all Sol could see when he looked at Steel was his friend Dylan. That man could eat his whole body weight in food and still stay the same weight, Sol’s features drooped upon thinking of his old friend, Keep the fight going for me mate, do me proud.
Both of the Princesses were chatting with Steel, joking around with him and trying to make him feel as comfortable as possible. They’re good lads. If you are good with kids, you’re very likely to be a good person in my book.
“So how did you two end up together?” Sol was snapped out of his thoughts by Luna, turning around to find the dark blue mare staring up at him.
I forgot to talk about that, didn’t I? How in the hell did I survive so long on the Frontier? “About two days ago, I was walking alongside a river, hoping to find someone. When I stopped to sleep for the night, I heard screaming from across the river and I went to investigate. I followed the screaming and found Steel about to become a Timberwolf’s dinner. I shot it and took Steel back to my rest spot where we slept. Next day we introduced ourselves and we went back into the forest to find his mother.”
Celestia and Luna were able to draw from the mother’s absence how this story was going to end. Both kept a normal look on their face, no doubt to appear strong in front of Steel. But Sol had spent a lot of time around soldiers hiding their emotions and was able to detect their slight changes. Looking to Steel he could see the colt becoming visibly distressed as he remembered the events of that day. “You wanna sit this one out buddy?”
The little guy looked up to him and gave a nod so small his head almost didn’t move. Celestia got up from her chair and moved to beside Steel. Her magenta eyes radiating kindness to the colt. “Come my little pony, we can go on a tour around the palace, maybe go into the city. I’m sure Luna can fill me in later.” She opened her right-wing, ushering Steel to her side. Steel looked to Sol, who gave a smile and motioned him towards Celestia. Steel got up and moved under the Sun Princess’ wing. Both then left the dining room, and Sol could already hear a laugh from Steel as the door shut.
“You really care about him, don’t you?” Sol turned back to see Luna staring into his eyes, a small smile resting on her features.
Sol began to fiddle with his fingers, not knowing how to respond. “Well, he is pretty cute.”
Luna’s features told him she didn’t quite believe him. “I may not be an expert, but I recognise parental love when I see it.”
Sol turned his eyes down. “Well if you want to understand, then I’m gonna have to finish my story,” Receiving a nod, he continued his retelling, “We eventually found the clearing where he lived with his mum. At the entrance to the clearing, there was a little statuette of a unicorn with its horn broken off. Steel told me that they were enchanted to keep the ‘bad animals’ out.”
“And since the horn was broken, then the enchantment would’ve also been broken.” Luna had a hoof on her chin as if in thought.
“Bingo. At the time I didn’t think much of it, as back home magic doesn’t exist. When we entered the cottage I found a timberwolf gnawing what remained of Steel’s mother. I killed it, and when the rest of the timberwolves appeared I killed them too. Later that day, after I had buried his mother, I had found another statuette with its horn broken off too. While I still didn’t believe magic was real, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. That it wasn’t some animal that had bumped into it.”
Luna’s features creased in worry, looking to the door where Celestia and Steel had left. “Somepony had destroyed the statues.”
Sol gave a small nod in response. “I quickly gathered some supplies and left with Steel to Canterlot. I knew we couldn’t stay there, I had to get him somewhere safe,” Tears began to fall from his eyes, guilt racked his body as the image of the desecrated body appeared in his mind. He closed his eyes in an effort to stop the tears. “If I had taken him to find his mother earlier I could’ve saved her!”
He suddenly felt some weight on his shoulders. Opening his eyes he found Luna’s face close to his and her hooves on his shoulders. Staring into her bright blue eyes he found only an ocean of calm and ancient wisdom. “Your priority was to Steel. You took him out of an area that had only proven hostile to you and gave him a place to rest. You willingly saved a completely alien creature and looked after him to the best of your ability. You went above and beyond, and I couldn’t be prouder to call you a Lunar Guard.” She pulled Sol into an embrace with a surprising amount of strength. Feeling her presence and hearing her words he began to calm down.
They stayed like that for a good couple of minutes before they released each other. Sol’s face was still stained with dry tears, but otherwise, he had returned to normal. As they sat in comfortable silence, he felt what he knew was a shit-eating grin grow on his face. “You know back on Harmony it was usually the guy that made the first move.”
Almost immediately a blush somehow managed to appear through her fur. “Wh-whatever doth thou me-mean thou monkey!”
Sol erupted with laughter. “Oh my God, you are so precious. It’s just a joke. Sorry if it was perhaps inappropriate, that’s just how we broke silence back on Harmony.”
The blush on her face began to fade away, as she sat motionless for a moment before laughing herself. “It was a good joke, prithee forgive mine own reaction.”
Sol once more attempted to raise one eyebrow, failing of course. “What’s with the old-timey language?”
Luna’s eyes widened in horror, her hooves covered her mouth as if she was trying to prevent herself from speaking. “Do you know of my banishment?”
“Heard of it, don’t know much of it.”
Now it was Luna’s turn to appear nervous. “Around one thousand years ago I ruled alongside my sister. But our subjects loved her sun far more than my moon, sleeping through it and never seeing all the work I put into the sky. They adored Celestia, and while they listened to me, they did not love me as they loved her. I grew insanely jealous and bitter until eventually one day I... well I cracked. My hatred, jealousy and bitterness transformed me into somepony else entirely. I had become a creature known as Nightmare Moon, and I attempted to plunge the planet into everlasting night. Celestia defeated me using magical artifacts called the Elements of Harmony, banishing me to the moon for over one thousand years. And there I waited, until one day the Element’s power over me waned and I returned to Equestria. I was however then defeated once more by the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and I was transformed back into my normal form. As I had had no contact for a thousand years, I only knew the dialect from that time period. Every now and then I slip back into them.” Luna looked down in shame, unable to look Sol in the eyes.
Sol looked to the shamed Princess, disheartened to see her so downcast. “If you think I am disgusted or something, then I think you’ll find yourself to be incorrect.”
Luna’s head snapped up, her expression was hopeful. “Really?”
“What you did a thousand years ago is irrelevant Luna. All that matters now is the present. And what I see before me now is a wonderful mare that has only treated me with respect and kindness. You’re amazing Luna, don’t forget that.”
Luna began to resemble a fish out of the water, her mouth open and stammering. “I don’t know what to say...besides my guards and this one town, ponies are not normally so kind to me…”
“Well I’m not a pony, I’m a human. And humans love the night.”
Her facial expressions changed rather rapidly, going through many different emotions before finally settling on happiness. “Thank you, Sol... it means a lot.”
While Sol was happy to see Luna happy, his Australian DNA demanded him to inject a joke into this sappy situation. “Well, they don’t call me ‘lady killer’ for nothing.”
Despite Luna not knowing what lady meant, she was able to catch on the phrase’s meaning. As evidenced by her lightly punching his shoulder with a laugh. “Now I wouldn’t say that you big ape.”
Sol raised a hand to his chest in mock offence. “I’ll have you know that humans used to be apes, now we only eat knits every other week or so.”
Luna gave off another laugh, the sound of which was very pleasant to Sol’s ears. She got out of her seat and began walking towards the door. “While I’d love to sit here and exchange jokes, we’ve got to get you ready for the Guard. Please follow me.”
Sol got up from his chair and soon reached Luna’s side. “Where we headed first?”
“The armoury. While your weapons are more than adequate, we will need to change your armour’s colour scheme so you can be identified as Lunar Guard. Why is your armour coloured the way it is anyway?”
“It’s camouflage,” Sol said as he looked at the various paintings lining the hallway.
Luna looked over his armour again and looked back with a disbelieving eye. “Blue and grey aren’t exactly the best colours for blending into the environment.”
“It’s urban camouflage, basically for city environments. The environment I was deployed in for my last mission was largely metal and concrete, so this colour scheme works. It’s also not meant to make me undetectable, but it’s meant to break up my shape so it males hostiles take just that little bit longer to figure out I’m a human, and to make it harder to shoot me from a distance.”
Luna gave a small sound of approval at the concept. “So what was the last mission you went on?”
“Operation Grizzly. Our objective was to attack an IMC research facility and investigate what was going on there. I remember the initial assault, dealing with an enemy Titan, and then the next thing I can remember is opening my eyes on an Equestrian hill.”
“Maybe this facility had something to do with you ending up here?” Luna suggested.
“Perhaps, but I can’t say for certain,” Some time passed as the two walked in silence before Sol broke it, “I made a promise to Steel that I would bring his mother’s murderer to justice. I would like to ask for your assistance in that.”
Luna looked surprised at his request. “There is no need to ask, I had already planned to dispatch a team to investigate. Where was the cottage?”
“Towards the edge of a forest West of here, Steel can probably give you a better description.”
Luna smiled at the colt’s name. “Any excuse to see the little one is good.”
Sol nodded in agreement, before realising Luna couldn’t see as she was looking forward. “Also, despite what you may think of my weaponry I will still need a new weapon.”
Luna’s face scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean? Your ‘firearms’ are far superior to anything we have.”
“True, but I need ammunition for them. And making ammo is outside of my pay-grade. Beck will have the knowledge, but until I get her back I only have a limited amount of bullets.”
“Well we can discuss it with our resident ‘Master Smith’, as he likes to call himself.”
Sol raised both his eyebrows, having given up on just one for the time being. “Sounds like a fun guy.”
Eventually they found themselves outside what appeared to be a rather large building outside of the castle. There were many chimneys protruding from the building’s roof, some were billowing smoke and some were not. Luna entered and Sol followed through. As they moved through the building Sol could see dozens of ponies working on weapons and armour. Some were pelting steel on anvils, some were melting metal in the forge. What Sol was surprised by however was the heat, or rather the lack of it.
“Shouldn’t a smithy be a bit hotter? It’s colder here than outside.”
Luna pointed to the roof, and Sol could see blue symbols engraved in the stone and wood. “Very expensive cooling enchantments. A smith’s job is already pretty hard, gotta help them anyway we can.”
Soon they came to the end of the building, and Sol was facing something the largest sapient creature he’d ever seen.
A fucking minotaur!
The 7 foot tall minotaur had a red fur coat torso with darker red fur covering his legs. The minotaur turned around and its features immediately lit up upon seeing them.
“Haha! Good to see you Princess!” The minotaur boomed with a deep voice, turning towards Sol, “And you! Heard quite a bit about you and your weapons from the Lunar Guard! What’s your name?” He held out his hand in greeting.
Sol eagerly met his handshake, surprising himself by almost being able to match the big guy’s grip. “Sol, you?”
“Call me Stone,” Stone released his grip on Sol’s hand, much to his relief, “Whataya here for?”
Luna stepped forward. “Sol here has been inducted into the Lunar Guard, and needs his armour colour changed to the Lunar standard. He also says he wants a new weapon.”
Stone’s eyes lit up upon hearing ‘weapon’. “Got any ideas?”
Sol rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t really know. The only melee weapon I’ve used before is my knife, and that is definitely not suited for frontline combat.”
Stone thought for a minute before motioning for them to follow him. He led them to another room, one filled with various weapons and gear. “Take a look! Of course any weapon you pick will be custom made for you due to your larger size, bipedal nature and hands, but you should be able to pick a type of weapon you like.”
Sol went over and inspected the different weapons on offer. He didn’t pick any up, only giving them a glance. All of these weapons are from European history, so I guess I already know quite a bit about them.
He turned back to face Stone, noticing that Luna was nerding out over what looked to be a Zweihander. “This world has many startling resemblances to my world, weapons included. I can recall reading about pretty much every type of weapon here, so I already know what they all do. And I already know what I want.”
He moved over to the hammer area and grabbed a one-handed warhammer. It was rather awkward for him to grip due to the various parts on it to make it suitable for hooves, but it was still a beauty nonetheless. “My fighting style is very...mobile...to say the least. I need a weapon that is small enough to not get caught on any terrain and fit on my person comfortably. While I could have picked a more elegant weapon like a short sword, I doubt most of my enemies will be so kind as to face me with no armour. And this hammer will be able to deal with armour far better than a sword. The hammer side can do blunt damage, while the spike side should be able to penetrate armour. A popular weapon for knights in history before plate armour became so developed they could ditch shields. All in all, I feel like this should suit me fairly well.”
He placed the weapon back into its place before turning back. Luna stared at him with what he swore was...awe? While Stone gave a look of approval at his weapon. “Good choice, a maul is more my style, but a warhammer is still a fine weapon. I’ll make your hammer myself.”
Sol smiled in appreciation. “Thank you, I look forward to having it in my hands. Now are we going to change my armour’s colour?”
Stone’s eyes widened in shock. “Horseapples, almost forgot. I’ll be right back.” He rushed out of the room, almost pulling the door off its hinges.
Looking to Luna, Sol could see she’d returned to nerding out over weapons. This time it was a bardiche. Girl likes her weapons. Can’t blame her really, all this stuff is really cool.
Stone burst back in with a blue gem. “I’m gonna need you to take off your armour.”
Sol hesitated for a second before he moved over to a table and began to take off his armour. How else is he gonna do his work if a human is still attached to it.
Sol started by taking his helmet off his belt and placing it on the table. “So what does that gem have to do with changing my armour’s colour scheme?”
Stone pulled the gem up to eye level, Sol’s eye level that is. “We use gems like these to colour a standard steel set of armour either Lunar or Solar standard. We weren’t going to use actual gold for the Solar Guard armour of course, we want them to survive a stab or two.”
Sol thought this over as he began slipping off the armour plates on his arms. “So how does a Minotaur end up in Equestria? I’ve haven’t been here for very long, but all I’ve seen are ponies.”
The big guy shrugged as he leaned on the wall. “I was found on the streets of Canterlot as a calf and was put into an orphanage. My birth parents may have been killed, maybe they left me, I don’t know. Doesn’t really bother me, I got adopted by a unicorn couple and they raised me. I may be a Minotaur, but I’m as Equestrian as you can get.”
Luna piped up from a different section of the room, this time near an assortment of spears. “His parents were some of the best blacksmiths in Equestria, working in this very building as the head smiths. When they retired they recommended Stone here to fill their place. He had already been working here and had proven his worth, his steel was highly sought after by the guard. My sister promoted him fairly quickly.”
Sol placed his combat boots on the table, and he was done. He was left barefoot in his fatigues. “That should be it, work your magic my friend.”
Stone stepped to the table, first grabbing the helmet and turning it over in his grip, inspecting all the aspects of it that are certainly foreign to him. “I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen gear quite like this before. This helmet for example looks to have a glass visor.”
Sol pulled out a chair from the table, eager to watch the Minotaur work. “You’re kinda right, but it isn’t ordinary glass. It’s incredibly durable and it captures the outside world, projecting it inside my helmet. This allows me to wear the helmet and not suffer any drawbacks to my visibility. It also displays information like my current mission objective, the amount of ammunition in my weapons, allied locations and a bunch of other goodies.”
Stone let out an appreciative whistle. “Damn, this is some advanced stuff. No magic involved in this baby?”
“Nah, one hundred percent human technology. No magic involved.”
Stone reached for the gem. “I love humans already,” He placed the gem on the helmet and closed his eyes. The point of contact between the helmet and gem began to turn to a dark blue, and the colour spread out until the urban camouflage had been replaced by the Lunar Guard’s colour.
As Stone reached for the shoulder pieces, Sol quickly reached out with his arms to stop him. “See here,” He pointed to the SRS insignia present, “I know it may not be proper for me to display the symbols of another military, but I haven’t got much to remind me of home.”
Stone nodded, and Sol let go. Soon, his entire armour set was recoloured and Sol began to put it all back on. Once he was fully equipped again, he turned to Luna. She was sitting down in a pile of various weapons, trying to look inconspicuous. “How do I look?”
The all mighty and powerful Princess of the Night lifted herself out of her sharp playground, trying to avoid the glare of Stone, making her look like a little child by comparison. “I may be a bit biased, but the blue rather suits you,” Luna sheepishly glanced at Stone, who was busy picking up the discarded weaponry, “I think we should leave the Master Smith to his responsibilities. Like right now,” She grabbed Sol’s hand and used her disproportionate strength to pull him by his hand out of the room and then out of the smithy.
Once outside Luna let go of Sol, turning towards him with a glare. “Not. A. Word.”
At those words, his eyes twitched. You can’t just tell me not to make fun of you after something like that, it only makes me want to do it, He opened his mouth to jab fun at her, but an even more intense glare and a flare of her horn silenced him, She may be an easy target, but she’s still an ancient being with magic, as well as my head of state. Probably best not to antagonise her, A devious smile creeped onto his face, Not yet at least.
“Where are we off to now?”
Luna began to walk back towards the castle, looking back to address him with an evil look. “Why the most exciting part of all. Paperwork!”
A part of Sol died then.
****
“Do you have a criminal record?”
“Of course I don’t! I just arrived on this damn planet!”
Sol had found himself in Luna’s study, sat in a guest’s seat opposite her behind her desk. They’d gone there to go through all the documentation required to grant him Equestrian citizenship and a place in the Lunar Guard. Unfortunately for him, Luna seemed to enjoy dragging out this rather tedious process.
“What was your reason for wanting to join the Guard?” Luna was trying to hide her smile behind her documents. Trying and failing.
Sol covered his face with his hands, bringing them down his face as he took some deep breaths. “I wanted to join the Guard so I can find a lost friend.”
The mare was barely containing her laughter now. “And can you provide a description of this friend of yours?”
Sol used a ruler he’d acquired from the desk to poke the dierach, eliciting a yelp in response. “Oh you know, fairly average. Tall, dark and armed to the teeth.”
Finishing the exaggerated rubbing of her ‘wound’, she slid a document across the table while levitating a quill to him. “Please sign in the space provided and you shall officially be a Lieutenant in the Lunar Guard.”
“Thank fuck,” He gratefully accepted the quill and signed his name, “Is that really all it?” He wasn’t too trusting in this case.
Luna nodded, rolling her eyes. “As fun as it is annoying you, I do have other duties.”
“So what do I do now?” Sol asked.
Luna shrugged, looking down at a new set of documents. “Celestia is probably out in Canterlot with Steel, taking him to her favourite bakeries no doubt, so you can’t fawn over him for now. You don’t have any orders for the rest of the day, we’ll get into your duties tomorrow. Just explore the castle if you want, maybe check out the library? You do seem like a giant nerd.”
“Oh you’re one to talk. I bet you could tell me the history of each weapon back in that room, their applications and their forging processes.”
Once again, Sol was amazed by how ponies were able to blush through fur. “”W-we are one of the rulers of this nation, should we not know of the weapons used to protect it?”
Sol leaned in until he was about to fall over the table, booping the Princess on the muzzle. “We’re all nerds about something Luna.”
Luna brought a hoof to the point of contact, disbelief written plain on her face. This disbelief was quickly replaced by joy however. “Thank you Sol, for being so...informal with me. Normally the only creatures I can have a normal conversation with are my sister and my pet opossum, Tiberius. Although in the latter case it is rather one-sided. But when we are not in private, I would ask you to act far more formally. I am your head of state and the highest ranking member of the Lunar Guard, it would not do for others to see the chain of command be followed so loosely.”
Sol stood at attention, giving the standard Militia salute. Longest path up, shortest down. “When in the presence of others I will do my best to stay professional Your Majesty. Having worked in positions of leadership before I know how important the chain of command is, and I am sorry for my immature behaviour,” Breaking his professional stance, he smiled, “At least, I am sorry for my behaviour in public.”
Luna nodded, thankful for his understanding. “At ease. Now, you are free to do as you please. And also, I shall inform the Guard of your rank, so no need to worry about being mistaken for a civilian.”
Sol gave his thanks and another boop on the muzzle before he pushed the office’s doors open and left the room.
****
So she’s an alicorn? Certainly easier to say than ‘unicorn with wings’.
Following Luna’s advice, Sol had made his way to the Castle Library, using some directions from a mildly intimidated maid. Can’t blame the girl, I am like two times her height.
He’d read a fair amount of books by now, starting off with general knowledge books before delving into history, one of Sol’s favourite subjects. Two piles of books sat in front of him: a pile for the picks he’d picked out and was yet to read, and a pile for those he’d already read. Despite his rather lengthy stay in the library, the second pile was far smaller than the first. This was much to Sol’s excitement, as finishing something was always a bit depressing.
The man read for hours, chipping away at the pile page by page, book by book. When Celestia and Steel entered the library in search of the colt’s caretaker, they found Sol asleep in his chair and his face laying on a military history book.
While Steel laughed at the display, Celestia looked upon the soldier with an amused gaze. What a cute yet embarrasing sight. For him at least. Flaring her horn, she teleported herself, Steel, Sol and his books into his room in an effort to preserve his dignity. Levitating the books onto the bedside table, and Sol into bed, she then tucked Steel into his own.
She left the room, looking back at the sleeping human from the door, and at the colt already moving to Sol’s side. Sleep well, my little human.
