Chapter 41: Great White North
Part 1: Old Friends
TIME: 14:44 Herdiet Western Time
DATE: War Day 419/27 Quintillus 1873
LOCATION: 27 km from the Canidan border, Union of Herdiet Stableist Republics
Captain Havoc, his old Pack, and an additional cluster of other wolves, melted from the forest around us. Three Ranger squads, organized along Equestrian lines. Havoc was sitting on his haunches, panting happily.
Capt. Havoc: "So? Didja?" He beamed.
Twilight: "Havoc! You saved our hides! Who's a good boy?!"
She giggled. The girls giggled. Even the stallions chuckled.
Capt. Havoc: "Me?" He gave me a goofy grin, then got serious. "Corporal!" He nodded to one of his men. "Bring up the Supply Sled!"
Cpl. Fuzzin: "Yes'ir!"
And up came three Canids with sleds pulled behind them. Inside was a full compliment of NEIGHTO weapons and equipment.
Capt. Havoc: "Murder Presents, old friend." A grin.
K: "Girls, get equipped." I nodded. "We have wounded."
Capt. Havoc: "Get the Medics up here." He nodded to a Sergeant.
Sgt. Panters: "Yes'er!" Slightly different accent. He trotted back and returned with three medics, who immediately tended to Radaz and Borz.
Medic/Sgt. O'Fang: "D'is one's bad off, sir. We need ta get him outta here, eh." He looked at one of the others. "IV with lactated ringer's, point-five milligrams M.S., IV push."
Capt. Havoc: "And who's these three?" He nodded to Stupka, Sinichka and Kosegin.
K: "Major Kosegin of the Strategic Rocket Forces of the Herdiet Union, defected, and proved himself a good ally. This is Sinichka, a farm girl who was being harassed by a local commissar. She gave us shelter, food, and helped us get the girls back. Then, there's Stupka, a Freedom Fighter from the Don Cossacks."
I introduced, as I got equipped. What I now noticed was that Canidan weapons.. had proper triggers and trigger guards.. not 'lemon squeezers' like Equestrian weapons. They had a Canidan variant of the Bradley/Gavin for me, and a full set of grenades and magazines, along with a Canidan-made Enfield L-2, which was basically a Browning Hi-Power from Earth.
I felt.. armed. Properly armed. Rightly armed. Like the feeling one gets when one is suddenly given the tools for a job that feel so natural to them, they can't imagine using anything else.
Stupka: "Eh-heh.. nice Canid.. no eatings, plez." He actually seemed a bit afraid!
Capt. Havoc: "Nice to meet you all! Don't worry, we have no intention of eating any of you. The Herdiets, on the other hand..?"
A squad came running back from the area we'd just come from. The squad leader was one of Havoc's old pack. They were covered in blood - they'd clearly been eating the Herdiets, alright.
Sgt. Wuffberry: "Captain! The enemy has reinforcements, about one hour behind. We need to move, sir - they're regular army, and they have armor." He nodded to me. "Hello, Human. Long time, no see."
K: "Just, K, please." I reached over and gave him a half-hug.
Capt. Havoc: "We need to get up that cliff face. Get the ropes out, and ready the Stoker Stretchers for the injured." He directed, expertly.
K: "How'd you get so good at this?" I asked.
Capt. Havoc: "Derpy and the other Royal Rangers trained me, and when my pack returned to Canida, they offered me a leadership position, if I'd help train their army. You know Derpy made a careful log of each of your decisions in battle? And the manuals you left behind? I learned from YOU, K." He grinned, and nuzzled me. "You're kinda.. all I have left of my childhood. They're all gone, now, you know. I wanted to be just like you, in every possible way. I wanted.. to save.. lives." He shrugged.
K: "Again with Derpy!" I shook my head. Wingpony of the Century that one.
Lt. Barker: "Captain, ropes ready, injured on Stoker Stretchers. First Company is ready to move out." He nodded at me. "General?"
K: "Your unit, Havoc. Don't let me interfere." I shrugged. "This is your operation, and just about everyone with me is injured or compromised. Myself included."
Capt. Havoc: "Let's show K what we've learned, Lieutenant." He nodded to his men. "First Company, move out!"
First Company, Canidan 1st Ranger Regiment, carried all the girls, plus Radaz and Borz to the cliffs, and eased them up using ropes. Two squads at the top helped pull them up. I managed to climb, hand over hand, up the cliff face. Not something I could have done when I first got to Equus. Hell with my weakened condition, it was still hard, but I had some help.
Once we were up on the cliff face, Havoc led the Company towards the Canidan border. The regular army troops, when they found their friends, would discover that cliff extended five kilometers in both directions. They'd never catch us, now, not with the forest growing denser, and the jagged terrain becoming unsuitable for tanks.
We were home free.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Border Ambush
TIME: 11:12 Herdiet Western Time
DATE: War Day 420/28 Quintillus 1873
LOCATION: 1 km from the Canidan border, Union of Herdiet Stableist Republics
We made excellent time, on wolf paw and hoof and foot. It was tiring for me, in my condition, but we managed to clear the last 26 kilometers in short order. No pursuit. Nothing. Just ahead was the border, and it was clear why and how the border existed.
There was another cliff face, here, and below it, a bit of rolling plane and a river. We were just inside the border region, now, well within "unmarked mistake" territory, even if we left all those bodies back there.
As we approached the cliff, though, the other horseshoe dropped. With us at the edge of the forest, looking over at the cliff itself, and making preparations to repel it, we heard boots. Lots, and lots of boots. And tanks, and mechanized vehicles..
..an entire brigade (3,240 ponies) of Herdiet soldiers started driving up, and offloaded right in front of us, perhaps 200 meters distant, blocking the cliff, and our salvation. Truck after truck after truck, driving up, offloading troops, the troops offloading sandbags and setting up defensive positions.. within two minutes, they'd rolled up their light tanks, too, and while the soldiers hadn't time to dig fighting positions, they were well dug in between their vehicles and their sandbag walls.
One of those Commie jeeps pulled up just behind the growing wall of sand bags, and a very well decorated officer stepped out. Like Prelkov had been, he was dressed in black boots on his rear legs, and hoofcaps over the front. He had a tall, peaked cap, and his uniform was mainly dark blue.
Gen. Hortensky: "GENERAL K! ZIS IS COMRADE MAJOR GENERAL GREGORI HORTENSKY!" He chuckled. "COME OUT, GENERAL!"
I scowled. And I looked at Pinkie. She just gave me a very wide grin, and ruffled my hair. I glanced at Havoc, and he shook his head with a grin.
Capt. Havoc: "Talk to him, General. He has no idea.. YOU have no idea.."
He whispered to me, and I grinned and nodded.
K: "Coming out, General." I handed off my Bradley/Gavin, and stepped clear, pacing out near the General as the Canidan Rangers took defensive positions. "You wished to speak to me?"
MGen. Hortensky: "Da, Comrade!" He chuckled, self-assured. "You know, the legends, I do not know if they are so true? You have reputation, Comrade General, of amazing military feats with so little. Amazing ability to success despite great odds. And yet.. you fell for our trap. Was so simple! Deny option, push, deny option, push.. and it cost us some men, yes, but now.. you are trapped and we have sixty times your number to your front, and twenty times, to your rear." He shrugged at me. "You are the one, now, who has no options!"
K: *coff* "Well, I *have* options, but it seems, none of them are favorable. Unless.. you're offering an alternative?" I shrugged back.
Quick math - he had another Herdiet battalion coming up on the rear. I guessed a mixture of Border Guards and VDV, possibly legit Spetsnaz, if they were anything like the real Soviet Union.
MGen. Hortensky: "Da, da.. we are reasonable stallions, us, Comrade Gen'ral, yes? Spare your men their lives. Hm? Return us the device and your electronic bar with the buttons on it. And we let you go? Yes." He shrugged and grinned at me, with a slightly egotistical whinny at the end.
K: "You want my cell phone, and the atomic bomb core, you mean? Just to make sure we're on the same page, here." I played a bit dumb over the poor mental translation.
MGen. Hortensky: "Da-da! Yes-yes. That.. that." He nodded, eagerly, then gave me a reserved look. "I would hate to have to be the one to end your legend, here.. and be one to slaughter so many Equestrian troops." He shrugged. "Then take things from your corpses, if you don't try to destroy them, first." He gestured. "You lose all men, I lose some men.. ehh.. would be regrettable outcome for us both - you, though, more than me, da?"
K: "So.. you think.. you have a disparity of force, here. That.. you can beat us. A brigade.. and a battalion.. versus a company. Seems legit.. except.." Again with the Shatneresque. Complete with hand getures.
I'd delayed them long enough. XY-3101, XY-3102, and XY-3103 were rising just above the lip of the cliff.. right behind him.. and in the distance, HCMAS Superb and Swiftsure were coming from around a hill.. broadside to the enemy troops..
K: "I have air support right behind you." I pointed.
He turned.
I grabbed him and pulled back, Morgan yanked free, and aimed at his head.
MGen. Hortensky: "BEHIND US! OPEN FIRE!"
Lyra: "AIM FER TH' GUN CREWS!" She shouted from a perch on 3101.
Toola: "RANGERS! GO-GO-GO!" She yelled from 3102.
Sombra: "AERO-MARINES, CHAAARGE!" He bellowed from 3103.
I drew back towards the foliage as the three heavy machine gun armed excursion vessels, their crews, and the extra troops on each of them began opening fire. From Superb and Swiftsure, 75mm gun fire began raining down on the tanks, and a cloud of Pegasi Ponies came from each. I could hear bombs being dropped, strafing runs being executed.
Havoc called for the Canidan Rangers to reverse defensive positions, to hit the oncoming enemy coming up from the rear. I could see the Dex Runner's Paddock County Rangers and Crystal Kingdom Aero Marines disembark from the flank, and come up to support us. Sombra led the Marines personally.
Dex: "GEN-ER-AL K, MY ABSOLUTE DUDE!" He skidded over next to me, and gave me half a hug as he rolled over and fired on the enemy.
Sombra: "My friend! You live, I see!" He charged over, and whipped his head to unleash a streak of black fragments at an oncoming soldier, before pulling out his own sword and levitating a Merill Commando Machine Gun. "We are pleased." He knelt beside me. "You hath given back mine life, and I shall repay thee in kind.. though, truly, what thou hast done is a debt I shall never truly repay." He put a hoof on my shoulder, and nodded.
K: "It's good to see you, fellas." I grinned, as Forest Spirit landed via parachute right near me.
Forest Spirit: "General!" He nodded and grinned. "Time to kick some flank, eh?"
K: "No kidding. Get your Marines down and to the left flank. Sombra, Dex, take the right. Havoc has the center. Make it happen! TAKE them!" I gestured, and off they took.
To be honest, again, I didn't need to direct this battle. Someone else - Forest Spirit and Sombra - had planned the operation. They were in tactical control. I took up the weapon the Canidans had brought me, and fell in as a foot soldier.
I could, now, see how Canidans fought Ponies. As a section of VDV moved up with rocket launchers, camouflaged Canidan Rangers sprang up from the bush, and tore into them, with tooth and claw. And ate them. Partially. One poor Trooper was set upon by the whole squad. One on each limb. One on the guts. One... lower. They tore him asunder, the VDV Pony screaming in agony the whole time. They made a gesture of feeding on his most tender bits, then glared over to the left-center flank.
This causing panic among nearby Border Guards troops, at the left-center, and they evacuated their positions as fast as they evacuated in their shorts. One by one, those Border Guards vanished. Canidans had infiltrated both flanks, and were making silent, distracted kills, dragging the enemy into the underbrush before finishing them off.
Those poor Herdiets never stood a chance. Not in this terrain. Not against a force of largely combat veteraned, elite troops. Or their natural predators.
The fight would not last terribly long.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Reprieve
TIME: 11:58 Herdiet Western Time
DATE: War Day 420/28 Quintillus 1873
LOCATION: 1 km from the Canidan border, Union of Herdiet Stableist Republics
K: "And I hereby apologize for the mistaken assault on the NEIGHTO forces." I nodded to Hortensky.
Hortensky: "..mistaken assault.. NEIGHTO forces.." He was writing with a gun to his head. My gun.
K: "Good, now sign it." I nodded at him.
Hortensky: "It is done, Comrade.." He glared at me.
K: "Awesome. You and what's left of your division are free to go." I gestured. "I hope you've learned the futility of attacking people who have friends willing to protect them." I patted his shoulder condescendingly as I holstered my Morgan.
Hortensky: "You.. slaughtered.." He looked at me angrily. "..those 'volves! Zey ate my men!!!" He sneered at Havoc.
Capt. Havoc: "Who? Us?" He gave a wheezing snicker, and topped it with a fierce grin. "Do it again, too. Herdiets tastes likes chickens!" He licked his bloodied muzzle.
Hortensky: "YOU-!"
K: "General Hortensky. GET. OUT. OF. HERE." I demanded, as I pointed to his blood-soaked jeep.
We attacked a combined arms brigade and support battalion of 4,320 Herdiet ponies with not even a third of that number, and inflicted 2,172 fatalities, 1,006 non-walking injuries, and 201 walking wounded, leaving only 941 uninjured survivors. We took only 102 injured in return, and no deaths. No wounds on our side were all that serious - none maimed, all walked back to embarkation under their own power.
Now, I was letting him go in exchange for a confession that he was ordered to attack us on the orders of Marshal Stipkin (who, we learned, had taken his chance to murder Premier Zhelezo and become ruler of the Herdiet Union), and that his humiliating defeat was precisely his fault - that he was a poor combat commander, and his whole set-up was a huge mistake. Not in policy, but in strategy.
Words that would get him a firing squad when he returned to Moscow, and I knew it. I also didn't care.
Most of our troops were loaded back up on the Airships, while my command staff, plus Forest Spirit, Dex, and Lord General Sombra, stayed behind for his battlefield surrender. I also took his sword and pistol as keepsakes.
With his surrender complete, he got in his jeep and took off. His army struggled to follow, with many vehicles shot up or damaged. While I didn't expect him to abide the terms, he did take everything his remaining troops could carry. We'd send Canidan troops back for the rest, to scavenge for intelligence of any kind, and deny their future use to the enemy.
K: "Lads, let's go." I nodded to XY-3102.
Getting in, though...
Lugnut: "Sparky! It's the general! Fix your tie!" He flittered with his tie, with his forehooves.
Sparky: "Y-yes, Luggie..!" He tried to straighten it, but the front came out comically shorter than the back.
Lugnut went to fix it, but I harshly stopped him.
K: "Lugnut. It's fine." And I hugged him. "Just don't move, okay?"
Sparky: *Sniffs*
K: "You, too." I hugged him as well. "Thank you, my dear friends."
Lugnut: "Sir, we..."
K: "I heard how you two worked so hard to keep this vessel going so you could search for me. Went two days with no sleep. And we barely knew each other." I was teared up a bit. "Thanks, you guys. You're the best - just like Captain Iris said."
Lugnut: "Er.. thank you, General." No tone of silly, just emotion.
Sparky: *Emotional sniffle* "Thank'ya, suh!" He beamed.
I moved up on to the deck, seeing Norfy, Gaze, Cosmic, Toola, Gilda, Derpy, Dr. Allcome, and Nurse Redheart (who was now very visibly pregnant).
K: "Group hug! General's orders!" I knelt down.
And we all hugged. Everyone welcomed me back. Everyone. It'd been so long since I'd been with my friends. We chuckled together for a good couple minutes, hugging and carrying on.
Derpy: "K! Forest Spirit and Redheart..!"
I nodded. I knew they were an item. I just grinned at him as he came up on the deck, and the girls were brought onboard on stretchers.
Forest Spirit: "We both agreed to become informally wed once she realized she was pregnant, but we want to have a proper ceremony now that you're rescued, my General." He put a hoof on my shoulder.
K: "From a stuck-up Lieutenant, to Commandant of Marines." I smirked. "In less than a year."
Forest Spirit: "I'm just a colonel, sir, I-"
Redheart: "Honey, he's promoting you." She smiled. "Thank you, K."
K: "No, he's earned it. I mean it. What contact I had with Luna, she told me how you broke the piracy ring that'd been supporting Carousel Island, directed strategy for our rescue, and developed the Marine Training School at Stable Island." I nodded. "You did this just based off of my influence, not my direct instructions. Those are the actions of a Marine Commandant, not a Colonel." I nodded.
Twilight: "For what it's worth, I agree.." She muttered, sleepily.
Pinkie: "Wedding.. party..?" She looked up as she was carried past.
K: "Yes, Pinkie. And I want it to be a big one." I nodded.
Gaze: "Awful gud tae see ye, sir!" He grinned.
Norfy: "I knew you'd be okay." He shrugged.
Cosmic: "Outstanding job, sir." He nodded. "We missed you."
K: "Alright.. where to, next?" I strode to the pilot's position.
Gilda: "Yellowknife. Uhm.. we.. kinda need fuel, General." She grinned, and patted my hip. "Thanks for bringing them back."
K: "Then, Yellowknife it is! Best possible speed." I pointed. "I'm.. going to go lay down."
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: The Greater Herd-Family
TIME: 12:47 Canidan Western Time (CWT)
DATE: War Day 422/1 Sextus 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Saint Barktholomew's Hospital, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Republic of Canida
I was in bed. Dr. Allcome's orders. We were a very long way from where we'd been captured. Very long. It would take a one week train trip to get back to Equestria, or five days by Airship. We were, in fact, at the northern limit of NEIGHTO territory. The Herdiet Union controlled a section north of this, and then further west. As though Canada and Russia had been smashed together at the top, with seas cutting holes in the land between them, and smooshed south some. This Yellowknife was a bit further relatively south than the one I knew, and Moscow was not that much further north, but further west.
Herdiet Airships were fast. Much faster than Crystal Kingdom airships. I clocked them at least at 300 miles an hour (483kph), if I was reading the gauges properly on the captured and crashed bomber. We DID manage to cross the majority of Herdiet territory in about five hours, weaving a very intricate and semi-random path from Moscow to within 50 km of the Canidan border. That's over 2400km.
That was also the rough distance from the Canidan-Herdiet border, to the Canidan capital city of Otterwa. Canterlot was about another 1550 kilometers from that. The distance from the Canidan-Herdiet Border to Canterlot was also roughly the distance from New York to Los Angeles (3,945km).
Had we flown straight, we would have spent most of our time over uninhabited and likely unexplored lands, but the trip would have been about 1860 km. We'd bobbed and weaved through several major cities to get close to the "jump for the border" point, the last city we flew over was Kavalovsk, which I guessed was the analogue to Khabarovsk.
With that, I figured, a Herdiet airship bomber could reach Canterlot, a distance of 3,410km from Moscow, in seven hours and change. While that DID give us incredible warning time, we had.. no way to detect-
Celestia: "Resting and writing, My General?" She sauntered into the room.
K: "The hell are you doing here?" I asked, quizzically.
Celestia: "We're both here. Once Luna said you were in the Herdiet Union, we travelled to Canida, but we weren't quite sure where you'd pop up at, so, we stayed in Otterwa until Havoc signalled the rescue force." She nuzzled me. "I really missed you. I was.. actually afraid for you."
K: "Oh. Sorry. I just.." I shook my head.
Celestia: "It's alright, I understand. We've.. our relationship has been through a lot of rough patches. Even if we agreed on certain things, certain outcomes after the war, even I'll admit that my lack of honesty with you... even though you swore you didn't distrust my judgment, I can understand if you thought I resented you." She lowered herself so she was face-level with me in the hospital bed. "If anything, it just made me.." She shook her head. "You called me out. Me. A 'goddess'. With no fear, no hate, just a desire to do what was right to protect those you cared about."
K: "I'm human. WE nailed our God to a damn STICK." I smirked, then eased up, shaking my head a bit. "I do trust you, Celestia." I patted the side of her muzzle. "You mean a lot to me, more than just being my ultimate boss. I feel like.. almost a co-parent with you, with these ponies." I shrugged. "My every thought is in trying to make sure this war ends fast, and as few of them need suffer as possible. And.. that means I care about you." I nodded my head to the side. "Even if we did bang about three years ago."
Celestia: "Has it been that long?" She leaned in a bit, with a grin. She smelled.. minty fresh, with a hint of cinnamon.
K: "You're flirting with me, again." I half-shut my eyes, and smirked.
Celestia: "Oh.. me?" She recoiled gently, putting a hoof on her chest. "Why, I'd never dream of such a thing.. it would be like trying to steal you from my sister, or something." She leaned in and fluttered her eyelashes. I just realized she'd done them up.
K: "Right.." *Sarcasm* "..like you wouldn't banish her to the moon for a week, so you could have some hot monkey dick." I smirked at her. NOW, we were flirting.
Celestia: "That would be exceedingly naughty of the pure and untainted Sun Goddess.." *Flirty sarcasm* "..have you made it up with your Leading Mare, yet?"
K: "Last night. Two rounds. Still not quite ba-"
Her head was under the sheets. I wasn't wearing anything but my boxers. And after a moment, I wasn't wearing those, either.
Everypony in Canida saw the sun get a tad brighter for a few minutes, then dim for a couple moments, then resume normalcy.. then brighten.. dim.. normal.. in odd pulses for the next hour.
Afterwards, I had my arms crossed behind my back, and a Sun Goddess curled up along my body. She was just a bit longer than me, but not by too much. I think that's one thing she liked - we were 'the same size' more or less. Her hair was plain, not astral, as she was just that pooped.
K: "Luna's going to be big mad." I smirked.
Celestia: "...she gets you tonight.." She murmured.
K: "Did everyone miss me that much? Is there a line of Mares out there waiting to taste Monkey Sex God Dick, or something?"
Celestia: "No, no, nothing like that.. just.. you're the only lover I actually have, and it HAS been three years." She kissed my cheek. "I really do care for you, K.. and I say again, if it turns out that you'll share my and Luna's lifespan, I will make certain that the three of us are happy together." She nuzzled my neck. "Even if not, you and I both see myself as a 'mommy' to these little ponies. And 'Mommy' needs her urges sated every now and then. To be honest, you're the only one.." She trailed off.
I knew what she meant. The only one with the physical prowess, but also the only one she knew she could trust. Implicitly.
To be honest, I felt much the same. Celestia and Luna were something special. I loved Applejack with all my heart, and I saw her as mine. However, Luna and I had a child together. And now Celestia was making it clear that she accepted me as a surrogate 'Daddy' to her little ponies. That trust, that faith, that emotion was worth more than any fancy title or pins they could put on my shoulders.
Applejack was, and always would be, my Leading Mare, however.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Yellowknife
TIME: 14:21 Canidan Western Time (CWT)
DATE: War Day 424/3 Sextus 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Republic of Canida
I was up and about, exercising. Also part of Dr. Allcome's orders. I learned that transporting the fuel for the airships to Canida's northern lands would take another week. Since no rail lines ran to Crystalpolis (yet - Sunshine and Cadence had ordered their construction), the Equestrian Air Force Logistics Command had to transport every drop of needed fuel to Canterlot, and then run it to Otterwa, where it had to change train track gauges, then be transported to Yellowknife.
And on top of that, they had to make some. Fortunately, a fuel distillery was part of the Crystal Palace's greater palace grounds, but it was only designed to make comparitively small amounts of fuel for the Excursion Vessels. We needed a lot of it, as Superb and Swiftsure were both nearly empty, and the Excursion Vessels were no better off.
No matter. I now had time to walk around Canida. Havoc was my guide.
Havoc: "So, yeah, I just trained.. then I came here. With you wanting the NEIGHTO alliance, Canida wanted a military, too.. since I knew what I was doing, they offered me a position. In exchange, I get to live here with my pack. This is actually where we settled!" He yipped. "I'm taking you to my house. I want you to be my guest until you're ready to leave. Besides, you need MEAT, buddy!" He actually nuzzled my hand.
K: "Yeah, and Ponies don't care for it, generally. I know at least one that gets a bit scared of meat eaters."
I saw Cosmic and Gaze looking at the shops. Lyra was on Gaze's arm, and Bon-Bon was right behind her. Norfy had Radio Active with him. She was now wearing a Royal Army General Staff uniform - he'd had her and Dawn Earlylight transferred out of their (eradicated) unit after Second Ponyville, and assigned as a staff NCO at the palace. When he came to rescue me, she came as well. She'd mentally recovered from her ordeal, almost a year ago, and while she still had some mystical remnants from it, she'd turned into a fantastic administrator.
Still wanted some field duty, though. And how could Norfy deny her? I wouldn't've. Her main job, now, was administrating technological developments for the war effort, and ensuring that my designs and technology are brought into manufacture and service. She also made the excuse that she should be handling experimental gear herself.
We arrived at Havoc's cabin. It was a very large - by Pony standards - log cabin, of two floors. There's a deck on the second floor, overlooking the yard. In the yard is a fire pit. He brought me inside...
..and I was tackled by puppies!
Havoc: "Tex! Kay! Junior! Twilight! Gusty! Fizzy!"
K: "Not the face! Not the face!!" *BLARGLFARBL!* "NOT again!" *BLARGLFARBL!*
Havoc: "Honey!?" He looked and whined at his mate.
Bella Donna: "PUPS! FRONT-AND-CENTER!" She snapped.
Pups, in unison: "AWwwwww..! MaaaA!!!"
K: "Wait, you..." I picked up Kay. "You.. named him for me?!" Tears.
Kay the Pup: "Awr you da big 'n tuff Hoomlin K?!" He licked me.
K: "Yes, Pup. I am." I hugged him.
Havoc: "This is my Mate, Bella Donna." He nodded to her. "And, yes, I sure did. You saved us. How could I not?" He grinned, cheesily.
Bella Donna: "I wanted to name him Tumbles." She shrugged. "But, I'm fine with him being named for you."
I got up, and immediately realized that this house was far more 'human' than I'd expected. The seats were more my size, the furniture not at roughly 3/4ths scale, but closer to 7/8ths scale compared to me. While the house would be 'cozy' by human standards, it wasn't as undersized as some pony homes. Even the ceiling was just over 7 feet tall, meaning I could stand up for once.
Which, I did. Still holding Kay.
Kay the Pup: "I fink he wikes me!" He snuggled at me a bit.
K: "I actually kinda feel.. almost at home, here."
Bella Donna: "Guest bed's made up for you and Applejack, K." She even came over and gave me a doggy hug. "Thank you for saving us. Really. It means so much to be able to be mortal like this, again."
K: "I have some idea.." I looked over, and Applejack was seated on the couch, waiting for me to notice her. "Hi, honey!"
Applejack: "'Bout dern time." She smirked and slinked over to me.
Kay the Pup: "Auntie teach'd us thingsies!" He giggled a bit.
Applejack: "'Twern't no thing. Jes' some ABC's an' 123's." She shrugged, came over, made me put the pup down, and hugged me. "I likes it here." She got down and shrugged a bit. "Ain't no Sweet Apple Acres, but it's somethin' nice, fer sure. Them kids're trouble! But they're so dern cute, I cain't stay mad at 'em." She grinned.
Havoc: "Please. You're both free to stay here until whenever you have to leave. But, I.." He gave me a look. "Bella and I want to go with you. So do some of my Rangers."
K: "You're serious? What about your pups?" I shrugged.
Bella Donna: "My sister isn't a Ranger, and she's already agreed to care for them and her OWN litter.." She giggled. "I'm a Ranger, too, K. You gave us back our lives. We plan to do more with them than just watch a border. Every wolf in town is trained as Militia or Militia Reserve. It's not like the Herdiets can get through us.. and if they.." She glanced aside.
I got what she meant. If they brought something this town couldn't handle, like an Atomic Bomb, a few more wolves wasn't going to make a difference.
K: "..that's a very real fear, now." I shrugged. "I'm sorry Colonel Williams. I seem to have failed." I glanced out the window.
Havoc: "Here. You can aplogize better this way." He took me by the cuff to a side room.
Lithographs. Of the First Generation. Of Megan, Danny, and Colonel Williams. And.. me.
Havoc: "I made this to remember my friends." He nodded to them. "The Colonel came back a couple times to see if you did. Heh. He told me I'd make a good Marine Dog." He beamed, and stamped his paws a bit.
K: "I wish he was here instead of me.." I shrugged. "Greedy thing to say."
Applejack: "T'ain't so, Honeybun." She nuzzled my hand a bit, as she came in and looked around at the pictures. "Yew been fightin' this war over a year, now. Gotcher body broke in ways ain't possible where you're from. Only nat'cher'al you'd wanna break. 'Sides! Ya got a filly, an' yer lookin' to have another." She looked at Havoc.
Havoc: "..eh?" He looked at me.
K: "We talked about it with Forest Spirit, his Leading Mare, Redheart, and between us. He's agreed to be a seed donor." I shrugged.
Havoc: "Ohh.. the Equestrian Marine Commandant.." He looked up at me a bit. "You trust him?"
K: "More than words mean. You know how it is." I nodded back. "I find it really strange.. Applejack is like the feminine side of my human wife, J--. Forest Spirit reminds me A LOT of her more masculine side.." I shrugged. "It's why I suggested him. It's like the two halves of my wife, united. If I'm going to be trapped here, I want.." I hugged AJ. "..I want a life, but I don't want to completely forget the humans I left behind."
Havoc: "Woww.. guess I'll... have to get to know 'em better." He panted happily, and wagged his tail. "Have you picked names?"
Applejack: "Liberty, if it's a girl. Arthur Turner, if it's a boy." She shrugged, and looked up at me dreamily.
K: "Both are actually breeds of apple. The Liberty apple, and the Arthur Turner. The Liberty is an eating apple, the Arthur Turner is a cooking apple. King Arthur was also a legendary hero with a troubled personal life, and Liberty is one of the founding principles of my home nation."
Applejack: "Ain't he somethin'?" She was getting clingy. "Even knows 'bout apples.."
Havoc: "Oh? Ohh.." He gave me a bro look, like, he knows he needs to get the kids to bed early, tonight.
Dinner was an unexpected treat. Elk tenderloin sautee - essentially elk tenderloins in a mixture with local vegetables, but with a minumum of broth (almost none). Since tenderloins tend to be among the most prized parts of a beast, Bella developed this to make sure everyone got a share. The vegetables were gently fried to retain crispness, but still absorb some of the tenderloin flavor.
Dessert was an apple turnover. Simple in construction, the large turnover also included some streaks of sweet cream on the inside.
Applejack ate voraciously. I blamed the starvation.
It wasn't the starvation.
{End of Chapter 41}
