Chapters The Five Year Struggle...
It is about midnight and I'm driving down a dark Route One. I'm pretty much the only driver out this late, save for the rare car going the opposite direction. My iPod was currently hooked into my stereo system, playing the audiobook for Fallout: Equestria. Yeah, I was Brony, and damned proud of it. I was driving back from BronyCon down in Baltimore, but traffic on the way out nearly made me commit suicide. Now, I was five hours behind schedule, and I had work in a few hours. I watched a car go by on the other side of the road as I noticed some lightning overhead.
"Oh Great..." I thought. "A thunderstorm is on the way and I'm still out here..." So, in response, I decided to put the gas pedal down a bit more and go a little above the speed limit. See, ever since I was six, I've hated thunderstorms. I like to listen to them from indoors, but being out in them in any shape or form wasn't good for me.
But what I didn't know, is that this thunderstorm, wasn't an ordinary storm...
~Across the dimensions in Equestria~
It was another ordinary day for the residents of PonyVille. Business was busy, the sun was shining, and ponies were going to and fro with bags of groceries or little nick-knacks. It had just become the summer season, and Carousel Boutique was quickly gaining more and more orders for the new summer clothes line Rarity had just released the prior day. Sugarcube Corner had a line going out the door and it stretched to Applejack's Sweet Apple Acres stand, where the stands' owner was currently selling bags of apples to ponies who needed apples for a recipe or just to snack on. The skies above the small town were the clearest they've been in a while, thanks to the efforts of Rainbow Dash and the Cloudsdale Weather Team. Twilight Sparkle was currently sitting at her favorite restaurant with her assistant Spike. The two were accompanied by Fluttershy, who was trying to get Angel to stop being so stubborn and eat his bowl of greens.
"Please Angel?" Fluttershy asked. She was met by a stubborn shake of the head from Angel for what must have been the hundredth time.
"If you do, I promise to stop and get supplies for a Salad Sundae." Fluttershy offered, knowing Angel wouldn't be able to resist the temptation. The white rabbit looked at his caretaker with a face of interest, then nodded and took a leaf of lettuce to munch on.
"Works everytime." Fluttershy said cheekily with a small smile as she turned to her two friends. Twilight was sitting with a book propped open against the tables' umbrella pole, eating a flower sandwich she had ordered while Spike was trying to organize a pile of papers and notes Twilight had taken the night before.
"Explain to me why you took all of these notes, Twilight. I mean, it's not like Princess Celestia had given you something to research or anything." Spike complained as he put a piece of parchment in an already high pile.
"Oh, you know me Spike. I just like to read and learn. Taking notes doesn't hurt." Twilight stated simply as she continued to read.
"Yeah, but you've already read that book three times in the past two weeks." Spike pointed out. Twilight looked to her assistant and then to the book cover, which read "Tales of Old: The Guide to Equestrian Folk Tales and Myths" .
"There's nothing wrong with that Spike. This book has interested me the most lately, that's all." She said closing the book finally. Twilight gave a smile to Fluttershy and spoke.
"So, what are you doing today Fluttershy?" She asked.
"Oh, I have to pick up some more animal feed and some supplies for home. I promised Angel that I would make him a Salad Sundae later on." Fluttershy said softly.
"Sounds like you have a busy day ahead." Spike said rubbing his small shoulder, having finally sorted through the notes and parchment. "I don't wanna sort anymore Twilight. My shoulder is sore." Spike added on.
"Don't worry Spike, that's all for today." Twilight said to him, which made Spike smile.
"Alright!" He said reaching for his own sandwich, ready to take a bite. But as he was about to grip the sandwich, his stomach lurched, and the familiar sensation of an incoming note ran up his throat. Spike spat out green flame, and a letter with the Royal Seal on it took up the space in his small hands.
"Oh hey, a letter from Celestia!" He told Twilight, handing it to her. Twilight used her levitation magic to unroll the letter to read it. Silence filled the space for a few minutes, then Twilight rolled up the letter.
"What did it say Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her friend.
"We've been summoned by the Princess for an audience with her." She said with a concerned tone.
"What's wrong Twilight?" Spike asked her.
"It just seems so sudden, that's all. Come on, lets go get the others and head out." Twilight said leaving some bits for a tip, then stood up onto her four legs and walked away, Spike and Fluttershy on her trail.
Once Twilight and the others gathered Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, they all boarded the train bound for Canterlot. The ride seemed to go by very fast for the ponies, and they arrived at their destination about twenty minutes later. Leaving the train, the ponies and Spike made a beeline straight for the Castle. Once they arrived, Twilight told the guards that the Princess had requested to see them, and the Guards let them pass. They all entered the Grand Hall and approached Princess Celestia.
"Greetings Twilight." She said with a warm smile. The ponies all bowed in respect and Twilight spoke up.
"Greetings Princess. Can you tell us why you called us here?" she asked.
"My apologies, I must've forgotten the second part of that letter I sent. I'm having very important guests coming and I need assistance in setting up the castle for their arrival." Celestia explained. Twilight and the others all nodded.
"Can you tell us who's coming Princess?" Rarity asked.
"Just some delegates from a far away place." Celestia simply said. That didn't seem right to Twilight. Usually the Princess would be a bit more specific with where a visitor came from. But Twilight chalked it up to some stress the Princess may have been experiencing and let it drop.
"Well Princess, jus' tell us wher' ta go, and we'll go an' start settin' up tha place." Applejack said stepping forward a bit.
"I need you, Applejack, to prepare some food for the delegates. Rarity, I would like your stylish eye to set up decorations. Pinkie Pie, I need music. Rainbow Dash, I would like the clouds to be clear for when they arrived. Fluttershy, I would appreciate it if you tended to the animals in the gardens. Twilight and Spike, supervise the preparations." Celestia said as each nodded and accepted their jobs. "Now go, we don't have long until they arrive." Celestia added.
Nodding in unison, the Ponies and Spike all went off to their separate jobs. Celestia watched them leave, then an uncharacteristic grin spread across her lips. Her eyes flashed to show bug like eyes that shined with a sickening green, then reverted to the light purple they were before once a Guard entered the Grand Hall.
"Princess," He spoke with a deep tone. "The Elements have started working on the tasks you've assigned."
"Good." Celestia said, then a snarl of hunger came from her stomach. "Guard, come here please." She said, waving her hoof forward. The Guard blinked at the sudden request, then started to walk towards her.
"Yes, your Highness?" He asked.
"I am feeling quite hungry." Celestia said.
"I can have the kitchen cook something up, Princess." The Guard said in reply.
"I am not hungry for food..." Celestia said, her voice hissing a bit. The Guard stepped back at this.
"Then...what is it you're hungry for, Ma'am?" He asked, his voice shaking a bit. At this, Celestia stood and her horn glowed the same sickening green her eyes were now. The magic encased the Guard and he was levitated off the ground. He cried in surprise and started to flail in panic, trying to escape. Celestia laughed at his attempts to flee. Finally, the Guard look toward Celestia, panic filling his eyes. "What are you doing Princess?!"
"I'm feeding off your Love..." She said evilly, then with a twitch of her horn, the Guard froze, and soon his skin started to sink into the cavities of his bones as his energy was sucked from his body. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his eyes sunk into their sockets. The green magic turned into a light pink and it flowed toward Celestia, who laughed evilly with a insect like hiss to her voice.
~The Canterlot Gardens~
Fluttershy was taking roll call of all the Garden's animal population when Twilight walked up to her, a check list floating beside her. Fluttershy turned to speak with her friend.
"Oh, hello Twilight." She said with a smile.
"Hi Fluttershy. How's it going down here?" Twilight asked as she looked to the animals.
"It's going quite nicely. The animals are all here and accounted for. I was just about to feed them." Fluttershy told Twilight as she checked off on the list.
"That's good to hear. If you're finished, could you come with me while I check on Rarity and the others?" Twilight asked her. Fluttershy nodded.
"Of course I can. Let me feed the animals first, okay?" She asked. Twilight nodded and waited for Fluttershy to finish feeding the animals. Once she was finished, Fluttershy walked beside Twilight as they left the gardens.
"Where's Spike? Wasn't he suppose to be with you?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight sighed.
"He decided to go off with Rarity to help her decorate." She said. "Would've been nice to have him carry the list for me instead." Twilight said with a giggle. Fluttershy smiled at the tiny joke as the two walked the large halls.
Once they had check up on and gathered the other Ponies, The Mane Six all returned to the Grand Hall to report to Celestia. Upon entering, they were met with a grim sight on the ground in front of them. A Royal Guard laid on the floor. His body was emaciated and his eyes were rolled into the back of his skull. The Ponies all gasped at the sight and they looked to Celestia.
"Princess, what happened to him?" Twilight asked, fright edging on her voice. The Princess laughed maliciously, something never heard from her before, and she looked to the frightened Ponies.
"You cannot honestly tell me that you still see me as Celestia now." She said, her voice sounding like it had a double voice to it.
"Wait, I recognize that nasty voice anywhere!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she hopped into a accusation stance. "You're Chrysalis!" She yelled again. Twilight and the others looked from Pinkie, then to Celestia, who was laughing once again as she transformed into her true form of the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis.
"You ponies really are easy to fool!" She said mockingly.
"How did you get into the Castle? What did you do with the Princess?" Twilight asked in panic.
"Getting in was easy. Taking care of your Princess, was a bit challenging. All I had to do was send a letter, making it look like she was needed somewhere else, then when she arrived, my Changelings and I ambushed her. She's currently in a pod back at my castle." Chrysalis said sitting down on the throne, a wicked smile on her face.
"Well, we're going to stop what ever you have planned, and you'll tell us where the Princess is exactly!" Rainbow Dash said, growling as she did.
"I'm afraid you Ponies wont be able to do anything." Chrysalis said sneering. In a flash of green, the Mane Six were encased in a green bubble and started to float. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie started trying to bash against the bubble in attempt to break it, but it didn't even so much as crack.
"Just stop now while you're ahead. My magic is too strong for the likes of you." Chrysalis sighed as she watched the Ponies struggle.
"What are ya'll gonna do with us?" Applejack questioned.
"I've been brushing up on your form of Magic, and I've learned many things. For example, I could make that bubble start to close in on you and crush you all. Or, I could fill it with gas that will put you all to sleep." Chrysalis ranted on, finally coming to a stop.
"You didn't answer her question!" Twilight yelled.
"Oh, of course. I'm planning on teleporting you little pests away so you can't interfere with my take over of Equestria!" Chrysalis said, her laugh beginning again.
"I must say, darling. You must work on that laugh of yours." Rarity said rolling her eyes. "Stereotypical laugh of a villain." She added. Chrysalis growled and her horn began to glow.
"Enough of you! Be gone!" She yelled. The Ponies all cried out as the bubble they were encased in vanished, taking them along with it. Silence filled the Grand Hall as the bubble vanished.
"I've finally done it..." Chrysalis muttered. she couldn't help but laugh in victory. She stopped, her features taking on one of realization. "I really do need to work on my laugh..." She said. Just then, the door opened and Spike stepped in.
"Twilight? Are you and the others in here?" He asked, then his gaze landed on Chrysalis. He gasped in shock and backed away. "Chrysalis! Wha-how...What did you do with my friends?" He demanded.
"Oh yes, the little mascot of those ponies. I've always wanted a dragon for a pet." Chrysalis said, her magic now flowing. She sent it flying to Spike, which encased him and turned his eyes fully green.
"I shall obey my Queen..." He said once the magic dissipated.
"Come sit with me." Chrysalis ordered, and Spike ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. He reached the throne and climbed up onto it, sitting with Chrysalis.
"Let the take over begin..."
~Back on Earth~
As I drove, the thunder and lightning seemed to have increased significantly. My car sped down the highway as I tried to beat the storm and arrive safely at home. I could hear the thunder boom over my iPod as I drove, signalling it was right over head. I looked to my speedometer and gritted my teeth.
"Come on, come on. I know you can go faster..." I muttered as I pressed down on the pedal some more. My Mitsubishi Lancer roared as the horsepower kicked in finally and I speed up. As I did, a flash of lighting struck close by on the grass divider between the roads. The crack of light only lasted a second and I swerved a bit.
"Oh shit! That was too close!" I yelled as another crack came down, this time on the road it self. Another, then another, and finally, a third crack of light hit with such force that the electrical impulses fried my car's electronics and my car stalled out. I slammed on the breaks as a fourth crack hit the road in front of me. The car came to a shuttering stop and the rear wheels came back down onto the road as the stop was complete. I hit the steering wheel in anger as I tried my ignition. The car sputtered a bit, and the headlights flashed on. I didn't see the object on the road it they had illuminated for the split second they were on. I tried the ignition again and the car sputtered rapidly. This time, my eyes caught a bright array of colors that were caught in the flashing headlights. Frowning, I turned off the car and pulled my keys from the ignition. Reaching into the back of my car, I found a flashlight and stepped out into the rainfall. Turning on the flashlight, I walked over to the area I had seen the colors. The flashlights' beam swept through darkness, then finally, it illuminated a bright, almost cyan, blue blot on the ground. I made the beam travel up to see a clear white, bright orange, light yellow, shockingly pink, and a light lavender blots all on the ground. Then it hit me.
"I've seen these colors before...but it can't be, can it?" I asked myself as I knelled down onto the road and reach a hand out to cup the head of the lavender blob in front of me. Sure enough, I was looking at the unconscious face of Twilight Sparkle. I looked to see her other five friends, all in the same condition. My jaw dropped in complete shock and I heard a grunt come from Twilight. I looked to see her slowly open her eyes. They flashed open suddenly and she made eye contact, well, as much as you can in the dark rain, with me.
"Well...Hello there..." I said gently.
The Five Year Struggle...
"Why hello there..."
We just stared at each other for a minute or so. Twilight's eyes were wide with fear, as I can imagine I probably look pretty intimidating to her. Her jaw slowly opened and I thought she was going to say something. I couldn't be more wrong, however. A scream erupted from her throat as she started to kick away from me and over the unconscious bodies of her friends. Her screams and sudden movements made me jump back a bit as I watched her panic.
"Please don't eat me! I don't taste very good!" She yelled at me trying to separate me from her as much as possible.
"I'm not-" I began to say, but she interrupted me.
"Girls, girls! Wake up, please! There's a monster here!" She said pleadingly to the other five. Applejack was the first to stir, her eyes hazy and voice slightly slurred.
"What ya'll goin' on about, sugarcube?" She asked groggily.
"Monster! There's a monster!" Twilight repeated. Immediately, Applejack sparked to life and shot to her hooves, her emerald green eyes locking onto my chocolate brown ones.
"Stay back Twi! Ah got this!" She yelled charging to me. But, still being a bit groggy, Applejack stumbled in her charge and face planted into the wet road. A small groan of pain came out muffled as she laid on the road, then got up slowly.
"Alright, Ah got ya'll this time!" She said, but her body caught up with her and she merely sat onto the ground and looked at me. "What are ya...?" She asked me. I was about to answer when I saw movement coming from the other four mares who were just now waking up.
"Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie! Wake up! Now!" Twilight whispered hurriedly. Moans of discomfort came from the other four as they all got to their hooves and shook their heads of discomfort.
"What's the matter darling, you sound distraught..." Rarity said fixing her mane with a hoof.
"Yeah, did something happen?" Rainbow Dash asked as she stretched her wings.
"There's a monster..." Twilight whispered to them, pointing a hoof in my direction. Looks of shock came other the other ponies faces as they turned to face the direction Twilight was pointing in. Silence came over the seven of us as we all exchanged looks. The sounds of rainfall against the road and surrounding area filled the silence.
"Hi-" I began to say, but as I did, a blur of color shot forward and knocked the wind out of me. I was sent flying into the hood of my car and suddenly felt a weight on me. I opened my eyes to see a pair of angry magenta ones piercing mine.
"Run girls! I got this creep!" Rainbow Dash said as she slugged me in the cheek with a hard hoof. "What in the hay are you?" she asked, raising another hoof in the case I didn't answer.
"I'm a person!" I yelped out slightly.
"A what?" She asked. "You better not be lying to me, or I'll sock ya' again!" She said. Although I was in the grasp of Equestria's fastest flyer, I had to admit that her tough act was nothing but cute. That cuteness was temporarily cut off when another hoof struck me in the other cheek.
"Come on, answer!" She yelled.
"Alright, you know what?" I asked.
"What creep?" Rainbow Dash replied raising an eyebrow.
I leaned forward and picked up the cyan pegasus with both hands and slung her over my shoulder. Her kicks and slaps to my chest and back slightly hurt as she cried out in shock.
"Hey, put me down you freak!" She ordered me. I ignored her and turned my attention to the five other mares, who now, looked very pissed off and ready to beat me to death.
"Put our friend down, you beast!" Rarity commanded me, her horn beginning to glow blue.
"Don't make us hurt you!" Pinkie Pie said, giving a not so intimidating growl. Rainbow Dash continued to beat her hooves against me.
"Put Rainbow down, and we'll be on our way without incident." Twilight said, her horn glowing also. We all just stared at each other again and soon Rainbow Dash's grunts of effort puttered out and she dropped the struggle.
"Please put me down..." She said tiredly.
"Will all of you listen then?" I asked warily. Twilight looked at me, but I could tell she was thinking it over.
"Fine, we'll listen if you let Rainbow go." She replied, her gaze never leaving mine.
"Deal." I said setting Rainbow Dash down gently. She left my grasp and flew over to her friends and hovered there, her wings flapping to keep her aloft.
"Alright, first off, I'm not going to eat any of you. My kind doesn't eat ponies. Second, I'm not a monster of any kind. Do I look dangerous?" I asked spreading my arms slightly, getting a bit of a nervous twitch from the mares. I sighed a bit as I continued on. "Anyway, I promise I'm not going to hurt any of you, alright?" I asked them.
"But how can we trust you?" Twilight asked me.
"Trust me, I'm probably the only one who can help you." I replied giving a small smile.
"Speaking of which, where are we...?" Rarity asked taking a look at the surrounding trees and road.
"You're in Delaware, twenty minutes outside of Dover." I replied. The ponies gave me a collective look of confusion as I told them.
"Come again?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Twenty minutes outside of Dover, in the state of Delaware." I replied.
"You mean to say we're on an alien planet?" Pinkie Pie asked me. I gave a curt nod and she smiled widely.
"Oh boy, I get to throw a party now that we're somewhere new!" She said happily, bouncing in place. A rumble of thunder was heard overhead and the ponies all looked to the sky.
"Oh yeah, I forgot it was raining." I said looking up also. Then my mind started to run rampant. What will I do? Where can I take them? Then, it hit me.
"Hey, come with me. I can take you to someplace dry." I told them. At that moment, the rain went from a light fall to a heavy downpour, soaking me and the girls to the skin. Rarity's mane fell out of its' luscious form and drooped around her.
"Can we please get out of this rain!?" She screeched.
"Follow me then!" I replied running back to my car. i could hear galloping hooves behind me as I reached the car, then a collective gasp was heard.
"What in Equestria is this...thing?" Twilight asked as she gazed at my Lancer .
"It's a car." I replied opening the driver's door and unlocked the rear doors.
"A what now?" Rarity asked confused.
"A horseless carriage." I stated simply.
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked confused. A sigh came out of me as I hit my head on the steering wheel. Then I remembered they often used a cart for a variety of uses.
"An automatic cart." I said simply. This seemed to register better with the ponies as they gave a collective Oh.
I waited in silence for something to happen. "Well?" I asked.
"Yes?" Twilight asked in response.
"Are you girls getting in? We have to use this to get to where I'm taking you." I told her. The girls nodded simultaneously and each entered the rear of the car. "Please close the door." I told Fluttershy who squeaked in response. She slowly and nervously managed to close the door and I locked the doors. I started to drive off and the girls all gave a cry of surprise as they felt the sensations of the car as I drove.
"Well this isn't that different from riding in a cart back home..." Twilight said eventually as they relaxed.
"How soon will we be at your home?" Rarity asked me. I checked the time on my dashboard.
"It'll be about ten minutes now." I responded. "Anyone want to listen to some music?" I asked.
"You have music? I love music! All kinds of music! My favorite kind is-" Pinkie started to rant on about, but a hoof from Twilight covered her mouth.
"Yes, sir. We'd like to listen to some." She replied. I turned on my iPod and got out of the Fallout: Equestria chapter line up and went to some Smooth Jazz I had uploaded onto my playlists. My screen seemed to catch Pinkie Pie's eye because the next thing I knew, she was sitting in the passenger seat watching my fingers work the small device.
"What is this?" She asked curiously.
"It's a small music box." I told her. She tapped the screen with a hoof and frowned a bit.
"I've never seen a music box like this before. Usually they're wooden, or like Vinyl Scratch's which play loudly with big disks she uses." She told me. The thought that Vinyl Scratch could possibly also come into existence here fluttered through my mind as I started up the jazz with some of Kenny G's Songbird . The soothing saxophone began and soon a mellow atmosphere came over the seven of us as we drove.
"Wow, this is some pretty nice alien music..." Rainbow Dash said sleepily.
"There's other kinds out there. Hundreds of genres to choose from." I replied as I drove. Soon enough, I started recognizing the road I was on.
"Alright, we're almost to my apartment. All that I ask is that you six try to walk quietly. I have no idea how well hooves sound on a thin carpet, alright? I don't want to alert my neighbors." I told them.
"We'll try our best." Applejack said to me as I pulled into the parking lot.
It took about thirty minutes to reach my front door to the apartment, mostly because I had to keep checking the corners like I was on some sort of military spec-ops mission, checking for any people taking a midnight stroll through the halls. Luckily, the coast was clear all the way to my place.
"Alright, we're here." I told the ponies as I unlocked the door and opened it. I entered with the girls close behind me. I stood aside to let them in and turned on the lights as I closed the door and locked it again. I watched the girls as they looked around at my modest apartment.
"Well, it's not terrible. It's actually quite- HOLD ON ONE MOMENT!" Rarity yelled. I watched her take off to my curtains and let out a small groan. "Who would put these curtains with these colored walls? It's absolutely gaudy!" She scolded to me. I gave a small shrug.
"It's grown on me. Trust me, I didn't like it at first, but I've gotten used to it over the years." I said in response as I watched the others looks around and explore.
"It's odd how close an alien's house it compared to ours." Twilight said as she looked about the place. I saw Fluttershy sitting close to the wall.
"What's wrong?" I asked her. She squeaked a bit and looked up at me with her teal eyes.
"O-Oh...I didn't want to i-intrude..." she muttered a bit shyly. I gave a small smile and chuckled.
"It's alright, you can look around. In fact, I'm sure there's someone you may like to meet." I told her walking off to find my cat.
"R-Really?" She asked watching me come back with the orange devil himself in my arms. Immediately, Fluttershy brightened up and smiled as I set my cat before her on the ground. She leaned down to match his eye level and gave a cute smile to the cat.
"Well hello there. I'm Fluttershy." She said gently scratching him behind the ear. "Any what's your name?" She asked him.
"His name's Jorge." I told her.
"That's a wonderful name for a cat." Fluttershy told me as I watched my cat flop onto his side and let Fluttershy continue to pet him, a content purr coming from him.
"Hey Mr. Alien! What's this white box?" I heard Pinkie Pie ask. I turned to see her pointing to my XBox 360.
"Oh, I'll explain later. I'm sure you all are tired and want some sleep." I suggested to the ponies. Almost immediately, simultaneous yawns escaped the ponies.
"Ya'll got that right." Applejack said rubbing her eye with a hoof.
"May I ask where we can sleep?" Rarity asked batting her eyelashes at me. Is she trying to be flirty with me...?
"Uh, try and find someplace comfortable. Sorry, I wasn't expecting to come home with six ponies. I would've had rooms ready." I chuckled a bit at my joke and Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Well we sure weren't expecting to be teleported to an alien planet, I can tell you that." She retorted.
"Ah'm fine with sleeping anywhere." Applejack said sitting on the floor. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both hovered over to my couch and rested on it. Twilight and Rarity took the smaller chairs and curled up.
"I only have one rule, no one goes into my bedroom. Understand?" I asked them. I was given nods of understanding and I turned to exit for my room. "I'll see you all in the morning then." I told them as I dimmed the lights.
I entered my bedroom and took off my shirt. Flopping onto my bed, I looked at the ceiling and went over what had just occurred. Six ponies from my favorite show had just dropped into my life and they were currently asleep in my living room. My mind wouldn't stop racing with questions and that made it difficult for me to sleep. Eventually, I fell into a light sleep, but that was when my door opened a bit and I could hear hoofsteps coming into the room.
"Mister Alien? Ya'll awake?" I heard Applejack ask. I sat up a bit and looked over to her.
"Thought I said no one was allowed in my room. What is it?" I asked her.
"Do ya' mind if I sleep in here? Rainbow Dash is snorin' like ah storm an' Twilight won' stop mumblin' in her sleep." She explained. I chuckled a bit and nodded.
"Sure, you can sleep in here if you'd like." I told her.
"That's mighty kind of ya'." She said closing the door. I tossed a couple of spare pillows onto the floor for her. "There you go." I told her. She gave me a glare.
"Ya'll expect me to sleep on some pillows afta' what Ah've been through?" She asked me.
"Oh..." I replied.
"Darn right, now move outta the way. Ah'm takin' your bed." She ordered me.
"Sorry, last time I checked, you're the guest here." I told her.
"Yeah? And? Aren't ya' suppose ta' take care of a guest?" She asked.
"Touche Cowpony. But my home, my rules, my bed." I retorted.
"Well then, looks like Ah'll have ta' force ya' out ma'self." She said pulling down the brim of her Stetson.
"Ha! Just try to." I said chuckling and laying back down. With a mighty "Yeeehaaawww!" I heard the sounds of a charging pony, slamming hooves, and me smacking into the wall. The wind was forced from my lungs with a mighty blow and I rolled off the bed onto the floor, curling myself up in pain. I only managed a faint "Ow..." as I saw Applejack hop onto my bed and look over the edge at me.
"Looks like Ah got ya' out." She said with a smug smile. She laid down after that small line and I could her her start to snore.
"Man...getting bucked hurts..." I mumble as I grab a pillow and start to drift off to sleep on the floor.
The Five Year Struggle...
I awoke to the sounds of crashing items and cries of surprise. A fearful silence followed after. I sat up quickly, remembering I had newcomers to my world in my apartment. As I sat up, pain shot through my torso. My face cringed harshly at the sensation and I looked down to see two, almost perfect horseshoe shaped bruises planted on my chest. They were a sickening blue, black, and even light green from where the nerves had died in some places from the shock from impact. I brief flash of last night skittered across my mind and I grumbled. Getting bucked not only hurt, but it left nasty bruises. Sitting up slowly now, I grabbed a Halo shirt, put it on, then left my bedroom. Walking down the hall, I entered the living room to see the six ponies sitting on my couch, all attempting to look like nothing had happened. I stood there and crossed my arms, but the pain shot through again and I let them drop. Instead, I raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. What happened?" I asked. They lightly shook their heads and shrugged.
"Why, whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked, batting her eyelashes at me. "She better not be flirting..."
"I could hear something crash and break. One of you cried out. Now what happened?" I asked. Uncomfortable silence filled the space above us and soon Fluttershy started breaking into a nervous sweat. I looked at her and she tried to hide behind her mane. I smirked.
"Weakest link."
Now, that was just down right terrible of me to call Fluttershy that. But in the current situation, it was kind of necessary. I slowly walked over and knelt in front of Fluttershy, giving a warm smile. She tried to pull away a bit more by pressing herself into the couch. The others watched me as I looked at the nervous pony, ready in case I tried anything.
"Now Fluttershy," I started nicely. "In order to find out what happened, I need you to come clean with me. Can you do that for me?" I asked. One of her teal eyes came around from her mane and it shrunk down. I could hear her letting out little whines of nervousness.
I had to admit, the whines were cute.
I tilted my head to the side a bit. In the corner of my eye, I could see the others waiting with baited breath. The tension rapidly grew in the atmosphere. It became too unbearable for Fluttershy and she suddenly inhaled sharply through her mouth.
"We all woke up and started looking around your home for something to do and I found this white box then I poked it and it let out a scary noise and I got scared and crashedintoapictureanditbrokepleasedon'tbemad!" She said, running the words together at the end. She shrunk and her chin went to her breast, her teals eyes looking up at me. I smiled and patted her head. She flinched a bit at my movement as I patted her.
"See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" I asked. I looked at the others and they were glaring at me.
"Uh oh, already on bad terms..." I thought to myself.
"Alright, where's the picture?" I asked standing up. Rainbow Dash pulled out the broken frame from behind her, her glare still piercing me. I took the frame and looked at the picture. It was just a couple photo of my parents. I chuckled a bit and shook my head.
"I'm not mad at you Fluttershy. I can easily replace the frame. The photo wasn't damaged in anyway, so it's still salvageable." I told her giving a warm smile. This seemed to somewhat take her off nerves and she visibly relaxed a bit. The others, however were still a tad bit pissed at me. I turned my head to see what 'white box' Fluttershy was talking about and found it. She was talking about my XBox. It currently sat there on it's end, the green lights glowing happily as the console waited for a command.
"And the white box, was my game console." I told the nervous pony.
"Yer what now?" I heard Applejack ask. I smirked, knowing they were about to be in for one hell of a ride. I spun around with the fashion of a Ring Master at a circus.
"That, my chest bruising friend, is a device I use for entertainment. It allows me to play something called video games." I said picking up one of the controllers from a table nearby. The ponies were still glaring, but a spark of curiosity was present in their eyes. I held down on the silver button on the controller and it too came to life. I turned on the TV, which was already on the XBox input, and scrolled over to my avatar. The character floated there in his Aliens: Colonial Marines Marine armor and spun as I selected it. I could hear the sounds of hooves hitting the hardwood floor as Rainbow Dash stood next to me.
"So, what does this do?" She asked. The main menu of the console came up and I immediately selected the current game that was inside. A black screen showed up, followed by a group of pulsating logos. I skipped the small cutscene and up came the menu for Battlefield 3 .
"This is a video game. The console allows me to play the game on the disc." I said as Rainbow Dash sat there with her head tilted with curiosity. Soon the others had joined me and they stared at the screen. I did the usual server search in multiplayer and soon I got put into a match on Caspian Boarder.
"Prepare to be blown away." I told them. I sat down on a chair and the ponies still stood. I spawned as the Assault Class next to an F-18 Super Hornet, and the ponies gasped in amazement of the virtual world on the screen before them. I slowly panned around, letting them see the environment and its life-likeness.
"Wow..." I heard Twilight mutter. I could see her inner gears coming up with endless questions for me. I stood next to the fighter jet and exited to third person view. The engines revved and I did a pre-flight check. I knew that sort of thing wasn't needed in multiplayer, but it's still fun to do.
"Alright girls, prepare for takeoff." I said. At this, Rainbow Dash turned to me quickly, then back to the screen. I floored the throttle of the fighter jet and it started to roll down the long runway. Soon, I was in the air and banking right to go and fight. I heard Rainbow Dash let out a snort.
"What?" I asked.
"I bet I could fly faster than whatever this is." She said, her ego slipping in.
"I don't know Dash. These things have been known to clock in a one-thousand and one-hundred eighty-one miles per hour. They even break the sound barrier." I told her, a smug smile coming onto my features. Her head slowly turned, her jaw dropped in surprise.
"So...I'm slower...?" She asked. Applejack put a hoof onto the speedsters shoulder and chuckled.
"It would seem so sugarcube." She said looking to me. "Ya'll have some pretty nifty gadgets. We got nothin' like this in Equestria." She said looking back to the screen.
At this time, I was in the middle of an attack run. I flew low and slow, firing my machine gun at an enemy T-90A as it fired at my teammates. A couple missiles later, and the tank exploded as I flew over head, preforming a barrel roll over an enemy fighter that was taking off. On my headset, I could hear the enemy pilot yelling at my sudden stunt as he took off. Fluttershy tapped me on the arm and I looked at her.
"Um...there isn't, um, any killing, is there?" She asked shyly. I frowned a bit and shook my head.
"This is a war game Fluttershy. Of course there is going to be killing." I saw her pale, and gulp.
"You kill...each other...?" She asked. This is where a chuckle came to me.
"Yes, we kill each other. But, it's not real fighting. This is all fake fighting. The people I'm killing aren't actually dying in their chairs or sofas in their homes. They just yell and cuss and respawn to try again." I told her. She still didn't understand and she started to shake.
"But...you're still..." She started, but that was all she said, and her eyes were staring straight ahead.
"Uh...I think I broke her..." I said to the others. The girls turned to see their friend with a solid stare.
"Fluttershy!?" Twilight asked as she waved a hoof in front of the pegasus' face. Fluttershy didn't respond.
"What did you do?" Rarity asked.
"Told her there was massive amounts of death in this game." I said simply. Rarity looked aghast and raised a hoof slightly.
"How barbaric!" She said with distaste. "And I was beginning to think that world was beautiful!" She said. I gave a deadpanned look.
"You saw me take out that tank." I said.
"Well..." She began, but she huffed and turned back to Fluttershy. I paused the game and though. Then an idea came to mind. Going to the home menu, I pulled out my laptop, stood up, and hooked it into my TV. I started the PC version of Minecraft and it came up on the screen.
"Hey Fluttershy, I have a better game." I said poking her. I saw her eyes dart up to the screen and widen as the green, cubed landscape of Minecraft came onto the screen. The nature portrayed made Fluttershy start towards the TV and place a hoof on it, as if she were trying to enter the game. I chuckled a bit. "See, I told you." She turned to me, a smile on her face.
"No killing?" She asked. I shook my head, and Fluttershy seemed to shift into her old, timid self. "Oh thank goodness!"
And so, it was like this for the rest of the day. They watched me play Minecraft for the day.
~Washington DC, the White House~
The President sat at his Oval Office desk, working on some sort of new oil bill that had been placed on his desk the day before. It, like many other bills, were piling up on his desk, and this only added to his stress. Running a country wasn't at it was cracked up to be. Sure, there were certain perks, but there was only so little time for those perks. As he passed the thirty-eight page of the oil bill, his office door opened and a head poked in.
"Uh, Mister President? A word?" The agent asked. The President looked up from the paper with tired eyes.
"Yes, what is it Agent Grey?" He asked. Agent Grey walked into the room holding a manilla folder and he placed it on the President's desk.
"Sir, reports have been coming in from Saint Louis. Apparently, there have been massive fluctuations of an unknown energy being measured near a power plant." Grey explained. The President raised an eyebrow.
"Is it possibly from the plant itself?" He asked. Grey shook his head.
"No sir. They've sent a crew to scan these readings." Grey said, his tone becoming a bit unsure.
"Well spill it Grey." The President ordered.
"Well, sir, the readings are far higher than anything we've seen. They don't even relate to any radiation, even at its' highest point. Sir, this is not earthly." Grey said. He motioned for the folder and the President opened it. In a small stack was a pile of photos. They showed a sickly green hue that sat close to the ground. The President sifted through the photos until one caught his eye. He lifted it and turned it to Agent Grey.
"Mind telling me what this is?" He asked. The photo showed a blurred, circular object hovering near the ground.
"Sir, the crews say that it looks like some sort of...portal." Grey said, his tone becoming nervous. The President picked up on this.
"Why so nervous, Agent Grey?" He asked smirking. Agent Grey gulped.
"Sir, what if it's aliens?" He asked simply. The President gave him a deadpan look. Agent Grey shrugged.
"Agent Grey, the only aliens we've encountered are currently in Area Fifty-One." He said.
"Yes, but sir, what if there's more out there?" He asked. The President sighed and rubbed his tired eyes with the palms of his hands.
"What do you suggest I do? Send a military task force and have it checked out?" The President asked. Agent Grey seemed to relax a bit.
"Protocol would suggest you do." He replied. The President let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in his chair. His back popped in many places from him being hunched over for so long.
"Alright, send some Army and Marines to the phenomenon and have it check out. If anything does come out of there, then by all means, engage." He said waving his hand off as he finished. Agent Grey nodded, gathered the folder, and prepared to leave. He was stopped when the President cleared his throat.
"Sir?"
"Leave that folder here. I wish to look it over." The President said pointing to his desk. Agent Grey nodded and placed the folder on the desk, then left the office.
The President was alone once again and he opened the folder back up.
The Five Year Struggle...
~Outside of St. Louis, Missouri~
In the rolling wheat hills of western Missouri, a F.O.B. was in the middle of Rush Hour. Soldier were moving from place to place, whether it be the Mess Hall or the Rec Area. Some were carrying reports to their superior officers while others simply carried large crates in team of two or three. In the main command tent, Colonel Samson Jenkins stood over the shoulder of a soldier who was monitoring the readings of the strange anomaly they were all here to investigate. Video monitors kept track of energy signatures and gave a live video feed of the anomaly.
"How's it looking Lieutenant?" Samson asked.
"So far, same as yesterday sir. No spikes in the energy readings or any change in its appearance." replied the officer.
"Keep me informed of any changes." Samson ordered.
"Yes sir."
Standing up and turning away from the monitors, Samson proceeded to exit the tent. It was lunch time and he wanted to get something to eat. His stomach gave a roar as he walked out into the humid day. Samson was a late-thirties African-American man and held a striking resemblance to Jamie Fox. As he walked, lower officers and soldiers paused to step aside and salute him, as was protocol. Samson would give a lazy salute in return.Then they'd return to their duties with a quick return of their saluting hand. Upon entering the Mess Hall, Samson was assaulted with the smell of cooking meatloaf, the Head Cooks' specialty. Once again being saluted by others, Samson entered the lunch line with a tray and proceeded down the food line. A young man, in about his mid-twenties, smiled and gave a wave to Samson as he approached.
"Hi Colonel." The cook greeted.
"Hello Jeremy. What's on the menu for today?" Samson asked.
"Head Chefs' meatloaf." Jeremy said, then his eyes got shifty and he whispered. "If I were you, I wouldn't eat it. Didn't come out right today or something." He said. Samson chuckled and looked at the various food items behind the glass.
"I'll take a Caesar salad I guess." Samson said gesturing to one of the salads.
"Is Misses Jenkins making you watch your weight again, sir?" Jeremy asked chuckling as he grabbed the salad.
"Watch your mouth, or I'll have you scrubbing the latrines." Samson said with a joking smile. Jeremy smiled and laughed at the old threat higher officers would sometimes do. The cook handed Samson the salad and saluted.
"Good seeing you sir." Jeremy said. Samson gave an actual salute this time.
"Same to you Jeremy. Take care now." Samson said as he took his tray away and went to the Officer's Table. As he walked, he could hear an Apache attack helicopter fly over the Mess Hall. Samson listened to the air vehicle-- make that vehicles-- pass over was he sat down and grabbed his fork. He plunged the utensil into the green before him and took a decent bite. As he chewed, the sound of more helicopters was heard. The next minute later, M1 Abrams and M2A3 Bradley tanks were heard roaring past the Mess Hall.
"That isn't normal vehicle traffic for this time of day. There aren't any patrols switching out right now. What is going on...?" Samson asked himself as he looked out the tent to see a squad of about five, fully armed and armored, Infantry march past the window. He was about to get up when the Lieutenant from earlier came rushing in.
"Sir! Something is happening!" The Lieutenant said breathlessly.
"No shit, Lieutenant. I couldn't tell by the movement of combat vehicles and personnel. Now's what's happened?" Samson asked.
"I honestly have no clue sir. The monitors didn't pick up any readings, but the cameras sure caught the anomaly fluctuating, as if something was coming out of it." The Lieutenant said wiping some sweat off his forehead. "You're also required at the front lines ASAP. I've come to take you there, sir." The Lieutenant added.
Samson sighed. Guess he'd have to hold off hunger until dinner.
"Alright Lieutenant. Let's go." Samson said giving a wave of his hand.
"Yes sir. Follow me. We'll take the jeep." said the Lieutenant as he turned quickly and rushed to the Jeep waiting outside, Samson following close behind. The two entered the Jeep and the Lieutenant pulled away and drove off.
***
The front line was a buzz of activity. Even more than the F.O.B during Rush Hour. Tanks and tank crews were making sure things were all set and ammo was in order. Single troops ran from position to position. Radio men spoke quickly to the nearby Whiteman Air Force Base for additional support. The Jeep Samson was in screeched to a halt next to a Captain. Samson stepped out of the Jeep and it drove off back to the base.
"Sir!" The Captain said with a salute.
"At ease Captain. What's the situation?" Samson asked.
"About twenty minutes ago, one of the troops reported seeing something come out of the anomaly. Sure enough, five minutes later, another troop was attacked. He managed to kill the creature that attacked him." said the Captain with a professional tone.
"Any idea what it was?" Samson asked.
"Well sir, it looked equine; horse-like. But smaller and, well, kinda looked bug like also. Large green eyes and bug like wings. We didn't know what to make of it to be honest, sir." the Captain said scratching his cheek.
"Do you still have the body?" Samson asked.
"Yes sir. It's over with Medic Sanders." the Captain said pointing behind Samson. Samson looked and saw a young man hunched over the creature in question.
"Thank you Captain. That is all." Samson said as he approached the medic. The Medic looked up briefly and returned the specimen at hand.
"I'd salute you Colonel, but I'm busy at the moment." said the medic as his hands worked on prying a scale from the black creature.
"It's fine son. What can you tell me?" Samson asked.
"Well sir, I don't know where to begin! I've never seen anything like this creature before. It's definitely equine in nature, but the insect components are absolutely mind blowing! The wings are fragile, yet sturdy enough to lift a body like this. Its eyes are compact, like that of a fly, meaning it can see in every direction, but there is a definite pupil to the eye, meaning it has a double layer eyeball." The medic looked up, a goofy smile plastered to his face. "This is an amazing discovery. It's a shame it was killed. I would've loved to see this thing alive!"
Samson looked at the creature. Its canines were sharp, indicating carnivore. But it didn't quite match up with the equine body. Horses are plant eaters. However, this body was smaller than a horse. Newborn, maybe? Possibly a pony origin. Samson felt the skin and found it to have fur.
"This is sure an odd discovery isn't it?" Samson asked the medic. The medic was about to respond when a scream was heard, followed by gunshots.
"CONTACT! CONTACT! SHOOT IT!" Yelled a soldier as he fired his rifle. Samson looked over to see two more of the black creature attacking a young corporal in rapid succession. The Corporal didn't stand a chance as one of the creatures latched onto his neck and ripped out a chunk. Samson expected the creature to swallow it, but instead, it simply spat out the chunk of meat, give a disgusted look-- wait, did it just make a human expression?-- and returned to beating down the corporal. The next second later, the creature and its counterpart were mowed down by heavy machine gun fire and laid dead on the ground.
"Get a medic to that man, now!" Samson yelled. The medic behind him took off immediately, carrying a medkit with him. Samson stood there in slight shock as his mind replayed the event that had occurred. What struck him the most was the expression the creature had made when it spat out the chunk of meat. Suddenly, a voice called out.
"Contact! Right at the anomaly!"
Samson spun around to see the anomaly start to warp and change color. Going from a gentle blue to a sickening green in a matter of seconds. Samson stood there and watched as the anomaly opened up into a portal . After a few seconds, something began to emerge from the portal. Soldiers rushed to positions behind small walls, their weapons raised and pointed at the portal. Tanks had their barrels pointed right at it also. Tall and stealth black, with a long, dirty and stringy mane. A holed horn sat atop the head, and the legs were pilfered with holes ranging in sizes. The creatures wings folded to its sides and its eyes opened. The twin orbs revealed a pair of green, cat-like eyes that seemed to scream evil. The creatures' mouth opened and it spoke in a clear voice.
"I am Queen Chrysalis! Who is in command of this world?" She asked. Samson gulped. He was the only commanding presence at the moment, with the President being back in D.C. and all. Slowly, he raised a hand and cleared his throat.
"I am in command." He said, trying his best to not sound nervous. The creature smirked and raised a hoof to beacon him forward.
"Come to me. I wish to have a quick word with you." she said. Samson slowly began to walk forward, keeping his shoulders square and his chin up. The soldiers he passed tensed as they watched him approach the creature, ready for anything. Samson stopped in front of the creature, a face of calm and slight intimidation.
"Tell me, what is your name?" asked Chrysalis. Samson blinked.
"I am Colonel Samson Jenkins of the United States Army." he said professionally.
"Well Colonel Jenkins, you shall be the first to die in the wave of countless thousands." Chrysalis said darkly as he horn began to glow with a green glow. Samson felt his throat constrict as he began choke. He clawed at his throat to remove whatever it was that was strangling him, but he felt nothing. Blackness began to creep into his vision as he looked at Chrysalis' sneering face, then, with a snapping sound, his world went black and silent.
***
Colonel Samson Jenkins fell to the ground dead, his neck bent at an odd angle, obviously broken. The creature named Chrysalis chortled a malevolent cackle as her green eyes turned to the soldiers before her.
"OPEN FIRE!" called a soldier. The air between Chrysalis and the front line began alive with bullets, grenade blasts, rockets, and anti-personnel tank round. Suddenly, a green flash was seen and all ammunition ceased to fly. Chrysalis stood there, unharmed, her horn glowing once again. Something caused all the firepower directed at her to freeze in mid air and slowly turn back to their origins. Soldiers began to slowly stand and back away, keeping their rifles raised and ready.
"Foolish creatures." was all Chrysalis said as she sent all the bullets and rockets back at the soldiers. She laughed as explosion after explosion erupted. Soldiers fell dead to their own fire in droves. Tanks exploded and even imploded from the rockets and other explosives. Chrysalis turned her head to the portal.
"ATTACK MY CHILDREN!"
The Five Year Struggle...
It was raining outside, again. Fat rain drops slapped against the window as I sat on the couch, flipping through the various channels. Applejack was laying on my lap and I was absent-mindedly stroking her mane as she lazily watched TV with me. In the other room, I could hear Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash playing Minecraft on my laptop, screaming about Endermen and Creepers. Twilight had her nose buried in a novel I had laying around. The novel so happened to be Star Wars: Death Troopers . I was very surprised when Twilight came up to me, levitating the horror novel in her telekinetic grasp, and asked if she could read it.
That was about three hours ago, and she hasn't put it down since.
"I enjoy a good fright every now and then. I don't read dictionaries constantly, you know." She said to me as she opened the book and began to read.
I had no clue where Rarity had gone to, nor Fluttershy. The two were most likely playing dress-up with my cat. Just the other day they came out with my cat stuffed in a frilly dress. The fat cat looked more pissed than I had ever seen him as he struggled in their grasp. Regardless, it gave us all a good laugh and soon the cat was released from his cloth prison.
As I was channel surfing, blips and small segments of channel audio was heard.
"Buy now!"
"--Is made when--"
"--Tonight at nine--"
"War outside of Saint Louis--"
Wait a moment. Back a channel.
"At the moment, US troops are engaging with unknown hostiles outside of Saint Louis. The conflict began about three hours ago and hasn't stopped since. Reports from the front are that the hostiles are non-human . We were given a picture of one of the hostiles that was killed earlier. It seems to be equine in nature, but also insectoid. The picture is shown here."
A picture of a Changeling popped up on the screen. Applejack and I both gasped, causing Twilight to look up from the book before her.
"What's wrong?" She asked. I looked at her, then to the screen.
"American troops are fighting Changelings right now." I said with wide eyes. Twilight's grew in size also as she looked to the screen that was now showing combat footage from a news helicopter. Hundreds of Changeling drones were engaged with American infantry and armor. Explosions from tank and grenade blasts tore the ground, sending humans and changelings alike into the air. Suddenly, the camera shifted and a changeling sneered right into the camera, tearing it and the operator off and threw the cameraman to the ground. The camera impacted with a jolt and watched as drones attacked and swarmed the helicopter, sending it tumbling out of control and crashing into the ground with a mighty explosion.
By now, the others had joined Applejack, Twilight and I in the living room, eyes glued to the screen, fright dancing in each of their eyes.
"They're here for us..." Twilight said grimly. I've never heard her tone go that dark so fast. Applejack rested a calming hoof on the unicorns' shoulder.
"No they ain't, sugarcube. Heck, they probably don't even know where we are. We're here in, uh...what is this place again?" She asked me.
"Delaware." I replied.
"Delaware, and they're over here in Saint Louis. We're safe." She said with a warm smile. Twilight looked from the earth pony to the TV and sighed.
"I hope you're right Applejack." Then she looked to me, determination in her eyes. "Promise me you'll keep us safe if we're found by Chrysalis." I stammered a bit, taken aback by the sudden request.
"I promise to keep you all safe." I said. "No matter what."
***
A couple days later, the girls and I were playing a game of Battleship . I had to keep Rainbow Dash from hovering next to me and help the girls cheat.
"Stop RD. It's not fair to cheat." I said with a frown.
"Oh, get over it. It's just a game." She said with a grin. I looked at Twilight who had a hoof to her chin, eyes scanning the possibilities of where my ships were.
"Uh...D-Five?" She asked. I sighed and picked up the four red-pegged Aircraft Carrier.
"You sunk the USS Yorktown . I said sadly. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie gave a victorious cheer and Twilight smiled.
"Looks like I'm winning." She said, the smile continuing.
"Yeah, just you keep smiling. USS New Jersey fires at C-Five." I proclaimed, folding my arms and smiling smugly. Twilight scanned her board and her eyes went wide and her smile faded.
"You jerk, you sank my battleship!" She said with a frown. She levitated the ship piece off the board as I laughed.
"That's the power of three, sixteen-inch turrets for ya'!" I said. Twilight tilted her head.
"Sixteen inch turrets? Something that small is that powerful?" She asked. I simply shook my head.
"Oh no. Sixteen inches is the length of the shell fired from the turrets. The turrets, on the other hand, are large. Very large. Two in the front, one in the back, each with three cannons, which fire a sixteen inch shell." I said, digging up the WWII knowledge I had. Twilight's ears flipped to the sides of her head and she gulped.
"That is powerful." She said looking down at the board. "I only have one ship left now. Good luck trying to find it." She said looking up at me.
"Challenge accepted." I said smugly.
"I'm bored. Is it alright if I indulge in some television?" Rarity asked politely.
"Sure Rarity." I said as I concentrated on the game. Rarity nodded and walked out of the game room and into the living room. I could hear the TV come to life, and a few seconds later, a gasp.
"Everything alright in there?" I asked. Silence followed. "Rarity! Is something wrong?" I asked again. The other girls looked up at me, slight looks of worry present.
"Can everypony come in here, now?" Rarity asked, fright in her voice. Immediately, the girls and I entered the living room. Rarity looked at us and pointed a hoof at the TV. "Read the headline..."
My eyes looked at the screen and read the words in large text.
President has ordered mass detainment of ponies. FBI assigned to clear towns and cities of any ponies within the East Coast.
A sob was heard and I looked at Fluttershy. She was on the ground, head in her hooves, crying.
"T-They're going t-to get us!" She cried. I knelt down and ran a hand along her mane, trying to calm her down.
"No they're not Fluttershy. It would literally take them months to find any ponies. The East Coast is large and heavily populated." I said trying to calm her down. She looked up at me through her mane, eyes red with tears. Her voice was broken and shaky.
"A-are you s-s-ure...?" She asked. I nodded, giving the warmest smile I could muster. She lifted her head, sniffled a bit, and wiped away her tears with a hoof. Suddenly, the 'Breaking News' tune rang out from the TV. We all looked to the screen and gawked at the new headline.
West Coast Under Siege. Cities from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, CA are under attack by Chrysalis and Changelings.
Total war rained on the screen.
A dark, gloomy feeling befell the room, and I switched off the TV.
"Let's just hope they stay over there. Alright girls, time for bed." I said turning to them.
Tears ran down their eyes. A pang of sadness sliced through my heart as I watched them weep.
"You'll still protect us, right?" Pinkie Pie asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. I put a hand to my heart and nod.
"I swear to you all, that I shall protect you from harm." I said chivalrously.
The Five Year Struggle...
Two Weeks Later...
I failed them...
I couldn't protect them...
They're gone...
You Failed Us.
Terrified screams tear through a black void. Sounds of a struggle, a fist meeting face, a body slumping to the floor in a defeated grunt. The cocking of a handgun.
'BACK OFF!"
"Civilian is acting hostile. Attempting to protect targets. How shall we proceed?"
A radio crackles.
"Eliminate the civilian."
A single shot is heard being fired. Screams are heard in the aftermath of the shot.
"Civilian eliminated. Apprehending targets for extract now.
You. Failed. Us.
The black void now turns red, like blood.
Four Years Later...
I wake up from the nightmare, a scream tearing from my throat. Sweat coats my forehead as my good eye scans the darkness around me. Familiar silhouettes of a dresser, desk, and other items begin to fade in. The neon green lights from the motel sign begin to fade in also, illuminating the room in a green glow. My breathing starts to slow down as my death grip on the sheets releases slowly.
It was that damn dream again.
Well, I shouldn't say dream, more like a lucid memory. For some reason, my mind wouldn't generate the images, just the sounds.
Maybe my mind was sparing me the images, figuring I was already broken enough when the damn SWAT team broke down my door and...
I sub-consciously brushed a hand over the patch of skin that now covered my right eye, a result of the SWAT members' terrible accuracy at point-blank.
I mean, the guy had a SWAT-556. A triple burst rifle, and he still fails to kill me at point-blank with the rifle on single shot.
I wish he had killed me, so I don't have to endure the memory of that day...
Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I stood up and shuffled over to the bathroom. While I went, I grabbed a look at the digital clock on my night stand. The angry red numbers read back:
5:37 AM
Well, early bird gets the worm, right?
After the incident, I had to, more like forced to, relocate to a new place to live. The Army was currently using my old apartment building as Close Quarters Combat training. The troops needed an area with a lot of room and such, and an apartment building was the perfect place. The city was now a military hub. New troops coming in, old troops being re-deployed, intel being exchanged, the works. Checkpoints were put at every entrance to the city, while outposts were put in areas like residential and minor businesses.
It doesn't help that I live two states away from my old place now. I honestly couldn't tell you what was going on back there.
After relieving my self, I shuffled into the living room, then to the kitchen. I opened the fridge for some breakfast, and nothing was there. Literally, nothing. I haven't had enough money to even by two weeks worth of groceries. I didn't mind though. Grabbing some bread from a cabinet, I took out a few slices and decided that was going to be my breakfast. Sitting down at the island bar, I turned on the crappy little TV and it flickered to life, colorless. The news was on, like usual, and giving the list of forsaken regions; like usual. Forsaken regions usually meant that the military couldn't save the state or that the Changeling presence was too much to handle.
On today's list was: Missouri, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Damn.
There goes a good chunk of the Southern Resistance Army. This just goes to prove that we're going to be choked in the next year or so. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. We'll have no choice but to surrender and become part of the Hive.
See, fighting the Changelings has gotten more and more difficult. The more intelligence they have on us, the easier for them to infiltrate and eradicate our forces from the inside out. This made paranoia at an all-time high, and riots were common. No one trusted each other at all. We all lived in fear of being captured and stuck into either a chrysalis pod to be fed on, or made into a Changeling warrior through magic and fight.
A commotion outside my room caught my attention, and I stood up to go and investigate. I looked through the peep-hole to see a pair of ponies picking up some split groceries and muttering apologies to each other.
About half a year ago, there was a massive strike on a Changeling prison by the Americans. One of the few victories we have against them. Intel said that there were a mix of human and pony prisoners, all being mistreated and near the brink of death. Satellite surveillance showed that the prison was huge, with at least five thousand prisoners. The strike took about two days, and when the prisoners were freed, the new President abolished the prior statement set by the old President of no ponies behind human lines.
I was part of that strike.
Yeah, that's right. I said I was part of that strike on the prison. I may have been blind, using the word lightly, in one eye; but that didn't stop me from being drafted after the loss at Houston. Over half a million troops were killed, and the military was getting desperate. So, one day, a pair of recruits came by, door-to-door, asking for recruits. I reluctantly said yes, and was given ten minutes to pack. I didn't have much to pack, so I was done in five, and met the two outside. Unfortunately, I was the only recruit, and the motel was the last stop. I hopped up into the truck and sat in silence for the ride.
At that moment, I made a vow to try and find my six girls and get them behind human lines safely.
Three hours later, I wake up at Camp New Hope in Massachusetts and I'm sent into training.
Four months later, I graduate top of the class in weapons training, despite the one eye, and made a Lieutenant.
Seven missions, one VIP Escort, and one prison raid later, I was given a two week shore leave.
And I wasn't one step closer to finding the girls. At the prison, I found a clump of rainbow colored hair; it was an obvious sign that they were there at one point. Right now, that clump of hair is tied to the ACOG scope of my M27 assault rifle. I get made fun of for having it there, but I ignore the jeers and jokes.
The two ponies outside had finished cleaning the mess, gave soft, sad smiles, and went on their separate ways. I turned away from the door and returned to the island bar and continued eating my meager breakfast.
About twenty minutes later, my phone began to ring. The Make It Special (Season Rebirth Mix)* ringtone played happily as the screen light up with the faces of my girls, all smiling at the camera on Christmas day.
Work was calling me.
This couldn't be good.
I picked up the phone and put in the password. Immediately, I was transferred to a video call. My tired face showed up in a tiny box while the rest of the screen showed up with the face of Commander Richard Bruno, my commander.
"Sir." I said with a grunt.
"Lieutenant. Glad to see you're awake." Bruno said with a serious tone.
"Well, if it wasn't for a nightmare I had, I'd still be asleep right now and missing your call." I said with a small smirk. Bruno's serious face broke and he laughed.
"Alright Tetreault, you got me. Listen, I need you to come down to command. Something big is being planned." Bruno said as he actually got a look at me. "And you might want to clean up. You look awful." He added. "Are the nightmares getting worse?"
"Worse? They're exactly the same. The screams, the gunshots, everything." I said sadly.
"Is it just noise or are there images now?" He asks.
"Just the sounds still. I think my mind is holding back the images to spare me." I said with a sad laugh.
"Well...if it gets worse, I know a guy who can help ya' out. But right now, you need to come down here." Bruno said with a slightly sympathetic tone.
"Alright. I'll be there in thirty. Should I be geared up?" I asked getting up.
"Most likely. If everything is set, we're shipping out right after." Bruno said.
"Alright, I'm out." I said about to hang up.
"Oh wait! I almost forgot." Bruno said as he held up a pair of Captain bars to the camera. "You've been promoted."
"Alright, who was it?" I asked. Usually when something like this occurred, it meant the person in that rank was killed.
"Jones. Right outside of a small town in Arkansas."
Damn, I knew Jones. He was a hardcore Brony and had a deep hatred for the Changelings, even before the war.
"Alright, thanks Bruno. See you soon." And with that, I ended the call.
The Five Year Struggle...
Rocky Mountain Range, three miles from Canterlot.
Captain Harrison T. 115th JSOC Forces
September 25th, 2018
0230 Hours
The UH-1 Iroquois Transport Helicopter flew through the night over the rocky terrain that made up the Rocky Mountains. The left side door opened up and a figure stood in the doorway, the interior behind it glowed a menacing red. The figure put a hand to the edge of the doorway and waited for the helicopter to end its flight.
"Sir, t-minus two minutes until touch down." The pilot called. Harry nodded to the pilot and put on his combat helmet. Securing it with a slight shake, he flipped down the single night optic scope that was attached to his helmet. He grabbed his M21 assault rifle and slotted in a fresh magazine into the rifle, pulling on the firing hammer to make sure it was ready in the event of an encounter. After attaching some miscellaneous items and extra magazines to himself, Harry gave a thumbs up to the pilot. The pilot nodded and banked the helicopter into a descent.
With a light bounce, the chopper landed and Harry jumped out into the night, his rifle raised and scanning the area.The co-pilot slammed the side door shut and the chopper proceeded to take off into the starry skies above. After the whirring of rotors vanished from his hearing, the night became filled with the night calls of insects and night owls. Stepping forward, Harry's boots crunched on loose rocks and gravel. With the flick of a switch, a night vision laser protruded from its emitter into the night. With another flick of another switch, the night vision Hybrid Optics on Harry's M21 flared to life, the reticules showing their custom design of a Zombie Horde on the ACOG sight, and a Splat mark on the Reflex sight.
Reaching a rock edge, Harry looked forward to Canterlot. It sat there on the mountain edge like a monument. A monument to what? Harry had no clue. Jumping down to the ground below, something caught Harry's eye, and he immediately raised his rifle to his shoulder. But the thing that caught Harry's eye was the bundle of rainbow colored hair that was tied to his rifles' long barrel attachment. Giving a sigh of relief, Harry walked forward, only to bump into a Changeling guard. The guard turned, saw Harry and hissed. A quick single shot from his rifle, and the guard dropped, the entry hole in its head smoking. Harry walked over the body, scanning to make sure there weren't others around. The coast was clear, but in the distance, Harry could see more guards as they buzzed around in a perimeter patrol.
"I'm going to have to make a break for it..." Harry said to himself as he slung his rifle behind him and got ready to sprint for the entrance. After kneeling down, Harry began to slow his breathing. His nerves calmed and his breathing became shallow. With a determined glance up to the castle, Harry took off across the dark and rocky terrain. The entrance grew closer, and Harry began to smile. No guards were there to stop him.
"As soon as I get to the guard post, I'm going to-" But his thoughts were interrupted when the ground beneath him gave away and vanished. Sensing the sudden loss of ground, Harry thrusted himself forward for extra momentum, and grabbed the edge of the ground above him. Hanging there, Harry glanced around with his night vision and saw that he was currently hanging on the edge of a large pit, the darkness below him wasn't inviting, and didn't seem to end.
"Damn it, I didn't come all this way just to fall down a hole..." He thought as he began to pull himself up. Unfortunately, the ground he was holding onto was mixed with loose gravel and rocks. Reaching forward for more ground, Harry's hand grabbed a fistful of gravel and whipped back to his side, a sickening pop accompanying it. Harry grunted in pain as he tried to make sure the shoulder hadn't dislocated. Thank fully, it hadn't, it was just a bad tendon pop.
It was then that Harry was aware of the voices nearby. The voices were low and buzzing every now and then.
"Damn it, more guards. They've probably seen the other guards' body..." He thought as he reached for his Five-Seven pistol. If the guards saw him, he'd kill them and pull himself out of the hole. But, the pain in his shoulder had kept him from getting the pistol up and ready to fire.
"Pinched nerve...can't move my arm that much..." Harry muttered to himself. The voices drew closer, and closer. Soon, they were right on him. A head popped over the edge and it sneered at Harry.
"Well, looks like we've found the infiltrator. What shall we do?" The guard ask his friend.
"Report him?" the other responded.
"Too easy. How about this?" The guard said as he hissed, fangs extended, and he bit down on Harry's good hand. Harry cried out in pain as the fangs pierced through the glove, his skin, and to the bones.The pain caused his hand to become paralyzed, and it sprung open, releasing his grip.
"Have a nice fall." The other guard said, and Harry fell into the dark pit below, his cries of pain and terror echoing after him.
* * *
His senses slowly began to come back. His vision was cloudy and his ears rang. His nerves began to pick up pain all over his body. The most pain came from a giant gash on the side of his head, the left half of his face soaked in crimson fluid. He tried to move his arm, but only pain responded. He looked to see that his right arm was at an odd angle, a compound fracture in his forearm stuck out at odd angles as blood dripped from the broken radius and ulna bones. Only his fingers were slightly twitching, showing that the nerves hadn't been completely shot.
Using his good hand, Harry slowly pushed himself up from the grimy ground he had been laying on. His night vision scope laid in shattered pieces a couple of feet to his left. A couple of quick blinks cleared his vision and he looked up. Sunlight was coming from the hole that was now above him. The hole was the size of a pinprick now. His broken arm hanged limply at his side as Harry stood up fully. Suddenly, a foul stench bitch smacked his sense of smell and Harry gagged. It smelled like a combination of three week old trash and shit stained underwear. His eyes watered as Harry pinched his nose to keep the smell out. Looking over, he saw his M21 laying alone a couple of feet away. Making his way over to it, Harry knelt down to grab the rifle, when something caught his eye.
Metal bars sat before him, rusted and grimy with age. Obviously a prison cell. But there was something inside the cell that Harry could barely see. Reaching for his flashlight, Harry shinned the light inside the cell. What he saw made his heart break and fall to pieces. Inside the cell were three emaciated fillies. He didn't need to look further to see that the corpses were little Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle; the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Tears came to his eyes as he looked at them. Their frail and thin bodies were huddled together in a three-way hug. Only now had Harry realized how cold it was down here. They must've been trying to keep warm with what warmth they had left. Tears rolled down his cheeks as Harry placed his flashlight on the ground, put his hand to the bars, and said a silent prayer to the deceased fillies. Standing up quickly and grabbing the flashlight, Harry proceeded to walk down the hall that sat before him.
Water dripped from the ceiling. He must have been at least one hundred feet below the castle, in the dungeons. Stopping, Harry pulled out his second Five-Seven and attached the flashlight to it with the small tactile rail on the pistol.
"There, now if I encounter any of these sick monsters, I can put them down with ease." He muttered darkly. Those girls didn't deserve to die down here. And now, no one else will; not when Harry's done with the place. After a while, Harry cam upon a junction. On the hall entrances sat signs.
Human Prisoners
Way back to castle
Specialty Prisoners
He was here for the humans, but there was something about that last sign that seemed to scream 'COME DOWN HERE!'.
"I'll check it out later..." Harry muttered as he went down the hall to the human prisoners. The smell down this hall was worse than the hall the Crusaders were in; this smelled like human death. Picking up his pace, Harry kept the pistol up and ready as he came upon the rows of cells. There were about fifteen total, most of them containing dead and rotting corpses, while the others held live humans. All of them wore tattered and dirty combat uniforms. A tired woman looked up at the sounds of Harry's boots hitting the stone floor and she gasped.
"Rescue! Guys, they're here to get us out of here!" She said hopefully to the others. The other six looked up and smiled through bruises and blood.
"Oh, thank Christ." One said.
"Ooh Rah!" Another called. Harry stopped and frowned, in which the others returned.
"You're all that's here, aren't you?" The woman asked.
"Yes." Harry responded.
"You're even fucked up. Look at his arm and head guys." A young man pointed out. Once the others did, they looked down with hopelessness. The looks on their faces must've been the same on the Crusaders as they sat in the cell, waiting for rescue, or death, with the latter coming for them in the end. Harry's grip on his pistol tightened.
"I'm getting you guys out of here. Captain Harrison Tetreault, one-hundred fifteenth JSOC operative. Now let's get you out of here. When we get back to the RV, I'll call for evac." Harry said as he began to shoot the locks off the door. The prisoners stood up and pushed the doors open, exiting the cells.
"Which way chief?" The woman asked. Harry used his gun to gesture back the way he came.
"Take a left at the intersection. Proceed down the hall until you come upon the entrance above. I have to check something out really quick and then I'll meet you guys back there and call for evac. Got it?" He asked. The woman nodded and saluted him, then hugged him.
"Thank you so much." She whispered. Harry patted her back and nodded.
"You're all very welcome. Now go. I'll meet you there soon." Harry said releasing the woman. She and the others nodded and proceeded to run down the way Harry had told them to go. He followed them and continued straight to 'Specialty Prisoners'.
* * *
The hall that Harry entered looked a bit more clean. The only difference was the fact that the cells were not iron bars, but instead separate rooms. On the steel doors sat more signs, this time each had numbers. They numbered from one to fifteen, and doors one through six were closed and locked while the others sat open. One of the doors, number three, looked like there was cracked stone around the door frame, apparently evidence of a struggle. Harry's heart began to race. Anything could be beyond those doors.
"Even..."
In a single breath, Harry fired six shots in rapid succession at the locks, each of them falling off the doors. Their respective doors slowly swung open, a groaning slowness that ate away at Harry's patience. He kept the Five-Seven raised in the event of an attack. Silence filled the air, and Harry cleared his throat.
"This is Captain Harrison Tetreault of the United States Joint Special Operations Command! I order you to exit the cells with your hands raised above your head, walking out slowly!" His voice rang out. More silence filled the air. Time seemed to stretch seconds into hours.
"I'll say it again! Come out with your hands up and--" But he was cut off when a purple hoof reach out of the door way. That hoof soon turned into a foreleg, which became the front half of a pony with its other foreleg up above her head. A swollen eye was present on the face of the mare as she looked to Harry, tears forming in her good eye.
"H-Harry..." She whispered. Harry's gun dropped to the ground and he rushed forward to embrace Twilight, tears rolling down his face as he ran to her. She reared onto her hind legs, fore legs open, and Harry slid on his knees and grabbed her into a tearful hug.
"I can't b-believe you're he-he-here!" Twilight chocked out as she spoke.
"It's alright T-Twilight, I'm h-here. Where a-are the others?" He asked. As if on cue, the two were embraced by five others, tears and cries of happiness filling the air.
"I can't believe you're all okay!" Harry said as he pulled away and looked at his girls.
"We can't either." They said as one.
Wait a minute.
"You girls okay?" Harry asked.
"We're fine. Come on Harrison, let's go home." They said as one again.
Something wasn't right. They've never called him by his first name before. Harry stood up and began to back away from the six ponies.
"What's wrong Harrison? Aren't you happy to see us? Don't you...love...us...?" Suddenly, the six began to transform. They grew taller, their multi-colored fur coats and manes became black and murky green. Their colorful eyes became a sickening green. Horns erupted from the non-unicorns and grew into long, holed horns. A buzzing filled the air.
"And isn't this just precious?"
* * *
Harry woke and saw green. Just green. It surrounded him, encased him. He turned his head and saw a clear layer of the casing he was in. A pair of green eyes looked back at him, a wicked grin on the owners' face.
It was Chrysalis.
"Welcome to my home, Captain."
The Five Year Struggle...
A heavy rain, that only the Cloudsdale Weather Team can create, poured harshly on a marching funeral procession. The procession is made of both Human and Equestrian alike. Everyone and everypony were either dressed in all black, or their fancy off-duty military uniforms. Silence that only the Grim Reaper can bring hung like an invisible fog over the crowd. A group of six humans marched in the center, all dressed in Army blues with three of them carrying M16A1's on their free shoulders, helping carry an ebony casket that had a battle-worn American flag draped over it. The procession approached the Canterlot Royal Cemetery and passed through the iron gates. Eventually, the procession reached a already dug plot and the procession gathered around the six soldiers who stood on either side looking at each other. An aged Pony, dressed in a Priests' gown, stood with a book beside the tombstone, but he too couldn't speak the final words. With a solemn nod, the Priest signaled the soldiers to lower the casket into the ground. Three of the soldiers were now aiming their M16A1 rifles raised to the gloomy sky, firing off the Twenty-One Gun Salute. When a dull thud of wood and wet earth was heard, two Unicorns used their levitation magic to start burying the casket. After the burial was complete, the funeral procession left the grave site, leaving it to be alone amongst the fellow dead.
And that is how my life came to an end. Surrounded by friends and teammates, who graciously put me to rest after the struggle I had went through during the war. Forever buried in the land of an exotic, yet similar, place. I should probably introduce myself. My name is Harry. I fought in the American-Equestrian War under the US Army, 3rd Mobile Infantry and Tank division. I enlisted in the war after six friends of mine were taken by force from me. After that, I was hellbent on rescuing them, no matter the cost.
Allow me to go back about, oh...I'd say five years.
To the day I had met the six who had suddenly came into my life.
The Five Year Struggle...
Camp New Hope was the center for the military activities in the New England region. Despite the word 'Camp' being put on the sign, the camp was more like a small city. Weapon factories churned out new rifles and other weapons by the minute, helping supply the troops. Textile and armor factories made new BDU's and other uniforms to keep the soldiers clothed, while tank factories spat out Abrams, Bradleys, and other vehicles. And that was all in the East Sector of New Hope. To the west were the research facilities. These were always buzzing with scientists testing and improving new and old technology to help us win the war. The North Sector held the Command Center and Residential Housing. The South Sector had the airfield which was lined with countless FA38's, F-22C Raptors*, and F-35D Lightnings*. Farther down the airfield were five AC-140's*, the successor to the ever deadly AC-130 Gunship. The 140's had weapons on both sides, eliminating the need to fly in a single circle. Now the pilots can fly in a figure-eight, allowing the crews to rain hell from both sides.
I drove up to the Command Center in a Jeep that picked me up from the South Entrance. I exited the Jeep, my M27 was strapped to my back. A Five-Seven with a barrel extension was strapped to my thigh. I wore standard issue body armor with the classic Army Green coloring on the cloth. The Army hasn't used this shade of green since World War Two, but hey, it still looked badass, even in 2017. The guards saluted me as I walked past them at the entrance and I walked right past them, not even acknowledging them. The hall were bright white, looking like an uber-clean hospital. A receptionist at the desk stood immediately, holding a manilla folder. She wore black, block framed glasses and a usual business woman's attire, which hugged her thin and curvy frame. A head of brunette hair completed the look as it hugged the sides of her face. She tilted her head up a bit and cleared her throat.
"Lieutenant." She said pleasantly.
"Captain, now. And hello Jessica." I said as I continued walking. Jessica fell right into step next to me and continued talking.
"Well, congrats on the promotion. I'm afraid I have to fill you in on what's going on." She said opening the folder. I groaned.
"Alright, get it over with." I said grumbling. Jessica cleared her throat again and began.
"At oh-two-hundred hours, the destroyer Camden launched a recon drone while on duty out in the Pacific. Thirty minutes later, the drone took these photos." She pulls a couple photos out and hands them to me.
"What am I looking at?" I ask.
"We don't know sir. We were kind of hoping you could tell us." She said. I stopped and looked at her. "Sir, everyone knows of your Bronyism. We're just surprised that it may come in handy with this mission." She said with a small smile. I looked down at the photos in my hand. The mountains looked like they were the Rocky Mountains. However, there was something on the side of the mountains that definitely wasn't rock. The tall spires, the city-like appearance. An almost perfect match.
"Canterlot." I said simply, handing her the photos. She looked at me, smiling still.
"See, told you." She replied. I grunted and rolled my eye, and started walking again.
"Anyway, the Colonel was planning an infiltration mission into the city."
What? I stopped dead in my tracks.
"What?" I asked. Jessica turned to me and tilted her head.
"An infiltration, sir."
"He does realize that's suicide? First off, it's on their side of the lines, and most likely crawling with Changelings." I said counting off the points on my fingers.
"You can tell him yourself. Right through the door, sir." Jessica said gesturing to the door next to me with a hand. I sighed, keyed the pad next to the door, and entered.
The room was dark, save for the monitors along the walls and light table that was at the center of the room. Standing at said table was Bruno and Colonel Bradley. I walked up to the table and saluted, given a salute in return.
"Captain." Bradley said.
"Colonel, Commander." I said nodding to Bruno. Bruno smiled a bit and nodded back.
"Nice of you to join us, ya' ol' dog." He said. I chuckled a bit and turned to Bradley.
"So, Bruno says there's a plan going on?" I asked.
"Yes Captain. If you'll refer to the table please." Bradley said pulling up the same pictures that Jessica had shown me. Bradley looked to me and gestured. "Do you recognize it?" He asked.
"Any good Brony will immediately say Canterlot." I said smugly. Bruno chuckled while Bradley simply pulled up another picture.
"Seems like it's bad times in the kingdom, then." He said grimly. The city wasn't in its' pristine, white condition. Instead, it looked black, while a green haze surrounded it. "This is live feed from a camera spike the drone from the Camden deployed. Upon further inspection, the city looks defenseless. No guards, no patrols, hell, it doesn't even look inhabited. However, about ten minutes ago, we saw a Changeling convoy enter the city. The convoy had human POWs." Bradley said as the footage played.
"So, another prison break, sir?" I asked. "And how many are going in?" I asked. Bradley pointed a finger to me.
"Just you, Captain."
What.
What.
What!?
"Sir...?" I asked nervously.
"I'm sorry, but you're the best we have. Bruno here has to be deployed to the front at Nashville." Bradley said as he rested a hand on my shoulder. "I know you'll complete the mission." He added.
"But sir, I'm going in alone. What am I looking for exactly?" I asked.
"You're just going to rescue the prisoners. There were only five of them in the convoy, making it a simple snatch and grab. No need to send in hundred of troops with jet reinforcements." He said dropping his hand. Silence fell as I looked at Bruno.
"Sorry bud, I have my orders too. I know you'll be fine. Hell, if you survived a headshot and all those missions, you'll pull this off." He said giving a thumbs up. Sighing heavily, I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Alright, alright. When am I heading out?" I asked looking up.
"In ten minutes." Bradley said.
"Then if that's all, I'll take my leave." I said. Bradly and Bruno nodded, saluting me. I returned the gesture and walked out, the door shutting behind me.
"You think he noticed the fact that the footage was edited?" Bruno asked Bradley.
"I doubt it. They did a good job covering up those six ponies."