It didn’t look like a portal Alcatraz had seen in any sci-fi movie; it was more like a mural. The closest thing to it he could think of was in Super Mario 64.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Nathan Gould said to him. He just smiled, the scientist in him awed by the technology, despite it not being his field. “On the other side is a whole world, just teeming with life, things we probably couldn’t imagine; but at the same time filled with parallels to creatures on our world. You’ll probably be the first person to set foot on another planet!”

“Yeah, well the Ceph beat us to this one,” Colonel Barclay retorted.

About a month earlier, Alcatraz had eliminated the majority of the Ceph in Manhattan. Shortly after the fact, there was another, smaller invasion in Hawaii, and Colonel Barclay led his forces to eliminate the Ceph threat there, with the help of Alcatraz.

As the Ceph fled from the onslaught, they used the device in front of Alcatraz to teleport to another world. Fearful of the effects using this device would have on humans, the marines sent only unmanned vehicles through the portal. What they discovered on the other side was surprising; a world very much like theirs, seemingly perfectly habitable by humans. In fact, using the portal itself would be less hazardous than a dental X-ray. No discernible diseases or contagions or parasites that would inhibit human exploration.

Of course, the very fact that the Ceph had entered that world at least a month before then didn’t bode well for civilian exploration. As Alcatraz, Barclay and Gould stared at the portal, a marine expeditionary force was being assembled to pursue the aliens. The problem was that it would take two weeks to prepare the whole force.

Alcatraz had volunteered to be the first through, entering two weeks in advance of the rest of the marines. His unique skill set and the abilities granted by his symbiosis with his Nanosuit 2 made him the perfect choice to explore the other side.

It was going to be a one-way trip for Alcatraz; no turning back until the task force arrived and set up the equipment necessary to return to Earth. Gould tried to explain it to them as best he could, but seeing as he was a biotech specialist he didn’t do very well. Something about some kind of radiation being able to open the portal from the other side, and it’d take two weeks to get the equipment needed to create a two-way portal. Nonetheless, Alcatraz was undeterred.

He was equipped for the long haul. Four hundred rounds for his SCAR, forty shells for his Marshall shotgun, and two hundred forty rounds for his M12 Nova pistol. He carried four satchels of C4, five fragmentation grenades and every available attachment for his weapons.

“We’ll use drones to get some extra supplies in for you,” Barclay reassured him.

The last words Alcatraz heard before he entered the portal were “Good luck!” from Gould, Barclay, and everyone present in the portal chamber.

***

As soon as Alcatraz walked through the portal, he found himself standing alone in a dense forest; he’d expected some sort of fall, even if it were only a few yards. All manner of colorful flora populated the scene, and the stars shone above him. They looked different to him, although he could never remember constellations anyway.

The suit, cut off from satellites, attempted to deduce its location.

“Warning: GPS offline. Scanning for satellite networks… New network found; linking… Uplink successful.” The suit’s AI told him.

This struck Alcatraz as very odd. The only explanations he could think of were that either there was indigenous life at a similar technological level to Earth, or that Ceph satellites were inherently compatible with his suit’s systems. Both possibilities had intriguing ramifications.

Well, at least I’ll know where I’m going now.

Alcatraz switched to his Marshall shotgun, and attached a reflex sight and suppressor. In the dense forest, he could be attacked at any time, and the range of most engagements would likely be close.

“New objective: Exit the forest”

A waypoint appeared on his heads-up display, about a kilometer and a half away. Alcatraz moved with haste through the dense foliage, his Nanosuit 2 allowing him to ignore thorns and thickets. One of the effects of the N2 was that it prevented fatigue altogether; Alcatraz could run without tiring and had no need for sleep.

***

Fluttershy was just putting her animals to bed. She had fed them and bathed the dirty ones, making sure they could get a good night’s sleep. After making sure every one of them was content in their beds, she reclined on her couch.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were at her cottage as well, although they were very docile compared to the last time they’d been over, more than a year ago. They were poring over some books, seeking knowledge, entertainment and most importantly, inspiration for their next attempts at earning their cutie marks. Fluttershy was sure that Twilight would appreciate their current method, although it was unlikely to last.

Just as Fluttershy had begun to nod off, Angel began to act up. It wasn’t like the usual tantrums her threw, in fact it seemed more like a warning or alert of some kind. He had given such warnings before very few times, usually to call her attention to something important. He gestured wildly, seemingly indicating the Everfree Forest.

“Is there something coming from the forest?”

Angel nodded. His small yet adorable black eyes were wide with fear of some kind. Whether it was fear of a known danger or the much more ominous fear of the unknown, Fluttershy was unable to tell. She certainly wasn’t aware of any sort of threat.

“Uh, Fluttershah? There’s somethin’ out there,” Apple Bloom said worriedly from upstairs. Fluttershy went up to see the Crusaders and look out the window with them. They were huddled together in fear, hiding just next to the window. Fluttershy peeked through the curtains and out the window.

Outside were some sort of bipedal creatures. Their bodies looked mechanical for the most part, but they had what looked like soft coral-orange flesh. They wore metal masks with glowing red eyes, and tentacle–like formations protruded from their soft-looking orange backs.

“What are they, Fluttershy?” Sweetie Belle asked quietly. She was petrified next to the windowsill, seemingly unwilling to move from her spot. The other Crusaders were in a similar state.

“I don’t know. I’ll go try to talk to them,” She whispered soothingly, putting on a façade of confidence. In truth, she was as terrified as they were, if not more so, and did what she did only to protect the dozens of lives under her care.

Bravery isn’t being without fear; it’s persevering in spite of it! Fluttershy told herself. She would often give herself small pep-talks in her head when she was scared or nervous, and they often did the trick. When they didn’t, her friends always pulled her through.

Fluttershy walked outside slowly, careful not to aggravate these new creatures. They could be aggressive or otherwise irritable, and she wanted to avoid any provocations. The last thing she needed was a panicked or violent creature on her hooves.

“H-hello?”

The creatures turned to face her. Their red eyes pierced the night with their glow, and Fluttershy did her best not to be intimidated by the beings’ eyes or height or any of their characteristics.

The faint outline of something appeared in the edge of the forest, and faded away.

***

Alcatraz had reached the edge of the forest, and saw a small house. Outside were four Ceph, and one seemingly frightened quadrupedal creature.

“Recommend tactical assessment” The N2’s AI advised.

Alcatraz activated his tactical visor and tagged the four Ceph stalkers that stood outside. Following that, he cloaked and snuck up behind one.

He spun the alien around to face him and stabbed it in the neck, decloaking temporarily as he did so. Pale peach-colored blood oozed from the wound. The next one he blasted in the back with his suppressed shotgun, tearing the squid’s innards into pulp and leaving a gaping wound.

At this point his cloak ran out, and Alcatraz fired another shell into a third stalker’s exposed chest. The ground was coated with their blood.

He grabbed the last one by the throat, and was about to finish it off.

***

Fluttershy watched as a faint shimmer seemed to kill two of the creatures, being briefly visible during the first act of violence and near-invisible for the next. When it became fully visible, it fired what looked like a gun into another’s back, and lifted the last one up by the throat.

“Stop!” Fluttershy yelled. She wouldn’t tolerate such behavior on her property, and she gave the violent visitor what was known in Ponyville as “The Stare”.

The figure stared at her and cocked its head quizzically, as if it were surprised to be interrupted. It looked back at the orange and black creature it held aloft, and punched it in what was presumably its face, crushing the black object that Fluttershy assumed was its face, before dropping its lifeless and bleeding body to the ground.

The figure turned to face her. It was almost twice as tall as Fluttershy. It had a single oddly shaped red eye, and a gray and silver body. It torso and arms looked like those of a minotaur, but its head and legs were plantigrade; they bent differently than the creatures she was familiar with, the only other plantigrade being she knew was Spike. It had what seemed to be silvery bones protruding at places. The figure put one of its hands to the side of its head and gazed at directly at her.

She stopped giving him The Stare and resumed, although her returning fear was tempered with an equal amount of courage. She needed to know what was going on.

***

Alcatraz scanned the creature that had just yelled at him, and his suit listed its basic attributes. The information displayed indicated it was a female mammal, genetically similar to a horse.

“Wha-What are you?” She asked in a tone he recognized as fear.

Well this is interesting; aliens that seem to speak English. Or I’m losing it. Sure hope it’s the first one.

Alcatraz decided not to answer, and he walked off towards what appeared to be a nearby settlement. He re-cloaked to avoid disturbing the locals; he wasn’t a very diplomatic person, but he knew that an alien would cause mass hysteria if it were to appear in the open.

***

Fluttershy had to find out what those things were, so she decided to ask Twilight Sparkle about them. She’d probably know what they were.

“Girls,” Fluttershy began, addressing the three fillies in her house. “I have to go, and I think you should all head home. I don’t know if there are more of those creatures out there, or if they’re safe.”

“Okaaaay…” The Cutie Mark Crusaders responded with all the excitement of a funeral attendee delivering a eulogy. They all headed in the directions of their respective houses, disappointed at another sleepover failing.

Fluttershy flew at a fast but sustainable pace, headed for Ponyville. She stopped flying when she reached the town, deciding that she didn’t want to be tired given her situation.

Almost everypony was inside their homes eating dinner or sleeping. This further encouraged Fluttershy to avoid creating a commotion, since she didn’t want to disrupt anypony’s affairs.

Fluttershy arrived at Twilight’s house, and saw her gazing through a telescope on her balcony. There was a large, old book resting on a small table next to her. Fluttershy flew upwards and addressed her.

“Um, Twilight, I have a problem.”

“Sorry Fluttershy, not now. My book ‘Predictions and Prophecies’ said something about creatures from the stars arriving on this particular night. It’s the same book that predicted Nightmare Moon’s return, so I consider it a pretty reliable source.” Twilight continued to gaze through the telescope, not turning to face her friend.

“Actually I um, I think my problem might have something to do with that.”

Twilight jerked her head up, accidentally striking her muzzle with the telescope as she did so. The notion that the so-called “creatures from the stars” had already arrived was exciting, but if Fluttershy’s problem had nothing to do with the alien beings then she could possibly miss the real arrival.

“Okay, fill me in,” Twilight responded, resuming her watch. She decided to play both angles, reasoning that she could pay full attention to both Fluttershy’s story and her telescope’s view.

Fluttershy told her about the four creatures that had appeared in her yard, and the other, which killed the first four before disappearing. She described the appearance and behaviors of the creatures as best she could.

“And that’s why I came to you. I was hoping you knew what they were.”

“Those are definitely the aliens my book talked about.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

***

Alcatraz entered the town the creature from earlier had entered. His suit tagged her, and marked the location she stopped at as a point of interest. He was still cloaked, and he hid whenever he needed to let his suit recharge, which only took a couple seconds from an empty charge; this excellent efficiency vastly aided the ability to cloak for two minutes at a time.

Alcatraz decided to observe the creature and her friend. Using the audio-enhancement feature of his tactical visor, he overheard them talk about some book of prophecies, and about how the book had predicted his arrival and the Ceph’s. The one he’d met earlier was apparently named “Fluttershy”, and the other one was called “Twilight Sparkle”. Their dialogue seemed to indicate that the building was both a library and Twilight’s home.

If they knew what I know about the Ceph, they’d be actively seeking my help on the matter, and I’d probably have to fight the Ceph en masse. I may be carrying extra ammo, but I’m not equipped to take on a damn army on my own with only sporadic logistical support from drones. On the other hand, it’d be better if these creatures knew what they were dealing with, but I’d still have to figure out how to present it to them. I’ll just keep watching for now.

Alcatraz continued to watch them, and marked the location for future reference.

***

“So um, do you know what we should do?”

“Well, the book said that there would be two groups and a single individual that would arrive at first, followed by a third associated with the individual. One group would reveal itself early on, and be the ‘Prophets of ruin, preparing the world for their own kind’s wants and needs’. Another group ‘Is a hated relative to the lone actor, and will attempt to be discreet for fear of his wrath’. The individual is said to be ‘The harbinger of his kind’s warriors, blessed and cursed with great power, and destined to try to save two worlds.’ It doesn’t say anything about whether he’ll succeed or fail…”

Spike emerged onto the balcony, yawning; he rubbed his eyes and surveyed the scene before him. Twilight had told him she’d be stargazing tonight, and why. Frankly, he didn’t really care, although he was smart enough not to say this.

“You’re still at this? I’m telling you, that book was a one-off with the Nightmare Moon thing. I mean really, aliens?” The baby dragon said skeptically. He looked down from the balcony, and noticed a strange shape. “What the heck is that?” He pointed at the dark, oddly shaped figure, and the two mares peeked over the balcony.

Had it not been for the obscenely bright moon that night, nopony would have seen the shape.

Fluttershy squinted and recognized the figure. “That’s him! That’s the monster that attacked those aliens!”

***

Well shit, looks like I’ve been made. At least there’s no armed guards, although I guess if there were I’d have been okay. Or spotted even faster. Maybe I should’ve stolen a cardboard box to hide in…

Alcatraz had only decloaked for a moment to let his suit recharge, but it had been the wrong moment. A purple lizard of some sort pointed him out to Twilight and Fluttershy while he was visible, and the two ponies leapt down to chase him.
Alcatraz was fast to start with in the Nanosuit 2, but when he activated the suit’s power mode, he surged ahead at high speed. He didn’t know what they planned to do with him, and he didn’t plan on finding out.

Great. So now I’m some kind of “Chosen One” destined to save their planet? I’m a little busy working on protecting my own.

Twilight said something along the lines of “I have an idea”. Alcatraz wasn’t sticking around to see what it was. Then she appeared in front of him in a flash of light. It would’ve blinded Alcatraz had his visor not been designed to protect against flashbangs. Since it was, he could clearly see what was happening.

“Warning! Gravitic anomaly detected!” The N2’s AI warned.

Alcatraz was suspended in mid-air, a purple bubble surrounding him. He was unable to do anything other than spin uselessly within it and flail his arms. There was a glow coming from Twilight’s horn, and it seemed to correspond with the slight ebbs in the bubble’s luminosity.

Alcatraz drew his M12 Nova and fired a warning shot. It missed Twilight as intended, and knocked up a small chunk of dirt. The sound of the gun firing startled her, and the bubble disappeared. Alcatraz resumed his sprint and holstered the pistol, passing a boutique as he did so.

Twilight teleported in front of him once again, before hitting him with a massive blast of some kind of energy and knocking him through a wall and into the aforementioned boutique.

Alcatraz slipped into unconsciousness.

***

“What in Celestia’s name is going on down he- Oh my goodness!”

Rarity came downstairs in robes and slippers to find a bipedal figure laying on a pile of rubble in her store. Thankfully, the formal suits she had been making for a group of celebrities were unscathed, as was the rest of her merchandise.

“Rarity! Are you okay?” Twilight asked as she rushed in through the hole she had created. She picked up the creature with her magic and began to move it outside, facing Rarity as she did so.

“I’m fine, darling.” She assured Twilight. “What in Celestia’s name is that?”

“We’re not entirely sure actually,” Twilight answered with some visible and audible embarrassment.

“‘We’? Who’s with you?”

“Um, just me. I saw this monster about half an hour ago, and it appeared outside Twilight’s house when I went to see if she knew anything about it,” Fluttershy responded.

“What are you going to do with it?” Rarity asked.

“Him,” Twilight corrected her.

“Peg pardon?” Rarity said, not quite grasping what Twilight was getting at.

“Long story, but one of my books says it’s a male,” Twilight explained. “And I know a place that can hold him…”

Twilight took the motionless body to Applejack’s farm, Sweet Apple Acres. She had Fluttershy get Applejack while Twilight took the body to the barn.

Applejack had been eating dinner with her family, and was very irked to have been disturbed during family time. Nonetheless, she accepted that her help was needed, and after apologizing profusely to her understanding family, she walked to the barn Fluttershy indicated.

“Ah hope y’all have sumthin’ import’nt ta show me, ‘cause- Whoa!”

Applejack entered the barn and stood with her mouth agape. She saw the body of the creature lying on a pile of hay.

“Do you still have those old oak stockades?” Twilight asked.

“Well, uh… Ah think so. They’re prob’ly in this here barn’s cellar. Maybe it’s a good idea to keep this feller in the cellar too.”
Twilight and Fluttershy nodded in agreement. They locked the monster in the cellar, and got him as secured as possible. They wanted to make sure this thing couldn’t harm anypony.

Author's Note

Judging by the lack of Crysis crossovers on this site, I'm going to assume that many of you reading this haven't played Crysis 1 or 2. I would recommend that you either play the game, watch an LP of Crysis 2, or simply visit the wiki. One reason is because of descriptions in the fic; I don't go into great detail about the weapons featured, and the SCAR in Crysis is not the one in real life (it looks like a slightly more angular version of the XM8 with Picatinny accessory rails). So if you're not familiar with the universe, just head on over to http://crysis.wikia.com and use it to help with mental imagery. Enjoy!