Universal Soldier

Chapter 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!"