Sentinel

When my consciousness returned to me, I could hear the faint beeps of some machinery just nearby. The agitated voices of six people. The sharp, dry click-clack of three M5A2 Folsom carbines being loaded.

I also was running a moderate fever. Oh, joy.

Ah.

Oh, hello, accent.

I.

Goodbye, accent!

Urk. Where amWhat is your name?

...huh?

What is your name?

Um...

“Answer me! What is your name?” The voice finally came into focus, even though I didn't have it in me to even consider forcing my eyes open.

My name...

“My name is Alice Gwendolyn Bradley.”

A couple of tense seconds passed and I could hear the voice again.

“Stand down. She's lucid.”

Lucid? What happenedOh. OH.

OOOOOOH.

Project Abraham. Right.

They chose all manner of guys from across the military – some came here to avoid prison, like that Capelli guy. Others were either curious of what was goin' on in Europe, joined up because someone they knew were doing so, or were trying to pay their debts off – the ten thousand dollars of incentive was nothin' to scoff at.

Luckily, I wasn't any of those. I got the call because of my leadership skills. I was a Staff Sergeant at the time, and was pining for a lieutenant's rank. My superiors said I was a natural and had a promising career ahead of me.

And that's when the letter came, explaining how there was some sort of an influenza over in Europe and I'd been picked by SRPA for their tests.

Me an' my family owned a farm, you see. We weren't rich, but we got by. We were a tight-knit bunch. Nonetheless, ten thousand in green would have helped us immeasurably. So, that's why I accepted the offer from SRPA and was whisked off to some distant, classified location.

I wasn't the only one chosen... Gennaro, Khaner, Danby, Brown, Oster, Capelli, and Hale. We knew each other by surnames. Fraternising was a big no-no, but then again, what wasn't? Curfews, guards everywhere, that sort of stuff...

After numerous and lenghty tests, Capelli went off to the labs on 2nd of November. Couple of days after, he returned, sporting a big ol' scar on his face. Man, he looked way more pissed than he usually did... And his eyes had that weird amber glow, or was that just my imagination?

Channing was picked on the 14th. He didn't return. A couple of the lab guys and guards looked kinda sick, though.

Oster was summoned up on 20th. He didn't return, either.

30th of November. Khaner. Never saw him again.

1st of December. Hale. Returned later on, but was even more quiet than before.

8th of December. Gennaro. Bye-bye, dude. Nice knowing ya.

Danby was supposed to go on the 15th. But he got out for some reason, so I was bumped up on the schedule. Lemme tell ya, that was one helluva surprise.

After the injection of that cure and the virus, however, I wished I'd burned the letter as soon as I received it...

Today is...

Um...

I have no idea, actually.

I forced my eyes open a little and received a headache for my efforts.

“Uuuurgh... Whuh... What time is it?”

“Three in the morning, sergeant. 27th of December.”

Whooa. Hold the phone. I've been out for twelve days? Damn... what did they inject me with? I never really did get to know – they made me promise I'd keep the whole thing secret, and sent me off on my merry way, back to my farm. Got back just in time for New Year's celebration, too... Mom and Dad were real happy to see me.

Life returned to normal for me. Well, for the most part, that is. I sometimes heard odd music in my head. I liked it, but it was always too short.

And then, I was called up, enlisted in the 1st Ranger Regiment. Brass didn't say anything, and that got us all on the edge. I was put in charge of a squad, as was expected. We were loaded on an aircraft carrier, and shipped off to Great Britain, along with a fleet.

On 11th of July, 1951, Operation Deliverance began. Twelve thousand American soldiers would be sent to assist the Brits with something, and they'd be giving us some sort of secret weapon in return. Intel was very sketchy. We were flying in blind, so to speak.

York was going to be our rally point where we would meet our British liasions. Was supposed to be clear for our Hawks to land and set up in. Instead, we flew into a storm of flak. Troops ended up scattered all over the city and when we landed, I understood the purpose of those tests with frightening clarity.

This was the so-called influenza that was ravaging Europe. And ravage it did, with guns and ruthless brutality...

The Chimera.

They set upon our units – we were confused and disorganised, dying in droves. My squad was wiped out. I barely escaped with my life. And so, I wandered aimlessly for weeks until I was picked up by a troop of British resistance fighters. I stuck with them for the time being, helping in their fight for survival. Occasionally, I even heard of Hale – he had also survived York and had become somewhat of a legend among the Brits. I tried and failed several times to contact him. Days turned into weeks as I learned just what sort of stuff our government kept secret from the civilian populace of USA...

And then the all-out assault on the London Tower started, on a oddly cold day of August. I was assigned to lead a new squad. I boarded my transport with a sense of finality. We knew this was it – make or break. Many of us would not survive the coming battle. But we were left without any other choices. So, off we went...

We arrived at London virtually unscathed. Chimeran Goliaths were closing in, so we had to blow the Tower and Southwark bridges to stop them from bombarding us. That done, we advanced towards the big, conical Chimeran tower squatting in the distance.

When we got to it, it was a nightmare. The Chimera kept swarming out of the tower and we were hard-put to stem the flow to allow other teams to get inside and sabotage the reactor. Me and my squad were among the infiltrators. We fought for what seemed like hours when, all of a sudden, the tower went sky high, killing everything inside and in its vicinity... including me, Jack, Will, and Bill.

Somehow, we survived and ended up in a whole new world called Equestria. We met a group of rogue Chimera, and stayed with them. Eventually, we became close friends with both them and the locals. Imagine my surprise when I found out they were a bunch of pastel-coloured ponies. Though we got off to a rocky start with them, we eventually came to an agreement and settled down peacefully.

For most part, that is. There was that time Princess Celestia asked us to lend help to the griffons in taking down a rogue general, for example.

After that particular event, though, we used the chance to live normally. James, Jen and Ted went and got themselves ponified with Twilight's help and went off to pursue their relationships. So did Bill.

In a way, their stories had ended...

But my story...

Well, my story had only just begun.

I'm guessing it all started a couple of days after that party Pinkie Pie threw in celebration of our return from that siege. As I'd agreed with Nurse Redheart, I returned a week later to get my scars checked. I missed having depth perception. So off I went.

I owned a small apartment near the Town Hall – it was about half an hour's hike to the hospital. As I went, I spotted some of my friends – James, who was trotting alongside Rarity, laden with shopping bags. Fred, humming amiably to himself as he headed towards Ponyville Elementary, teaching supplies in a bag that seemed ridiculously tiny in the Titan's huge hand.

Indeed, we had found peace and happiness in Equestria...

I knocked on the door twice and waited. After a moment, I heard a familiar voice.

“Come in!” I opened the door and entered the office of Nurse Redheart. She was sitting at a table, her pink mane in a bun as she looked at me – she seemed quite annoyed with something, her blue eyes having a sour look to them.

“Um... did Ah come at a bad time?”

“No, no, it's not you... Just frustrated at a regular visitor here...” She gestured at a vacant seat and I took it.

“Oh? Do tell.”

“I assume you know our resident mailmare, Derpy Hooves?”

“Oh, her? Yeah, Ah know 'er. Keeps crashin' into stuff, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more cheerful gal 'round here, Pinkie Pie aside.”

“That might be so, but she gets herself injured while she works and all the times I've tried to get her to take my advice of

being more careful, but I would have more success at taking a Manticore down with a toothpick...” The white mare gave a heavy sigh and slumped in her chair, rubbing her face. “Either way, let's get to it. How's the scars? Any irritation or suchlike?”

“Nah, 's been fine so far, ma'am.”

“Hm. In any case, let me check this one last time. Better safe than sorry, no?”

“That makes sense, Ah guess.”

“Very well, then. Let me get my tools.” The earth pony trotted off and returned a moment later, carrying scissors and some other assorted tools.

“D'ya really need all of 'em?”

“I want to make sure there's no bandaging material left in the wound. Don't worry, it won't hurt or take long.”

I grumbled something to the effect of 'Ah've had worse' and she rolled her eyes at that.

“I swear, you're worse than Hooves...”

“Okay, okay, don't get yer panties in a bunch...” I settled down and let the puzzled pony at my face. Same as before, she cut the bandaging away and examined the skin surface thoroughly, plucking errant strands of fabric out with tweezers. Occasionally, I felt a prick and a bit of wetness. Redheart would then grin sheepishly and appologize, dabbing away at the trickle of blood and resuming her task...

“And that's that, Miss Bradley. There's no sign of infection. But the scar's there to stay. Those are... tricky to undo, even with unicorn magic.”

“Nah, 's fine. Ah've-”

“Had worse?” I chuckled at that.

“'xactly, ma'am.” I reached into my pocket, and drew out my wallet. “So, what do Ah owe ya?”

“Oh, don't worry about it, really.”

“Ah insist! 's only fair that Ah pay ya for doin' this.” I plucked about ten or so bits from the wallet, and passed them to the nurse – she sighed resignedly in turn.

“Oh, all right. You have that stubborn look about you.”

“'s what Ah'm good at.”

“So I've noticed.” Redheart deadpanned, then gave a light chuckle. “Well, that's me for today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I only came in because I found Miss Hooves with a nasty bruise on her forehead earlier. Other than that, it's my day off.” I nodded at that, and stood up, gathering up my belongings as Redheart pocketed her rightfully-earned bits.

“Well, Ah guess Ah'll see ya 'round th'town someday, ma'am! Bye!” I waved at the white mare and she smiled, waving back.

“Until next time, Miss Bradley!”

I hummed to myself, a duffel bag slung on my left shoulder as I headed home, having purchased several goods that I was in danger of running out. The weather was excellent, as it used to be most of the time, scheduled rainstorms and suchlike aside. As I went along, I noticed Redheart – her mane was no longer in a bun, and was tied into a simple ponytail.

Ponies with ponytails... Heehee.

She wasn't all too happy, however, and I soon saw the reason – a unicorn stallion was leering at her like she was a piece of meat. The mare's ears were folded back, and she was glaring at him, telling him something that I didn't hear due to the distance. Mr Lecherous didn't seem to like what he heard, however, and jabbed her in the chest sharply. She took a step back, teeth bared.

Welp. Intervention is go. Time to be a hero.

“I've said you more times than I can remember – I'm not interested in you anymore!” Redheart growled at the pale blue stallion, eyeing him balefully. “Times have changed since the medical school!”

“C'mon, Red, that was like only year and a half ago!”

“How dense are you? I told you 'No!'”

“Celestia damn it, I-”

“The lady said she ain't interested in ya, boyo.” A calm, but obviously irate voice said and Redheart turned to look at the new conversation member – Alice Bradley.

God, this son of a bitch... Makes me sick to even think of how he stared at Redheart... I thought to myself as I took in the stallion – not too tall, but well-built and strong-looking.

“And who do you think you are, intruding in others' personal business?” I leaned closer to him, growling out nigh-inaudibly.

“Ah'm the Ranger that's going to kick your ass seven ways to Sunday if you don't fuck off right now...” I think that took the starch out of him quite quickly – his body language seemed to speak quite clearly. Part of me kind of wished he tried to attack me.

Alas, to my great disappointment, he backed away, but muttered out a last line.

“This isn't over, you freak.”

“Sure it is. Now run off and go bother someone else.” He disappeared from my sight and I turned to look at Redheart.

“Y'alright, ma'am?” The pony in question blinked and heaved another great sigh.

“Not really, no... but thanks for asking... And for getting him to leave, too.”

“'s nothin'.” I shrugged slowly. “Who was he, anyways?”

“Somepony I thought I had left in the past. He was a fellow student at the Canterlot Medical University. He always kept hitting on other mares studying there, me included. Suffice to say, I was still single at the time, young and foolish. Decided to see how's having a coltfriend was like. Biggest mistake of my life...” She sighed again and readjusted her saddlebags. “He kept being too demanding and whenever I wanted to have some time alone so I could study, he got angry about it. So I left him...” She sighed again. “I graduated. He didn't.”

“Oh... An' he thinks he can fix this up somehow?”

“I think so, yeah... But I can tell he hasn't changed in the slightest.”

“Well he did seem like a bad sort, true enough.” I frowned slightly at the dour mare. “So, any reason in particular you're spillin' yer guts t'me?”

“I'm sorry, what?” She looked at me, utterly confused.

“It's a human saying for revealin' secrets an' suchlike.”

“Ah. Well... you seem like a nice po-er, person. I've seen you around town often. One can learn a lot by watching from the sidelines. And, if the Princesses themselves trust you and your friends, who am I to question their judgement?”

“Well, okay, then, ma'am.” She smiled wanly and nodded, turning to leave, before turning back for a moment.

“Oh, correct me on this if I'm wrong, but are you looking for a job right now?”

“Um, yeah. Ah'm lookin' for a permanent place to work at. So far, only jobs Ah've had're temporary or one-time things.”

“Hmm. We do have a couple of open posts at the hospital – they aren't anything overly flashy, but the pay's good. I could drop by your house later with the list if that would help.” I smiled at that.

“Neat! I live at Twenty-One Cherrylane. Know where that is, ma'am?”

“Yeah! It's about two blocks away from where I live. So, I'll be there in about two hours, if that suits you.”

“Sure thing, ma'am.” And with that, we were off, chatting about various topics until we went our separate ways – I headed towards my apartment, and she, hers.

Redheart hummed thoughtfully to herself as she closed the door behind herself and set her purchases down on the kitchen table. There was something... slightly off about Alice. As they'd walked along, she'd noticed the woman had gone noticeably paler. She didn't point it out because of politeness, but now, it seemed like something to be concerned about. What if some sort of mess arose from...

Dang it.

I forgot to clean my office up, didn't I?

She had, indeed.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, the white pony picked her keys up again and left her home, heading back towards the hospital...

I giddily stumbled inside my house, and locked the door behind me. I nearly had to crawl to my bedroom to get to my secret locker – I'd built it under the floor boards. Feverishly, I pulled the planks aside, and opened the locker. I pulled out one of the vials filled with the orange liquid, and inserted it in the receptacle of the stainless steel injector that also rested in the locker. Making sure it wouldn't leak, I took a few deep breaths and pressed the needle against my neck, using the mirror on the wall to ensure it would go into my jugular. The prick of the needle went nearly unnoticed among the rising fever I was experiencing. I depressed the trigger slowly, carefully emptying the vial into my bloodstream. Once it was empty, I carefully pulled it out and eyed the mirror, seeing the small hole in my neck slowly seal shut. After a couple of moments, my fever started to recede and I sighed relievedly.

That was a tad too close, Alice. You need to be more careful.

I removed the empty vial, and eyed the locker – seven vials left, along with two I-Packs, both of which were still unused, and I sighed through my nose.

I would need more inhibitor doses. Soon.

But here's the catch. There's no SRPA here.

So, in a sense, I was royally fucked.

Redheart groused to herself quietly, cleaning up her office – she had maintained a spotless record up until now. She paused for a moment, eyeing the slightly bloody bandages on the table, and was reminded of Alice's odd behavior earlier...

She turned the microscope's light on, and placed the piece of bandaging under the lenses. After several long minutes of examining, and a couple of recalibrations, she came to a conclusion – there was some sort of a foreign presence in the human's blood. There were some similarities with pony blood, but Alice's blood had this big, glaring difference to it – the blood had even dried up in a flash, if the examinations were anything to go by – you didn't have to be a top class surgeon to see the oddities.

Turning the microscope off, she hummed thoughtfully to herself.

“What are you hiding, Alice Bradley...?”