Equestrian Wars: A Fixed Pathway

Author: Evowizard25

Chapter 4

Nurse Redheart finally finished packing her supplies. "There," she said, before turning around to the others. "That should be everything." She carried the pack over to Applejack and set it on her haunches. "The instructions on how to use them are in there too. Follow them to the letter."

"Got it," Applejack said. She adjusted the pack on her back, to make it more comfortable. She was used to heavier loads, so it didn't bother her any.

"Now, if you need any other assistance," Nurse Redheart said, "Just come and let me know."

"Can do," Applejack said, nodding.

Twilight walked up to her. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" she asked.

"Honestly, no," Applejack said. She turned to look at Hasgon. "But, hey, we might as well give him a chance." She turned her attention back to Twilight. "But I assure you. If he lays a single claw on any of my family members, I'll buck him so hard that he won't be able to walk straight again."

"Alright then," Twilight said, getting a little fidgety under Applejack's gaze. She walked over to Hasgon, who was finishing putting on his armor. He was carrying his stick with him. "Now, as promised, you are to go with Applejack, on the condition that you don't attack any of her family."

"I understand," Hasgon said. "It would be foolhardy of me to try."

"Well," Twilight said, "with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy your stay in Equestria." Hasgon just snorted. "Thank you for that heartfelt reply," Twilight said, sarcasm ever evident in her words.

Applejack started to head out to her farm, with Hasgon right beside her. The moment they got outside, the other ponies around them stopped what they were doing and began to stare. 'Oh, boy,' Applejack thought. "Alright, there's no need to—" she started, but it was already too late.

"PANIC!" one pony yelled in fright, before running off. Others soon followed suit.

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'So many hoonah,' Hasgon thought, looking around at the ones all across the street. His stomach growled again. 'I can handle myself.' One of the hoonah let out a shriek of fright and ran, causing the others to do so. He had seen this with other prey species. It made his mouth water. Instincts were starting to kick in. The urge to give chase was starting to take a toll on his resolve. His nostrils flared, while his feathers on his neck started to rise. The Kra bared his teeth and focused intently on a youngling. 'Attack! Kill! Feed!' He couldn't hold back any longer.

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Applejack could see the whole scene unfold. Hasgon tensed up and looked like he was going to try and hurt somepony. 'Not on my watch!' she thought. She quickly put a hoof to his side. The Kra turned his head giving her a deathly glare. His eyes held a predatory glint. "Hold your horses," she said, returning his gaze. "You promised not to hurt anyone."

Hasgon just stared at her for a moment, before his breathing went back to normal. The feathers on his neck went back down. He seemed to relax. "I am sorry for that," he said, bowing his head. "Instincts."

Applejack just kept eyeing him, afraid that he'd attack. "Well, control them, ya hear." She said.

A certain multi-colored mare floated beside her. "Don't worry about the others," Rainbow Dash said, "I'll set them straight." She took off like a bullet.

Applejack didn't pay any attention to her friend. "Now, are we going to have any other problems?" she asked.

"No," Hasgon answered, unwilling to make eye contact.

Applejack sighed. "Well, follow me," she said. "And no more snarlin'."

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Twilight watched them walk away, a bit disturbed by the instance. 'Does he really think I'll believe that story?' Twilight thought, rolling her eyes. 'Not from Equestria, my hoof. He's obviously something from the Everfree forest. Just another dangerous animal. Anyways, interdimensional pathways are…' Her eyes shot open when she remembered the spell she cast. Immediately, she bolted out the door, heading towards the library.

Hasgon walked alongside the hoonah known as Applejack. 'Strange name,' he thought. She seemed to be still wary of him. This was understandable, since he had just tried to kill her and her friends. 'Not to mention your little slip up earlier,' he scolded himself. 'A true Kra doesn't let their inticts get the better of them.'

A pang of guilt resounded in his heart. He didn't know why. He had killed those two-legged ones without any regrets. He growled when he remembered them. 'Once my purpose here is done, I'll go back,' he thought. 'Hopefully, I won't miss out on killing more of them.' Yet, that same hate didn't apply to these hoonah. Sure, they were hoonah, but they weren't on Eka. So, this was rightfully their planet. Right? Therefore, he was trespassing. Unless, Eng-kan had designed this world, or he needed him to put it under his command. Was that his destiny? He clutched his head, as a surge of pain struck him. 'My brain hurts.'

"You okay?" Applejack asked.

"Yes," Hasgon answered her. Yes, he knew this hoonah was a female. All because of one simple fact. She was in heat. Her aroma filled his nostrils. It was not as he expected. He thought that hoonah females would smell rather disgusting, but these pheromones were rather pleasant. Really pleasant! Of course, he wouldn't allow himself to think they were better than Kra pheromones. 'These hoonahs don't even have a proper tail…' "Just a simple headache is all."

He could see Applejack blush slightly. "Sorry about that," she said. "A bit of self-defense on my part." Hasgon just groaned and rubbed his skull. "Anyway, you'd have just tried to eat me, if I hadn't."

Hasgon opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it. She was right. He hadn't eaten in a couple of days. He still was starving. He was even now tempted to make her a snack. He refrained from doing so. "So, what do you do here?" he asked, trying to turn the conversation away from the subject.

"I don't see any harm in telling you," Applejack said. "I work on my family's apple farm. We got the best apples in all of Equestria."

"Apples?" Hasgon repeated, scratching his lower jaw. "You mean those red things on the trees?"

Applejack just stared at him, dubiously. "Don't tell me you've never seen an apple before," she said.

"We don't have apples and such where I come from." Hasgon said, before his stomach reminded him of his hunger. "Though I am craving something juicy."

"Well, one of our dishes will clear up that hunger of yours," Applejack said confidently.

"As long as it doesn't involve plants, I'm fine with whatever you have," Hasgon said. Applejack just seemed to eye him for a moment, moving her mouth around. He paid close attention to that area. He was rather fascinated by hoonah mouths. 'How do they get their mouths do those things?' he thought. 'Twisting, puffing, and all that.'

"I'll do my best," Applejack said.

They walked on, until they got to Sweet Apple Acres. Big Macintosh was waiting for them. "I see he's doin' better," he said, eyeing Hasgon.

"Yes, he is," Applejack said. "He'll be stayin' with us for a while."

Big Mac's eyes widened a bit. "He's a stayin' with us?" he asked.

"That's right." Applejack nodded. She looked around. "So, where's Apple Bloom?" she asked.

"She's off playin' with her friends," Big Macintosh answered.

Applejack sighed. She didn't hate Hasgon, but she didn't want Apple Bloom anywhere near him. That just didn't sit right with her. "How about granny?" she asked.

"Sleepin'," Big Mac answered flatly.

"Well, then it's a perfect time to show him the farm," Applejack said, looking over at Hasgon. She was going to keep a close eye on him from now on. "Don't want you gettin' lost or somethin'."

"No, I wouldn't want that," Hasgon said.

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Twilight threw another book over her shoulder. She'd been reading up all day on parallel universes and the plausibility of connection. 'Alright,' she told herself, looking through another book. 'There's nothing to worry about. Just the possible chance that I just broke a hole in the universe. That's all.'

"Spike, give me that book," she said, putting down the book at hand. Spike walked over and gave her the book he was holding. She used her magic and levitated it out of his hands. "Thank you." She quickly flipped through the pages, until she found the spell she was looking for. The unicorn looked over the spell she had cast, reading the instruction again. 'I followed it to the letter. Everything was perfect. Could it be possible I managed it? No one in the history of Equestria had been able to pull it off. Scholars had debated whether it was even feasible to do so. Yet, this creature claims to be from another world. What if...' Her eyes widened and she dropped the book.

"Something wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked, concerned.

"Oh dear," Twilight said, fidgeting with her hooves. "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Spike said.

"This can't be!" Twilight said, rather frantically. "What in the name of Celestia have I done?" At the mention of her Princess, fear gripped her. "WHAT WILL THE PRINCESS SAY!" she yelled.

"The princess?" Spike said, raising an eyebrow.

"She can't find out I messed up!" Twilight said, pacing back and forth. "I'll just deal with this myself. Yeah! That's it. I'll just send Hasgon back through the portal. Problem solved. The Princess's won't be the wiser."

"Wiser about what?" Spike said, waving his arms in the air to get her

attention.

"But what if they find out?" Twilight asked, her chest heaving in and out. "What if they find out I brought him here? And that I hid him from them!"

/"Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Celestia scolded, hovering over her student. She gave her a glare that could match her sun's ferocity. "I am so disappointed in you."

"I can explain!" Twilight pleaded. She was crying her eyes out, shaking in fear.

"No explanations are needed," Celestia said, stomping a hoof onto the ground. The Earth shook under her. "You brought a great evil into this world."

"He isn't evil," Twilight said.

"SILENCE!" Celestia shouted. Twilight covered her ears from the intensity of the princess's voice. "You shall be punished for this insipid and rather stupid act." She tapped her lower jaw with a hoof in thought. "Now, what sort of punishment should I use?"

Princess Luna came jumping up in glee. "Oooh, oooh," she said, jumping around her sister. "I know one!"

"What is it, Luna?" Celestia asked.

"Why don't I banish her to the moon?" Luna said. "Or better yet, the sun. I never get to banish people. Can I? Pretty please, big sis."

Celestia just laughed. "Alright, my dear sister," she said, patting the moon goddess's head. "You may banish her to the sun."

"Yes!" Luna exclaimed, hoof pumping. "I get to banish you," she said, before breaking down into a dance. "I get to banish you, yeah!"/

"NO!" Twilight said, her eyes clenched shut. "Stop it! It's bad enough that I'm being banished, but stop dancing!"

"Twilight!" Spike said, trying to shake her. "Snap out of it!"

Twilight shook her head, stepping out of her fantasy. "Sorry, about that," she said, smiling nervously. "My mind just wandered a bit."

"Yeah," Spike said, rolling his eyes. "You seem to do that a lot."

Twilight scrunched her face into one of annoyance. "Alright," she said. "Anyway, I won't be writing to Celestia about this creature."

"Why not?" Spike said. "You said yourself, he could be dangerous."

"Yes, but we have to deal with him on our own," Twilight said. Spike just stared at her. "I mean, honestly. What could possibly go wrong?"

Pinkie Pie popped out of a closet. "You did not just say that!" she said.

"What were you doing in my closet?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie ignored her question. "You just jinxed us!" she said, pointing a hoof at her.

"Jinxed?" Twilight asked. "How?"

"The whole, 'what could possibly go wrong' thing!" Pinkie Pie said, stating it as if it were a common fact. "Everyone knows that just asks for trouble!"

"Oh, Pinkie," Twilight said, shaking her head, "you should know that jinxes don't really work. I mean seriously, how could anything I say effect our world?"

"You did it again!" Pinkie Pie yelled.

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Deep within the confines of Russia, Krotoosk, the Kra commander of all forces stationed in Russia, sat patiently. The wooden hoonah structure around him was sufficient enough of a base of operations. 'Where is that report?' he thought. He had been waiting hours for an update on their current situation. Of course, he knew they were doing well. His sector of Eka would be under control within in no time. 'Ugon, eat your heart out.' He thought. He would enjoy trumping his rival's achievements.

Suddenly, another Kra came into the room. He saluted. "Sir, the reports are in," he said.

"Well," Krotoosk said, "What about them?"

"Most of the resistance has been crushed," The Kra said. "Hoonah forces are too spread out to be of any threat to us."

If Krotoosk could smile, his face would be split into a grin. "Ah, victory at last," he said, before walking over to a window. He looked outside, marvelling at Eka's beauty. "Eka. You are ours once again."

"There is something you should know sir," the Kra said.

"What?" Krotoosk asked, turning his head to look at him.

"Well, we lost contact with a certain patrol unit," the soldier said. "They were investigating this one area suspected of hiding hoonah armor when they disappeared."

Krotoosk scowled. 'I should have known there would be a catch to it,' he thought. 'Wait! I had put Sevu in command of that patrol. Surely he would have reported as soon as possible. He'd never just disappear, unless...' "Gather the troops together," he said, before turning back to the window. "I'll lead the next incursion myself."

"Shall we move out now, sir?" the Kra soldier asked.

"No," Krotoosk said, "We'll wait until morning."

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Meanwhile, in another part of Russia, Alexander Antonov looked over another patient. He didn't have any serious injuries, just a gash in his arm. He'd be ready to get back into the fight in no time. He sighed. He was a pacifist at heart and hated to see such carnage. 'Why did they come here?' he kept on thinking. 'What could they gain from all this destruction?' Their motives were a mystery to him, but others kept telling him the same thing, over and over again. 'They want us all dead,' was always their answer. Yet, that didn't settle right for him. 'Surely, they have some heart,' Nonetheless, he continued on with his work.

"OW! Be careful, doc." The soldier he was working on said. He noticed he'd accidently stuck him in the wrong place. "I'd like to keep this arm."

"Sorry." Alexander said. He mentally swore at himself for getting caught up in his thoughts.

All of a sudden, General Anastas Vereshchagin walked into the medical tent. He was a large and intimidating man, big broad shoulders, thick mustache, with a cut and trimmed uniform. Yet, one could see compassion in his eyes for his soldiers and his people. And also, one could see the strain of command. He was one of the few, if not only, Generals still in possession of armor support. "Doctor," he said, "are the men—" He took a glance at a female soldier, "and ladies ready to fight?"

Alexander took out a handkerchief and wiped off his hands. He nodded. "Yes. Nothing serious. They'll all be ready to move at your command."

"Excellent," Anastas said, clapping his hands together. "Good work, Doctor." He stopped for a moment. "Now, I need you to get your supplies loaded back into the truck."

"But sir, we just got here," Alexander said. "Some of them are in no condition to be moved."

"I know, but I have Intel that the enemy is closing in on this location," Anastas replied. He raised a hand to silence him. "You'll have plenty of time. We'll be leaving in daybreak, as long as that blasted moon doesn't hinder us."

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Back in Equestria, Princess Celestia was again looking over some parchments dictating laws and such of Equestria. 'A Princess's job is never done,' she thought. Though, lately, she'd been putting more and more of her time into drowning herself in it. Luna was a bit worried, but Celestia had calmed her down. 'She is just so skittish.' There was a knock at the door. Celestia slowly put down her parchment and went over to the door to open it.

A servant girl stood there, with a glass of water in her hoof. "Your water, Princess," she said.

Celestia smiled and lifted the water with her magic. "Thank you very much," she said. The servant girl simply bowed. She closed her the door behind her. She sat herself back into her place and returned her attention back to her parchments. 'Alright, back to looking over the age limit of...' Her eyes flew open. There, in the middle of her stool, was a letter. That wasn't what frightened her; it was what was on it that did.

/My beloved Lest,

It has been so long since we last met. Indeed, it has put a heavy strain on my soul. I cannot express my loathing of every second away from you. I'm sorry if our time was cut short, but no matter. Fate once again brings us together. And this time, our love shall never be eclipsed.

From,

You should know

P.S. I see you still have a nice flank./

Celestia just stared at it for a moment. "It can't be," she said, distrusting the letter. "It can't be. He's gone. Gone forever!" Tears started to form in her eyes. "This is a trick. Just some sick, twisted trick," Her eyes narrowed in fury. "And they shall pay dearly for it!" Her voice trimmed with icy venom. "GUARDS!"

The instant she said that word, several Pegasus guards came running in. "You called, Princess?" one said.

Celestia held out the letter. "Find whoever wrote this letter and bring them here at once!" She demanded. "They have insulted me deeper than anyone in Equestria's history. Do what you must, but I want them here, NOW!"

The guards were taken aback by her anger. "We'll get right on it," he said. One of the guards stepped forward and grabbed the note. He took off with most of the other guards.

One stayed however. "Anything else, your highness?"

Celestia didn't know what to say. 'Is there anything else?' she thought. 'Have I overlooked something? That strange feeling I got yesterday, and now this note. Surely it can't be coincidence.' She tried shaking that thought away, but it was no use. "And tell Captain Courage to assemble his finest troops."

"Is there some sort of danger, your highness?" the guard asked.

Celestia remained silent for a moment. She closed her eyes and breathed out. "Yes," the Alicorn answered.