The Fallen soldier

Chapter 35

THE TIMBERWOLF HAS BEEN NAMED WHISKEY.

--------

To the residents of Ponyville, Anderson is nothing but that one tall buff dude in odd clothing who wanders town every now and then. He's also known for possessing the affection of the towns children. And while few people have knowledge on his previous years, people know not to mess with him. Once he was caught in a bar fight, he singlehandedly kicked the shit outa 9 different men, half sober, half drunk. Rumors now circle around town stating its mainly because of his fancy suit, the men who managed to quickly recover from their beating would obviously want revenge, after all.. Their pride as men is on the line.

Those men started to watch him, they watched for days. And when Anderson showed signs of never taking the suit off, they swallowed their pride and gave up. Surprising as it may sound, they went back to their daily schedule. Though their burning hatred for the man stood the same.

But one particular day, something odd happened. Anderson disappeared for a day. No-one knows why. But the rumors circling the town were nothing pretty, amongst the married couples, Anderson has apparently scurried off to meet his divorced wife so he can spend time with his children. Apparently he seemed like the father type, his drinking buddys disagreed.

Others rumors spoke of his affair with a beautiful woman, some spoke of his secret employment with the Equestrian government. And some spoke of his adventure across the world, Anderson did seem like the adventuring type.

Though he returned the next day, he didn't stay long. Something happened in the Golden Oaks library, though the Mane 6 barely spoke of it. And just like that, Anderson disappeared once again. But he didn't come back the next day, or the next, or the next, and so on.

The town seemed different, but not from the outside. From the outside, Ponyville was still that quaint little town bordering the Everfree Forest. On the inside however, there was this odd sense of loss going around town.

Pinkie Pie didn't seem as bouncy, Rainbow Dash was more active than usual, Rarity turned into a living factory, Applejack seemed less eager at her Apple-stand, Fluttershy.... Well she was still as shy as ever, and Twilight Sparkle.

Well, a lot could be said about Twilight. She looked more ragged, her hair was a mess, she had dark bags under her eyes, and she refused to take her nose out of whatever book she happened to be reading.

Word around town is Anderson dumped her and left for another, more, prettier woman.

But that quickly burned into ashes, cuz Anderson just walked into town. He looked different, maybe it was because he wasn't wearing his odd outfit, maybe it was because his clothes actually fit him for once. Or it could be the beard he's sporting. Or it's the Timberwolf standing next to him, eyeing down and growling at any passerby that took too long a look at its master.

Maybe his presence is the cause behind that loud noise heard moments before. It's hard to explain, but it's loud, it's really loud. Louder than Floods wife.

"Hey man! I'm talking to you!"

Speaking of Flood.

"What?"

"Anderson is out of his stupid ass suit! You wanna rush him now?!" Flood drank from his whiskey bottle.

I shook my head, "You're drunk Flood, Anderson could still kick your ass."

"Ah whatever! You ain't nothin' but a pussy!" He put extra emphasis on 'Pussy.'

I rubbed my nose and let loose a annoyed sigh, "Chill dude, you're wasted. Don't let that drink think for you."

Flood frowned and shook his head in a disappointed matter. "Man, if you ain't gonna watch my back, I'll get Joe and Euclid to help me!" Flood spat in my face and stood up, he lost his footing and nearly face planted, but caught himself.

He turned and flipped me off, "You're paying for the drinks!" He sauntered off towards the market place.

I sighed, Why do I hang out with that jackass?.

The waitress appeared and looked at the now empty seat. "Did Flood make you pay for him again?"

I nodded my head.

"You should quit hanging out with that guy, he's the reason you got your ass kicked last weekend." The waitress folded her clipboard against her stomach.

"You're a waitress, don't start giving me sensible advice and take my order please."

She scoffed, "What shall I get you sir."

Ignoring her last word, I reply with. "Get me another burger and... Some whiskey."

She writes on her board, "Something happen? And would you like fries with that burger?"

"Flood is planning on ambushing Anderson with his buddies, and yes, fries sound amazing right now."

"Ooh!" She excitedly stated, "I can't wait to watch him get his ass kicked again! Did he say where and what time?"

"No, but if he tells me, you'll be the first to know."

"Sweet! I'll bet you 10 bits he gets his ass kicked!"

I gave her a crazed look, "No deal, I KNOW he'll get his ass whooped."

She frowned and clipped her pen in her hair. "That's a shame, you got a offer of your own?"

I sat back and thought for a moment. "Sure, if he gets his ass kicked, you.... Owe me a date."

She looked surprised, than grinned, "Oh you sly little devil you." She smiled, "You've got a deal."

I smiled back.

Her smile faded and she sighed, "I'll go get your orders now." She playfully ruffled my hair, "I'll see you whenever." She waved her hand and walked off.

She disappeared behind the crowd of people walking in the restaurant. I stared for a little longer before shifting my gaze to the window. Anderson was gone, and it's no surprise. The man probably has some kind of super important reason to be here.

God... What I wouldn't give to have a life like his. Always around beautiful women, and having a seemingly endless wallet.

YOUR POV

---

"What do you mean 9 bits a bottle!!? It was 4 bits 8 days ago!"

The man raised his arms, "I don't make the prices man! It's my boss!"

Whiskey jumped on the counter and started growling.

"Down boy." You command, still staring the cashier in the eyes. "It's not entirely his fault, this place sold shitty stuff anyway." You turn and walk away.

You open the door and whistle, Whiskey bounds outside and eagerly waits for you. You chuckle and start walking towards the Golden Oak Library. You roll your shoulders and think of what you should say.

Hey! I'm back and I think we should be friends again!

Meh.

Hello! I'm just passing though and I'd figured I'd stop by and see how it's going!

No.

I've been in the woods for 8 days! And I just can't get you off my mind!

Fuck no, already got rejected once, let's not add salt to the wound.... Or whatever.

I've befriended a Timberwolf! And I'm going to now devote the rest of my life to recruiting and building a army of animals!

Maybe the woods have gotten to you.

Hey, I figured I'd stop by and say hello, and introduce you to my new companion.

That's... That's a start.

-----

Golden Oaks library stood before you, a monument of your rejection. You sighed and reached for the handle, Whiskey sensed something and starting growling.

"Calm yourself, I'm just... Gonna talk and see how it goes." You push the door open and walk inside.

The library was no different, it was still empty, void of everything expect rows upon rows of books. Spike was gone, this was a rarity, he's usually always organizing or doing something that involved books or cleaning. Maybe Twilight took a page from your book and gave the kid a break. Or maybe he's finally started his teen persona, you find the thought of Spike rebelling against Twilight to be quite funny.

You closed the door behind you and approached the kitchen, one quick look inside proved the kitchen empty. Maybe Twilight's upstairs? You acknowledge the possibility and make your way up the stairs.

Just for the sake of reminiscing, you open the door to your old bedroom and look inside. It looked like it hasn't been touched, the blanket on the bed was still in slight array, and your paper notes on pointless matters were still laying on the desk. You take a last glance and close the door, Whiskey starts whimpering.

You raise your finger to your lips and look at Twilights bedroom door. You make several hand gestures at the door and Whiskey nods his head. Whiskey proceeds to the door, were he sits on his hind legs and uses his front paw to knock on the door. You stand and wait.

Nothing happens.

Whiskey looks at you, causing you to reply with a simple shrug. You take a step forward and bang your knuckles on the door.

Still no response.

You frown and place your hand on the doorknob, "Twilight? It's me! Anderson! I'm coming in!" You turn the knob and push the door open.

Her room was empty. You climb the ladder up to her loft and check her bed, it's also empty. You scratch your head and hop off the ladder.

Whiskey looks at you, his leafy eyebrows rising in a questionable matter.

"I don't know where she is! Maybe she's out with Spike getting groceries or something?"

You shrug your shoulders again and decide to check if you received any mail. You approach Twilights desk and stare at the giant ass pile of papers, each paper was filled from top to bottom with words so badly written, it looked like a 4 year old wrote all of it.

To be honest though, your handwriting fared no better.

You managed to locate a letter from Princess Celestia herself, it was addressed to you, it even had that fancy stamp that made it highly confidential. You pocket the letter and search for any others, you felt bad for doing this, seeing as these papers seemed like notes for some spell and a diary at the same time.

You find nothing else, so you drop your search and turn to leave Twilights room, you've trespassed enough for today. On your way downstairs you find Whiskey holding a terrified Spike hostage.

Spike instantly spots you and called out for help. "Anderson! This Timberwolf got inside! Please do something!"

You nonchalantly shrug and step downstairs, "Stand down Whiskey, this is the Spike I've mentioned before."

Whisky stops growling and sits down on his haunches.

Spike lets loose a sigh of relief, before staring at you with a surprised expression.

"You're friends with that thing!?!?" Spike pointed at Whiskey, who snarled in return.

"Watch what you say Spike, Whiskey here isn't so bad, he's just misunderstood. He's actually quite intelligent for a wooden wolf." You stand at Whiskeys side.

Whiskey nods in approval at your sentence, before laying down and resting his head on his front paws. You crouch and rub his wooden head, "See Spike? He ain't so bad."

Spike gulps and laughed weakly, "Hehe, yeah... I uh.. I'm sure Twilight and the others will be happy to see you."

You stand up, much to Whiskey displeasure. "Speaking of Twilight and the others, Where are they?"

Spike turns and points at the front door, "They'll be here mome-"

Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy walked in.

Their conversation seemed to be about Twilight, before they realized your presence in the room. Only 3 of the 6 actually manage to get inside before those 3 stopped and stared, the other 3 asked what was so surprising. When they received no reply, they pushed the 3 aside and walked inside, their mouths now lay agape as well. Everyone was sort of dressed up, they must've went to a fancy-ish restaurant.

You waved your hand and smiled, "Hey guys! Told you I'd be back!"

Whiskey looked at you, then looked at the 6 women. He proceeded to snarl at them. This caused the 6 women to switch focus from you, to the Timberwolf.

"Don't take it harshly, it's his way of saying 'hi'." You crouch and quickly rub Whiskeys head.

You look up at everyone and get rewarded with several stares.

Twilight steps forward and starts to open her mouth, she closes it as quickly as she opened it. She looks down and awkwardly rubs her left arm, she looks back up and stares you in the eyes before taking a deep breath. "Anderson.... I... I'm sorry for kicking you out."

You weakly smile and stand up, Whiskey opens a single eye and stares at Twilight.

"It's ok." You reply, "I've always been a resourceful guy."

Twilights takes another step forward, angrily replying with, "But it didn't give me the right to kick you out of the treehouse knowing you had nowhere else to go!"

Whisky reacts to Twilights sudden anger by standing up and growling.

You angrily stare at Whiskey, before looking back at Twilight. "I said it's alright, I took shelter in the crashed Russian colonization ship, you know? That big ass ship we found in the woods weeks ago?"

Twilight nods. "Yeah, I remember."

"Good."

The room goes silent. The women once behind Twilight has now disappeared, you manage to catch a glimpse of Rarity in the window before she ducked out of sight. How kind of them to give you and Twilight some space... Even if they're watching the entire thing. It's the thought that counts you guess.

You cough and rub the back of your head, Whiskey looks up at you and whimpers. You secretly talk to him by using some hand motions you taught him. He crooks his head and stares at you in confusion, he didn't understand a single thing you told him.

You mentally face palm, way to waste an hour of your life teaching sign language to a wolf.

You give Whiskey a disappointed look and focus on Twilight again, she was staring at you. She must've noticed you trying to talk to Whiskey. You cough again and scratch your neck.

"Soooo." Began Twilight. "I see you've somehow managed to tame a Timberwolf." Her eyes shift towards Whiskey for a brief second.

"Yeah, he..." You pause for a second. "We... Share a love of whiskey."

Twilight raises a brow. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, he.... Caught me off guard while I was working on a project. I knocked over my bottle of whiskey and spilt it everywhere." You pause for a moment, then continued, "I got a bit angry, then he started to drink it off the floor. I remember telling him the floor wasn't exactly the cleanest thing in the world, but he continued drinking it."

Twilight crosses her arms, "And it was love at first sight?" She smirks.

You scoff, "I just wanted a drinking buddy, and we clicked from there. Maybe it's the whole 'Alpha Male' thing or whatever. Or....." You trail off.

Twilight taps her foot against the floor, "Or what?"

You continue with, "Or it's because I killed his last leader. I remember getting attacked by some Timberwolfs while I searching the woods for a cave with ore inside."

Twilight opens her mouth, but someone else asks the question for her.

"Why were you looking for ore in a cave?" Rainbow asked as she walked in.

Everyone else finally walks inside, they all stood outside and waited until the right moment. You and Twilight must've looked like you made up or something. You don't give it a second thought and answer the question.

"I needed metal so I can smelt it and make a wing." You cross your arms.

Rainbow raised a brow, confusion evident on her face. "What could you possibly need a wing a for?"

You smile, "Remember that VTOL?"

Rainbows face remains blank, then realization struck her, the biggest smile formed on her face. "No way! You didn't!"

You confidently smirk and nod your head, "Oh yes I did, today's the day I first flew it."

Rainbow dash squeals and jumps in the air, loudly exclaiming. "OH WE SO GOTTA FLY TOGETHER NOW!"

As Rainbow Dash fawned over the idea of seeing human technology in action, Applejack wanted answers. She pushed the daydreaming Rainbow aside and looked you in the eyes, "What's this doohickey yer talkin 'bout?"

Rainbow answered for you, "It's like a hot air ballon! But it can go up to 900Mph! And it's super cool looking! Except last time it was missing a wing, but Anderson said he fixed it! You did didn't you!?" Rainbow looked at you, stars in her eyes.

You chuckle, "Yeah, the VTOL's got a new wing attached to it. It took some trial and error, but I managed to make a pulley system to hold the wing up while I worked on it."

Rainbow suddenly dropped her excitement, "Wait! I thought you said you didn't have a single clue on how to fix it!? How'd you fix it?!"

You shrug your shoulders, "The 3d printer had a blueprint and manual for every little detail."

Everyone asks, "3d printer?"

You wave your hand, "Nothing you guys need to worry about."

Everyone exchanges glances and shrugs.

Pinkie stepped out from the group and approaches you, "Soooo..... Are you staying now?!" She shoves her face in yours.

You take a step back, tripping and falling on the couch.

"Ain't got nowhere to stay, so no." Pinkie starts to open her mouth, you quickly continue with. "BUT I've got some unfinished business in the woods. Once I finish that, maybe I'll consider finding my own place. I was never capable of sharing a home with someone."

Twilight looks down and rubs her shoulder.

"Why?" Asks Pinkie.

You lean back and rest your arm on the back of the couch, "We get into fights, it usually leads to fist fights, and then me getting kicked out. One time I was I kicked out because I once refused to pay the guy, he told me not to come back until I payed him full price."

Pinkie cocked her head, "Did you ever pay him back?"

You reply with, "Yeah, I paid him with bullets."

"Was he happy about that?"

You smile evilly, "Let's just say it was a deal to die for."

Rarity commented, "I don't think I like the sound of that! What'd you do to the man!?"

You don't answer, instead you chuckle. Everyone gulps and looks at each other.

You suddenly stand up and clap your hands, "Okay! I'd love to stay and have a cup of tea! But my Russian comrades need me!"

Whiskey understands what you mean and quickly rushes to the door, scaring the 6 women on the way there. You smile at his eagerness to leave and follow in his steps, except you stop directly in front of Twilight and look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, I should've noticed you weren't interested in a relationship and moved on. I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship." You look away and rub your head, you weren't exactly familiar with this sappy shit.

Twilight smiles and goes teary eyed, she suddenly embraces you. "Of course we're still friends you big goof.... Nothing would ever change that."

You chuckle and wrap your arms around her, you began to let go but everyone else suddenly joins in.

"We're all friends again! Yay!" Yells Pinkie.

Rainbow stood awkwardly by herself, she rubbed her shoulders and looked at you. You smirk and motion for her to join the group hug. She rolls her eyes and joins the big hug.

Everyone stays like this for a few more seconds before releasing the hug. You chuckle and dust yourself off, "I think this ends our reunion guys, I'd hate to leave, but I'm very busy and need to finish some other things."

Fluttershy speaks up for the first time, "Like what? If you don't mind telling that is....."

You back towards the door and answer the question, "I'm going to tamper with the VTOL for a bit. I wanna see if I can make it fly to my location at the press of a button."

"Cool." Comments Rainbow, who suddenly snaps her finger. "Can I come along with you!? I can fly just as fast!"

You stop your reach for the doorknob, "I'm still going to get some whiskey for ol' Whiskey here, I promised him a bottle and a bottle he shall receive."

Fluttershy steps forward, "Y-you really shouldn't be giving him whiskey! That's highly volatile!"

You sigh, "I thought the same thing, but something's different about this Timberwolf. It's capable of basic communication and it looks nothing like those other Timberwolfs I've seen."

"Still." Whispers Fluttershy. "At least keep a eye on him okay? I've never heard of one getting tamed before."

There she goes again. Suddenly getting so confident when speaking of animals.

"He isn't my first pet Fluttershy, I've alway had a thing for dogs and he's the closest I've come to one since waking in the hospital." You correct yourself, "I mean, besides your dog Applejack."

Applejack nods.

As a joke, you end your talk with. "Maybe I'll start my own Timberwolf pack! I'm kinda curious to see how many I can get to follow me."

No-ones laughs. Rainbow suddenly says, "You serious?"

You lose you smile, "No... No I'm not."

The room goes quiet again.

You open the front door and step out, "I'll come back tomorrow. See you all then."

You shut the door.

*ring*

You step out of the alcohol store and glance inside the bag.

"There Whiskey! I've got us 4 more bottles to last us the next few days." You shake the bag, making the contents inside shake around and make sounds.

Whisky whimpers.

You smirk and take a bottle from the bag and lower it to Whiskeys level, who uses his wooden teeth to bite down on it, lifting it from your hands, he tries to drink from it.

"You gotta open it first! Wait till we're by the VTOL and I'll open it for you." You laugh at Whiskeys lame attempts to open the sealed bottle.

You motion for whiskey to follow you into a alley, it's a shortcut that saves you a walk around the block. As you take a few steps, the back doors of 6 different restaurants open up. Five men and one woman steps out into the alley, the five men pull knives from their respective hoodie pockets. And the single woman drops her bag of trash into the trash can, she turns and re-enters the building, completely unaware of the knife wielding men.

You stare at the men in front of you, the men remain silent and begin to slowly approach you. You frown and glance down at Whiskey, who has already got into his defensive stance. You look back up and slowly start reaching for your handgun.

Expect it's not there.... Of all fucking times....

You quietly mumble a curse and look back up, the first masked assailant was a few feet from you. You crack your neck and get into a defensive stance of your own, you motion for Whisky to get the second guy.

"No killing." You command. Whisky growls in agreement.. Or maybe it's anger.

The fight begins as...

The first man suddenly dashed forward and tries to stab at you. You step aside and grab his hand mid-stab, using your metal arm, you slam you elbow in the man's face. As he topples to the floor, you pull the knife from his hand.

Whiskey growls and lunges at the second assailant, the man makes a weak attempt to dodge and gets a leg full of wooden wolf teeth. He hits the ground crying out in pain, Whiskey then used a nearby trash can lid to knock him out.

The third man tries to punch you, you grab his fist mid-swing and deliver a fierce right-hook. The man instantly goes down, leaving you a little disappointed on the inside.

You face the remaining two people and point at one of them, Whiskey gets the idea and rushes him. As he takes him down, you grab the same trash can lid Whiskey used and throw it like a frisbee towards the fifth man.

The man manages to catch it, and throws it back. You also catch it, and once you realize he's running at you with a knife, turn it into a makeshift shield. You use the lid to block his attempt to stab you, then smack him with the lid. He grabs his head and takes a step back, he lets out a ferocious war cry and starts taking wild slashes at you. It's proves no threat as you block every single swipe, filled with annoyance, you force all your strength into a shove that's sends the man sprawling to the dirt.

As he attempts to get back up, you use the lid as a golf club and hit him upside the head.

You take a deep breath and look around the alley, you notice a man at the end holding a bow and arrow. It's too late to move out of the way, but as the arrow flys towards you, time seems to slow down as you raise the lid and allow the arrow to reflect off it.

When the archer realized he missed his shot, he instantly tries to load another arrow. You take the knife you looted from the first guy and toss it in the air, you grab it by the blade, then proceed to throw it.

It managed to nail the man in his thigh, he collapsed and cried out in pain.

You quickly turn around and make sure there's no more guys with bows. There isn't. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, you look around for Whiskey and spot him drinking the whiskey from the bag.

That was your whiskey.

"God-dammit Whiskey! That's my whiskey!"

Whiskey, realizing he was caught red handed, looked back at you and innocently smiled.

It was fucking creepy.

Author's Notes:

Yes, Whiskey has been named Whiskey.

Im probably gonna mix those two up at some point.

And I've noticed that whenever I write the Mane 6 all together, I only have 2 or three of them talk. It's like I completely forge they exist! So I made sure every character had something to say. I hope it looked right.

Also, would you say my writing has improved since this story started months ago? Be honest, you won't hurt my feeling.

Stay golden ppl.