Stranglehold

Chp. I

A/N: THIS FAN FICTION CONTAINS OC PONIES. IF YOU'RE AGAINST THE USE OF OC PONIES, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

It was a quiet travel for me. I sat alone, looking outside the window as I was on board a train, trying to keep my mind clear. Outside the windows, I saw mountains standing firm on the ground and patches of green leaves from the Everfree Forest trees. Being able to view nature was a rarity, since I always found myself in the crowded suburbs in Manehattan, surrounded by tall skyscrapers and corporate buildings.

I watched as the mountains and trees moved slowly from my vision. When the mountains were out of sight, I leaned back on my chair and sighed. I never understood why I had to leave Manehattan. It was where all the action and work were. First, I was assigned to bust the local shoplifters, then I had to work undercover to take down some of Manehattan's most dangerous crime lords and now I find myself on a train, heading to Ponyville.

I felt the train slowing down. We must be close to the station. Ten minutes later, the train made a complete stop at the Ponyville train station. The passengers began to pile into the middle of the train, gathering their belongings. I decided to patiently wait for the walkway to clear up so I wouldn't have to push my way through the passengers, who eagerly wanted to get off the train.

When the walkway was clear, I got my bag and got off the train. The Ponyville train station was bustling with ponies, reuniting with their loved ones as they either returned from vacation or a business trip. I, on the other hoof, had no one to greet me. I left the train station and made my way through the town of Ponyville.

I couldn't help but sigh. The houses were intact, vendors sold their merchandise in large wooden carts and stalls, public scenery, such as fountains and flower gardens, were perfectly free from vandalism and the local ponies happily conversed with one another. Not to mention, the skies were clear and the sun shone brightly in the blue sky. Indeed, Ponyville was TOO peaceful.

As I walked through Ponyville, I noticed a lot of mares and stallions whispering to one another and gesturing to me. It didn't bother me since I was a new face around this little town. After an hour of walking, I found a hotel named "Ponyville Inn." I was impressed by the rose gardens that were planted outside the hotel. The building itself was well kept and looked new.

I entered the hotel and trotted up to the front lobby. There, I was greeted by a young brown mare who had a smile on her face.

"Hi, welcome to Ponyville Inn! How many rooms would you like to rent out?" the mare asked.

"I'll just have one room please."

"Alright and how long do you plan on staying?"

I grimaced, "A month."

"Okay, and what is your name, sir?"

"Ranger."

The mare's eyes widened, "THE Ranger? As in, Manehattan's number one police officer, Ranger?"

I scratched my head with my front hoof and chuckled, "yep, that's me."

"Oh Celestia, I can't believe I've met THE Ranger!" the mare exclaimed. However, she settled down when she saw her manager give her a stern look. What a relief! I always felt uncomfortable whenever somepony made a scene after meeting me. After all, I'm just an ordinary police officer from Manehattan, not a Canterlot celebrity.

"Sorry about that, hehe... Here you go sir, room 45," the mare said, as she handed me the keys to my room.

A worker from the hotel got my saddlebags and brought it to my room. I followed him and when I went inside my room, I felt at ease. It was a simple room, perfect for one pony. There was only a bed, When he dropped my bag off and left, I closed the door and immediately laid on my bed. The room felt cool and the bed was warm and soft, as if I were laying on a pile of feathers.

I got up and opened my saddlebags. In there, I pulled out a yellow folder and inside was my assignment. I read through the letter:

To Officer Ranger, You've been reassigned to Ponyville, where you will patrol the town and make sure the streets are free from crime. Your outstanding performance in Manehattan is greatly appreciated but as the Chief of the Manehattan Police Department, I can't say the same about your fellow colleagues. Your duties are to remain in Ponyville until I see the other officers improve in their work ethics.

-Chief

I sighed. I can't believe they wanted me out of action that badly. I threw the folder and assignment into my bag and tossed it to the side.

My stomach grumbled. I realized that I haven't eaten anything since I left Manehattan at midnight. I left the hotel to find a restaurant nearby. There were many vendors selling fruits and vegetables but I didn't feel like eating any of that. While I was looking for a place to eat, a pastry shop caught my eye.

"Hmm, the Sugarcube Corner... I think I'll go check it out."

When I walked in there, I was overwhelmed by the smell of freshly baked cakes, cookies and other pastries. Was I getting hungry or what! I walked over to the counter and began to look around. Out of nowhere, a pink coated mare appeared right in front of me.

"HI, WELCOME TO THE SUGARCUBE CORNER! MY NAME'S PINKIE PIE, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

I immediately jumped. I'm not one to get startled but I could've sworn the front counter was empty when I came in. The pink mare had a large grin on her face as I regained my composure.

"Uh, my name's Ranger and yeah, uh, what would you recommend?" I asked.

A loud squee came out of her as she jumped up and down.

"Oh that's a tough one to answer, BUT I recommend this delicious chocolate cake right here, these freshly baked cookies, the vanilla cupcakes, the-"

"-And I recommend the strawberry shortcake!"

I stared at the pink mare, who just finished rambling for five minutes straight, "So, you pretty much recommend everything..."

"Yes, indeedy!" she replied, smiling ear to ear.

I couldn't help but shake my head and chuckle," Alright, just get me a slice of chocolate cake, please."

The pink mare nodded her head, "Alrighty!"

The next thing I knew, my slice of chocolate cake was on a plate, placed on a table, ready for me to eat. My eyes widened. How in Equestria is this mare able to teleport from place to place without magic? Nevertheless, I decided to shrug it off and took a bite from the slice of chocolate cake.

I'm not gonna lie, this was probably the best darn chocolate cake I've had in years. The cake itself was soft, the chocolate icing tasted rich and creamy and it wasn't overly sweet. Bite after bite, I savored the cake's flavor. Before I knew it, only crumbs remained on my plate.

I walked over to the pink mare and gave her five bits. Her face lit up in joy as she collected my money. I began to walk towards the door, "Thanks again for the chocolate cake. That was the best cake I've had in years."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! By the way, I never seen you around Ponyville before. You must be new here! Oh my gosh, I should throw you a 'welcome to Ponyville' party!" she said.

I shook my head and waved my hooves, "No, no, that's not necessary! I appreciate it, though."

"Nononono, I INSIST! Come back later tonight and I promise, you'll LOVE my parties. Nopony's ever said no to Pinkie Pie's parties before! Except for that one time where my friends said no and then surprised me with a party of their own and-"

I chuckled, "Alright, alright, I'll be sure to come later tonight!"

With that said, I left the Sugarcube Corner and walked back to the hotel with a satisfied belly. When I got to my room, I saw a bonquet of roses on my bed.

"Hmm, I wonder who it's from..."

I looked at a little note that was tied around the bonquet. It simply read, "Welcome to Ponyville, Officer Ranger." However, the note wasn't signed by anypony. As weird as it was, I decided to place the roses on a nearby table and climbed onto my bed. I closed my eyes and took a nap.

I woke up and realized that it was dark outside. I glanced at the clock and saw it was seven fifteen. Maybe I'll just take a quick shower before I make my way to the Sugarcube Corner. I got into the tub and turned the faucet on, feeling the warm water flow through my mane and coat. Five minutes later, I got out of the tub and dried myself.

I then left the hotel and made my way to the Sugarcube Corner. Unlike Manehattan, Ponyville's streets were empty at night. The local ponies were inside their homes as I outside, walking alone. The crickets chirped loudly and my hoofs made a clopping noise as I walked down the pathway leading to the Sugarcube corner. It was a beautiful night outside, with the full moon illuminating the dark sky. It's a shame not a lot of ponies appreciate Princess Luna's work of art.

I finally made it to the bakery but when I went inside, it was empty. I shook my head in sighed because I could've just stayed at home and relax before I start work tomorrow and here I am, at an empty sweet shop by myself, looking like a complete idiot. As I turned to leave, the lights suddenly flicked on and a mass group of ponies leaped out from behind the counters and tables.

"SURPRISE!"

My heart raced and I yelled out. Second time I've been startled today... I never really liked being startled but this was all in good fun, so I shook it off. I looked around and saw a blue banner that read, "Welcome Ranger!" I also saw a large chocolate cake on a table, balloons and punch.

Pinkie Pie then appeared in front of me and shook my hoof.

"I'M SO GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT, RANGER! HERE, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FRIENDS!"

Before I could say anything, the pink mare effortlessly dragged me to where her group of friends were. A purple unicorn smiled and extended her hoof for me to shake it.

"Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I've read about your crime fighting in Manehattan and I couldn't wait to meet you so I could learn more about your field of work."

I smiled and shook her hoof, "Nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle!"

Pinkie Pie then pointed to a cyan colored pegasus with rainbow colored mane, "And this is Rainbow Dash!"

"Hey, aren't you the mare that won the best young flier's competition with the Sonic Rainboom?" I asked.

She grinned and nodded her head proudly, "Yep, the one and only Rainbow Dash! I can't believe Manehattan's supercop knows about me!"

Then, I was introduced to a orange pony who wore a brown cowboy hat.

"Well, howdy! Mah name's Applejack! Pleasure meetin' you, Ranger!"

Her hoofshake was much stronger than her friends', I'll tell you what.

"Nice to meet you too, Applejack!"

After meeting Applejack, Pinkie Pie introduced me to a white unicorn with a well groomed purple mane.

"My, the stories are true! You really are a gentlepony! The name's Rarity and I'm glad that a sophisticated pony, like you, decided to visit Ponyville."

"I never realized I'm that famous... I always thought it was a local thing in Manehattan," I said.

Rarity giggled, "Oh please, dear! Heroes like you are known practically EVERYWHERE in Equestria!"

Last but not least, Pinkie Pie introduced me to a yellow pegasus with long pink hair. When I tried to introduce myself to her, she would only mumble or squeak and hide behind her mane. I leaned over to Pinkie Pie and whispered to her ear, "Why is she so scared of me? Am I intimidating her or something?"

Pinkie Pie simply laughed, "Oh silly, that's Fluttershy! She's scared of her own shadow but she's really nice though. If you want her to warm up to you, you should talk to her about animals. She LOVES animals!"

I nodded my head, "I'll keep that in mind."

While the other ponies played pin the tail on the pony, bobbed for apples, socialized with one another and danced, I sat down and drank punch. I felt like a little colt for being at this party since the Manehattan parties that I'm forced to attend were more sophisticated, more composed and much more boring than this.

I sat back and smiled while I watched these ponies innocently frollicked in their little games and mingled. For the first time in years, I felt at ease.

"How's everything going, Ranger?"

I turned around and saw Twilight Sparkle taking a seat next to me. She used her magic to levitate a cup of punch. I shrugged, "It's alright. I'll admit, it's been a while since I attended these types of parties."

Twilight laughed, "Well, that'll change if you stay here long enough. Pinkie Pie will literally drag you out to her parties if you live here."

I laughed and shook my head. I then took a drink from my cup of punch.

"Is it true that you were trained by the legendary Patriot?"

My eyes widened and a chill went down my spine. It's been years since I heard anypony mention that name.

"Yeah... I learned all my tricks from the master, himself," I said.

Before Twilight was able to ask another question, she was dragged away by Rainbow Dash.

"Let's go, egghead! I wanna rematch in pin the tail on the pony!" Exclaimed the rainbow maned mare.

I chuckled and took a drink from my cup of punch. When I looked around, I saw Fluttershy sitting by herself. I looked at her and when she noticed my glance, she turned away. Since I had nopony else to talk to, I walked over to the shy pegasus.

Fluttershy sat stiff like a statue. I softly smiled, "Hi there, I noticed you were kinda sitting around by yourself and well, I, uh, wanted to talk to you."

She said nothing. Things weren't looking so smooth on my end. Was I coming off as awkward? For the first time, I felt a bit self conscious when talking to somepony. Think, Ranger, think! There's gotta be something to get this mare to loosen up.

I began to look around the bakery, fiddling with my hooves.

"So... Um, I know this may sound strange and all but do you own any pets?" I asked.

The shy mare immediately began to speak, "Oh yes, I have many pets! Birds, chickens, hamsters, rabbits, you name it!"

I sighed in relief. She finally talked!

"I've considered getting a pet but I don't have the time to take care of it, you know?" I said, smiling.

"I understand, it must be really hard living in Manehattan as a police officer," said Fluttershy.

I nodded my head, "It is, especially if most of Manehattan's police officers refuse to do their job."

Fluttershy finally made eye contact with me, "Why?"

"Well, I received special training from a pony by the name of Patriot. Since Patriot was Manehattan Police Department's best detective, I just kinda followed his footsteps and became the Chief's favorite officer. Since then, I'm always assigned to do the tough cases, from undercover work to busting petty shoplifters while the other officers just sit back and do nothing."

Fluttershy nodded her head, "I heard stories about Patriot because Twilight usually talks about him. So, what are you doing here in Ponyville, then?"

I sighed, "I was relocated here by the Chief. From what I can see, nothing bad usually happens in Ponyville and if there is a problem, you and your friends would take care of it."

Fluttershy blushed, "You know me and my friends watch over Ponyville?"

"Let's see, you and your friends only saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon and Discord and your friend, Twilight Sparkle, is Princess Celestia's personal protege. I'm not the only pony whose stories are well known."

I got up to refill my cup of punch and asked Fluttershy if she wanted any, which she politely refused. I then sat down next to the yellow pegasus and took a drink from my cup of punch. I noticed Fluttershy shuffled a bit in her seat and wore a faint blush on her face.

"I-I... umm..." Fluttershy mumbled.

I slightly cocked my head and raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Nothing..."

I shook my head, "Aww come on, tell me, what's on your mind?"

Fluttershy hid behind her long pink mane, "It's just, well... I kind of expected a high profile police officer, like you, to be strict and scary... But, you seem really nice."

I smiled, "At the end of the day, I'm just a regular pony who's looking to make a living, that's all."

In the background, Fluttershy and I heard "Equestria Girls" coming from the record player. Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie leaped over to where we were and grabbed the both of us.

"Come on, you two! It's time to DANCE!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, as she began to sing along and dance to the catchy pop song.

I looked at Fluttershy, who giggled at her singing friend, and we both shrugged. We began to dance along to the song. My moves were stiff and I looked like a spazzing chicken. I felt silly dancing, at first, but as the song progressed, I didn't care what I looked like. What mattered was just having fun with the citizens of Ponyville.

After two hours of dancing, everypony left the Sugarcube Corner to go home since the party was over. Before I left the bakery, I turned to Pinkie Pie and politely gave her a hoof shake.

"Thanks for the party, I really enjoyed it!"

She smiled, "I'm glad you were able to make it, Ranger! I'll see you tomorrow!"

I nodded my head and turned to head back to the hotel. However, I saw Fluttershy staggering around, which made me run up to her.

"Whoa there, you okay?" I asked.

Fluttershy nodded her head and yawned, "Yes, I'm just tired, that's all."

"Need me to walk with you back to your home?" I asked.

Applejack put an arm around Fluttershy, "It's fine, Ranger. I'll take her home. You best be gettin' some shut eye now. You got work early in the morning, officer."

"Alright then, you two be safe and good night."

I walked down the empty streets of Ponyville and found my way back to the Ponyville Inn. I went inside and unlocked my hotel room with the key. I went inside the room, closed the door and immediately crashed on top of the bed. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day, better get some sleep.