Doppler's Log

This story contains depictions and descriptions of the following: Politically incorrect morals, strong language, hinted-at sex, intense violence, gore... and ponies

-You, the reader, have been warned thoroughly-

-June 7, 2021

-Langley, Virginia (Central Intelligence Agency)

-10:05 AM

Mission Briefing

About one week ago, a collective intelligence group referred to as 'Golf Squad' went to explore the Chernobyl National Power Plant after combined US and RU forces had retaken the territory. They had discovered access to another world through a portal that resided in one of the warehouses. It was one that was closer to the fourth reactor, so they had to take shots when they were out of harm's way. The fire team of four searched the new place for a brief few hours before returning.

We were informed of a world that wasn't quite so different from ours. The inhabitants were... odd to our standards, but nonetheless interesting, and they speak English for...whatever reason. But this is where you come in, we want your group to further investigate the place.

You will be allowed 15 days to gather any additional information on the planet, the inhabitants, and their ways of life. You will do this with precision and stealth, primarily stealth. We cannot have you startling the locals and having them fear us, so make all necessary attempts not to be seen. With this being the case, there is still always the off chance that you are compromised. If this is to occur, you are not to harm them. We can't assure you that they will return the favor, but it is important that we do not disturb their environment.

Your armor has the ability of active camouflage and I trust that all of you have spent the last couple of weeks learning to use it effectively. It should be enough to let you slip through any townships undetected. If you cause trouble, you deal with it. Deal with it logically as well.

Keep in mind that once you enter to the world, you cannot use your radios to contact us. You can communicate amongst yourselves while you are inside though. If you need to report in and tell us something, which you will be doing every 12 hours, simply exit through the portal and the radio waves should be good to go.

Captain Alex Smith, you will be commandeering this unit of 6 when exploring. I trust that you are trained in this area and can handle leading teams. You have a promising reputation and we hope to see it put in play effectively.

The KGB has helped with the funding for this expedition with the exception that they have one of their own members tag along. I introduce you to Vasily Yetgarev. He will provide extra ammunition if for any reason you need it, and don't worry, he speaks English decently. He is under your command and will take orders, regardless of his priorities.

Being more specific on your mission, Golf Squad was not able to find any personnel of interest. This will pretty much cover your objectives. Listen around and use promoted tactics to acquire information. Again, if you are caught, just come clean and explain why you're there. There's no reason to startle the public and have them attacking you.

Oh, it didn't occur to me until now... This is a society with their own ways of doing things, their own methods of coping, and their own beliefs... You are not to incorporate any personal beliefs on them just as much as you are not going to hurt them. The weapons provided were given to you to be used only when absolutely necessary. Alright?

You will get to the Ukraine by air and you should expect to arrive in a few hours. Get prepped, you're leaving now...

Good luck in there, Onyx team.

"For evil men to win; good men have to do nothing. Well I think the opposite is true: for good men to win; evil men have to do nothing. Think about it..."

-TJ Kirk, TheAmazingAtheist (Neckbeard Uprising)

-June 7, 2021 (Day One)

-Pripyat, Ukraine

-Get to the Chernobyl NPP and locate the portal

-12:47 PM

Onyx was flown directly to the checkpoint of the exclusion zone to get proper militant access into the region. Only a week prior to this event had the Russians been fighting for control over the area. Successfully, and with the help of some soldiers of the United States, they had driven roughly one thousand Stalkers out of the Zone. Some teams of scientists roamed about to gather information on radiation spikes and possibly to find some of those precious artifacts as well.

The team observed said scientists searching while getting an escorted ride to the city through humvees. The Russians were many things to the United States during their joint operation in this area, but courteous was fortunately the primary one. There would always be some uneasiness between them since the Cold War, but pursuit of the unknown was enough to make them set that aside for now.

The Captain requested that the team continue on foot when getting to town square. Pripyat was a ghost town that had been uninhabited since 1986 due to a nuclear disaster the city's locale power plant. Radiation levels remain high even to this day. With all who lived there now gone buildings and homes were practically corroded. Moss and broken appliances filled all buildings and homes. All grass and fauna had withered away from constant exposure to the radioactivity.

But the city wasn't what the six soldiers were in the Ukraine for. Only about three-thousand meters from Pripyat rested the Chernobyl Power Plant and all its nuclear infamy. So far, they had spent about twenty minutes walking to make it to their goal. The combat medic, Bradley McCoy, tried striking a conversation. He would be referred to as Mercury for the duration of the operation. They walked in a relaxed pace while the operative spoke, "I'm just saying, this doesn't seem like the best use a’ our abilities. Feels like a waste of all this high-end gear don't ya think?"

The leader of the group, now known as Bellhop, only replied with the voice of reason, "If they want us to do something, we do it. Quit complaining, this is important."

The Russian of the four that walked seemed far more focused on the mission, "Power plant's in 80 meters, sir," the mission required codenames, so he chose Spade.

"Good," replied Bellhop, "Clover, how’s it look from you position?"

Roughly 50 meters from the group of four, rested the combatants that would be called Clover and Ingot for the rest of the mission. The two were told to sit back that far so that they could warn the team of any possible threats. Though none would ever come; everything was dead here. Ingot replied, "We can see the power plant from here; heading to your AO."

"I wasn’t aware that you two swapped names," grunted Bellhop, "Get here quickly."

"We're on it Cap'," Clover said.

As the group made progress, a few dead bodies really backed up their thoughts on how the militants from one week ago handled Stalkers. The corpses undoubtedly belonged to those thieves who were too stubborn to leave the Zone peacefully. The only noises in the area were sounds of dead grass rustling under the boots of Onyx and occasional spikes of radiation on the meters. The lifeless terrain seemed to deem the soldiers as unwelcome, but that wouldn't stop them...

It wasn't long before they had entered the proximity of Chernobyl. The further into the Plant they went; the larger the buildings became through perspective. That towering yellow crane marked the object that was closest to their destination. It worked for Onyx like the Northern Star, Polaris, would work for a lost traveler in the desert.

Hazel, the only other female operative in Onyx spoke up, "It's that green one, right? The... huh, portal should be in there." She spoke with a bit of skepticism, for the whole dimensional traveling thing sounded obscure. If it were true, then hot damn, was Hazel honored to be a part of it. She didn't see much reason not to believe her commanders, but the whole thing felt very sci-fi to her...

"Yeah, that's it." Bellhop felt it was necessary to do final preparations before entering, "Alright, check your supplies, weapons, make sure everything's loaded and on safety. Now check reflector."

Onyx wore armor that presented a pitch black color. Pouches were there for magazine storage. Precise stitching ran up the sleeves. Wrinkleless fine cloth pants with sidearm holsters met up with utility belts around the waist, burnt black combat boots with straps for laces, and medium sized backpacks firmly packed with any additional supplies rested over the hydration pouches behind the soldiers.

The helmets were made of Kevlar and stitched over with a seamless black cloth. They wore masks that only covered their mouths and wrapped around the neck and back of the head. Just above the mask rested ballistic goggles that had a dark tint to them. Normally, it would be a disadvantage in any daylight situation because anyone could spot them in a heartbeat, but the solid color helped with the clothing's far more interesting ability.

As a quick test; all Onyx members started up the desired feature. In seconds, all you would be able to see was the power plant in front of them and the small patches of dead grass that surrounded the warehouse. With a subtle sound of static, they disabled the ability. It was now confirmed that the armor was working properly and they could enter to start their explorations with the help of active camouflage.

Bellhop reassured his team, "Okay, we're going. Note your surroundings and use your weapon where applicable. We stick together unless it's required to do otherwise, understood?"

The whole group replied, "Got it."

Onyx kept their primary weapons aimed and slowly maneuvered into the warehouse. Little flashlights were set on a type of attachment rail attached to their helmets. The lights ended up being necessary, for the inside was too dark to see. It drove Clover to slight discomfort as they walked over the dusty floor. The whole area preceding this place was just as unsettling and quiet, so the addition of darkness making her worry was justified.

Ingot thought his light was glowing less brightly over the walls and stopped working to illuminate the area ahead of him. The others appeared to have this problem too as he looked to them for an explanation before getting the idea to announce the issue. However, Bellhop just turned his off, which made Ingot cock his head and copy the action. The rest of the team quickly discovered that they didn't need the flashlights anymore due to the well-lit opening ahead, so they clicked them off as well.

The leader of Onyx entered a sort of tactical phase as he pointed the weapon and forced out precise leg movements to lower the volume of his actions. The minors parroted his example for a second before he boarded up with the wall, making them stop. Their black weapons pointed to the open doorway while they obediently waited on the okay to move in. Hazel felt her arms straining to hold up her assault rifle as they wobbled slightly, but Bellhop spoke up, "Mercury, go."

"Yeh," he mumbled while quickly turning the corner past his commander. Bellhop pushed a closed hand through the air in front of him to tell the rest of the team to go ahead as well. One by one, they crept past Bellhop to meet Mercury and kneel next to him to piece a hexagonal formation where the operatives aimed in every direction. He turned the corner finally after Clover past him up to find that none of them actually started the hex form like he intended. They all stared at the emitter of light with their weapons sagging down.

"Whoa, um... I wasn't the only one that thought they were kidding about this, right?" Hazel asked while examining her allies. They either didn't hear her or were to preoccupied with staring at the impossible object in front of them, likely the latter. Bellhop shot her a scowl for expressing mistrust, though playful, in their commanders. She shrugged at the gesture and pulled up a piece of paper. Unfolding it revealed a map drawn out by one of the Golf squad's members a week ago; something that should have also diminished her skeptical thoughts beforehand.

"Hmm... Okay, Golf looked in this foresty area over here yesterday. We're going to be heading to the east of that mess to check out this place which is directly north when we get through. They marked it as a village or society of some sort, but they didn't explore it because they didn't have the means to do so like we do now... Y' know, active camo and stuff. So?" she concluded, wondering how her Captain wanted to go about doing this task.

Bellhop silently looked at his small group, they blankly stared back. He stated clearly, "North is where we go then. C'mon."

Spade was particularly uneasy while observing as Bellhop past him. The Captain waved a hand forward in the direction of the portal to make them follow closely. He vanished into the bright sphere while they walked and scraped against dirt clumps on the floor. Clover stopped in her tracks to re-evaluate the safety of going through with this. Ingot noticed her distress and patted her shoulder from behind. She jolted and concealed a gasp as she turned to see the firm nod of a friend. It brought her some comfort and got her moving towards the objective again.

The others had already gotten through and were probably waiting on the two. Thinking about the adventure they would endure in the new world, Ingot and Clover entered to regroup on their squad mates.

Bellhop achieved the rank of Captain during his service in Syria. He was looked at as efficient in his work and seemed to be a clear pick for a task of higher leadership. Such skills would be required for what was to come...

-Unknown

-Investigate new world

-1:03 PM

A vast land of forestry and plains was the first thing the combatants were greeted with. It was amazing, a solid green color made up much of the terrain that soared on for miles. Hills ran though the land, making random incline spikes all over and eventually met up with large brown mountains with the peaks covered in white snow. In comparison to Pripyat, the place was flawless. However, there were no signs of the inhabitants. That was a good thing though, for the money put into their equipment would have been pointless if the creatures were there to see them right away.

The team of six rested, and performed self-examinations to see if anything was affected. They were concerned that they might have been burned due to the nature of the area that the portal was in. But, everything checked out alright, so they took a knee and formed a small hexagon to watch in every direction. There was still the matter of where they actually were for the past half hour.

Bellhop spoke up, "Alright, step one is done. Take an anti-rads shot to get that stuff out of your system,"

"Anti-what?" Ingot asked.

"The zone is prone to give you radiation poisoning if you do not take the drugs to combat it, friend," Spade said while he already had the orange syringe in his arm. He grimaced subtly while pressing the medication down into his limb.

"So what's in it?" Mercury eyed the capped needle, rotating his hand to look around it and check the amount of liquid inside.

"Dunno," Bellhop sighed as he shivered when pushing the drug into his body, "'Long as it keeps you from dying..."

Mercury rolled his eyes then flicked his thumb up to pop the cap off and expose the clean needle. He injected the radiation stopping drug in his upper arm while those who hadn't also complied. Now they wouldn't die from cancer later in life hopefully. After putting the spent syringes into their backpacks, where they wouldn't cut someone who accidentally stepped on one, Bellhop stood up and had Hazel check a compass. She pointed off in the distance which directed everyone's eyes to more hills and a blue sky.

"Okay, time to move. Clover, Ingot, you'll watch over us when we get within a hundred meters of the city. You'll be weaving us through and telling us if anything is looking at what they shouldn't be," Bellhop explained.

Hazel spoke up with her face hidden behind parchment, "Oh, Really quickly: it doesn't seem like they place is more than nine-hundred m's from here, 'cause this thing says the forest was about thirteen-hundred away from where we stand now."

"'Place won't explore itself; let's go," Ingot said while looking ahead using the scope on his battle rifle.

"Yeah, let's just go slowly for the first few hundred meters."

They took care with moving forward, for they didn't want to risk piling up any attention before even getting to the town. It did exaggerate the distance a bit which caused a few minor complaints in the group. "Let's just go slowly for the first hundred meters," said Mercury while sarcastically mimicking his Captain's words from before. "This'll take forever," he continued in a pestered voice.

"If you want to kill our chances with this before it even starts, then by all means go ahead. If not, then keep a steady pace and stay cool," replied Bellhop.

Mercury merely sighed and kept up with the slow pace of the group. They all had their camo working while moving up. Crouch walking was a necessary maneuver when using the device, for the mirroring technology had to keep up with its surroundings. On the bright side, the destination wasn't much further away.

Onyx member Hazel does not like to discuss what went on during her tours in Syria. Her brother, Andrew Giles, was designated MIA shortly after Hazel was promoted to Command Sergeant Major for her successful operations...

-Find Society of Interest

-1:38 PM

So far, at least for Mercury, the journey had been a tedious one. Not one creature other than his team mates had come in his field of vision when clearing over four-hundred meters of grassy earth. He decided that he enjoyed going up the hills more than down them, for Onyx would crawl up them instead of scooting along the ground. It was something, anything other than crouch walking, that he enjoyed, for the other thing strained his legs to a point of agony.

Currently, the team was doing the awesome part: crawling up a hill.

The grass rustled against his stomach and arms as he pushed each arm ahead of he other when scooting up. Mercury savored the little time that the action lasted because as soon as it ended, they were going to do the tuckered awkwardness that was crouching and walking at the same time. He felt the incline leveling out below him and brought out disappointment. This time, Mercury was ready to just groan really loudly and suggest crawling to the town, but saw his superior ahead of him mutter, "Stop."

Bellhop went back down as the others made it to his altitude to observe. There was the city in sight from the top of this hill where the group lay prone. Before the objective in the distance rested a lake at the bottom of the inclined terrain. The pure water was as blue as the sky, but must have been shallow, for ducks were abundant and swimming about on its surface. But, there was something outside of the water too. All of the animals in the lake, maybe five or six, were crowding near it, for it was tossing bread slices into the water.

*Something's there,* Bellhop said while squinting, of course, the expression was hidden behind his visor.

*Dormant, unarmed...* Ingot said to disengage the group's suspicions. His face backed away from the magnified optic atop his Mark 17.

*Clover, Ingot, you perch up here. Onyx, on me; we're getting a closer look,* Bellhop commanded calmly.

The four members slowly descended the hill to further investigate. It must have been one of the inhabitants, based on the descriptions and pictures provided by Golf Squad. But, the photos that Golf took depicted black colored creatures with paper thin wings and hole-punched limbs. This one was different... Mercury was, of course, the first to question the odd appearance. He still did it quietly, "The hell? What's with the Technicolor?"

"She looks adorable," Clover cooed.

"How do you know its a girl?" Hazel asked.

"How would you know if gender is even a factor in this place? Maybe all of 'em are herms," Mercury suggested. "At least stupid things like feminism would've never come around then," he continued with a grumble.

Clover shook her head as if to reassess what she just heard, "Wha-?"

"We are not doing this shit right now. Not now. Stay focused, all of you," Bellhop groaned.

The harshness was clearly directed at Mercury for being the one to bring it up, but Clover took the blunt statement a bit more to heart. She couldn't think much more of it before Spade spoke up, "Don't startle the thing, just observe. That's why we're here". This definitely wasn't the time for banter, so used the scope on her SRS to look back at the cute pony.

Bellhop began his observations using radio to give the group a better idea of how they were going to take note of the species they found. *It appears to be of equine decent. Yellow coat and pink hair. Looks to be fond of animals. Are those... wings? On her side.*

*She has tattoos on her ass for some reason,* Hazel raised a brow.

Ingot chimed in as well, *Looks like three butterflies on each side. I don't get what it means... Well that about wraps this-*

The yellow colored pony's ears stiffened up as if she heard something like a cry for help, her head shot up as well while she looked around anxiously. *Get down... carefully,* Bellhop whispered into the mic. The group complied as they went prone subtly with the cloak still running.

The pink haired horse walked in their direction until a voice came out from afar, "Hey, Fluttershy!" shouted a cyan colored pony that was... flying. It had all colors of the rainbow striped into its hair. But, it was distracting enough for the curious animal loving pony to redirect her attention, so that was a plus. An expression of glee brushed over the yellow pony as she responded to a potential friend, "Hello Rainbow Dash; How are you this morning?" she softly asked.

"Yeah hey, uh... Twilight wanted me to come and get you. We need to meet her at the library," the flying equine, now deemed Rainbow Dash, explained.

"Oh, okay," she looked back at the animals which were quacking audibly. She tossed in her last piece of bread for them and turned back to Rainbow Dash, "Well, we should get going." Fluttershy stretched her wings and took off with Rainbow Dash. They flew north. Onyx on stand-by now disabled the active camouflage and quickly regrouped to check for any additional contact in the region. There was none present.

Now relieved, Bellhop sounded off new objectives, "Alright, they're headed north, probably to the same place we're going to."

Spade is the only Russian operative in Onyx team. Over the years, he had put his interpretation skills to valuable use and can speak fluently in English. He is also able to understand German, and French, but typically isn't required to put it to use...

-1:53 PM

It didn't take much longer for the group to enter the immediate vicinity of the town. Hills, unfortunately for Mercury, became less apparent. On the bright side; his legs had become used to the soreness, so the trip felt less frustrating this time around.  From the team's point of view, They could only make out bundles of homes, and their greatly diverse structures which differed based on the area of the town they resided in. The whole place gave the color wheel a run for its money if viewed from a distance, but the looks weren't what Onyx was after.

"Whad'ya think we should do first?" Hazel asked.

Mercury grumbled in a mocking tone, "We're just here t' investigate nuthin' more..."

It earned a giggle from Clover while Bellhop shook his head, "Clover and Ingot, find a vantage point. Notify us if we're dragging on attention. You three are coming in with me."

"Easy," said Clover to reassure him.

Remaining Onyx members slowly moved towards the city. Oddly enough, the houses were basic at best. Some were made of stone while others had wood frames and roofs made of... hay. Village fit as a better description if it weren't for the considerable size of the place. Colorful equine roamed all over the streets. Some were shopping at an open market. Some were running around, obviously occupied with errands. Others were just talking with friends.

Bellhop, Mercury, Hazel, and Spade waited beside a house for a chance to pass through the ponies that moved by. After about 30 seconds of waiting diligently on the cute things, there was a gap in traffic, so the four moved along and avoided becoming compromised too early. They awkwardly huddled against a tree to steer clear of wandering equine while they spoke.

*Alright, break off into two sub-groups...  Mercury, you're pairing with Spade.*

*Ah, gonna get some alone time with the misses, eh?*

*Shut up, Bradley. He just knows I'm better than you,* Hazel boasted with a chuckle.

*Uh, no. I'm hoping you can use your guiding skills to make a mental map of the city while we float around looking for the library. I'm guessing that blue one from before will be there, along with her friend. Maybe they've got something worth looking into. Spade, you and Britain 'll bum around near town square or somewhere a lot of people are gathering up so you can just listen in on them.*

*Got it,* said Spade.

Bellhop, Ingot, and Hazel swapped to channel two as a sub group to avoid confusion if multiple people spoke. Clover, Mercury, and Spade stayed on channel one.

*Mercury, you will lead...* said Spade.

*Gotcha, we'll head more north to get to the middle.*

Onyx skillfully maneuvered through the village under the surveillance of Clover and Ingot. Ingot used binoculars while Clover saw it fit to use the magnified scope of her SR Scout, so long as the rifle was on safety. They silently observed their teammates weave through the town while paired side to side like a precision marksman and spotter should be.

Roughly ten minutes in, Bellhop and Hazel were having some trouble with finding the library... They were lost. Asking for directions by exposing themselves would give them a better chance at finding it now. That was, of course, your only option if you lacked a device that shrouded your every movement. Bellhop swapped channels for a moment. *Spade, Mercury, we can't find the library,* he sighed, *any luck on your end?*

*Plenty. Nothing important though... And nothing about a library. I can ghost one for you guys,* said Mercury with determined grin concealed by his facial apparel.

*Bradley, there's a loner strolling by you, try him,* Clover suggested.

He complied and slightly moved up his crouch walking pace to stay parallel with the pony. It was light blue with white and dark blue hair. He brought down his mask while matching the equine's speed. He was able to talk clearly without the mask covering his mouth. He spoke calmly, "Hey friend, do you know where I could find a library in this place?"

"Sure!" the pony exclaimed and revealed to be female, "It's closer to the center of Ponyville, which is the place we're in right now, but you already knew that. Anyways, the library is made out of a pretty big tree, you can't miss it. Usually there's only one pony there, her name's Twilight."

"Thanks mate," responded Mercury as he vanished.

The pony was about to turn around and say "don't mention it", and possibly question him on his accent, but the person she talked to was no longer present. Not like he was really there to begin with. The small horse looked around puzzled and spoke her mind out loud.

"Oh... Alright then?"

Mercury regrouped with Spade, who had witnessed the entire event. He smirked as he spoke, *Molodtsom, well done. What'd you figure out?*

*Library's in the center. Clover, check for a tree house and get it back to Bellhop,* said Mercury.

*Mhmm,* she hummed as she searched for the house and swapped channels. It took all of three seconds to spot it. It was pretty easy from her point of view, but she could see why Bellhop and Hazel had trouble. Houses were randomly scattered about in this Ponyville and routes through alleys were bound to get you lost.

*Captain, the library is forty meters to your Northeast.*

*Copy. Ingot, break from Clover to find a new vantage point. Try to spy inside. All Onyx not spotting, regroup on me,* Bellhop commanded. He repeated it through the secondary channel on the radio and also told them to swap back to channel one.

The group gradually formed back together while both marksmen watched over them from two positions now. When ready to move, they crouch walked through alley ways to ensure the avoidance of unnecessary contact with the population of Ponyville. The abundance of homes made it incredibly easy to stick to shadows.

Soon enough, they made it to what appeared to be their destination. Doors, windows, even a balcony. Standard living arrangements. Bellhop scolded himself when spotting the sign with an open book in front of the house. He disregarded his ignorance when using the radio again, "Ingot, how are we doing?"

*No alarms yet. Uh... Looks like three static in there, unarmed. Like you figured; the blue one from before is there too,* said Ingot as he watched through one of the house's windows.

Bellhop subtly commanded the group to stack up against the tree to listen in. Abrupt shouts of panic came from someone inside, "S-she's busy!?" exclaimed one.

"Uh... yeah. She said she needed to feed her animals or something. C'mon you know how Fluttershy is. She has to-"

"This isn't something that can wait, Rainbow!"

"Calm down, Twili-"

"I'm completely calm!"

"Ugh...Do you want me to get them then?"

"Yes! It's urgent that we address this to Celestia as. Soon. As. Possible!"

"Alright... let's go, Pinkie."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

*They're coming out, step back,* warned Clover.

The door opened, causing Onyx members to move away slowly while the camouflage did its job. Rainbow Dash and, the newer one, Pinkie trailed off; probably to find their other friends. The banshee on the inside seemed to mean business. Bellhop remained confused as to what happened to Fluttershy though...

Bellhop silently spoke through the radio after the group was at a safe distance from the library. Spade was looking down; he seemed to be thinking hard about something, the captain didn't want to question him on it though, *Alright. Spade, Mercury, follow them. Hazel, let's just listen in on Twilight. We good?* he asked all of Onyx.

Combinations of "Yeah" and "Yes" were tossed through the radio, confirming that Bellhop had their support so far.