> Ranger's Destiny: How It Must End > by TasteDaRainbow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- His ears buzzed like hell as Daniel tried to regain his own vision. Slowly blinking his eyes, he groaned when he felt pain throughout his body. All of it were upside down. It was confusing him, but his mind then came back to him in an instant. Of course it's upside down, they just flipped over by a goddamn pole. Never mess with a pole, that's another rule for a ranger. His memory from the earlier chase came back to him, his eyes widened and quickly looked around the surroundings; searching the army that was chasing them. Daniel looked around in confusion when he noticed something, there was no army, no terrorists, heck, no gun fire. The pain came back to him. Rubbing his forehead, he groaned slightly. "Ugh.. Forbes.. Chase.. you guys alright?" "Yeah..." Chase replied limply. Daniel looked at the driver and saw that he was crawling out of the car. "He's getting away!" He suddenly heard Forbes shouted behind him. Daniel looked to the right and saw Mustafa was running away from the car. But his left leg made it difficult for him to run away. "Dammit!" Daniel muttered while trying to cut the seat belt off. "Come on! We can't lose him!" He saw Chase was able to get out from the car and crouched down to see the young ranger struggling with the seat belt. "Daniel! Come on!" Chase said impatiently. "Give me a fucking second will ya?!" Daniel replied while squirming. "Fuck!! You stupid piece of shit!! Come on!!" Finally released from the grip, Daniel quickly crawled out of the car to catch his breath. "This is why I hate seat belts." He said whilst panting. "What about our sergeant?" "Just go!" Forbes replied, still trying to get himself off. "Go! I'll catch up with you! We can't lose Mustafa! He'll make another chaos if he escapes! Go now!!" Chase nodded. "Come on Niel! What are you waiting for?!" He shrieked as he grabbed his gun and chase the target. Daniel looked back at Forbes and nod. "Stay here and I'll be right back!" He said as he grabbed his weapon and joined Chase on pursuing the suspect. "I'll get outta here alone ya know!" Forbes shouted back. "I don't!" Daniel yelled as he ran with Chase. The three of them were focused on the task until they didn't realize the people around that watched them were colourful. Heck, they thought they were still being chased by the terrorists. Somehow, Mustafa could gain his strength back as he ran faster to avoid the rangers. "Warning shot!" Daniel shouted behind Chase. Chase pointed his gun to the air and shoot twice. People on the sidewalk screamed as they heard the shot. Mustafa though, didn't care about the warning as he continue to run away from the rangers. Pushing through people, avoiding obstacles, the three of them continue on their chase for what felt like hours. Daniel's legs were begging to stop but he pushed himself to keep running anyway. "Dang it!" Chase said while running. "He won't give up!" "Then we will not either!" Daniel replied. Both of them were panting but they continue to chase Mustafa until they met a crossroad. The green light was still on and Mustafa ran faster in attempt to get to the other side of the road. Just as Mustafa were about to cross, a black car stopped directly in front of him and two guys came out from the other side of the car. It took a few seconds for Daniel and Chase to recognise the two other guys who were pointing their AK-47 to them. "SHIT!! LOOK OUT!!" Daniel grabbed Chase to hide behind a parked car. Both of the terrorists immediately fired their weapons mercilessly to the car. Daniel looked at the sky and notice something. "Is it this early when we were on our mission?" "I don't give a fuck." Chase replied. He pulled his leg closer to him as a bullet landed right next to his feet. Gritting his teeth, Daniel regained his courage as he peeked and started to fire back. He saw the black car was driving away, leaving the two terrorists that were still shooting them. "Fuck!" Daniel yelled as he ducked down, just in time when a bullet passed above him. "He got away!" "FUCK!!" Chase slammed his fist to the car. Calming himself down, he began to form a new plan. "All right, we'll take one of these guys. Both of them if possible." He said as he suddenly stood up and open fire. The terrorists seemed to ran out of ammo as they both run on the opposite direction. One to the left, and one to the right. Chase quickly made up his decision. "We'll take that guy!" Chase said as he started to run and after the guy whose running to the right. Daniel quickly stood up and follow his friend, ignoring the screaming from the people on the sidewalks. "You better be right Corporal!" Daniel screamed as he ran full sprint. Big Macintosh was whistling to himself as he drove down the street on the way to Canterlot High School calmly. Sunset Shimmer and her friends were inside their 'band bus' as they talked to each other. Mostly discussing about the war back in Equestria. "So what happened to the rangers?" Rainbow Dash asked with a large amount of curiosity. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna managed to find a way for them to bring them back home. Of course they accepted it." The fiery haired girl replied while crossing her arms. Applejack whistled. "Gosh, Ah can't imagine how nice they were. Ah mean, they from a completely different world but they helped y'all win the war. And they didn't even know ya yet!" "Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed. "They must be so nice and generous. Remember when you said that they lost thirty rangers of their own?" Sunset nodded. "I mean, they sacrificed themselves for the world that wasn't their own. If I was there I would've thrown a super mega thank you party to them." "I'm sure whoever they were, they were all good people." Rarity said. "But still, why did they wanted to help you in the first place?" Rainbow asked again. Sunset sighed. "There's a young ranger here, his name is Daniel, he insisted his friends to help us win the war. He said that he followed his instinct and he was a hundred percent sure that we are the good ones. I don't really know how he did that though." "Wow." Fluttershy said. "He really have a good instinct." "He really do have it." Sunset replied. "I even remember when he first help us, his right shoulder got pierced by an arrow." Her friends gasped when they heard what Sunset beginning to explain about him. "I mean, he could have been dead because of it!" Applejack put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax now sugarcube, at least he still alive now right?" Sunset calmed herself and nod slowly. "Yes. He's fine when he left Equestria. But I just can't stop thinking about him and his friends. They help us so much and they didn't ask anything in return. Instead, they sacrificed themselves for the sake of our world." She paused for a moment to control her tears. "I couldn't imagine after fighting in our world, they have to go home and fight another one. I even heard they lost forty thousand rangers!" She sighed and looked at the window. "I just... hope they're okay." Her friends smiled and nodded, said that they will be okay and she just have to believe it. "I don't even know that there's another human world except ours." Twilight chimed in. "I need to do some research about this. Sunset, would you mind telling me about their technologies later? Everything that you had in mind about their species and home." Sunset weakly nodded. "And how are you-" Rainbow Dash was about to ask when suddenly, lots of gun fires rang through the town. "What was that?" She frantically asked. "I don't know." Twilight replied. "Whatever it is, I just hope the police will take care of it." Her friends nod in agreement as the bus continue it's way to the school. Along the way, they decided to forget the rangers and talked some random stuff. Rainbow immediately said that there will be a game between Canterlot and the Crystal Prep for a soccer match. Big Macintosh, still whistling from the driver seat but then stopped the bus when he saw a guy ran past in front of him. The girls, who were unprepared for this, immediately jerked forward, leaving them groaning and moaning in pain. "Hey Mac!" Applejack said while adjusting her hat. "Just what the hay was that?!" "STOP!!" A loud yell could be heard from their left. They quickly looked to the source and spotted a soldier ran past the bus, followed by another one, who was firing his gun to the air twice. They covered their ears as they heard the loud sound of the gun again. "What the..." Rainbow left mouth agaped. Big Mac blinked before starting to drive the bus again towards the school. After that, all of them were silence. None of them spoke or laughed like before. Flabbergasted by the sudden burst, Fluttershy managed to break the silence. "I-is..." She stammered. "Is that... t-the military?" Twilight nodded. "It must be. They carry weapons and wearing the military uniform." "Wow..." Pinkie said, didn't take her eyes off the way the soldiers were running. "That was... something..." "Is this a serious threat?" Twilight asked. "I mean, the military was there, it must be serious." "I can only hope that whatever it is, the military can handle it." Rarity said calmly. "I know, but can't we help them?" Rainbow asked. "Nope." Big Mac replied, still looking at the rearview mirror, until the soldiers disappeared into an alleyway. "We can't Rainbow." Sunset said. "If the military was involved, then it must be serious. Of course we have magic, but let the law handle this one. But if they need our help, then we join them to stop whatever it is that is threatening this city." "But doesn't it weird?" Twilight asked while putting her hand under her chin. "I haven't seen or heard anything from the news this morning. They just like... suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I believe when it comes with the military, then the least they do is to inform people in this city to stay at home and don't go outside until it's safe." "Yeah." Rainbow said as she looked at her phone. "There aren't any news that involving the military." "You made a point there." Sunset said. "But I guess if they didn't tell it on the news, they must have taken this situation under control." "Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed again. "The military have their own ways to not making people panic. Maybe this is one of their strategy!" "Or probably this is jus' some exercise they're doin'." Applejack said. "Maybe..." Twilight said quietly. They then continued on with their conversation, trying to ignore about the event earlier. A few minutes later, they arrived at their school. Canterlot High School. "That dude is crazy!" Daniel shouted as he ran past the bus that luckily stop itself when the runner attempt to kill himself. Probably. "Just keep chasing him!" Chase shouted back. Chase wanted to shoot the guy down so badly. But the street that was filled with people made him to change his mind and just continue to chase the bad guy. But they still didn't notice that all of them were colourful because of the shirt they wore, making them think it's just an ordinary civilians. He didn't want for the civilians to get injured, even though he screamed that there's a terrorist on the loose. Despite Daniel's body screamed for him to stop and take some rest, he ignored all of it and pushed himself to catch the terrorist. "Jesus how long will this guy keep running..." Chase said while panting. The weapon made him heavier with each step he took. But that didn't mean he have to give up. No. That guy is the intel. He must've known where Mustafa was or taken away. "Screw this shit!!" Daniel shouted as he threw his ACR and started to run faster. On the first place, the three of them not only didn't have the sidearms, but the kevlar as well. They only have their uniform in camouflage pattern. Making them easier to run, well but not all of it. Daniel took a deep breath before starting to run faster than ever. He managed to pass Chase and like the speed that every ranger haven't seen, Daniel sprint with all of his strength, closing the gap between him and the runner. The terrorist looked back and noticed that Daniel is about a meter away from him. He looked to his front and then saw a school on his left, right across the road. He saw a car that was about to pass by and immediately took the advantage. When the car was just a few meters from him, he jumped to the middle of the road, making the car suddenly stopped while honking and yelling at the terrorist. He ran and proceed his way to the school. Daniel quickly followed him. Crossing the road with ease, he continue to close the gap between the two of them. The terrorist then climbed the small stairs and quickly burst open the main door of the school. Daniel groaned and yelled to Chase through his walkie. "I'll go chase him from here, you go around the school! Try to find a way to get in, we'll get this son of a bitch!" "I already know that!" Chase replied and quickly ran to the other side of the building. Daniel burst open the door and saw the runner ran through the empty hallway to his right. Daniel quickly followed him with a groan. "Oh no you don't you shitbird." > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I guarantee that Soarin and Spitfire will totally be in my team." Rainbow said with a cocky smirk. "And what makes ya so sure 'bout that." Applejack raised an eyebrow while crossing her hands. "Because I'm awesome." Dash replied with a sly grin on her face. The students of Canterlot High were in the gymnasium. All of them were talking about the game that Rainbow Dash had mentioned earlier on the bus. The voices of the students filled the air until Principal Celestia, along with Vice Principal Luna walked up to the stage. Celestia cleared her throat through the microphone to get everyone's attention. As the room went silent, the principal smiled warmly at them. "Good morning students of Canterlot. I believe all of you already know about our game against Crystal Prep." The students remained silent, letting her to continue. "Remember, this is not a Friendship Games. This is just some games that we, Canterlot High and Crystal Prep arranges to increase our friendship and to just have some fun before the Christmas Holiday begin." The students cheer in excitement as they heard the word 'holiday'. "And with that," Luna continued, "We must make teams for each games. And because this is not about winning and losing, we have prepared this pieces of papers." She said while holding a bowl full of papers that have been folded up. "I think I'm not going to like this at all." Rainbow said while crossing her arms. Her eyes focused on the bowl. "Relax Dash, it's only a game." Twilight pat her shoulder gently. "Yeah!" Pinkie half shouted, "Besides, there won't be any trouble again since we have befriended with the students of Crystal Prep. I'm sure everything will be just fine." She pulled a cupcake out of nowhere and shoved it to her mouth. "We have written down the numbers for you to be grouped with your friends. Each of you will only take one paper and regroup with your friends that have the same number as your own." Luna continued. "Ughh... I knew it." Rainbow groaned and mumbled in annoyance while looking up at the ceiling. For her, winning is everything. Her reputation is everything. "Once you are all done, you can-" Before Luna could continue her explanation, the door behind the students burst opened, revealing a soldier and some random guy rolled into the room. "Oh no you don't you shitbird." Daniel said as he ran through the hallway. The sound of footsteps echoing around the hallway as Daniel and the runner ran as fast as their legs could carry them. A lot of sweats trailed down from Daniel's forehead to his chin but he gritted his teeth, narrow his eyes, and continue to run. He felt his lungs were on fire. His body already begged him to stop but he pushed himself more and more. "Daniel?" Chase said through the walkie. "I'm at the back door. Where are you?" "I'm still on his tail! Just come in already and we'll corner him!" He shouted back. They continue to run through the school hallway for like ages. Daniel was still on his tail but his lungs couldn't take it anymore as he was slowing down every second. His vision began to blur and his body felt very tired. He never had drained so much energy before. He saw the terrorist was already far ahead in front of him and turned left. "For fuck sake..." He mumbled while gaining more of his speed. As he made his way to the left, he was caught off guard by the terrorist who attacked him immediately. His enemy grabbed the young private and pushed him right into a double door. The door was unlocked, so both of them burst through the door while rolling into the room. With the terrorist on top of him, he started to punch Daniel's face mercilessly. Daniel raised both of his arms to cover his face. Punches after punches were thrown to his hands. His hands were aching in pain. But he then miraculously found an opening. Daniel grabbed one of the terrorist's arms and punched him in the face with another one, making the terrorist got off from him and crouched beside him. Daniel quickly got up and attacked the terrorist with his knee. The terrorist seemed to notice this as he managed to pull himself out of the way from the deadly attack to his face. He took the advantage to kick to the back of Daniel's knee, making him crouched from the impact. The terrorist grabbed his shoulder but Daniel shoved it off and turned to him quickly, still crouching. Sending a punch to the side of the head, the terrorist blocked it. But was greeted with another punch to his gut and a kick to his chest as he fall backwards while Daniel rolled himself backwards as well. He pushed himself up and sprint towards the helpless terrorist. With a swift kick, his boot hit the head of his enemy; hard enough to make him roll several feet away from him. "Shit..." Daniel said out loud as he put both hands to his knees and panting heavily. His legs though, against him as he sat down with a loud thud. He looked at the terrorist, who was lying on the ground and didn't move. Guess his kick made him unconscious for awhile. Daniel chuckled lightly at the thought. "That should make you sleep for awhile." "Private!" He heard Chase shouted through the hallway. "Chase! I'm over here!" Daniel responded, still didn't notice the students behind him. Hearing his friend responded from a room, Chase quickly ran to him. As he leaned against one of the door, he saw Daniel was sitting and panting with the terrorist not far from him. "You did this?" He asked innocently. Daniel shrugged. "I have to admit, he has the skill of hand to hand combat. But can't win against me." "Fuck you..." Chase replied while approaching the unmoving terrorist. The terrorist still lying on his face, so Chase turned him around so he could see his face. "That should teach him a lesson." "Better be," Daniel replied, "And how the hell could you run with your weapon like that?" He said while pointing at the LMG. Chase looked at the young ranger, then to his gun, the M240. He chuckled. "I'm older than you." He replied with a smirk. "Being old is suck." Daniel groaned as he collapse himself onto the floor. "Ugh... when this will fuckin' end?!" He shouted as he buried his face with his both hands. "Relax Private, we'll definitely catch that bastard when we interrogate this dude over here." Chase said as he looked at the unconscious dude. "Besides, it will be easy for us to... uhh..." His voice trailed off as he saw the people in the room. "Chase?" Daniel asked but he didn't respond. His eyes were just looking at the multicoloured humans that were watching at them. "Chase, ya better not playing games now." Daniel said, still burying his face on his hands. "I'm not kidding this time." Chase replied, still looking at the unique humans. "Look..." He simply said. Daniel sat down and followed his gaze. Just then, his jaw dropped to the ground as he saw what's inside the room. Multicoloured humans. That's what he saw. Is this some kind of new experiment that Mr. President was doing? He could have sworn his heart jumped off from his chest and ran away while screaming like a bitch. "The fuck..." Daniel mumbled to himself. "Umm... Chase... Daniel...?" One of them spoke up. Chase and Daniel were taken aback by that voice. But that voice... it was a female. And they heard it a long time ago. But where? "How do you know us?" Chase asked sternly while slowly taking a few steps back. Daniel though, still sat on the floor with wide eyes. His mind wouldn't let him think just yet. "It's me..." The voice said again. A girl, with fiery hair and orange skin steps forward, revealing herself. "You don't remember me?" She asked again. Daniel blinked before respond. "She's kinda familiar to me." He said as he looked at Chase. "She looked like one of the ponies in Equestria right?" He asked quietly. Chase nodded in agreement. "Definitely." "It's Sunset Shimmer." The girl said. Daniel snapped his fingers as he smiled widely. "Yeah! That's her name... wait... how do you know?" He looked at the girl, who had tears on her eyes. "Because that pony is me." Sunset finally said. "I'm Sunset Shimmer." Daniel quickly stood up and looked at her, his face was still confused and shock at the same time. "But..." He stammered, "H-how could that p-possible?" Sunset pointed her hand to Chase. "You are Private Matthew Chase." Then she pointed to Daniel. "And you are Staff Sergeant Daniel Nicholas. Both of you are from the 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, United States Army Rangers. Right?" "Well, I'm clearly not a Staff Sergeant. I'm just doin' my duty that Finn gave to me." Daniel replied matter-of-fact. "But you still our Guardian." Sunset replied, slowly walked forward. Both soldiers stared her in shock. This is Sunset? Wasn't she a pony before? And how she could be a human? What the hell is wrong with this world? Heavy silence filled the air once the rangers thought it for a moment. Then, Chase suddenly dropped his M240, making loud noise that everyone in the room jumped because of it. "Argh... I can't believe this is happening again!" He shouted as he leaned against a wall, crossed his arms and let out a sigh. "Why the fuck does this always happening to us? Now we're stuck in another fucking world with no clue of where we are, where the hell is Mustafa and God knows what happened to his army! Now how are we suppose to fucking fight him?!" Daniel let his friend rage quit behind him, his eyes were still staring at Sunset. This is her? Then he noticed the people behind her. He saw some people that strangely familiar to him. Six of them. They were just like the Elements of Harmony. Probably them, he thought as he examine them. Still processing what was happening, he didn't realize that Sunset was already standing in front of him with tears on the corner of her eyes. "The others miss you so much." She said as she suddenly pulled him into a hug. "I miss you so much." She sobs to his shoulder. "We all miss you." Daniel couldn't react as he just stood there, dumbstruck. For real though, this is Sunset? That question repeated dozens of time in his head until his brain wanted nothing than a self destruction. "I..." She began, "I thought I might never see you again. I thought that because of the war that you're fighting back home... you... you..." "I'm not dead... Sunset." Daniel interrupted with a chuckle, realising that she's uncomfortable to say it. His hands then move on their own accord as they started to wrap Sunset and pulled her in a tight embrace. She gasped in surprise and hug him tighter. Daniel saw six multicoloured humans walked up to them. All of them, were familiar to him. The purple one with glasses, must be Twilight Sparkle. But the pony one didn't wear any. The blue and had rainbow hair must be Rainbow Dash. The pink with puffy hair, must be Pinkie Pie. The white one with elegant purple hair is definitely Rarity. The yellow one with pink hair is Fluttershy. And finally, the pony he came to know and love. Applejack. Her Stetson shows all of her country sides. But one thing that made him confused though. Sunset said that they all miss them. Then why didn't the others come and join their hug? Back on Equestria that usually happened. "Hey girls," Daniel said, still hugging Sunset, "Long time no see." The girls even more confused when he said that. They looked at each other, and then back to them. "Uhh... us?" Rainbow asked. "Don't lie to us," Chase said from behind, "You know who we are." "No they don't you silly." Sunset chuckled as she pulled back from the hug. Chase and Daniel had their confused looks again. "But we just save your asses." Chase said with crossed arms. The humans winced at the word. "Ohh," Applejack said, "So yer the ones who saved those ponies from Sombra ain't ya?" "Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed, "The rangers that saved the entire Equestria!" "Woah, you guys must be proud of yourselves!" Rainbow chimed in. "And awesome." Daniel looked at them. A bit disappointed that he's unable to see his beloved mare again. "Yeah, we are," he replied while looking at the ground, "We lost Finn and Jerry, and lots of rangers because of that." "Oh my..." Fluttershy said while covering her mouth, "We're really sorry to hear that." The others nod solemnly. Celestia cleared her throat as she and Luna walked past the students and stood in front of Daniel. "Mind if I ask what was going on here?" This must be Celestia.. and that is Luna, Daniel thought to himself. He blinked before answer the question. "I'm very sorry for the sudden occurrence Ma'am. But we're here to catch one of Mustafa's terrorists. And I think we got what we wanted." Celestia nodded, still looking at the ranger with stern looks. "I know this must be very important to you. But please bring him with you as fast as possible. I do not want any trouble happen in this school again. There were a lot already." Before Daniel could ask what happened, he gasped in pain as his mind went on the events where he lost Finn and Jerry. To make things worse, they died in front of him. He held his head as he tried to regain his balance. "Daniel!" Sunset's eyes widened and quickly helped him balance himself. His mind flashes, he could saw Finn got shot by the magic. "Kid, you better stop thinking about that." Chase said as he walked over to them. "I don't have any intention to." Daniel stumbled but Sunset and Chase quickly grabbed him before he could fall to the floor. He was breathing heavily and his vision became blurry. His mind flashed again as he saw Jerry was struggling to get the Timberwolf off of him. "What's happening to him?" Twilight asked, her face showed panic, scared and concern. The other student soon closed in behind Sunset's friends as they curious about what happened. Daniel shook his head several times before regaining his composure and was able to stand on his own. "It's just the PTSD," he said calmly as he control his breathing, "Nothing to worry about." "You know you're a bad liar," Sunset said with a frown, "You should take some rest." "It's bad for a young kid like you Private," Chase said as he patted his shoulder, "Like she said. You should take some rest." Just as he said that, his walkie began to shriek as Forbes' voice called out. "Corporal, Private! Where the hell are you? Did you catch him?" Chase sighed as he replied, "Negative Sarge. He manage to got away. But we caught one of his guy." Forbes coughed a little for a moment. "Damn it. All right, Chase can you pick me up?" "What? Me?" "I'm still here in the car and some of the people here tried to help me but they couldn't. And I just notice they were freaking COLOURFUL!! COLOURFUL HUMANS!! What the hell is going on?!" "Sarge, calm down. It seems like we're having that thing again." It took a moment for Forbes to calm himself down as they heard him sigh heavily. Daniel snorted a little, which received a glare from his friend. "Hang tight Sarge, I'm on my way." Chase said as he walked to the door. "Private, take care of him will ya?" "Will do." Daniel nodded as he looked at the still unconscious terrorist. He walked to him and knelt down. "Excuse me, Sir." Principal Celestia spoke up as she walked closer to him. "Please," Daniel said as he stood up, "Don't call me Sir, or Mister, I'm only eighteen years old." The students gasped as he mentioned his age. Daniel looked at them in confusion. "What? You didn't expect a soldier to be this young?" He said, slightly cocky. "Nope." One of them spoke up with a familiar voice to him. Daniel immediately recognised it as Big Mac, Applejack's brother. Daniel decided to change the topic. "So Ma'am," he asked to Celestia, "Is there anything you want to ask?" Before Celestia could ask, the terrorist kicked Daniel's legs in a quick motion. With a loud thud, he was then being strangled by the terrorist who was sitting on top of him in a blink of an eye. Daniel gritted his teeth as his hands tried to break loose the grip. The terrorist smirked at him, tightening the grip to kill him in that moment. Daniel's breathing began to slow down, his vision darkened in each seconds as he loosened his grip. Seeing this, Sunset quickly ran over to her friend. With a powerful kick to the terrorist's head, he stumbled away from Daniel and collapse again to the floor. Daniel breathe heavily as Twilight and her friends wasting no time on holding the terrorist onto the ground. "We'll hold him here." Twilight said as she gestures Sunset to check Daniel. She nod. "You all right?" Sunset asked while kneeling next to him. She brought her hand to his neck and face to make sure that there were no injuries. "I'm... fine..." Daniel said as he sit up. He then stood up and walked over to the terrorist, that was being hold with the students. "Let me take care of him from here." Daniel gestured them to release him. They hesitate at first, but complied nonetheless as they released the terrorist from their grip. The terrorist crouched down while coughing. Shaking his head several times, he looked up, only to see Daniel's face was already inches away from him. The private smirked, seeing the fear on his enemy's eyes. "You're on a highway to hell brother." His right hand reared back and with all of his might, he punched the terrorist right on his chin and kick him on the chest as hard as he could. Knocking him out of his wind. With that, the terrorist fall backwards with his eyes closed. Bastard. "He's tough." Dash whispered to Sunset. "I know." Daniel wiped his mouth and turned back to the students and their principal. "Mind if me and the boys stay here for awhile?" > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So what you're saying is that all of you are not from this world?" Celestia asked with surprise. Celestia, Luna, Daniel, Chase and Forbes and the terrorist were in the Principal's room. Celestia and Luna have announced the students regarding the incident and told them to go home earlier and school will be closed until the time to be determined. So did the game that will be delayed for a determined time. The Rainbooms however, were sitting around the statue of Canterlot, waiting for the rangers to come out. Or so they thought. "Unfortunately yes Ma'am," Daniel replied, crossing his arms as he leaned back to his chair, "If I have to say, we're in the middle of a war back in our world. And Mustafa was the cause of all of this shit. We will not return until we captured that bastard." "Private," Forbes tapped his shoulder, "Language please." "Sorry Sarge, I just want all of this to end already." Daniel return to Celestia. "Excuse me for the past rudeness." "No harm done." Celestia calmly replied. "So what has Mustafa done to the war?" Luna asked curiously. "Long story short, he killed forty thousand rangers with a nuke. And six thousand went missing because of that." Chase said while examining his gun. "My God.." Luna mumbled. "Yeah, he occupied some countries in the Middle East and were about to advance his troops to Jalalabad, located on the eastern part of Afghanistan when they clashed with us. Little did we know that there was a nuke in Kabul. All hell let loose when he pressed that button and turn the city into nothing but ashes." Daniel explained. "Okay, back to the point," Celestia put her hands under her chin as she examine the rangers in front of her, "So you're going to use this building temporarily just to interrogate your enemy here?" She looked at the person that Forbes had been holding the entire time. "Yes and no," Forbes replied, "We don't really have much of a choice now. We don't know this town at all and the last thing we wanted do is die on Ammar's hands." Celestia let herself lost in her own thoughts for a moment. If she let these rangers interrogate their enemy here, who knows they would be facing with the law. But they somehow know that these rangers would certainly got their backs. But then again, she didn't know yet how their interrogating the terrorist would be like. She looked at her Vice Principal, who look back with concern expression on her face. Celestia sighed, looking back to the rangers, she didn't have much of a choice either. "I'm so sorry to tell you this, but I don't want any trouble causes the school to be reported again. Although they were handled by the students that have crazy amount of magic, but this is beyond their capabilities right now. This is your duty and I do not want any part of this school gets involved into your problems. I hope you understand." Hearing this, the rangers lost their hope. Like it or not, they have to travel around town to figure out a place to interrogate the terrorist. With a polite nod, Daniel got up from his seat. "It's alright Ma'am. Honestly I would've chosen the same if I were you. You don't have much of a choice either, so I guess it's fair for the both of us. We understand your situation, don't worry." "We do very sorry that we cannot help you much. But we don't want to take the risk of confronting the law forces about this case." Luna added. "It's very okay Ma'am," Chase replied after taking a few steps to the desk, "We completely understand the whole situation and yes. This is school, not some military base. I'm afraid the students will get uncomfortable by our presence too." Celestia smiled warmly before getting herself up. "Thank you very much for your concern Rangers. We're still sorry that we can't help much." "You are welcome Ma'am," Forbes replied, "And apology accepted." With that, he shoved the terrorist out of the room, with Daniel and Chase slowly followed behind. "Isn't it going to be dangerous if they want to interrogate the terrorist in this school?" Twilight asked with her legs crossed and her back leaned against the solid concrete of the statue. "I know right, they could've scared the entire school." Rainbow said while examining her soccer ball. "If Ah may honest, Ah guess they haven't found a place yet," Applejack stated, "Ya guys know that they're just arrived here with those cuts all over their faces. Especially Sergeant Forbes." "I simply agreed to Applejack," Rarity chimed in, "Who knows they need help and shelter to stay if they certainly not from this world." "They're not, okay?" Sunset said, "Those Rangers are not from this world and they said the most wanted is here as well. Along with his army." Fear struck her face as she memorized the whole thing back at Equestria. With the Rangers stepped into the war, they really mean it. They really put everything in their power to defeat their enemy and protect their allies. She couldn't imagine if their town, no, their world, end up in some sort of war too. I need to inform Princess Celestia and Twilight about this. "The most wanted?" Fluttershy asked, who was sitting next to her. Sunset nod. "They told me that Mustafa Ammar is here. Along with his army, but they're not sure how big is his army yet. But one thing for sure that the cold blooded killer is here and managed to escape from them before." "So who is that person they captured before?" Pinkie asked while drinking a milkshake. "Those are one of the terrorists I believe." Sunset replied. "And why are we still here again?" Rainbow asked, looking at Sunset. "We're waiting for them." The door of the Canterlot High slowly opened, revealing a person that's being held by three Rangers. The Rangers spotted them and slowly walked towards the statue. With a smile on his face, Daniel greeted warmly. "Hey girls, how's it going?" Daniel asked as he shouldered his ACR that has been brought back to him from Chase. The girls nod politely. "The school told us to go home earlier because of the unfortunate event." Twilight calmly replied. "Oh yes, we're really sorry about that," Daniel said as he look back to the terrorist, "If it wasn't because of this asshole none of you guys are going home this earlier." "Chill dude," Rainbow stood up and pat Daniel's shoulder, "Besides, it's good to go home faster. School is kinda boring ya know?" Daniel chuckled lightly. "Teens. Anyways, what are you guys doing here? Aren't you supposed to go home?" "We're waiting for you guys." Sunset said with a smile. "Mind if Ah ask sumthin?" Applejack tipped her hat as she said so. "Sure." Daniel said. "Do y'all have a place to stay?" Daniel sighed in defeat. "No, we don't have it yet. We're not from this world remember?" "And y'all wanna interrogate that fella right there?" Applejack pointed at the terrorist who was looking at the ground the entire time. "Apparently yes," Chase replied, "We have to gain information from him about his Father's plan." "I already told you I don't know where he is." The terrorist spoke up. "Shut the hell up before I give a swift kick to your head again." Daniel said violently. "Look," the terrorist began, "All I know is that Ammar has escaped but I don't know where he is. We're in a total different world here and I bet he doesn't know where to go either." "Then at least speak about his plan." Daniel gritted his teeth as he was standing in front of the terrorist. The girls backed up a little, most of them were afraid if Daniel punched his enemy mercilessly again. A sigh managed to escape from the terrorist. "We were planning on planting another nuke in Jalalabad. But your forces mercilessly slaughtered us until we have no choice but retreat. I don't really know what's the next plan but that's all I know for now." Daniel smirked when he heard that they're being slaughtered. But still, he didn't satisfy just yet. "Why did all of this happen." His face was inches away from the terrorist. "He wants power. He wants to show to the world that, here I am, kneel before me. He won't stop until he has conquered all of the Middle East." "By killing thousands of civilians?" Chase asked sternly. "Oh my.." Fluttershy could feel tears on the corner of her eyes but Sunset quickly pulled her in a tight embrace. "That's resisting," the terrorist replied, "Look, I'm just a soldier in his army. Nothing more. I'm not an intel, I'm just the man that follows his orders." The terrorist looked at Chase with fear. "I never wanted this." He looked back at Daniel. "I was forced to fight with him. He already occupied most countries in the Middle East and everyone that stands in his way will be shot dead." Tears started to form on the corner of his eyes. "Brother, I could've sworn in the name of Allah myself, I don't want any of this. My wife and daughter were killed when they tried to resist his soldiers. I was out to work when I found out about it. And if I resist too, I wouldn't even be here right now." "That's still not an excuse for attacking him though." Chase said and pointed at Daniel. "Then what are you going to do when someone tried to kill you. You just sit there and accept the faith that you're already dead?" Chase was about to retort but he couldn't find a word for it. The terrorist shook his head, "No. I have promised myself to live my life to the fullest. I know my wife and my daughter wanted me to be happy. But with all of this, I couldn't find it. Not just yet until I find a way to escape from his tyranny." The terrorist looked back at Daniel defeatedly. "I am sorry." Daniel clenched his fists tightly. "Sorry is for the weak," he said with deep voice, "And it makes no difference about the war by saying sorry." "I know I'm weak. I should've let myself killed when they killed my family. You want to kill me? Come on! Kill me right now! Right here! COME ON!!" "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Daniel grabbed his ACR and quickly pointed it at his head. The girls quickly backed away from the sudden burst. "Woah woah woah! Private, calm down!" Forbes yelled, still holding the terrorist. Daniel could feel his hands trembling as he aim at the head of his hostage. The terrorist was closing his eyes, already accepting the death in front of him. Daniel began to breathe heavily as he was trying with all of his might to pull the trigger. But his fingers wouldn't let him. What the fuck am I doing. He lost his family and already sworn in to His name that he didn't want all of this. He lost his family... Just like me... "Get a grip Private, people are watching us." Chase quickly got a hold on the ACR, making Daniel snapped out from his thoughts. Daniel blinked several times before lowering his weapon. He looked at his ACR, then back at the terrorist. No.. he wasn't a terrorist. Gosh, what have I done. He then looked at Forbes. "I.. I'm.. I'm sorry Sergeant," he stammered, "I d-don't know what h-happened to me and-" "Come on kid, get a hold of yourself." Chase pulled him into a tight hug. Daniel didn't resist, instead his hands were shaking. "We're gonna catch Ammar, and then end this shit once and for all okay? Are you with me kid?" Daniel's only response was a nod. Forbes suddenly released the grip from the terrorist's arms, making him confused while turning back to face Forbes. "What's this all about?" He asked. "Look, even though we have you to gain some information it's no use for us to find Ammar right now. We have no idea where we are and so does you guys." Forbes stared at the cloudy blue sky and sigh. Chase released the hug and give Daniel a pat on his shoulder with a smile. "We can do this." He assured him. Daniel nodded before looking back to the terrorist. He too had been staring at him for quite awhile. With a gentle smile, the terrorist offered a handshake. "Thank you, and still, I'm sorry." Daniel looked at the hand in front of him. Waiting for his hand to accept his apology. Daniel smiled weakly, and accepted it kindheartedly. "It's alright. I'm sorry as well. Don't judge a book by its cover eh?" "Name's Tahir." With a smile, Tahir waited for his response. "Daniel." They both firmly shook their hands. The girls were relaxed a bit by the warmer atmosphere. Chase too smiled slightly at Daniel's sudden change. Tahir chuckled a bit, didn't let go off the grip. "I wasn't expecting this to happen." "Neither do I Tahir." Daniel replied warmly. They both finally let go off their hands. Shouldering his ACR, Daniel turned his attention to the girls. "Sorry about that." "No harm done Daniel." Sunset smiled before giving him a tight hug, which Daniel gladly accept. "So," Sunset said as she pulled back from the hug, "Where are you guys going after this?" Forbes shrugged. "We'll search for Ammar's location later. For now, probably we're gonna search around town to find a place to stay." Applejack smiled before taking her hat off to clean it. "Ya know, Ah think Ah can help ya for that." > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thanks again for letting us stay at your home, Applejack." Chase said while adjusting his position on his seat. "It's nuthin' sugarcube," Applejack replied from behind, "Y'all need a place to stay and Ah'd be more than happy to help ya." The Rainbooms' bus was slowly making its way towards Applejack's home. Big Mac was whistling the entire time while talking with Forbes. All of them already introduced themselves to one another. Sunset and her friends decided to accompany the Rangers and have a little talk at Applejack's home. The Rangers wouldn't mind that, they really need some relaxation anyway. Mainly rest. Tahir refused to come with them and wanted some time alone to himself while exploring the town. Mourning for the loss of his family, Tahir decided to avoid the situation between the Rangers and Ammar. He wanted to spend the rest of his life there, in the town, if they never going back home. Of course the Rangers didn't trust him completely, but they let him free nonetheless. Pinkie Pie however, decided to go back to the Sugarcube Corner because Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were going for some treats so Pinkie volunteered to keep an eye on them. "You ever thought about what happened to our car and the witnesses there?" Chase asked, chuckling lightly. Daniel was sitting on the other side. Daniel shook his head with a smile. "Probably they're looking for us right now. Who cares about that car anyway, we don't need that once we begin our hunt." "Hey Daniel." Rainbow called out behind him. "Yes Dash?" "Just letting you know, if you guys ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask us okay?" "Hell no, we're not involving you into this," Chase turned his attention to Rainbow, "Thank you so much for the offer but no, we don't want any of you girls get hurt because of this. This is our problem. Our war." "We really appreciate your offer Dash, but like Chase said, we can do it by ourselves," Daniel replied, "Ain't that right Forbes?" He called out to his friend who was talking with Big Mac on the front seat. "What?!" Forbes called back. "Just say yes!" "Damn you! I'd better be eating some apples at Applejack's home!" The girls chuckled a bit at their attitude. The Rangers showed no fear at all while knowing that they were in a war and have the task to capture the person behind all of it. And the fact that the cold blooded person was still roaming around the town, didn't scare them at all. They continued some random conversation until the houses were replaced by acres and acres of apple trees. "I bet those apple trees are yours Applejack?" Daniel asked while looking to the left side of the bus. The scenery to their right has changed to a more countryside-like. "Ya got it right sugarcube," Applejack replied, "Me and mah brother Big Mac will be picking up some of the apples today. Prolly at noon." "What for?" Chase asked. "Apple cider." "Why didn't you tell me you're going to make those?" Rainbow asked with her raspy voice. "And why don't ya help us pick up the apples if ya really want those ciders?" Applejack retorted while raising an eyebrow. "I think I can help you with that." Daniel said, still looking at the apple trees. A red house and a barn soon came into view. Technically that must be her house. "Beg pardon?" Applejack looked at Daniel. Slightly surprised. Daniel turned his attention to her with a warm smile. "Yeah, I can help you guys picking the apples for the ciders." "Aren't you gonna get some rest Private?" Chase asked. "Rest is for the weak. Besides, I ain't gonna sit my ass around while watching them working alone. And for the record, I have nothing better to do." "We need a damn shower." "I can do that after I help Applejack and Big Mac. Wait, excuse me Applejack, but do you mind if we use your shower?" Applejack smiled before nodding. "Like Ah said. Ah'd be more than happy to help y'all. And thank ye so much for yer offer pardner. But don't force yerself if yer tired please." Daniel opened his mouth to reply, only the voice didn't come from him. And the tone is deeper and very scratchy. "It's alright Applejack. It is the least I can do to repay your kindness and I too, would be more than happy to help you." Daniel slowly turned his head to Chase, who had a sly grin on his face. Daniel paused for a moment before finally nod a little. "Okay, first of all you took my line. And second, I do not sound like a goat crowing." Rainbow and Applejack burst out laughing. "Since when do goats crow anyway?" Rainbow wiped some of the tears from her eyes. "I heard it when Chase innocently shot some random goat's ass with his airsoft." "I did not." Chase retorted. "You did." The bus then came to a stop on the side of the street. "All right y'all," they heard Big Mac called, "We're here." One by one, they slowly got out of the bus. The sun was shining and giving them its warm heat as cool fall breeze came whistling through the apple trees. Birds landed from tree to tree, singing their song of peace as if nothing could interrupt their simple lives. Chase took a moment to look around before inhaling the fresh clean air. "Damn, I sure do miss this kind of scenery." Chase said, still admiring the environment. "Aren't we all do?" Daniel smiled while looking at the blue sky above. Some clouds could be spotted here and there. "My, my, Ah wasn't expecting some visitors." That voice. Daniel knew it well. He smiled slowly as his memory of the Sweet Apple Acres came back to him. The one and only, Granny Smith. "Granny!" Applejack chuckled warmly and pulled her grandma into a hug. Forbes, Chase and Daniel instinctively waiting in front of them. "Granny, these are our new folks. Rangers as they called themselves. And they are soldiers." "Ah can see that." Granny replied while adjusting her glasses. "Sergeant Forbes, it's nice to meet you." "Corporal Chase, at your service." "Private Daniel, pleasure to meet you Ma'am." "Aw shucks, ya can jus' call me Granny Smith." The Rangers nodded politely. "Sorry Ah didn't tell ya before, but these folks here were happened to be lost. So Ah figured to bring 'em here for a few days." Applejack explained. "That's very noble for you Applejack, but if ya bring 'em here, where will they sleep?" Granny asked, "One person can sleep on the couch. Aside from that, there's not much room for the rest of 'em." Applejack couldn't say a word when she realized her Granny was right. But the Rangers remained calm. They've gone through worse before, and sleeping on an apple tree was one of the best place on their list. That, and the barn. "The barn seems nice though." Chase said innocently while looking at the barn. "Darling, you can't be serious right?" Rarity asked behind them. "I mean, sleeping below an apple tree is fine, but a roof would do better." "What about the smell? No offense Applejack, but I can't bear to see them sleep in such place. You all can sleep in my boutique if you want." "Miss Rarity," Forbes turned around to face her warmly, "We've been through worse. Barn is one of the best place to sleep in the middle of a war." "I'm very sorry to hear that." Rarity apologized. Which Forbes replied with a single nod and smile. "Y'all sure wanna sleep in the barn?" Applejack was very concerned at the moment. "Alright, enough you Rangers. One of you are going to come with me." Rarity said sternly. "Rarity, we appreciate your offer, but-" Rarity stopped Daniel by using her finger on Daniel's mouth. "No buts. It's very rude of you to reject an offer from a lady." She then looked at her friends. "Any of you have a spare bedroom for these Rangers?" "I have one." Fluttershy replied. "Dude, I think this isn't a good idea." Daniel whispered to Chase. "These girls as just the same as the ponies back at Equestria." Chase whispered back. "I guess we'll just gonna play their games huh." "To avoid further problems, I couldn't agree more. Besides, they insist on helping us. If the three of us are in different places, it should be easier to locate Ammar. And I really need some shower." "Right, let Forbes know about this." As Chase was informing Forbes about it, Daniel waited for the girls to finish their discussion. After some arguing here and there, all of them finally have made their decision. Forbes agreed to stay on Twilight's house. Chase agreed to stay with Rarity, while Daniel staying at Applejack's. Of course, they stayed there for awhile, enjoying the fall scenery. They were all sitting at the porch of Applejack's house. The girls were pretty excited when the Rangers began to tell them their war with King Sombra. "Can I see the gun?" Rainbow asked while looking at Daniel's ACR. "Anytime." Daniel chuckled before handing it to Rainbow. "Careful Dash, it's heavy." Rainbow was surprised by its weight but she managed to set it onto her lap. With a cocky smile, she looked at Daniel. "It's not that heavy." Daniel simply chuckled. "All right, where were we?" He asked, turning his head back to the group. "Baltimare." Twilight simply replied. "Ah yes, Baltimare. That damn nightmare." "What happened?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "They got us cornered, our main objective was to rescue the resistance and some guards that were fighting there. But we got ambushed in the middle of a road and there were too many enemies when we arrived at their location, we were trying our best to keep them off until the survivors could return home safely." Daniel explained. "Things got worse when their reinforcement arrived. The Timberwolves overwhelmed us easily until we have no choice but to retreat." Chase continued. "We lost a tank, Warhammer." Daniel added. "What?" Twilight adjusted her glasses and shifted closer. "But how is that possible? I mean, tanks right? Magic can't penetrate the armour of a tank as far as I know." "They certainly can't penetrate it from the front and sides," Forbes answered, "But the engine is pretty weak, and I assume they knew it when we're having a fight in Ponyville. War Daddy was being overpowered by magic from all directions until when they focus fire on the track, gun, and engine; she's nearly destroyed. I guess they learned it from that time." A phone buzzed. "Oh, sorry to interrupt," Rarity said while looking at her phone, "Pinkie said that Sweetie and her friends are finished hanging out, she was asking if Big Mac can pick them up. Or at least one of us." "Wait what?" Daniel looked at her. "I thought Big Mac is going to pick up some apples with Applejack." "Hey sis." Big Mac's voice suddenly called out from the front door. They all turned to see he was holding three baskets stacked on his hands. "Ya ready to pick up some apples?" "Oh uh.." Applejack trailed off for a moment before asking her brother. "Mac, can ye pick up Applebloom and her friends and take 'em back home? They're at Sugarcube Corner, were having some treats and all." Big Mac raised an eyebrow. Daniel saw this and quickly had Applejack's back as he stood up. "I can help your sister with the apples if you want." Suddenly, a hand placed itself on his right shoulder. He turned around to see Forbes. "Kid, I know you want to help but it's better if one of us pick them up," he explained quietly, "That way, we can keep an eye on anything suspicious and maybe get to know more about the streets and places." "What if someone's watching us." "It won't happen. They will probably curious about us so I want you to avoid any topic about our homeland if they ask it." "Okay. Wait, you're saying that-" "Daniel can pick them up." Forbes said, looking at Big Mac and then Rarity. "I'll make you pay for this." Daniel mumbled quietly. "But Sarge, we don't have any vehicle," Chase said matter-of-fact, "And are you sure Daniel want to pick them up?" "He volunteered." Forbes said flatly. Applejack smiled warmly. "Aw, that's very kind of ya. Ah'm sure Big Mac will lend you our truck." She looked over to her brother. "Ain't that right Mac?" "As long as ya can keep it safe, Ah won't mind." He replied. "Alright," Applejack chuckled, "Let me get the keys." With that said, she walked into the house. Forbes put a shit eating grin on his face, unbeknownst Daniel was looking at him annoyingly. But the young private put his thoughts away and turned to the girls. "So, where is this Sugarcube Corner again?" "Oh yes, girls he doesn't know the town yet," Fluttershy said, "One of us have to go with him to Pinkie's place right?" "I will go with him," Rarity answered before standing up, "I kindly ask you to drop me and Sweetie at my boutique. I have some things that I have to do." "Will do." Daniel replied. "Hang on for a sec," Chase interrupted as he stood up, "If Rarity's going home, that means I'm coming with her right?" "Yes dear, I'm sure you wanted a shower very badly as well. I have some clothes you can wear on and let me clean your uniform there." "Thank you for your offer Rarity but I can wash them myself." Chase kindly replied. "We can talk about it later," Forbes chimed in, "Right now I want you two to keep a look out on the town. Report anything suspicious once you get back Daniel. I hate to say this but I sense that the town is in danger." Moments later, Applejack came back and gave the car keys to Daniel. After introducing the truck and telling the Ranger to be very careful, Applejack and Big Mac finally decided to put their trust on him. "Don't worry about it, I'll take a good care of your truck." Daniel assured one last time before opening the door and hop in on the driver seat. "Ya have yer license with ye?" Applejack asked, crossing her arms. "Me and the boys have been chased a lot. I'm sure I'll be able to avoid the cops here as well." "Just try not to lure anyone about our presence Private." Forbes suddenly said while standing next to Applejack. "We're in our uniform Sergeant. We'll lure them, but I bet none of them are dare to ask a question." Daniel started the truck and then turned back to them. "Don't worry, I'll be back as fast as I can." As Rarity got in the passenger seat and Chase hopped on the back of the truck, they waved and proceed their way to town. Two cars were parked not far enough from the red house where Sunset and her friends, along with the Rangers were relaxing. The driver and the passengers watched carefully as Daniel, Chase, and a teenager got into a truck and went back to the town. The driver grabbed his walkie and turn it on. "Two of the Rangers are heading to town, shall we attack that house now?" "No, we'll take the truck," the voice from the walkie answered, "We capture them if we can and take them to our hideout." "What about the other one?" "He will search them once we got what we need." "This is stupid." The passenger said quietly. The driver nod at his statement, but for now, he didn't want to argue since they have no idea where they were. "Copy." With that, the driver put his walkie back, start the engine, and made their way to town, silently following the truck.