Project 8: Equestria

The first thing Damian felt upon exiting the building, was the soft gathering of snow on his hair, and the sound of children laughing as they played in the snow. He could smell the aroma of freshly baked bread and pie, and the snow under his feet gave a small crunch whenever he took a step. From someone who had spent the last five years on a moon base, all these experiences were very surreal to him.

No, he had to focus. He had a job to do, he had to convince the Princess to give him the backing support to reinstate Project 8. He gave a quick look around, before realizing the futility of it; how these senses, which were neglected on his base, all came rushing back to him. He quickly turned to follow the Princess, all the while receiving odd looks, and even got hit with a few snowballs. Truly, he felt like a child again.

After a short walk to the castle, of which Damian was not impressed, he was brought to the throne room. The Princess, was sitting as majestically as ever, looking down on him. Now, Damian felt somewhat nervous, not because he didn't know what to do or what to say; but because the room felt... darker, more somber. He looked up and saw her frowning with the thousand-yard stare plastered on her face. He cleared his throat, and everything went back to normal. It was strange, but Damian decided not to question it for the time being. "I-I apologize, I was just," She cleared her throat, "Anyway, I would like to further discuss this Project 8 of yours. You must understand I need more information if I am to support your request."

"What more information do you require? Simply enough volunteers as soldiers, engineers, and scientists; also a large sum of currency would be beneficial." He responded, narrowing my eyes unintentionally.

"Well, what does such a project entail, surely you understand I cannot simply ask my little ponies to volunteer for something even I don't know much about."

"Oh, simply making them bigger, faster, stronger, something along those lines." He said with a wave of my hand, as if this were the most obvious thing ever.

"How." Ah, and there is the kicker.

"Oh, well, through training of course. Project 8 was very efficient in in training of the various muscle groups. Of course I'll need to better understand your pony physiology to properly make adjustments."

"You have been asking for a very many things this session, anything you need to tell me?"

"Well, I'm just curious. Besides, I wouldn't be asking you to completely bear the brunt of Project 8's expenses; this is why it is international." She nodded slowly, before turning to someone in the room behind Damian, of which he didn't even know was there. When the pony stepped out of the shadows, it startled Damian to the point where he almost threw one of his knifes. "Mr. Watson, This is my sister, Princess Luna." Damian gave a slight bow, although more due to him still being on edge than any intended disrespect.

"Charmed." He turned back, "Though there is the matter of where I shall be staying-" Celestia cut him off by raising her hoof.

"You need not worry, the guards will escort you to your room once you are ready." He gave a curt nod and followed the guard through a simple set of hallways, and up a tower. Now, Damian may not be that old, but these stairs would eventually become a problem. He thanked the guard, before heading into the room. He knew this was a castle, but the room he was staying in looked more like a deluxe suit than anything else. He gave the room a quick search for any cameras or listening devices; either there were none, or they were the most complexly hidden devices that he has even seen. Satisfied, he sat on his bed and removed the crystal from his neck.

Now, every participant in Project 8 has received a very specific augmentation. On the underside of the wrist on each agents dominant hand, there is a small metal rhombus shaped protrusion. This device, when waved over a Quantum Data Crystal, will pull up the information on it in a holographic display. From this, you are able to identify every last scrap on it, but the unique part; is that with some items, such as photographs, can be pulled out and turned solid for small periods of time before they turned digital again. Damian has one of these.

He looked over the crystal in his palm, as if contemplating its existence, before waving his hand over it, and pulling up its display. He surfed through the information, looking for something that not even he knew what it was. He stopped on several pictures, such as his old squad, him and his friend celebrating on a boat, on the first seven P-8 Agents, before settling on a certain one. It was a picture of a girl. Damian stared at this picture for a long time, wondering exactly who this was and why she was in his crystal. He couldn't really remember, Damian has been with many women, but for one of them to leave such an imprint to cause him to put her with the rest of his business... He couldn't remember. He thought maybe it was from when P-8 Agent 961 Shot him, before deciding it was not worth the headache, and closed of the crystal.

Not having anything else to do, he took all his tools off before setting them on his night stand. He looked down at his clothing, as if contemplating them, before also taking them off, and putting them inside one of its drawers. He then walked over to the bathroom, drew himself a bath, and let himself sink into the hot, soapy water.