Universal Soldierby Battle DamageChaptersPrologueFirst ContactCelestial DifferencesProloguePrologue Unknown Location/ June 12, 2006 "Negative contact, continuing patrol," said a neutral, almost robotic, toned voice with a slight Texan accent. The owner of the voice was a tall human, about 6 feet and 6 inches tall, with tanned skin, short, light brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore MARPAT forest camouflage pants with bulletproof plates interwoven into it, and a forest MARPAT blouse, which he wore under a ballistic vest. Over his left eye, he had a set of advanced optics and advanced CPU which provided him, and the base, information. In his right hand was a M-4A1 Carbine with an underslung M302 Grenade launcher and a .45 Desert Eagle was holstered at his hip. "Copy that GR-3-5," came the response over the radio. GR-3-5 was a Generation One Universal Soldier, or a UniSol for short. The UniSol program had started in the 1960's and purpose was to create the perfect soldier. GR-3-5 didn't know much more than that, not with the routine mind whipes, but that didn't matter to him. All he wanted to do was get his job done and do it right. Seeing movement to his right, GR-3-5 turned and scanned the dark, twisted, trees to his right. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there was nothing there. "Possible contact, threat level... unknown. Awaiting orders," GR-3-5 said into his radio, scanning the area. "Investigate. But do not attack unless you are fired upon or otherwise put in danger," came the response. "Understood," GR-3-5 replied. Walking forward, he scanned for the target, looking for anything. He was at the edge of the forest when the creature showed itself. It wasn't human, that much was obvious. It had the head and body of a lion, with bat like wings, and a scorpion’s tale. It stood there and stared while he stared back, keeping his weapon aimed at this new creature. "New contact. Unknown species. Threat level... moderate." GR-3-5 said. But then, without warning, the scorpion tail shot forward with blinding speed. A normal human would have been impaled, but GR-3-5 wasn't a normal human... in fact some even said he wasn't human. He threw himself back and fired the M-4A1 with one hand. The tail hit him in the left shoulder and was followed up by the creature backhanding him. The creature was much stronger than it looked because he was sent flying for a few dozen yards. GR-3-5 landed on a red and white plaid blanket with food, plates, and drinks scattered on it. Sitting up, GR-3-5 looked around. Surrounding him were six equines; two to his left, two to his right, one by his feet, and one above his head. Of the two to his left, the first one had cyan blue colored coat, a pair of wings, a rainbow colored mane, and rose colored eyes. The next one had a white coat, with a purple mane, blue eyes, and had a horn above its forehead. To his right was another with an orange coat, green eyes, and blond hair. The one standing next to the orange one was another with a pink coat, pink hair, and bright blue eyes. Laying at his feet was the unconscious form of another equine with a buttercup yellow coat, with long pink hair, had blue eyes, and a pair of wings. Standing behind him was yet another with a lavender colored coat, purple hair that had pink strip running through it, purple colored eyes, and had both a horn just above its forehead and a pair of wings. "Six new contacts," GR-3-5 said as he stood up. "Species... Equine... subspecies... pony... three tertiary subspecies commonly referred to as... Pegasus, and... Unicorn, and… Alicorn. Threat level: Minimal. Lost contact with previous hostile... awaiting further orders." There was no response other than a burst of static, so GR-3-5 took off the headset and ran a diagnostic on it. The radio was working. The microphone was working. The optics were working. The only problem was the speaker in the headset itself. Putting the headset back on, he took several steps past the group of equines, turned around, and then trained his M-4A1 on them but otherwise took no other action. The equines stared at him first in fear and then with curiosity. It was the one with the rainbow colored hair that approached him first. "So what are you, some kind of hairless Diamond Dog or something? Or are you a spy?" the rainbow maned pegasus said as she flew up to him, but otherwise she didn't pose a threat. "I do not recognize the term 'Diamond Dog,' nor am I a spy. Awaiting further orders." "Then what are ya'll?" asked the orange pony. "That is classified. But you may call me GR-3-5." "That'safunnyname. Itmakesyousoundlikeyou'rearobot. Your'renotarobotareyou?" said the pink colored one. "YouknowyoulooklikeyouwouldbecalledGreece. That'sfunny,howcananypony'look'likeaname. Itkindaremindsmeofthetime-" "Greece is not what I am called. I am called GR-3-5." "Yeah... Greece." "That is not what I am called." "Yeah, butifI'mcallingyouit, thatmustbewhatyou'recalled." the pink one said, bursting with energy as she jumped up and down. "I... I'm... yes... no... I am confused. I am not programmed to think with this logic track." "You're not programmed silly. I mean you're not a robotandrobot'sareprogrammedsothatmustmeantha-" The pink one was interrupted as the pony with the lavender colored coat shoved its hoof in her mouth. "Just ignore Pinkie Pie. You get used to her... eventually." suggested the lavender unicorn. "Anyways, what are you? You aren't a Diamond Dog, and you aren't an ape." "That information is Classified, Above Top Secret." "What's that supposed to mean?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus. "It means that he can't tell you." said the purple unicorn with a role of her eyes. "Ugh... those colors on your clothes are just dreadful, darling." said the white unicorn with the purple mane. "With those greens, and browns, and all that black... just awful." Without saying anything, RG-3-5 removed the bulletproof shoulder pads and started to remove the ballistic vest. The ponies all looked at him with confusion as he did this. "What are ya'll doing?" asked the orange colored one. "My body armor and uniform is not to satisfactory standards." "No, no, no. It's not that I don't approve of your clothes, I just think that it could be made to look better," the white unicorn with the purple mane said. "Anyways, why are you here?" asked the lavender colored unicorn. "I was ordered to portal the area ahead of the main task force," RG-3-5 replied. Hearing a sound behind him, he turned around to see the shadow of the creature that had attacked him. Before he could engage, the creature disappeared into the forest. "... and where is this 'task force' or whatever they're called?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus with suspicion. "As of last contact... they are twelve to forty-eight hours away. Currently traveling from the west. Warning: New contact... species... reptile... threat level: minimal. Standing down," RG-3-5 said as he saw a reptile with short, stubby legs, purple scale on its body, and a light green colored stomach, running towards them with several scrolls held in its claw. "Spike's not a threat silly. He's just a baby dragon," said the pink one. RG-3-5 ignored the mares as the 'baby dragon' ran up to the lavender colored unicorn. He studied the group of mares, they were very intriguing. They were different from the scientists and officers that he was normally around, and they were so... so... colorful. "Hey, big guy. Are you okay? You don't look so good," asked the rainbow maned pegasus as she flew around him. RG-3-5 looked at the small, black, device that was strapped to his left wrist. There was an urgently flashing orange light. "I am overheating. I need to cool down." "But it isn't even hot outside!" exclaimed the pegasus. "I need to cool down." "Then…" the lavender colored unicorn started, "... you can come back to the library with us... I guess." 36 HOURS EARLIER "GR-3-5, please report to security area 12-B," the voice of Doctor C. Nile said. Stopping, GR-3-5 turned around and marched back the way he came. The walls, ceiling, and floor of Weapons Research and Development Facility 04/Mi/47 were all the same grey color. He passed mess halls, med bays, barracks, medical labs, the cooling chambers, the armories, and various other facilities in the research station. GR-3-5 passed all of these without even the slightest indication that he knew they were there. He hadn't been ordered to enter, or interact with any of them, so he didn't. At the end of the long, grey, hallway stood a large set of double doors that were nearly as tall as he was. Standing in front of the doors were two marines in their dress blues, standing at parade rest, hands clasped behind their back. As he approached, they popped to attention and one of them turned and pressed a button and the doors slowly swung open. "They're waiting for you inside freak," said the one to his left. "Understood," GR-3-5 said as he continued to walk forward. On the other side of the doors was a large, empty area that used to be a hangar bay for a squadron of Chinooks, but was now being used as a staging area for UniSol training exercises. "-ere is a radiation signature coming from the target area that spikes every thirty days for three days. But so far, the radiation doesn't seem to harm humans or our equipment," came the voice of Doctor C. Nile. The doctor wore a grey turtleneck shirt, black pants, and had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, pale skin, piercing blue eyes, and a hawkish nose that reminded most people of an eagle. About twenty yards in front of GR-3-5 was a group of about fifty marines sitting in front of the doctor. In the dark corner of the old hangar bay stood eight generation three UniSol's and two of the brand new generation seven's; all in full combat gear. "What is the security situation of the town sir?" asked one of the Marines. "It's currently under passive quarantine. No one get's in or out without us knowing. The U.S. Army is waiting on us before they shut down the entire city. It's your job to secure the portal and the surrounding area. DO NOT let anyone into or out of the school once you've moved in. Also, you need to detain the person known as Sunset Shimmer for questioning." "What kind of kit will we have at our disposal?" "You'll have two LAV-25's, five HMMWV's, a single UniSol Mobile Base of Operations, and your choice of firearms." "Sir, the freaks ar' comin' wit' us?" asked another Marine. "Yes, two NGU's, eight generation 3's, and a single generation one." "NGU's, sir?" asked the officer in charge. "Next Generation Universal Soldiers. They are superior to the others in nearly every way. If you were to put them against any of the others. Only the first gen's would even have a chance against an NGU," the doctor told them. It was then that the doctor noticed GR-3-5. "Ah... there's our last freak now. Please, come forward GR-3-5." GR-3-5 made his way around the marines and as he approached the doctor, the doctor slapped him on the back. 1 HOUR LATER GR-3-5 sat inside the lead HMMWV, commonly referred to as a Humvee by the rest of the military, scanning the fields that were passing the windows. Sitting in the passenger seat was Corporal Dunn, and sitting behind him was Private First Classes Jackson and Rosenthal. "So where you from freak?" asked Corporal Dunn as GR-3-5 drove the Humvee. "I'm guessing you're from like... Texas. I mean you've got the accent and all." "What accent?" "Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know where you're from freak," said PFC Jackson. "I do not know where I am from," replied GR-3-5. "What the hell do you mean you don't know?" said Corporal Dunn as he stared at GR-3-5 with mock horror. "That is exactly what I mean." "GR-3-5," came the voice of Doctor C. Nile over the headset radio. "get off at the next off ramp." As the Humvee was turning off the next off ramp, the city came into view. It wasn't a very large city; it only had a population of about ten thousand or so. As he drove into the city, a lot of the residents came out of their houses or workplaces to stare at the convoy of Humvees, LAV's, and the large UniSol Mobile Base of Operations. Making several more turns, the Canterlot High School came into view. As they drove up, GR-3-5 saw teenagers crowding at the windows of the four story building. "Marines, secure all entrances and exits. UniSol ssault team Bravo, cut power and communications. UniSol assault team Alpha, move to breaching positions." said the voice of the task force commander over the radio. GR-3-5 swung open the door of the Humvee and ran to the entrance to the school, where he was met by four of the Generation 3 UniSol's. They stacked up on either side of the glass doors, waiting for the order to breach. "Assault team Alpha, breach and clear in 5, 4, 3-" the lights inside the building went out, "-2, GO." The UniSol across from GR-3-5 turned and kicked the door down. With a speed that belied his size, GR-3-5 ran into the building, rifle raised, and ran by the lockers that lined the hallways. Coming to the first door, he stopped, turned, and then kicked down the wooden door; literally splitting it in half. Stepping into the room, he looked at the roomful of teenage students that stood at the window and stared at him with wide eyes. None of them matched the description of the person known as Sunset Shimmer, so he stepped back into the hallway and continued. It went like this for the next ten minutes, clearing room after room. He was vaguely aware of UniSol assault team Bravo joining in the search. They were at the end of the hallway of the first floor when he received new orders. The Officer in Charge ordered him and one of the Generation Seven UniSol's to check and clear the gymnasium and changing rooms. Without a word, GR-3-5 ran back the way he came, turned left at an intersection of halls, and made his way towards the gymnasium. The gym had wooden floors, bleachers on either side of the basketball court that was sparkling from being freshly waxed; but there was no one there. Seeing a door open that led to the soccer and football fields, GR-3-5 turned, his weapon trained on the intrusion. NR-4 stepped through the door, weapon aimed at GR-3-5. Seeing a friendly, GR-3-5 turned to his right, where he spotted two unmarked doors. The one to the right had a blue triangle with a picture of a stick figure wearing a dress, while the one to the left had a plain stick figure on a blue triangle. "GR-3-5, clear the room to the right. NR-4, take the room to the left," came the voice of the Officer in Charge. Without responding, both UniSol's moved to the respective doors. After a moment, he stepped away from the door, and kicked it down. This door was weaker and it splintered into ten separate pieces. As he stepped through the now destroyed door, the sound of screaming teenage females assaulted his ears. Before him was benches, lockers, and forty partially dressed females. GR-3-5 cautiously walked into the locker room, rifle scanning back and forth. Whenever he came across the face of a female, he would pause for a second and would compare their picture to that of Sunset Shimmer. He had almost cleared the entire room when he found her. She was hiding in the corner of the locker room, trying to look as small as possible. She had light orange skin, orange and red hair, bright green eyes, and was wearing nothing but a pair of white panties and a bra. "Target identified," he said as he stared at her. Most other people would find her beautiful, but he didn't. Mostly because he was pretty much a robot in all but name. "W-what do you want?" she asked, but GR-3-5 didn't answer her question. "Stand up with your hands in the air," he told her. At first she didn't respond, so he motivated her by clicking off the safety of the M-4. She seemed to realize the severity of her situation. Very slowly, she stood up with her hands in the air as she also tried to cover herself. "Turn around and place your hands against the wall." "What are you going to do to me?" she asked as she did so. "You are being placed under arrest for questioning and quarantine by the Central Intelligence Agency. You do not have the right to remain silent. You do not have the right to a lawyer or a jury. And you do not have the right to a fair trial. Is this understood?" he asked as he placed her hands behind her back and secured them with a zip-tie. "... I-I..." "Is this understood?" he said again as he pulled her away from the wall, and pulled out his pistol and placed it against the back of her head. This wasn't to motivate her; it was to prevent her, or anyone else, from trying anything. But it certainly did prove to motivate her. "Y-yes." the teenager said. Her voice filled with confusion and fear. All the other teenagers had now stopped their incessant screaming and were now busy trying to cover themselves... and trying to avoid eye contact with the detainee. The vast majority of the failed. "Target secured. Current threat level... Moderate. Awaiting orders." GR-3-5 said into the radio. "Bring the girl back to the front of the school. We will have a team waiting to extract her." came the response. "Understood." he replied. He pushed Sunset Shimmer forward, left hand on her shoulder, and pistol still held to the back of her head. He exited the locker room, where he was met by a squad of Marines and a group of UniSol's. They escorted her to the front of the building and then sat her in front of the statue and kept his weapon trained on her. "Hey what do ya'll-" came a voice behind him. Immediately, GR-3-5 whipped around, weapon tracking where his eyes were looking. In the corner of his eye, he could see NR-4 taking the position he had been at. Standing about ten feet in front of him was a tall teenage male that was slightly shorter than GR-3-5. The teenager wore a red jacket with a yellow bandana around his neck, blue jeans, and had blond hair. "On your knees!" GR-3-5 yelled out as he quickly walked towards the teenager. "What the-?" the teenager started to say as he reached behind his back, which was the last thing he should have done. GR-3-5 holstered his pistol, and reached back to punch the teenager in the face. The teenager automatically responded by ducking down and attempting to punch GR-3-5 in the stomach. Thanks to the faster reflexes than a standard human, he easily caught the fist and punched the teenager square across the jaw, spinning the teenager around. The teenager kicked out at GR-3-5's head but he easily ducked underneath and landed five solid punches on the teen's side. Kicking out, GR-3-5 tripped the teen. And as soon as the teen hit the ground, he was already on top of him, bringing both hands behind his back. "Stand down! All units stand down!" yelled Doctor C. Nile. Immediately, GR-3-5 stopped what he was doing and stood at attention. "Corpman!" the doctor yelled as the teen started to cough up copious amounts of blood. "GR-3-5, get the girl inside the Mobile Unit," the doctor continued to yell. "And for Christ’s sake, somebody get her something to wear!" GR-3-5 returned to Sunset Shimmer and yanked her up by one arm, getting a yelp of pain from her. He brought her to the UniSol Mobile Base of Operations and sat her down in front of it and waited for new orders. He hoped they would finish quickly. He was starting to feel warm and needed to cool off. Hopefully the mission would end soon. "Hey freak," said a marine that approached him after what seemed like forever. "They want you inside. Something about overheating or whatever." Immediately, he stood at attention and walked into the Mobile Unit. Once inside, he shed his gear until he stood naked in front of a group of scientists. They directed him into the cooling chambers, where he sat at the seat specifically made for him. As he sat down, the chamber slowly started to cool down until it reached negative thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Slowly, he started to fall asleep and darkness overtook him. First ContactChapter 1 "Would you like anything to eat or drink Miss Shimmer?" Doctor C. Nile asked as he sat down at a plastic foldout table across from the teen. "No." she said flatly as she glared at GR-3-5 with obvious hostility. She now wore a grey sweatshirt that was a size too small, and blue skinny jeans. She and the doctor both sat on plastic foldout chairs on either side of the table under a beige colored tent while GR-3-5 stood in the corner, rifle held at ready-low. "I do apologize for any harm and discomfort my... men... may have caused you." the doctor waved at GR-3-5. "Whatever," Sunset Shimmer said and Doctor C. Nile sighed. "Look, I can't help you if you don't help me... and you need all the help you can get. For example, you attempted a coup against a legitimate government, albeit a government in another dimension but that's besides the point. You also assaulted multiple students with what you call magic and physical actions. Not only this, but you caused nearly four hundred thousand dollars of property damage. If a government agency, or your school's principle decided to press charges, you would be in jail for nearly fifty-two years in a federal prison." "You can't prove most of that," the teenager replied. "We don't need to. You don't have citizenship, no birth certificate either, no passport; in fact, the only place you exist on paper is here at Canterlot High. We can put you in the deepest, darkest, cess-pit that the C.I.A can find, and no one would be able to prove you even existed," the doctor said as he leaned back in her chair. The teenager seemed to slowly slide down her seat with every word. "But... if you co-operate, we let you leave with a check for two million dollars, a house over your head, a nice quiet job that pays fifty grand a year, a birth certificate, citizenship, a passport, and a social security number." the doctor said. This was, of course, a lie to get her to talk. "... what do you want to know?" 30 MINUTES LATER "Scalpel," said a slightly muffled voice. "Scalpel," repeated another. GR-3-5 stared into the bright light that the surgeons were using so they could see better. He felt something sharp, probably the scalpel, press against the base of his throat, creating a two inch incision that was deep enough so that it pressed against his trachea. In the corner of his eye he saw the female teenager staring at him through the glass that separated her from the surgery section of the UniSol Base of Operations. She stared at him with something akin to horror. GR-3-5 was vaguely aware of the reasons behind her horror. It was probably because most normal humans went to surgery asleep and under anesthesia. GR-3-5 was physically incapable of feeling pain, so there was no need for anesthesia, and he could sit, lay, stand, and crouch in the same spot for hours, even days if the temperature was cool enough; so there was no need to put him to sleep. GR-3-5 watched as the scientist reached over and gingerly picked up a tiny device no bigger than his fingernail. It was a LOUBA, a Low Oxygen/ Underwater Breathing Apparatus. It was GR-3-5's last upgrade before he went to the world the teenager called Equestria, and the device did exactly what it sounded like it did, it would allow him to function in environments that would normally kill him. There was a slight buzzing sound as the device was implanted in his trachea, and then the scientists stepped away and the temperature started to cool. Once the room was cold enough, the incision healed quickly. Once it had healed, GR-3-5 stood up, completely naked, and slowly walked out of the room. There was another scientist waiting for him at the door and GR-3-5 saw that Sunset Shimmer was sitting at a workstation, writing something down. She looked up at him, glanced down, and blushed. "Full Combat load." the scientist simply said before walking away. Turning, GR-3-5 spotted a set of forest pattern MARPAT (MARine PATtern) digital camies. Slipping on the green underwear, he turned and put on the black knee length socks, pants, black combat boots, tucked in the brown t-shirt into his pants, tightened his belt, threw on and buttoned the blouse, and then threw on the MTV (Modular Tactical Vest[1]) and the ILBE (Improved Load Bearing Equipment.) Reaching over he grabbed his M-4A1 and clipped it to his vest. He then grabbed the hip holster for his pistol and strapped it to his leg. "Where are you going?" Sunset Shimmer asked with disdain. GR-3-5cocked his head to the left and stared at her. "I'm going to your world." 12 HOURS LATER "Negative contact, continuing patrol," GR-3-5 said into the radio. "Copy that GR-3-5," came the response. Seeing movement to his right, GR-3-5 turned and scanned the dark, twisted, trees to his right. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there was nothing there. "Possible contact, threat level... unknown. Awaiting orders," GR-3-5 said into his radio, scanning the area. "Investigate. But do not attack unless you are fired upon or otherwise put in danger," came the response. "Understood," GR-3-5 replied. Walking forward, he scanned for the target, looking for anything. He was at the edge of the forest when the creature showed itself. It wasn't human, that much was obvious. It had the head and body of a lion, with bat like wings, and a scorpion’s tale. It stood there and stared while he stared back, keeping his weapon aimed at this new creature. "New contact. Unknown species. Threat level... moderate." GR-3-5 said. But then, without warning, the scorpion tail shot forward with blinding speed. A normal human would have been impaled, but GR-3-5 wasn't a normal human... in fact some even said he wasn't human. He threw himself back and fired the M-4A1 with one hand. The tail hit him in the left shoulder and was followed up by the creature backhanding him. The creature was much stronger than it looked because he was sent flying for a few dozen yards. GR-3-5 landed on a red and white plaid blanket with food, plates, and drinks scattered on it. Sitting up, GR-3-5 looked around. Surrounding him were six equines; two to his left, two to his right, one by his feet, and one above his head. Of the two to his left, the first one had cyan blue colored coat, a pair of wings, a rainbow colored mane, and rose colored eyes. The next one had a white coat, with a purple mane, blue eyes, and had a horn above its forehead. To his right was another with an orange coat, green eyes, and blond hair. The one standing next to the orange one was another with a pink coat, pink hair, and bright blue eyes. Laying at his feet was the unconscious form of another equine with a buttercup yellow coat, with long pink hair, had blue eyes, and a pair of wings. Standing behind him was yet another with a lavender colored coat, purple hair that had pink strip running through it, purple colored eyes, and had both a horn just above its forehead and a pair of wings. "Six new contacts," GR-3-5 said as he stood up. "Species... Equine... subspecies... pony... three tertiary subspecies commonly referred to as... Pegasus, and... Unicorn, and… Alicorn. Threat level: Minimal. Lost contact with previous hostile... awaiting further orders." There was no response other than a burst of static, so GR-3-5 took off the headset and ran a diagnostic on it. The radio was working. The microphone was working. The optics were working. The only problem was the speaker in the headset itself. Putting the headset back on, he took several steps past the group of equines, turned around, and then trained his M-4A1 on them but otherwise took no other action. The equines stared at him first in fear and then with curiosity. It was the one with the rainbow colored hair that approached him first. "So what are you, some kind of hairless Diamond Dog or something? Or are you a spy?" the rainbow maned pegasus said as she flew up to him, but otherwise she didn't pose a threat. "I do not recognize the term 'Diamond Dog,' nor am I a spy. Awaiting further orders." "Then what are ya'll?" asked the orange pony. "That is classified. But you may call me GR-3-5." "That'safunnyname. Itmakesyousoundlikeyou'rearobot. Your'renotarobotareyou?" said the pink colored one. "YouknowyoulooklikeyouwouldbecalledGreece. That'sfunny,howcananypony'look'likeaname. Itkindaremindsmeofthetime-" "Greece is not what I am called. I am called GR-3-5." "Yeah... Greece." "That is not what I am called." "Yeah, butifI'mcallingyouit, thatmustbewhatyou'recalled." the pink one said, bursting with energy as she jumped up and down. "I... I'm... yes... no... I am confused. I am not programmed to think with this logic track." "You're not programmed silly. I mean you're not a robotandrobot'sareprogrammedsothatmustmeantha-" The pink one was interrupted as the pony with the lavender colored coat shoved its hoof in her mouth. "Just ignore Pinkie Pie. You get used to her... eventually." suggested the lavender unicorn. "Anyways, what are you? You aren't a Diamond Dog, and you aren't an ape." "That information is Classified, Above Top Secret." "What's that supposed to mean?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus. "It means that he can't tell you." said the purple unicorn with a role of her eyes. "Ugh... those colors on your clothes are just dreadful, darling." said the white unicorn with the purple mane. "With those greens, and browns, and all that black... just awful." Without saying anything, GR-3-5 removed the bulletproof shoulder pads and started to remove the black MVT. The ponies all looked at him with confusion as he did this. "What are ya'll doing?" asked the orange colored one. "My body armor and uniform is not to satisfactory standards." "No, no, no. It's not that I don't approve of your clothes, I just think that it could be made to look better," the white unicorn with the purple mane said. "Anyways, why are you here?" asked the lavender colored unicorn. "I was ordered to portal the area ahead of the main task force," RG-3-5 replied. Hearing a sound behind him, he turned around to see the shadow of the creature that had attacked him. Before he could engage, the creature disappeared into the forest. "... and where is this 'task force' or whatever they're called?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus with suspicion. "As of last contact... they are twelve to forty-eight hours away. Currently traveling from the west. Warning: New contact... species... reptile... threat level: minimal. Standing down," GR-3-5 said as he saw a reptile with short, stubby legs, purple scales on its body, and a light green colored stomach, running towards them with several scrolls held in its claw. "Spike's not a threat silly. He's just a baby dragon," said the pink one. GR-3-5 ignored the mares as the 'baby dragon' ran up to the lavender colored unicorn. He studied the group of mares, they were very intriguing. They were different from the scientists and officers that he was normally around, and they were so... so... colorful. "Hey, big guy. Are you okay? You don't look so good," asked the rainbow maned pegasus as she flew around him. GR-3-5 looked at the small, black, device that was strapped to his left wrist. There was an urgently flashing orange light. "I am overheating. I need to cool down." "But it isn't even hot outside!" exclaimed the pegasus. "I need to cool down." "Then…" the lavender colored unicorn started, "... you can come back to the library with us... I guess." 10 MINUTES LATER GR-3-5 stood in the library, waiting for the alicorn he had learned was called Twilight Sparkle to get the ice he needed to cool down. By now he was sweating profusely and had taken off some of his gear. He now sat at a couch, naked from the waist up, as the five other ponies stared at him from across the room. Out of all of them, it was the one with the pink mane and buttercup yellow coat that interested him the most. She was hiding behind a chair and would peek around it every minute or so. Suddenly the with the pink mane, which he had learned was called Fluttershy, flew towards him. "Oh my gosh! You're bleeding, you poor thing!" she cooed. "Stay right there, I'll be back to patch that up." Fluttershy flew out of the room in search of a first aid kit while the other four gave each other with various forms of facial expressions. Looking at his shoulder, GR-3-5 saw there was a small hole about the size of a dime. Standing up, GR-3-5 looked around the room until he saw something that would suit him just fine. He picked up the candle that hung above a table that was covered with books. He then inserted the candle, still lit, into the wound, and there was a sizzling sound as the flesh was cauterized. There was the sound of a crash and GR-3-5urned to see Fluttershy standing in an open doorway, slack-jawed, and the contents of a first-aid kit all over the floor. "The bleeding has stopped," he told her calmly as he saw Twilight enter the room, twelve large bags of ice floating in front of her. GR-3-5 grabbed the bags of ice, and without a word, wrapped the ice in a blanket and removed the rest of his clothes. He saw the ponies blush and avert their eyes as he lay on the bags of ice. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in many years... he dreamed. VIETNAM, 1966 "Captain! There's civilians down there!" yelled a private over the roar of helicopter rotors. Captain James A. Smith took a long drag on his cigarette and then blew the smoke out his nose. "No there ain't," the Captain told the private. "The only thing that's down there is a village filled with yellow gook bastards." "But sir-" Private Jonesy started but the Captain interrupted him. "Just kill 'em all. Let God sort 'em out later!" the Captain yelled to the rest of the platoon of Marines over the radio. "Oorah!" came the response. As soon as the squadron of Hueys crested the large hill and a small village came into view, the machine gun opened up, spitting 7.62 millimeters of copper plated lead and death on the village bellow. The Captain watched as men, women, and children ran for cover, but were cut down by machine gun fire. "Captain! We're taking fire from the northern edge of the forest!" the pilot yelled as the Huey banked to the left, orbiting the village. "Set us down! We'll take care of 'em!" Captain Smith replied as he readied his M-16. PONYVILLE LIBRARY/ EQUESTRIA "Are you sure he's alright Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she eyed the creature wearily. The creature was laying on nearly forty pounds of ice, the air conditioner was going full blast, he was naked, and yet he was STILL sweating profusely. "Oh yes Twilight, I'm sure of it." Fluttershy replied as she cleaned the creature's wound in its shoulder. "Its wound, it's not infected, is it?" Twilight asked. "Oh no, I cleaned almost as soon as he fell asleep. He's probably just having a bad dream" "Well it must be one darned bad dream if he's sweating like that. I ain't never seen anything sweat that much that fast, let alone on ice." said the mare called Applejack. "Do you think... we should see what's causing the nightmare darling?" Rarity asked. "And how are we supposed to do that?" Rainbow Dash said as she stared at the creature. "Well there IS a spell I know of that can put several of us in his dream." "Like Princess Luna Twi?" asked Spike. "Sort of Spike. This can put a pony in the other's dream, but they can't interact with each other." Twilight replied as she shut her eyes and her horn started to glow. VIETNAM 1966 The helicopter moved in to land just outside the burning town and Captain Smith readied his M-16. As soon as the helicopters landing skids hit the ground he was out of the helicopter, followed by a squad of his platoon. In the corner of his eye he saw movement and turned to look. In the trees he saw a lavender colored unicorn with wings in the trees. After shaking his head, he turned to look and it was still there. In response he just looked away and blamed it on smoking too much dope the night before. "Let's move it Marines!" Captain Smith yelled as he ran for the shacks. As they started to move towards the town, a women in a long dress ran towards them. Two Marines moved to grab her but she evaded them and continued. "Bitch has a grenade!" one of them yelled. But it was too late, she had already gotten past them and was next to the helicopter when the grenade detonated. The helicopter disappeared in a ball of flame and the Marines were thrown to the ground as the grenade detonated. Captain Smith watched as a marine ran from the burning wreckage, his body consumed with fire. "Fuckin' bitches!" the Captain yelled as the ratatatat of AK fire came from the village. "Come on marines!! You want to live forever?" He yelled as he picked up his rifle and ran towards the town. In the end, the firefight lasted a little more than an hour and they had to call in the support from a nearby Army unit. "Captain! What's the Colonel doing?" yelled Private Jonesy over the sound of helicopters as he pointed towards an Army officer that was throwing playing cards onto the bodies of dead VietCong. "They're death cards! Let's Charlie know who did this!" the Captain replied. In the corner of his eye he saw the winged unicorn disappear in a flash of purple light. PONYVILLE/ EQUESTRIA Twilight opened her eyes and sat up, dazed and scared from the nightmare she had just witnessed. The images of death and destruction flashed behind her eyelids every time she closed her eyes. 'It didn't happen. It didn't happen. It didn't happen...' Twilight thought to herself over and over again, like a mantra that would keep the images away. "Twi!" Applejack yelled, cutting Twilight from her thoughts of denial. "... what?" Twilight replied, still somewhat dazed. "Is everything alright darling? You do look unwell." Rarity asked. "Y-yeah. Of course every thing's fine. I mean why wouldn't they be?" Twilight told her friends nervously as she slowly backed up. Applejack gave Twilight a look that said she didn't believe her. By now, Twilight was at the base of the stairs that led to her room. Before her friends could call her out on her obvious lie, she turned and ran up the stairs towards the bathroom. Twilight slammed the bathroom door shut behind her and locked it. She rushed to the sink and vomited into it. Then she dry heaved until tears streamed from her eyes. All Twilight could see was the faces of the dead creatures, covered in blood, and no matter what she said to herself, she couldn't even begin to think of the reasons behind the violence she saw. Wiping off her face with a towel, she realized why the creature was so familiar. It was one of the humans from that other universe. But how did he get here? As far as she knew... Twilight's eyes shot open as sudden realization hit her. It had been exactly twenty-nine days since she got back. That meant the portal to the other world was open... but that portal led to the Crystal Empire and the Crystal Empire was over twelve hours away if a pony travelled by train. And nopony could make it that far, that fast, on foot. Twilight shook her head and yanked open the bathroom door. There was only one pony she felt comfortable with discussing a thing like this. "Spike! I need to send a letter!" 6 HOURS LATER GR-3-5 opened his eyes, surveying the area. He was still laying on what used to be ice and was now cold water. Sitting up he looked around. He could see the sun was setting through the window, and the moon was starting to rise. In the corner of his eye he saw the pegasus that was called Fluttershy slowly making its way over to him. He noticed that there was gauze covering his left shoulder were he had been hit by the scorpion tail. "Don't move around to much your wound-" the purple maned pegasus started to say, but GR-3-5 interrupted her as he ripped off the gauze. "Has healed," he said. Fluttershy stared at where his wound used to be, slack-jawed. "O-oh my..." she started to say but fainted before she could finish. Where his wound used to be was now nothing, it was completely healed. Standing up he saw that his gear was neatly folded and stacked on a nearby chair. Standing up, he started to put on his clothes when he heard voices coming from outside. Throwing his shirt over his head, he tucked it into his pants and grabbed his M-4. "Please Twilight, this needs to be done," said a very regal sounding voice that he didn't recognize. "I'm sorry princess, but I can't let you. He hasn't done anything to anypony." said a voice that sounded like Twilight's. "He hasn't done anything yet Twilight. He is a human soldier. He's violent by nat-" the first voice was interrupted as GR-3-5 opened the front door to the library. Standing in front of the door was Twilight and about twenty other ponies. The one that caught his attention the most was a tall alicorn with a white coat and a multi-colored mane that reminded him of the sunrise every morning. Her mane and tail both waved in a non-existent wind. She wore a tiara and a gold colored chest plate with the image of a stylized sun in the center. Standing in formation behind her were twenty more equines with white fur, gold and purple armor, and an electric blue mane and tail. Each one carried either a spear, a sword, or a crossbow. "I would like to disagree with your current analysis of the Universal Soldiers," GR-3-5 started to say, "The Universal Soldiers will only engage hostiles if there is a clear and present danger to ourselves, our allies, or any non-combatants. We do not target civilians unless they present a clear and present danger, or are ordered to restrain them due to the Rules of Engagement." The tall white alicorn started at him intensely before looking away. "Twilight I-" the alicorn started to say, but GR-3-5 interrupted her as he saw movement along the rooftop across from him. He caught several glimpses at the new contact and was able to see the equine's black coat, insect-like wings, the misshapen horn, and solid light blue eyes. "New contact... species: unknown... threat level: unknown. Will observe-" the new bug-like equine pulled out and aimed a crossbow. "-Correction... Threat level: Critical. Engaging." GR-3-5 took aim with his rifle. flicked off the safety, and fired a three round burst. The .223 caliber bullets entered the black bug-equine's left eye, and each one punched a hole the size of a golf ball in the back of its head. The creature, by reflex, pulled the trigger and the crossbow fired. GR-3-5 ran across the ten feet that separated him from the white alicorn and tackled her to the ground. As they both fell, GR-3-5 felt the crossbow bolt pierce the flesh on the back of his neck. As the crossbow bolt entered the back of his neck, he lost all feeling from the neck down. He couldn't move, couldn't feel anything, he was paralyzed. "Protect." was the last thing he said before the equines in the armor dragged him off the white alicorn and then everything went dark. Author's Note 1- you civillians and CoD players call them Balistic vests. Celestial DifferencesChapter 2 Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, goddess of the sun, and the holder of more titles than she cared to count, now stood in Ponyville's hospital waiting room, waiting for the doctor ponies. She had, along with her student Twilight Sparkle, come here after GR-3-5, as Twilight called him been a taken here after probably saving the princess's life. Princess Celestia looked up as the door opened and Nurse Coldheart walk out and then bowed in front of the princess. "Princesses." the nurse said as she bowed. "Please rise my little pony and tell us what has happened to the human." Princess Celestia said kindly. "Well-" the nurse said as she stood up, "-We honestly don't know how he's still alive, let alone still breathing.' "Why?" Twilight asked as she sat down. "Where to start?" Nurse Coldheart said to herself before continuing. "His heartbeat's so slaw that it's almost non-existent, he's barely breathing, eighty percent of his internal organs aren't working and haven't worked for years, and yet his brain and muscles are completely functional, if not operating above what would be normal for a being of his biology." "You're saying he's dead?" Princess Celestia asked. "Yes... and no. But we do have a theory though. His blood stream has an unnatural amount of Nitroclorihistomine-" Nurse Coldheart said before Twilight interrupted her. "Isn't that an auto-immunary stimulant?" "... yes it is," the nurse gave Twilight an annoyed look. "But that's not what it's being used for with him. You see, Nitro-chlori-histomine can, under extremely cold circumstances, be used to drastically increase the bodies healing process. But the only problem is that the amount required would kill anypony almost as soon as it was injected. Not to mention that it has to be thirty two degrees below zero to take any sort of affect." "Anything else?" Princess Celestia asked. "Well... the arrow partially severed his spinal cord and snapped off inside his spinal column. He also has trace amounts of a memory suppressant." "May I see him?" "You don't need my permission princess," And then the nurse led Princess Celestia through the halls of the hospital after Celestia told her student Twilight to wait for her. Princess Celestia shivered as she entered the room with a feeling of dread in her chest. The room was cold, no, it was freezing. She cast a spell to keep herself warm as she looked around the sparse, grey, hospital room. In the center of the room layed the naked form of the human that Twilight called GR-3-5. He was lean, well muscled, and there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body. "I can't remember." she heard him say as he continued to stare at the ceiling. He had a voice with an accent similar to Twilight's friend Applejack. "Remember what?" she asked, naturally curious. "Who I was supposed to protect. I was supposed to protect someone in a jungle, but I can't remember who," he turned his head to look at Princess Celestia. "Do you know who I was supposed to protect?" "I'm afraid I do not, human," Princess Celestia replied as she stared into his eyes. His eyes were filled with intelligence, but they were also emotionless, no fear, no pain, no suffering, no happiness. Everything for this human was black or white, yes or no. In an odd, perverted, way, she envied him for this. He didn't have what most other beings, pony and others, questioned or were confused about. To him, the world had simple questions and simple answers, no complexities. Casting a quick spell, Princess Celestia delved into the humans mind... and didn't find what she was expecting. There were no memories, or if there were, they were so deeply buried that HE didn't even remember them. This was a hundred times worse than amnesia. At least with amnesia you had the hope of a doctor restoring your memory with time. This... this was horrible. His mind contained nothing except the cold, hard, analysis of his world. "Do you remember anything?" Princess Celestia asked, her previous resentment towards this human disappeared and was replaced with pity. "If he were to remember-" started a voice behind her, "He would more than likely go insane." Turning around, the princess saw a stallion with a brown coat, green eyes, and a mane and tail that was going grey. On his flank was a cutie mark that had the images of a stethoscope and a microscope. "And you are?" Princess Celestia asked. "Oh, you must be Princess Celestia," the stallion said with a bow. "I am Doctor C. Nile. Scientist in charge of the Universal Soldier programs." "Universal Soldiers?" was the first thing Princess Celestia asked, automatically assuming that this scientist was a human. "Although that information IS classified, I see no reason NOT to tell you." the scientist said as he sat in front of her, "A Universal Soldier is a human that has died and has been revived using multiple Nitrogen based chemicals. In response to these chemicals, they stop feeling pain, stop feeling fear, every emotion stops. We have to include memory suppressants in the mix because the traumatic memories of their own deaths might be too much for them." "I... think I understand." the princess lied. This only confirmed her suspicions that humans haven't changed. They were still the sadistic and violent creatures that she remembered. They were worse than griffons and dragons; at least with griffons and dragons, you could expect them to be up front about their ambitions. But human's very nature made them survivors and warriors. In fact, in the distant past, humanity had provided some of the finest military strategists that had ever walked upon Equestrian soil. "GR-3-5," Doctor C. Nile started. "Can you please answer these statements with yes or no response please?" "Yes," the paralyzed human replied flatly. "My coworkers and colleagues see me as punctual and reliable person." "Yes." "I often contemplate the meaning of life." "No." "I sometimes question the orders I have been given." "No." The questions went on and on, one after the other. After the first several questions, Princess Celestia realized that they were making sure he was still 'cooperative' as the doctor would probably call it. It made Celestia sick that humans would do such a thing. "GR-3-5 please turn your head as far as you can to the right," the doctor told the human soldier, who complied immediately. There was a sickening crack and a splatter of blood as a blackish object punched through the skin. The doctor reached over and pulled the object from the human's neck. Celestia stared in shock as the wound healed almost immediately and GR-3-5 sat up as Doctor C. Nile adjusted the thermostat. As the temperature changed, Celestia removed the spell that had been keeping her warm. "GR-3-5, please touch your thumb to each finger, starting with you forefinger." 2 HOURS LATER GR-3-5 sat on the floor of the library, legs crossed, and rifle laying in front of him. He listened to Doctor C. Nile as he and the Alicorn known as Twilight Sparkle carried on a heated discussion about the physical and metaphysical impossibility of magic. He was also aware of the white Alicorn princess known as Princess Celestia staring at the back of his head. "Doctor?" GR-3-5 asked as he continued to stare forward. "Yes, GR-3-5?" "Magic is physically possible. Based on previous observations, the ponies, primarily unicorns, use various forms of radiation, usually electromagnetic and ultraviolet, to manipulate matter. As in Miss Twilight Sparkle's failed attempts at transmutations, she directly manipulated the neutrons, electrons, and protons in each atom and molecule at its most basic levels. Therefore she is not breaking the rule of the Law of the Conservation of Mass." "Then how would you explain teleportation?" Doctor C. Nile asked. "Twilight Sparkle, and any other unicorn or Alicorn that teleports simply uses negative energy to create a minute sized field of energy around themselves; creating their own- temporary -space-time continuum, and, using the still theoretical processes of various forms of Quantum Physics, they tear a hole in their own temporary universe and into the other continuum which is their destination. They then dissipate the negative energy and bring themselves back to this continuum." "Bravo," Doctor C. Nile congratulated as he clapped his hooves. "Bravo, my friend. You, with no college science degrees whatsoever, managed to prove the scientist with four Ph. D's wrong, bravo." "Wait?" Twilight Sparkle started to say, "How do you know of my attempts at transmutation?" "The pink one you call Pinkie Pie does not know how to be quiet." GR-3-5 said flatly. "Yeah... Pinkie tends to do that." Twilight said. After several minutes of awkward silence, Princess Celestia stood up and left the library. The sun set and eventually Twilight Sparkle left to go to sleep and soon after, so did the doctor. But GR-3-5 stayed where he was. He sat in the center of the room, unmoving, simply thinking about what had been happening over the last several days. Doctor C. Nile was now a pony and GR-3-5 wasn't, although there was a completely rational explanation for this. Based on what the teenager called Sunset Shimmer had told Doctor C. Nile, only living things could be turned into creatures from this world, and since GR-3-5 wasn't technically alive, he hadn't changed. And then there was the fact that he had appeared in the forest known as the Everfree when he had been told he would appear in a place called the Crystal Empire. But that hadn't happened. With every passing minute, this world confused him more and more. GR-3-5 was torn from his thoughts when he heard a dull thud from upstairs. Looking around he scanned around him as he stood up and grabbed the M4. Moving toward the stairs, he crouched down and flicked the rifle's safety off. The stairway itself was clear, and GR-3-5 slowly made his way up it. The hallway was clear but there were three doors running the length of it and GR-3-5 could hear whispers coming from one of the rooms. The first door led to a bathroom and was completely empty. The next one led to a room that was filled with books and Doctor C. Nile lay at the center on a blow up mattress, sound asleep. Behind the final door, GR-3-5 heard whispering. There were three voices, one he recognized as Twilight Sparkle, and the other two he couldn't identify. "That's the thing though Cadence, he isn't traumatized. It's just the opposite; he is completely sane and rational. In fact, he came up with a way to rationalize the use of magic in pure, simple, terms that most BOOKS can't and he did it in less then ten sentences.." he heard Twilight Sparkle say. "And you fear this new creature because you don't understand him, yes?" said another female voice. "Sort of princess." GR-3-5 heard Twilight reply. "Bit it's more than that though. I... I saw..." "What did you see Twilight?" asked the first female voice. "I... went into one of his dreams. There... there was a village... and..." GR-3-5 listened as Twilight retold his dream. Based on the reactions that he heard from the other two voices, such things were not common. "That's..." the first voice trailed off, as if at a lost for words. Realizing that there was no threat, GR-3-5 walked back downstairs and waited for the sun to rise. - GR-3-5 ran across the field, keeping pace with the rainbow maned pegasus that was called Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had joined him about fifteen minutes into his run. She had said some things about speed and flying, but he hadn't been paying attention. He simply concentrated on running. He, unlike the generation seven Universal Soldiers, had to exercise to keep his body in shape. And Rainbow Dash, even though neither of them said anything, thought they were in a race. Everytime Rainbow Dash sped up to get ahead of GR-3-5, GR-3-5 sped up to. Matching her pace for pace, he heard the mare growl with frustration at not being able to pull ahead of him. He really didn't understand why the mare was so frustrated. Trying to win, GR-3-5 could understand because winning was the only option. But trying to win something that you knew you couldn't was stupid and a waist of resources. "Don't you... ever... get tired?" Rainbow Dash panted between breaths. "No." GR-3-5 said simply, not even breathing hard. Stopping suddenly, GR-3-5 stared intently in the direction of the town called Ponyville. "Hey... is there... something wrong... big... guy?" Rainbow Dash panted. "Yes. I have not detected any sounds or movement from the town for the last twenty minutes. For a town the size of and with the population of Ponyville, this is highly irregular." "Well... maybe everypony decided to... sleep in... yes, everypony slept in late." "The statistical chance of everypony sleeping in 'till two o'clock in the afternoon is four hundred thousand, nine hundred forty six point three - nine - four - seven - eight - two - three- six to one." "Uuuuuuh... and that means?" Rainbow Dash asked, a bewildered look on her face. "It means that your suggestion is very, very unlikely." GR-3-5 jogged towards the town, Rainbow Dash flying above his head. GR-3-5 slowly walked through the town, rifle held at the ready. Despite Rainbow Dash's petty attempts to distract him, GR-3-5 kept going towards the town. It seemed that she hadn't figured out that once a Universal Soldier set his mind to something, there was no diverting him. No diverting, unless somebody had the authority to give him orders. And based on GR-3-5's observations, Rainbow Dash had no military or police experience what-so-ever, so she did not have the authority to give him orders. GR-3-5 slowly made his way down the streets of Ponyville, keeping a watchful eye out for anything strange. It was when he reached a two story shop that was decorated with assorted treats like gumdrops and frosting and various other sugary snacks, that GR-3-5 felt that something was very wrong. If asked, he would say that he didn't know why he felt that way, it was just there. Approaching the shop he placed his hand on the handle, it was slightly warm to the touch; as if a lot of people, or in this case ponies, had used it a lot recently. Looking behind him, GR-3-5 noticed that Rainbow Dash was gone. His subconscious screamed at him to get out of there, but he ignored it and thrust open the door. "SURPRISE!"
ProloguePrologue Unknown Location/ June 12, 2006 "Negative contact, continuing patrol," said a neutral, almost robotic, toned voice with a slight Texan accent. The owner of the voice was a tall human, about 6 feet and 6 inches tall, with tanned skin, short, light brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore MARPAT forest camouflage pants with bulletproof plates interwoven into it, and a forest MARPAT blouse, which he wore under a ballistic vest. Over his left eye, he had a set of advanced optics and advanced CPU which provided him, and the base, information. In his right hand was a M-4A1 Carbine with an underslung M302 Grenade launcher and a .45 Desert Eagle was holstered at his hip. "Copy that GR-3-5," came the response over the radio. GR-3-5 was a Generation One Universal Soldier, or a UniSol for short. The UniSol program had started in the 1960's and purpose was to create the perfect soldier. GR-3-5 didn't know much more than that, not with the routine mind whipes, but that didn't matter to him. All he wanted to do was get his job done and do it right. Seeing movement to his right, GR-3-5 turned and scanned the dark, twisted, trees to his right. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there was nothing there. "Possible contact, threat level... unknown. Awaiting orders," GR-3-5 said into his radio, scanning the area. "Investigate. But do not attack unless you are fired upon or otherwise put in danger," came the response. "Understood," GR-3-5 replied. Walking forward, he scanned for the target, looking for anything. He was at the edge of the forest when the creature showed itself. It wasn't human, that much was obvious. It had the head and body of a lion, with bat like wings, and a scorpion’s tale. It stood there and stared while he stared back, keeping his weapon aimed at this new creature. "New contact. Unknown species. Threat level... moderate." GR-3-5 said. But then, without warning, the scorpion tail shot forward with blinding speed. A normal human would have been impaled, but GR-3-5 wasn't a normal human... in fact some even said he wasn't human. He threw himself back and fired the M-4A1 with one hand. The tail hit him in the left shoulder and was followed up by the creature backhanding him. The creature was much stronger than it looked because he was sent flying for a few dozen yards. GR-3-5 landed on a red and white plaid blanket with food, plates, and drinks scattered on it. Sitting up, GR-3-5 looked around. Surrounding him were six equines; two to his left, two to his right, one by his feet, and one above his head. Of the two to his left, the first one had cyan blue colored coat, a pair of wings, a rainbow colored mane, and rose colored eyes. The next one had a white coat, with a purple mane, blue eyes, and had a horn above its forehead. To his right was another with an orange coat, green eyes, and blond hair. The one standing next to the orange one was another with a pink coat, pink hair, and bright blue eyes. Laying at his feet was the unconscious form of another equine with a buttercup yellow coat, with long pink hair, had blue eyes, and a pair of wings. Standing behind him was yet another with a lavender colored coat, purple hair that had pink strip running through it, purple colored eyes, and had both a horn just above its forehead and a pair of wings. "Six new contacts," GR-3-5 said as he stood up. "Species... Equine... subspecies... pony... three tertiary subspecies commonly referred to as... Pegasus, and... Unicorn, and… Alicorn. Threat level: Minimal. Lost contact with previous hostile... awaiting further orders." There was no response other than a burst of static, so GR-3-5 took off the headset and ran a diagnostic on it. The radio was working. The microphone was working. The optics were working. The only problem was the speaker in the headset itself. Putting the headset back on, he took several steps past the group of equines, turned around, and then trained his M-4A1 on them but otherwise took no other action. The equines stared at him first in fear and then with curiosity. It was the one with the rainbow colored hair that approached him first. "So what are you, some kind of hairless Diamond Dog or something? Or are you a spy?" the rainbow maned pegasus said as she flew up to him, but otherwise she didn't pose a threat. "I do not recognize the term 'Diamond Dog,' nor am I a spy. Awaiting further orders." "Then what are ya'll?" asked the orange pony. "That is classified. But you may call me GR-3-5." "That'safunnyname. Itmakesyousoundlikeyou'rearobot. Your'renotarobotareyou?" said the pink colored one. "YouknowyoulooklikeyouwouldbecalledGreece. That'sfunny,howcananypony'look'likeaname. Itkindaremindsmeofthetime-" "Greece is not what I am called. I am called GR-3-5." "Yeah... Greece." "That is not what I am called." "Yeah, butifI'mcallingyouit, thatmustbewhatyou'recalled." the pink one said, bursting with energy as she jumped up and down. "I... I'm... yes... no... I am confused. I am not programmed to think with this logic track." "You're not programmed silly. I mean you're not a robotandrobot'sareprogrammedsothatmustmeantha-" The pink one was interrupted as the pony with the lavender colored coat shoved its hoof in her mouth. "Just ignore Pinkie Pie. You get used to her... eventually." suggested the lavender unicorn. "Anyways, what are you? You aren't a Diamond Dog, and you aren't an ape." "That information is Classified, Above Top Secret." "What's that supposed to mean?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus. "It means that he can't tell you." said the purple unicorn with a role of her eyes. "Ugh... those colors on your clothes are just dreadful, darling." said the white unicorn with the purple mane. "With those greens, and browns, and all that black... just awful." Without saying anything, RG-3-5 removed the bulletproof shoulder pads and started to remove the ballistic vest. The ponies all looked at him with confusion as he did this. "What are ya'll doing?" asked the orange colored one. "My body armor and uniform is not to satisfactory standards." "No, no, no. It's not that I don't approve of your clothes, I just think that it could be made to look better," the white unicorn with the purple mane said. "Anyways, why are you here?" asked the lavender colored unicorn. "I was ordered to portal the area ahead of the main task force," RG-3-5 replied. Hearing a sound behind him, he turned around to see the shadow of the creature that had attacked him. Before he could engage, the creature disappeared into the forest. "... and where is this 'task force' or whatever they're called?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus with suspicion. "As of last contact... they are twelve to forty-eight hours away. Currently traveling from the west. Warning: New contact... species... reptile... threat level: minimal. Standing down," RG-3-5 said as he saw a reptile with short, stubby legs, purple scale on its body, and a light green colored stomach, running towards them with several scrolls held in its claw. "Spike's not a threat silly. He's just a baby dragon," said the pink one. RG-3-5 ignored the mares as the 'baby dragon' ran up to the lavender colored unicorn. He studied the group of mares, they were very intriguing. They were different from the scientists and officers that he was normally around, and they were so... so... colorful. "Hey, big guy. Are you okay? You don't look so good," asked the rainbow maned pegasus as she flew around him. RG-3-5 looked at the small, black, device that was strapped to his left wrist. There was an urgently flashing orange light. "I am overheating. I need to cool down." "But it isn't even hot outside!" exclaimed the pegasus. "I need to cool down." "Then…" the lavender colored unicorn started, "... you can come back to the library with us... I guess." 36 HOURS EARLIER "GR-3-5, please report to security area 12-B," the voice of Doctor C. Nile said. Stopping, GR-3-5 turned around and marched back the way he came. The walls, ceiling, and floor of Weapons Research and Development Facility 04/Mi/47 were all the same grey color. He passed mess halls, med bays, barracks, medical labs, the cooling chambers, the armories, and various other facilities in the research station. GR-3-5 passed all of these without even the slightest indication that he knew they were there. He hadn't been ordered to enter, or interact with any of them, so he didn't. At the end of the long, grey, hallway stood a large set of double doors that were nearly as tall as he was. Standing in front of the doors were two marines in their dress blues, standing at parade rest, hands clasped behind their back. As he approached, they popped to attention and one of them turned and pressed a button and the doors slowly swung open. "They're waiting for you inside freak," said the one to his left. "Understood," GR-3-5 said as he continued to walk forward. On the other side of the doors was a large, empty area that used to be a hangar bay for a squadron of Chinooks, but was now being used as a staging area for UniSol training exercises. "-ere is a radiation signature coming from the target area that spikes every thirty days for three days. But so far, the radiation doesn't seem to harm humans or our equipment," came the voice of Doctor C. Nile. The doctor wore a grey turtleneck shirt, black pants, and had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, pale skin, piercing blue eyes, and a hawkish nose that reminded most people of an eagle. About twenty yards in front of GR-3-5 was a group of about fifty marines sitting in front of the doctor. In the dark corner of the old hangar bay stood eight generation three UniSol's and two of the brand new generation seven's; all in full combat gear. "What is the security situation of the town sir?" asked one of the Marines. "It's currently under passive quarantine. No one get's in or out without us knowing. The U.S. Army is waiting on us before they shut down the entire city. It's your job to secure the portal and the surrounding area. DO NOT let anyone into or out of the school once you've moved in. Also, you need to detain the person known as Sunset Shimmer for questioning." "What kind of kit will we have at our disposal?" "You'll have two LAV-25's, five HMMWV's, a single UniSol Mobile Base of Operations, and your choice of firearms." "Sir, the freaks ar' comin' wit' us?" asked another Marine. "Yes, two NGU's, eight generation 3's, and a single generation one." "NGU's, sir?" asked the officer in charge. "Next Generation Universal Soldiers. They are superior to the others in nearly every way. If you were to put them against any of the others. Only the first gen's would even have a chance against an NGU," the doctor told them. It was then that the doctor noticed GR-3-5. "Ah... there's our last freak now. Please, come forward GR-3-5." GR-3-5 made his way around the marines and as he approached the doctor, the doctor slapped him on the back. 1 HOUR LATER GR-3-5 sat inside the lead HMMWV, commonly referred to as a Humvee by the rest of the military, scanning the fields that were passing the windows. Sitting in the passenger seat was Corporal Dunn, and sitting behind him was Private First Classes Jackson and Rosenthal. "So where you from freak?" asked Corporal Dunn as GR-3-5 drove the Humvee. "I'm guessing you're from like... Texas. I mean you've got the accent and all." "What accent?" "Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know where you're from freak," said PFC Jackson. "I do not know where I am from," replied GR-3-5. "What the hell do you mean you don't know?" said Corporal Dunn as he stared at GR-3-5 with mock horror. "That is exactly what I mean." "GR-3-5," came the voice of Doctor C. Nile over the headset radio. "get off at the next off ramp." As the Humvee was turning off the next off ramp, the city came into view. It wasn't a very large city; it only had a population of about ten thousand or so. As he drove into the city, a lot of the residents came out of their houses or workplaces to stare at the convoy of Humvees, LAV's, and the large UniSol Mobile Base of Operations. Making several more turns, the Canterlot High School came into view. As they drove up, GR-3-5 saw teenagers crowding at the windows of the four story building. "Marines, secure all entrances and exits. UniSol ssault team Bravo, cut power and communications. UniSol assault team Alpha, move to breaching positions." said the voice of the task force commander over the radio. GR-3-5 swung open the door of the Humvee and ran to the entrance to the school, where he was met by four of the Generation 3 UniSol's. They stacked up on either side of the glass doors, waiting for the order to breach. "Assault team Alpha, breach and clear in 5, 4, 3-" the lights inside the building went out, "-2, GO." The UniSol across from GR-3-5 turned and kicked the door down. With a speed that belied his size, GR-3-5 ran into the building, rifle raised, and ran by the lockers that lined the hallways. Coming to the first door, he stopped, turned, and then kicked down the wooden door; literally splitting it in half. Stepping into the room, he looked at the roomful of teenage students that stood at the window and stared at him with wide eyes. None of them matched the description of the person known as Sunset Shimmer, so he stepped back into the hallway and continued. It went like this for the next ten minutes, clearing room after room. He was vaguely aware of UniSol assault team Bravo joining in the search. They were at the end of the hallway of the first floor when he received new orders. The Officer in Charge ordered him and one of the Generation Seven UniSol's to check and clear the gymnasium and changing rooms. Without a word, GR-3-5 ran back the way he came, turned left at an intersection of halls, and made his way towards the gymnasium. The gym had wooden floors, bleachers on either side of the basketball court that was sparkling from being freshly waxed; but there was no one there. Seeing a door open that led to the soccer and football fields, GR-3-5 turned, his weapon trained on the intrusion. NR-4 stepped through the door, weapon aimed at GR-3-5. Seeing a friendly, GR-3-5 turned to his right, where he spotted two unmarked doors. The one to the right had a blue triangle with a picture of a stick figure wearing a dress, while the one to the left had a plain stick figure on a blue triangle. "GR-3-5, clear the room to the right. NR-4, take the room to the left," came the voice of the Officer in Charge. Without responding, both UniSol's moved to the respective doors. After a moment, he stepped away from the door, and kicked it down. This door was weaker and it splintered into ten separate pieces. As he stepped through the now destroyed door, the sound of screaming teenage females assaulted his ears. Before him was benches, lockers, and forty partially dressed females. GR-3-5 cautiously walked into the locker room, rifle scanning back and forth. Whenever he came across the face of a female, he would pause for a second and would compare their picture to that of Sunset Shimmer. He had almost cleared the entire room when he found her. She was hiding in the corner of the locker room, trying to look as small as possible. She had light orange skin, orange and red hair, bright green eyes, and was wearing nothing but a pair of white panties and a bra. "Target identified," he said as he stared at her. Most other people would find her beautiful, but he didn't. Mostly because he was pretty much a robot in all but name. "W-what do you want?" she asked, but GR-3-5 didn't answer her question. "Stand up with your hands in the air," he told her. At first she didn't respond, so he motivated her by clicking off the safety of the M-4. She seemed to realize the severity of her situation. Very slowly, she stood up with her hands in the air as she also tried to cover herself. "Turn around and place your hands against the wall." "What are you going to do to me?" she asked as she did so. "You are being placed under arrest for questioning and quarantine by the Central Intelligence Agency. You do not have the right to remain silent. You do not have the right to a lawyer or a jury. And you do not have the right to a fair trial. Is this understood?" he asked as he placed her hands behind her back and secured them with a zip-tie. "... I-I..." "Is this understood?" he said again as he pulled her away from the wall, and pulled out his pistol and placed it against the back of her head. This wasn't to motivate her; it was to prevent her, or anyone else, from trying anything. But it certainly did prove to motivate her. "Y-yes." the teenager said. Her voice filled with confusion and fear. All the other teenagers had now stopped their incessant screaming and were now busy trying to cover themselves... and trying to avoid eye contact with the detainee. The vast majority of the failed. "Target secured. Current threat level... Moderate. Awaiting orders." GR-3-5 said into the radio. "Bring the girl back to the front of the school. We will have a team waiting to extract her." came the response. "Understood." he replied. He pushed Sunset Shimmer forward, left hand on her shoulder, and pistol still held to the back of her head. He exited the locker room, where he was met by a squad of Marines and a group of UniSol's. They escorted her to the front of the building and then sat her in front of the statue and kept his weapon trained on her. "Hey what do ya'll-" came a voice behind him. Immediately, GR-3-5 whipped around, weapon tracking where his eyes were looking. In the corner of his eye, he could see NR-4 taking the position he had been at. Standing about ten feet in front of him was a tall teenage male that was slightly shorter than GR-3-5. The teenager wore a red jacket with a yellow bandana around his neck, blue jeans, and had blond hair. "On your knees!" GR-3-5 yelled out as he quickly walked towards the teenager. "What the-?" the teenager started to say as he reached behind his back, which was the last thing he should have done. GR-3-5 holstered his pistol, and reached back to punch the teenager in the face. The teenager automatically responded by ducking down and attempting to punch GR-3-5 in the stomach. Thanks to the faster reflexes than a standard human, he easily caught the fist and punched the teenager square across the jaw, spinning the teenager around. The teenager kicked out at GR-3-5's head but he easily ducked underneath and landed five solid punches on the teen's side. Kicking out, GR-3-5 tripped the teen. And as soon as the teen hit the ground, he was already on top of him, bringing both hands behind his back. "Stand down! All units stand down!" yelled Doctor C. Nile. Immediately, GR-3-5 stopped what he was doing and stood at attention. "Corpman!" the doctor yelled as the teen started to cough up copious amounts of blood. "GR-3-5, get the girl inside the Mobile Unit," the doctor continued to yell. "And for Christ’s sake, somebody get her something to wear!" GR-3-5 returned to Sunset Shimmer and yanked her up by one arm, getting a yelp of pain from her. He brought her to the UniSol Mobile Base of Operations and sat her down in front of it and waited for new orders. He hoped they would finish quickly. He was starting to feel warm and needed to cool off. Hopefully the mission would end soon. "Hey freak," said a marine that approached him after what seemed like forever. "They want you inside. Something about overheating or whatever." Immediately, he stood at attention and walked into the Mobile Unit. Once inside, he shed his gear until he stood naked in front of a group of scientists. They directed him into the cooling chambers, where he sat at the seat specifically made for him. As he sat down, the chamber slowly started to cool down until it reached negative thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Slowly, he started to fall asleep and darkness overtook him.
First ContactChapter 1 "Would you like anything to eat or drink Miss Shimmer?" Doctor C. Nile asked as he sat down at a plastic foldout table across from the teen. "No." she said flatly as she glared at GR-3-5 with obvious hostility. She now wore a grey sweatshirt that was a size too small, and blue skinny jeans. She and the doctor both sat on plastic foldout chairs on either side of the table under a beige colored tent while GR-3-5 stood in the corner, rifle held at ready-low. "I do apologize for any harm and discomfort my... men... may have caused you." the doctor waved at GR-3-5. "Whatever," Sunset Shimmer said and Doctor C. Nile sighed. "Look, I can't help you if you don't help me... and you need all the help you can get. For example, you attempted a coup against a legitimate government, albeit a government in another dimension but that's besides the point. You also assaulted multiple students with what you call magic and physical actions. Not only this, but you caused nearly four hundred thousand dollars of property damage. If a government agency, or your school's principle decided to press charges, you would be in jail for nearly fifty-two years in a federal prison." "You can't prove most of that," the teenager replied. "We don't need to. You don't have citizenship, no birth certificate either, no passport; in fact, the only place you exist on paper is here at Canterlot High. We can put you in the deepest, darkest, cess-pit that the C.I.A can find, and no one would be able to prove you even existed," the doctor said as he leaned back in her chair. The teenager seemed to slowly slide down her seat with every word. "But... if you co-operate, we let you leave with a check for two million dollars, a house over your head, a nice quiet job that pays fifty grand a year, a birth certificate, citizenship, a passport, and a social security number." the doctor said. This was, of course, a lie to get her to talk. "... what do you want to know?" 30 MINUTES LATER "Scalpel," said a slightly muffled voice. "Scalpel," repeated another. GR-3-5 stared into the bright light that the surgeons were using so they could see better. He felt something sharp, probably the scalpel, press against the base of his throat, creating a two inch incision that was deep enough so that it pressed against his trachea. In the corner of his eye he saw the female teenager staring at him through the glass that separated her from the surgery section of the UniSol Base of Operations. She stared at him with something akin to horror. GR-3-5 was vaguely aware of the reasons behind her horror. It was probably because most normal humans went to surgery asleep and under anesthesia. GR-3-5 was physically incapable of feeling pain, so there was no need for anesthesia, and he could sit, lay, stand, and crouch in the same spot for hours, even days if the temperature was cool enough; so there was no need to put him to sleep. GR-3-5 watched as the scientist reached over and gingerly picked up a tiny device no bigger than his fingernail. It was a LOUBA, a Low Oxygen/ Underwater Breathing Apparatus. It was GR-3-5's last upgrade before he went to the world the teenager called Equestria, and the device did exactly what it sounded like it did, it would allow him to function in environments that would normally kill him. There was a slight buzzing sound as the device was implanted in his trachea, and then the scientists stepped away and the temperature started to cool. Once the room was cold enough, the incision healed quickly. Once it had healed, GR-3-5 stood up, completely naked, and slowly walked out of the room. There was another scientist waiting for him at the door and GR-3-5 saw that Sunset Shimmer was sitting at a workstation, writing something down. She looked up at him, glanced down, and blushed. "Full Combat load." the scientist simply said before walking away. Turning, GR-3-5 spotted a set of forest pattern MARPAT (MARine PATtern) digital camies. Slipping on the green underwear, he turned and put on the black knee length socks, pants, black combat boots, tucked in the brown t-shirt into his pants, tightened his belt, threw on and buttoned the blouse, and then threw on the MTV (Modular Tactical Vest[1]) and the ILBE (Improved Load Bearing Equipment.) Reaching over he grabbed his M-4A1 and clipped it to his vest. He then grabbed the hip holster for his pistol and strapped it to his leg. "Where are you going?" Sunset Shimmer asked with disdain. GR-3-5cocked his head to the left and stared at her. "I'm going to your world." 12 HOURS LATER "Negative contact, continuing patrol," GR-3-5 said into the radio. "Copy that GR-3-5," came the response. Seeing movement to his right, GR-3-5 turned and scanned the dark, twisted, trees to his right. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there was nothing there. "Possible contact, threat level... unknown. Awaiting orders," GR-3-5 said into his radio, scanning the area. "Investigate. But do not attack unless you are fired upon or otherwise put in danger," came the response. "Understood," GR-3-5 replied. Walking forward, he scanned for the target, looking for anything. He was at the edge of the forest when the creature showed itself. It wasn't human, that much was obvious. It had the head and body of a lion, with bat like wings, and a scorpion’s tale. It stood there and stared while he stared back, keeping his weapon aimed at this new creature. "New contact. Unknown species. Threat level... moderate." GR-3-5 said. But then, without warning, the scorpion tail shot forward with blinding speed. A normal human would have been impaled, but GR-3-5 wasn't a normal human... in fact some even said he wasn't human. He threw himself back and fired the M-4A1 with one hand. The tail hit him in the left shoulder and was followed up by the creature backhanding him. The creature was much stronger than it looked because he was sent flying for a few dozen yards. GR-3-5 landed on a red and white plaid blanket with food, plates, and drinks scattered on it. Sitting up, GR-3-5 looked around. Surrounding him were six equines; two to his left, two to his right, one by his feet, and one above his head. Of the two to his left, the first one had cyan blue colored coat, a pair of wings, a rainbow colored mane, and rose colored eyes. The next one had a white coat, with a purple mane, blue eyes, and had a horn above its forehead. To his right was another with an orange coat, green eyes, and blond hair. The one standing next to the orange one was another with a pink coat, pink hair, and bright blue eyes. Laying at his feet was the unconscious form of another equine with a buttercup yellow coat, with long pink hair, had blue eyes, and a pair of wings. Standing behind him was yet another with a lavender colored coat, purple hair that had pink strip running through it, purple colored eyes, and had both a horn just above its forehead and a pair of wings. "Six new contacts," GR-3-5 said as he stood up. "Species... Equine... subspecies... pony... three tertiary subspecies commonly referred to as... Pegasus, and... Unicorn, and… Alicorn. Threat level: Minimal. Lost contact with previous hostile... awaiting further orders." There was no response other than a burst of static, so GR-3-5 took off the headset and ran a diagnostic on it. The radio was working. The microphone was working. The optics were working. The only problem was the speaker in the headset itself. Putting the headset back on, he took several steps past the group of equines, turned around, and then trained his M-4A1 on them but otherwise took no other action. The equines stared at him first in fear and then with curiosity. It was the one with the rainbow colored hair that approached him first. "So what are you, some kind of hairless Diamond Dog or something? Or are you a spy?" the rainbow maned pegasus said as she flew up to him, but otherwise she didn't pose a threat. "I do not recognize the term 'Diamond Dog,' nor am I a spy. Awaiting further orders." "Then what are ya'll?" asked the orange pony. "That is classified. But you may call me GR-3-5." "That'safunnyname. Itmakesyousoundlikeyou'rearobot. Your'renotarobotareyou?" said the pink colored one. "YouknowyoulooklikeyouwouldbecalledGreece. That'sfunny,howcananypony'look'likeaname. Itkindaremindsmeofthetime-" "Greece is not what I am called. I am called GR-3-5." "Yeah... Greece." "That is not what I am called." "Yeah, butifI'mcallingyouit, thatmustbewhatyou'recalled." the pink one said, bursting with energy as she jumped up and down. "I... I'm... yes... no... I am confused. I am not programmed to think with this logic track." "You're not programmed silly. I mean you're not a robotandrobot'sareprogrammedsothatmustmeantha-" The pink one was interrupted as the pony with the lavender colored coat shoved its hoof in her mouth. "Just ignore Pinkie Pie. You get used to her... eventually." suggested the lavender unicorn. "Anyways, what are you? You aren't a Diamond Dog, and you aren't an ape." "That information is Classified, Above Top Secret." "What's that supposed to mean?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus. "It means that he can't tell you." said the purple unicorn with a role of her eyes. "Ugh... those colors on your clothes are just dreadful, darling." said the white unicorn with the purple mane. "With those greens, and browns, and all that black... just awful." Without saying anything, GR-3-5 removed the bulletproof shoulder pads and started to remove the black MVT. The ponies all looked at him with confusion as he did this. "What are ya'll doing?" asked the orange colored one. "My body armor and uniform is not to satisfactory standards." "No, no, no. It's not that I don't approve of your clothes, I just think that it could be made to look better," the white unicorn with the purple mane said. "Anyways, why are you here?" asked the lavender colored unicorn. "I was ordered to portal the area ahead of the main task force," RG-3-5 replied. Hearing a sound behind him, he turned around to see the shadow of the creature that had attacked him. Before he could engage, the creature disappeared into the forest. "... and where is this 'task force' or whatever they're called?" asked the rainbow maned pegasus with suspicion. "As of last contact... they are twelve to forty-eight hours away. Currently traveling from the west. Warning: New contact... species... reptile... threat level: minimal. Standing down," GR-3-5 said as he saw a reptile with short, stubby legs, purple scales on its body, and a light green colored stomach, running towards them with several scrolls held in its claw. "Spike's not a threat silly. He's just a baby dragon," said the pink one. GR-3-5 ignored the mares as the 'baby dragon' ran up to the lavender colored unicorn. He studied the group of mares, they were very intriguing. They were different from the scientists and officers that he was normally around, and they were so... so... colorful. "Hey, big guy. Are you okay? You don't look so good," asked the rainbow maned pegasus as she flew around him. GR-3-5 looked at the small, black, device that was strapped to his left wrist. There was an urgently flashing orange light. "I am overheating. I need to cool down." "But it isn't even hot outside!" exclaimed the pegasus. "I need to cool down." "Then…" the lavender colored unicorn started, "... you can come back to the library with us... I guess." 10 MINUTES LATER GR-3-5 stood in the library, waiting for the alicorn he had learned was called Twilight Sparkle to get the ice he needed to cool down. By now he was sweating profusely and had taken off some of his gear. He now sat at a couch, naked from the waist up, as the five other ponies stared at him from across the room. Out of all of them, it was the one with the pink mane and buttercup yellow coat that interested him the most. She was hiding behind a chair and would peek around it every minute or so. Suddenly the with the pink mane, which he had learned was called Fluttershy, flew towards him. "Oh my gosh! You're bleeding, you poor thing!" she cooed. "Stay right there, I'll be back to patch that up." Fluttershy flew out of the room in search of a first aid kit while the other four gave each other with various forms of facial expressions. Looking at his shoulder, GR-3-5 saw there was a small hole about the size of a dime. Standing up, GR-3-5 looked around the room until he saw something that would suit him just fine. He picked up the candle that hung above a table that was covered with books. He then inserted the candle, still lit, into the wound, and there was a sizzling sound as the flesh was cauterized. There was the sound of a crash and GR-3-5urned to see Fluttershy standing in an open doorway, slack-jawed, and the contents of a first-aid kit all over the floor. "The bleeding has stopped," he told her calmly as he saw Twilight enter the room, twelve large bags of ice floating in front of her. GR-3-5 grabbed the bags of ice, and without a word, wrapped the ice in a blanket and removed the rest of his clothes. He saw the ponies blush and avert their eyes as he lay on the bags of ice. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in many years... he dreamed. VIETNAM, 1966 "Captain! There's civilians down there!" yelled a private over the roar of helicopter rotors. Captain James A. Smith took a long drag on his cigarette and then blew the smoke out his nose. "No there ain't," the Captain told the private. "The only thing that's down there is a village filled with yellow gook bastards." "But sir-" Private Jonesy started but the Captain interrupted him. "Just kill 'em all. Let God sort 'em out later!" the Captain yelled to the rest of the platoon of Marines over the radio. "Oorah!" came the response. As soon as the squadron of Hueys crested the large hill and a small village came into view, the machine gun opened up, spitting 7.62 millimeters of copper plated lead and death on the village bellow. The Captain watched as men, women, and children ran for cover, but were cut down by machine gun fire. "Captain! We're taking fire from the northern edge of the forest!" the pilot yelled as the Huey banked to the left, orbiting the village. "Set us down! We'll take care of 'em!" Captain Smith replied as he readied his M-16. PONYVILLE LIBRARY/ EQUESTRIA "Are you sure he's alright Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she eyed the creature wearily. The creature was laying on nearly forty pounds of ice, the air conditioner was going full blast, he was naked, and yet he was STILL sweating profusely. "Oh yes Twilight, I'm sure of it." Fluttershy replied as she cleaned the creature's wound in its shoulder. "Its wound, it's not infected, is it?" Twilight asked. "Oh no, I cleaned almost as soon as he fell asleep. He's probably just having a bad dream" "Well it must be one darned bad dream if he's sweating like that. I ain't never seen anything sweat that much that fast, let alone on ice." said the mare called Applejack. "Do you think... we should see what's causing the nightmare darling?" Rarity asked. "And how are we supposed to do that?" Rainbow Dash said as she stared at the creature. "Well there IS a spell I know of that can put several of us in his dream." "Like Princess Luna Twi?" asked Spike. "Sort of Spike. This can put a pony in the other's dream, but they can't interact with each other." Twilight replied as she shut her eyes and her horn started to glow. VIETNAM 1966 The helicopter moved in to land just outside the burning town and Captain Smith readied his M-16. As soon as the helicopters landing skids hit the ground he was out of the helicopter, followed by a squad of his platoon. In the corner of his eye he saw movement and turned to look. In the trees he saw a lavender colored unicorn with wings in the trees. After shaking his head, he turned to look and it was still there. In response he just looked away and blamed it on smoking too much dope the night before. "Let's move it Marines!" Captain Smith yelled as he ran for the shacks. As they started to move towards the town, a women in a long dress ran towards them. Two Marines moved to grab her but she evaded them and continued. "Bitch has a grenade!" one of them yelled. But it was too late, she had already gotten past them and was next to the helicopter when the grenade detonated. The helicopter disappeared in a ball of flame and the Marines were thrown to the ground as the grenade detonated. Captain Smith watched as a marine ran from the burning wreckage, his body consumed with fire. "Fuckin' bitches!" the Captain yelled as the ratatatat of AK fire came from the village. "Come on marines!! You want to live forever?" He yelled as he picked up his rifle and ran towards the town. In the end, the firefight lasted a little more than an hour and they had to call in the support from a nearby Army unit. "Captain! What's the Colonel doing?" yelled Private Jonesy over the sound of helicopters as he pointed towards an Army officer that was throwing playing cards onto the bodies of dead VietCong. "They're death cards! Let's Charlie know who did this!" the Captain replied. In the corner of his eye he saw the winged unicorn disappear in a flash of purple light. PONYVILLE/ EQUESTRIA Twilight opened her eyes and sat up, dazed and scared from the nightmare she had just witnessed. The images of death and destruction flashed behind her eyelids every time she closed her eyes. 'It didn't happen. It didn't happen. It didn't happen...' Twilight thought to herself over and over again, like a mantra that would keep the images away. "Twi!" Applejack yelled, cutting Twilight from her thoughts of denial. "... what?" Twilight replied, still somewhat dazed. "Is everything alright darling? You do look unwell." Rarity asked. "Y-yeah. Of course every thing's fine. I mean why wouldn't they be?" Twilight told her friends nervously as she slowly backed up. Applejack gave Twilight a look that said she didn't believe her. By now, Twilight was at the base of the stairs that led to her room. Before her friends could call her out on her obvious lie, she turned and ran up the stairs towards the bathroom. Twilight slammed the bathroom door shut behind her and locked it. She rushed to the sink and vomited into it. Then she dry heaved until tears streamed from her eyes. All Twilight could see was the faces of the dead creatures, covered in blood, and no matter what she said to herself, she couldn't even begin to think of the reasons behind the violence she saw. Wiping off her face with a towel, she realized why the creature was so familiar. It was one of the humans from that other universe. But how did he get here? As far as she knew... Twilight's eyes shot open as sudden realization hit her. It had been exactly twenty-nine days since she got back. That meant the portal to the other world was open... but that portal led to the Crystal Empire and the Crystal Empire was over twelve hours away if a pony travelled by train. And nopony could make it that far, that fast, on foot. Twilight shook her head and yanked open the bathroom door. There was only one pony she felt comfortable with discussing a thing like this. "Spike! I need to send a letter!" 6 HOURS LATER GR-3-5 opened his eyes, surveying the area. He was still laying on what used to be ice and was now cold water. Sitting up he looked around. He could see the sun was setting through the window, and the moon was starting to rise. In the corner of his eye he saw the pegasus that was called Fluttershy slowly making its way over to him. He noticed that there was gauze covering his left shoulder were he had been hit by the scorpion tail. "Don't move around to much your wound-" the purple maned pegasus started to say, but GR-3-5 interrupted her as he ripped off the gauze. "Has healed," he said. Fluttershy stared at where his wound used to be, slack-jawed. "O-oh my..." she started to say but fainted before she could finish. Where his wound used to be was now nothing, it was completely healed. Standing up he saw that his gear was neatly folded and stacked on a nearby chair. Standing up, he started to put on his clothes when he heard voices coming from outside. Throwing his shirt over his head, he tucked it into his pants and grabbed his M-4. "Please Twilight, this needs to be done," said a very regal sounding voice that he didn't recognize. "I'm sorry princess, but I can't let you. He hasn't done anything to anypony." said a voice that sounded like Twilight's. "He hasn't done anything yet Twilight. He is a human soldier. He's violent by nat-" the first voice was interrupted as GR-3-5 opened the front door to the library. Standing in front of the door was Twilight and about twenty other ponies. The one that caught his attention the most was a tall alicorn with a white coat and a multi-colored mane that reminded him of the sunrise every morning. Her mane and tail both waved in a non-existent wind. She wore a tiara and a gold colored chest plate with the image of a stylized sun in the center. Standing in formation behind her were twenty more equines with white fur, gold and purple armor, and an electric blue mane and tail. Each one carried either a spear, a sword, or a crossbow. "I would like to disagree with your current analysis of the Universal Soldiers," GR-3-5 started to say, "The Universal Soldiers will only engage hostiles if there is a clear and present danger to ourselves, our allies, or any non-combatants. We do not target civilians unless they present a clear and present danger, or are ordered to restrain them due to the Rules of Engagement." The tall white alicorn started at him intensely before looking away. "Twilight I-" the alicorn started to say, but GR-3-5 interrupted her as he saw movement along the rooftop across from him. He caught several glimpses at the new contact and was able to see the equine's black coat, insect-like wings, the misshapen horn, and solid light blue eyes. "New contact... species: unknown... threat level: unknown. Will observe-" the new bug-like equine pulled out and aimed a crossbow. "-Correction... Threat level: Critical. Engaging." GR-3-5 took aim with his rifle. flicked off the safety, and fired a three round burst. The .223 caliber bullets entered the black bug-equine's left eye, and each one punched a hole the size of a golf ball in the back of its head. The creature, by reflex, pulled the trigger and the crossbow fired. GR-3-5 ran across the ten feet that separated him from the white alicorn and tackled her to the ground. As they both fell, GR-3-5 felt the crossbow bolt pierce the flesh on the back of his neck. As the crossbow bolt entered the back of his neck, he lost all feeling from the neck down. He couldn't move, couldn't feel anything, he was paralyzed. "Protect." was the last thing he said before the equines in the armor dragged him off the white alicorn and then everything went dark. Author's Note 1- you civillians and CoD players call them Balistic vests.
Celestial DifferencesChapter 2 Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, goddess of the sun, and the holder of more titles than she cared to count, now stood in Ponyville's hospital waiting room, waiting for the doctor ponies. She had, along with her student Twilight Sparkle, come here after GR-3-5, as Twilight called him been a taken here after probably saving the princess's life. Princess Celestia looked up as the door opened and Nurse Coldheart walk out and then bowed in front of the princess. "Princesses." the nurse said as she bowed. "Please rise my little pony and tell us what has happened to the human." Princess Celestia said kindly. "Well-" the nurse said as she stood up, "-We honestly don't know how he's still alive, let alone still breathing.' "Why?" Twilight asked as she sat down. "Where to start?" Nurse Coldheart said to herself before continuing. "His heartbeat's so slaw that it's almost non-existent, he's barely breathing, eighty percent of his internal organs aren't working and haven't worked for years, and yet his brain and muscles are completely functional, if not operating above what would be normal for a being of his biology." "You're saying he's dead?" Princess Celestia asked. "Yes... and no. But we do have a theory though. His blood stream has an unnatural amount of Nitroclorihistomine-" Nurse Coldheart said before Twilight interrupted her. "Isn't that an auto-immunary stimulant?" "... yes it is," the nurse gave Twilight an annoyed look. "But that's not what it's being used for with him. You see, Nitro-chlori-histomine can, under extremely cold circumstances, be used to drastically increase the bodies healing process. But the only problem is that the amount required would kill anypony almost as soon as it was injected. Not to mention that it has to be thirty two degrees below zero to take any sort of affect." "Anything else?" Princess Celestia asked. "Well... the arrow partially severed his spinal cord and snapped off inside his spinal column. He also has trace amounts of a memory suppressant." "May I see him?" "You don't need my permission princess," And then the nurse led Princess Celestia through the halls of the hospital after Celestia told her student Twilight to wait for her. Princess Celestia shivered as she entered the room with a feeling of dread in her chest. The room was cold, no, it was freezing. She cast a spell to keep herself warm as she looked around the sparse, grey, hospital room. In the center of the room layed the naked form of the human that Twilight called GR-3-5. He was lean, well muscled, and there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body. "I can't remember." she heard him say as he continued to stare at the ceiling. He had a voice with an accent similar to Twilight's friend Applejack. "Remember what?" she asked, naturally curious. "Who I was supposed to protect. I was supposed to protect someone in a jungle, but I can't remember who," he turned his head to look at Princess Celestia. "Do you know who I was supposed to protect?" "I'm afraid I do not, human," Princess Celestia replied as she stared into his eyes. His eyes were filled with intelligence, but they were also emotionless, no fear, no pain, no suffering, no happiness. Everything for this human was black or white, yes or no. In an odd, perverted, way, she envied him for this. He didn't have what most other beings, pony and others, questioned or were confused about. To him, the world had simple questions and simple answers, no complexities. Casting a quick spell, Princess Celestia delved into the humans mind... and didn't find what she was expecting. There were no memories, or if there were, they were so deeply buried that HE didn't even remember them. This was a hundred times worse than amnesia. At least with amnesia you had the hope of a doctor restoring your memory with time. This... this was horrible. His mind contained nothing except the cold, hard, analysis of his world. "Do you remember anything?" Princess Celestia asked, her previous resentment towards this human disappeared and was replaced with pity. "If he were to remember-" started a voice behind her, "He would more than likely go insane." Turning around, the princess saw a stallion with a brown coat, green eyes, and a mane and tail that was going grey. On his flank was a cutie mark that had the images of a stethoscope and a microscope. "And you are?" Princess Celestia asked. "Oh, you must be Princess Celestia," the stallion said with a bow. "I am Doctor C. Nile. Scientist in charge of the Universal Soldier programs." "Universal Soldiers?" was the first thing Princess Celestia asked, automatically assuming that this scientist was a human. "Although that information IS classified, I see no reason NOT to tell you." the scientist said as he sat in front of her, "A Universal Soldier is a human that has died and has been revived using multiple Nitrogen based chemicals. In response to these chemicals, they stop feeling pain, stop feeling fear, every emotion stops. We have to include memory suppressants in the mix because the traumatic memories of their own deaths might be too much for them." "I... think I understand." the princess lied. This only confirmed her suspicions that humans haven't changed. They were still the sadistic and violent creatures that she remembered. They were worse than griffons and dragons; at least with griffons and dragons, you could expect them to be up front about their ambitions. But human's very nature made them survivors and warriors. In fact, in the distant past, humanity had provided some of the finest military strategists that had ever walked upon Equestrian soil. "GR-3-5," Doctor C. Nile started. "Can you please answer these statements with yes or no response please?" "Yes," the paralyzed human replied flatly. "My coworkers and colleagues see me as punctual and reliable person." "Yes." "I often contemplate the meaning of life." "No." "I sometimes question the orders I have been given." "No." The questions went on and on, one after the other. After the first several questions, Princess Celestia realized that they were making sure he was still 'cooperative' as the doctor would probably call it. It made Celestia sick that humans would do such a thing. "GR-3-5 please turn your head as far as you can to the right," the doctor told the human soldier, who complied immediately. There was a sickening crack and a splatter of blood as a blackish object punched through the skin. The doctor reached over and pulled the object from the human's neck. Celestia stared in shock as the wound healed almost immediately and GR-3-5 sat up as Doctor C. Nile adjusted the thermostat. As the temperature changed, Celestia removed the spell that had been keeping her warm. "GR-3-5, please touch your thumb to each finger, starting with you forefinger." 2 HOURS LATER GR-3-5 sat on the floor of the library, legs crossed, and rifle laying in front of him. He listened to Doctor C. Nile as he and the Alicorn known as Twilight Sparkle carried on a heated discussion about the physical and metaphysical impossibility of magic. He was also aware of the white Alicorn princess known as Princess Celestia staring at the back of his head. "Doctor?" GR-3-5 asked as he continued to stare forward. "Yes, GR-3-5?" "Magic is physically possible. Based on previous observations, the ponies, primarily unicorns, use various forms of radiation, usually electromagnetic and ultraviolet, to manipulate matter. As in Miss Twilight Sparkle's failed attempts at transmutations, she directly manipulated the neutrons, electrons, and protons in each atom and molecule at its most basic levels. Therefore she is not breaking the rule of the Law of the Conservation of Mass." "Then how would you explain teleportation?" Doctor C. Nile asked. "Twilight Sparkle, and any other unicorn or Alicorn that teleports simply uses negative energy to create a minute sized field of energy around themselves; creating their own- temporary -space-time continuum, and, using the still theoretical processes of various forms of Quantum Physics, they tear a hole in their own temporary universe and into the other continuum which is their destination. They then dissipate the negative energy and bring themselves back to this continuum." "Bravo," Doctor C. Nile congratulated as he clapped his hooves. "Bravo, my friend. You, with no college science degrees whatsoever, managed to prove the scientist with four Ph. D's wrong, bravo." "Wait?" Twilight Sparkle started to say, "How do you know of my attempts at transmutation?" "The pink one you call Pinkie Pie does not know how to be quiet." GR-3-5 said flatly. "Yeah... Pinkie tends to do that." Twilight said. After several minutes of awkward silence, Princess Celestia stood up and left the library. The sun set and eventually Twilight Sparkle left to go to sleep and soon after, so did the doctor. But GR-3-5 stayed where he was. He sat in the center of the room, unmoving, simply thinking about what had been happening over the last several days. Doctor C. Nile was now a pony and GR-3-5 wasn't, although there was a completely rational explanation for this. Based on what the teenager called Sunset Shimmer had told Doctor C. Nile, only living things could be turned into creatures from this world, and since GR-3-5 wasn't technically alive, he hadn't changed. And then there was the fact that he had appeared in the forest known as the Everfree when he had been told he would appear in a place called the Crystal Empire. But that hadn't happened. With every passing minute, this world confused him more and more. GR-3-5 was torn from his thoughts when he heard a dull thud from upstairs. Looking around he scanned around him as he stood up and grabbed the M4. Moving toward the stairs, he crouched down and flicked the rifle's safety off. The stairway itself was clear, and GR-3-5 slowly made his way up it. The hallway was clear but there were three doors running the length of it and GR-3-5 could hear whispers coming from one of the rooms. The first door led to a bathroom and was completely empty. The next one led to a room that was filled with books and Doctor C. Nile lay at the center on a blow up mattress, sound asleep. Behind the final door, GR-3-5 heard whispering. There were three voices, one he recognized as Twilight Sparkle, and the other two he couldn't identify. "That's the thing though Cadence, he isn't traumatized. It's just the opposite; he is completely sane and rational. In fact, he came up with a way to rationalize the use of magic in pure, simple, terms that most BOOKS can't and he did it in less then ten sentences.." he heard Twilight Sparkle say. "And you fear this new creature because you don't understand him, yes?" said another female voice. "Sort of princess." GR-3-5 heard Twilight reply. "Bit it's more than that though. I... I saw..." "What did you see Twilight?" asked the first female voice. "I... went into one of his dreams. There... there was a village... and..." GR-3-5 listened as Twilight retold his dream. Based on the reactions that he heard from the other two voices, such things were not common. "That's..." the first voice trailed off, as if at a lost for words. Realizing that there was no threat, GR-3-5 walked back downstairs and waited for the sun to rise. - GR-3-5 ran across the field, keeping pace with the rainbow maned pegasus that was called Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had joined him about fifteen minutes into his run. She had said some things about speed and flying, but he hadn't been paying attention. He simply concentrated on running. He, unlike the generation seven Universal Soldiers, had to exercise to keep his body in shape. And Rainbow Dash, even though neither of them said anything, thought they were in a race. Everytime Rainbow Dash sped up to get ahead of GR-3-5, GR-3-5 sped up to. Matching her pace for pace, he heard the mare growl with frustration at not being able to pull ahead of him. He really didn't understand why the mare was so frustrated. Trying to win, GR-3-5 could understand because winning was the only option. But trying to win something that you knew you couldn't was stupid and a waist of resources. "Don't you... ever... get tired?" Rainbow Dash panted between breaths. "No." GR-3-5 said simply, not even breathing hard. Stopping suddenly, GR-3-5 stared intently in the direction of the town called Ponyville. "Hey... is there... something wrong... big... guy?" Rainbow Dash panted. "Yes. I have not detected any sounds or movement from the town for the last twenty minutes. For a town the size of and with the population of Ponyville, this is highly irregular." "Well... maybe everypony decided to... sleep in... yes, everypony slept in late." "The statistical chance of everypony sleeping in 'till two o'clock in the afternoon is four hundred thousand, nine hundred forty six point three - nine - four - seven - eight - two - three- six to one." "Uuuuuuh... and that means?" Rainbow Dash asked, a bewildered look on her face. "It means that your suggestion is very, very unlikely." GR-3-5 jogged towards the town, Rainbow Dash flying above his head. GR-3-5 slowly walked through the town, rifle held at the ready. Despite Rainbow Dash's petty attempts to distract him, GR-3-5 kept going towards the town. It seemed that she hadn't figured out that once a Universal Soldier set his mind to something, there was no diverting him. No diverting, unless somebody had the authority to give him orders. And based on GR-3-5's observations, Rainbow Dash had no military or police experience what-so-ever, so she did not have the authority to give him orders. GR-3-5 slowly made his way down the streets of Ponyville, keeping a watchful eye out for anything strange. It was when he reached a two story shop that was decorated with assorted treats like gumdrops and frosting and various other sugary snacks, that GR-3-5 felt that something was very wrong. If asked, he would say that he didn't know why he felt that way, it was just there. Approaching the shop he placed his hand on the handle, it was slightly warm to the touch; as if a lot of people, or in this case ponies, had used it a lot recently. Looking behind him, GR-3-5 noticed that Rainbow Dash was gone. His subconscious screamed at him to get out of there, but he ignored it and thrust open the door. "SURPRISE!"
