Forget About Freeman

by immagetu

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 13734

HECU (Hazardous Environment Combat Unit) member Henry "Dutch" Maverick is in the middle of "cleaning up" Black Mesa when a cascade of resonance hits him, and he is sent to a new land, full of talking... horses.

Cancelled due to crappy story, and the fact I can't be bothered to work on it anymore.

Half Life crossover. Enjoy. :pinkiehappy:
IMPORTANT: Tags and character list may change later.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-13 04:02:09 UTC

Prologue: Sighting in

What are these things? I thought, staring at the alien-like creature laying before me. They're like facehuggers mixed with uncooked chicken. I heard some sort of footsteps behind me, and darted around, aiming my rifle at whatever approached.

"More of you fuckers?!" I shouted through my gasmask, capping the zombie-like entity in what used to be its face, now hidden by one of the facehugger-ish creatures. It fell to the ground with a thump, and I sighed as I opened one of my vest pouches, fumbling around for my walkie-talkie. Bingo, I thought when I felt the little device in my hand. I took off my gasmask, and transmitted.

"Scorpion 1-3 to HQ, I repeat, Scorpion 1-3 to HQ." I said, trying to keep my voice at a low-ish volume. A voice with a hint of static replied.

"We read you, Scorpion." I grinned, as coms were finally back online. I still had hope to find somebody to replace my dead squad.

"Requesting backup from any nearby squads, over?" I requested, my glare scanning the room around me.

"Copy, report location." the radio replied, growing in static. Coms would probably be down again in about ten minutes, so I still had time. I looked around for any signs indicating my location.

"Uhhh, looks like I'm just outside the security outpost by Weapons Design, how copy?" I stated, my eyes resting on the doorway in front of where I was standing.

"Solid copy, standby." HQ replied, getting shrouded in more and more static. "We... squads in your immediate...wait for..." Looks like coms went down a hell of a lot faster than expected. I groaned, and dropped the radio back into my pouch. It was hopeless. Whatever the fuck happened was blocking any form of communication half the time, and the other half it was too dangerous to transmit. I stood up, and slowly stepped out of the room and into the hallway in front of me, slipped my mask back on and slid on my NV goggles over them. This place is dark as hell...

I ducked down behind a nearby crate when I heard approaching footsteps. Crap. I peeked around the corner of the box to see another zombie. This one was special, since it seemed to be wearing camo and body armor. I clenched my teeth, and popped out the barrel of my gun and plowed a burst of rounds into its chest. The first bullet didn't do much, but the other two tore straight through it, dropping the creature to the ground. I glared when I stood up and approached the corpse. Some poor bastard was caught with his mask off... I thought, kicking the body to find that it was indeed dead.

I continued down the dark corridor, keeping my steps quiet and my eyes peeled. They didn't say I was going to be fighting for my life against aliens... I thought to myself, reflecting on the op briefing. How many more fellow grunts would I watch die? How many more innocent lives did I need to take? How many more wounds would I need to tough through?

I walked for what felt like hours, past locked door after locked door. Finally, I came upon what looked like an office area. I heard a muffled groan, and turned to see another zombie. Instead of shooting this one, I stormed up to it and bashed it across the head with my gun's stock. I should keep it relatively quiet... I sighed, and held my rifle up to my chest, looking around. All clear. I quietly stepped around a corner to see a scientist, cowering in fear. I sighed, and sighted my rifle in on him. He didn't see me, since he was too distracted by a dead security guard, trying to revive him. Stupid bastard.

I shot, the recoil pushing my gun's stock into my shoulder for a moment. I approached the body, confirming he was dead, before continuing on my merry way.

The office complex had more aliens than I had expected.

I dove behind a vending machine that had tipped over, as an effort to avoid a burst of energy. First raw thanksgiving dinner trying to rape me in the mouth, and now bipedal raisins trying to blast me into oblivion with their magical wizard hands? I clenched my teeth, and fired blindly around the side of the vending machine, praying that I would hit my enemy. The only response I got was another blast of energy.

Suddenly, I remembered my underslung 'nade launcher. Poking my gun around the top of my cover, I took aim and clicked the trigger for my M203, laughing when the alien before me exploded. Green blood covered the area where it once stood. I was so busy catching my breath, I couldn't react in time when another raisin-man ran around the corner and shot at me.

The beam of light and mass amounts of electricity had moved so fast, I just watched in terror as it hurtled towards me. A burning pain shot through my entire body, and I screamed in pain as everything turned to blackness.

Chapter 1: This doesn't look like a lab.

My eyes shot open, and I sat up in a rush, panting. Looking around, I realized I sure as hell wasn't in Black Mesa anymore. I then remembered what I had preciously seen and felt, and a disturbing thought crossed my mind.

Was I dead?

I gulped as I contemplated the thought. I was surrounded by a thick jungle, and there was no sign of the facility in sight. I had to be pretty damn far away, considering there wasn't any rainforests in Oklahoma. Or Kansas. Or Colorado, for that matter. I was happy to see I had all my gear with me. Hell or not, I can still shoot everything that moves. I grinned at the thought of a scorched earth scenario. I grabbed my gun, helmet and gasmask, and prepped for combat. I didn't know where I was, and that just made me feel more and more fearful.

Standing up, I brushed myself off and observed my surroundings. I still didn't get how the hell I got to wherever I was, and my mind was certainly voting on the idea that I died. But even so, was I in heaven or hell? Or was it neither, and I was just a ghost? There was no way to be sure. I checked my mag, and decided to head in a random direction, praying I would find something.

I stumbled through the thick woods, scanning the maze of trees for any sign of sentient life. After what I was sure was hours, my stomach growled and my throat cried for water. I couldn't do anything about my burning hunger, but I could at least drink some water from my flask.

I unhooked the little object from my belt, opened it, and drank until I was certain it was empty. My hunger sharpened when the water settled in, and I winced with pain before continuing my trek.

These woods certainly didn't look like any I had seen before; they were thick and dark, nothing like the forests back in Washington. They couldn't even compare to the jungles in Hawaii, or Brazil. Just infinite and dark. It was almost creepy, because it felt like I was the only thing alive. No birds sang their songs, no frogs croaked, and no monkeys cackled. Just an eerie silence.

Sweat rolled down my forehead under my mask, and I wasn't sure if it was from the heat or fear. Why was it so damn quiet?! Did everything die, aside from me? I was at first relieved when I heard a twig snap behind me, but relief turned to fear when I darted around, my gun at my hip. My eyes widened. Standing before me, was... Well, let's just say I had no fucking clue. It was like a lion, but it had bat-like wings and a scorpion tail. I know my callsign is scorpion, but this is just ridiculous. I pulled my trigger, this time holding it down. I yelled in rage over the sound of my assault rifle roaring with automatic fire, and I didn't stop until the booming sound of my gun firing changed to the little click it made when the mag was empty. I stood there, panting, and stared at the dead corpse in front of me.

What was once a creature that looked like a satanic lion was now a bullet-hole covered corpse, and I collapsed onto my ass, panting for breath. What was that?! I should probably get used to seeing weird stuff... I thought. Once I had caught my breath and reloaded, I stood up once more and hauled ass through the jungle.

The woods had begun to thin, and more and more patches of sunlight breached the thick canopy above. I pulled off my mask and breathed in. The air was clean, and carried a bunch of smells, all of which I could not recognize. Ahead of me, I could see something other than forest, and sprinted forward, jumping over roots and shrubs. I stopped at the treeline dividing a valley and the forest, and looked around the sight before me. All that was there was a rolling grassland, but in the distance I could make out what looked like a small village. I sat down and sighed, wiping the sweat away from my forehead. It was hot out here, no matter how green the environment was.

I stood up once again, and continued to step down the hill. Even though I had just woken up not even a few hours ago, I felt exhausted. I looked up, surprised to see how fast the sun had started setting. It seemed to be dropping below the horizon at an alarming rate. How did I not notice this earlier? It seemed to have been light one moment, and dark the next.

A blanket of exhaustion rolled over me, and I yawned. I was confused as to why I was so tired, but I figured I had just lost track of time, considering how low the sun was in the evening sky.

I tried to tough on, but couldn't manage to keep myself awake. My eyelids grew heavy, and I stumbled forward, sleep consuming me.

I woke up, confused as to why I was in a bed. I had to be dead, now. My arms and legs were stiff, probably because one, my gear was still on and two, this bed was wayyy too small for me. I rubbed my head, surprised to find my helmet was not there. I then jumped a bit, frightened by the realization my gun was missing. My eyes darted around the room, and I sighed in relief to find my rifle propped up against the bed I was in.

"Man, sleeping in combat boots is hard on the feet..." I mumbled aloud, to nobody in particular. I sat up, quietly exited the bed, and grabbed my gun. I kept low, holding the stock of my G33 into my shoulder, and approached the door to the bedroom. I was confused as to why there was no knob, so I had no choice but to push it. Ever so slowly, I pushed onto the door, adding more and more force the more it opened. Peeking out from the doorway, I saw a small hallway, with a few other doors and a staircase. Not wanting to waste any time, I headed straight for the stars, trying to be quick yet quiet. So far, so good.

I started to step down the staircase, only to stop dead in my tracks to see a... something staring back at me. We stood in silence, both surprised by the other. Its facial expression of surprise changed to a content smile, and it spoke to me with a feminine voice.

"Hello." It - assumed to be a she - said, in a very calm and soothing voice. I just stood there, feeling awkward seeing as I was standing there, aiming my rifle at her, and she just greeted me. "Did you sleep well?" she asked. I shook my head, and came back to reality.

"N-not really." I replied. She seemed happily surprised after I spoke.

"Oh my, you can talk!" she commented. I facepalmed. If you didn't think I could, why the hell did you ask? "Were you not comfortable?" she asked, this time seeming a little disappointed.

"Not in my combat armor, I wasn't." We just sat there in silence, staring at each other. She seemed happy enough, but I myself felt utterly shocked by what was before me. She appeared to be a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. Very strange indeed.

"Would you like to come downstairs for tea?" she asked, breaking the silence. I nodded. She perked up a bit. "Wonderful! I have so many questions!" This was just getting weirder.

"So, what do humans talk about?" she asked, sitting next to me on the sofa. Getting attention from an adorable pegasus was fun.

"Well, just about anything we can think of." I answered. She seemed content enough with each answer.

"Where are you from?" she asked. I had to think about that one.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm on the same world any more, but I come from a place called Washington." I explained. She gave a look.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head. I thought for a moment.

"Well, at least on the planet I was from, there wasn't any place like this. No pegasi, no weird lion-bat-scorpion hybrids, and ponies didn't talk. So, Washington seems like another world compared to this place." I described. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"That really does sound like a different world." she mumbled, looking at the floor. "What did you do?" she asked.

"I was in the H.E.C.U, 'Hazardous Environment Combat Unit'." I explained.

"You were a soldier?" she asked. I nodded.

"Speaking of back home, I have no clue how I got here." I said. We just sat in silence, thinking of possible ideas. Or at least, that's what I assumed she was doing.

"I don't think there's a logical explanation." she said, frowning at the floor. "I hope you do get home." After she spoke, we just sat in silence. I decided to think about what my next move would be. Perhaps explore? Make some friends? Look for an order of work? My thoughts were interrupted by the pegasus suddenly springing to life. "I know! You could talk to my friend Twilight! She might know!" I suddenly stopped her from carrying out her plan.

"Hold on, hold on!" I commanded, holding up my hands. "I don't even know your name." She blushed, and sat back down.

"I'm Fluttershy." she replied, smiling sheepishly.

"You can call me Dutch." I said, offering to shake her, er, hoof. She looked at me with an expression saying 'What are you doing?', so I just gave up. "Well, go get your friend Twilight." I dismissed. She nodded.

"I'll be back really soon!" Fluttershy said, before walking out the door. I slumped back in my seat. Today was going to be looooooooong.

Chapter 2: Hiding Something

The front door swung open, and I sat up. Fluttershy walked in, with a purple... pegacorn(?) following her.

"Dutch, I'd like you to meet Princess Twilight Sparkle." Fluttershy introduced. PRINCESS?!

"STAFF SERGEANT HENRY MAVERICK AT YOUR SERVICE MA'AM!" I yelled, jumping to my feet and saluting. The two seemed surprised by my sudden change of mood, so I quickly sat back down. The princess giggled.

"Nice to meet you." she said, smiling. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane, probably because I just jumped up and shouted like a damn psychopath. "Dutch, is it??" she said, moving closer.

"Yes, ma'am.." I said, bowing. "Now please, explain to me how I got here." I said. That question seemed to make her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Well, um... I'm not sure myself." she mumbled after hesitating for a moment. She was hiding something, and I slid my gasmask on as an effort to look extra intimidating.

"You sure about that?" I asked, moving in to stare her in the face, my voice slightly muffled by the mask. She nervously looked around the room.

"Y-yes." she stammered, trying her best to look me in the eyes. This is getting me nowhere. I decided I would just give up for now, considering I didn't want to let on a bad impression for a freakin' princess. Her guards probably wouldn't be too fond of such an action.

"Good." I said icily, sitting back down. She quickly changed the subject.

"S-so, um, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Dutch." she said, forcing a smile. "But in the meantime, I feel I should report to Princess Celestia before we making any decisions." Twilight continued, trying her best to look firm and serious. The princess's body language spoke of strength and bravery, but her eyes had shown a twinge of paranoia. Decisions, huh? I wondered what she had meant by that.

"So, there's more than one princess, huh?" I commented, not exactly needing an answer.

"Three others, actually." Twilight confirmed. "But we'll get to that later. For now, I want to try and figure out why you're here." she said, hesitating a bit at that last part. Good job at hiding the fact you know. It irritated the crap out of me, what with how she knew why I was pulled out of my world to this world full of talking unicorns and pegasi, yet neglected to tell me why such an event had happened in the first place. I have to be dead, I thought to myself. I wasn't complaining. This place sure beat that fucking lab.

Princess Celestia looked out at the sky, smiling while she admired her work. The sun was placed precisely in the middle of the sky, bathing Equestria in its entirety with light. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, a parchment appeared in front of her. Celestia unrolled it, and began to read.

Dear Princess Celestia,

My friend Fluttershy has found the soldier you sent. He is very intimidating in appearance, and does in fact come from another world. The being, apparently something known as a "human", is unaware as to why he is here, but seems to be able to tell that I'm hiding something. He requests to speak with you. I would like to know if I should tell him why he's here.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Once she had finished reading, the princess of the sun sighed in content with the knowledge of the human's arrival. She pulled a new parchment from a stack, and wrote a reply.

Dear Twilight,

I would love to meet him. As to answer your question, I do not give you permission to answer his question. I would prefer he has some time to adjust to his new surroundings. In the meantime, I would like you to notify him that I will meet him at your castle tomorrow in the afternoon.

Your teacher,

Princess Celestia

The princess's horn flashed, and the message was gone.

I had gotten a fine amount of looks walking through the small town that was so creatively named Ponyville. Couldn't I have met this "Celestia" character more secretively? It was hard enough adjusting to my new surroundings without the piercing glares. Good thing it wasn't hard to find the GIANT FUCKING CASTLE!

"This just gets weirder by the minute." I mumbled. I had spent the majority of the day before sitting around Fluttershy's cottage, paranoid for whatever reason. What was there to be scared of, other than the Satan lions?

I walked up the steps to the doors, and was about to enter, only to find myself blocked by two stern-looking guards.

"I would like to enter." I requested. They didn't budge, but instead gave me a look that spoke of confusion and shock. One of them hesitated, and spoke.

"What business do you have here?" he finally said. His voice was pretty deep for a goddamn unicorn.

"I have a meeting with Princess... Uhhh..." I forgot her name. Good job. "Celestia." I finished after a moment. The two guards glanced at each other briefly, and opened the door. Talk about crappy security, I thought. Why would they just let me in like that? I stepped in cautiously, and the doors closed behind me. I was surprised to find the huge hall empty, and felt a strange surge of fear. I kept my rifle close.

Ever so quietly, I stalked down the great hallway and looked around me. If I was expected, why was nobody here to greet me? Something strange was about. Everything about this world was so weird...

I eventually came across two massive doors, and stopped. Throne room, perhaps? Ever so slowly and cautiously, I pushed open the door. I peeked through to see Twilight, but that wasn't what caught my attention.

The eye catcher was a much bigger pegacorn with a white coat, and a seemingly magical mane. I tried my best to stop my jaw from dropping. I really need to get used to stuff like this...

"Oh, hi Dutch!" Twilight greeted. I ignored her, and mindlessly stumbled into the room. She raised an eyebrow in concern, and the other princess seemed a little confused herself. Once I got used to the sight before me, I spoke.

"H-hi." I mumbled. Way to be formal, my thoughts taunted.

"Princess Celestia, this is Dutch." Twilight said, choosing her words carefully. Princess Celestia greeted me.

"Good morning, Dutch." she said. Her tone seemed to show wisdom, in some way.

"Good morning." I responded flatly. "Are you the one who wanted to speak with me?" I asked Celestia, raising an eyebrow. She nodded.

"Yes."

"Very well." I said, finding a place to sit.

"So you're telling me that your sun doesn't rise on its own?" I asked, deeply confused by what I had learned from talking to Celestia.

"No. I raise and lower the sun, and my sister princess Luna raises and lowers the moon." she confirmed. WHAT BLACK MAGIC IS THIS!?

"W-well, where I come from, Earth orbits the sun, and the moon orbits Earth, Earth being my home world." I explained. She seemed confused by my claims.

"That does sound like a different world." the alicorn agreed, before taking another sip of tea. Either that mug was endless, or she took small sips. (I have now also learned that they were alicorns, not pegacorns.)

"And that brings me to my next question," I started, a look of suspicion on my face. "How did I get here?" I asked Celestia, my hand diving towards my handgun's holster. I didn't pull it out yet, but instead just prepared myself to do so.

"I don't know." she said plainly. I stared into her face, looking for any sign of dishonesty. Celestia had a pretty good poker face compared to Twilight.

"I'm gonna trust you with that, then." I said after a few moments of hesitation. "But if you're lying to me, please just tell me the truth." I saw flicker of an unrecognizable emotion in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared. She was good at hiding things. She looked at my G33 before speaking again.

"I've been meaning to ask you, what is that?" she asked.

"This is a 5.56x45 assault rifle known as the H&K G33A2." I explained, smiling a bit. this claim only confused her more.

"Elaborate on what an assault rifle is." she said, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, a fully automatic firearm?" I said in a "DUH" kind of fashion. She still looked oblivious. "A gun?"

"I'm afraid I haven't heard of either." she explained, frowning. I grinned like a psycho on the inside. This'll be fun.

"For this, my dear alicorn, is an instrument of WAR!" I said, grabbing and displaying it in a majestic manner. "I have slain many a foe with this fine work of German art!" I continued, almost yelling. She seemed both amused and surprised by my behavior."Care to know how it works?" I asked.

"I'd prefer you save that for another time." she said. "I have important matters regarding diplomacy to attend to to." she explained as she stood up out of her seat.

"Would you care to elaborate on what kind of diplomacy you are discussing, and who you are discussing it with?" i asked. I saw a twinkle in her eye.

"I am discussing a peace treaty with one of our oldest enemies, the changelings." she explained. Oldest enemies, huh?

"Well, farewell." I dismissed, before standing up and leaving the room. "Have a nice trip, princess!" I waved, before leaving and closing the massive doors behind me.

Chapter 3: Search and Rescue

I laid awake in Fluttershy's guest room. The mare was kind enough to let me have a dinner, which I was very grateful for (Even if it was just a salad.). My mind was racing with thoughts.

Celestia knows something I don't...

I'm on a new planet, and quite possibly a new world...

Earth is a mere memory...

I'll never see another human again.

My mind was interrupted by a sudden burst of life from my radio. I could hear a thick wall of static, but a very faint, garbled voice could be heard beneath the blanket of clicks and buzzing. I could barely make out any words, so in the end I only got "Breaching", "Close range", and "spotted". Military lingo. How was I getting any access to coms on a different world?! I was excited, but also confused.

My excitement changed to paranoia when I realized this could be a broadcast from an Equestrian radio. Then again, if they didn't have guns, why would close range matter? Another valid point to think of was the fact that from what I had gathered from my chat with Celestia, Equestria was at a long-lasting peace. A peace that could quite possibly be shattered in the upcoming days. Perhaps the period of peace in question already ended?

After what was most likely an hour of thinking a variety of both comforting and fearful thoughts alike, sleep eventually took hold.

I sat up suddenly. Something had awoken me, considering it was far from day. (I had determined this by the fact no light had been seeping through the window across the room.

I listened carefully, until I heard a quiet but noticeable noise; a thump of sorts. Jumping a bit, I went into action, silently leaping out of the bed and into a roll, grabbing my sidearm holster off the bedside table and unsheathing my handgun. A break in? I thought, raising an eyebrow. Better grab my gogs. I grabbed my NV goggles off the table as well, and slipped them over my face, illuminating the room in a green light.

Ever so quietly, I crept out of the room, sweeping it with the barrel of my pistol. Nothing so far.

Once I had reached the door, I carefully pushed it open, my eyes scanning the hallway. Suddenly, I heard it again, this time a bit louder. It seemed the thump was coming from downstairs, so I very carefully creeped down the staircase, my eyes wide with alertness... or fear.

Hey, in my defense, I didn't know what to expect after the whole manticore encounter! (Fluttershy had explained that they were in fact called manticores, not demon-lions.)

Once I had gotten downstairs, another thump was heard. What scared me was that this sounded a hell of a lot closer than I expected. I jumped a bit. My eyes darting around wildly, I swerved around in the direction of the noise. Come on, Henry, I thought. You've got a gun, for god's sake!

I felt relieved when I realized it was just Fluttershy. I hesitated before holstering my sidearm. She "eeped" when she noticed I was standing there, but quickly calmed down.

"Hey Flutters!" I said, stifling a yawn and taking off my goggles. "What's all the noise?" I asked, a bit concerned.

"Just trying to get Angel out from under the sofa." she said, a hint of disappointment in her tone. "He complained that he was hungry, but now he won't eat." Fluttershy explained. I frowned a bit.

"I'll handle this." I said, stepping softly up to the shelf before kneeling down and looking underneath it. Picking him up wouldn't be a good idea, because I didn't feel like getting bitten right now. I felt like sleeping. I continued to give the rodent a piercing glare.

"You'll eat what she gives you. Otherwise, don't eat." i said coldly. That seemed to do the trick. I stood back up, and turned to Fluttershy. "His fearful expression tells me he will trouble you no more, ma'am." I said, saluting. She smiled a bit, though it seemed a little forced. Guess I shouldn't treat her pets like that... I thought, hiding a grimace. I couldn't understand for the life of me why getting a bunny out from under the sofa involved so much thumping, but I wasn't about to ask. We said "goodnight", and I went back upstairs, slid back into bed, and fell asleep once again.

12 Hours Later

I had realized something strange was afoot by the time I had awoken. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen, and her bedroom door was wide open. Confused, I grabbed my gear and carefully stepped downstairs. It was then that I had determined that Fluttershy was indeed gone. Angel was still there, but I didn't try getting any answers out of him.

"Ugh, WHAT?!" I half-yelled at him, confused as to why he kept pulling on my pant leg. He glared at me, and pointed out the window at the forest. After a few seconds, I caught on. "Fine, I'll go look in the goddamned woods!" I growled, snatching my rifle off the couch. I left the house without a word, leaving Angel to do what I assumed he always did when there was nobody to pout at; not a goddamned thing.

Time for some search and rescue, I thought. A flash of nostalgia hit me. A hostage rescue at an abandoned uranium processing plant outside of Seattle. The op was a wild goose chase, though; from what we had gathered after the mission was determined a failure, the hostages were moved all the way to Montana.

My memories distracted me so much, it took my a while to realize I had been standing in the same patch of sunlight for god knows how long. I snapped back into the world, and looked around me, scanning for any disturbed foliage. After a moment, I noticed a very faint trail of hoof prints leading deeper into the thick of the woods. I cautiously crept up to it, scanning the area around me. So far, so good. Hesitating for a moment, I followed the tracks.

As the trail went on, the hoof prints seemed to grow farther apart. It didn't take me long to figure out that this meant that Fluttershy - Or whoever's trail this was - was indeed running at this point. Was she in some sort of danger? I thought, my stomach turning. A sudden realization calmed me down a bit. These tracks are fresh, meaning she might still be safe...

I flicked my rifle from safety to auto, and looked around me worriedly. Ah, what the hell!

I started sprinting down the trail of hoof prints, breathing quite heavily. The goggles on my mask started to fog up, so I stopped for a very short instance to pull them off and tuck them away in my pouch. It didn't take long to start up the rush again.  A sudden screech - A quite alarming one, at that - rang out in the distance, causing me to stop dead in my tracks. Anger had begun to build up in me, and I took off in the direction from which the sound had come, my eyes wide with alertness.

Or fear.

Or maybe both, I don't know.

Sliding on my gasmask, I slowed my pace a bit. I don't know why I'm even wearing this right now...

I tripped into a huge clearing, but quickly recovered, my rifle's sights lined up with my eye.

I scanned the area, my heart pounding, My eyes rested on Fluttershy, her back against a tree. Turning to where she was staring, I saw something I cannot completely describe. It was a wolf, seemingly made out of, well, wood. I stared on in shock, before snapping into action.

I slowly started advancing on the... thing, my rifle firing in short controlled bursts. It flinched in surprise at the first burst, and instantly spun around to face me. I clenched my teeth, and went from bursts to a stream of lead, making quick work of one of its legs. I flashed a glance at Fluttershy, confirming she was in the same spot.

Realizing that I had finished the job, a lowered my gun, reloaded, and just stood there panting. I only woke up not even two hours ago, and I'm already weirded out of my mind, I thought.

Once I had caught my breath, I slung my rifle over my shoulder and walked over to Fluttershy, who seemed very much shocked.

"Are you ok?" I asked once I had gotten to her. She was shaking a bit.

"Y-y-y-you killed it." she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Good fuckin' job, Dutch, I scolded myself. You made the most lovable creature in the universe cry.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy." I said, trying not to cry myself. Man up, Henry. "Being in the army does things to you and your instincts." I said after a moment of hesitation. I had to be careful not to hit any nerves. Sadly, she wasn't in the mood for excuses.

"I-I don't c-care!" she stammered between sobs. "It didn't deserve it!" Before she could run, a raspy feminine voice growled out from behind us.

"NOBODY picks on Fluttershy!" I turned around in hopes to figure out who my challenger was, but instead was impacted with bone shattering force. This time when I passed out, it was in a much more painful manner.

Chapter 4: Supposedly dead

A slight pain blew through my lungs at each breath. My eyes slowly blinked open, and I found that I was propped up against a tree in a very familiar clearing, my sight slightly fogged by my mask. I heard Twilight's voice, and what she said was quite interesting.

"Well, from what I can tell, his lungs were punctured by several bone fragments. I'm surprised he's got a pulse, let alone breathing." the alicorn said, a quizzical tone in her voice. This is worrying.

"Can't you try a regeneration spell or whatever?" a vaguely familiar voice sighed with a hint of concern. This is some fantasy movie shit.

"Well, he's not exactly from this planet, Rainbow." Twilight replied smartly, whilst applying a good old facehoof. This place was just too weird.

"You should at least try."

"Ok, ok, fine!" I ever so slightly turned my head to get a better view, and saw Twilight's horn begin to glow. Unsurprisingly, her horn's aura absorbed my body. It was a strange sensation. It felt like a mix of being curled up in a soft blanket mixed with jumping chest first onto an electric fence.

My entire body shook violently, and I felt the lifting of a pain I had not felt until then. It was kinda hard not to scream, but through some miracle I managed not to.

After what felt like forever, the aura had dissolved and Twilight stood there, panting with an exhausted look on her face. The mare I could only imagine was Rainbow stepped up to her side.

"Are you ok?" she asked the princess, a look of concern on her face.

"S-sure... J-just different from using it on a p-pony..." the mare gasped out, before eventually catching her breath. I wasn't planning on waiting longer, so I stopped them before they could start chatting again.

"Either of you two gonna explain just what happened to me?" I asked, catching the mares by surprise. My question caused Rainbow to lower her gaze to the ground and chuckle nervously, blushing. I swear, everyone here sucks at hiding stuff.

"Well, according to Rainbow Dash, she heard what sounded like a bunch of fireworks going off in the forest." Twilight started. Gunshots. "She went to investigate to find you yelling at Fluttershy, so she crashed into you as an attempt to help her friend." twilight answered, glaring at me. A mistake. This pissed me off a bit.

"Excuse me, but I had just saved 'Shy's life from a wolf made out of tree branches!" I snapped. "She thanked me by accusing me of murder."

"Wait, you killed that?!" Twilight exclaimed, swinging her head back to the corpse. Rainbow followed her gaze. I pointed at the gun laying on the ground, but the princess just looked at me questioningly.

"I'll explain later." I said, before burying my head in my hands and sighing. Slowly, I got back onto my feet. "Anyway, why the actual FUCK did you fly into me?!" I shouted, my eyes wide with anger whilst pointing an accusing finger at Rainbow Dash. Twilight seemed to be surprised by my swearing.

"In my defense, I didn't expect your bones to be made out of plastic!" the mare snapped back, pressing her muzzle against my mask. There was a definite rage in her eyes, but I met her gaze with a cold silence. After a moment, Twilight decided to end the little stare down and speak.

"Stop fighting you two!" she commanded, snapping us back into attention. This pegasus is on my list, I thought with malice. "I want to know how you survived fragments of your ribs shooting through your lungs." the alicorn said with a raised brow. What?

"Funny." I said flatly. the glare that followed told me she was serious. "To be honest, I'm not sure that's what happened." I started, taking off my mask to breath. "Because if that's the case, wouldn't I be, you know... Dead?" I slowed down half sentence, staring off into space while I comprehended what I just said. Reality check!

I wake up mid-alien invasion in a world inhabited by pegasi, unicorns and talking ponies.

I almost get killed by a bat-lion-scorpion mix.

The sun here is raised by an alicorn, rather than the planet itself orbiting the sun.

"Forget what I just said, and replace it with 'I have no goddamn clue'." I said after a moment, looking back down at the princess. "cCme to think of it, I did feel short of breath when I woke up."

"It's not important." Twilight said firmly after a moment. "What is important right now is getting you to Princess Celestia, because she has a job for you." the alicorn said, a slight hint of emergency in her tone.

"What I am about to say does not leave this room." Celestia declared firmly, staring daggers at me. "It is of dire importance that you carry this operation out." Good, something to do! The princess looked at me expectantly, and it took me a second to catch on.

"It is my duty to protect the information I am to be given and only speak of it in the presence of those authorized to hear of it." I stated almost robotically. I knew this code by heart after months of being supplied with top secret information. The life of a spec-ops. A hint of a smile tugged at the princess's lips before she continued.

"I must first notify you that it is my fault you're here." she said. This sentence caught me off guard. A few thoughts provoked by shock and hate raced through my brain, and I had to try very hard not to whip out my pistol and gun her down.

"Why?" I asked plainly, my left eyelid twitching slightly. Celestia had an apologetic look on her face.

"We needed a warrior." she answered. "Please be aware that I did not call on you specifically. I called upon a warrior with greatly advanced technology, and excellent battle strategy." Celestia continued, smiling sympathetically.

"I'm flattered, but that doesn't mean I'm happy to learn this." I replied, a frown growing on my face.

"If you would like to return, then I'd be happy to send you back. Just know that I did this because we're on the brink of war." This took me by surprise. They were at the brink of a war that required advanced tech, strategy and equipment that was unattainable by their species, and they had a hero capable of using all of these flawlessly. They had all of this, but she was ok with the soldier in question just leaving?

"Just bare in mind that your own world is being invaded." Celestia reminded me. Then, it all rushed back. The aliens, the death, the strange energy that hit me... Was this all her doing? "If you do go back with the intention of staying, death is guaranteed." I thought for a moment.

If I stay, I'll be helping this technologically inferior country fend off invaders. If I go back, I'll die, but it would be for my own country and home world. If I stay, I wouldn't be throwing away anything because all was lost, back home. I hesitated before responding.

"I'll stay. Now please explain what my objective is; you have got my curiosity." I said, holding back a smile. Celestia seemed a little surprised by my choice.

"Your objective is to return to your home world." she said plainly. I let her continue before I said anything stupid. "Gather all the military grade equipment you can." This was an interesting objective. "And try not to kill anyone."

"Sounds complicated. When do I go?"

So here I was, somewhere outside of a British military outpost. Celestia had done her whole "zappy-zappy aura magic trick" and once again, I was teleported to a different location. It felt bleak here; the air was cold, it was raining, no birds sang their song, and the sky was black with the shadow of night. I stood up, brushed my pants off, and instinctively slid my NV goggles on over my face. Surely enough, the world was lit up in a green light. I gathered my surroundings and grabbed my gun, before tearing off my US flag patch. Didn't wanna cause World War 3.

Ever so cautiously, I stepped towards the base. I heard a voice nearby, and dove behind some nearby bushes. I peeked over the bush to see a man in woodland camo with a red beret. Instead of the expected AR-platform rifle, this man was toting an L1A1 battle rifle. Weird. I ducked back below the bush, wondering how long it would take me to carry this out. Screw this, I thought before standing up. The soldier's head swiveled towards me, a shocked expression on his face.

"Who the hell are you?" he shouted, raising his rifle and pointing it at my chest. My gun flew up and I plowed a round into him, the shot echoing through the night sky. The soldier fell back, blood welling out of his wounds.

I said not to kill anybody. A familiar voice could be heard in my mind, but I disregarded it. I sprinted up to the lone building,before ducking behind a waist-high stone wall. There must have been a farm here...

After a moment of sitting there, I heard shouting and boots rushing towards me.

"What in the name of god's goin' on out here?!" one voice shouted, getting louder by the second. My ears told me there was two pairs of feet running; presumably two men. I braced myself, before jumping out from behind my cover, catching the two by surprise. They leaped back in surprise, before I went full-auto on their asses. The two men fell to the ground, blood sprayed out behind them. One of these men was holding a Sterling L2A3 cold war submachine gun, while the other was also wielding an L1. This is some cold war shit...

Ever so carefully, I stepped up to the outpost before kicking in the door with my gun at my hip, ready to fire. All that could be seen inside was a small hallway, and a desk at the front of the entry room, an open book sitting on top of it. A quick study of the article in question had determined that it was a porn magazine.

I turned my attention to the cramped hallway, stepping through the entrance and ever so quietly swept through, making as little noise as possible. There were three doors. The closest was the "Toilet", then the "Sleeping Quarters", and lastly the "Armory". I quickly disregarded the other two rooms, heading directly for the armory.

The more I looked around, the more it felt like I was in the cold war. Crappy light bulbs, outdated weapons, and shabby building design. The armory was no different.

Inside was a gun rack, surprisingly large for such a small outpost. A study of the weapons displayed had proven that I had to be in the wrong time period. This was believable, because after what I had seen lately, time traveling didn't seem so strange.

Sudden footsteps had broken me out of my thoughts, and I instinctively spun around and fired a stream of bullets into the wooden door. On the other side, I heard a shout in pain and a thump. I turned back around, stuffed as many weapons, magazines and grenades as I could into my pouches and bag. After a moment, I was engulfed in the strange aura from before, and I blacked out.

Chapter 5: Reflections

"Ah shit, man, I ain't gonna make it!" I rapped a bandage around the arm of the soldier before me. I didn't want to admit it, but he may have been right. The guy was a mess; his uniform was torn, bullet holes were scattered across his lower body, and a large gash ran up his side.

"Ya' know, I'm surprised you lived this long." I said. "You sure you don't do steroids, sport boy?"

"Shut the fuck up." he choked back, before spitting out a tooth. A pool of blood was forming underneath him, but I didn't let it put me off. Despite the sight before me coupled with the distant gunfire and explosions, I felt pretty calm.

"So, Syria was a bust." I mumbled, before applying a bloodpack.

"You got that right." The op was simple; disarm a chemical weapon outside of Hama, stored in an old car factory. Good old 2016.

Bullets zipped all around me, and I almost tried shooting back. Adrenaline pulsed through me, and I turned to the men next to me. Two soldiers, just like me, scared out of their wits. This car wouldn't last long, but luckily it had already exploded earlier, leaving the steel skeleton of what was once a pickup truck.

"Any ideas?" I shouted to the two other guys, both from another squad. I had gotten split up from mine after a relatively bloody firefight. The two men both shook their heads, causing me to panic inside. No more frags, out of flashbangs, and smoke wouldn't work because they could just shoot through it. An idea struck me upon realizing that one of us three had an MG.

"Think you ca-" my question was cut off by a shot that landed very close to my head. The bullet plinked off a strip of metal right next to me, and I almost screamed.

"Fuck this!" one of the men said, before standing up and making a dash for more cover, before the MG's fire focused on him. Bullets ripped through him, spattering blood across the ground behind the soldier. My eyes widened with shock, before I came to my senses and made a dash for a new source of cover.

An ear splitting explosion made me jump almost ten feet in the air, and it took me a moment to realize that the Osprey was now plummeting towards the facility below. Instinctively, My hands flew for the strap in the ceiling above me, and I held on for dear life. Meanwhile, the guy next to me - Shepard, I believe - was flung against the wall and was presumably knocked out. The lieutenant was saying something, but I couldn't hear anything through the blood roaring in my ears. Moments before impact, the world slowed down. I observed the scene; outside the Osprey, an alien-looking aircraft was flying away from us. The doors had been ripped off our transport, and one of the medics was mashed against the wall of the plane, blood welling out from under him. Meanwhile, the guy next to me was puking, and the air smelled of smoke.

Time once again kicked into full speed, and an explosion announced our crashing. I flew out the doors of the craft, landing roughly on the sandy ground. Surprisingly enough, I was still alive, but unable to move.

It took all of my strength to pull Shepard away from the crash. He was the only one that had survived the crash besides me, and I couldn't just leave him there. I held my pistol out ahead of me, staying as alert as I could in my current state. My back screamed in protest, but I pushed onwards anyway. The current situation didn't allow breaks.

I dragged Shepard up to the nearest scientist, without saying a word. The man was about to speak, but I promptly left without listening. I didn't have time.

Stepping through a randomly picked door led me into a room that made me puke in my mouth. There was several soldiers and scientists alike, each of which laying in pools of blood. What was eye catching was the strange creatures resting on their faces. A single scientist was in the room, poking one of the creatures with a ruler. I left the room without making a comment.

I wandered through the halls of the lab, very eager to find the rest of my squad. They had abandoned me in a security office, and they must have thought I was dead, considering I was soaked in blood. The thing was, it wasn't my blood. It feels like I'm doomed to lose my squad every mission.

My thoughts were cut off by a clicking sound nearby, signalling the cocking of a pistol behind me. I spun around to see a scientist, aiming a pistol right at my face. I ducked just before he shot. The booming sound of the handgun firing sent a pulse of adrenalin through me, and I pumped his stomach with a burst of rounds from my G33. The man fell to the ground, blood spilling out behind him. I breathed in deeply, before taking out my radio and transmitting;

"Scorpion 1-3 to HQ." I said. After a moment, a choppy reply came in;

"Send it, 1-3."

"Lab staff proven hostile, it is requested you notify all callsigns." I said, internally facepalming at what I said. That came out wrong.

"Copy, 1-3." I switched channels to the universal line, and listened. Surely enough, the bomb was dropped.

"All callsigns, eradicate lab staff on site. Subjects proven to be hostile." Mistakes were made today.

My eyes rolled open, and I was happy to see a concerned looking Celestia gazing back at me. Her stare softened after a moment, and she looked past me as though there was something behind me. I turned and was moderately surprised to see an alicorn that looked a lot like Celestia. This one, however, was deep blue. I swore I saw the entire galaxy when I stared into her mane.

"What did you see, sister?" Celestia asked the alicorn, worry in her tone.

"I'm afraid that while what I saw was hard to understand, it is clear that his dreams speak of dark times." the sister replied. That's some deep shit.

"Who are you?" I asked. Kinda rude to talk about me in the third person when I'm right here.

"My name is Princess Luna." the sister replied, looking down at me. "You need not introduce yourself, Henry." This was just too weird.

"Nice to meet you." I sighed, before standing up out of the chair I was slumped over in. "Where are the guns?" I asked Celestia. I had blood on my hands, and that blood better have been worth it.

"The weapons are in the guard barracks." she responded. "The captain of the guard would like some instructions on how to use them." I nodded. "Speaking of which, I believe part of your objective was to refrain from killing, rendering your mission as a failure." the princess scolded, taking me aback a little. before I could respond, however, Luna stuck up for me.

"You should understand that killing is in his kind's nature. While killing is something not even the most evil of individuals would do here, it is quite common in his world." the princess explained. Jesus, how does she know this?

"How do you know?"

"Why, your dreams have proven such." she replied, raising an eyebrow. What the fuck does that mean? I had taken it upon myself to stop asking questions like that for now.

"Care to show me the way to the guard barracks?" I asked, eager to train the soldiers. Celestia nodded, before turning to one of the guards at the entrance to the throne room.

"Show Henry the way to the barracks, if you'd please." Celestia ordered. The guard saluted, before motioning for me to follow him out of the doors.

-Ten Minutes Later-

"Get your asses in order, before I replace you lot!" Armored Blaze shouted to the line in front of her. I found it slightly entertaining that she had a British accent. These guys were pretty tough for ponies. "Our new comer - Dutch, - is gonna teach you to use our new weapons!" she pointed her hoof at me. A voice mumbled from the fifteen soldiers before us.

"What the hell is he?"

"I'm a soldier, and I'll kick your ass if you complain about the new guy training you." I snapped. He glared at me, but kept his mouth shut. "Anyway, I hope you're aware that this next war is gonna be pretty different from your last few." I informed the group. From what I had gathered, they had rarely killed in their past wars. That was why this fight was going to be a game changer. "Instead of incapacitating your enemies, you'll kill them." I got a few frightened looks, but dismissed them. "Please bare in mind this is the decision of your leaders, and that they didn't exactly want it to come to this. Blaze, would you please lead your men to the training grounds?" I asked the sergeant. She nodded, picked up a nearby sack with her magic, and led them off through a doorway that went into a field. I followed close behind.

The air was chilly outside, and frost covered the field like a blanket. In the distance, there was a few pony shaped dummies supported by wooden poles.

"Right, colts. You lot are the special guys that get to use our new hardware." Blaze said. She levitated the bag onto the ground in front of us. "I have in here the most modernized weaponry you'll ever hope to use." It's a bit bold of you to say it like that. The mare opened the sack to reveal the goods I had retrieved what was assumed to be yesterday. I was surprised by how much I had managed to load up, even if seven of the weapons were just handguns. "Dutch, you take over." the sergeant instructed. I nodded, before stepping out of the line and up to the sack. I turned to face the line.

"I must teach you the basics of these weapons." I said, pulling out an L1 as an example. "This is an FN-FAL battle rifle, also known as the L1." I presented it to the stallions, surprised by how unimpressed they looked.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how does that chunk of metal kill?" one of the soldiers asked, raising an eyebrow. I aimed it at a nearby tree and fired, the wood surface splintering, sending wood chunks everywhere. I the turned back to the soldiers.

"It does a lot more damage to flesh." I said. The majority of the soldiers seemed happily surprised. "And it does even more damage when you do this!" I switched it to full auto, before firing again, this time plowing the entire mag into the tree. A few exclamations of joy emanated from the soldiers. Pulling out a new mag from the sack, I reloaded the rifle, before placing it carefully back in and presenting a handgun.

"This is the Browning Hi-Power handgun." I cocked back the slide. "Most of you are gonna be using this." They didn't seem as happy about this one, but I didn't care. I couldn't exactly fit anything very big into my backpack.

"Shining Armor, I presume?" I asked the unicorn before me. He nodded.

"Yeah. I'd like to see these new weapons. Guns, right?" I nodded.

"You're an officer, right?" He nodded. "Then you get this;" I held out a Sten, and he curiously levitated it to his face to inspect it. "That there is a Sten submachine gun. It fires faster than you might expect, so be careful." Shining Armor nodded subconsciously.

"How does this kill?" he asked.

Chapter 6: Russian Roulette

Three Days Later.

I stepped out of the train, ignoring the few odd looks that were cast towards me. After a week, I got used to it. What concerned me right now was a nap, seeing as I had spent the last three days training a bunch of unorganized privates to use a weapon unlike anything in this world. I hadn't gotten any sleep on the four hour train ride either, somehow.

A drowsy smile flickered across my face at the sight of a certain alicorn approaching me. My happiness turned to confusion as soon as I saw the pony behind her. Is it even possible for a horse to bounce like that?

"Hey Twi, who's the friend?" I asked with a wave. The princess waved back.

"Hi, Dutch! This is Pinkie Pie." She introduced. The so called "Pinkie Pie" gasped at the sight of me.

"IS THAT HIM?!" Her voice was adorably annoying.

"Yes, Pinkie." Twilight sighed.

"Why's she so excited?" I joked. It took the princess a moment to recognize it as sarcasm. The bubbly, poofy-haired pink mare, however, didn't catch on at all. Jesus, did I just use the term "poofy"?

"Because you're new and I have to throw you a welcome party! DUH!" the pony said. I chuckled at first, but quickly realized she was serious.

"Well Pinkie, that's awfully nice of you, but I have soldier stuff to do." I said, a little upset about it myself. She looked like she could be the first pony I wouldn't piss off within one day! Unless, of course, I ended up killing something in her presence. It seemed these pony folk weren't big fans of the human problem solving method. I, of course, begged to differ.

"Aww, but I just can't let anypony come to Ponyville without a party!" She sat down and her lower lip wobbled. Agh! My heart! I hesitated before giving in.

"Ok, ok, fine. We'll have a party." I sighed, patting her on the head.

"WOOHOO!"

"But AFTER I'm done with my next two ops." I said, holding out my hands in a "chill out" way. The pony's grin faded, being replaced by a small smile.

"Pinkie promise!" she said suddenly. I scratched the back of my head, confused by what she meant. She glared at me, and I felt a strange chill run down my spine. Did I do something wrong? I turned towards Twilight, but all she gave me was a look practically saying "play along".

"Well, how does one Pinkie Promise?" I asked Pinkie, raising an eyebrow. She matched my confused gaze, and played out a series of hoof motions.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" I could only assume what the last gesture had meant.

"Ok, I'll cross my heart while hoping to fly, and then I'll mash the cupcake in question straight into my retina." I said, holding back a smirk. I wonder if she'll make any sense of that?

"You're weird." she said, before sighing and looking at the ground with disappointment. Or is it you that is the weird one? "Anyway, see ya' later!" she said suddenly, smiling widely once again and trotting off in a seemingly random direction. I turned towards Twilight.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"With Pinkie, I've learned not to ask anything like that." the princess replied, shaking her head.

"So, where am I staying?" I asked. It sure wouldn't be Fluttershy's place.

"You're staying at Fluttershy's house again." Oh. Well then. Twilight seemed to notice my confused expression. "She forgives you."

"I see." I mumbled. I didn't see why she forgave me so quickly, unless it was because of peer pressure. She wasn't very assertive from what I had seen. "Well, I guess I'll go drop my stuff off there." I said. "Bye!"

I knocked on the door and waited. After about two minutes, the door slowly opened to reveal Fluttershy's staring face.

"Hello, Dutch!" she greeted, smiling softly.

"Hi." I replied, not sharing the warm gaze. For some reason, a guilty feeling inside of me wouldn't allow me to smile. What are you doing? The mare seemed taken aback by something, and I quickly realized I was glaring at the floor. Forcing a smile, I stepped into the house. "How are you, 'Shy?" I asked, taking off my vest and helmet and dropping them on the sofa.

"I'm well." she said calmly.

"I'm just stopping by to drop off my stuff, before I go to the castle. Twilight wants to speak with me." Fluttershy nodded. I went upstairs and walked into the guest room, promptly dropping my stuff on the bed lazily. I went downstairs, said goodbye to Fluttershy, and walked to the castle.

-Perspective of Grusha Bogdan, VDV member-

-Two days after the 7 hour war-

My slumber was interrupted by a hand firmly shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see a familiar face staring back at me.

"проснуться!" (Wake up!) the man said. I sighed, pushed his hand off my shoulder and got off of the mattress that acted as my bed.

"остановить торопится меня." (Don't rush me.) I mumbled. The soldier glared at me.

"мы под атакой получить свое снаряжение , черт возьми!" (Get your gear! We're under attack!) Under attack? I sprinted to the armory, grabbed the nearest rifle and rushed outside. It was just as I had feared; the aliens had already arrived. Although NATO had surrendered to the strange invaders, the CSTO and PLA weren't done fighting. Chinese infantry arrived at the base just yesterday as an effort to help the fight, but we were surely outnumbered.

Youtube Video

A sudden bullet zipping straight past my head woke me up, and I dove for cover. A series of loud "plinks" rang out from the barrels I was sitting behind, and in the confusion I almost shot a nearby friendly. I'm glad I learned Chinese, I thought.

"给我盖!" (Give me cover!) I ordered. The rifleman hesitantly complied. After a series of bursts of fire, I ran from my cover to dive next to the soldier.

"有什么计划?" (What's the plan?) the soldier asked, once the fire had died down. I thought for a moment, and scanned the surroundings. A fortified guard tower was pretty close by, but there was little cover. I could go back in the barracks, but there wasn't a lot of windows to fire from. But I sure as shit wasn't staying here.

"我会掩护你，去塔!" (Get to that guard tower, I'll cover you!) I instructed, before popping out through a spot untouched by the hostile fire. I sighted in on the hostile MG, and opened fire. Sure enough, the target ducked behind his cover, and the Chinese soldier made a mad dash for the guard tower. I was glad I picked up a PKP, rather than a basic rifle. Even after my suppressing fire, I still had enough ammo to take out the gunner. After a few moments, he peeked out. I breathed in, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The force of the gun kicked into my shoulder, and the enemy soldier fell, blood spraying out behind him. I took the opportunity to rush for the guard tower.

Once I had gotten in, I ran up the stairs. Halfway up, I almost tripped on the dead body of my Chinese ally. Fuck!

Upon the sight of him, I instinctively slowed down and pointed my gun up the stairs. Ever so carefully, I crept up the tower. Upon getting to the top of the stairs, I was shocked and confused to see an enemy soldier standing before me. After a moment of hesitation, I shoved him over the side of the tower and watched him fall to the ground. Finishing him off with a shot to the back, I turned my attention to the rest of the base, and after a quick scan, I had determined that we were losing. Hostile APCs were dangerously close to the perimeter, most of the Chinese forces were dead, and we only had one intact vehicle, and even it wasn't doing so well.

I sighted in on the first line of hostiles approaching the base, and mowed them down with my machine gun, watching as blood flew out behind them and spattered the grass. A few days ago I wouldn't have dreamed of finding joy in such a sight. However, after the destruction they had caused, I could see this as a new pass time, rather than a job.

I moved on to the second line, only for a bullet to shoot through my arm. Falling to the ground with a thud, I clenched my teeth in pain. Fight it, dammit! You're a full grown adult! I gathered up my strength, and brought myself to my feet. Luckily for me, the enemy had turned their attention to the other remaining soldiers. There was one problem, and that was the plain fact that lifting up a PK with a shot up arm was impossible.

I was about to give up, but remembered that since the enemy was focused on something else, I had a chance to get back to the armory. There was a risk, but it was worth it.

I sprinted out of the tower and into the barracks, rushing for the armory. Something light... I settled for an SVU.

Running out of the building, I was about to turn towards the guard tower. My idea was ruined by the sight of what was once a tower. At this point, it was a smoldering ruin. Back to the drawing board.

I dove for cover when a rain of bullets hailed down upon me. Pain rolled over me like a wave upon landing.

After I had gotten my bearings (And after the enemy stopped shooting at me.), I peeked out of cover to observe the scene. Fear coursed through me upon the realization that I was the last human alive at the base. I shot back into position, my heart pounding with fear. I heard approaching footsteps, causing my heart to beat even faster. I tried to run, but I was frozen in place.

"We've got a live one." one of the aliens said. I was about to run, until I had realized that the alien just spoke English.

Chapter 7: Two guys, one planet inhabited by ponies

Perspective of Henry Maverick

"Explain why a Russian soldier is laying on the floor, Twi." I growled. It kind of scared me that he had a bullet wound in his back.

"W-well, I thought it w-would be good to bring another human..." the princess stammered, staring at the ground. I breathed in deeply.

"Why?"

"W-well, it's just... I thought you were lonely..." she mumbled. I couldn't stay angry, but an action like this rubbed me the wrong way. Something about bringing another human through seemed like it would cause some issues.

"Well, that's awfully sweet of you." I mumbled, before kneeling down to inspect the wound, only to find that he had another on his arm. The combination of these two wounds would certainly prove to be fatal. I looked back to my collision with Rainbow Dash, and how it sent chips of my ribs into my lungs. I'm starting to piece this together...

"Hey Sparkle, would you mind leaving for a few minutes? Our guest is starting to wake up." I instructed. "Don't wanna freak 'em out. Alicorns aren't around where I come from." The mare nodded and left, and I turned my attention to the new guy. After a few moments, he let out a moan and shifted to the side a bit.

"больно..." he mumbled. I smirked. Definitely Russian.

"You gonna wake up, little man?" I asked sarcastically, not expecting him to respond.

"I'm awake." Well, I'll be damned.

"Then sit up, numbnut!" I snapped. Slowly but surely, the man shifted into a sitting position. I was surprised by how easily he managed to move, considering his wounds. The soldier's eyes widened when he looked at his surroundings.

"Где я?" he gasped.

"Welcome to Ponyville." I chuckled. I was only assuming what he had said. "What's your name?" I asked.

"G-Grusha..." the man stammered after a moment. "Your name?" Jesus, his thick accent was badass.

"Call me Dutch." I introduced, saluting. "Where'd you learn English?"

"My parents were American immigrants." he explained. I nodded. I had a lot of questions about life in Russia, but I'm sure he had even more about Equestria. I did, however, want to know about those bullet wounds. The one in Grusha's chest was way to well placed to be survived.

"How'd you survive those?" I asked, pointing at the wounds. He had to think for a moment, but I wasn't surprised. It took me a minute to get focused once I had shown up here.

"No idea." he shrugged. "One minute I am shot, and next, I am here."

"Shot by who?" I asked.

"Aliens. Not like Black Mesa event; these ones have guns." Grusha said. His broken English made it sound even more mysterious. "They take over US in seven hours, but take longer to invade China and Russia." So the US was invaded by aliens in seven hours? Jesus, we must have sucked! "I am last man in base, hiding behind barrel. Aliens find me, offer to be prisoner. I couldn't live like that, so I said no and get shot." Man, that's some dark shit! Wait, so he died, then he showed up here? I thought. Did I die too? Is this actually a weird afterlife?

"Must have been a real shit sucker." I said. We sat in silence for a few moments, before I remembered something kind of important. "Grusha, listen to me."

"You have my attention."

"What you're about to see is one of the weirdest things you'll see in your life." I said, giggling like a child.

"Weirder than live giraffe birth on TV?" he asked jokingly. I snickered.

"Yup. Come in, Twilight!" I called out. Surely enough, the large doors to the royal library opened and a familiar purple alicorn stepped into the room. I wasn't shocked in the slightest, but Grusha was definitely confused. He just sat there and stared blankly for a few moments, until uttering a single word.

"Fascinating." he chuckled. Maybe this was a bit too much for a man that just woke up in a place he had no clue existed, right after dying?

"I know, right?" I agreed.

"I've died and gone to heaven." Ok, maybe I don't agree anymore.

"Nope, you're very much alive." I corrected. He gave me a "yeah right" look.

"Are you ok?" Twilight asked him, gazing at his wounds with surprise. He shook himself awake, and looked over at her. Grusha's expression told me he was terrified that she could talk.

"Grusha, how about you go lie down for a while?"

I sat on the steps of Fluttershy's front door. Inside, Twilight and her friends were discussing something they didn't let me in on. Meanwhile, Grusha was wandering the woods in hopes of finding something. He didn't say what. The door opened behind me, and I saw who I was told was the local tailor. Her eyes widened at the sight of me.

"Goodness dear, what are you doing in this cold weather?" she asked. Another brit.

"Just thinking about stuff." She was right. It seemed that Equestria was drifting into winter.

"Fluttershy would like you to come in." the mare explained. I reluctantly stood up and followed her back inside.

I hadn't really realized how cold it was outside. Upon stepping inside, a very pleasant wave of heat splashed over me, and I shivered with relief. For a house without any form of heating system, 'Shy's tree was very warm. The girl's were having a conversation, so I went upstairs to wait it out. On my way up, I was surprised to be stopped by that Rainbow scumbag.

"Where are ya' going?" she asked, a suspicious frown settling onto her face.

"Upstairs."

"Not so fast, mister!" she snapped, dragging me back down the stairs. Her strength surprised me. I was confused, but just let it happen. The pegasus sat me down at Fluttershy's table, and went over to the only other empty seat. Around me was Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, the tailor, Rainbow, and some random orange mare wearing a stetson.

"As you know, we are going to war." Twilight announced to the table. Fluttershy seemed surprised by this news, and her eyes widened. "Dutch, you'll be leading the Ponyville royal guard brigade." the princess said, turning to me. Wait, she's telling a corporal to lead a brigade? Hah! "The war is currently at a stalemate, but it won't be for long. Once we get our hooves on enough equipment, then we will lead the main offensive on their borders. Any questions?" Not a hoof -nor hand- was raised. "Good. Meeting dismissed." Twilight said, before getting up out of her seat. This was very serious, but somehow seemed funny. It seemed like a big deal, but the meeting was comically short.

"Hey Twi, may I talk to you for a minute?" I asked, while everyone else was dismissing themselves from the table.

"Of course." she replied, seemingly unaware she was still set to "falsely formal behavior".

"Approximately how long until we set this off?" I asked, raising a brow.

"As soon as you get us more weapons." she said hesitantly. I took the message, albeit with a bit of spite. Twi didn't waste time!

"I'm open tomorrow." I said.

"Deal." In two days, I would be in charge of the 1st motorized rifle brigade.

Somehow (Don't ask me how, I'm not sure myself), I managed to get Grusha to join me on another raid. He knew what the world had become, and he didn't want to go back, so he figured one last look would be enough. I was surprised to find that we were, yet again, in an oddly cold war-esc era. Perhaps the teleportation between worlds was messing with time? It would make sense, after the shit that had happened lately.

Me and Grusha overlooked what looked like a US base from the top of a hill.

"Think this'll start World War Three?" I asked. He nodded.

"Sounds like it makes sense." he muttered. "Alright, listen up; there is hostile APCs. Two, I think. M113s. Immobile, unarmed, shouldn't be problem. All men are currently off their guard, by look of things. I see total of ten men, minus vehicle crew. You ready?" He asked, turning to me. I nodded. "Then let us get this show on road."

The two of us were going to communicate via radios, so he didn't have to charge head on with a goddamn SVD. Instead, I could engage the guys below and keep them busy while he picked them off with the sniper.

I quickly but stealthily crawled to the bottom of the hill, frantically hiding behind rocks and bushes. A single wrong move could get me in some trouble. Then again, I was American! I could just walk in like I won the place! I radioed Grusha.

"I'm gonna use my uniform as an advantage. Follow my lead." I whispered. The radio clicked twice in reply, so I moved in. It looked like they were using early 90s era equipment, meaning my uniform wasn't out of date. I wouldn't stick out too much.

I casually walked into the base, rifle ready but aimed at the ground in a non-threatening manner.

"Who are you?" a man asked. He had a stout complexion, and a raspy voice.

"Call me Henry." I said.

"You sure you're at the right base? This is marines, not HECU." Dammit!

"I was instructed to check supplies, to make sure you guys were doin' well." It would work for the next two seconds. That would be enough time.

The soldier was about to question my response, when I clicked down the radio's transmit button and said "Hit it!". Almost immediately, a gunshot echoed off and the soldier's head split apart. I instantly twisted him around and used him as a shield. The rest of the soldiers in the base were taken by surprise when I fired rapidly into everyone I could, killing three men. Almost instinctively, I dove behind the nearest piece of cover, aware that the soldier's body would barely hold up.

Bullets zipped over me, but they were abruptly cut off at the sound of Grusha's sniper firing off rounds. I'm a fan of your work, Grusha. The radio clicked on.

"Scratch four. Reloading." Only a few left! I crawled around to the other side of the Humvee I was hiding behind, and peeked around the corner. I raised my rifle, and fired off two rounds into the only man in sight. He fell to the ground. Once I was sure the area was cleared, I transmitted.

"Area clear. Come on down and help me clear these vehicles." I instructed. I looked over to his hill, and sure enough, he was jogging down with his rifle.

"Which one first?" he asked. I waved for him to follow me, and quietly crept up to the nearest one. I threw open the doors, to find three crewman.

"Get your asses out here! Right now!" I shouted, waving my gun around. The terrified men quickly complied, and scrambled out before lining up in front of me. The idea to bring them to fight for Equestria flashed across my mind, but I couldn't do that to them. These men had families and friends. "Go grab us an assload of guns, and throw them in the APCs. Then, run before we pull the trigger." I snapped. The boys quickly followed orders. "Grusha, go clear the other vehicle." I instructed. The man did as he was told. I need to be less of an asshole, I realized.

I inspected the boys coming back with weapons, and an idea crossed my mind, so I stopped the trio.

"You," I pointed to the one closest to me. "Go grab a training manual for M113 drivers." I instructed. He gave me a confused glance, but still went to retrieve it. "You, grab some mags." I told the next one. "And you, you're good for now. Start running." I chuckled, before pointing my gun at him. The soldier ran, and I felt bad. I liked scaring the shit outta people, but not this much. Grusha came back.

"What are we gonna do with rest?" he asked, pointing to the last of the crew.

"Let 'em run." I said. At this, they too ran down the road leading away from the base.

It didn't take long for the two remaining crew men to return with the mags and handbook, so I threw those into the APC too before dismissing them.

"That was too easy." Grusha said. I nodded.

"Don't ask why, but hop in that APC so we can go home." I ordered. Grusha followed suite.

"Wait, how are we gonna get back to pony town or whatever?" he asked.

"Just trust me on this, bro."

Meanwhile: 1981

A man in Britain reads the newspaper at his kitchen table. His children are at school, his wife is bathing, and he has to go to work in about thirty minutes. The headline catches his eye;

British Military armory raided; the UK blames USSR.

At 9:45 last night, a farmer living by a military outpost called the police reporting gunshots. When police arrived on scene, four dead soldiers were found scattered around the structure. Several weapons were missing from the outpost's armory. British marines O. Howard, M. Gerald, A. Louis and B. Redden were found dead at the scene of the crime. The ministry of defense has blamed the USSR for the incident.

Map of Equestrian - Changeling border

Loadout: Dutch

SSGT. Henry Maverick, A.K.A "Dutch"

Grenadier

Primary:

H&K G33 w/ extending stock, M203 Gren.

Secondary:

Beretta M92FS

Equipment:

Mk2 PCV

Tactical vest

Gasmask

M67 Frag grenade (x2)

NV goggles

IR goggles

Handheld radio

M18 Smoke grenade