Colonial Marine in Equestria

Chapters

Chapter 1: Bug Out
Chapter 2: Digging In
Chapter 3: New Comrades
Chapter 4: Back to Basic
Chapter 5: Contact
Chapter 6: Mobilization
Chapter 7: Casualty
Chapter 8: Hive
Chapter 9: Friends to the End

Chapter 1: Bug Out

Private Anonymous. Rifleman of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. This is my first entry in this stupid green book. Just a bunch of useless information I’ll never use. So I’m using it as a journal of sorts. I’m part of Echo Squad, Rifle Team. Corporal Evans has my back for this mission. Watching out for the new guy I guess. My platoon has been directed to some rock called Tranek-5. Search and Rescue op. No big deal, but enough to get my feet wet. I serve with the best, so I better give them mine. [End of Entry]

You wipe the sweat off your face as you delve deeper into the temple. The heat is unbearable in here. “Shrug it off Private, a little heat won’t kill you.”

“Yes sir.” You reply focusing on the path ahead. If you’re going to be a bonified marine you’ll need to act like one. The further you go the stranger this place gets. An ancient temple in the middle of a lifeless planet was one thing. But you feel like someone’s watching you. The black coating around the walls don’t help much either.

You follow Evans into the next chamber, that black shit covering every inch of it. ”I’ve got a bad feeling about it.” Another private blurts out.

”Can it Marine, you’re not here to feel.” Evans replies. Evans may act tough, but you can tell he feels it too. This shit is just too weird.

“Clear.” You move into the next room which opens up into some sort of arena. The scientists should be somewhere in here…

”Any movement private?” Sgt. Barret calls out.

“Nothing on the tracker sir.”

”Alright, Alpha and Bravo take left. Charlie Squad, make your way around the right. Delta will cover you from the upper floor. Echo secure this door.

“Done sir.”

”That a boy, now move out.” The marines fan out, leaving your team to hold a door.

”Stuck with the shit job, like usual.” Pvt. Johnson moans.

“Unless you want to get stuck with latrine duty, I’d man up and deal with it.”

”Keep talking like that and you might make it places rookie.” Cpl. Evans doesn’t give praise lightly, you’d feel gitty if you weren’t so fucking hot.

A crackle bursts from your radio, ‘We got one!’

”Roger that, Delta and Charlie get back her on the double.” Finally, time to get out of here.

‘Yo Sgt. He doesn’t look to good man.’

‘We got some more over here!’

‘Fuck man what’s wrong with this guy?’ *pop*

‘The fuck is that thing!?’ A burst of Pulse Rifle rounds go off at Alpha’s location. You ready your weapon. *Hisssss…*

*ba beep** ba beep* Your motion tracker is going haywire. “I’ve got movement!”

”No shit marine, where?”

You tap your tracker, the signal still growing. “I’ve got movement all around sir. 15 meters and moving in.”

”There’s nothing besides us, check again.”

“I’m telling you sir, 12 meters!”

”Evans, status report.”

He looks at your tracker, his expression growing grim, “10 meters sir, that’s the truth.”

”All squads back to the door!” Too late.

A scream comes from your right along with a roar of gunfire. ”Charlie and Delta squads report! Give me a sitrep dammit.”

‘They’re everywhere sgt. We need to g- ahhhh!’ More screams come from Alpha and Bravo. Gunfire blazes through the chamber.

”Let’s get these assholes!” Pvt. Johnson and Cpl. Foley charge into the fray, letting out a hail of bullets.

‘Echo Squad, hold that door! Bravo’s on its way.’

You look at Evans who’s back against the wall and aiming down the sights. ”Copy that! Anon we hold until Bravo arrives.” You imitate Evans, scared out of your mind.

“What about the others?”

”What do you think?” Fuck.

Something crawls along the ceiling, moving towards you. You squeeze the trigger and it drops like a sack of potatoes. “Another!” You and Evans unload everything you have into the crowd. So much for short controlled bursts.

”Bravo should have been here by now.” A marine runs around the corner, making a sprint for the door only to be dragged off.

“What the fuck are these?”

“We hold at all costs.” You never signed up for this shit.

You scoot your way towards the door, ready to escape. ”Where do you think you’re going private!?”

“I’m not sitting around here to die like the others.”

”We hold!”

You pepper off another few rounds, dropping another intruder. “Like hell I will.” You sprint up the stairs, leaving the chaos behind you. The rings of pulse rifles and shotguns echo in your ears. You won’t die like them…

Cold air hits your face, relieving you temporarily. Past the stairs you continue sprinting towards the evac zone. You can still hear the gunfire behind you. You’re almost at HQ when you see a pistol on the floor. Nothing shows up on the tracker as you pick it up. The gun is covered in some oozy substance, sticking to your hand. *bleep* Popping up your head, you see it down the hall. It’s black as night, buglike in appearance. Its teeth quiver as it gets ready to charge. You aim down the sights, barraging the bug with ammo. It weaves around the walls gaining speed. Whipping out your Pulse Rifle, you fire the grenade launcher, detonating square on its head. The tunnel collapses, chunks of ancient stone coming down all around you, forcing you to find a way around.

Your heart is beating at a hundred miles per hour. Who knows how long you’ve been running. Another right, another dark hallway, the cackle of gunfire fading behind you. “Fuck!” You check your motion tracker. Nothing. Too fucking close. You walk down the hallway, eyes peeled for anything suspicious. That motion tracker is what got most of your Squad killed, can’t be too careful. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice- *bleep* Twenty-four meters and closing behind you, a hiss echoing its way into your soul. NOPE!

You barrel down the hallway, throwing away subtlety. That thing isn’t going to get you like the others. Another right and you can see a large room at the end of the hall. Sprint man! The room is bigger than you remembered, the walls shifting away. You shut the door, locking away any monstrosities the may want in. Taking a few steps back, you look around the room for anything you can use.

Thank the fucking stars this place is hasn’t been emptied out yet.. You even spot a couple boxes of UA-571C Sentry Guns. Nothing on the motion tracker. You strip a few pulse rifles of their magazines, adding them to your own. You stop, noticing a pair of legs sticks out from behind the sentry guns. Drawing your weapon you take work your way around. It’s… Corporal Evans, poor bastard. One of those bugs got him in the head. You spot an Incinerator on the ground next to him, so you bend down to pick it up. Some goo coats the handle and sticks to your hand. You’ve seen this stuff before…

You take a step back, bumping into some controls, a loud roar comes from the console. “Shit…” You started something alright. A growl turns your attention away from the console. An invisible force grabs you and throws you up against the wall. The thing is blurry, not having a definite shape. *shling* A pair of blades juts out of nowhere. Goodbye world… As you say your last goodbyes, another creature slams into your attacker and drops you to the ground. You run to the other side of the room and draw your pistol. The creatures are hidden behind a desk, still fighting each other. A blinding light engulfs you and you can feel yourself losing consciousness. Fucking alien temples…

Fresh air fills your lungs invigorating you. Moving your hand around you feel the fresh grass on your skin. The sun extends its warmth and safety to you. You bolt up, your basic training kicking in. The room you were in is gone, now replaced by some open plain. You draw your combat knife and get into stance. There is no sign of your attackers or the temple. You put your hand on your head, where the hell are you?

This place reminds you of the pictures you’ve seen of Earth’s past, wildlife and nature running wild. The contents of the room are scattered around, even Corporal Evans’s body. You tear off his dog tags and place them in your pouch. He had your back, but you left him, too scared to watch his. You should’ve been there. “Sorry sir…”

Evans still has his Combat Shotgun in his hands, you probably need it more than him now. You sling the shotgun around your back and continue scavenging around. An assortment of guns are tossed about the area, you gather them up and put them all in a large bag. The sentry guns made it, but they’re too big to take alone. A couple research logs were lying about, so you place them in your pocket. Never know when you’ll need them. After a couple minutes you sit down on the sentry boxes and take out your green book. Might as well make use of this thing.

Location- Unknown. Time- 1320 hours. Turns out the “search and rescue” op was a load of shit. There weren’t any survivors on Tranek-5, only some temple. We locked in onto the scientist’s transponders only to find death lying in wait. Nothing could have prepared us for that slaughter. Those bugs… they wiped out my whole platoon. Corporal Evans and I were told to hold the escape route. I was never good at following orders. I panicked and fled like a coward. I left them all behind. On my way back, I found him back in the main chamber, a hole in his head. He must’ve retreated when Bravo failed to show… Whatever killed him tried to do the same to me, but something happened. I had hit some switch and a blast of light hit me and I woke up in some field. My attackers are gone, but they left me with a bunch of gifts. I have no idea where I am, but I’m going to try and find out. [End of Entry]

You look around observing the equipment. It doesn’t seem like a good idea leaving this stuff out in the open. You find some bushes and discard what you can’t carry. You can always come back for it. A river flows nearby, where there’s water there’s civilization. You need to get some answers.

You check your equipment, a simple routine. Armor and helmet undamaged, Combat Knife, VP-70 Pistol 2 clips, M41A Pulse Rifle 3 clips, ZX-76 Combat Shotgun 16 shells, M240 Incinerator full tank, flares, motion tracker and your green book. You jot it all down, hell you’re basically a walking armory. You set off down the river, not burning daylight.

Location- Unknown. Time- 0600 hours. Had to turn off my motion tracker, the wildlife kept setting it off. I almost wasted a shot the first time it went off. Those bugs have me jumping at shadows. Still no sign of people, I’m thinking I went the wrong way. Can’t sleep, there’s no telling if those things are here or not. [End of Entry]

You keep walking for a couple hours, finally spotting a town on the horizon. The river leads you to a cobblestone bridge, the town on the other side. Looks a bit old timey though, constructed mainly out of wood. You keep your hand on your pistol as you enter town. There doesn’t seem to be any people out, just some small horses. Ponies more like it. The silence is deafening, the ponies all have their eyes on you. They kinda freak you out though you don’t show it. You could have sworn you had heard voices before.

“Private Anon, Colonial Marines, anyone here?” No response. The ponies continue to stare. Great, find a town and it’s completely deserted except for some cattle. Just your luck. You walk further in, “Hello? Private Anon, Colonial Marines. If anyone’s there respond.

”Sorry about them,” a sweet voice responds behind you, “they haven’t seen anything like you before.”

”Who’s they?” you say turning around.

A purple pony stands before you, a horn on its head. ”The rest of Ponyville.” De fuck!?

You draw your pistol and back away, thoroughly freaked out. ”Umm, are you ok?” A talking purple unicorn, and it wants to know how you feel. Completely normal.

“How can you talk?” This is too much shit for one week.

”All ponies can talk, you- you didn’t know that did you?” It steps closer, though you don’t sense any hostility towards you. You holster your pistol, hand still hovering just in case.

“Affirmative.”

She appears puzzled at your language, but signals the all-clear to the others. “So what brings you to Ponyville, Anon correct?” She may not be human, but she is willing to help.

“Yes ma’am. I came looking for others like myself; do you happen to have a radio I can use?”

”A radio? I don’t know what that is sorry.”

Damn, looks like you’re going to be stuck here for a while. Activate Courtesy. “It’s alright, I didn’t catch your name Ms…”

”Twilight Sparkle, pleasure to meet you.”

Strange name, but ponies can talk so I guess that makes it ok? “So Ms.Twilight-“

”Just Twilight please.” She seems nice.

“Apologies, exactly where am I Twilight?”

”That would be Equestria.” Equestria huh? Doesn’t ring any bells. You yawn, the lack of rest getting to you. ”Do you need a place to stay?” she asks concerned. “You look like you need some sleep and lay down.” You see her eyeing your weapons.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” you reply disappointing her. You can feel your equipment weighing you down. “But I could make an exception for now.”

She smiles. “There is a house at the edge of town you could use. No one has moved in there since I came here. Is that good enough?”

“That’d be perfect ma’am.”

”Wonderful, I’ll talk to the mayor about your presence here, and please just call me Twilight.”

You give her a nod. “Roger that ma’am.” She giggles before disappearing in a flash of light. This place is fucking weird.

The path to this house is relatively clear. Everyp0ny seems to just clear before you. You don’t even have to intimidate them with your weapons. Other than that, they appear to act just like the civies back home. They buy their shit, go home, and mingle, same old shit just in a different place. The house Twilight mentioned is just ahead. Same structure as most of the other buildings. You always wanted to live in something like this as a kid. No more steel corridors and grey terrain. You shake your head and step inside.

The interior is just as homey as the exterior. There’s a kitchen, living room and even a bathroom downstairs. No more shitting in some hole in the ground. Thank god for that. You set your weapons down on the counter, keeping your pistol and tracker with you. Nothing is catching you by surprise. You clear room by room, silently stepping up the stairs. Some office is to your right, empty. You continue your sweep entering another room. What you see utterly stuns you.

A bed. It’s an actual bed, not just some dinky mattress or cryo pod. You run your hand over the covers. Your hand practically melds with the cloth it’s so soft. This is the first proper bed you’ve felt in your life. Stories were told at how these things felt, but you never thought you’d get the chance… The house is clear enough for you; you just want to feel this bed. You unclasp your armor from your chest and set it on the ground. Flipping on the motion tracker you set it on the nightstand. This place is on the edge of town, so nothing should set it off. Drawing your pistol you plop down on the bed. So… comfortable… You drift off to sleep, pistol in hand.

You’re back in the temple, chatting up some of your squadmates. Johnson is passing time playing cards, others restocking equipment. Just a bunch of marines ready to roll. You see Evans in the middle staring at you. He shakes his head and closes his eyes. Black resin seeps down the walls the light fading. The marines scream in agony, clutching their chests. Evans keeps staring at you.

Your comrades begin to change, their bodies disfigured. They morph into the very bugs that killed them. You raise your weapon and fire, no ammo. *ba bleep* The monsters surround Evans who continues to stare at you. ”We hold…” You run out the door into the blackness. *ba bleep* Something grabs you by the shoulders pulling you up. Evans is inches from your face. ”We hold…” His face contorts, finalizing into another bug. It’s teeth quiver and open revealing it’s other mouth. *ba bleep*

You shoot out of bed accidently firing your weapon, beads of sweat rolling down your face. Just a nightmare… *ba bleep* You don your armor and grab the tracker. Something’s coming towards you. You rush downstairs and aim at the door. *ba bleep* “Come on in, you fuckers... Come on in... ‘Ol'Painless’ is waiting...” *knock knock knock*

”Anon are you alright in there? I heard a loud noise?” Just Twilight.

“Damn,” you mutter holstering your pistol, “I’m fine.” You open the door and turn off your tracker. “Evening Twilight, something I can help you with?”

”I was just wondering how you were settling in. What was that noise?” You pull out your pistol showing it to her.

“My sidearm, I accidently set it off when I woke up.”

”And it makes that loud of a noise?”

“You- don’t know what a gun is do you?”

”Not really, no.”

You sigh, not wanting to explain this shit. “Well, I’m doing fine Twilight. Thank you for the thought. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

”I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat. Sugarcube Corner is still open, so would you like to go?” You are kind of hungry since you haven’t eaten anything since you got here.

“Sure just give me a second.”

You pick up your pulse rifle and sling it across your back. ”I don’t think you’ll need that…” Twilight calls.

“I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” No one has died after saying that. She looks concerned, but waits for you nonetheless. You lock the door and follow Twilight’s lead. The two of you make small talk, mostly letting her tell you about the area. When you get to ‘Sugarcube Corner,’ all the lights are out. “Doesn’t look like they’re open.” You sigh in disappointment.

”They’re open, come on.” You follow her into the building, lights still off. You barely make out a sign at the back, ‘something something Anon.’

“I swear to god-“

”Surprise!” God dammit…

Ponies fucking galore with each screaming your name. You manage not to gun them down by instinct. You raise your eyebrow at Twilight, giving her a chance to explain. ”Don’t look at me. It wasn’t even my idea.”

“Uh huh.” You’re not buying it.

”It was Pinkie Pie’s idea, she al-“

“Where can I find this ‘Pinkie Pie’?” A haze of pink appears in the corner of your eye. No answer needed.

”Hiya! Nice to meet you mister Anon, my name’s Pinkie Pie.” She’s completely pink, how fitting. ”Did we surprise you? It’s a surprise party so of course you’re surprised…” She continue to ramble on while you pour yourself some punch. You haven’t had fruit punch since you were a kid, which reminds you of your empty belly.

“Sorry to interrupt, but is there anything to eat?”

”Of course we do silly, come on.” She drags you around to a table covered in layers of sugary sweets. Of course, this place is called Sugarcube Corner after all. ”Dig in!” she says scarfing down a plate of cupcakes.

“Do you have any, you know, normal food?”

Finishing off her plate, “Why? They’re great just try some.”

“Sorry Pinkie, I can’t.” She gets on her knees and gives you the puppy dog eyes. Dat fucking face. You give, grabbing a yellow frosted cupcake. This’ll take a good week to work off. You take a bite, Pinkie searching your face for the slightest hint of joy. Keep up that pokerface… just a little longer. It’s like you took a bite of heaven and then some. You gulp it down, still expressionless. “Eh, it’s pretty good, thank you. Now about that food…” She jumps for joy and guides you to the kitchen. It doesn’t take much to make her happy apparently.

You can barely follow her erratic movement as the bounces off the walls. Drawers are opening and closing before you can react. She places a sandwich in front of you, “Tada!” Finally, something substantial. You take a large bite, fighting back the urge to purge. The inside is all grainy and utterly tasteless. Managing to swallow you spot a fake grin.

“What’d you put in it?”

”It’s called a Dandelion Delight! You’ve got hay, lettuce, dandelions of course and a variety of other flowers. No wonder it’s awful, the ingredients are basically all inedible. You open the fridge to see if there’s anything you can actually eat. There’s a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but you need something nice and meaty. Other fridge might have something. Nope, nope and yep, more nope.

“Hey Pinkie do you any anything else in here besides the obvious? Meat maybe?

”We don’t carry meat,” she gasps, “Only those animals in the Everfree Forest eat meat.” Animals… Is that what you are then? An animal? She probably hasn’t thought of anything else.

“I’m sure that some people eat meat Pinkie, not just animals.”

”Hmm…” thinking about it for a minute, “Nope, only animals could be so cruel.” Your nerves begin to flare at her ignorance. So you’re just an animals after all…

“Have you ever considered that they need it to stay healthy? Not every-“

”Ponies don’t need it, so neither do they.” That doesn’t even make sense.

“You don’t understand, t-“

”I understand that eating meat is evil, like those who eat it. More Dandelion Delight?” She says holding out the sandwich. You don’t have to take this shit from this insufferable p0ny.

“Thanks for the party Pinkie,” you say walking out.

”Hey we haven’t gotten out the cake yet!” she shouts after you. You head for the door ignoring the rest of the ponies. You stop by Twilight before you leave.

“Thank you sincerely for the party, but please, don’t next time.”

”What do you mean?” You’re already on your way home when you respond.

“Ask Pinkie Pie, I’m sure a couple ‘ponies’ can figure it out.”

You open the door and get on the floor. No walking the dinosaur tonight. You’re just an animal to them, some creature that eats the flesh of others. They don’t understand that you actually need it. How could they? It goes against their own being to even think about eating meat. Fuck it, it’s their problem not yours.

The bed is still as comfortable as before, though you don’t feel that way. You’re not even going to bother with your armor, but you lay down your pulse rifle, pistol and tracker. Flipping on the tracker you lay back in bed. Let’s hope for a good night's sleep.

Chapter 2: Digging In

Location- Equestria, Ponyville. Time- 0700 hours Day 2 in Equestria No sign of other humans in the area. The ponies lack any sort of radio equipment, and my own is only effective for short-range use. I’ll be stuck here until I find a way back, and from the looks of it, that could be never. I haven’t seen the other two creatures since the incident. That’s something to be happy about. A unicorn named Twilight set me up with a house, which strikes me as odd. She may seem kind, but I couldn’t help but notice her eyeing my equipment. It might be paranoia, but I’m going to make sure to stash my weapons around the house. Can’t have anyone finding them. On another note, I attended a party yesterday, though I didn’t leave on the best of terms. I let my feelings get the better of me, not one of my finer moments. Like Evans said, “You’re not here to feel.” I’ll see about apologizing to Pinkie Pie about walking out on her party. [End of Entry]

Stashing your weapons you head outside for your morning run, pistol still handy. You left your combat armor behind, keeping your fatigues on. No p0ny is up this early in Ponyville, giving you free reign to look around. You remember a few places Twilight mentioned and check them out. There’s Sugarcube Corner, pieces of cake splattered on the windows. How anyone could look at that place and not get fatter is beyond you. The Carousel Boutique is down the road. One of Twilight’s friends runs the place. Twilight’s house, a tree library thing is only a bit off of here. Sweet Apple Acres is down the road… After several laps around Ponyville you think you’ve got a mental map of the area. *sniff* B.O. as well.

You make it back home, door hanging ajar. “Paranoia my ass.” Drawing your pistol you silently enter your home. The door creaks closed trapping you with your intruder. You wish you had your tracker right about now. Downstairs is clear in a quick sweep. Your guns are all accounted for. *creak* something moved a floorboard upstairs. Up the stairs, you approach your bedroom. Kicking open the door you burst in pistol drawn. There next your bed is fucking Twilight Snoopsalot and some yellow Pegasus. The Pegasus squeaks when she sees you, trying to hide behind Twilight. “Explain.” Never dropping your guard.

”I- uh, thought you said something about going for a run.”

“Never told you that. You watched me leave didn’t you? You know what, don’t answer, I already know.” You motion your gun to the other p0ny. “Why are you here and who is she?”

”I don’t take your hostil-“

“And I don’t take kindly to people breaking into my house. So, I’ll ask again. What’s your business?”

”Fair enough, I came to see you about last night. I talked to Pinkie Pie and found out why you were upset.”

“That’s one way to describe it. Now who’s the lass in yellow?” The Pegasus says something, but she’s so quiet you can’t hear her for shit.

”Her name is Fluttershy, and I think she can help you.”

“I’m all ears.” You keep your gun trained on Twilight.

”Fluttershy lives in a cottage a bit away from town, and she takes care of animals there. I had hoped you two could talk about how she could help.” Another incomprehensible mutter from Fluttershy. This is going nowhere fast. You lower your weapon.

“If we’re going to talk then let’s be somewhere more comfortable.” You motion them down the stairs, gun still in hand. You check on your tracker which is currently offline. It was on when you left… Twilight…

They’re sitting down on the couch when you get downstairs. Twilight has on her best poker face, still not good enough. You holster your pistol and sit on the couch across from them. “So…” you say, unsure of how this is supposed to go.

”I’ll leave you two to it.”

“Stay,” you order, “I need you to aid in the negotiations.” She sits back down and starts things off.

Fluttershy is really nice when she comes out of her shell. Though she didn’t initially contribute to the conversation, she made up for it later on. She understood better than others about how eating meat was beneficial to certain beings. She cared for several carnivores and fed them adequately. Eventually you wound up agreeing on certain terms. She would allow you access to the meat she uses as feed, and in return you help her at her request. There’s a lot of manual labor that she can’t get done without certain expertise, and your hands can simplify those tasks.

After the negotiations you bid Fluttershy farewell, hoping you made a friend today. Twilight on the other hand… She tries to leave, but you close the door before she can. “We need to talk.”

”About what Anon?” droplets of sweat running down her neck.

“Don’t play dumb, I’ve seen you eyeing my equipment, and I don’t appreciate it.” Talking a few steps forward you have her on the defensive. “You broke into my house under the guise of aiding me.”

”No I-“

“How long did you search for them Twilight? How long before you headed into my room?”

”I was just-“ she’s casting her head in shame.

“You turned off my tracker, why is it so interesting to you? I want some answers.” She doesn’t look at you, keeping her head down.

”Alright…” You ease her onto the couch and sit beside her. ”I’m the personal student of Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of Equestria.” You nod egging her on. ”As her student I have been tasked with discovering the magic of friendship here in Ponyville.” You snicker at her, earning a glare.

“Apologies please continue.”

”I report to her with any new findings I might have discovered, and then you walked into town.” Ahhhhh… ”I needed to find out more about you, so I put you here.”

“And what did the mayor think?”

”She respected my opinion and allowed you to stay so I could- study you.” All in the name of knowledge.

“So that’s why you broke into my house and tampered with my stuff?”

”Yes.” She turned her head away.

You get off the couch, your back to Twilight. “And the princess?”

”I haven’t had anything to report. She doesn’t know you’re here.” A high ranking official could become useful in the future. You turn back to Twilight.

“How do you send your reports to the Princess?”

”I- write a letter and Spike sends it.”

“Alright, where’s Spike?”

”He’s back at the library, why?”

“I want to send her a report of my own.”

You follow Twilight back to her house, if you can call it that. ”Spike?”

”Yeah Twilight what’s up?”

”I need a letter sent right away.”

”Alright ju- What is that!?” he says hiding behind a table.

You turn to Twilight, “This purple lizard is Spike?”

”He’s a dragon, and yes.”

“So much for dragons being tough…”

”I’ll have you know I’m as tough as they come,” he says stomping towards you.

“Whatever, just send it.” You say throwing your scroll at him. He yelps, a blast of fire engulfing the scroll and almost your hand. “Fuck!” you shout jumping out of the way. Spike seems to have done the same, nowhere to be seen.

You look toward Twilight who seems amused at your reaction. She won’t look so amused when you have your boot up her- *belch* Another wave of fire and a scroll plops on the ground. Twilight magics it up and begins reading. “Private Anonymous, I apologize for the behavior of my student. Her actions were not condoned by me, and I give you my word I will speak to her of it. The location you requested to meet is acceptable as are the terms. I look forward to meeting you in person. ~Princess Celestia. Where are you meeting her?”

“Sorry Twilight, but information is on a need-to-know basis,” you walk out the door, “and you don’t need to know.”

You make a stop at home before departing. A quick shower eliminates that B.O. you’ve been sporting. You grab an apple out of the fridge as your lunch. Slinging your tracker and pulse rifle around your shoulder you head out. Following the river you backtrack to where you arrived. Celestia in wait.

Location- Ponyville River. Time- 1845 hours. Turns out I wasn’t paranoid after all. Twilight made me feel welcome only to attempt to learn more about me, covertly that is. Right on the money again Anon. She’s a student of the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia. I sent her a letter, asking for an audience away from prying eyes. I let her know that I meant no harm to anyone. She agreed to support me while I stay in Equestria on the condition that I relay all information regarding my mission and how I got here. A fair deal I guess. It’s not like I know anything important. I’m coming up on the rendezvous. Hope my stash is still hidden. [End of Entry]

You make your way through some bushes, reemerging into the field you woke up in. Flipping on the tracker, you scan sweep the area hoping to locate the princess. Nothing yet. She’ll be here soon, you just know it. You pull out your hidden equipment making sure nothing was snatched while you were away. Everything seems to be accounted for. You can’t shake the feeling that something is watching you. The tracker still comes up clean, though you don’t know how accurate this thing is anymore. *ba bleep* Approaching your rear and fast. Swinging around you aim down the sights. ”That won’t be necessary Private Anonymous.”

You blow a sigh of relief. “Just jumpy, I apologize.”

She looks over you and the supplies, curiosity clearly evident. She appears to be some combination of a unicorn and Pegasus, bearing the unique wings and horn. Her skin is pearly white and her sparkling mane exhibits various colors. A sun appears on her flank, apparently a ‘cutie mark’ according to Twilight. *ba bleep* More movement from your flank. You pivot and aim into the forest, nothing in sight. Celestia laughs, “Calm yourself Anonmymous, let us talk.”

“Yes ma’am.” You reply lowering your weapon.

Sitting down on your sentry crates, you relax. That mission still has you jumpy. “Where should we begin princess?” The sooner this is over the better.

”How about a formal greeting? My name is Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. Pleasure to meet you”

You stand up and salute. “Private Anonymous, United States Colonial Marine Corps. Echo Squad rifleman, under the command of Sgt. Barret. The pleasure’s all mine princess.”

”Quite the title, may I call you Anon?”

“Yes ma’am.” *ba bleep*

You twitch at the alarm, keeping your eyes on the princess. ”First Anon,” becoming critical, “I want your word as a marine that you will not harm my little ponies. I will not tolerate such action.”

“I give you my word as a marine that I will not harm any p0ny of this land. I will protect myself as trained if need be.”

”Fair enough. Now about this support you requested…” *ba bleep*

You aim towards the forest, trees rustling in the wind. There’s something in there, you may not see it, but you can feel it. “Trust, princess. If I tell you something, I want you to take my word for it. Like right now, I know you don’t see anything in there, but you have to trust me in the fact that there is.” Celestia walks over to you, peering into the blackness of the forest.

”I trust you Anon.”

“Good, you have access to magic right, like Twilight does?” She nods. “I ask that you teleport my equipment back to Ponyville. I’m not turning my back on that forest.” Her horn glows a vibrant blue, your stash disappearing from the field. Unicorns could become quite handy.

The tracker’s been silent for some time now, but you know it’s there waiting. You back up in front of Celestia, acting as a human shield. “Get us the hell out of here,” you whisper.

”As you wish.” *crack* A ball of blue flame shoots out of the trees.

“Get down!” You shout dragging Celestia to the floor. The object explodes behind you scorching the landscape. You stand up firing into the trees. *ba bleep* It’s moving fast, slower than those bugs though. This is something different. “We need to get out of here now!” Her horn glows again as another bolt rains from the forest. Fuck, you land on Celestia shielding her from the blast. Your body tingles before disappearing into another burst of light.

You open your eyes, Celestia’s mane clouding your vision. Getting up, you find yourself back in Ponyville. No p0ny is sight besides the princess who’s still on the ground. Whatever that thing was, it seemed to have it out for you. But it’s gone… for now. You help Celestia back to her hooves. ”I hope you have an explanation for that little predicament.”

You hold open the door granting access to your humble abode. “I wish I did.”

She speaks as you unbuckle your armor and helmet. “Are we going to be disturbed again?”

“Hopefully not,” placing your helmet on the counter, “you want me to turn off the tracker?”

”No,” she blurts out before resuming in a calm tone, “it has been quite helpful thus far.”

“My thoughts exactly,” resting it down next to your helmet, “So about my mission here-“

”Do you trust me?” she interrupts.

“Of course I do princess. I cannot expect you to trust me without it given back.”

”Good, you know, I do not appreciate those who lie to me, would you agree?” Kind of a strange question seeing as how you haven’t hinted at lying yet.

“Yes ma’am, do you doubt it?”

”I may trust your actions Anon, but words are far more deceptive in their intent.” Stepping forward, “I would like to see what you speak of.” What the fuck is that even supposed to mean? She detects your hesitation, “Do you still trust me?” Mind melding with a unicorn Pegasus princess isn’t exactly what you had in mind when you joined the Corps. You take a deep breathe before answering.

“Yes,” sitting before Celestia. She places her hoof to your head, horn shimmering. “Will it hurt?” You’d like to know what you’re in for.

”Only if you fight it.”

Your eyes glaze over as her horn grows in intensity. Scenes of your past flash by. Basic training, graduation, mission briefing, cryosleep. You relive years of your life fly in a matter of minutes. Tranek-5, landing at the campsite, the temple. You wince trying to stop the memories. The descent into blackness… You don’t want to live this, not again. The chamber, platoon splitting up. *ba bleep* “N-noo…” Gunfire rings in your ear, your friends getting slaughtered. “Stop…” Leaving Evans in the void, abandoning him. ‘We hold.’

You cling to a wall as you have heave for air. It was so vivid. His face, his words, so real. ”You left him to die there…” Her words sting, though you know they’re true.

“I was a coward, unfit for a marine.”

”It was your first mission Anon, you weren’t ready.”

“I should have been, Evans would still be alive if I hadn’t…”

”It’s wasn’t your fault Evans died. It was his choice to stay.”

“And I was supposed to have his back, side by side until the end.” You clutch his dog tags, another reminder of your failure.

“Do you hold your honor so highly?”

“It’s the only thing I have left…”

Neither of you speak for a while, your mind still weary from her mental thing that she did. “What will you do now?” Celestia asks breaking the silence.

“Now? I hunt down the bug that wiped out my platoon. That ‘thing’ that attacked us wasn’t from here; it was in that room with me. I know that much.” You reload your pulse rifle. “If it’s here then that bug is here as well. I won’t let my platoon die in vain.”

”I’m sorry Anon, but I can’t let you do that in your condition.”

“I’m at my prime ma’am, best condition I can go in.”

“You aren’t thinking clearly. From what I’ve seen, those creatures are a threat to this land as well, let me help you.” She’s right, your emotions are going to get yourself killed. Besides, you could start something new here that doesn’t involve military conduct.

You take out the research papers you picked up and hand them to Celestia. “I haven’t gotten around to reading these yet, but you may find something useful in it.”

”Weyland-Yutani?”

“It’s the corporation the scientists worked for.”

”I’ll have Twilight take a look at it. Stay safe.”

“Yes ma’am.” Celestia flies off, leaving you to organize your newly acquired goodies.

You spend the rest of your day funneling equipment into your upstairs office turned armory. It’s basically a redneck’s wet dream, with more firepower than you could ever hope to use. Boarding up the windows and locking the door you head out into Ponyville, leaving your armor and weapons behind. Just your trusty pistol to keep you safe.

The starry night is simply refreshing, the breeze sapping you of your woes. Some music can be heard in the distance coming from some sort of club. You haven’t been to a bar since you joined the Corps. Making your way inside it seems none of the ponies mind your appearance here. They’ve either gotten over your presence or have downed so much alcohol they can’t tell the difference. Either way you’re not going to start complaining. You motion the bartender over. He’s a bit skeptical at first, but eventually services you. Seems it was the latter.

”What can I do you for?”

“How much for a beer?”

”That’d be two bits.”

“Bit?” He pulls out a gold coin letting you see what he means. “Oh.” Your night seems to have ended before it began.

Pulling out a beer he slides it over to you, “On the house.” Bartender = New Best Bro.

You raise the glass and take a sip. Good ol’ liquid happiness. The night drags on as you sip the same beer, trying to lengthen the inevitable. You may not be a big music fan, but this place has some rocking beats. The DJ keeps the music flowing from track to track, easing you along. The DJ’s a unicorn, female from the looks of it, her skin an even white and displaying a blue mane with light blue stripes. You close your eyes and absorb the music. *crash* Everything goes quiet, music, patrons, crickets, everything. “God fucking damnit…”

A drunk is making a mess at the end of the bar, the bouncers trying to get a hold of him. Let’s just say it doesn’t turn out well. Two bucks and the bouncers are down writhing around in pain. Pretty pathetic actually, and that drunk is still up and about. You just wanted a nice drink, but we can’t have that now can we? Picking up your drink you walk over to the deranged patron. ”You want some too!?” he shouts at your approach.

“Look, I just came here for a good time, how about you sit down and enjoy your drink.”

”Buck you weirdo. I do what I want!”

“Now, I don’t appreciate that kind of language, especially not in front of the ladies. Now, why don’t w-“

”For all I care these ladies can all go suck my di-“ You punch him square in the jaw shutting him up.

“Now,” you say calming yourself down, “I think it’d be best if you left.” The drunk has other plans, aiming to buck you like the bouncers. You sidestep out of the way causing him to fall on his stomach. “I hate drunks…”

Picking him up you head out the front door and plop him on the ground. “A punch will be the least of your problems if you cause trouble again, understood?” He nods his head before falling unconscious in a puddle of his own piss. No decency…

The club gives you a round of applause as you enter the bar. You wave a bit thanking the patrons before returning to the bar. Empty, so much for that. ”Nice going with that guy.” The DJ takes a seat next to you, the bartender slipping her a beer of her own. ”I think this pony needs another round, ey Raúl.” The bartender, apparently Raúl, nods and grabs you a fresh one.

“Thanks.” You give your beer another sip, delicious.

”You’re Anon right?” The DJ asks.

“The one and only, heard much?”

”Just that you came into town yesterday and scared the entire town like a bunch of fillies. ‘Private Anonymous Colonial Marines!’ I wish I was there.”

“Well you didn’t miss much,” Taking another sip, “and who might you be?”

”Names Vinyl Scratch, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

”So what do you think of this dinky little club? Everything as expected?”

“Besides that drunk everything’s perfect. Best I’ve been to actually.”

”I know right, I don’t know what I pay those pathetic bouncers for. They always end up an utter disappointment.”

“You own this place?”

”Sure do, my own little slice of heaven. Why, you think a mare couldn’t handle it?”

“Not at all, just surprised the owner is this in tune with their patrons is all.”

”Well I like to keep them happy; music is one of the ways I can do that.”

“I can drink to that.” You take another sip of beer. “I have the feeling you want to ask me something besides how I’m doing.”

She shifts her shades, revealing her brilliant red eyes. ”Pretty fast aren’t you? You’d be correct on that.” She continues, taking a swig of her own beer. ”You saw how those bouncers were, not being able to handle a single disgruntled p0ny, but you…” Another gulp, “I figure you can do better.”

“And whatever gave you that idea?” you chuckle.

”I’m offering you a job, double the regular rate, benefits and all.”

“You don’t seem very good at negotiating,” letting out another laugh.

”Every time a stunt like tonight happens I lose business here, but with you… I might actually make something of this place.” She seems pretty desperate, and you find yourself out of these ‘bits’. Overall it looks much like a win-win scenario. Besides, it’s not like ponies are jumping at you offering jobs. You could be a good bouncer, might be a downgrade, but it’s still a grade.

“Free drinks wouldn’t happen to be a benefit would it?”

She smiles, “But of course.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” You chug the rest of your beer. “When can I start?”

Chapter 3: New Comrades

Location- Home. Time- 0800 hours. Day 3 in Ponyville. Those things that attacked me in the temple are here in Equestria. Celestia has asked that I let her handle it, and I’m inclined to agree. My emotions would wind up with me dead. Besides, now you have a job. Vinyl Scratch, the owner or a nightclub, offered you a job as a bouncer. Throw out a drunk and get offered a job, good enough for me. I can start making these ‘bits’ and as a bonus I get free drinks. This could be the start of a better life for me. Going out to shoot off some rounds for practice. I’ll go ahead and invite Twilight. She wanted to study me, so here’s her chance. [End of Entry]

Slinging a variety of weapons behind your back you head to Twilight’s house. *knock knock* Silence. She should be up by now. *knock knock* ”Yeah yeah, I’m coming.” Spike’s voice comes from inside. He opens the door, slamming it when your face is in view. Damn dragons.

“I’m just looking for Twilight, do you know where she is?”

”She went off with Applejack, now go away.”

“Where did she go?”

”Sweet Apple Acres, now leave before I make you!” You tap the door with your foot causing Spike to crash around in fear.

“I’ll be seeing you then… soon…” You head down the road in search of Twilight and someone called Applejack.

You’ve never been to Sweet Apple Acres before instead just hearing about the spectacular apples that are grown there. Trees paint the landscape in a spectacle of green and red. It takes about a half hour to reach the top of the hill, a barn residing at the peak. The more places you visit, the more Equestria looks like Earth’s past. It’s certainly a sight to behold. You patrol the residence, Twilight nowhere about. Where the hell could she be? ”Whatcha looking for stranger?”

An orange pony wearing a cowboy hat addresses you. She’s got a blonde mane tied back in a ponytail and has a southern accent. I wonder if she works here. “Sorry ma’am, I’m looking for Twilight Sparkle. Someone called Applejack is supposed to be with her, have you seen them?

”Well, that’d be me. What business you got with Twilight?” She doesn’t trust you, that’s for sure.

“I was going to test fire some of my equipment and I thought she’d like to watch. Good enough?”

She stares at you for a minute, formulating a response. ”You’re that Anon kid aren’t ya?”

“I wouldn’t say kid, but yeah, I’m him.”

”Figured you’d be bigger,” she says trotting toward the trees, “Twilight’s talked about you something fierce.” You follow her into the lush fields of Sweet Apple Acres. ”I heard about that entrance of yours in Ponyville, scared all of ‘em they say.”

“Pretty sure everyone has by now. Hopefully they won’t mind me being here though.”

”Give ‘em a few days, they’ll warm up to you sooner or later.”

“Hopefully sooner.” You reply giving her a smile.

”You know, you’re not as bad as those ponies made you out to be. Guess Twilight was right.”

“Speaking of that, what exactly has Twilight said about me?”

”Just that you aren’t all that different than us, even with the whole ‘meat eating’ thing.”

“She told you about that?”

”She did. I don’t like the thought of it, but I understand.”

“Pinkie sure didn’t.”

”Well that’s Pinkie for you, she never could take a hint.” The two of you make your way into a clearing, Twilight reading those papers you gave the princess. ”Hiya Twilight, we got ourselves a guest.”

Twilight looks over to you, greeting you. ”I didn’t think I’d see you so soon.”

“What can I say, I missed you.”

Placing the papers in her bag she trots over to you and Applejack. ”What are you doing here? I thought Celestia-“

“She’s handling it don’t worry, I just figured you’d like to get your chance at ‘studying’ me.” You ready your pulse rifle. “So here’s your chance.”

Twilight is brimming with excitement now. She rambles off, spewing out all sorts of different experiments. You don’t know exactly what a Helux Trisplice is, but it sounds terrifying. You put your hand over her mouth shutting her up. “I have a better idea.” Removing your hand from Twilight. “I thought you might enjoy a demonstration.”

”B-but I can-“

”Don’t push it Twilight, he’s trying to be nice here.”

She purses her lips, almost like a pouting baby would, ”I guess…”

“So, which one do you want me to test out first?”

”How about that one?” Applejacks says pointing to your pulse rifle.

“I see you have an eye for guns, this here is the M41A Pulse Rifle, the backbone of any military platoon. It’s got a 99 round magazine containing10x28mm caseless bullets. It features an underhand grenade launcher firing 30x71mm grenades. If handled correctly, this bad boy can unleash a world of hurt.” Twilight is hastily scribbling down your every word while Applejack looks bored out of her mind. “Something wrong Applejack?”

”Just waiting something to happen.”

Impatient isn’t she. “Give me a target.” Whipping out a lasso she snatches an apple out of a nearby tree.

”This big enough for ya?” She asks mocking you.

“Just throw it,” you reply, securing the rifle’s stock against your shoulder.

She tosses the apple to Twilight, who holds it with her magic. ”Ready?” You nod, aiming toward the open field. The apple speeds off into the sky as you take aim. You squeeze the trigger, the familiar recoil pounding into your shoulder. Before you can blink the apple explodes into a citrusy mist.

“Still bored AJ?”

”That’s what I’ve been waiting for! Do it again!” Three apples later, and she’s ready for something new. You go over the ZX-76 shotgun and your VP-78 Pistol, both giving the same reaction.

“I think that’s about it.”

”What about that last one there.” Oh my, you forgot about that one.

“I don’t think you’re ready for that one just yet. Besides I’m getting pretty hungry.” They both sigh in disappointment, wanting to see it. *sigh* You draw your last weapon. “This is the M240 Incinerator Unit, it uses pressurized Napthal fuel to… well you’ll see.” You take a step back, turning to each of them.
“I’d advise putting on some sunscreen, because I’m about to heat things up.”

Easing on the trigger, a cone of flame jets out of your weapon, scorching the air above. This is the first time you fired on of these outside basic, and boy is it worth it. The fascination is almost primal. You let go of the trigger, both p0nies in utter amazement. “I told you…” Slinging your Incinerator, you stand between the two of them, both of them frozen in time. “Knock knock, anyone home?” Twilight comes to first and jots down a few more notes.

”That was uh-“

”That was bucking sweet!” Applejack hollers.

“I aim to please.”

”Let’s head back, me and Anon need something to eat. How about you Twilight?”

”Huh?” She says picking up her head.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” You, Twilight and Applejack walk back to the barn, bellies rumbling. Twilight and you sit down at a table while Applejack prepares some food for you. You set down your guns on the seat next to you lightening your load.

”Why do you wear that all the time?” Twilight asks.

“The armor?” She nods. “Regulation and such.”

She shakes her head, “You’re not in the military here though, so you’re not forced into wearing it. So why then?”

“I just- I like wearing it. Why does it matter so much?”

”I’m interested in your behavior, the more I know the better.”

Applejack comes in carrying a platter of food on her back. ”Eat up, I know I will.” She bumps the platter onto the table and starts to dig in. You help yourself to some salad and apples. ”So Anon,” Applejack says chewing her food, “Where can I get one of them doohickeys?”

“Can’t I’m afraid. Besides, you couldn’t even pull the trigger.”

”I’m sure Twilight could do something, couldn’t ya?”

She swallows before replying, “I’m not sure, I don’t even know how it works.”

“Even if Twilight could make it pony-friendly, I wouldn’t give one up.”

”So that means you’ve got more of ‘em?” You really don’t like where this is headed.

“These aren’t toys Applejack, I got a bit carried away with them myself, and I’ve had training with them.”

”So you just don’t trust us? Is that it?”

“No, I just can’t take the chance that somep0ny might make a mistake and harm somep0ny else. It’s too risky.”

”He’s right Applejack, you saw what those things could do, if something were to happen…”

”Shucks, I know. Sorry I went all crazy on ya.”

“Forget about it.” The rest of lunch was fairly uneventful; Applejack’s sister, Applebloom, and her friends came over. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. You never liked children, and they don’t seem to change your opinion. Applejack had to continue work, so you and Twilight said your goodbyes and headed back to town. You’ll have to go back sometime; AJ seems pretty down to earth.

You follow Twilight back home, not having to go to work until the sun starts to set. ”So did you reconsider some of my experiments?”

“I think I’ll stave off judgment for now.” Twilight walks around grabbing various books of the shelf and clearing a circle in the middle. “Where’s Spike? I had hoped to scare him a bit.”

”He’s probably off with Rarity, another one of my friends.”

“You seem to have a lot of those. I may have to steal a few if you don’t mind.”

“You’re doing good so far. Fluttershy and Applejack seem to like you.”

“Yeah well, my devilish charm can only take me so far.” She laughs and heads into another room before bringing a large machine back with her. What have you gotten yourself into? Unfolding the monstrous piece of metal, it appears to be some sort of treadmill. ”This is a little invention of mine. I use it to record various bodily functions for whatever research I see fit.”

“And all you need me to do is run right?”

”Yes actually,” her bewilderment quite evident, “You know what this is?”

“It reminds me of the treadmills in medbay, they used it the same way.”

”How fascinating, I’ll have to record that.” You unfasten your armor and strip off your shirt. ”W-what are you doing?”

“If I remember correctly, you’re supposed to place those cable things on me. My clothes interfere with that.”

”Of course, good thinking.”

After configuring the machine and attaching the cables to you, Twilight fires up the machine. The ramp inclines a bit as the track gains speed. Putting one foot in front of the other you walk. Sheets of paper flow out as Twilight inspects every inch of them. “How lon-“

”No talking please. It throws off the results.” You nod and continue to walk. The track continues to accelerate, putting you into jogging pace. More paper flows out of the machine, Twilight barely able to keep up. You look at the timer, only about half an hour left.

Five minutes left the machine jumps up another notch. You’re in a full-on sprint now. They never required this in medbay. Twilight doesn’t bother with the results, now keeping her eye on you. Sweat collects on your chest, the exercise getting to you. Two minutes left. You begin moving backwards, unable to beat the track’s speed. One minute left. This won’t beat you; you sprint as fast as you can, trying to gain ground. ”Time,” she reports turning off the machine. You only slip under the change of speed, but you are able to stay balanced. ”Good job Anon. Only a few ponies have gone through the full cycle.” She tosses you a towel to dry off.

“Well, I’m not a p0ny now am I? You both laugh as you cool down. >You dab the towel against your body, absorbing the extensive amount of sweat that had formed. “So how are the results doc,” you joke, “Will I make it?”

”You’ll be just fine Mr. Anon, the results were negative for Hay Fever.”

“I would hope.” The front door opens, Spike and a white unicorn stepping through.

”Oh hello you two. What have you been up to?”

”I was helping dig up gemstones for her.” The unicorn doesn’t say anything, fixating her attention on you. Why does everyp0ny do that…?

”I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce you two. Anon this is Rarity, Rarity this is Anon.” You stand up and extend your clean hand.

“Pleasure to meet you Ms. Rarity.” She hesitantly shakes your hand, still staring at you. Spike doesn’t seem to like the attention she’s giving you. “Um, Twilight do you mind if I use your shower and wash my clothes? It’s a long walk to my house, and I need to get going.”

”Sure no problem, it’s upstairs and on the left.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave you two to it then.”

The icy water cascades down your body, instantly relieving you of your discomfort. You make quick work of her shampoo, lathering yourself up and rinsing off. Dilly-dallying was always looked down upon, and you won’t start now. You step out of the shower, holding the towel around your waist. “Twilight! Where’d you put my clothes?”

”They’re just down the hall.”

“Thank you!” You pick up your fresh set of clothes and put them on. They could’ve used a good wash days ago. Rarity, Spike and Twilight are talking amongst themselves when you make it downstairs.

”Oh,” Rarity remarks, “I’m so sorry about my behavior before. Let’s start over. My name is Rarity, how do you do.”

“Quite well, I’m Anon, nice to meet you.” Well that wasn’t so hard now was it? You check the time, still having about an hour before you head in for work. Rarity and you make small talk to pass the time, much to Spike’s displeasure. She works at a boutique, making clothes for most of her life. She offered to make you a few sets, to which you eagerly agreed. Wearing the same set of clothes gets old fast.

The sun begins its descent, cueing your exit. “Hey Twilight can I talk to you for a second?”

”Sure Anon.” You both walk into another room so you can speak in peace. You strip the magazines and fuel tank from your guns, handing them to Twilight, except for your pistol.

“I want you to have these, for research.”

”But you said-“

“I know what I said, and I lied. It’s only a precaution, but I want you to do some research and make these usable for ponies.” She hesitates at the offer, though you can understand. If these were to be misused all of Ponyville would be in danger.

”Just a precaution?”

“Can you do it? That’s all I need to know.”

She sighs, “Yes I can, but let’s hope we never have to use them.”

“My thoughts exactly.” She locks them in a nearby chest and you both depart. “It was a pleasure to meet you Rarity; I hope we meet again soon.” You don your armor and head out the door.

”The pleasure is all mine Anon. Do stop by the boutique.”

“I will.” You reply as you head to your first day at work.

The nightclub has a line out the door. Each p0ny frantic to get the night started. Vinyl and Raúl are going to have their hooves full tonight. You slip in the back door and head to the locker room. Stripping out of your fatigues you place them in your locker. The regular bouncer uniform was fitted to ponies, but Vinyl pulled a few strings and got one altered to your measurements. How she got them so exact is still questionable. Whatever, at least you’re not wearing some raggedy garbage. You put on your clothes and set off into the club.

The club hasn’t opened yet, each p0ny still setting up. You see one of the bouncers from yesterday, a unicorn, reviewing a clipboard. He grunts when he sees you, giving you a warm welcome. ”He’s just mad you got his position, nobody likes getting demoted,” Vinyl clarifies.

“I hear that, so what exactly am I supposed to do?”

”Just keep watch for disgruntled p0nies and make sure they don’t cause a ruckus.”

“And kick them out when they do.”

”Correct, we’ll be opening in a couple minutes so stay sharp.”

“Roger that ma’am.”

You help Raúl stock the bar with some crates. He’s quite happy you signed up with them. The bouncers didn’t just get creamed last night it seems, but basically every few days before that. Business has declined since they couldn’t keep the rampaging drunks in check. Now that you’re here they’ll have to step up their game. Ponies start moving into the club signaling the opening. You and Raúl brohoof, letting him return to his duties. Settling up against the back wall, you peer over the patrons starting the night off.

The night proceeds smoothly with Vinyl’s music keeping everyp0ny happy. You saw the drunk from last night take a seat at the bar. He’s a bit passive now that you put him in his place. The dance floor managed to keep your attention, playing a game of the wills with you. You had to hold back from laughing at how they looked like a bunch of fish out of water. You probably couldn’t do much better, but you certainly couldn’t do worse. Nothing much is happening so you stroll over to the bar, plopping right next to the drunk.

“How are we doing tonight?” He doesn’t answer, his body shaking. “I’m not going to hit you unless you deserve it, so just relax.” He calms a little, but still trembling. “What have you got there? Not a beer from the looks of it.”

”It’s uh- an A-applejack Daniels.”

“Like Applejack Applejack?” He nods. “Hey Raúl, care to hook me up with one of these?” He slides it across the bar and into your hands. “Applejack Daniels. Whiskey huh?” >You give it a whirl. “Damn this stuff is strong.”

”Only the best,” he comments his nerves quenched.

“What’s your name? I’m Anon.”

”Bottoms-Up Duff, but my friends just call me Duff.” You clink glasses.

You pat him on the back, “Nice to have met you Duff.” Grabbing your bottle, you continue your patrol. A few ponies begin roughhousing, but they cool off when they see you staring. Doesn’t take much to quiet these guys, are you really that intimidating?

”I said another!” Oh boy, here we go. Some cyan Pegasus is hollering at your bro. Bitch please. Raúl gives you a quick glance, needing some assistance. You take the hint and saunter over to the bar.

”I’m sorry, but you’ve had enough miss.”

“Like hay I have. This is only my…”

”Eighth, at least try something lighter.” Raúl retorts.

“I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking anything else; don’t you know who I am?”

”Yes, you’ve been rambling on for a while now.”

You’d hoped not to have to deal with anyone. It may be your job, but that doesn’t mean you’re exactly looking for a fight. “We got a problem here?”

The lady flips her rainbow mane around and looks at you. ”Who’re you?”

“I’m Anon the bouncer. So do we have a problem here?”

She chuckles a little bit, “If you’re like the other ones then you shouldn’t be.” She bucks you in the face before you can react, stumbling backwards. You look back, the girl sipping at her drink probably thinking she got you down. Everyone is staring at you, Vinyl judging her new bouncer. This lady’s fast you’ll give her that, but you’re a marine.

You walk back over, now prepared for her. “So I’ll take that as a yes.” She looks at you blankly before attempting to deliver another blow. You grab her legs and hold them in your arms.

”Let go of me!”

“I’ll go with a no on that one,” you reply dragging her off her stool. She flails wildly, the crowd cheering for you. You can feel you grip loosening as you continue walking towards the door. Just a little- *pop*

She manages to get her legs free and rushes into the air. ”I said to let me go.” She propels downward preparing to collide with you. You catch her in a headlock, somehow, and continue towards the door.

“And you never answered my question.” Managing to make it outside you sit her down on a bench. “Are we still going to have a problem?”

“Not now,” she says cracking her neck, “I was hoping somep0ny would put up a fight.” She eyes you over, “You may not be a p0ny, but a fight’s a fight.”

“Wait, you pulled that stunt so someone would fight you?”

”Duh, nop0ny would try and take me on without some incentive.” You take a seat, trying to comprehend what she even means. “So you’re that Anon? I hea-“

“Yes, that’s me. Who the hell are you?” She’s taken aback by your words.

”I’m Rainbow Dash! I can’t believe you haven’t heard of the fastest flier in Equestria.” Pompous isn’t she?

“Look, I need to get back to work, are you through with your little scheme?”

”For now…” You don’t like the sound of that.

“Well, if you’re done then you can come back inside.”

”You gonna stop me if I don’t?”

“Don’t test my patience missy.” She humphs and returns to the club with you. “She’s cool.” You assure the patrons upon your return. The ponies go back to their business, drinking and laughing as usual. Rainbow apologizes to Raúl at your behest, clearing any tension that had arisen.

”Why don’t you join me in a drink?” she asks.

“Sure…” you say sitting with your back to the bar. Her demeanor has certainly changed, but at least it’s for the better. The two of you tap drinks and talk, sharing the night together.

Chapter 4: Back to Basic

Location- Home. Time- 0900 hours. Day 10 in Ponyville. The nightmares haven’t eased up at all. Every time I sleep I relive that night. Xenomorphs they’re called according to that research I gave Twilight. She didn’t go into specifics, but I could tell she was alarmed at her findings. There wasn’t much info on the temple itself except that it was incredibly old. I didn’t need a bunch of scientists to tell me that. Other than that the past week has been relatively calm. The hours at work have thrown my whole cycle for a loop. I’m sleeping from 0500 to now, squeezing in naps whenever I can. I wish I could sleep more, but I still have business to attend to. Well, let’s start the day Anon. No burning daylight. [End of Entry]

You open your closet door, deciding what to wear. Rarity has been kind enough to stitch you all kinds of clothes. You pull out a white t-shirt and corresponding pair of jeans, looking at yourself in the mirror. If Evans could see you know he’d… You put the clothes back in the closet and grab your fatigues. They’re the only clothes you really need. You outfit yourself and move on downstairs. Can’t even dress yourself without thinking about that place.

You open the door, grabbing the usual package. Inside you find some eggs and venison. Fluttershy has kept her end of the bargain well so far. You’ve helped build a new coop for her chickens and a fence around her garden. In turn, she’s supplied you with some more protein rich food. You crack open the eggs and put them over the stove. You’re thinking over easy today.

Pouring yourself a glass of OJ you scarf down your breakfast. Unfortunately, you can’t share the experience with anyone. No one else eats this stuff besides you. *knock knock* “Coming!” You open the door, Applejack and Rainbow Dash there to meet you. “Hey you guys, what are you doing here?”

”We were going to join you in your run today remember?”

“Damn, I’m sorry. It slipped my mind. Come in, I’ll be ready in a minute.” You shuffle them inside and close the door. You continue downing your breakfast while they wait.

”You know,” Applejack says jokingly, “That’s a real nasty habit you got there sugarcube.”

You smile, finishing the rest of your eggs. “So how’s Big Mac and Applebloom doing?”

”They’re doin alright, thanks for asking.”

You clean off your plate and put it back in the cabinet. ”You going to be done some time today? I hate waiting.” Fucking impatient Rainbow. She always needs to have things here and now. And you wouldn’t have her any other way. Tying up your boots and equipping your trusty sidearm, you and your friends head out the door. ”So where were you thinking about going today?”

“Probably just around Ponyville a few times and maybe up to Sweet Apple Acres. Any place you want to go in particular?”

”Sounds good to me, how about you Rainbow?”

A sly grin crosses her face as she glides around you and Applejack, “I was thinking something more adventurous.”

“Do tell.”

”I figured we could give the Everfree Forest a run. Unless you’re too chicken.”

”Now Rainbow I don-“

“Deal.” They both look shocked at your response. “What? You want to do it, so let’s do it. Unless…” You pause for dramatic effect. “You’re too chicken.”

”Rainbow Dash isn’t afraid of anything. Let’s go!” She takes off down the road, while you and Applejack jog after her.

”This really isn’t a good idea Anon, the Everfree forest isn’t the safest place in Equestria you know.”

“Don’t worry AJ, I’ll protect you from the big baddies that lurk within.” You wrap your arm around her sealing the deal. “Now how about we make Rainbow Dash eat those words of hers?”

”Righty that partner.” You both catch up to Rainbow Dash at the edge of the forest.

“Not scared now are you?” you say catching your breath.

”Nope. I thought I’d give you the pleasure of taking the first step.”

“I’m sure that’s it.” You take a few steps into the forest, and you immediately understand why they don’t like it. It feels- alive. Almost like it’s watching you.

”You do it Anon!” Applejack cheers at your resolve. If they weren’t her you’d have already bolted. Wouldn’t be the first time… This place is just wrong, not creepy wrong, but something shouldn’t be here wrong. *gulp* You’re the thing that shouldn’t be there. The patter of hoofsteps behind you calms you down. ”We’re right behind you.” Applejack says.

“Thanks.” Walking further into the forest all pretense of your run is gone, each of you scared out of your wits. You can feel eyes staring down at you >How the hell can this place even exist? You pull out your pistol, keeping it at your side. Better safe than sorry? *crack* You take aim, the ponies standing behind you. Nothing, just some leaves from the trees. Fuck this place. Just fuck it.

”I uh- think we should, you know, head on back.” Rainbow stutters.

”I’m inclined to agree with Rainbow here.”

“Yeah, that sounds li-“ A pungent odor fills your nostrils making you wheezy.

”What in the hay is that smell?”

”Let’s get out of here, now.”

You don’t know if it’s the retard within, but you need to find the source of that stench. You head off the path and into the depths of the forest, the odor in wait. Every inch of your body is telling you to get out of here, but your brain says go on. Deeper you go, following your nose. You reach a large tree, the rancid fumes emanating from its being. ”Anon we need to leave.” Applejack and Rainbow are eager to leave this place.

“Just- let me see.” You work your way up the decrepit piece of timber, using the vines to your advantage. The trunk twists around letting you walk freely. You pass through the tree’s tendrils, looking down at your friends. There isn’t anything here, just a bunch of vines.

”Can we go now?”

“Yeah, let’s get th-*snap*”

You put too much weight on a vine, snapping it and falling off the tree. Your vision is hazy; Rainbow Dash appears to be talking to you. No noise comes out. Slapping yourself a few times, you can faintly hear her voice. ”You okay Anon?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” They help you back to your feet, finally regaining your hearing. “Thanks Dash.”

”Anytime.” Your eyes go wide looking at Dash and Applejack. You were watching both of them. They didn’t open their mouths. That wasn’t them. ”Turn around…”

You sweep your gun behind you freaked the fuck out. It sounded like it came from the tree, but there’s nothing. “You guys hear that?”

”Hear what Anon?”

A drip catches your eye, not a leaf, a drip. You raise your weapon, trying to find the source. The stream gets thicker the higher you go. You take a step forward, eyes ascending toward the tree tops. The source is right at the top of the forest, dangling above your head. Bound within the vines of the trees, dripping with blood, are two skin- You fight back your breakfast- skinless ponies.

Your breakfast continues to rise in your chest, desperate to see the light of day. Clutching your mouth closed you turn away. ”What’s wrong?” Appljeack says trotting next to you. She freezes when her eyes befall the corpses. ”By Celestia…” You can almost hear the drips as they hit the floor. Your stomach continues to fight against you. Vomit fills your mouth and you press your hands tighter forming a dam.

Rainbow Dash comes up beside you, taking a look herself. ”I-is th-that…?”

”Afraid it is, what could of monster could have done this?” They continue observing the bodies.

”It skinned them? Why would it skin them?” The dam breaks as you spray your breakfast before your traumatized friends. Multi-colored puke covers a nearby bush as you recover. You can’t stand this place. Grabbing your friends you sprint out of there as fast as you can. You don’t even give a second to look back. The two bodies are burned into your mind, each thought making you want to purge again. The forest is finally out of visual range and you begin to walk. No words are spoken on the way back to Ponyville. What words could be said, now of all times? So you all walk, silent.

The three of you depart company on approach the town. Rainbow having weather duty and Applejack having apple bucking. They can drown out the memories with work, but now you. You get to sit with your thoughts until the sun sets. Twilight needs to know about this. You’re not sure why, but she does.

You knock on Twilight’s door. ”One minute.” You run your hand over your face trying to appear as normal as possible. The door opens and she ushers you inside. ”Take a seat; I have such things to show you.”

“Twilight.”

“I’ve been going over the notes Celestia gave me…” she moves about frantically, oblivious to your attempts to speak.

“Twilight.”

”Those ruins are quite fascinating, did you know-“

“Twilight!” You yell at her trying to get her to listen to you. She is bewildered at your attitude, but quiets down nonetheless. ”I- There’s something I need to ask you.”

”Well then ask.” Her voice is mixed with concern and agitation.

“In those notes, does it say anything about skinning people?”

”Skinning? Not that I recall.” You sigh in relief; at least it’s not as bad as you thought. ”Why exactly?”

“On my run today, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and I… We went into the Everfree forest.” You shudder as your thoughts return. “We found two ponies hanging from the tree tops, they appeared to be…”

”Skinned.”

“Yeah…”

Twilight takes out her notes and gives them a quick once-over. “Anything?”

”I’m afraid not.” She responds.

“Damn, thanks anyways.” You’re about to leave when you remember she wanted to talk to you. “Umm, what did you want to talk to me about?”

”I finally finished it!” She cheers happy with herself.

“I don’t follow.”

”You really have trouble remembering things don’t you.” If only she knew… ”Come on, I’ll show you.”

She helps you to your feet dragging you downstairs to her cellar. “I’m sorry if I appear out of it. It’s just there’s too much shit going on right now.”

”Don’t worry about it; you need to just take your mind off of things.” She’s right, that entire encounter has thrown you for a loop. ”Ah here they are.” She pulls out a few objects from her chest and tosses one to you. You give it a once-over examining Twilight’s project.

“Is this- my old pulse rifle?”

”I’ve made some adjustments to make them compatible with p0ny anatomy.” That’s one way of putting it, she did a damn good job. ”I fiddled slightly with the magazine location due to the size constraints of the trigger.”

“Have you given this thing a test run?”

”I would have, but someone keeps the ammo locked away in their home.”

“Oh… yeah.”

”Do you happen to have a spare one on you?”

You feel around in your pockets. “Nope, sorry.”

”Maybe later then.” You hear the front door slams shut, Spike calling out for Twilight. ”We’ll finish this later, come on.” Putting the weapons away you both ascend the stairs into the entranceway.

“Sup Spike, you doing alright?”

”Just perfect. How about you Anon, you don’t look so good?”

You grin and scratch the back of you neck. “That easy to tell huh?”

”Yeah, what you need is some sleep man. That club is getting to you.” It’s nice that Spike finally warmed up to you, though he still gets antsy around Rarity.

“You don’t mind if I steal Spike for a moment do you Twilight? I want to send a letter.”

”Go right ahead.”

You and Spike sit down while Twilight reads in peace. “Alright. Dear Princess Celestia, I was hoping to obtain a status report on your investigation. Are there any locations in particular you have sent your guards to investigate, and if so what are said locations? I have some findings of my own, but am unsure if it pertains to said investigation. Any information you can lend will be helpful. ~Private Anonymous”

”Done and done. So what did you find?”

Your grin turns sour. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

”Sure thing Anon.” *belch* “Don’t expect a reply though; the princess has been really busy lately.”

You’ve got a gut feeling you know why. “Thanks anyways. I better head out, catch up on that sleep you talked about too.” You open the door, calling back to them. “Cya later Spike. Bye Twilight!”

Stepping outside you drop your calm act. You can’t get those images out of your head. Their carcasses, hanging like cattle, the blood… You shake your head to clear your mind. Maybe sleep will calm you down, it couldn’t hurt. Just a nice nap to soothe your jimmies. You put one foot in front of the other on your way back home.

Taking an apple out of the fridge you retire to your bedroom. Even now the sweetness is invigorating. Tossing the core in the waste bin, you plop down onto the bed. You plant your pistol on the nightstand and flip on your tracker. It’s the only way to be sure… You drift back into slumber leaving behind your woes, or so you hoped.

*ba bleep* You sprint down the hallway, escaping the creatures of your past. They’re not going to get you, they won’t. Fuck this heat, it’s going to suffocate you. You check your ammo counter, 00. No breaks…

You move from room to room, eyes trained for anything out of the ordinary. The smell of decaying flesh hits you like a freight train. Each step brings you closer to the source, you don’t want to see it again. You try and head back though the walls begin shifting to block your escape. You’re a prisoner of your own mind, shackled by memories past. Dropping your weapon you march forward, no sense in wasting time with it. Another chamber lies ahead masked in shadow. Drawing your knife you proceed to face your past.

You’re back in the arena, the walls still coated with the black webbing. The scientist’s bodies litter the floor, their chests torn out from the inside. Your platoon is tied in the webbing captives of the Xenomorph attack. They’re alive staring down at you, pleading for you to help them. But you can’t. You know what they’ll become. *ba bleep* “Over here.”

You drop your knife, the end here once again. You face the noise, embracing the inevitable. The environment seems to bend itself around your adversary. Its body cloaked masking its appearance. “Just get it over with.” It doesn’t do anything, simply watching you. “What are you waiting for? Do it!” No reaction. This is pissing you off. *ba bleep* Another wave of the horrendous stench reaches you. You peer down into the pit, searching for the source.

You can see your friends, smiling up at you. Their faces alleviate your status, giving you something to look forward to. A pair of hands force you to your knees. “What the hell are you-“ Another group of cloaked figures approach your friends. “Please, no…” *shling* They don’t take their eyes off of you. Not for a second. You try and turn away from them, the hand forcing you to watch every second of it. You watch your friends as they’re torn apart, blood splattering against the walls. Their flesh is removed from their bodies, but they continue to smile at you. “You bastard! Let me go!” They string up your skinless friends, raising them to your level, still smiling. You couldn’t save them…

The cloaked creature throws you against the wall, your friends hanging just behind him. You fight to hold back the tears, losing your comrades again. They open their mouths, talking to you in turn. “

“Why didn’t you help us?”

“Where were you Anon?”

”How could you let this happen?”

Each p0ny wanting an explanation, something you can’t give them. Your captor uncloaks, revealing a large metallic mask. “We hold…”

You bolt out of bed in a cold sweat. Another fucking nightmare to add to the list. The sun is starting to set outside your window, signaling your departure. You replace your drenched fatigues with a t-shirt and jeans. The tracker is going to accompany you tonight, for old time’s sake. Locking the door, you run over to Vinyl’s nightclub.

People are beginning to enter as you approach. Vinyl is going to be pissed when she finds out you’re late. You rush through the back door and change. Gotta go fast! The ponies are already having a good time when you enter the room. At least nothing started while you were changing. Vinyl walks over to you as the music continues. “Rough day?”

You feel like an open book, everyp0ny knowing how you’re feeling. “You can say that, I’m sorry about my tardiness. It won’t happen again.”

”Just try not to make it a habit. We’ll talk when your shift is done, alright?”

“Roger that.” Vinyl goes back to her stand, keeping the music flowing. You see Raúl passing out drinks, so you stop by and help.

”You ok Anon? It looks like you need a drink.”

He places a glass in your hand and you eagerly gulp it down. “Could be better. You?”

”Same, the wife’s been acting a bit wacky though.”

“Really? Do tell.” You egg him on, trying to get your mind off of things.

”She’s been hearing strange things is all, creaks on the roof, scratching at the door. Fillies these days, am I right?”

“Right,” you reply unpacking the last crate, “Keep it safe okay.”

”Will do.” He gives you a brohoof and returns to his customers. You should do the same. You wonder how Applejack and her are handling things, it isn’t everyday they experience… that. Some drunks were able to get your mind off of things. Two rowdy guards, probably fresh out of academy, had taken one too many shots and thought it’d be fun to test out their new position. You proceeded to kicking them out on their asses. Duff had your back when one of them tried to cheap shot you, bucking him back to his mother. He turned out to be a real pal, drinking with you whenever Rainbow Dash didn’t show. You continue your patrol seeing both AJ and Dash in the corner of the club. Alcohol would do the trick alright. You sit down with them, joining them in their sorrow. “How you guys holding up?”

”About as good as you look sugarcube.”

“That good huh,” you laugh to yourself, “I’m sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have forced you both into that.”

”Don’t be all down on yourself, I chose to go, same with Dash.”

”Yeah, we chose.”

“I could have stopped it,” you think back to your nightmare,” I could’ve…” You wince at the memories.

”Anon?” Rainbow asks, “What’s wrong, we’ve got your back.”

“Dreams Dash. Terrible fucking dreams.” You sit with them the rest of the night. Nobody talking, but everyone knowing what the other was thinking.

”We’re locking up. Head on home everyp0ny.” You wave to your friends as they leave. Raúl and you brohoof as he returns to his wife and kid. Should be going on two any day now. It’s nice to see somep0ny have something to look forward to. You’re envious of him on that account. You finish changing and chat with Vinyl for a bit, offering to walk her home. She graciously accepts your offer.

The moon is high in the sky, illuminating your path to Vinyl’s abode. “I always liked the night you know. You can go on undisturbed, nop0ny interrupting you. Know what I mean?”

”I do. It has a rhythm of its own, far more natural and serene than any I could play.” The two of you continue to converse all the way to her house. It’s far more modern than most of the other homes in Ponyville. ”Thanks for the escort; it’s a pleasure to know there’s still a gentleman in town.”

“Well, I aim to please.” You touch the handle, a gooey substance sticking to your hand. “What the hell?” You wipe off your hand on your pants, getting the shit off of you. “Someone let out a hell of a sneeze on your handle. It’s kind of-“ No, it couldn’t be.

You pull a little more of the gunk off the handle and rub it between your fingers, memorizing the texture. This- this can’t be. She said she had it under control. You draw your pistol and survey the surrounding area. ”Anon what’s wrong?”

“No time,” you say flipping on your tracker, “We just need-“ *ba bleep* You aim towards the roof, a shadowy creature meeting your gaze.

Chapter 5: Contact

The creature opens its mouth, its second maw’s hiss brining you back to that damn temple. You raise your gun and fire at the figure as it scurries about the rooftop and snakes about, dodging every bullet you unleash. “Vinyl get inside!”

“What is-“

“Get inside!” She rushes past you obeying your orders. The monster stops, observing you. *click* Fuck not now. *click click* The empty mag hits the floor while you procure a second one. The creature hisses again detecting your vulnerability.

Its already mid-leap as you slam another magazine home and let loose another barrage. Direct hit! You tear holes clean through its chest. Its carcass slumps before you, blood seeping onto the surrounding dirt. You never got a close up look at them before, but even still it’s not quite right. This is… different, than what you faced before. The others appeared humanoid, having longer torso and slender arms. These seem p0nified. They’re only a little shorter and stubbier, but brutal all the same. Its elongated tail consists of sectioned ridges ending in a bladelike tip.

“A Xenomorph…” You give it a quick kick to the head ready for it to spring up. It lays there seemingly lifeless as you knock on the door. “Vinyl it’s me. You still kicking in there?” She creaks open the door, barely showing her face.

“Is it gone?”

“It won’t bother you anymore. Look, do you have a cellar, closet or any other secure location?” She nods her head. “Hole up in there until I come back for you.”

“Where are you going to go?”

You check your ammo and reload your pistol once more. “I’m going for my friends.”

“Remember, stay inside!” You jog back home, eyes trained on the motion tracker. There’s no telling how many of those things there are out here. Not even the crickets keep you company on your haul. Just you, your tracker, and your- *ba bleep* You whirl around and backpedal, making sure not to waste time. *ba bleep* Whatever is moving towards you it’s doing well to stay hidden. Clever bastards that’s for sure. You turn back around and sprint for dear life.

Your pursuer is keeping a steady fifteen meters between the two of you. It doesn’t want to lose you, but it isn’t intent on catching you either. That thought scares you more than anything, the thought that it’s waiting for you. You make your way around the corner seeing your house a good 50 meters away. *ba bleep* Another blip appears on the tracker, closing in on your ass. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Reaching the house you turn the handle, but your door doesn’t budge. “Oh fuck me!” You fumble about getting your keys, dropping them onto the floor. “For fucks sake!” *ba bleep* Ten meters and closing. Picking them up you slide them into the door, unlocking the wooden barricade, but all too late as a xenomorph crashes into you breaking down the door in the process.

You kick it in the face knocking it off of you. Rolling over the counter you draw your pistol. The xenomorph smacks it out of your hands with its tail andt crawls onto the counter, imbedding its hoof-claws into the wood. You pull out your combat knife and get into a stance. Bobbing its head back and forth it taunts you. You pull out a frying pan from a nearby drawer. “Eat it!” you yell flinging the pan at its face.

It sidesteps your attack granting an opening. You slip by the xenomorph, barely dodging its tail as it strikes the floor board. It chases you up the stairs, toying with you. Kicking open the armory door you try and grab a weapon. Your fingers only manage to graze your shotgun before the creature slams into you, knocking you out the window. Glass crunches underneath you when you try and stand back up. It crawls out the window, imitating the last one you killed. A dollop of blood runs down your face.

It hisses and takes another leap at you. You drive your knife through the bottom of its head and drive him over you. The knife sizzles as blood runs down its grip. A drop lands on your hand, sending scorching pain up your body. “Gah- Shit!” You drag your scorching hand on the ground trying to alleviate the agony. Your knife lies melted next to you. You get back on your feet, walking back to the house, clutching your hand in pain. What the hell is up with that thing, blood isn’t supposed to do that? At least its over now, you’ll wrap it up, and then you’re going to kick some Xeno as- A fist jams itself into your ribs making you double over, followed by something throwing you across the room.

“Why does *cough* everything try and kill me?” A hand grips your neck and holds you against the wall. You grasp at the arm, trying to loosen its grip. You can’t see your aggressor’s face, just a hazy mist. Or a cloak. It’s back to finish the job, jutting out its blades and holding them to your neck. “Just do it.” The creature turns its head, looking at you with interest. It retracts its blades and uncloaks itself, revealing the same metallic mask as before. The hell is this thing doing?

Pulling you away from the wall it takes you outside and tosses you beside the dead alien. This thing is big, at least seven feet in height and its visible muscles are toned beyond belief. Straps of armor cover its body, some sort of console on its wrist. Dreadlocks protrude from the back of its head, adding to its menacing appearance. It bends down picking up what’s left of your knife and looking at the alien. It releases a small growl before tossing aside your knife. The creature towers over you, drawing out a knife of its own.

It flings the knife into the xenomorph skull, and turns back to you. Tapping a few buttons on its gauntlet, the thing cloaks, disappearing into the night. This must be some kind of trick, waiting for you to make a wrong move. You sit there, waiting for the killing blow that never comes. “The fuck just happened?” Crawling back over to the alien you pull out the knife. Why didn’t this melt when yours did? You look around before getting back to your feet. That thing might come back, and it’d be best to be ready. Sheathing the abnormal knife you run back into your house. Time to return to Active Duty marine.

You clamp your old armor around you, the metal straps fitting seamlessly over you again. It’s like your putting it on for the first time all over again. You feel like your back in the Corps, ready for your first mission. This time you won’t fail. This time you will win. You enter the armory and pick up a handy pulse rifle and shotgun. You also store some extra ammo in your pouch; Twilight’s going to need it. The burning in your hand has dissipated for now allowing you to wrap it up. The tracker and pistol are still downstairs, so you pick them up on your way out.

Night is anything but serene at this point. The nooks and crannies could hold any number of threats, each of which leading to your demise. Most of the residents have already gone to bed and are safe in their homes. You just hope they’re safe enough. Readying your pulse rifle you direct yourself to Twilight’s house. Nothing on the tracker so far. That’s a plus I guess. Even still, you can feel hungry eyes on you. You grip your weapon tighter and keep onwards. They’re not going to scare you again.

You stand outside Twilight’s door, a hiss making its way through. Oh hell no! “Twilight, I’m coming in!” you yell kicking down the door. You see another Xenomorph is clawing at the clawing at the cellar. As you get ready to unload an explosion knocks the creature on its ass. Twilight and Spike step out of from behind the door ready for round two. Spike lets out a belch cornering the creature in a wave of green flame. The little bastard has it where it counts, that’s for sure. Twilight throws an orb at the immobile creature, its head exploding in a satisfying yellow cloud. Those two should’ve signed up for the marines. They make a great team. “You guys ok?”

They nod as you walk over to what’s left of the corpse. ”Don’t touch it Anon. The blood’s acidic.”

“Yeah, I learned that the hard way.” You reply showing her the bandage. “I’m going to get the rest of my friends, if you want to stay here that’s fine, but there’s strength in numbers.”

Twilight agrees, “Let me grab a few things and I’ll be ready to head out.” She speeds back into the cellar to procure your guns. You draw your pistol and hand it to Spike.

“You know how to handle one of these?”

”What do you think?”

“Well it’s about time you learned smartass.”

Twilight comes back levitating the weapons back to you.

“You don’t want one?”

”I’ll stick to what I’m good at. Magic.” Fair enough. You shrug your shoulders and sling them around you.

“Alright who’s first? You know this place better than me.”

”Pinkie Pie is just down the street and then Rarity’s a short walk from there.”

“I said I’m going for my friends. Pinkie isn’t on the list.”

Twilight scoffs at you, “She’s my friend Anon. We’re going for her whether you like it or not.” Fucking Pinkie Pie.

“She’s your baggage. You fall behind, you’re on your own.” With that the group moves down the street to Sugarcube Coner.

You give Spike a few tips along the way. His tiny claws are just big enough to squeeze the trigger, and the pistol is just small enough for him to carry comfortably. Twilight made sure to lecture him over gun safety on the way. She doesn’t want him going crazy with that thing. You disabled the sound from the tracker due to Spike and Twilight setting it off. You used to have chips to designate friend from foe, but not here. Now you have to continually check to see if anyone is stalking you.

The lights are off when you arrive, no signs of forced entry. Spike and Twilight enter while you stand guard at the door. “You’ve got five minutes, any more and I’m out.” They give the all clear and close the door. Wasting your time on Pinkie Pie. For all you know the others need your help right now. You never forgave Pinkie for what she said, not one of your better decisions. It’s been too long to hold a stupid grudge like that.

You flip your helmet to infrared, giving a quick scan. Nothing, joy to the fucking world. Turning it off you relax, listening for your tracker. The tracker that won’t make any noise. Shit. You look down, a blip approaching to your right. A shadow leaps at you from the corner of your eye, shielding yourself with your hands. Something wraps itself around your neck, choking you out.

A giant fucking spider is trying to hump your face, a tube jutting out from its ‘mouth’. You try and pull it off, but it wraps itself tighter around your neck. Strength drains from you as you fall back against the door.This is a tough fucker. You grab the knife that creature dropped for you and slice at its tail, throwing it away with a satisfying pop. Its blood spews away from you, burning through whatever it touches. Throwing away the tail you give a quick two-shot into the spider, letting it have a taste of your own medicine.

You grip your own neck, the door opening as you toss away the creature’s tail. Pinkie steps out first, “Hiya Anon! How you doing?” Five seconds with her and you already want to put a bullet between her eyes.

”Anon,” Twilight asks, “What is that?” She points down to your tiny attacker.

“If only I knew. Everything clear in there?”

”All clear,” Spike states, “Nothing to report.” My little Marine.

“Good, then let’s move out.”

You all make it to Rarity’s boutique in no time. Spike and Twilight do the standard breach and clear while you and Pinkie stand guard. “Pinkie,” you say trying to be as polite as possible, “I’m sorry I’ve ignored you for the past while now.”

”It’s not your fault. At first I didn’t understand why you got so angry, but then Twilight came and talked to me. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“So… you’re okay with it?”

”I’m okay with you Anon. You do owe me another party though.”

“That I do.” You say chuckling to yourself. You guess she isn’t so bad after all. You hand her a pulse rifle. “Here, you’ll need it.”

”No thanks, I’ve got my own.” You raise an eyebrow in question.

“Your own what?” Nonchalantly, she pulls out a cannon from thin air.

”My own party cannon of course!”

“Well fuck me sideways, you’re just full of surprises aren’t you.” She smiles, putting away her cannon somewhere. Fuck p0ny physics.

The others come out of the house with Rarity. “Nice to see you in one piece Ms.Rarity.”

”The feeling is mutual. I come to understand you are going to rescue our friends?”

“That’d be right. This whole thing is a giant mess.”

”Well,” she replies tossing her mane around, “I offer my assistance.” Her? Help? You don’t think so.

“And exactly what could you do? I doubt you’d use a gun.” She points to the horn on her head, displaying it proudly. “Oh, that. Well I’ll take whatever help I can get. Where to next Twilight?”

”Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy’s cottage are split from the same path. Neither of them is particularly closer.” Damn. This puts you in a bit of a pickle. You need to reach them as soon as possible. You give Twilight the incinerator and a tank of fuel.

“We’re going to split up; I want you all to get Fluttershy. She’s closest to the Everfree Forest so it’ll be significantly more dangerous.”

”And you’re going to Sweet Apple Acres on your own? That’s suicide.”

“I’ll be fine, just remember to watch each other’s backs. Give the incinerator to Fluttershy; she won’t like killing animals, no matter the type, so hopefully she can scare them with this. Once you get her we’ll all meet back at Ponyville Square.” You give them a salute and start toward Sweet Apple Acres cross-country style.

”You heard Anon, we move out in five! Stay sharp and check your corners,” Twilight orders. She could make quite the platoon leader someday.

You reactivate your tracker, the chime music to your ears. The orchard lies just on the horizon. Applejack better be there, you don’t want this haul to be for nothing. Wind brushes against you as you jog onward. Dark figures scamper between the trees as you approach. Some dart back to the forest leaving your objective behind. You swear if they hurt her…

The orchard itself doesn’t grant any comfort. Who knows how many of those aliens are hiding in the dark canopies above. You keep on your guard as you work around the labyrinth of trees. Alls clear on the tracker, but it was also clear when you lost your squad. There’s no way you’re going to drop your guard. These gloomy trees will not be your resting place.

The barn is finally in sight after a good while of navigating. You can’t help but lose heart as you notice a group of Xenomorphs crawling about. You make out a few shadows through the windows, along with a familiar cowboy hat. At least she’s still safe, but now you have to get to her. There’s no way you can take a frontal assault without getting torn asunder. A side approach would be nice, but they always seem to detect you from afar. Its surprising they haven’t spotted you yet. Almost like they were reading your mind, a couple Xenos turn their heads and hiss at you. “God dammit.”

Fuck it, frontal assault it is. You charge in, peppering off a few shots to distract them.
“Open the god damn door!” you holler. They continue to hiss and dodge your shots merely annoyed at your presence. Your about half-way there when the door opens, Applejack coming into view.

”Hurry your flank over here.” She doesn’t have to tell you twice. You slide home, Applejack locking the door behind you. They don’t seem to be that interested in you, otherwise you wouldn’t be laying here. There you lay catching your breath in Applejack’s barn.

“Anon? What the heck you doing here?” That isn’t Applejacks voice, and turning over you see the other guest.

“I could ask you the same question Rainbow Dash.”

”Hay, I’m just glad to see another friendly face.” You see a couple other faces in the barn with you. Big Mac is consoling Granny Smith. It must be hard for the poor lady. A whimper can be heard in the far corner, three little fillies huddling together. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, all together and scared out of their wits. You hate kids, but you also hate people crying.

“Great, this is just bucking great man.” Scootaloo says as you walk towards them, “That’s it man, game over man. Game over!” The mouth on that kid is atrocious.

“You all ok?” you ask sitting next to them. They shake their heads, eyes damp from their tears. “Do you know who I am?” They nod. “Do you know what I do?” They start shaking their heads this time. “I’m a Colonial Marine, you know what that means? It means I’m here to help.”

You can see the desperation in their eyes, needing something, anything to look forward to. “But I need to know you all can stay strong for me. Can you do that?” They don’t respond. Motivating them is going to be harder than you expected. “How many attempts have you given to get your cutie marks? Dozens? Hundreds? Even though it seemed like you would never get it you kept trying.” You’re getting a bit of a reaction now. “I need my Cutie Mark Crusaders to give me one shot, just one. Can you help me?”

Applebloom stands up and wipes away her tears, the others follow shortly afterwards. They look at each other and give a quick nod, smiles on their faces. ”Cutie Mark Crusader Colonial Marines!”

“That’s what I thought.”

You walk back to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, leaving the cheering crusaders behind. ”What’d you say to them fillies Anon?”

“Just a little motivational support. What’s the situation?” The three of you walk into the other room, away from the others.

”Not good sugarcube. I don’t know how much longer those things gonna wait, but it can’t be long.”

”Maybe they’ll go away, they could be gone already.”

“They’re not gone. They’ll wait until we’re weak enough to not put up a fight. They might be animals, but they’re smart.”

”So what should we do?”

“We take the fight to them.”

”You’ve gone apples Anon, there ain’t no way we can take them on.” “Unless you have these,” you reply holding out the other two modified guns.

”We can’t use those. They’re-“

“Modified. I got Twilight working on them a week ago. Any new feelings?” Applejack grins, aiming down the shotgun’s sights. “I thought you’d be fond of that one. Something about farmers and shotguns…”

Rainbow looks questioningly at her own gun, unsure about what it even is. You give her the rundown about its capabilities and help her hold it.

”So where’s the one for Big Macintosh?”

“He doesn’t get one, he’s staying behind.”

”Whoa now, we need him with us. That extra hoof power will come in handy.”

“And what if the creatures break into the barn while we’re all away? I won’t let them have that chance. Big Mac stays behind to protect the others.” Applejack understands and approves, Rainbow does the same. You walk out and explain the plan to Big Macintosh, who agrees with you. He wouldn’t leave his family’s side for anything, you admire that.
“Everyone ready?” You have your hand locked onto the door handle.

”Ready Anon.”

”Let’s tear ‘em a new one!” You open the door, another battle ahead, the three of you rushing outside ready to take them on. Xenomorphs clutter the rooftop, a few circling by the trees. You all stand back to back as they close in on you. “Short controlled bursts, make them count.” You take aim, finger quivering on the trigger. “Wait for it. Wait for it…” Time to make these things pay. “Fire!”

Gunfire rings through the air, shaking the very foundations of the land. ”I’m out!”

“Got you covered AJ.” You pop a couple shells into her shotgun, Rainbow Dash covering you. “Keep it up, they’ll back down soon.” You finish loading her up and resume laying waste to anything that tries to get too close. Half a dozen corpses are scattered about, the other half keep at a distance. “Rainbow, how much you got left?”

”Forty-eight rounds it says.”

“Enough for a strafing run, think you can handle it?”

”Challenge accepted.” Rainbow takes off to a suitable height for her run to commence. You stand behind Applejack and lay down another couple rounds.

“How ya holding up?”

”Fine n’ dandy,” she answers popping off a xenomorph head, “You?”

“You know, the usual. Ready for you Dashy!” She salutes and rockets down toward a group of xenos. Raining fire down upon them, Rainbow decimates the opposing force, riddling them with bullets. The surviving members hiss and retreat back into the orchard.

”That’s right you better run!”

Dash regroups with you and AJ before heading back inside. “They won’t be gone for long. They’ll be back, and in greater numbers.” You all head on inside to check on the others. A single xenomorph lays on the floor clobbered to death, a bloody Big Macintosh standing above it. “Good job Big Mac, Dash find some bandages for him, AJ gather everyone up to the front. We’re heading to Ponyville so only grab what you need. Double time people.”

Everyp0ny does as told, giving you time to grab a large cart from a stall. How anyone is able to pull this is beyond you. It takes a couple minutes before everyone is ready to go, but they finally get there. “Everyone file into the cart, Applejack and I are going to drag you all back to town. Rainbow Dash, here’s the rest of my magazines, you’ll patrol the sky and keep any following Xenomorphs off of us. You hear?”

”Roger that.”

“Good, let’s move it out.” You and AJ stand side by side, fastening the harnesses to yourselves. The cart moves onward, back to Ponyville where the others await your return.

Chapter 6: Mobilization

The collar gouges into your shoulders as you continue forward. Your muscles ache as you force yourself to take each step. Applejack struggles right beside you, easing the burden upon you. “How is everything looking up there Dash?”

Rainbow Dash soars from cloud to cloud eyes peeled on the ground below. ”No activity yet.”

“Roger, stay sharp.” The sun begins to rise, casting its brilliance upon Equestria. “The red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night.”

Both of you pick up the pace, hastening your travel back to Ponyville. ”Are we there yet?” Granny Smith asks.

”Nope.” Big Mac mutters, still weakened from his own xenomorph encounter.

“We’ll be there soon Granny, don’t you worry about that.”

”Contact!” Rainbow hollers down.

“Where?”

”Over there!” God dammit Rainbow Dash.

”Ten o’clock!” Sweetie Belle clarifies. Thank god someone knows that terminology. You thrust forward, adrenaline pumping into you. Rainbow begins another strafing run to slow their advance. How can there be so many, and so fast? She continues mowing them down with every run, but it can’t last forever. ”I’m out!” Fucking called it Anon.

“Get back here, we’re swapping.” She lands next to you as you unfasten the collar. “You think you can go fast?”

”Please, Fastest in Equestria remember?” You nestle her into place, tightening her bonds.

“You better prove it.” You toss your empty pulse rifle into the cart and pull out your shotgun. A minigun would be nice right about now.

The cart picks up speed leaving you in a trail of dust. You backpedal down the road as the Xenomorphs approach. Cocking your shotgun, you rest it by your waist. “I like to keep this handy… for close encounters…” Easing on the trigger you fire at the advancing Xenos. Clouds of dirt kick up wherever you miss, the spread making it quite frequent. You fire again at one of the closer aliens and forging a hole clear through its chest.

The survivors back off a bit, acknowledging the threat you pose. Just a bit closer and you could take out another one. Unfortunately, they seem to understand that as well, keeping their distance. They hiss menacingly keeping your undivided attention. You take the opportunity to reload as you slam in another magazine. The tracker keeps pinging away, detecting your attackers. Shifting to the screen, you see there are five in front, and two coming in from either side. “Clever girl.”

You unload both barrels into the first one and whirl around to the second. It reaches you first, knocking your shotgun out of your grasp and pinning you down. Opening its mouth, it reveals a second set of jaws within. Well, fuck my life. I’m out! You pick up a tiny squeal, the creature looking away.

A yellow blur crashes into the xenomorph and throws it back next to its comrades. ”Leave him alone you… you meanies!” A wave of heat hits you as your savior unleashes a crackling inferno on them. The noise drowns out the cries of the aliens as they scurry away from the flames.

You pick yourself up and grab your weapon. Your savior helps you, lifting you up gently with her hooves. ”Are you alright, they didn’t hurt you did they?”

“I’m fine thanks to you. I didn’t think you had it in you Fluttershy.”

She blushes, “I couldn’t have them hurt my friend now could I?”

“I guess not. Again, thanks for the assist.” You wrap your arm around her as you both walk to town, safe at last.

Ponyville is in chaos upon your return. Citizens are in uproar, clamoring about missing children, structural damage and the strange bodies lying around. It’s a wonder that nop0ny awoke during the brawl last night. You find the others back in the town square; Twilight and the Mayor are on stage. ”Citizens of Ponyville. Please remain calm, everything is under control.” They’re trying to maintain order, but you know that the ponies won’t be subdued like this. They want the straight up truth, not generic government garbage. You make your way up to the podium and pull Twilight aside.

”Good to see you’re ok Anon. Things are a real mess here.”

“I can see that. Look, you can’t keep up that speech. It’s only going to bring trouble.” She doesn’t seem to agree, but she’s willing to listen to you.

”What do you have in mind?”

“Tell them the truth, we need everyp0ny to know what we’re up against so we can prepare. You’ve read the research over those things, they’ll be back.” She begrudgingly nods; the xenomorphs aren’t to be trifled with.

”How should I tell them? How could I tell them?” You place your hand on her neck in reassurance.

“I’ll do it. I need you by my side though, it’ll look like I have some authority and they’ll listen.” You walk over to the podium, Twilight and the Mayor by your side. The crowd sits in silence as you begin your speech.

“Citizens of Ponyville, you want the truth? Well, I’m here to speak it. I’m not going to lie to you; we’re all in a Grade A clusterfuck with a side of shit.”

”Anon what are-“

“I almost died about four times last night alone, but from what I hear others weren’t quite as fortunate.” You can hear a few weep in the crowd, the others listening intently.

”Seriously you can’t ju-“

“We can’t bring back the lost, but we can make sure we don’t lose anymore. I can begin the process, but I need everyp0ny to give me their word that they will see this through to the end.” More silence. They’re too scared to even comprehend what you mean.

”Anon, let me talk to them. I can help them understand.”

“No Ms. Mayor. I’ll be the one who whips them into shape.” You grip the podium and put on your war face.

“The life you knew is gone! Get over it. You want to live? Hell if you want your family and friends to live, then you’ll listen to me. Are you desperate enough to follow me? Will you do what it takes to survive in these harsh times?”

A single p0ny stands up raising a bottle of Applejack Daniels. ”Anon, I’d follow you through the Gates of Tartarus itself!” Bottoms-Up Duff yells as he salutes. Vinyl and Raúl stand up as well, imitating his gesture. One by one, more join them as they each pledge loyalty to the cause. Twilight and the Mayor are perplexed by the event. You look at both of them.

“Have some faith.” This is going to be a large undertaking, probably more so than anything they’ve dealt with before. You turn back to the sea of ponies that stand ready to follow you. “We are all in this together, for better or worse, but I swear we’ll survive this. Be ready for further instruction, Anon out.” You motion the rest of your group to the town hall. “This’ll serve as our temporary HQ, so let’s get cracking.”

You all join the mayor in mulling over the map of Ponyville. ”We could stay here as our central hub and funnel supplies through the streets.”

“Negative. This place has too many entry points, plus it’s on its last leg as it is.”

”What about food?” Applejack asks, “Sweet Apple Acres was one of the town’s only sources.”

“And it still is, we can work the fields by day, but we’ll need an armed escort at all times.” You continue bickering back and forth with several ideas floating aground before finally coming down to a single plan. We decide to have the women and children pack up their belongings and leave. All ponies that can’t fight or have kids were to be evacuated to Canterlot. The remaining units would garrison various strategic locations around Ponyville. Movement by road is a risk we couldn’t take, so each location would be connected by a series of underground tunnels. The central chamber would be our HQ. From there we’d coordinate all operations within the town. You only have a vague outline of the plan, but it’ll have to do.

The others leave to inform everyp0ny about their tasks, leaving you alone with your thoughts. Well, almost alone. You look up at the cloaked figure one the upper floor, watching you and your friends. It has gotten easier to detect its presence, mainly because it always seems to follow you. It feels like the guardian angel that never actually protects you, observing you at all times. The creature could’ve killed you at any point since you got here, but if it was going to do so, you’d be dead already. You stand up and sling the shotgun behind your back. Giving it a brief nod of acknowledgement you exit the hall, following your friends.

Ponies flood the train station, each eager to find escape from the madness. Rarity and Pinkie Pie maintain order and usher them along. Twilight is showing the buildings she wants garrisoned to a group of ponies. Fluttershy is comforting some of the ponies whose friends and families have been reported as missing. AJ and RD are already getting to work on the tunnels, dirt and grim coating their manes. Everyp0ny is hard at work now, except for you. You pick up a shovel and join Applejack and Rainbow Dash. There’s a lot of work ahead of you.

You slave on, driving your way through the cold dirt. Twilight could’ve finished what’s taken you hours in minutes. A flurry of purple claws clears out the passage ahead of you, Spike popping his head through. “Nice one you got the whole passage cleared?”

”Yep. By the way, Twilight wanted to talk to you in that big room.”

“Thanks, I’ve got some ponies back there that could use your help.” He nods and the two of you part ways. These halls are just big enough for you to walk in if you hunch over, otherwise you’ll have to crawl.

After winding about a series of tunnels you enter a vast circular room. This is by far the most complete room thus far, and you can see why. Rarity is at the far side of the room sprucing it up. You stretch your arms, enjoying the extra space. Those cramped tunnels aren’t the homiest you’ve been in. Twilight, situated at the center table, looks up from her map and ushers you over. “I heard you were looking for me, what’s up?”

”Yes I was. Care to take a walk?”

“Ummm. Sure I guess.” Her horn begins to glow, transporting the both of you back outside.

The two of you stroll about in the daylight, watching the remaining ponies as they carry on with their duties. ”This place feels so empty now. So many have left, it’s just not the same.”

“What’s wrong Twilight? We’re not here to talk about others are we?” The both of you take a seat nearby, relaxing for the time being. She looks sets her sight on you before turning back away.

”I’m scared Anon.”

You knew this was going to happen. Too much shit too fucking fast. You pat at her neck, trying to calm her down. “We’ll make it through this.”

”How do you know that?” She snaps at you completely out of character.

“Because I believe we can.”

She mutters to herself, “I’m sure your team thought so too.”

Twilight couldn’t have said that. She wouldn’t dare. “What did you just say?” She doesn’t say a word, staring away from you. “Answer me, what the fuck did you just say?”

”I said your team thought so too.” If you were any other marine she’d be on the ground by now, but you’re not any other marine.

“My team… they didn’t know what they were walking into. We do.” You stroke her mane and try to be as comforting as possible. “We know the stakes, and I know the game. You see these ponies?” You point to those who remained behind to protect their home. “They’re just as scared as you are, but they’re staying strong. Do you know why?” Twilight shakes her head. “It’s because they believe in you, and so do I. These people need a leader to keep them in line, and that leader is you Twilight.”

”No Anon, I’m not.” She looks directly at you, “You are.”

“Stop kidding yourself, you’re not getting out of this one.”

”I’m serious. They look up to you, not me.”

Fuck, this is what she wanted to talk about. You shift tone to be more serious. “No can do Twi. I’m a soldier first, leader last.”

”You were there when you rallied up all of Ponyville. Anon did that, not Twilight or Mayor Mare.”

“No Twilight, I’m not doing it. I’m an advisor at best. You’re a natural leader, and that’s what we want right now.”

”Have you not heard what everyp0ny has been talking about?”

“I try not to take part in mindless gossip.” Your insistent denial is flustering Twilight.

”They know that you put me in charge, and they don’t think I’m qualified. Worst of all, I agree.” She’s not going to give up on this. She’ll give command to someone else regardless; it might as well be you. You rub your temples with your fingers, fighting off the coming headache.

“What’s the first thing on the list?” Her smile is a nice change of pace from the typical gloom. Twilight’s horn begins to glow.

”You.” The both of you reappear at HQ, the rest of the mane 6 waiting for you. ”He said yes girls.” They breathe a sigh of release. So they all knew what Twilight had in mind. Typical.

“Then what’s second on the list?” You say to Twilight.

She rolls out a nearby map and points out Ponyville. ”Well, we have the initial structure laid out, but we don’t know where to proceed from there.”

”What are we going to do now?” Pinkie asks.

“Finalize preparations my dear Pinkie Pie.”

“The first order of business is to go over any concerns or problems we may encounter. I’ll start by saying that we need a team who’ll be tasked for scavenging for food, mainly from Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack knows those fields best, so I throw my bid in for her. You up for it?”

”Gotcha covered Anon.” AJ replies.

”And what about the ponies themselves?” Twilight continues, “This entire situation has thrown us all for a loop.”

“So you’re talking about morale? I recall Fluttershy doing a fair bit of counseling when I came out of the hall. Care to continue that?”

Fluttershy begins to back away, hiding her head behind her mane. ”Oh, I couldn’t… That was just umm…”

“You’re very important to us Fluttershy, we need that kind heart of yours.” You can only barely hear her reuluctance, but you’re just happy she said yes, s you give her a little hug to grant her solace. “Pinkie, you’re on morale detail too, you can never have too much.”

”Okie Dokie Lokie!”

“Anything else we need to cover?”

Rarity clears her throat, gaining everyone’s attention. ”Well, I’m sure about the rest of you are content with the present situation, but this place is absolutely dreadful. How can you expect a lady to live in such conditions?”

“Not good enough for you Rarity? That can be your job, tidying this hole up. We get outfitted quarters, and you don’t have to wear a hazmat suit everywhere.”

”With pleasure, someone has to stand against this travesty.”

Twilight goes down her list, ticking off things one at a time, even double checking her double checks. ”So that covers everything with Ponyville itself, correct?” The mane 6 looks at each and silently agrees.

“Now… What are we going to do about the main threat, these Xenomorphs?”

”I say we go on the offensive, strike back at them!” Rainbow answers.

”Sorry Rainbow Dash, but we don’t even know where they are.” Twilight counters.

“Twilight would be correct on that account. Any party we send out would be fruitless, plus we can’t waste that type of manpower.” You remember that the princess was investigating before everything turned to shit, maybe she could help.

“Did Princess Celestia every reply to my message Twilight?”

Twilight smacks her head. ”I completely forgot about that,” she states pulling a scroll out of her bag. You grab it out of the air and read it.

“Dear Anon, I apologize for the lengthy reply, yadda yadda yadda…” You keep reading, sifting through the over friendly BS. “I have not yet ascertained the location of the creatures from the temple. Big fucking help she is.” You toss the letter back to Twilight who reads it herself.

”She says she sent a large portion of her guard to the Everfree forest, why not start there?”

If there was another level of facepalm, it’d be strong enough to blow a hole through fucking steek, alas, she doesn’t seem to understand the gesture. “How big is the Everfree Forest Twilight?”

”Well if you want to get technical-“

“It’s pretty fucking big. Am I right guys?” The others nod in approval. “I’m not wasting precious hoofpower when someone else is willing to do the job for me.”

”So what else are we going to do about the Xenowhatevers then?” Rainbow includes.

“We need someone to lead the groups when I’m not around. So who will it be?”

”I’ll do it for ya,” Applejack shouts out, ready for some additional revenge.

“I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you’re going to have your hands full with the food supply. You’ll get your chance don’t worry.”

”Then who the hay is going to do it?”

You look at them wondering who’s still free. A smile grows on your face when you figured it out. “You up for the challenge Rainbow Dash, or is that a bit much to ask?”

She snarls in response, “No challenge is too great for the fastest flier in Equestria.”

“Pompous as ever, glad to hear it.”

”I am going to need some more of that magazine stuff you had on you though.”

“Roger. Now, that brings us to the last order of business. My shit.”

”Now’s not the time for that Anon.” Why is Twilight so smart but so fucking stupid at the same time?

“My guns, I mean my guns.”

”Oh those, of course.”

“I have a decent stash of weapons back at my house. There should be enough to equip the garrisons at least.”

Dash seems to get where you’re headed. ”Let’s start passing them out then.” Or not.

“It’s not that simple Dashie, the ones I gave you all were modified so you could use them. The ones at my house aren’t the same.”

”Why not just modi-, mudifu- buck it, change them like the others?”

“Twilight was the one who performed the change, and I don’t know how long that would take.”

Twilight takes this time to jut in, ”Now that I know what to do I could alter any others fairly easily. I just need my tools and a place to work.” Thank the lord for repetition.

“Fucking brilliant. I’ll need you to get on that immediately, the sooner we have these guys trained in basic firearm use the better.” You place your hand in the middle of the table. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to work at our best. You with me?”

”Back to back forever,” Rainbow puts her hoof in.
”Through thick and thin,” Applejack follows.
”Preferably thin,” Rarity comments.
”For my friends,” Fluttershy says proudly.
”Stick a cupcake in my eye,” Pinkie gives her signature promise.
”For Ponyville,” Twilight finalizes.

“Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards.”

They all look a bit confused, Rainbow Dash starting to speak, “What does-“

“Don’t spoil the moment.”

Each of you departs, gathering up their individual teams to complete their tasks. You take the time to check in on each garrison. The school house acts as your perimeter guard, alerting the others when trouble approaches. The bell tower rings when anyone sets their sights on a Xeno. Rainbow Dash assigned a patrol rotation of available fliers to act as perimeter guards. The café, hardware store and Railway are a few minor points that we hold. Each still serving a significant purpose. However, your magnum opus of garrisons is none other than Vinyl’s nightclub. It’s by far the most secure location in Ponyville, made from Grade A Equestrian concrete and steel. HQ rests directly beneath it. The only entrance being a trap door from behind the DJ’s stand.

You work your way back to the school house, climbing up to the bell tower. Rainbow Dash is at the top watching the sun’s steady descent. “Beautiful isn’t it?” She’s startled by your sudden appearance, but still welcoming to you. “Or would that be to girly for you to say?”

”Unique would be more fitting.”

“Quite.” You both stand there beside each other sharing the moment.

”Do you really think we’re going to make it through this?” She never pegged you as the type that would worry. That in itself worries you.

“No, I don’t think we will.” Any confidence she had left drained at your words. “I know we will.”

She clocks you in the face with her hoof, totally worth it. ”You’re such a… what’d you call it again? Asshole?”

“Don’t let any fillies catch you saying that. Scootaloo’s learned enough from you already.

”What can I say; I have that affect on people.” You wrap your arm around her and hold her tightly. You’re not going to let anything happen to her, you swear it. The sun begins to disappear behind the horizon, its glow starting to fade. Its times like this that you remember in the long run. “The suns going down…” You crack a smile, not wasting such an opportunity. “Better drink my own piss.”

”Why woul-“

“Stop ruining my moments, Rainbow Dash. Now come on, someone needs to teach you to actually land a hit with that rifle.”

Chapter 7: Casualty

Location- HQ. Time- 0900 hours. Day 26 in Ponyville. Things have gone far better than expected. This place runs like a well oiled machine. We wake up, do our shit, and go back to sleep. My little soldiers alright… Twilight serves as my personal advisor and researcher. I figured it would be good to put her knowledge to use. She’s been collaborating with the Princess to discover the location of ‘The Hive.’ Sounds like the place where my platoon got slaughtered. The Princess has sent us aid, troops and supplies when needed. It’s good to know she hasn’t forgotten about us. Have to cut this short, there’s trouble at the schoolhouse. [End of Entry]

You pick up your pulse rifle and follow Duff down the tunnel. ”They caught us by surprise. We didn’t know they were here until it was too late.” Both of you take a left picking up the pace.

“Why didn’t our patrol detect them?”

”Unknown sir. We haven’t been able to contact them.”

“Damn. Is Rainbow Dash there already?”

”Yes sir, she was the one who got the word out.” Good. You knew she was the right person for the job. The tunnel begins to widen, light pouring in from the entrance. Why are the Xenos attacking now? They mostly come at night… mostly…

Stepping out of the tunnel you find yourself back in the schoolhouse. A good seven ponies stand at the ready, looking out the windows. There’s no sign of Dash though. “Duff, I thought you said Rainbow Dash was here.”

”On the roof sir.”

You put two fingers in your mouth and let out a piercing whistle. They turn around and salute, recognizing your presence. You point to two of them, a unicorn and an earth pony. “You two are with me, the rest of you hold this floor at all costs.”

”Yes sir,” They say, ready to follow you.

“Duff, stay here and keep these guys alive. I’ll be on the roof with Dash.”

”Yes sir. Good luck Anon.” You look back at him as the other soldiers ascend the stairs.

“Luck has nothing to do with it.” You wink at him and bound upstairs. The icy air penetrates the cracks in your armor, cooling off your heated form. Winter was your favorite time of the year back home, but not being able to revel in it here is disheartening. You step out onto the snow covered roof, Rainbow scolding the troops for abandoning their post. She brings her yelling to a halt when she sees you walk out. A smile works its way on her face as she pushes the two ponies aside and approaches you.

”Nice to see you off your lazy flank and back on the front.”

“I can’t be there to save your ass all the time now can I? You don’t see any activity when you look around, you don’t know whether to feel relieved or frightened. “What’s our current status?”

”Our last patrol hasn’t reported in yet, and I spotted some Xenos prowling about when I went searching for them.”

“There’s no way they could’ve been snagged, but where the hell are they?” You can’t dwell on that right now, now with Xenomorphs nearby. “How soon till contact?” Glass shatters down below followed by a burst of gunfire. So much for asking.

A small group of drones crawl onto the roof, their carapaces’ frosted by the elements. “Formation,” you order. The ponies immediately back up, flank to flank. Rainbow gives you a nod as the drones continue to circle you. “Give ‘em hell!”

The group opens fire on the aliens in short controlled bursts. They mostly stick to dodging your shots, darting back down the walls for cover. A few manage to sneak in and split your group apart. You and the earth pony are on one side, Dash with the unicorn on the other. Even divided as you are you continued to kick major ass, Xenomorphs dropping like sacks of potatoes. You pop out your magazine fixing to retrieve another one. A shriek pounds in your ears, overcoming the brutal ring of gunshots. The light diminishes as something blocks out the sun. ”Anon three ‘o clock high!” You spin around only for something to crash into you. The force rattles your brain and puts you in a temporary stupor. Wind cuts into your face, stimulating your brain to wake up.

You can feel your strength returning to your weightless body, claws digging into your shoulders. You look down, the schoolhouse far below. Are you… Flying? Wiggling your arms proves fruitless for your captor’s grip restricts their movement. Desperate to escape, you use your momentum to swing your legs back and forth. The winged xenomorph is oblivious to your actions. It keeps circling the schoolhouse like a vulture. Finally gaining enough momentum, you swing your legs over the xenomorph’s neck, wrapping around each other.You squeeze as hard as you can, pleased at the audible snap resonating from its crushed vertebrae. Losing control, the creature nose dives back to earth.

This isn’t one of your best ideas you realize as the ground rapidly approaches. The two of you crash into the snow, imbedding the creature below you. You stand up and give it a nice two-shot to the cranium before wiping the snow off your armor. These fuckers can fly now? How can things get any worse? ”What the buck is that!” You didn’t even get a chance to say it.

The battle seems to have got a bit more interesting up there. The door back into the schoolhouse is barricaded tight, and you’re not going to take any chances jumping through the windows. Those trigger-happy ponies would end you before the xenos could get a chance. You cut off two of the xenomorph’s elongated claws from its hoof and use them to climb the wall. More gunfire from the roof causes you to pick up the pace. Throwing your hand over the side, you pull yourself onto the roof. A single xenomorph is left cornering your team by the bell tower. “Just shoot the fucking thing!” It turns to you and hisses, displaying its corrupted horn.

Oh fuck that! You take aim with the pulse rifle, the xenomorph standing between you and your group. Something isn’t right, it should have moved by now. You fire a shot right above its head, missing on purpose. The creature withdraws in a surge of murky flame. It just tried to make you shoot your own group. This guy is smart, you’ll give it that.

You stand fast waiting for it to reappear at anytime. “How are you holding up?”

”We’re out of ammo, but still ready to go.”

“Good, get downstairs and help out Duff he’ll-“ A flash of heat sears your upper back, igniting your fatigues in an intense inferno. You toss away your pulse rifle trying to quench the flames, but to no effect. Agony floods your mind as you feel your body begin to cook. You clench your teeth in an effort not to scream, still furiously patting away at the blaze.

You slam your back onto the snow covered floor quenching the flames with a series of hisses and pops. You close your eyes to try and eject the pain from your mind. It slowly recedes, replaced by pressure on your chest. Turns out it was just a series of pops from your back. You squirm beneath the crushing hooves as the claws entrench themselves around your armor. “Shoot it!” You see Rainbow Dash fumbling with your gun as she tries to fire it. The only gun left with ammo and she can’t even pull the trigger. How perfectly quaint.

The unicorn tries to throw the xeno off of you with her own magic, but the Unimorph, you’ll call it, sees her first. The xeno’s horn darkens, the unicorn’s spell disrupted as the Unimorph shakes the very foundation of the building, knocking her off her hooves. You begin kicking it in the ass only for it to fiercely smack them into submission. With a sickening crack your legs fall to the floor inert. “GAAH!” You holler in pain, the combination of scorched skin and shattered bones too much to hold in. The Unimorph comes closer to you widening its jaws for the final blow. Glass shatters against its head, a golden liquid splashing over the both of you.

”Payback time.” You turn to see Duff charging towards the both of you. The xeno hisses, shaking the building once more to stall him. Duff precedes unhindered, picking up speed ready for a body slam. ”For you Maria…” He collides with the Unimorph, the pair disappearing in another spectacle of flame.

Rainbow Dash makes her way back over to you, checking your condition. She waves her hoof in front of your face and tries to talk to you. The noise doesn’t reach your ears, though you’re fairly sure of what she says. You rest your head in the snow, passing out in its icy embrace.

Your mind winds back, only days before when you were talking to Duff. Such an innocent question… ”Don’t worry about it Anon, you couldn’t have known.”

Why did you have to bring her up? That was just stupid. “It’s a touchy subject, I shouldn’t have asked.”

”Seriously it’s ok.” Even when he says that you still feel like shit.

”You want to make it up to me?”

“Of course I do.”

”Always have my back, and I’ll always have yours.” You nod and shake his hoof.

“I swear it Duff.”

Your body aches as you regain consciousness. This place… it isn’t HQ, where are you? You sit up and observe your surroundings. It looks like the town hospital, a bit run down without proper maintenance, but the same nonetheless. A chart lies across from your bed with pictures of a shattered stick. Strange that it looks just like an X-ray. No, it couldn’t be… You give your leg a small flick, excruciating pain flowing up from them. You squeeze down on the bed handle as you attempt to alleviate it. This is what you get for being stupid.

The door to your room opens and your friends walk on in. “Anon, you’re awake. Thank Celestia!” She sees you staring at the chart and changes her tone. “You know what that means don’t you?

“I can take a guess.”

Fluttershy comes over and takes a look at you. She’s nursed animals to good health, so she can certainly help. “How soon can I be back up and running.”

”A couple months.”

“A couple months?” you repeat, that last part really getting under your skin.

”More like several months, you’re hurt pretty bad Anon.”

“I don’t have several months!” Fluttershy backs away from your growing anger. “I- I’m sorry Fluttershy, I shouldn’t have yelled.” She nods, but keeps her distance. “I won’t sit around for months on in waiting for this to be over. I’m leaving.” You swing your legs off the side and hop off. Big mistake.

Your legs buckle underneath you as you crash back to the floor. Pinkie and Rarity help you up, but you keep trying to move forward, slamming back down to earth. You pull yourself up by a curtain, the others holding back. The curtain rips adding another collision with the floor. This is going nowhere; you can’t even stand, let alone fight a xenomorph. Rarity and Pinkie bring you up once again and take you to bed. They set you down gently on the covers. “I can’t stay…”

”Well you can’t go darling, you need your rest.”

”Doctor Stable said you need to rest. We’ll need you up and going as soon as possible.

“Where’s he now?”

”He went on to help the others sugarcube. We’re already rebuilding that schoolhouse, it took a nasty blow.” She’s got that right, we weren’t prepared for those things, but what about the others…

“How’s Duff? I need to thank him for saving my ass.” The room goes silent, making you even more concerned. “Where’s Duff guys?”

”We don’t know.” Rainbow answers.

You get ready to leave, but Twilight holds you down. ”You can’t save him, not like this.”

“Then fix me. You have magic, and don’t give me shit about not knowing it. I know you’ve got more than one book on healing spells.”

”I’ve never tested them before. The results could be catastrophic! I could accidentally cripple you permanently.”

“I don’t care. Duff had my back, and I swore that I’d have his. I’m not going to break my promise.”

She shakes her head strongly, “I’m not going to do it.” You turn to Rarity, giving up on Twilight’s help. “Fine, you do it Rarity.”

”I’ve always wanted to nurse someone back to health, how exciting!”

”Rarity, you make clothes for a living; you’re not trained to do that.”

You interrupt the both of them, “I don’t care who does it, as long as someone does.” Twilight is still being stubborn, but in all honesty, you’d rather have her do it. “If you were in my position and it was Spike who was taken from you, wouldn’t you want the same thing?” >She doesn’t say anything. “If you promised him you would always be there for him and an injury was all that stood in your way, wouldn’t you take the risk?” She nods her head begrudgingly. “Please help me Twilight.”

She steps beside your bed and looks at you. ”Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Do it.”

She sighs as her horn glows a vibrant red. Rainbow Dash walks over and holds your hand. Twilight looks at you one last time, “This’ll probably hurt… a lot.” She lowers her head and touches her horn to your leg. No regrets. You tighten your grip on Rainbow’s hoof as tendrils of sheer agony cascade up your body. Twilight wasn’t lying about pain, that’s for damn sure.

You can feel the broken shards of bone slicing through your muscles. The pieces continue its savage dance, slowly entwining together while ravaging your nerves. Breaking the fucking thing didn’t hurt his much. Moisture builds up in your eyes. No amount of suppression can keep it in. You bite down on your pillow, another way to ease the pain. With a sickening crack, the pain in your leg begins to subside. Twilight looks back at you, obviously concerned at your writhing form. ”Are you ok?”

“I’ve had worse…”

”Really?” she asks questionably.

“Fuck no!” you try and laugh the event off, the pain forcing you to lay back down. “So what’s the damage?”

Fluttershy comes back over and slides her hoof along your leg. She squeezes in various places, testing your reflexes. Your legs a tad tingly, but other than that it feels good. ”It looks fine to me.”

“Thank fuck for that.” You take deep breathes down on the bed, finally able to relax.

”So are you ready for the other one?” What!?

Location- Armory. Time- 1400 hours. Duff is gone. He sacrificed himself for me. I promised to have his back, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. I’ve looked over Twilight’s notes, and recorded where she believes the Hive is most likely located. The others think I’m going to wait for Celestia to bring her own troops to help, but they’re wrong. Duff is my responsibility, and I’ll save him while he’s still alive. This is my last entry. To anyone who is reading this… Tell my friends I’m sorry. I just hope they understand. Private Anonymous, United States Colonial Marines Rifleman. [End of Entry]

This place has become barren over the past weeks. All available firearms were passed out a while ago. There are only a few magazines and shells left untouched. Thankfully, you kept a stash for yourself. You pull the cabinet away from the wall, revealing a small chamber within. Pulling off the tarp, you run your hands over the steel hardware. Many good times were had with these trusty pieces of equipment. You sling them over your shoulder and stow away the ammo in what’s left of your fatigues. Resealing the chamber, you head to your quarters to suit back up.

You set down your guns and open your wardrobe. You work a white t-shirt underneath your garment. The battered piece of metal you call armor is lying beside your bed. This has saved you time and time again, it’ll save you one last time. You fasten the traps before grabbing a heavy coat. Rarity’s showy coat fits tight around your armor. It may be a bit elegant, but it’ll protect you from the harsh cold. You look at yourself in the mirror, nothing but another marine... with a mare’s coat. Thank god you’re not in Basic anymore. Grabbing your guns you head back to the schoolhouse, but not before setting your green book squarely on your bed, awaiting its next owner.

Some of the ponies eye you suspiciously, but keep on task. They needn’t know of your mission. Even if you told them they wouldn’t understand. They’re better off worrying about one another, not you. You salute a pair of them as you exit the tunnel and into the school. This place really was hit hard, planks snapped in half, the walls all but crumbling. But they’ll rebuild, ponies are resilient if anything.

You look out the window, a blizzard storming outside. ”Look at that weather we’re having.” Vinyl joins you in observing nature’s elegance. She was one of the few that chose to stay and defend Ponyville. It was her idea to use her nightclub as our base of operations.

“Serene yet terrifying, a perfect mechanism of nature.” Winter always captivated you, even as a child.

”You admire it…” You can’t help but smile.

“I admire its purity.”

”You don’t have to go you know.” She always was a perceptive one.

“But at the same time I do.”

”Duff wouldn’t want you to throw your life away, and neither do I.”

“I promised him Vinyl. I’m not going to break another one them.” She didn’t need to hear more and simply nodded her head. You kick out a few supports for the barricade and open the door. “Do me a favor will ya?”

“Anything,” she replies.

“Keep the music ready for me?”

A tear runs down her cheek, “Good luck Anon.” You smile and head off into the heart of the storm.

“Luck has nothing to do with it.”

Chapter 8: Hive

You pull the hood over your helmet blocking out the cold. You can make out a patrol of pegasi flying just above the storm. No one should travel alone at a time like this. Except for you of course. You trudge through the built-up snow as you exit town. It’s a long road ahead of you, but it’s a road you have to take. Here you are, leaving behind another home, this time by choice. You turn around and say goodbye to Ponyville one last time. It may be your last chance.

Saluting to the town you continue down the path. You wonder what the others will think when they find out where you went. Would they understand? Would they throw a hissy fit? Would Pinkie throw a late going-away party? There are so many things that could happen. Another brush of wind returns you to the present. The forest entrance isn’t very far from here. You pull out your map and recheck your destination.

If Twilight was correct in her research then the Hive should be located near the heart of the forest. You barely scratched the surface when you had that walk. And now you have to be on your guard in case any Xenos detect you. Its one hurdle after another with this shit. As you approach the forest you can feel its essence seeping through you. Dread washes over you; you swore you would never enter this place again. The trees themselves seem to reach towards you.

Even so, you march into the forest. A slight rustling jerks your head to the right. Patches of ice slide off a nearby tree and sink into the snow below. “Well if it isn’t my old friend.” You can’t see him in through the blizzard, but you know he’s there. Turns out you won’t be going alone after all. You nod and continue deeper into the confines of the forest.

The further you go, the less snow you encounter. The blizzard doesn’t seem to be able to penetrate that far into the forest. In fact, it seems to be getting hotter as time passes. You strip off your coat and wrap it around your arm. Rarity would be pissed if it was left lying around. A part of you would rather deal with the Xenomorphs than her. The familiar stench of decay catches you by surprise. At least you know how far you have to go. Too far…

The sun appeared to be going down as far as you could tell. Night was approaching, and the xenos would be up and at it again. You decide to make camp, a consequence for leaving in the evening. Following the pungent odor you find yourself back at the morphed tree. Maybe the scent will keep them away. You don’t know, but frankly you don’t give a damn. You almost step in a dried puddle of blood and vomit. The bodies were still up there in all likelihood. At least you’d have company while you rested.

You kick the stump of the tree, breaking through its hollow interior. A mess of termites and other small creatures spew out of the opening. Another few hits and you forged a man sized hole in the tree. Swatting away a few remaining insects you climb on in. It wouldn’t take much for anything to get you in here, but the tree grants you a couple seconds to react at least. The walls vibrate as your friend leaps onto the top. You pull out your shotgun and rest it in your lap. “You’ve got first watch,” you say to the creature above.

You’re going to have to come up with a name for him. He’s stuck with you all this time, and tried to stick it to you as well. If not for the whole trying to kill you thing he’d be alright in your book. You’ve thought of him as your guardian angel. Maybe there’s some truth to that. You pull out a dusty pair of dog tags and run your thumb over them. Corporal Mark Evans. You rest your head against the rotted timber and close your eyes. “Goodnight Mark.”

You enter the arena once more. Comrades of old and new hang from the black webbing. You run over to Duff, his lifeless body staring back at you. ”Why didn’t you save him?” another body whispers.

“I tried…”

”Not hard enough marine.” A second voice joins in. ”You left him to die like a coward.” They’re trying to mess with your head, but you won’t let them this time.

“Duff isn’t dead, not really. This routine is getting old…”

A hiss echoes throughout the chamber before the corpses continue. ”They’re coming Anon, this is as real as it gets.” You stand up and move back to the entrance, turning your back to it. Xenomorphs of all types climb around the walls before you. ”You will fail. Just as your team did.” You laugh a bit before looking towards the mass of approaching xenos.

“Maybe, but my new team hasn’t.” A hand presses onto one of your shoulders, a hoof on the other. You turn, your friends and the other survivors of Ponyville emerging from the blackness. Mark and Twilight stand at either side of you. “I won’t let them down as well.”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath.“We hold.”

Opening your eyes, you revel in the sounds of the forest. Every drip, crow and growl encompassing your being. You step out of your hidey-hole and check things out. There’s no sign of any xenomorph activity. If there was then you wouldn’t be standing here right now. The sun is up from what you can tell. The light barely breaches the thick foliage. You look back up to where Mark should be. It’d be rude not to say hello.

You grab a few strong looking vines and ascend the tree. Upon reaching the top, you don’t see any sign of him. It’s like he just up and left you. A chill runs down your spine as you realize that he knew you were coming up. That bastard’s a shit ton smarter than you thought he was. A brief flash of yellow shines from a tree opposite to you, his eyes purposefully giving himself away. Another nod and you decide to continue your journey.

The climb down was much easier than the ascent. A cloud of leaves jumps as you leap back to the ground. Pulling out your shotgun you set back down the path. The sun won’t wait for you to get started. Every inch you go deeper into the forest is another inch you have to make to get back. Something tells you this might be a one-way trip. You smack your helmet in defiance. You’re not going to die some heroic death like some stupid book. Who the hell would even write that?

You forgo the coat as it was only weighing you down. You rest it neatly on a protruding branch in the path. Maybe someone else will find a use for it. You continue walking for a few hours. It feels like you’re just walking in circles. You check your map, projecting how soon you should reach the Hive. Another few hours at the most apparently. Maybe you’re on track after all.

The humidity tries to choke you as you keep on the path. How anything can live in this is simply astonishing. The lush forest has slowly melded into more of a swamp, which is where Twilight thought it would be. The familiar smell of decay hits you like a truck once more. Lucky that you’re basically a bunker when it comes to that stench. Sleeping in it tends to do that. You try and stay on the dry patches of land that surround the murky water, but that only takes you so far. The fastest way to the hive is straight through the murky waters of the swamp. Who knows what type of creature lives down there?

You hesitantly take a step into the swamp, your foot immediately sinking into the mud. So it’s going to be one of those days, huh? Luckily it doesn’t take long before your foot hits something solid. You place your other foot into the goo and sink till your about waist deep into the water. You tighten the straps on your weapons to prevent them from getting submerged. This might take a while.

The trek into the marshes was a bit harder than you thought. Every time you’re about halfway through the water suddenly deepens, and there’s no fucking way you’re going in there. Being a coward is one thing, but that shit is simply suicidal. Twilight told you she met a bum fucking Hydra in here. You’re not seeking to make its acquaintance. You hear a loud splash and swing around to meet your guest. A torrent of electricity spasms around the intruder, revealing itself to be Mark. You quickly lower your weapon before he gets the wrong impression.

You feel a bit better with him around, a teammate is always welcomed. The two of you keep roaming the swamp until you both come across a small uplifted island. It seems to bridge the two sections together without having to proceed through the deep end. You pull yourself up and reach out your hand to help up Mark. He ignores you and leaps up to the top. He may not be a team-player, but he’s got it where it counts.

You take a small break and sit down on a rock. The floor is a bit too moist for your tastes. Fuck you’re sounding like Rarity again… Mark doesn’t seem to care as he plops down wherever he sees fit. You pull some rations out of your pack as a little snack. You toss a pack to Mark, who appears puzzled at the gift. “You eat it, see,” you say, scarfing down the less than satisfactory meal. “It’s nothing much, especially not better than anything Fluttershy…” Fluttershy, another friend you left behind. The more you think about them the worse you feel. You didn’t even say goodbye.

A few hisses and pops snap you back to reality. Mark is doing something to his faceplate. It looks like he’s loosening it, or depressurizing the mask. One final pop and he takes off his mask, looking back to you. He isn’t going to win any fashion contests, you can say that much. His skin is red-yellow in color, and his dreadlocks are in fact hair. What truly strikes you are his four mandibles centered around his sharp fangs. His beady eyes add to his menacing appearance, but not as much as those xenomorphs.

He rips open the bag and hesitantly eats the contents. A few mandibles twitch as he chews it which creeps you the fuck out. The taste doesn’t stop him from taking another bite and another… and another. It doesn’t take long for him to finish off the bag. His head shoots back up and he quickly dons his mask before standing battle ready. “The hell is wrong with you?” A vibration rocks the ground beneath you, alerting you as well.

You hasten to your feet and ready your pulse rifle. Ripples flow throughout the water, clashing with each other inadvertently masking the third presence. What was once a mere vibration has cascaded into a violent tremor, shifting the very landscape. Only one creature could be massive enough to cause such a quake. A series of bubbles reach the water’s surface to signal the coming danger. The beasts of the Everfree Forest silence to watch your demise. Your eyes grow wide as four heads emerge from the depths of the lake and tower above you. “Well… fuck…”

Their orange scales glisten from each presented maw. You hear a few more hisses and pops as Mark tries to recloak, but to no avail. The water seems to be interfering with his tech, damn shame. Each head licks their lips at the meal before them. Too bad you bite back. You quickly fire a grenade from your rifle which detonates on the creature’s neck. It roars in pain as you grab Mark and sprint to the exit. The ground rumbles as the Hydra begins to chase you both down.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Mark makes his way past you and gains some ground before turning back to the creature. A trio of red rays shoots from his helmet, a cannon-like structure following the beam. A sickening crack bellows from the cannon as he fires a projectile of his own against it. The Hydra releases another roar of pain followed by a loud thud. You look back at the creature when you catch up to Mark. One of its heads lay severed before it, likely a result of your combined attack. The creature itself stands stunned as the loss of a limb keeps it off balance.

Before you can begin to celebrate the tendrils on the Hydra’s neck begin to quiver. Oh yeah, it’s a fucking Hydra. You don’t need to know what happens next. You pull Mark’s arm as two more heads spew forth to fill the gap. “Time to go!” You pepper it with bullets which tear holes clean through its dense scales. Mark lets another blast fly as the both of you tear out of the swamp.

You spot a cave at the end of the swamp to hide in. “In there!” you yell to Mark. He simply sprints faster toward the designated spot. One of the heads lunges at you, but you narrowly dodge it, making the Hydra eat dirt. You look back to see another head on approach, this time you don’t have time to avoid it. A hand grabs you by your armor and tosses you backwards out of the way. Mark quickly helps you up and drags you back to the cave. He really does care…

The two of you make it into the cave as the Hydra crashes outside. The creature roars again and stamps off in a hissy-fit. “That was too close,” you say catching your breath, “thanks by the way.” Mark merely grunts and heads off deeper into the cave. You follow him into the dark recesses of this place. The heat grows unbearable as you continue walking in these narrow halls.

‘Shrug it off Private, a little heat won’t kill you.’ You spin around trying to find the source. That was… so real… Mark senses your predicament and waits for you.

“Did you hear that?” He shakes his head in denial. You wipe your head and shrug it off. This labyrinth of a cave keeps you on your toes. Something about it is off, more so than the forest you just left. A black coating sticks to the walls before you. This place couldn’t be it. Not this fast. A feeling of dread falls upon you, forcing you to halt once more.

’Can it Marine, you’re not here to feel.’ You can feel a headache coming onto you so you rest your head against the wall. This shit isn’t normal. You should be in cryosleep, heading back home. But no. You’re in an Alien hive, abandoning your friends after abandoning your squad. Mark places a reassuring hand on your shoulder. He doesn’t know what you’re going through, but he doesn’t care. He needs you at your best, Duff does as well. You’re not going to let Duff down. You can’t let him down. Shoving yourself off the wall you march down the heated corridors with newfound strength.

’Any movement Private?’ You sweep the entrance of another set of tunnels, surveying each mess of webbing with detail.

“We’re all clear.”

*shling* Mark goes down one tunnel and signals you to enter the other.

“Done sir.”

‘That a boy, now move out!’ The memories keep bombarding you. You shake your head and take aim down the hall. The webbing gets thicker and more spread out as you descend.

The journey isn’t pleasant, a few xenos tried to ambush you with the same tactics as before. “Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice…” You unload on a hiding xenomorph, its acidic blood splattering across the walls. You give a little smile, “Shame on me.” The next chamber is a bit more open, though thoroughly coated in the webbing. Mark is huddled next to the floor examining some sort of egg. He springs to attention and draws a disk when he sees you.

“Whoa hold on dude…” A slight movement catches your eye on the wall behind him. You draw your pulse rifle and get ready to fire. Mark grunts and is prepared to let that thing loose. You’re just trying to help and now he’s threatening you. What an ass. You recognize the creature behind him as one of those spiders that attacked you in Ponyville. He has no chance if he’s unprepared.

Mark throws the disk as you fire behind him. Your bullets decimate the tiny creature, shredding it into pieces. The weapon steers clear of you instead circling around like a boomerang. Why did he do that? You turn around, half of a Unimorph behind you, its blood pooling up on the floor. That bastard just saved your life, you bet it didn’t expect Mark to get him. You lower your weapon relieved.

Mark examines your work and grunts his approval. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He reproduces in a human tone, obviously not one of his own tongue. It must only know a few words in English, or else he might talk more. Hours pass like minutes, every movement predetermined; every nook searched and cleaned out. Mark seems intent on wiping these guys out, and you couldn’t argue with his tactics. You run out of Pulse Rifle before long, switching to your shotgun.

It doesn’t take long for both of you to reach a colossal central chamber, those eggs Mark found scattered throughout. This place is definitely where those xenomorphs originate. You see corpses hanging off the walls, more victims of the xenos. Duff has to be around here somewhere. ’We got one!’

The voices ring in your ears as you work your way around. ‘We got some more over here.’

You recognize a few faces from the club, you knew them well. A certain brown pony catches your attention, a beer bottle cutie mark on his flank. You don’t waste time and quickly cut him down. He looks like shit, cuts and scrapes all across his body. “Duff. Duff do you hear me?” You put two fingers on his neck, feeling a low pulse. “Duff man, come on. Wake up!”

You slap him across the face causing him to barely open his eyes. You hug the shit out of him, happy to have your bud back. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.”

”They’re dead…”

He holds his shaking hoof out and points towards the others. ”Something… came out of them. These things did it.” He plays with one of the dead spiders next to him.

“It’s ok Duff, you’re safe.”

”This one was mine…” He stares at the creature, not with anger but sadness. You ignore this new development and try to get him on his hooves.

“Let’s get going, I’m not leaving you here.”

”You always did have my back, but I’m not leaving. I can feel it in here,” he places a hoof on his chest, “and it wants out.”

“Enough of that talk, I’m not losing another friend. With any luck we’ll-“

His laughter interrupts you, “Luck has nothing to do with it, right?”

“Don’t do this to me Duff. Don’t you fucking dare.”

He coughs violently, “Listen Anon, it’s not your fault. *cough cough* It was my choice.”

“You don’t choose to die. You’re here because of me.”

”If it wasn’t me here, then it would be you. *cough* If there’s one thing I did in my life that I didn’t fuck up, it was you.” He coughs up a little blood. “You have a future Anon, I turned mine down long ago.” He grips his chest, “One last thing, a request. End it- *cough* end the pain.” You hug him one last time. “Live on,” he says as you place your pistol on his skull.

“I’m sorry.”

You stand up, Mark taking place by your side. “Let’s get this over with.” You holster your pistol and move on. A hiss draws the both of you onward, back to another old acquaintance. You make your way through a valley of columns as you follow the noise. A few xenomorphs catch the corner of your eye, but they back off. At least they know who they’re fucking with now.

You see your old friend, a bit bigger than you last saw him. He’s a good four times larger than you last saw him when he attacked you. He may look different, but he’s the same asshole as before. Mark seems to stare in awe at the creature as it towers over both of us. “Get a good luck Mark. It’ll be the last time you ever see it.” The xenomorph hisses loudly at the both of you, summoning several others to his side. You raise your weapon, but Mark holds it down.

He pushes several buttons on the console attached to his wrist before detaching it. He makes a few gestures. Fist, open palm. Fist, open palm. “What does that even mean?” He starts counting down with his fingers and makes the same motion. “Seriously is that supposed to mean something?” His facepalm could split the world in two.

”B-o-m-b” he replies in a guttural language.

“Oh… shit.”

Chapter 9: Friends to the End

The two of you back off. There’s too many to fight head-on. A bomb is a tad extreme; especially when you’re not sure you’ll even need it. You close the console, Mark understanding your meaning. You slap him on his back and both of you retreat back into the sea of columns. The leader hisses, sicing its troops upon you.

You take cover behind a pillar and fire a shot. Your shot goes wide, stone shards blast across the floor. A xenomorph pounces at the pause forcing you to roll away. It lands on the pillar behind you, immediately following it up with another leap. Its attack is relentless not giving you time to strike back. Mark is engaging three of them in close-range combat effortlessly. You’ll be sure to ask for some training after this shit is over.

The xenomorph’s tail juts forward narrowly missing your head. It appears to be imbedded in the rock, and with a quick slice of Mark’s knife you cut it off, its owner shrieking in anger. You take a brief moment to introduce its cranium to your friendly 12 gauge. The blood splashes against the webbing which remains immune to its effects. You charge towards Mark, a Pegasus xenomorph sneaking up behind him. “Got your back!” You crash into it shoulder first and take it for a ride.

The both of you collapse into the chamber wall. It writhes around clawing ay anything within reach. You slam your boot on its head to pin it down on the floor. You bring your head next to its, preparing for one of your finer moments in Equestria. “I’ma bleed you, real quiet. Leave ya here. Got that?” You ravage its neck with your serrated blood cutting it in two. The body begins to spasm, spewing its corrosive blood over your already damaged armor. You cut off the straps and toss aside your death trap of armor before it hits you.

Your back begins to tingle, a familiar warmth washing over you. “Oh hell no motherfucker!” You jump over the xenomorph corpse quickly escaping the wave of fire from behind you. Another Unimorph appears from within the flame. You take a shot, the attack reflected by a small barrier. Well that’s out of the question, but how does it like fire? You flip on your incinerator and release your own tasty flavor of flame.

The Unimorph backs away in fear, leaving it vulnerable once more. You tackle it while its shield is down, both of you engulfed by its black inferno. You emerge at the far side of the room, it pinning you down again. It seems to smile at your predicament, possibly the same one that took Duff. It winds up its tail to finish the job it began. “You’ll pay for what you did to Duff!” You bridge on your neck, its claws digging deep into your chest, and scissor your legs to lay on your chest.

Building up, you grab its claw and throw it over your shoulder as you raise your hips. It plops on its back momentarily stunned. You grasp its tail and swing it around, its head colliding with every pillar you see. After gaining enough momentum you let go causing it to fly into the air. “Pull!” You cock your shotgun and take aim. “This is for Duff you bastard.” You blast off both barrels, the body disappearing in a mist of yellow.

Mark seems to be getting overwhelmed, two more joining the fray. You pull out your pistol and Incinerator, sprinting behind Mark. He has his back to a boulder as he dodges and deflects several blows. You sprint on top of the boulder behind him, put two fingers in your mouth and whistle. “I’m right here assholes.” You jump over Mark, an incinerator in one hand roasting some premium xenomorph, and your pistol in the other wounding a few others. You roll forwards as you land, granting some breathing room for the both of you.

This doesn’t last long, as your little stunt attracted the attention of more than a dozen xenos. Mark equips a staff and readies his shoulder-cannon, while you reload your shotgun and pistol. You hear a thunderous roar as the columns come crashing down. The enlarged alien steps out of the rubble, brandishing his two sets of arms and teeth. Turns out your friend didn’t like being left out. “Welp, we’re only majorly fucked.”

An explosion of purple forces him to stumble back and shield himself. Wait if that’s purple, then that means… ”Didn’t think you’d get off that easy did ya?” Rainbow hollers behind you.

“I’m happy to be wrong for once.”

The rest of the mane 6 show themselves, joining you side by side. ”Who’s your buddy?” Twilight asks questionably.

“A friend, but I think we have more important issues right now.” The big guy reels back and wails a death cry in rage. “You guys know what to do.”

The eight of you split up as you engage the army of the xenos. Three take the left and the others take the right, each making sure to split the force up. You and Mark take the middle, dealing with your old acquaintance. The monster screeches and charges right at you. You kick off of Mark steering both of you clear of its path. If that thing picks you up, it’s game over.

You pull out the pulse rifle and pump some grenades at it, though it dodges them easily. It’s fast, you’ll give him that. Tossing down the empty rifle you signal Mark to use his own cannon. The Xenomorph dodges that blast as well and strikes Mark, tearing the cannon clean off his shoulder. A Pegasus xeno swoops in to take advantage of his weakened state, but is waved off by a surge of flame. ”NO! BAD ALIEN! BAD!” Fluttershy screams chasing it down with an incinerator. Make a note, don’t fuck with Fluttershy.

Mark manages to get back up; the blow would have knocked any human out cold. You release a few shells into the creature, merely irritating the colossal being. It sweeps its tail under your feet, knocking you down. You roll out of the way as the tail immediately spikes into the ground. You cock the shotgun and let both barrels go to town, chipping away at its large headdress. This thing just takes a lick and keeps on ticking.

Mark takes out his disk and throws it at the alien, cutting the sides of it. He takes another attempt and the xenomorph dodges in time for it to lodge itself into a wall. How many ways is this thing going to screw you over? You ready your shotgun again, the creature smacking you away with its tail. Your gun is stripped from your hands, the xenomorph crushing it under its feet. Turns out you thought too soon. You get to your feet and pick Mark’s disk out of the wall.

The incinerator puffs out a little gust of fire before shutting off. A fucking Bunsen burner would be more useful than this thing. You toss it away, now limited to your pistol, disk, and knife. None of which would be useful in taking it down. You hear a blast of confetti and get an idea. “Pinkie, bring that thing over here double time! Rarity I need to help out my buddy.” Mark is circling the xenomorph stabbing at it with his spear, Rarity trying to protect him with her telekinesis. You’re both fighting a losing battle, but maybe you can turn the tide.

Pinkie gallops over with her party cannon in tow. “Give it hell.” An amalgamation of confetti and other party equipment knocks the xeno on its back. “Bull’s-eye, now go back to help Applejack.” Pinkie does as instructed as Mark goes in for the killing blow.

“That’s right kick his ass!” you scream, Mark stopping midthrust, a trickle green fluid running out of its mask. You look to his stomach, the Xeno’s tail… run him through, “NO!” It tosses Mark aside, leaving him a bleeding mess on the floor.

The xeno aims its tail at Rarity who’s frozen in fear. You draw your knife and disk and charge at it. “Get away from her you bitch!” Its tail zooms toward the vulnerable Rarity. The tail hits cold hard stone as Applejack saves her just in the knick of time. You slide under the Xenomorph’s head and begin skinning it of its large headdress. It squeals in pain, unable to pick itself up to defend himself.

Before you can finish it thrashes its head about throwing you away from it. You lay next to Mark, still bleeding from his gaping wound. Picking up his spear you place it in his hands. He weakly begins to take off his mask. His arms shaking something fierce. You finish the process for him, resting it on his lap. His face is covered with his green luminescent blood.

He coughs, a surge of blood dripping out of his mouth. ”Ff- fffr-“ *cough* You look back at the thrashing xeno, completely immobile with its damage. Probably should’ve invested in Life Alert. Mark’s coughing catches your attention again. He barely picks up his spear and mask, forcing both into your chest. ”Frrr- *cough* eeend.” Is he saying what you think he’s saying?

“Did you just say… friend?” He nods before grunting in pain. He extends his hand, imitating the human handshake. This is- kind of sad to be honest. You meet his hand, Mark pulling it close to his chest, putting you right next to him. You wish you could have got to know him…

Mark flips open the console on his wrist and presses a few buttons. He gives you one last look staring you in the eye. “I… hold…” You pull out Evans’ dog tags and place them in his hands. He gives a pained chuckle and presses the last button initiating countdown. The light in his eye fades, his hand going limp, still clutching the dog tags.

“Goodbye Mark.”

You spring up to your feet. Performing your signature whistle you gain the attention of your friends. “Ponies, we are LEAVING!” You quickly pick up Mark’s equipment and sprint towards the exit after the Mane 6. The beeps of the device echo behind you, increasing in pitch and speed as you rush up the tunnels. “Twilight close off the tunnel, now!” Her horn sparkles to life rumbling the tunnel’s interior.

All you need now is a boulder chasing you out. Applejack trips and falls flat on her face. You pick her up by the waist and keep moving up. The walls begin to fall apart. Dust and rock coming down around you. Twilight appears worried that she has doomed us as well. “The cave is collapsing!”

“This is no cave,” you reply nonchalantly. Another quake, this one dwarfing all those you’ve experienced thus far blasts from behind you. You dodge a falling stalactite and run past the entrance which collapses as you make it out. “Keep running!”

The others don’t ask questions, instead galloping faster than before. The quake reaches its apex as you turn around. An aura of neon blue erupts from the ground, tossing you off your ass. You never thought death would look so beautiful. Everything fades to black as the light consumes you.

Location- Ponyville. Time- Don’t even care. It’s been four months since the incident. Peace has returned to Equestria once more. The refugees came back home and helped us rebuild. Seeing so many families reunite warmed my heart. You almost couldn’t bear to watch Raúl embrace his wife and daughter. The mane 6 are your family now, and you’re glad for it. Having them as friends is comforting, knowing they won’t leave you.

You still think about Duff and Mark everyday. Their deaths weight heavy on your shoulders. All those you’ve lost… It’s hard to keep that stuff with you everywhere you go. Duff said they chose their fate, and maybe there’s some truth to that. He didn’t want your past to consume you, and you’re not going to let his wish fall on deaf ears. Doesn’t mean you can’t keep a piece of them with you. This journal is what’s bringing me back to the past. This will be my last entry, not because I don’t think I’ll be able to write anymore. But because I need to let this go.

These are the detailed accounts of an ex-marine. A marine who traveled to another world when all seemed lost. His name was Private Anonymous. The problems of his past sought to bring this new world to ruin. But he made an array of friends who helped him overcome his enemies. He lives life anew, no longer constrained the reality of his previous life. His name is Anonymous, citizen of Ponyville, and for once in his life… He’s finally happy. [End of Entry]

You set down the journal on your desk and take a deep breath. It’s finally over. You’re free. You look up to Mark’s mask, still displayed proudly before you. Grabbing your coat you head downstairs into the living room. ”What took you so long? We’re going to be late.” Pinkie says.

“Just wrapping some things up.”

”The ceremony is going to start soon.” Pinkie pulls you outside with the rest of the mane 6. You all trot to Ponyville Square where a mass of ponies await. You and Twilight head on up the steps.

“I’m not sure about this Twilight. Surely you can do it.”

”They still need you Anon. One last time, for them.” You grumble under your breath, but give Twilight a hug anyways.

“Wish me luck?”

”Don’t you remember Anon? Luck has nothing to do with it.”

“Get your happy ass back down there.”

Mayor Mare nods to you, leaning closer to the mic, “And here to speak with us today, is Anon!” The ponies cheer wildly, quieting down at your signal.

“The last time I was in front of you all I came with a message of war. Today, I’m here to give you a message of hope.” You run your eyes over the mob of ponies below you. “We’ve overcome the seemingly unstoppable. We persevered when all hope was against us, but it wasn’t due to firepower, or troops, or tactics.” You smile and look down at your friends. “Friendship got us through those times, and friendship will guide us into the future. I am proud to call you all my friends, and I hope you feel the same.” The ponies give you a round of applause as you jump off the steps and give your friends a group hug. “I’ll never leave your side…”

They eagerly embrace you as well. “And neither will we.” You hold onto them, the crowd still cheering. A tear runs down your cheek, and you hold them a little tighter.

“I know…”

You pick up a magazine off the ground and place it in your pouch. Seems your first run through wasn’t as thorough as you’d hoped. You don’t like to be away from Ponyville. It feels wrong to be far from home. Funny how things work out. You find a fuel canister, swapping out your incinerator’s tank. After the Xeno infestation there hasn’t been a need for you to be constantly bogged down with guns. Old habits die hard it would seem. A headache blisters in your head as you reach for clip. You stow away the clip and head under the trees for some shade. What is up with the light?

You sit down against the tree and close your eyes, but it doesn’t stop the painful throbbing in your head. All that stress really has come back to bite you in the ass. One of those massages Rarity craves sounds great right now. You open your eyes, and… you’re not where you thought you were. You shake your head and stand up, the landscape a constant. It was bright and sunny before, but- Why the hell are you in a forest? You hear some commotion nearby as if two p0nies are fighting. Maybe they can tell why you’re… umm, not where you were. You pull out your pulse rifle and stow your motion tracker. You step through the bushes, something is definitely being attacked.

“Alright break it up, break it-“ They’re human. Holy hell, another human being. One’s on the ground in a leather jacket covering himself up as the other strikes him. “I said hold it!” But he doesn’t stop. You point your gun in the air and fire off a warning shot, the forest silencing.

The aggressor sees you and your gun, “You- You’re a-“

“United States Colonial Marine Corps, stand down and back away from the civilian.”

He lets go of the others jacket, “You don’t understand, he’s not a civilian. This man’s a murderer.”

”The first thing you do when you see me is punch me in the face, and you’re painting me to be the bad guy.”

”You have to believe me, he’s a threat to all of Equestria,” he begins to move.

”I said hold it! One more move and the next shot won’t be a warning.” He pauses. What the fuck is going on here?

Author's Note

The very end, after the three space gap, leads to a different story.