Ch. 4 A New Day in a New Town

Well Chapter 4 is here and I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I spent the time with my family up in Daytona. I am glad to report that I rode in a NASCAR at the Richard Petty Driving Experience and it was freakin awesome.

I have also decided on a story length. This story will run about 20 chapters hopefully, with a final epilogue chapter which is already typed up and ready to go. Also, this story is rated T for a reason. No Lemons will be put in here, mainly because I can't write them for anything and because not every story needs them. There will be moments when it is implied they did the deed or they might start getting frisky but I will end the scene and move on to the after scene. I apologize but if any of you came specifically for Lemons then please at least try to read and if you can't then no harm no foul.

Disclaimer: The usual, I own nothing. All characters copyright of their owners.

Now for Chapter 4.

Ever since Basic, Mike has never slept in. It was almost impossible to do after more than a year of waking up before the crack of dawn. It was the same thing day after day, wake up at 0430 and be down for first formation at 0440, PT till 0630 then morning chow. Even in a new world it was no different. He felt like his head just hit the pillow by the time his mind had kick-started his body awake.

'Damn 7 hours of sleep. I signed up for though, so no use complaining.'

His body moved on autopilot, automatically doing his daily morning routine. He made his bunk up to standard before moving to the Latrine to shave and brush his teeth. As he started though, his mind immediately went to the events of the past 24 hours. He stopped halfway in trying to tuck the folds of the blanket beneath the mattress. He actually slept in a comfortable bed for the first time in over a year! Now he was honestly lost. How would he do his morning routine when he didn't have most of the items for each task? He then remembered his razor and dental hygiene products were in his bag under his cot back at the camp.

'Once again Mike, you've proven that you are completely stupid.' He chided himself. This wasn't the first time he forgot his equipment. Back during his first FTX, he was so transfixed on packing his duffel bag with the important items such as his tent and sleeping bag, he neglected his hygiene bag and as a result his Drill Sergeants had a field day with him. Literally, a field day. He never did so many push-ups for flutter kicks in his whole time at Basic combined that that one FTX, and it was a 3-day FTX. He honestly thought his legs and arms would fall off.

He toyed with the idea of going back to sleep, but he believed he wouldn't be able too. 'Guess we'll find out.' He went back under the blanket and somehow in no time he was back out like a light.

Mike was roused from sleep a few hours later. He saw it was dark but he believed it had to be at least 0700. How did he know? His wristwatch was set to go off at 0700. The constant beeping was annoying and he wondered if it was accurate since he was no longer in his world. Either way he had to shut it off or rather wanted to shut it off. As he opened his eyes he saw a white-feathered wing draped over him. He glanced over to see what or rather who the wing belonged to and saw a white Alicorn still sleeping peacefully. Sometime during his second slumber she had rolled over to face him and somehow extended her right wing over him like a second blanket. He was confused, but then recalled waking up yesterday. He saw a sun mark on the floor and the same mark on the Alicorn's flank. It then hit him like a brick. He was in Celestia's room, in Celestia's bed, and Celestia herself was sleeping next to him. His face became pale as each realization hit him. As he took a second glance his facial features softened. She was still peacefully asleep, her gentle breathing giving off a pleasant sound.

'It is her room so I shouldn't be surprised. If she wanted her bed though, she could've told me and I would have found another place to sleep.' Mike thought with a shake of his head. He slept on the ground before in a sleeping bag when the trailers were being fumigated because of a roach infestation so he had no qualms about doing it again.

He was broken from his thoughts when the wing moved and Celestia began to wake up. Her eyes slowly opened as she let out a cute yawn before turning her attention to him. When she realized just where they were she immediately retracted her wing with a small dust of red on her cheeks.

"G-Good morning Mike." She began with a stutter hoping he wouldn't notice her embarrassment. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Celestia I did sleep well. Though if you wanted your bed, you could've told me and I would have found another place to sleep." He replied with a hint of amusement.

Celestia immediately went into her royal visage. "Nonsense. You are a guest in our castle and as such you will be treated like one. You are not in a barracks nor are you somewhere in the woods. I do apologize as work kept me awake till late and I came here and laid down before noticing you."

"I understand Ma-Celestia." He caught himself before shaking his head. 'Old habits die hard, but I doubt this will ever completely go away.'

Celestia noticed his slip but didn't comment. She knew it would be tough to break a military person out of certain habits. Shining Armor hadn't been in her Guard Captain for a few years and despite Cadence's attempt to remove some of his old habits, they continue to surface every now and then, such as titles and ranks. "Now if you will excuse me. I need to go raise the sun to welcome the day. You may freshen up and use the shower while I have the servants finds you something to wear."

Now Mike was hopelessly lost. Raise the sun? Didn't the earth revolve around it? Doesn't it spin on its axis and the sun raises and lowers that way? "What do you mean by raise the-." He stopped before remembering that he wasn't on his earth that he knew. He was in a place where the rules were different and magic was everywhere.

"Yes Mike? Finish your question." Celestia said with a slight smirk on her face. She knew he would attempt to question her. It was a soldier's first response to an unknown factor.

"Never mind Celestia. Stupid question." He answered with a small frown. 'I'll never get use to all the secrets and differences of this place, but that's the challenge of Humanity. Learn to adapt as best as you can and move on."

"Dear Mike. No question is stupid. They are the way you learn. If you don't ask about anything, you can't learn about anything. Everypony would be glad to answer any questions you have. All you need to do is ask." Celestia stated, trying to cheer him up. Again the urge to keep him smiling came up and for some reason she doesn't fight it. She shook it off and pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

"Yes Celestia, I understand." Mike said with a bowed head. As he got up and went into the Latrine to begin his day, Celestia walked out of the room to her balcony where she began to raise the sun. As she did this she began thinking of the events of the past 24 hours and the numerous questions they brought. Why was half his clothes torn to shreds? Why didn't he have any injuries if his clothes were like that? Why was he sent through the roof and how did he even break through it? These questions continued until she got to one of the questions she was most puzzled over. How did he get here and for what purpose was he here? She detected a small trace of magic when he impacted the ground, but the weird part was it wasn't from him. She did a magical analysis on him and discovered he had no magic at all. None whatsoever. It was foreign magic she sensed. Something she had never encountered before and it worried her. 'Just why are you here Mike? Who sent you?'

She finished raising the sun and basked in its warmth. The songs of birds as they woke and the smell of the fresh morning dew as it rested on the ground. She was content, but something was missing. It was if a small part of her wasn't complete, like a feeling that was missing in her life, but try as she might, she couldn't find an answer.

When she walked back into the room she heard the shower on and knew Mike wouldn't take long. She immediately called for a servant and had them place his new clothes on the dresser. As she took one last glance at the door, that unidentified feeling flared up and she clutched her heart. 'What is going on?'

Mike stepped from the Latrine with a sigh. He honestly never felt better in his life than right now. 'Nothing beats a nice warm shower in the morning.' As he looked around the room he found a note laying on a wrapped package. He picked it up and began reading.

Mike

These were made last night. We tried to give you something closely resembled your torn outfit from the day prior. I know that soldiers will feel naked if not giving something that resembles their standard uniform so I had the seamstress pay close attention to what I had given her. We will try to get you more casual clothing later.

Celestia

He unwrapped the package froze before breaking into a big smile. It was an exact copy of his ACU's that he wore yesterday. Now he honestly felt complete. As he slipped his uniform on , his mind turned towards the day and the town they were visiting. 'Ponyville huh? If it's like the show, then this will be alright.'

-Scene break-

A couple hours later and the human and two Princesses were aboard a carriage. The Princesses were treated to the sight of Mike trying his best not to look below and they couldn't help but laugh at his nervousness. Even the Pegasi pulling the carriage were laughing. Mike didn't care, he just wanted to avoid looking down at all costs. As they began to descend to Ponyville, Mike grew nervous. Not because the carriage was going down, but because of the possible reactions from the ponies who lived there. He hoped the visit would go smoothly, but then he remembered Pinkie Pie. 'Oh god. What am I about to step into?'

As the carriage touched ground and was moving towards the town, all the ponies stopped what they were doing and bowed as they passed. When they looked up and saw Mike they immediately wore looks ranging from curious to a little distrustful. Mike knew that wasn't anything personal, they were just afraid since they never saw a human before. A little distrust was something he was alright with.

When the carriage came to a full stop by a fountain in the center of town, the Princesses disembarked and looked at Mike to do the same. With some hesitation and eyes looking in every direction for a brief second he did so stiffly. When he did, it seemed like every pony in town gathered to look at them. It worried him. A crowd around a soldier isn't something that was wanted. It generally meant either the soldier was captured or something was going on.

Luna noticed him start to get a bit fidgety and immediately addressed the crowd. "Fair citizens of Ponyville. It is an honor to be in your presence again, however we must proceed with our scheduled appointment. Do not worry you will have a chance to greet our new guest later at the welcoming party." She threw a warm smile to a certain pink pony that was bouncing up and down in the back of the crowd as she said this.

"Please return to your previous activities, and we will see all of you in a few hours." Celestia finished with a beaming smile to every pony in the crowd.

As if in synch the ponies all bowed and resumed their work. When the crowd dispersed the two Princesses and human began walking towards a big tree that Mike knew was where Twilight stayed. 'A few episodes of knowledge won't pay off for long though.' He thought passively. He knew that they were expected as he knew Pinkie was the one bouncing in the crowd. He never saw her leave, but he knew that she would be in there with the other five. When they reached the door it slowly opened as if it knew they were there and when they stepped inside Celestia quietly closed the door.

As Mike took the time to look at the inside of the library/house he was really saving what little courage he had to speak to the six mares in front of him.

One was an orange colored Earth Pony with green eyes, a blonde mane and tail, a large Stetson hat on her head and three small dimples on each side of her face and was giving Mike a wary look. Her mark was of three red apples. Applejack was her name if Mike remembered right.

The next was yellow colored Pegasus with blue eyes and a long pink colored mane and tail. She gave an incredibly shy aura and was seemingly trying to hide behind her mane when she glanced at the human. Her mark was of three pink butterflies. Fluttershy as Mike would recognize her anywhere.

The third was a white Unicorn who also had blue eyes with long eyelashes and a long and curly purple mane and tail and she was throwing horrified looks at his uniform. Her mark was of three diamonds. Rarity the fashionista and Mike's soon to be headache as he recalled her insistence of dressing up and critiquing everything though she always helped her friends.

The fourth was a pink colored Earth Pony with blue eyes and a poofy pink colored mane and tail and she was currently wearing a very large smile at the chance of meeting a new friend. Her mark was of three balloons; two blue and one yellow. The life of the party Pinkie Pie and Mike's soon to be pranker.

The fifth was a cyan colored Pegasus with magenta eyes and a rainbow colored mane and tail and she was giving Mike a very distrustful glare. Her mark was of a blue yellow and red colored lightning bolt and a cloud. Rainbow Dash and somehow Mike knew she wouldn't trust him much, but she wouldn't hurt him.

The final Pony was a purple colored Alicorn with purple eyes and a multi-purple colored mane and tail and she glanced at Mike with something akin to curiosity and glee. Her mark was of a purple star surrounded by five smaller white stars. Twilight Sparkle and Mike's soon to be interrogator.

As Mike finished his initial inspection Celestia and Luna came up and stood on both sides of him. As if to offer him support. He was nervous and rightfully so. Here he was in a fantasy world and with six ponies that were considered heroes. The Elements of Harmony and the beginning of a new life.

And that's a wrap. I know not really strong but like I said previously this just to settle him in right now. The dialogue introductions come next chapter. Also, next chapter is when the feeling sorting between the Princesses come to the front. They won't make a move on them for a little bit though. Some grief will also start for Mike and some more of his past will also be revealed. I am using my experience in the Army for the military parts, but the rest is completely made up.

Notes: When you have served in any military you keep a lot of habits. One of which is the Jargon. That stuff never truly leaves you and I will still sometimes call the bathroom a "Latrine" and call dinner "afternoon chow". Also sometimes when someone asks you to call them by their name instead of Mr. or Mrs. You will still call them Mr. or Mrs. and even sometimes sir or ma'am despite their insistence not too. It's something you can lessen over time but it will never go away.

One final note. Remember he watched a couple episodes so he does the names and some facts of some of the ponies but that is it. He never saw any other villains besides Nightmare Moon. He won't be equipped properly in the knowledge area when he has to confront them and for a soldier to have no intel on an enemy spells disaster.