The Specter

by HonestAJ4President

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry, Human, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 7708

A Tier 1 operative(and the people that want him dead) go through a magic mirror, shortly after a Princess Summit is over.

I was never here, you never saw that, the Specters are just a conspiracy theory is what I'm supposed to say if a civilian see me doing what I do. But unfortunately for me that won't work this time. That'd work because my face is covered but now I'm not in a world filled with people. It's full of technicolor ponies. I'm currently in a crystal prison cell but I'll tell you it from the beginning

Published 2014-06-26 15:00:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-30 06:35:21 UTC

Prologue; How I Got Here

Prologue
How I Got Here

"Do, do, do, dodo, do do do dado" I hummed The Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash and checking my KRISS Vector, Colt M4 and Colt M1911 while waiting for my target to arrive at site.

"Here they come." said Bullseye, my sniper for this mission. I usually go in lone wolf but he was ordered. The sound of helicopter rotors became louder and suddenly 3 transport and 5 attack helicopters entered our vision. Bullseye reminded me "Don't move on target building until we have confirmation on target." We took out our binoculars and began to look for our target. "Got 'em middle chopper. Get ready to move." I began to repeat my objectives in my head 'Move on building, eliminate target, take dossier, exfiltrate'

I prepared the grapple launcher that would get me to the building. After the target went into the building, I fired it and hooked onto the line. A guard went to check out my line and I drew my knife. After detaching from the line, I kicked the guard in the head before tackling him and stabbing him in the neck. I lockpicked the door and entered the building. "Guard on the other side of that door. Prepare to drag." said Bullseye and I prepared to drag the guard. "Hold, 4 more guards just arrived from the room were the target went. No intel on what the room looks like but thermal says that he's still in the room. Don't engage."

I could here the guards talking in the other room "El jefe quiere probar ese espejo al final de la semana. ¿Qué sentido tiene? Es sólo un espejo."(The boss wants to try the mirror at the end of the week. Which point? It's just a mirror.)

"No dejes que se te oiga decir eso, o es su culo y él va a tener que probarlo."(Do not let him hear you say that, or is your ass and he's going to have to try.). I could make out what they're saying.

"I don't see any other way through them. I'm gonna strobe light them." I said

"Fuck it, fine. Prepare to fire." I prepared my Vector, turned my strobe light, turned the corner and opened fire. The guards were surprised by me, blinded by the strobe light and killed by my Vector. The alarm went of and I could hear my target in the room.

My target asked for a gun in Spanish in his Australian accent "Dame tu revólver(Give me your revolver)"

"Sí, señor, pero sólo cuenta con seis rondas(Yes sir, but it only has 6 rounds)" Great, now everyone in there was a gun, the lights are on so the strobe won't work and they know I'm here. I reloaded my Vector and prepared a flashbang. I threw it in, waited for the bang and stepped in. As I did everything went into slow-motion. I can't explain it and neither could let's see here, Manhattan, D.C, Berlin, London, Paris, Tokyo, yeah so neither could 6 groups of scientists in different cities across the world but whenever I go into a situation with no logical way out, everything goes slow-mo and I can see what my mind figuring out what I'm about to do so I can't be shot. Kinda like that one scene in that Sherlock Holmes movie.

4 hostiles, 1 by the door, 3 by the western wall. The guard by the door has a knife and Desert Eagle. He tries to stab me, counter by ducking and hitting him in the stomach with barrel of Vector. Spin him around and grab by neck. Use as human shield. Other guards will fire but target will fire once and run to stand closer to the mirror. Drag into other room and break neck to ensure death. Sling Vector over shoulder and grab Desert Eagle and knife. Check ammo in Desert Eagle. 7 rounds and 1 in the chamber. Another guard will try to surprise me. Pistol whip in the head, grab and throw against wall, stab in neck and stomach with knife. Enter room and fire once and throw knife at final guard. Bullet hits shoulder, knife hits head. Target dives into mirror. Aim and fire

The events played out, but the bullet aimed at my final target misses and the target runs into the mirror and goes through it. Deciding to follow him I went through it too. I ended up in a room made entirely of crystal. I saw the target and fired, but it hit the door as he closed it. I opened the door and was nearly shot by him. I muttered "Four" to keep count of his ammo. I opened the door again and gave chase. I found him being held up by a guard. That was a pony. Taking my chance, I aimed and fired. I miss and hit a vase over his shoulder. The guard gets distracted by gunshot before being shot by my target. I quickly hide behind a wall as he fires at me. "Two" I step out of cover and am nearly shot again as I hear the sounds of his footsteps. "One" All of these shots are drawing attention because I hear doors opening and the many footsteps of what are probably guards. I saw him running down a large hallway before firing at him once yelling "Get back here you bastard!" The shot hits his leg, causing him to trip slightly before recovering and turing back to fire at me in stride. "Zero" I continue running after him and see him trying to climb out a window. "Hey asshole." I said aiming my pistol at him. He quickly stopped and took aim at me. "Looks like we got a good old fashioned mexican stand off. But be careful asshole, you only got 1 shot left. You better hope it doesn't miss. There's a reason I didn't kill you a few seconds ago. I wanted you to see the face of the one that's putting you in the ground." I lied, hoped he hadn't counted and took off my mask.

We stood there for a few minutes, pistols aimed at each other, though I was the only one that could kill. More ponies arrived, 4 of which had crowns so I presumed royalty. I a quietly whispered "Give me a reason, asshole. Just try and pull the trigger." One identified herself as Princess Celestia but before she could continue I heard it. Click after a stunned silence again click, click, click. My ploy worked as he tried over and over to fire. He looked at me with a look of shock as he opened the cylinder of the revolver and emptied 6 shell casing on the floor. I responded with "Karma's a bitch, ain't it." before 2 loud bangs rang out in the room.

The flash made the ponies look away and when they looked back I had dropped the now empty Desert Eagle and walked over to where the the target was. In place of where he had been now lied the his corpse, with a hole in his head and chest. I was over his corpse as I closed his eyes and searched his body for the dossier. After finding it, I walked away from his corpse and pulled out my M1911. Unlike what they expected, I ejected the magazine and emptied the the round in the chamber. I did the same for all my weapons. After lying my knife on the ground, I got on my knees and put my hands on my head. That is where I was tackled by several guards and knocked out.

Author's Note

The original idea of this story was it was shortly after Equestia Girls with the soldier also helping Flash in his love life with Twilight but changed reading Royal Rebirth; The Life and Times of Prince Dusk Star. Not a crossover with but it's good check it out
6/26/14- changed The line "I lied" to "Karma's a bitch, ain't it"

Chapter 1; Interrogation and Operation Gatebreaker

Chapter 1
Interrogation and Operation Gatebreaker

I awoke in a room made entirely of crystal. I had my lower shirt and pants. I sat up and was greeted by a guard, who said "Ah, you're awake. I'll tell the Captain." He walked off and after a few minutes another pony appeared at the door. He said "Follow me." and I did. We walked into another room, where I saw on a table all my weapons, ammo, bullet-proof vest, dog tags, mask and everything that was in my pockets. He quickly grabbed my dog tags with his mouth and we entered another room and he told me to sit down. I did and he said "I'm Shining Armor and I'll be one of your many interrogators today. Tomorrow, based on your answers, we will decide what to do with you. Don't bother lying, we have a truth spell that can tell if you're lying. Captain James H. MacTavish I presume." he said looking at my dog tags "My sister has seen your kind before but not like you. Now can you tell me how you got here, why you were chasing that other man, how you were able to kill him from the other side of the room and why were you wearing the mask."

"I went through a mirror, that's is classified information with a personal matter and a firearm. Would you like me to go into detail."

"Please go into detail about this firearm."

"Tell one of you're men to get a bullet, the small brass cylinder." He did so and one of the guards got a bullet. "In this lower part, there is gunpowder. The hammer strikes the primer, which is on the bottom of the bullet. That ignites the gunpowder and that sends the tip out of the barrel faster than sound."

"Now if you don't mind, I'd like to do a psychological test with you. This is called the Heinz Dilemma. A women is dying of a disease. The local pharmacy has the cure but it is expensive. The women's husband, Heinz doesn't have enough money to buy it. He has tried everything from fundraising to outright begging the pharmacy to no avail. Should Heinz steal the drug?" He processed the information given to him and was about to answer when he closed his mouth again.

"This goes against everything taught to me as a guard, but yes he should. What was the point of the test and you still didn't answer why were you wearing the mask."

"Tomorrow you will learn and get comfortable Mr. Armor because it's story time. There was a civilian hospital in the middle of the desert. A team of 60 men from various American Tier One groups were deployed to defend it from a force of 500. Even though they were heavily outnumbered, they stayed because they knew if they left, the enemy would massacre the civilians."

"By the third day, there were only 15 left. Knowing they wouldn't last another night, they evacuated the hospital and only sent one of the remaining soldiers with the civilians. The 14 hid among the bodies of their fallen comrades in arms, the blood from the bodies dripping onto them and the sand covering their faces. They waited for the enemy to advance and when they did, they ambushed them with stealth. The battle was long and fierce. When the Americans ran out of ammo, they used their knives. When their knives became dull, they used their bare hands. When the dust and sand had settled, only one of the enemy had survived. He was picked up in the desert, wandering aimlessly, traumatized. He expressed warnings to others of a force so menacing and unbeatable, it could only be described as supernatural. He called them... Specters. It's rumored that those members are now part of a top secret organization that is assigned to the most dangerous missions that come up and that only the best of the best of the best of the best from Tier One American Forces are even allowed to know that it is real. But hey, it's only a story."

"That's quite a story MacTavish. Well my time is over. Next is Princess Celestia. And when I leave, I'll find out if that story is true." As he went for the door I remembered my grenades.

"And Captain," He turned and looked at me "The small green spheres are grenades. Tell your guards to not pull the pin because once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is not our friend."

Shining Armor PoV

I walked out of the room and greeted Twilight, Flash Sentry, Cadance, Celestia and Luna. "So, was that story true?"

My sister said "The spell says it's true. Do you think he's one of them?"

Then Flash responded "I don't think he would have told you if he wasn't."

Celestia asked Luna "Luna, did you search his memories? Was there any recollection of such a battle?"

"Yes, now that you mention it there was such a battle. And I think I have deciphered the personal matter and his comment on 'karma being a bitch'. While going through his memories, I saw the man he killed."

I asked "Can you describe what happened."

"I can do better. I have a spell that will let you experience the memory. Are you ready? Remember, we will experience everything that he did; his thoughts, his pain. To us, it will be however long the memory is. To the world, it will be a few minutes at most." We all nodded and she preformed her spell.

Operation Gatebreaker
Specter Team 1 JSOC Strike Team 5
1st Lieutenant James H. 'Ghost' MacTavish
June 30, 2016
6:45
Panama Canal

The zodiac curved the bank and the Panama Canal came into view. "Remember, this is the Panamanian Rebels last ditch effort to win their civil war. If they win this war will be drawn out and the world will lose a major economic waterway for even longer." reminded Cpt. 'Wraith' Porter, my best friend and team leader. To his friends he was the one man that could walk through hell and not get burned. To his enemies, he is the reason why they sleep with a gun under their pillow. "Our job is to eliminate their main commander and sabotage the artillery emplacements along the northern banks." Stopping near the canal, I looked at the battle that was commencing on the canal wall. The majority of the P.P.L.A(Panamanian People's Liberation Army) forces were defending the canal, which had been taken early on in a surprise attack. We prepared the SCUBA gear we wear using to infiltrate enemy lines.

We went under water and swam towards the beach. After we got on the beach, we devised a plan. "Ok, we should split into 2 teams. MacTavish you're with me. Williams go with Howard. We'll take the commander, you take the artillery. Codenames from here on out, stay frosty and move out." said Wraith as we put on our masks. We split up and headed to up the hill. We arrived at the wall and saw the frontline of the rebels. "Go left, UAV says the commander is in one of the control centers." We climbed onto the wall and took cover behind some boxes.

Behind the boxes we had the frontline flanked. Wraith whispered "We can't slip through." Then he radioed command "Overlord, this is Strike Team 5. We can't slip through enemy lines. Tell friendlies on the canal wall nearest to the Pacific to cease fire for a while. We may even be able to break the first line of defense."

"Copy that Strike Team 5. Informing friendlies on the Pacific wall." After a few seconds of silence, Overlord spoke again "Strike Team 5, be advised friendlies will only cease fire for 5 minutes. I say again, cease fire will end in 5 minutes."

"Copy that Overlord. We'll make the best of our time."

"Overlord copies all. Good luck out there."

"Come on Ghost, I don't want to be here when they open fire."

We readied our rifles and charged out from behind the boxes. We immediately knocked over an enemy and shot him. Wraith turned to the south, towards the frontline and I turned North, towards enemy reinforcements. The enemy reinforcements were shocked to see us. Some stopped dead in their tracks, others nervously readied their rifles but most ran away. It wasn't that 2 enemy soldiers were behind their lines. No, it was because those soldiers were Specters and not only that, 2 of the highest ranking Specters. JSOC Strike Team 5 is just a cover-up. The P.P.L.A had suffered the wrath of the Specters all throughout the war. And we had come to finish the job.

I could hear the silenced gunfire of Wraith and I followed suit. I had 6 enemies, 3 staring, 1 readying his rifle and 2 running. Immediately, a bullet tore through the skull of the enemy readying his rifle. Turning my M4 to the enemies staring at me, I fired as they appeared in my sight. By the time they fell dead, the ones that ran were out of range so I tapped Wraith's shoulder and we ran to a door that lead to the control center. I placed a breaching charge and after it exploded, we ran down the hallway while Wraith contacted Overlord. "Overlord this is Strike Team 5. The first line of defense is broken. We have entered the command center and are moving on enemy commander."

"Overlord copies all. Good job Strike Team. Proceed to Canal Wall Control 1, that's the last place he was sighted."

"Copy that Overlord. Moving out."

We proceeded to the Canal Wall Control 1. We experienced no resistance which I found odd seeing that their commander is here. However I saw signs of a fight including blood stains, bullet casings and bullet holes. I saw a large pool of blood seeping out from underneath a door. "Hey Wraith, look at this." He stopped and saw the pool of blood.

"Probably just the workers that were here on the day of the attack."

"No that was a year ago. This is fresh." I opened the door and was nearly knocked over by the corpses of rebel soldiers and their rifles. "Those aren't the fucking bodies of canal workers."

"Someone did this,"

Before he could continue I said "No shit Sherlock fucking Holmes."

Then he continued "We need to be cautious." Then we proceeded to the second floor, where we found the door to the control room.

I placed a breaching charge on the door and before I could detonate, the door exploded in our direction and knocked our rifles out of our hands and went over the railing. Before we could draw our secondaries, 2 soldiers stepped out of the smoke and dust pointing their rifles at us. They weren't rebels, they looked professional instead of the rags that they rebels wore* and had M16s instead of AK-47s. After a few seconds of awkward silence, it was broken by a man in a suit walking out of the smoke, clapping. Then he spoke in a Australian accent "Ah, it looks like we have the Specters and not just Specters, we have THE Specters." He could most likely identify us because we all have different mask patterns to help us identify each other in the field without speaking. "I suppose your here for the commander? Hmm," then he turned back to the room "Boys bring him out here." I looked back into the room and saw the corpses of rebel soldiers. 2 of his soldiers dragged out the unconscious body of the rebel commander. "Aw, he still hasn't woken up." he then punched the commander in the head "Wake up, ya bugger!" The commander began to stir and upon seeing the man, he began to speak angrily to him in spanish. "Yes I know that we had a deal, but someone paid more." He pointed to us.

When the commander saw our mask, he began yelling in spanish, something along the lines of "KEEP THEM AWAY FROM ME!"

The man spoke continued "Ah, I see you see the mask. These men were sent here to kill you. However, I'm taking the honor of the first person who has taken a kill from the Specters." He pointed to one of the mercenaries, "Give me your pistol." After the merc did, he shot the commander in both kneecaps. He picked him up by his collar and threw him down the stairs. After walking down the stairs with a creepily giddy smile, the man shot the commander again in the stomach before putting the pistol in his waist and breaking the commanders neck. Suddenly, our radio crackled to life.

"Alpha, this is Bravo. The artillery is down, repeat, the artillery is down." The mans smile got even bigger as he walked back up the stairs. Then he grabbed my radio and spoke.

"Hello Bravo. I'm sorry but Alpha is a little hung up at the moment." He then dropped the radio and smashed it with his foot and did the same with Wraith's. Then he crouched down and said "I'm sorry about all that. I guess I should introduce myself. No reason to not be proper. I am George Ericson. Good job. Once the rebels heard that the best Specters are in the field, they either fell back to the final line of defense or surrendered outright. That is how much fear you strike into their hearts. The reason why me and my boys are here was that the rebels hired us in hopes of winning this battle. However, the Panamanian Government paid us more to betray them. But, I respect money more than accomplishments. And a great way to drum up business is with the tagline 'The Organization That Killed the Best Specters.' Haha! Now, I'm sorry about this. I really am." Then he stood up and took pistol out of his waist. Before I could react, he shot Porter in the head. He took aim at me and everything went into slow-mo as I was filled with a cocktail of adrenaline and blind rage.

5 enemies, 4 mercs and 1 Mr.Ericson. I grab him on the neck. He gets a shot off, which hits me in the leg. Slam on railing, break arm and take pistol. Sweep pistol left to right and fire at 3 mercs facing me. Hits neck, eye and waist. Flip Ericson over railing, drop pistol and kick wounded merc in leg before grabbing rifle. Go around his side and hold him by neck with rifle. Break neck and throw rifle in final merc's face. As merc becomes disoriented, kick down stairs and draw knife. Charge down stairs and look over railing. I see Ericson running towards door with more mercs coming but he tells them I'm a Specter and it's their funeral if they want to try and kill me. All turned back and I can hear a helicopter fly off as I finish off the final merc. Turn attention to merc. He's trying to draw pistol but he was the merc that gave Ericson his pistol. Throw knife at him. Hits in head, kills immediately.

The events played out and after they were over, I headed back up the stairs. I take of his mask and close his eyes. I took out my compass and figured out the direction of his hometown. In the event a Specter is killed, he/she is is pointed towards his/her hometown with his/her weapon by their side with their mask on their chest. After taking my mask off, I salute him again. After finishing that, I covered my face with my hand to stop a mournful sob. After a minute of mourning, I put my mask back on and grabbed my M4. Mourning would come later, I still had a job to do.

29 Hours Later

Debrief; JSOC Strike Team 5
Cpt. Porter; KIA
Lt. MacTavish; WIA Promoted to Cpt
Sgt. Williams- KIA
Sgt. Howard- KIA

Cpt. Porter and now the Cpt. MacTavish moved on Commander Montegro but an unidentified mercenary group that was previously hired by the P.P.L.A to turn the tide of the battle. Cpt. Porter was killed and Cpt. MacTavish was wounded by George Ericson. Sgt Williams and Howard were killed by an unidentified helicopter, that is most likely owned by the same mercenary group that killed Cpt. Porter, after successfully disabling P.P.L.A artillery. The name 'George Ericson' has turned out to be a false name. Etc, Etc, Etc

I read the debrief 5 times in my house with a bottle of whiskey nearby, listening to inspirational speeches and military music trying to cope with the fact I lost my 3 closest friends. Now I had an unofficial mission. I will not rest until that bastard is dead.

Crystal Empire

When we awoke, we heard MacTavish singing something.

Cpt. MacTavish

After Shining left, I looked out the window. After 2 minutes, I began silently singing a cadance. "Up in the morning, outta the rack. Greeted at dawn with an early attack. First Sergeant rushes me off to chow. But I dont need it anyhow. Hail O' Hail O' Infantry. Queen of battle follow me. An airborne rangers life for me. O' nothing in this world is free. From a big bird in the sky. All will jump and some will die. Off to battle we will go. To live or die, hell I dont know. Hail O' Hail O' Infantry. Queen of battle follow me. An airborne rangers life for me. O' nothing in this world is free. Early at night its drizzilin' rain. I am hit and feel no pain. But in my heart I have no fear. Because my ranger God is here. Hail O' Hail O' Infantry. Queen of battle follow me. An airborne rangers life for me. O' nothing in this world is free. The mortars and artillery. The screaming bursts around me. Jagged shrapnel on the fly. Kills my buddy, makes me cry. Hail O' Hail O' Infantry. Queen of battle follow me. An airborne rangers life for me. O' nothing in this world is free." Unknowingly to me, I had started singing louder as the song went on and ponies were staring into the room.

A large white pony entered the room and said "I think that will be all. We will get you a guest room, though you will not receive your weapons." I was shocked by their change of heart, but accepted the offer.

Author's Note

The first thing you will notice that I used the story of how the Ghosts were founded as how the Specters were founded. That's because the Specters are the Ghosts.
Wraith- Cpt. Porter
Ghost- Lt. MacTavish(the main character)
Poltergeist- Sgt. Williams
Blaze- Sgt. Howard
* Imagine the difference between Vaas's Pirates and Hoyt's Privateers in Far Cry 3
And the target from the last chapter is George Ericson
And I now "Hail Oh Infantry" is a Ranger cadance and MacTavish was a SEAL but just cause he's a SEAL doesn't mean he doesn't know a Ranger cadance

Chapter 2; Judgement

Chapter 2
Judgement

While Celestia and Twilight led me to my room, I asked why such a sudden change of heart. Celestia responded with something I never thought I'd hear "Operation Gatebreaker."

"How do you know about that?"

"My sister has the ability to view into dreams and memories. When you were unconscious, my sister viewed your memories to try and figure out why you killed that man. After you told the story of the Specters, I asked if there was a memory of such a battle. She told us that she had seen the man in a memory. She has a spell that can have ponies relive other ponies memories. In the minutes you were alone, we were experiencing Operation Gatebreaker. We don't agree with your method, but we found killing your closest friends is reason enough to want revenge."

"And what does that mean for tomorrow?"

"We have a new way of looking at why you did what you did. However, it's unfortunately we have no way to send you back immediately. You will have to wait 30 moons for the portal to reopen."

"Ho-, how long is that?"

"2 years." 2 years. I'm stuck in a world of magical fucking ponies for 2 goddamn years.

We arrived at my room in complete silence. I hated silence. On mission, it made my margin for error even larger. Anywhere else, it made me fell like someone was out to get me, which there probably were. Before I went inside, Celestia stopped me and said "We have done this due to the memory that revealed what that man did to you. However, we need your word that you will not harm anypony."

"I only harm in self-defense. I only kill if on mission or if someone attacks me with intent to kill me. I surrendered to you because you didn't attack." Twilight and I went inside, with Twilight wanting to interview me about my world. We went to the balcony and I looked over the Crystal Empire as she asked her questions and wrote down my answers on a piece of paper.

"What year is your world in?"

"2017."

"Country of origin?"

"United States of America."

"Name?"

"James Harrison MacTavish."

"Age?"

"29."

"Profession?"

"I think it's obvious, but soldier. Officially, United States Navy SEALs. Unofficially, United States Military Specters."

"How many wars have your species had?"

I sighed and said "Too many."

"What was your mission when you came here?"

"Most of that is classified. But, what I can tell you is that the Panamanian Rebels from Gatebreaker were preparing a come back. And the personal matter."

"Why were they rebelling?"

"I don't know, I don't care. All I know is that they kill civilians, I want anyone who kills civilians in the sight of my rifle."

"I believe that will be all Mr. MacTavish. However, it is much too early to go to bed. Would you like me to give you a tour of the Empire, meet my friends, something?"

"Um. sure yeah. You know what. Sure, I'd like that. But why? The only thing you've seen me do is kill."

"No. What I've seen you do is something for your friends. You've done something for your friends that I don't think I could do." Then she spotted my tattoo, that was half covered by my sleeve, and said "What's that on your arm?"

"Oh, my tattoo. It's just something that I got after Gatebreaker." The tattoo in question was a scroll with the words Never Forgotten above the names of my teammates that became KIA during Gatebreaker next to their mask pattern.

We left and I nearly broke the door down as I was tackled by an all pink pony. "Oh my gosh! A new pony or what ever you are. What's your name? What are you? Do you like parties? Wait let me guess. James Harrison MacTavish, human and yes." Then she gasped and said "I need to prepare a 'Welcome to Equestria' party." Just as quickly as she came, she left in a pink blur.

"Who or what was that?"

"That was Pinkie Pie. One of my friends.

"Ok but how did she know all that?"

She was about to answer when she said "I don't know." Then we ran into Twilight's son, Dusk Star, and Twilight made an offer to join us. He accepted and we toured the Empire with me getting most ponies stopping when they saw me and I met all of Twilight's friends, none of which had seen what I had done. Then we needed to go the guard training area because Twilight needed to find her brother and I felt right at home. The only thing that was missing was modern weaponry. I was sitting on a box with Star when 2 of guards walked up to me and said

"So your what was making those loud bangs last night. Heard you're military in your world."

I responded "Best of the best."

"What are waiting for?"

"Princess Twilight is giving me a tour and she's looking for her brother."

"Why don't we kill time by you teach us some cadences."

"Why not. Alright, my country has 5 military branches. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. This is a Marine Corps one called Marines for Me. After every line I say, shout 'Marine Corps'. Ready, set, go.

A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, A ARMY, NAVY WAS NOT FOR ME, MARINE CORPS, AIR FORCE WAS JUST A TOO EASY, MARINE CORPS, WHAT I NEED WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE, MARINE CORPS, I NEED A LIFE THAT IS HARDCORE, MARINE CORPS, PARRIS ISLAND IS WHERE IT BEGAN, MARINE CORPS A LITTLE ROCK WITH LOTS A SAND, MARINE CORPS I CAN'T FORGET ABOUT HOLLYWOOD, MARINE CORPS SAN DIEGO AND IT'S ALL GOOD, MARINE CORPS, PT DRILL ALL DAY LONG, MARINE CORPS, KEEP ME RUNNING FROM DUSK TO DAWN, MARINE CORPS, A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, TELL ME NOW WHAT YOU WAITING FOR, MARINE CORPS, A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, MOMMA NOW I'M GONNA SING YOU SOME MORE, MARINE CORPS, FIRST PHASE IT BROKE ME DOWN, MARINE CORPS, SECOND PHASE I STARTED COMIN ROUND, MARINE CORPS, THIRD PHASE I WAS LEAN AND MEAN, MARINE CORPS, GRADUATION STANDING TALL IN MY GREEN, MARINE CORPS, TO ANYBODY WHO ASKED ME WHY, MARINE CORPS, HERE'S THE DEAL I GAVE MY REPLY, MARINE CORPS, I'LL BE A MARINE TIL THE DAY I DIE, MARINE CORPS, MOTIVATED AND SEMPER FI, MARINE CORPS, A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, TELL ME NOW WHAT YOU WAITING FOR, MARINE CORPS, A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, LISTEN UP I'M GONNA SING YOU SOME MORE, MARINE CORPS, MAKIN HISTORY SO IT'S UNDERSTOOD, MARINE CORPS, IWO JIMA TO THE GUADAL CANAL, MARINE CORPS, KICKIN BUTT JUST EVERYWHERE, MARINE CORPS, FROZEN CHOSEN TO THE HO CHI MINH, MARINE CORPS, I THINK ITS TIME THAT WE DO IT AGAIN, MARINE CORPS, BEIRUT LEBANON, MARINE CORPS, I THINK ITS TIME THAT WE GET IT DONE, MARINE CORPS, A 1, 2, 3, 4, MARINE CORPS, TELL ME NOW WHAT YOU WAITING FOR, MARINE CORPS. By the time we finished, Dusk had joined and we had formed a crowd of guards, some of which had joined in. Then someone shouted "Another!" and others shouted "YEAH!". So we sang cadences more until Twilight and her brother pushed through the crowd. Then we returned to my room, I thanked Twilight for giving me the tour and I went to bed.

I was awoken from the best damn sleep I've had since Gatebreaker by a knocking at my door. When I opened the door, I was greeted by the guards that asked me to teach them Earth cadences yesterday. They said they would escort me to my judgement. When we arrived, I saw Twilight, her husband and friends, Celestia and Luna, and Shining Armor and his wife sitting at a large circular table. When I took my seat, Celestia said "2 nights ago, you arrived in the middle of the night without warning chasing a man. When you had him cornered, you didn't attack him until he attempted to attack you. After he tried, you killed him without hesitation and surrendered to the guard without a fight. However, yesterday it was revealed to us that he had killed your closest friends when they were defenseless and you made a vow in your words to 'Not rest until that bastard is dead.' However, and you can refuse this at anytime, I wish to see the battle you described."

I responded "Sure, but only the last day. I didn't lose any brothers that day."

"Of course. My little ponies, what you are about to see is horrifically violent. If you wish, Luna will leave you out of the spell." Only Fluttershy backed out and Celestia said "As you wish. Luna are you ready?" Luna nodded and she preformed the spell.

Operation Medicine Man
2nd Lt. James H. MacTavish
JSOC Strike Team 5
May 15, 2015
8:45 p.m
Atacama Desert

The final 15 American soldiers were gathered in the the ER wing of a nearly destroyed hospital. Col. Yellowstone was briefing us about what we are about to do. "Gentleman, I'm not going to lie to you. We probably aren't going to survive tonight. Comms are down and the predator drone is out of AGMs. That is why we are evacuating the hospital. Sergeant Stuck will lead the civilians to safety while we hold them off. The UAV says the enemy will be here in about an hour. Stuck, go tell the civilians. The rest of you, get into position. If none of us make it out of this, it was an honor serving with you." He ended his speech by grabbing his SCAR and walking towards the door. Everyone followed suit and followed him. I took my grandfather's M1911 from it's holster and chambered a round. I had 3 mags for my rifle, 4 for my pistol, 2 frags and 1 flashbang. I got up from the box I was sitting on, grabbed my M4 and pulled the charging handle before looking in the chamber. Seeing a fresh round in the chamber, I walked out into the ruins. Seeing all 14 of us here, Yellowstone began "I know it's morbid but we need to hide among the dead to ambush the enemy. Don't engage the enemy in the open. Ambush them." None of us argued, we needed every advantage against the enemy which we estimated was still 103 strong. I hid by lying on top of a pile of corpses that by the uniform, used to be Delta Force.

We hid among the dead for an hour, the blood soaking our uniforms and washing any face-paint we had on off. When the winds picked up, the sand blew into our faces and stuck there. After an hour of waiting, we could the feet of the enemy. When they saw what they thought was us giving up, I could here some cheering. Then I heard the first of many screams. Then I saw the boots of an enemy. I used my rifle to trip him before drawing my pistol and shooting him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw 2 more. I turned and put 2 rounds into both of them.

At first, the battle went like that with us hiding among the dead before briefly rising and shooting the enemies in our sight. Then I ran out of ammo. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and drew my knife. After my knife became dull, I sheathed it and used my bare hands.
8 hours later, the dust and sand settled and I saw the final enemy running away. Most of the men were shouting "We did it! We fucking did it!" as the sun rose over the desert. Then someone shouted "Colonel, we got signal. Comms are up." The colonel walked to the person who shouted it and grabbed the radio.

"Overlord, Overlord this is the Colonel Yellowstone of Hunter 2-2. We did it, we fucking did it! Send Blackhawks, Humvees, send us a fucking rowboat just send us something to get us the hell out of here." After a few seconds of silence, we got a response.

"Hunter 2-2, this is Overlord. We read you, loud and clear. The civilians have arrived at Plaza Guemes and Blackhawks are on the way. Stay put. Good job out there."

An hour later, we could see the Blackhawks in the distance. Many of us started cheering and the the Blackhawks landed. My friend, 1st Lt. Porter walked up to me and said "Come on man, let's go."

A Bar Somewhere in NYC
36 hours later

The 15 soldiers that survived Operation Medicine Man sat at a bar, celebrating the fact that there was still oxygen in their lungs and blood in their veins. JSOC Strike Team 5 sat a table. Only one member of my team was killed, Cpt. Green. The final member of Strike Team 3 was with us, Cpl. Howard. Then Col. Yellowstone walked in and called us to a table. "Gentleman, I have a proposition from the top. Apparently, one of the enemy got out alive. He was picked up in the desert and he expressed words of warning about a force that could only be described as supernatural. He called them, us, Specters. The proposition from the brass, is to make such a force a reality. This is top secret. We will wear masks and take the most dangerous of missions. Hooah?" he asked and got a resounding HOOAH, OORAH OR HOOYAH depending on the branch the soldier was from.

Cpt. MacTavish

I awoke in the chair I was sitting in before the spell took affect. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Everyone was in the same position they were in before the spell. "Now that itch is scratched, before you arrived, we decided what to do. While you wait for the portal to reopen, you will be the captain of the guard at Princess Twilight's castle in Ponyville. You are leaving tomorrow. That is all. You can claim your items as soon as you leave this room." We left the room and I diverged to get my items. I put on my outer shirt and body-armor on before placing my all my ammo and grenades on my vest. I put my M1911 in it's holster and slung my M4 and VECTOR over my shoulder before tucking my mask into my waist and leaving to my room to place my rifle, SMG and frag grenades. After loading a magazine into the M1911, putting the safety on and writing a quick note that I placed on the frag grenades, that said 'Don't pull the pin. No seriously if you pull the pin you will die.', I left to meet up with Twilight and her friends.

Upon greeting them in the throne room, I said to Twilight "So, I guess your my commanding officer now."

"Yep." she responded to me and turned to the group "So, what are we going to do."

The Next Day
Main Gate of Crystal Empire

We waited on the train platform for the train. I was using the time to clean my guns and was taking a million questions from Dusk and his cousins. After a while, the train arrived and after boarding, it went down to a thousand questions from just Dusk. After everything was clean, a question popped into my head and I asked Flash "So, what's your guard like?"

"Well, we didn't until a few months ago when some Diamond Dogs got bold. We have around 30, all of them new recruits. I was captain until you came along. Why you ask?"

"Well, they're gonna receive some new training. Training that has come from thousands of years of conflict. Humanity has perfected the art of war. We got so good at killing each other that we created a bomb that can destroy an entire city. Luckily, we realized what has become of us and after World War 2, we created the United Nations. Now, there is a line to cross. Weapons Mass Destruction are illegal. Use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and every nation available will be knocking on your door with their armies. Get ready, Ponyville. Cause I'm bringing human culture to ya."

Twilight asked "Thousands of years of war. How could a people be so cruel."

"Homo Homini Lupus, Man is a Wolf to Man. The thing your missing, is that there isn't just one people. There's one species, but many different nationalities, religions and cultures. People disagree and and some people think the only way is their way and anyone with a different mindset is inferior and that those people must be conquered. It's a sad but true fact in my world"

We sat the rest of the ride making the odd conversations. The train came to a stop at 8:45 and we prepared to leave. During the ride, Dusk had decided that my shoulder was a good place to take a nap and as I exited, he stirred and decided that this was a ride that shouldn't be given up. We walked to Twilight's castle, getting odd looks but if you saw a creature nearly twice as tall as you following a princess with said princess's son on that creature's shoulder, wouldn't you look twice. We arrived at the castle and Flash called the guard after I gave Dusk to Twilight. After everyone was gathered he said "Good evening men. This is James MacTavish, Captain James MacTavish. YOUR Captain." He motioned for me to start talking and I said

"Good evening, this may come as a shock that a creature you've never seen before is now your captain but, I'm a captain in my country's military. Not only that, but I'm part of the Specters. That may not mean much to you, but in my world, to those that know it exists, we are the roughest, toughest, and meanest sons of bitches to ever join the military. I'll tell ya the story of its founding tomorrow, as well as showing you what my gear does. The day after that, your new training begins. And this training comes from the species that has perfected the art of war. Dismissed." I said with a salute. And with that, I began my new job as captain of the Ponyville guard. Half-way through, Twilight had joined and after I finished, she said she'd show me to my room. I propped my rifle and SMG against the wall, hung my holster, bandolier and mask on a hat rack, laid down in my bed and fell asleep.