Ch.2 Awake and Alive

Yes it's a Skillet song, but it's also the title of the chapter. I want to get this out of the way though, don't expect me to pump out a chapter every day. This is really because I can't find a job in my field despite looking every day so don't expect a chapter every day. Darn economy.

That being said 100 views in a single day, but only 1 review? I'm patient, but can I at least get a bone or something?

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in the story save for my OC. All characters are copyright of their respective owners.

Now! The main event of the evening! The next chapter of A New Beginning!

Mike slowly opened his eyes as he sat up in the bed. As he did so the memories of what happened slowly returned and he started to shake a little bit.

'Was I captured?' He thought. However it didn't seem to fit in the scenario. Insurgents don't capture then put you in a bed nor do they allow sleeping. He slowly glanced around at his surroundings to get a feel of the place.

'No torture materials or anything of the sort so interrogation is out. No bars on any windows so it's not a jail. Someone's room maybe? How did I get here though? Last I remember is a rocket coming at me and then…..nothing.'

Mike immediately got of bed and started to walk around, then noticed no cuffs or ankle bracelets on him which ruled out capture of any kind. Where he was still eluded him however. As he walked he catalogued what he found: a Latrine off to the corner, a desk with a rolled up piece of paper on it, four windows, two heavy wooden doors which he presumed was the room's exit, the bed which he slept on, and what looked like a picture of the sun that went across the floor.

'Weird choice of décor, but who am I to say that. I had to sleep in a trailer in Basic.'

He was broken from his thought when he heard the sounds of….hooves? Mike was confused until they stopped on the other side of the door. He immediately went into soldier mode and looked around for his rifle, however he couldn't find it. He then tried to look for any object that could used as a weapon for CQC and an escape route in case things went FUBAR. He noticed the windows led to a extremely long drop down to the concrete below and he knew that if he were to jump he would a pancake in no time.

In short, he was trapped. He found plenty of objects but nothing that could be of use to him until his eyes landed on a suit of armor with a spear sitting next to the desk he overlooked in his initial inspection. 'Great I failed already at knowing your surroundings. I'll deal with that later though.' He grabbed the spear in his hands and placed his back to the wall near the door.

He heard the handle being slowly pulled and saw the doors being pulled apart as he readied the spear to attack whoever walked through. The doors opened and in walked a grey colored pony with what looked like a needle on his flank. Mike held his breath and waited ready for anything.

"Where did he go?" The pony said aloud. While the pony was looking around the room for his patient Mike took the time to slip out the door unnoticed. When he did he found himself in a long hallway they ran what he believed east and west. As he slowly began his trek down the eastern hallway, he thought of what his Drill Sergeant said to the platoon in Basic.

"If you are captured, you need to keep calm and clear your mind. The more you panic, the easier it is to make a mistake." Drill Sergeant Yates said.

Mike took a deep breath to calm his nerves and continued walking. 'Strange.' He thought. 'No guards or patrols anywhere.'

"HALT!"

'I just had to think that." He glanced behind him and saw two white colored ponies with wings and golden armor running towards him. Mike cursed under his breath and immediately took off running down the hall. As he ran he thought of what would happen should he get caught by the two guards.

'Medieval armor and weapons so they have a dungeon I'm sure. It doesn't sound like a good place to be at this time.'

His run came to screeching halt as he found himself at a dead end with a window overlooking a cliff? 'Where the hell am I? Who builds a castle on a cliff?' He turned around only to see the ponies blocking his path with their weapons drawn and menacing looks on their faces.

"State your name and purpose here. Now!" One of the guard ponies said, as he took a step forward.

"Lower your weapons!" A voice behind them said.

As they turned, they immediately bowed as two majestic ponies walked up behind them.

"Princesses!" They exclaimed with respect in their tones.

Mike saw the aforementioned Princesses continue to walk pass the guards and towards him. As he looked at them he saw wings on their backs and horns on their heads. One of them was a large with a rainbow like mane and tail that moved on its own with a mark of the sun on her flank, while the other was smaller and dark purple if he had to guess with a dark blue mane and tail that also moved with a moon on her flank.

He tightened his grip on the spear and tried to still his nerves. He didn't know why, but looking at the two ponies gave him a small amount of fear. As if they could kill him if he put one toe across the imaginary line. As he gazed at them however, he found that they didn't show anger or malice at him. They showed kindness and caring in their eyes.

Mike was torn between relaxing his grip and running, but their words made up his mind for him.

"We won't harm you sir." The smaller purple one stated.

"My sister is correct. We wish you no harm. Please put your weapon down and we can talk." The large white one stated.

Mike didn't know why but those voices sounded soothing, almost like running in a stream in the forest. It reminded him of the creek behind his grandparent's house he would visit every summer. The calm woods and creek gave him peace of mind whenever he went there. He found himself lowering his spear and placing it on the ground before looking back at the two ponies.

They both showed approval in their eyes before the smaller one approached him with a smile.

"I am Luna I am an Alicorn, the Princess of the night and co-ruler of Equestria." She stated with a smile as she lay before him.

"I am Celestia and I am also an Alicorn, the Princess of the day and also co-ruler of Equestria." The other stated as she lay next to her sister.

Mike sat down cross-legged and spoke.

"Mike Bryant and I am a human, and a Private First Class in the US Army."

Celestia and Luna smiled at him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mike." Celestia stated still with a smile. He still didn't know why but the way the talked just made him relaxed. He felt like everything was going to be alright.

"Allow us to be the first to welcome you to Equestria. We hope you enjoy yourself here in our world." Celestia continued.

Mike remained silent as pondered over the few sentences that were spoken. 'Equestria huh. I guess Sanders loaning me that DVD was a good thing.' He wasn't a brony but since he slept in a room with full of them they kind of rubbed off on him, and he honestly thought the show wasn't half bad, though he only saw the first couple episodes after some prodding from Sanders.

'Sanders you would be at home here.' He thought with a small smile for his friend.

As he was in thought, both princesses took the time to look him over. He was wearing a pair of desert camouflage pants, tan undershirt, and a pair of tan combat boots. He had short dark blonde hair, and green eyes that they saw a small fire of determination in them that made them smile even more. He wasn't muscled nor ripped but he was athletic to an extent. He passed his PT exams, but he was a bit on the skinny side. At 160 lbs. you weren't the strongest but he got by. Fast metabolism will do that to you. The princesses noted this but didn't comment on it. They did notice he had heart and strength of mind. He cared for his friend and would take a hit for them if he could.

He was a good person to them and that was all they cared about. They stood up montioned for him to do the same.

"Would you like something to eat?" Celestia asked.

"I would like that ma'am." Mike stated with a smile at the two Alicorns.

"Please just Celestia is fine." She stated with a small chuckle.

"You may call me Luna." Luna also chuckled.

"Yes Princess."

Both Luna and Celestia sighed at this. 'Military' they thought 'it's going to take a while before he refers to us by name.'

"It was drilled into us ma'am. It's an automatic response." He explained.

"Consider it an order then."

"Yes ma'am." Mike joked with a chuckle.

Luna just sighed with agitation and Celestia gave a small chuckle. As they walked a letter appeared in front of Celestia who just smiled and unwrapped it.

Dear Princess Celestia

I am so glad to hear you will be coming for a visit. I am preparing the town for your visit even as we speak. I am curious as to what you found and would be delighted to help you look for information on him. I have also informed the town we will have an extra guest with you and he should be treated kindly. My friends can't wait to meet him and neither can the rest of the town. We look forward to your visit

Your Student

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia continued to smile and as he teleported the scroll to her room and continued on their way to the dining room. Luna was trying to make small talk and get Mike to use her name instead of Ma'am or Princess and she was getting pouty as he continued to call her Princess. Celestia just smiled and shook her head at her sister's face. Both Princesses knew that things would be different around here now and they honestly looked forward to what those changes would be.

'Maybe' they both thought. 'He will find happiness and love here.' They both shared a smile at that thought and for some reason felt that they wouldn't mind being part of that process.

There is chapter 2.

A Latrine is the military term for a bathroom. It's not a bathroom or restroom as you don't take a bath in there nor do you rest. You get in do your business and get out. You will get smoked if you call it anything other than Latrine, I know because I did and I got smoked

for it when I served.

The reason he would fail at the start was because he overlooked something obvious. One of the first things they drill into you is to always inspect your surroundings thoroughly. Even the slightest overlooked detail can spell disaster anywhere.

You never call your firearm a gun. No matter what they give you, it's either a rifle, pistol, AT-4, M203 Grenade launcher, M240B, M249 SAW so on and so forth. If you call it a gun you will get smoked. Again I did at first and my arms hurt for the next day.

It may seem like they love him already but they don't yet. They just have a feeling that will get stronger as they spend more time with him. It won't happen overnight. It will take a few chapters, but they will eventually figure it out and have to confront their own feelings on the matter just like every other herd member he will have. Feeling buildup is key, too fast and you lose plot potential, too slow and you lose audience.

Read and review. Motivation is key and reviews help tremendously