Chapters Your Human And You: Semper Fidelis
July 5th, 2018 Baghran City, Helmand Province, Afghanistan 0600 Hours
Eight M1151 Armament Carriers patrolled the city of Baghran with unnerving ease. All the marines inside these M1151's were as quiet as can be, each worried about their safety, as each day being in Baghran was becoming more and more dangerous, Marine and Civilian alike. Lance Corporal Rheese was the first one to speak, an attempt to Make his fellow Marines a bit more at ease.
"So, Sergeant Major, How're The Kids?" Rheese Whispered.
"Lance Corporal, What the Fuck do you want?" The Sergeant Major said, obviously annoyed.
"Nothin', Sergeant Major.. Just Tryna' Lighten up the mood."
"The Mood might be a bit lighter if we didn't have our air support cut off. We've got rebels on our ass twenty-four fucking seven in this shithole of a city. Doesn't help that the civvies here either throw rocks at us, or scout ahead for the damn rebels." McIntyre whined.
"Ah' hear you on that, Sergeant major, but we can't always be grumpy. Baghran is pretty much just dirt and rocks, we might as well make the most of it."
"Be quiet and I won't be grumpy, Lance Corporal."
Deciding this was going nowhere, Rheese stopped talking and decided to be quiet for the rest of the city patrol.
July 5th, 2018 Baghran City, Helmand Province, Afghanistan 0800 Hours
Hours had passed, Rheese attempted to start up a game of I-spy, but the idea was quickly shot down by McIntyre. Deciding the ride was getting too boring, Rheese started up another conversation, in hopes McIntyre would actually talk with him for once.
"Sergeant Major, Dont'cha Ever Get Tired Of Being a Stick In Th' Mud?" Rheese asked, questioning the sergeant.
"I don't, And I never will, Lance Corporal. I don't wanna end up like poor bastards At Kajaki. Sometimes being mean keeps you alive." McIntyre winced as he reminded himself of the accident at Kajaki. The rebels released some sort of Nerve gas that killed most of the Marines stationed there, skin was seared down to the flesh, needed dental records to identify most of them. McIntyre knew the price for war, it was heavy, good and bad men would die, nothing could ever change that. But seeing the seared and burnt faces of the men he called fellow marines and brothers took a heavy toll on all those who were spared in the Kajaki attack, none would be the same after seeing something like that.
"A-All Right, But please don't remind me of Kajaki, Sergeant Major. I don't wanna remember the looks on their fac-" Rheese's sentence abruptly stopped as he heard an explosion ripple through the convoy, and the M1151 In front of him come to an abrupt stop. He saw marines rush out of the M1151's, however, the young Lance Corporal was paralyzed in shock and fear, not bothering to get out of the vehicle.
"LANCE CORPORAL, GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THE FUCKING TRUCK!" McIntyre yelled. Seeing as the Lance Corporal wasn't getting out anytime soon, McIntyre rushed to the M1151, Attempting to drag the young Lance Corporal from the vehicle.
"GET YOUR ASS OUTTA THERE, RHEESE!" McIntryre Screamed, Dragging The Lance Corporal Out. Believing Rheese was okay, He
"Heh.. McIntyre, You're a funny fella. Hatin' me one second, Savin' me the next.." Rheese Said, Coughing up a bit of blood.
"You'll be okay, you hear me?" McIntyre Said, Calmly.
"Be Fine my ass, McIntyre. I've probably got shrapnel five fuckin' inches up my asshole."
"Shut the Fuck up, Rheese. I'm going to support the Marines outside, just stay here, You got me?"
"I'm green, McIntyre."
In a matter of seconds, McIntyre ran out the door with his standard-Issue M240B and rained down hell on the opposing rebels. Marines outside of the ruined house were dropping Left and right, more were wounded, but they still fought. Seeing they weren't going to last long, He Ordered the rest of the Marines to disperse into the buildings and take cover.
"GET YOUR ASSES INTO THE HOUSES, PROTECT THE WOUNDED!" McIntyre Commanded.
"RADIO SOME FUCKING AIR SUPPORT, WE AIN'T GONNA LAST LO-" That was the last thing McIntyre ever said on his terms. A rebel RPG blew up the M1151 next to McIntyre causing red-hot shrapnel to fly at him. All he saw was white. Nothing but blinding white and ringing in his ears.
Author's Note
My first attempt at writing a story, as well as a YHAY. Feel free to correct me on anything I get wrong, but I'll attempt to be as accurate as possible.
I hope y'all will enjoy the story, if so, enjoy the stay.
Side Note: This is McIntyre's Equipment Info. Kept everything as real as possible.
M240B Machine Gun
7.62x51mm NATO Rounds
ACOG Sight
Bipod
Beretta M9
9x19mm Parabellum Round
Improved Iron Sight
Laser Sight
M67 Fragmentation Grenade (Frag Or Fragmentation Grenade)
Milkor Multiple Grenade Launcher (Also known as MGL or M32)
40mm Explosive Rounds (Grenade Rounds)
AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision
BHP (Ballistic Hearing Protection)
IMTV (Improved Modular Tactical Vest)
IFAK (Infantry First Aid Kit)
Motorola PRC-153 Radio
Your Human And You: Semper Fidelis
July 5th, 2018 Unkown Location ??? Hours
There was light. a lot of it. Was he dead? no, he couldn't be, he was feeling pain, ALOT of pain. But that only gave him questions, was he in a Afghani hospital? was he captured? did the Marines push them back? how did he even survive a load of shrapnel coming at him? McIntyre was confused for the first time in many years, after all his training, all of his action on the field, he could only mutter one word.
"Shit."
McIntyre slowly raised himself, Attempting to regain his senses. As he did so, he realized three things. One, He was in the woods, not Baghran, that place was just dirt and rocks. Two, He had his Equipment, none of it lost, which confused him greatly. Three, the world looked... Different, as if he was in a cartoon. Looking around, McIntyre saw the sun above the woods starting to set. If he was thrown into another city, one WITH woods. He'd obviously been left here to die, So he decided the best course of action would be to set up camp and sleep, If anything. But before that, he needed to see if he could contact back to his FOB, or at least his platoon, if they were still alive, of course. Taking out his PRC-153 Radio, So Graciously given to him by the Marine Corps, He soon clicked on the side of the radio, and attempted to contact anyone.
July 5th, 2018 Woods, Uknown ??? Hours
McIntyre awoke to the sound of slight rustling in the bushes around him, After a few seconds of realizing what danger could actually be in the bushes, either a noisy rebel who came to slit his throat, or a mountain lion waiting to pierce his neck, He wasn't taking any chances, and ran to get his M240B. Picking it up, he slowly moved his back to a tree, and yelled at the bush.
"WHOEVER THE FUCK IS IN THERE, I RECCOMEND YOU GET OUT BEFORE I BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT, YOU HEAR?" McIntyre Screamed.
The Bush Started to rustle even more, until what appeared to be a mountain lion come out of the bush, McIntyre readied his Light-Machine gun until he saw what the supposed mountain lion was- A Manticore. Something of legend just came out of a FUCKING BUSH. McIntyre's Instincts Reacted Quickly and he pulled the trigger, not letting go for a second.
"Holy-Fucking-Shit!" McIntyre Exclaimed as he saw the Manticore drop down to the floor, riddled with holes from the 7.62x51mm Rounds.
Breathing heavily from the situation that had happened not even thirty seconds ago, McIntyre dropped down, trying to reassess the situation. A Manticore, who he'd thought was just some legend he'd learned in history class, was dead, right in front of him. He wasn't one to freak out, you don't become a Sergeant Major for nothing, but this was an exception. The only idea he'd had for what happened was that in-short, he was in hell, somehow. He attempted to come to terms with this, but it didn't make sense. Where were the flames? demons? it didn't make sense, hell was supposed to be scary, and fill the air with smoke. This place just seemed like the woods, perfectly safe, not counting the manticore, of course. Sighing in defeat, McIntyre decided to waste some time and clean his weapons. The M240B Wasn't a great thing to clean. It's parts showed it. Wear and tear were most likely due to the Kajaki incident, the Ambush In Bahgran didn't help. He Decided to reload, as he wasted twenty rounds on the damn manticore. He decided it would be a while until that was finished. As such, he waited. Waited for the horrid day to end.July 5th, 2018 Royal Castle, Canterlot, Equestria 1500 Hours
Celestia was tired. Very tired. She'd been through massive paperwork, most of it consisting of "Human Liberation", "Human Rights", Etcetera. She never truly understood why Commoners and Nobles alike would come and beg for the release of humans, or at least some sort of aid for their care. Sure, humans did a lot of work for their economy, they pulled carriages, worked on farms, and were excellent in basic yard labor. But Humans weren't sapient, they couldn't feel emotions, nor comprehend pony ones. They were simply yard animals. There were also the HLF, The damned Human Liberation Front. They've killed guards, started riots and peaceful protests. Tatarus, They almost destroyed Ponyville in an attack not even a year ago, after attempting to burn down Human farms. It was only after the Royal Guard was called in that most of the HLF Insurgents were either captured or killed. After that, however, it seemed that any HLF Operations slowed down, there weren't any recent cases of arson, murder, castration, or flaying of human owners. She hoped the attacks would come to a stop, they Hoped the HLF would just give up. That obviously wasn't the case. Celestia sighed, taking it all in. She wanted a day off, but her sister couldn't handle the throne by herself, a diarchy needs two to work.
"Nothing Can go my way, Can it?" Celestia Sighed.
Just as Celestia was preparing for some extra paperwork, she felt a magical surge, stronger than what she dealt with when she fought Sombra, all radiating from the Everfree. This was troubling, the Everfree was already as dangerous as that is, along with the strange weather pattern it held. Sensing no good in what could come from this, She Decided to write a note to the Elements of Harmony, specificially, Twilight sparkle. If something like sombra was in the everfree, she could count on her ~~prized student~~ former student.
Dear Twilight Sparkle...
Author's Note
And so it Begins, sort of.
Your Human And You: Semper Fidelis
July 5th, 2018 Crystal Palace, Ponyville, Equestria 1500 Hours
The sun was gleaming above ponyville, and the crystal palace. Inside, Twilight Sparkle began her daily routine. Wake up, get spike to make breakfast, organize the bookshelves, and go and speak with her friends. She had plans to visit the local human shops and see if any were fit for her, as she needed more help around the palace. Deciding to fetch spike for breakfast, she shouted for him.
"Spiiiiike! get down here for breakfast!" Twilight shouted.
"Alright ...I'll be down in a minute, Twi!" the young dragon shouted back.
Twilight waited for a few minutes, getting fed up that the young dragon hadn't already come down. Just as she was going to yell for him one again, she heard Spike's voice from upstairs.
"Twi, Princess Celestia sent us a letter! I'll be down with it in a second!"
The dragon ran down the staircase, and elegantly threw himself face-first into Twilight's muzzle.
"Eheh..sorry Twilight, just thought you wanted to see this." The dragon gave Twilight the letter, and as he did, she began to read it out loud.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, I have sensed a strange magical surge which has appeared from the Everfree. I request that you go and investigate the magical surge with the fellow Elements of Harmony. I would have come myself, but me and Luna are busy with cracking down on any HLF Operatives in Canterlot and Appaloosa. Please be wary when investigating this source, I do not want you nor your friends to be injured.
Reguards, Princess Celestia.
Twilight was frozen. What could this mean? was her beloved mentor kidding around? -No, she couldn't be, Celestia wouldn't joke about this. Twilight decided the best course of action would be to gather her friends and find the source of what caused the magical surge, no matter what. Looking over to spike, she spoke up.
"Spike, I'm going to gather the gang. we're going to head over to the everfree, hold out here while we're gone, alright?" Twilight said, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Are you sure about this Twilight? I-I don't want you to get hurt, and the Everfree is dangerous enough, but a giant magical surge? you've gotta be kidding me!" Spike said, rage filling his voice.
"I'll be fine, Spike. Alright?" Twilight attempted her best at calming the young dragon, trying to ensure him she wouldn't be hurt, but of course, she couldn't actually confirm she wouldn't get hurt.
"A-Alright Twi...just, please.. don't get hurt, I need you, alright?"
"Alright Spike, I Promise I won't get hurt."
And with that, both Twilight and Spike shared a hug, before she went out to gather the elements.
_________________________________________________________________July 5th, 2018 Woods, Unknown ??? Hours
McIntyre had just finished putting his standard-issue Berretta M9, his favorite sidearm that the marines could ever have. The sound it made, oh how he LOVED it. Seeing rebels being torn to shreds by his own firearms gave him some sort of consolement that he wasn't losing the battle, or the fight. Of course, he was wrong. he remembers Kajaki, Sangin, and Marja, all loosing battles for the marines stationed there. McIntyre wanted to get back into the action, but his radio wasn't working, he was stranded in the woods in what he supposed was a weird form of hell. Some might call that sadism, but he didn't really care anymore, all he cared was getting back to Baghran and the 2nd Marines. There was also the factor of Rheese, probably his only buddy in the second, as most would be too afraid of the sergeant major, but not him. As McIntyre prepared to rest, he heard a faint voice in the distance, beyond the trees.
"Alright girls, whatever's in these woods, we've gotta be prepared for. Just remember, there ARE wild humans out here, and they're more dangerous than they look!" The distant voiced boomed.
McIntyre thought to himself. Wild Humans? No, no, no.. McIntyre wasn't just a grunt, he was a smart one, at that. So the entire "Wild human" thing could only be chalked up to one thing, the humans here are either slaves or wild animals being kept as pets. Either way, he didn't like the outcome of what'd happen to whoever found him, no, whatever found him. He took a moment to think about it. Could it be the manticores? were they sapient? the one he killed didn't seem like it was. So what could be keeping humans as pets? All of this swayed around in his mind until he heard footsteps closing in on him. Doing the smart thing, McIntyre grabbed his Berretta M9 And Dove into the bush near him. What happened next, he couldn't have expected. SIX COLORED HORSES to come out of the bush, looking around. One of them, The Lavender-ish looking one, started to poke around his equipment, until it spoke.
"Girls, the source is coming from here, but I don't see anything other than these weird clubs and Green Pineapples!"
Green Pineapples? what could she - No. Fuck. He'd forgotten about the M67 Fragmentation grenade, and the horse Picked it up with it's mouth, it's FUCKING mouth. He was really just hoping the fucking thing didn't pull the pin. He then looked over to the Rainbow one, picking up his M240B, It began to speak in a raspy voice that McIntyre thought could only be the result of deep-throating gone REAL fucking bad.
"Yeeeeeahhhh, I think you're right, Twi. These things are the weirdest things I've ever seen!" The rainbow one said. she then began looking down the barrel while keeping her Han-err, hoof, near the trigger. These ponies obviously weren't very advanced, and he wasn't going to let the lavender one blow herself up, and the rainbow one paint the woods with her skull fragments and brains. McIntyre began to come out of the bush, his finger still steady on the Berretta M9. As he did come out, the orange one, who he was closest to, freaked out, probably too much. The only thing he heard as he got out of the bush, was a VERY Southern voice telling him, "Geht' down, varmint!" Then his world became black.
_________________________________________________________________
July 5th, 2018 Ponyville Hostpital, Ponyville, Equestria 1600 Hours
Twilight didn't believe what just happened. A Human came out of the bush, and Applejack straight up knocked him out. She thought the human was dead, nopony could usually survive a buck from Applejack, nevertheless a Human. But no, the human was breathing. Breathing. He was wearing some sort of armor that would have made him blend with the sands of Saddle Arabia, not the everfree. The group was freaking out, mainly, Fluttershy, as she believed she was an 'accomplice to murder' as she put it. They all decided to rush him to Ponyville Hospital, and see if he had a concussion, something along those lines. As they sat in the waiting area, in which both human and pony were sitting in, Nurse Redheart came into the waiting area, stopping at Twilight and her friends.
"The Human is awake, Miss Sparkle." Nurse Redheart said.
"Thank you, Redheart. We'll be in to see him right now." Twilight replied. And with that, Twilight and her friends walked into the room in which the human was at, he still had his Small club in what she assumed was a holster. She'd put his 'club thingys' on the table next to him, thinking it was nothing. She hadn't bothered to open up the backpack he was carrying, as she assumed he was a Mailhuman, and didn't want to steal anypony's mail. Rainbow was the first to speak up.
"I don't understand why we're here, it's just a human, Twi. It doesn't have emotions, heck, I bet I could punch it in the face and it wouldn't fight back!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Rainbow! that ain't what we're here for, ya hear?!" Applejack yelled back at her.
"It's mah fault the critters in here, and even if it can't feel anything, we still gotta apologize."
"Fine.. Fine.." Rainbow Muttered.
As they stopped talking, the human began to move, very slowly, getting itself back up. It looked around for a minute, as it attempted to understand it's location. Then, it did something nobody expected. It spoke.
"Fuck."
Author's Note
Woo! Chapter three!
aaaand it's a bit late.
I don't really like first-contact, but it's ~~all I could think of~~ best I could do at the moment.
