6 months later

POV: Midnight Blackbird, first person

"Aargh!" I grunted. Stupid leg! Why didn't I see it coming? I barred my teeth, and kept going. I really hope I don't have to deal with any more idiots who think I'm easy prey. Cuz I'm not so easy! Even with a big, stupid, leg, with a stab-wound in it!

I continued limping down the street. I knew I was being followed. If they think I'll go easy, they're in for a BIG surprise!

POV: Sergeant Ethan "Cricket" Harper, 1st person

Lookout duty. So boring when there's nothing to see. Oh well, at least there IS nothing to see, instead of watching some nut-job try to break in. I sighed. It was going to be a long day...

"What the..." I spotted something moving in the distance. I grabbed my military-tech binoculars and zoomed in. A white woman with short, black hair, was limping down the road, clutching her right leg. Why do I have the feeling that some of the newbies need to see this? I asked myself even as I quickly walked to the door, opened it up, and yelled, "Hey! Cap! You and a couple newbies come on out here! You'll wanna see this!"

Ten seconds later, Jake, Firestar, and Twilight walk through the door. I hand Jake the binocs, and point the person out to him.

"And look to the right, too. Looks like she'll have some unfriendly company." Jake said.

I looked over with another pair.

Sure enough, a group of 5 guys were waiting in an alleyway. One was holding some basic civilian binoculars, and was aiming them right at the girl.

"Hey, Fire. Take a look." Jake handed him the binoculars. Firestar took them, looked in, and gasped.

"Midnight!" He whispered, and his face went white. Suddenly, he took off, dropping the binocs on a chair as he went.

"Fire!" Twilight ran after him. "Fire, where are you going!?!"

I ran after them, and grabbed a couple pistols from the armory on my way. I had a feeling we'd need them.

By the time we got to her, it was almost too late.

Two guys were on the ground, lying in puddles of blood. Stab wounds. The other three were up. One was trying to knife the girl, but she had a blade of her own.

She didn't look too well. Her leg was just about ready to collapse. But she was holding. She was in some kind of stance. I'd never studied martial arts, outside of what was mandatory for the group, so I didn't recognize it. Frankly, I didn't even know if it was an official stance.

"Twilight!" I yelled. She turned. I tossed her one of the pistols. She caught it and turned back around, cocking it as she went.

"Midnight!" Firestar yelled. The girl turned, startled.

Bad move. One of the guys tried going at her.

She must've heard him, or had really good instincts. She whipped back around, dodged his swipe, and planted the blade in his stomach. Unfortunately, her reaction didn't take her leg into account. She fell, letting go of the blade as she did.

The guy stumbled back, clutching the hilt of her knife. He pulled it out, and collapsed, blood coming out of the wound rapidly.

A shot rang out. Twilight was holding her gun up, aiming it at one of the other two guys, one of whom had just collapsed, with a new breathing hole in his head.

I was surprised she didn't seem shocked. But then I saw it. He had a gun. And, judging by where his arm was before he collapsed, he was aiming it at Firestar, who was still running at them.

Ah. I thought.

The third man, disoriented, decided to attack Midnight. She looked up just in time. She rolled out of the way.

She made another mistake, though. She kicked at the man's leg. It worked, but it was her injured leg. She screamed and clutched it.

Firestar finally got there, and went immediately over to her.

POV: Twilight Sparkle, 1st person

I ran over to Firestar.

"Are you okay?" We both asked. Me to him, and him to the girl.

"I'm fine!" The girl snapped, looking at me and Ethan. He and the others had told us their real names a couple of weeks ago.

"Midnight," Firestar replied "these are friends, you don't need to-"

"I said I'm fine!" she pushed him away and got him.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Firestar said, starting to walk after her.

"Somewhere better than here!" she yelled back.

"We have a safe place! Come on!" she stopped.

"Come ON, Midnight." Firestar pleaded. I looked at him.

"Firestar, who is she?" I asked quietly.

The girl turned around and started to come back.

"Midnight Blackbird. An old friend." Firestar replied, walking towards her.

Ethan came up behind him. He walked over to Midnight and tried to help her.

"I said I'm FINE!" She yelled. She pushed him away. Hard. He stumbled.

"No you're not." I said. Midnight glared at me. "Look at yourself! You're hurt, limping, and you can barely walk. Let him help you."

"I don't need any help." She said between her teeth.

I turned to Firestar. "You're saying somepony from Equestria's like this?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "She wasn't super nice, like you and the others, but she was nice enough. It might be something about her past, though I've only asked a couple of times."

"...And?" I asked, after getting no further explanation.

"Well, the second time, if looks could cause heat, I'd be a small pile of ash before I even came to Ponyville" he replied.

I raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Ethan. He'd managed to convince her that she could use the help, and was currently supporting her on her injured side.

When we finally got back to Stronghold 21, where we'd ended up moving everything, Wolf came out.

"Cricket, what the fu** was that?" He asked, displeased at the lookout for running off.

"We've got another one, sir." Ethan replied.

Wolf looked at Midnight. "What's your name?"

"Midnight. That's all I'm saying-aagh!" She winced as her injured leg decided to give up. She collapsed to the ground.

Firestar ran over, and Cricket and Wolf bent down to help her back up.

"I'm fine!" She said angrily, pushing their hands away and getting up herself.

I noticed Hector leaning against the door as we went in. He grabbed Cricket's arm as he walked by. "We'll talk about this later." He said.

Cricket nodded "Yes, sir." he said quietly.

I shook my head and walked off. Hector needs to learn that other people have feelings, too.

POV: Firestar, 1st person

"So," Midnight said, as we were walking to the makeshift infirmary we'd set up, "How've you been, since, you know..."

I shrugged. "Okay. Recently, pretty good."

She raised an eyebrow, and looked around. "You call this 'pretty good'?"

I shrugged again. "At least until this all happened. By the way, how'd you get here?"

"I was actually going to visit you, but you weren't home. I turn around, and black out."

I opened my mouth, but then...

"Oh! Who's this?" Said Snake.

"An old friend, Midnight Blackbird."

"Another one from...Equestria?"

I nodded.

Midnight walked forward, towards a bed we'd set up. "Let's just get this over with." She clambered onto it.

"So," Snake said, "anything besides your leg?"

"No." She said, with no emotion whatsoever in her voice.

Snake paused, glanced at me, and continued setting up his equipment.

"So who's that one girl you were with?" Midnight asked me. "I feel like I know her from somewhere."

I could feel my face heat up a little. "Twilight Sparkle."

"No way, the princess?"

I nodded.

"What's she like?" My foalhood friend asked.

"Nice, caring, rational, and one of the smartest ponies you'd ever meet." I said. I caught myself going into a daydream, and shook my head to get out of it.

"Judging by what you're looking like right now, I'd say you've found someone to finally replace me."

"What?" I said, confused. Then I laughed "You know you can't be replaced. But, yeah, I like her. A lot."

"Well, if you're here, I guess I can stay, too." She said.

I raised my eyebrow at her. "What, no teasing me about falling for a princess?"

"Oh, trust me; I'll tease you a lot! But right now, I want to get my leg fixed, and get comfy."

Uh oh. Well, I guess I was inviting the teasing, since I was the one who fell for Twi.

"I'll get the bunking list" I walked over to a desk on the other side of the room, opened it, grabbed the notebook that was in it, and walked back.

Midnight grabbed it, looked through the list, and laughed. "Of course you'd bunk with her! Don't tell me; have you... you know what, yet?"

I could feel my face heat up. A lot. "...No."

Midnight looked at me approvingly. "At least you're not in it for the bod."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, mocking offense.

"...Nothing." She replied.

I recognized the signs of her not wanting to talk about it. Must be a part of her past. I left it alone. If she didn't want to talk about it, then I couldn't do much to help.

Eventually she decided to bunk with Panther.

I took the notebook, wrote down her name in the spot she chose, and walked back. I decided to refresh my memory, and took a quick glance at the bunking arrangements. A few of them made me laugh, as I knew that a couple of them, like mine, were because of personal attraction.

Jacob Hector

Micheal Sanchez, Rainbow Dash

"Wolf", Applejack

"Badger", Pinkie Pie

"Cricket", Rarity

"Panther", Midnight Blackbird

"Snake", "Tiger"/"Snail"

Fluttershy, Big Macintosh

Twilight Sparkle, Firestar

"Fire!" I heard a familiar voice call out as I put the notebook away.

I walked over to Twilight.

"I found some old documents. Why would they be keeping things about themselves here?" She asked, already going back to staring at the papers she was holding.

I cocked my head. "What?"

"Here, look."

I looked. Part of a name was blacked out on both papers, as if someone took a pen to them, but otherwise they was fine.

Sergeant Major Michael Sanchez, Psychological evaluation, as of 2008

Evaluator: Adam lllllllllll, Silver Strike adviser, "Hawk"

Michael Sanchez is a trusting, loyal, and well-trained soldier, but his years of field experience has made him very cautious when placing said trust. It is not recommended that he be in any situation where diplomacy is needed, as he is irritable, quick to anger, and, whence he loses his temper, he can be forgetful of the situation. Despite these drawbacks, his incredible skill and stable-under-pressure mindset make him ideal for special operations. Considering his past of volunteering for extremely difficult missions, up to and including ones thought to be suicidal, I recommend he be placed in a special operations group. He has some skill in leadership, but doesn't agree with certain leadership requirements. Therefore, if he is placed in a group, he is not to lead it, if possible.

Skill-wise, Sanchez has shown incredible ability, for receiving only standard Ranger training. His mindset is also good, as he is not too bothered by the prospect of killing to not hesitate, when needed. Like most soldiers, he does not enjoy killing, but he is less bothered by it than most. In combat, he has a clear head, and can think quick and rationally. His skill with weapons is on par with a new Silver Strike member. His specialty seems to be shotguns, but at this time it is not that obvious. He is fast, and knows how to maximize his running speed while roadie running.

The other paper, just as surprising, was one of Hector.

2nd Lieutenant Jacob Hector, Psychological evaluation, as of 2002

Evaluator: Johnson lllllllllll, Golden Sabre adviser, "Eagle"

Golden Sabre, at this time, is an experimental-stage military project

Jacob Hector is a scarred man, though he doesn't show it. Just over 2 years ago, on a routine mission, he lost his entire squad. He was the only survivor, and was badly injured. He miraculously recovered within a few months from his injuries, and, incredibly, was left almost completely fine by the encounter. He doesn't even hold a grudge against those that killed his squadmates. He says, and I quote, "If I hadn't been completely helpless, and I was instead out there, and armed, than only a few, if any, of my friends would have died." He doesn't think of the incident as failing to save them. His logical mindset has, rightfully so, told him that he wasn't responsible for letting them die. He had been previously injured, and was unable to reach a weapon until near the end of the skirmish.

His combat skill is extraordinary, beyond that of even most special forces. As the recruiter of Golden Sabre, and its eventual adviser, I recommend him for the project. Not only do his fighting skills more than match the requirements, he's calm, level-headed, quick-thinking, and very good at leadership. And he hasn't even taken officer training. If I may put in my own personal comment, I don't believe he needs to. It'd only be a formality. He already does what officer school teaches you to do, without knowing it. He also knows the signs of a liar, and knows how to look for them.

Whether he knows it or not, he also sees potential in others very well. When he had to encourage a few soldiers, he did it well. Two of them, in particular, were told by him "I see a lot of potential in you. You just have to unlock it." Those two soldiers went on to become some of the best we had, at their time. His instincts and observation skills are excellent. In simulation training, he avoided 3 ambushes, two of which he never knew about. a fourth ambush found him, but he and his 5-man team took it down with only one simulated injury, and no casualties to his side. His teammates followed his orders without question, even when he didn't provide any explanation. They trusted him completely. I mention this because, at the start of training, they not only hated him, but actively antagonized him. That simulation training was only a month in.

Jacob Hector is a man to be reckoned with. As an enemy, he'd be your worst nightmare. As a friend, you could blindly trust and follow him, and he'd deliver. As a squadmate, he'll see the reasoning behind almost every command. He's not afraid to speak out against it, though he rarely does. But he always backs up his decisions, whether he ever voices those reasons or not. Whether he even realizes he does or not. As a leader, he'll deliver the primary objective, and usually the secondaries, as well.

I know I sound like I'm sugarcoating this, and I might be. But not a large extent. This man is a prodigy, whether he or anyone else knows it or not. He's the perfect candidate for Golden Sabre. And I don't just mean any operative. He could be the leader of the squad. He certainly has the required skill-set for it. In fact, his skill-set is actually much higher than required.

"Why would they have papers like these about themselves?" I thought out loud.

"I don't know," Twilight replied, "but I don't know if we should be reading them."

"They were just sitting there, where anyone could find them. Unless they forgot about them, then they don't care."

"But that's what I'm worried about, that they just forgot about them, and that they'll be mad we read them!"

I grabbed her shoulders to steady her before her already half-present panic attack could fully set in. I looked her in the eyes, and made sure she was looking back. "Twilight, even IF they forgot about them, it'll be fine. Hector, at least, will see that they were just laying around, and he won't be mad. You and I both know he appreciates curiosity."

And it was true. Early on, when Applejack had been shy about wanting to ask something, he saw through it, and said "if you need to ask something, ask it. Knowledge is a whole lot better than ignorance."

She calmed down. She breathed deeply, helping herself get back to normal. "Okay, okay, okay." After a few seconds, she looked at me and nodded. "Thanks."

I let go of her, and nodded. I flashed a smile to show that everything was alright.

Author's Note

I probably won't introduce any more pony characters. But, in the two-or-so sequels to this, I might take requests for adding in some OC's. Though they probably won't be anything but minor characters with a few scenes, as I'm bad at getting multiple different personalities in one go.

The psych evaluations and such were written down off the top of my head. They were spur of the moment things that I decided would be an interesting addition to the story. Making it a document was an idea inspired by the story "Stardust," which is an XCOM/MLP crossover. It's really good, so if you like that kind of thing, check it out!

Roadie running may or may not be the actual term. It's basically bending over so that you're at waist height, and running. Useful for being a smaller target, while still going fast. Gears of War is a video game series that has roadie running in it, if you want to check out what it looks like irl.

NOT FINISHED