Clare, several months later at a military hospital:

As the military brings in more wounded soldiers I wonder to myself, ‘Will I ever see the battlefield again?’. All I’ve ever known was war, when I was just a boy I was an orphan. Nobody ever adopted me and when I was 16 I left the orphanage and joined the military. I had never had a last name and when the orphanage had found me on the front door steps all that they found with me was a note that read ‘take care of Clare’. Guess my parents thought it would be funny to name a boy Clare.

I never knew life outside of the warzone, and whenever I’d take leave time it scarred the living hell out of me. The world that wasn’t war torn was so peaceful, so different. People were different and what made it even stranger was now there were ponies in the mix. A lot of the other marines talked about going on vacation time to some place called Equestria and after finishing their term they would move to that place.

Not me, all I ever wanted to do was stay in the battle. I could never imagine living a regular life. But now I was inactive, I had suffered body trauma from the explosion and was unable to prove combat ready so I wasted my days watching the field outside the hospital. Other injured soldiers were outside in hospital gowns, playing chess or sitting at picnic tables conversing with one another.

I just sat in a wheel chair and watched. A nurse came up beside me, “How are you feeling today?” she asked and I looked to her with a weak smile. “Watch this… I’ve gotten better” I said as I held the railing beside me for support and stood up. I staggered a little and the nurse rushed to my side. I held up my hand for her to stop then let go of the railing and walked slowly without any sort of support but soon my legs gave out from under me and I was forced to grab the railing before I fell to the ground.

The nurse grabbed my arm and helped me stand up straight. “Clare, they won’t even give you basic examination until you can walk straight. Maybe you should just apply for medical discharge, it would still be honorary” the nurse suggested and I looked to her with a frown. “Are you going to help me or not… I can’t live a normal life” I said and stood up without the support of the railing.

“Well… you could always try another military placement” she suggested and I shook my head. “I don’t want to leave the field” I muttered as I turned around and looked back to the hospital field. “Well how about enlistment for another military?” she suggested and I gave her a dire look. “I don’t mean something like Al-Qaeda, something like, royal guard maybe?” she asked and I scrunched my nose.

“I didn’t know the queen needed new guards” I said in a gruffly voice. “No, I meant the Equestrian royal guard” she replied and I raised an eyebrow. “Are they an underground resistance? I’ve never heard of them before” I asked and she shook her head. “No, the Equestrian royal guard is the Princess’s elite guards. They operate in Equestria” she informed me, I shifted my gaze away and groaned.

“Isn’t Equestria that horse place?” I asked disappointedly, she leaned against the railing beside me and nodded. “Yes, and their physical requirements will probably be less demanding than the Canadian military’s so you’d have a better chance getting sent back to the field” she informed me. I groaned to myself, she was probably right, I wouldn’t see any action for the Canadian army for a long time and even if it is a horse army regiment, at least I’ll see action.

“Alright… I’ll do it, just don’t tell anyone” I replied and she nodded. “Well if you’re going to get ready for royal guard then you’re going to need to get your health back” she told me and I looked to her. “What do you have in mind?” I asked and she smiled “I think I know just what we need…”

Narrator:

For the next four months Clare went through the most rigorous training with the nurse. At first they did simple walking exercises, Clare would walk without support to get back in the habit of balance.

Soon Clare began to head to the firing ranges. At first his aim was terrible, he could barely hit the paper target at fifty yards.

Clare was brought to an exercise room where he began to regain his balance by standing on one leg, though he usually wobbled and fell over. The nurse also put him on the treadmill at an extremely slow speed.

As he continued his training in the exercise room he used the bench press, though he could barely even bench 135 lbs. because his arms were so shaky.

As the second month came around Clare’s aim began to get better, he was able to keep the shot grouping within the paper target at fifty yards. In the exercise room he was able to do a slow jog on the treadmill and was also able to balance on one leg. Though he was still very unbalanced and wobbly he would never fall over. As he used the bench press he was finally able to bench 150 lbs. with only a small amount of shake in his arms.

The third month began and Clare was finally able to keep his grouping in the bull’s-eye range on the target at fifty yards. As he exercised the nurse that trained him sped up his treadmill speed to a heavy jog. He was able to stand on one leg but still wobbled slightly. When weight lifting he was able to bench 200 pounds with a little bit of struggle to keep the bar straight.

Finally in the fourth month Clare would use the shooting range and was able to hit bull’s-eyes at one hundred yards with an open sight C7 assault rifle. When he went to the exercise room he was able to go at a full paced run on the treadmill. He was finally able to stand on one leg, extend his left arm out to the side, bend his head back and touch his nose with his right hand, all while keeping his balance. When using the bench press he was easily able to bench press 290 lbs. with no struggle.

Clare:

I was panting heavily, I couldn’t believe that I had actually improved that much in so little time. I stood up and looked to Nurse Bloom, she was my nurse that had helped me all this time. I extended my hand and shook hers.

“Thanks nurse… I don’t think I could’ve done it without you” I panted and she pulled me into a tight hug.

She soon released me from the hug and handed me my release papers. “They’re signed. You’re free to go… go show them what a Canadian soldier can do” she said with a wink. “Bloom… I… thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you” I said, she nodded and I walked towards the exit of the military hospital.

I exited the hospital and quickly waved down a taxi and ordered him to drive me to the closest teleportation building. It was weird in a way, I had never really thought about this whole Equestria place, but now I was going there and I only knew one thing. That I had to find a place called Canterlot and apply for enlistment.

Clare, World teleportation building:

It was strange, this place almost reminded me of an airport. There was the immigration desk, there was people lined up to go wherever they were going. The only thing it didn’t have was the airplanes outback.

“Name please” said the travel receptionist. “Clare” I replied and she looked up from her paper work. “Full name please” she replied, “Uhh, I never had a full name ma’am. Was an orphan and joined the military as soon as I turned sixteen” I informed her. She scribbled something down on the paper and looked back up to me.

“Rank and serial number sir” she ordered, “Uhm, I’m not in the military anymore” I told her and she scribbled something else down. “Okay Mr. Clare… are you traveling for vacation, visitation or permanent residence?” she asked. “Occupation” I replied and she looked up to me with a strange look, “Uhm sir?” she asked curiously. “Military occupation to be exact” I replied and she scrunched her nose.

“Sir… may I ask why you aren’t enlisting for a human military army?” she asked and I sighed to myself in self-disappointment. “I am not physically fit enough to be a Canadian soldier anymore ma’am, so I’m looking for another military organization and a good friend referred me to the royal guard” I told her and she nodded.

“I see… okay one moment please… okay all done, he’s your papers, when you get to Equestria there will be someone waiting for you to take you to a recruitment office” she said and led me to a teleportation matrix.

“Just step through the portal sir, don’t worry it doesn’t hurt” she informed me. It looked really sketchy, like something from some old sci-fi movie or something. The portal was a bluish colour and I couldn’t see the other side. I prayed to god that this wasn’t just some wild goose chase and hopped through the portal. My mind went blank and it was like I passed out.