Jack Finley woke up to the sound of an alarm in the empty barracks. "I'm awake! I am awake!" He yelled as he dragged himself out of the bed. He then quickly pulled on his red signature reinforced skeleton armor and then his helmet. He said into his intercom "what's up?"
"Bogies, two ships, and twelve aliens per ship, and we just landed them in..." Replied the scientist on the other end.
"Where?" Asked Jack
"In Cedictown, your hometown." Replied the scientist.
"Get me into the skyranger!"
"Can't, you gonna have to take a bike or car."
"Ugh, alright, get my guns all set up and ready."
"Yessir, and your next genetic modification is in three days."
"What for?"
"I believe it is for active camouflage skin, those seeker corpses we got had a ton of DNA to work from."
"Ugh, why did I sign up for this?"
"Because we told you to, you are the only soldier here, and without those mods you would not have your current skills."
"Fine, just make sure my bike is ready."
|------------- Three Hours Later
Jack hadn't felt this alive in months, he jumped onto the building and using the grappling hook installed on his left gauntlet, maneuvered his way into Cedictown, that's when he saw them. Two sectoids, and a outsider. He slowly made his way nearer to them when he stepped on some loose gravel and it crunched. Then the sectoid lashed out with it's psionic powers and felt his mind. Jack then mentally grabbed the creature and seized it's mind. He then made it shoot it's allies and then stopped it's heart.
Then the mectoid appeared. Jack pulled out his two laser pistols and started firing at the alien. He jumped to the side and behind some cover and then fired up his laser sniper rifle. He the swung around and then activated his high powered sight and reflexes, and fired at the mectoid's head. It then fell over dead.
Jack deactivated his hyperactive senses and jumped up the side of the building. Then the skyranger landed, and the pilot asked "need any help?"
Jack just shrugged indifferently and said "just with picking the place clean"
That's when something came through the atmosphere and crashed into a old two story house, two blocks down. Jack picked up a prototype laser assault rifle and worked his way through the evacuated town to the house. When he came up to the house he saw a box had crashed though the front door and was steaming. He wondered at how a regular cardboard box made it through the atmosphere. He moved over to the box, ready for anything. He then took out a combat knife and opened the box. What was in it was surprising. It appeared to be a purple unicorn, and then he shut the box. "What the— This is not real, curse you brony....." He muttered to himself as he duct taped the box shut, and then stabbed some holes for it. He then turned on his intercom and said to the pilot, "help me move this box, and get Master Brony in the lab when we arrive!"
Genetics and Personality Changes
Jack Finley sat in the normally empty troop deployment section in the back of the skyranger, with him was a giant box with something he didn't believe existed. It's just a pony, a flippin ass pony. Ugh, I can't believe this, why? Why? Argg! I didn't like the show but now there is a flippin pony in our skyranger, Jack thought to himself with anguish. He readied himself and felt the landing gears of the skyranger come into contact with the floor of landing station. He took the box and walked it out onto the cart that he and the pilot had put it on. He wheeled it straight to the lab. Jack's friend, Hiram Jacobs, aka Master Brony waited for him. "So what was it that you wanted me to see?"
Jack wheeled him the box. Hiram asked "what's inside?"
Jack simply replied "I hate you Bronies." As Hiram opened the box. Jack readied himself for what was to come.
"Holy damnation! Where did you find her?"
"In a box that fell out of the sky." Jack replied wearily. "Which one is it?"
"It's Twilght Sparkle, hey I watched a YouTube video on something that happened similar to this." Said the brony in wonder.
"Well she's gonna need to go into containment until we can determine whether she is safe."
"Why'd would you do that? She's a flippin princess!"
"And I don't give a fly whether she's the Queen of England or not, she is not human, she might hurt us. And you're snuggling with it."
"How can you resist? She's so cute!!!"
"Hiram, she won't get hurt, but think about it, this might offer possibilities that we normally wouldn't have!"
After a moment, Hiram finally let go of her and sent her to containment. "She gets hurt I'll kill you." He said nervously. Jack tapped his X-COM soldier badge, and replied "be careful of what you say."
The next day Jack woke up and found something probing into his mind. With a "Hell no!" and a fierce mental backlash, Jack threw on his X-COM standard casual clothes and ran to the containment center.
"What was that?!?" He yelled as he entered the room.
"Sorry, didn't know that humans' minds weren't as open." Came from the alicorn, she looked like she was hurt.
"Just ignore him, he is an a-hole." Replied Hiram.
Jack sat down and then accessed his telepathic powers. He found that at first when he accessed this power was nauseating, but now it was easier to use, he found Twilight, and then asked "what's the matter?"
"Why are you different from the rest of the humans? And why did you save me from the box? Where I am I who are you? Why—" started Twilight.
Jack interrupted her and replied, "first, I am Jack Finley, I am a genetically modified soldier, I saved you because leaving you would not be right, and you are here because there are experiments to be done with your blood."
"Why do they need my blood?"
"I believe that they might try to unlock the genetic secret for magic, and they will implant me with it. Essentially I may become a blood relative of yours."
"That's creepy." Said Twilight.
"Eeyup, that's right."
"So can I get out of here, please?" Twilight's horn then suddenly glowed and exploded with light. Jack then sensed her friendliness and compassion, and felt something imprint itself on his brain. Then suddenly a black shadow form left him, and he felt, good.
"Yeah, so you are an alicorn, right?"
"Yes, so are you different? And how?" She asked quizzically.
"Yeah, give me a moment. You'll be out in a moment. Everything shall be made clear soon." Jack reassured her. Jack returned to the normal world, about eight seconds had passed since he went telepathic. He moved to the gate lock sealing the containment shut, picked up the purple alicorn, and carried her to the barracks and put her in one of the bunks.
As he finished tucking her in, Hiram gaped at him, and asked "What the hell has gotten into you?"
"What are you talking about?" Asked Jack.
"You were more nice to that pony and didn't instantly hate on her. What's going on?"
"I guess I saw the world a different way...." Answered Jack.
Jack moved to his bunk and sat on it, he then pulled out a book on scientific genetics and started reading it. "Jack, what are you doing?" Asked Hiram.
"I think it's about time I knew what you guys were doing to me." Came a reply from Hiram's friend.
|--------------- Two Weeks Later
Hiram was slightly creeped out. He looked at Jack, his best friend, and wondered at the change in him. Jack was reading books at a very accelerated rated, his iq had rose a considerable amount, nearly equal to that of Twilight's when they finally were able to test her. Twilight on the other hand, she had grown a bit sarcastic, and she had started training with weaponry specially designed for her hooves. Her skills were pretty good for a pony, and Jack designed a prototype skeleton suit with a grappling hook on the left fore leg. Jeez he thought, their personalities are nearly the same. That's when Jack had came into the room and said he was ready for the genetics tests that he had set up. The las of his genetic modifications were to happen today, and Hiram was nervous. Jack also said that Twilight wanted to test in the psionics lab. Hiram consented. And Jack prepped her and set her up before heading to the genetic modifications chamber. As Jack submerged himself in the genetic modifying ooze, teeming with Twilight's DNA. Everything then went black.
Jack woke up, and he was dumped out of the ooze. He had a bad headache, and asked Hiram for a towel. He then asked how Twilight was, and Hiram told him that she passed the psionics testing with flying colors. And then she got several genetic modifications improving her sight, reflexes, jumping capabilities, and improved physical and psionics powers.
"Huh, how long have I been out?" Asked the sniper.
"Two weeks."
"What!?"
Suddenly the alarm ran, signaling that an alien threat had appeared.
"Shoot, Ethereals, you're gonna have to bring Twilight with you!"
"Alright, get her prepped, and get the skyranger ready." Commanded the sniper.
Twilight was on the skyranger, she was armored and ready. She was a little taller than last time he saw her, her eyes were now the fire orange color of meld, same as him, and was ready. Jack then sensed a great energy around her, and got on the skyranger and asked her "is that your magic I can feel?"
She replied, "Yes, I can also sense your psionic power as well, interestingly enough, Jack, you have my magic signature. That's rather peculiar."
"Well, that is interesting, wonder whether when the DNA bonded any other genes..."
"It did, you now have my hyper regeneration, and I can hear your thoughts."
"An Empathy Link!? That's interesting, here, I switched up my thoughts, and there, a stable communication link between us."
"That's interesting, let's see.... Here is my collective memory of the magic I know."
"You miss your friends?"
"Yeah, really could use one of Pinkie's donuts. It's been a while since I've been here, six months, feels like forever..."
Jack got on his motorcycle and said "hop on, this is gonna get bumpy. And note, Ethereals use psionic powers, and magic can't defend against it. I have had psionic powers for little over year, but you know that, and now you know how to defend yourself."
"Okay, so we drop, and remove the Ethereals, then work our way down?"
"Yup!" Jack started his motorcycle, activated the ramp, and drove of the skyranger. The skyranger was hovering at a height of ten feet, and they landed without a problem. Twilight activated her laser pistols and started firing at the aliens that were surrounding the area. She was a great shot, maximizing her new features, and then she fired a magic bolt that burst a Muton's head. She then was suddenly knocked off the bike and she telepathically told him she was fine and was to continue on. Jack turned his bike sideways and slide under a damaged fence. Jack sensed the Ethereal and realized it was a trap, suddenly he was seized by the Master Ethereal. The ethereal started choking him, and Jack let loose a magic bolt through the Ethereal and watched it blast apart. Then unconsciousness welcomed him with it's dark embrace.
