Chapters Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
It's been around five hours since I saw one of those strange colored horses. I find myself in a room the size of a jail cell, along with a door to my left and a table in front of me. I look back and see my hands are tied, and try loosening them but to no avail. I think back to when the ponies first found me. I guess I should never have used that grenade. A door suddenly opens and a white horse with a horn and wings walks through, her main flows colorful mane flows elegantly despite there being no wind. She is escorted by two smaller unicorns clad in golden armor, wearing stern expressions. The taller one was obviously the leader, she sits and stares at me expectantly. Looking up at them with a curious and terrified look on my face, I speak. "What the hell are you?" The white horse gives me a confused look before speaking to one of the smaller horses beside her.
"I have never heard that language before, what is it?" The pony beside her shrugs at her question. Realizing that they speak English, I switch from German and repeat my question.
"Vhat Ze hell are you?" She looks at me, a hint of surprise on her face. "Vhere am I?"
"How dare you use that language in front of her majesty!" says one of the smaller horses before levitating a blade up to my neck. I wince as I feel the cold steel touch my neck.
"Day Watcher, stand down." Says the white horse, her eyes closed in a frustrated look. She sounds almost... motherly in the way she speaks. The knife slowly retreats from my neck and falls back into the sheath tied around the smaller horses' stomach. "Listen here, human ." The amount of disdain in her voice at the word human causes my stomach to turn. "I want to know exactly how you got here and when."
I look down at the cold hard floor and think back to the mission I was sent on. "My name is Aurik Vilhelm, I am a FeldVebel in ze German KSK Special Forces." She and her guards give me a confused look. "I vas sent vis a team of six to sto-" She stops me, alarm on her face.
"There are more of you?" She asks, looking quite nervous.
I think back about three days to when I arrived. "No," I murmur. "Ze are all gone."
She turns to her guard and whispers something in his ear. He gives her a nod and leaves in haste. "Alright, tell me what happened, how did you get here?"
"Fine, I vill tell you." I sigh. "It all started about three days ago..."
Author's Note
Let me know what you think so far in the comments.
This is an origin story for the character Aurik Wilhelm in the story Culture Shock . A story for my good friend Thatguywiththeface .
Head on to his channel and check out the story that he and I are both collaborating on.
Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
Earth: Northern Black Forest, Germany. Three days before capture.
"This is Falke one, Ten minutes to drop." says the Hubschrauberpilot as he flies our H145M Helicopter over the Northern Black Forest. I look down, my G36 sitting in my lap. Picking the magazine up, I load a few more rounds of 5.56×45mm ammo and load the clip into the rifle. I pull the cocking lever back and feel it rock back into place. I then pull a cross out from under my vest, the one my mother gave me before I was deployed. I tighten my hold and utter a small prayer before responding to the pilot.
"Copy that." I say, putting my cross back under my vest. I pull out my P-226 and pull the slide half way back, making sure that a round is in the chamber. I release it and flip the safety on, holstering it. "Falke two, this is Falke one, what should we have for dinner when we get back boys?" I look out the left window to the chopper beside us.
A crackled voice comes in over the radio. "Falke one, this is Falke two, anything but your mother's Curryvurst." his comment is followed by mixed laughter from all three choppers.
"Falke two, this is Falke zree, don't forget his mother's Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte." Hysterical laughing ensues.
"You jackasses aren't invited to my mother's house anymore," I say, giving a chuckle.
"Can you people please speak English?" I look over to the soldier sitting next to me. His fully bearded face showing no emotion as he loads the M4 rifle strapped around his chest, before loading his M9 Beretta. I switch from German to English.
"And vhy must ve do zat?" I raise my eyebrow at him, motioning to the window that overlooks the German forest landscape. "You, my American friend, are in Germany."
He gives me an angry look and shouts. "Because you lost the fucking war!"
I feel a sense of burning anger come over me. "Listen here you-!"
"Aurik," says a voice over the radio. "Kühle es, ze guy is a fucking spook."
"A vhat?"
"It means that I officially don't exist." Says the American next to me.
"Oh Jesus Christ, Aurik," groans one of my men. "just tell us vhat ve are doing here."
I look over to the American. "Vould you do ze honors, Mr. 'CIA'?" I say, making air quotes with my hands.
The American rolls his eyes. "Since I'm the only one who knows anything here, I'll explain the mission. Just call me Mr. Spook." He says jokingly.
"Ficken Arschloch." I say under my breath.
"Alright here's the mission." He groans, stroking his beard. "So for the past three months, several towns around the forest have been receiving bomb threats from these Isis shit bags that we believed were hiding in the Northern Black Forest." He tightens the strap on his helmet. "Well my friends back in the States have so graciously given us access to a drone with thermal imaging," Several oohs and aahs are heard from around the helicopters. "Officially, no US personnel are supposed to be here, meaning that-"
"You don't exist, ve get it." I chime in, interrupting him.
He looks at me through cold eyes. "Precisely, thanks for playing along." Laughter is heard once again through the radio. "Anyway... three birds, Falcon one, two, and three are to fly in and drop off seven soldiers, I.E. us. Falcon three, you are to provide air support." Looking out the window to our right, he spots Falke three. "Those FN MAGS should provide some nice cover while we move in and secure the area."
"Vhere in ze forest are ve going?" I ask, putting my helmet on.
"Just South past Wildberg. The insurgents are holed up in a cabin, deep in the forest. Falcon one and two, will fly over and drop us over the house, Falcon three is to provide close air support. Understood?" He gives me a sarcastic stare.
"Yes, sir." I say reluctantly.
Suddenly a voice comes over the radio. "Two minutes to ze drop."
"Lock and load boys, time to show you Germans how an American fights." He lifts his rifle up and cocks it. I roll my eyes and grab five grenades, attaching them to my chest.
"So, Mr. 'Spook'," He looks over to me. "just Vhat are ve doing here?"
"That's classified."
"RPG! Contact!" We hear the pilot yell as he does a maneuver, almost throwing me to the floor of the helicopter. I look to my right and see a rocket fly past us, almost striking Falke three. Falke three lowers it's tail, causing the missile to fly over the blades and arc off into the forest.
"Falke two, do you have eyes on contact?"
"Negative, No eyes on contact."
I chime in on the comms. "Falke zree, are you alright?"
"Ve are good, ve see ze house." We're met with small arms fire, hitting the bottom of our chopper. A round flies through, almost hitting me.
"FICK!"
"Falke zree is returning fire." Looking to my right, I see Falke three break off, it's doors opening, revealing two KSK soldiers as they grab the emplaced FN MAGs and return fire. As Falke one and two descend to just above the cabin, Falke three flies around the cabin, shooting anything that moves.
Spook and I open the doors and start rappelling down the ropes when a rocket hits the tail of our chopper, sending it spinning with us in tow. We are swung and flung through a window, causing me to land on a tango, knocking him out, while spook gets thrown onto a different floor. I spot two more tangos enter. I pull up my G36 and aim, firing a round into their heads. Blood and brain tissue splatter against the wooden walls as they fall to the ground. Among the gunfire, I hear more footsteps coming up the stairs. I grab one of the grenades from my chest and throw it, hitting the door frame as it bounces into the hall, exploding. I hear a few screams and promptly walk to the door, rifle raised.
I see four dead terrorists, one completely torn in half with organs spread on the floor. I cover my mouth, trying to avoid my urge to vomit. I pass the bodies and make my way down the stairs and see Spook on the ground among some building supplies, I approach him, checking his neck for a pulse. His eyes shoot open as he pulls a knife and puts it to my neck, prompting me to pull my P-226 on him. "Spook, it's me!" He's breathing heavy, he slowly lowers the knife from my throat. I lower my pistol. "Next time you do zat, I vill shoot your ass." He chuckles.
"Not if I kill you first." He grunts as I grab his hand, pulling him up. The weather takes a turn for the worst as it starts raining, followed by thunder.
"Come on, ve need to clear ze drop zone." I say, loading a new magazine into my rifle. He nods, grabbing his M4. He and I head out the door into the rain to see the burning wreckage of our chopper sitting on the ground. Our pilot is sticking out the windshield, his helmet ripped off along with half of his face. I look up and see Falke three still circling, shooting anything that moves. Ten tangos come from out behind the trees and surprise us. Spook and I jump behind a truck as a hail of bullets hits our cover. I grab my radio. "Falke zree, zhis is priester, ve need suppressive fire."
"Copy zhat." The H145M turns around and begins a strafing run. Both door gunners open fire, ripping through the Terrorists without impunity. With the terrorists distracted, Spook and I jump up and begin dispatching the enemy. As soon as I jump up, a round grazes me. I look down to see half the antenna on my radio missing. I see the terrorist who fired the shot. He is sitting with an AK next to a terrorist who has a radio. I aim and fire a round, causing brain matter to be thrown onto the face of the terrorist with the radio, he stares at his friend with a terrified look before yelling something into his radio. As soon as he yells this, the terrorists surrounding us then begin retreating. I look through the scope on my rifle and aim at the face of the man with the radio, fear envelops him as he tries to run away. He doesn't get five feet before a round splits through the back of his skull. I look next to me, and see Spook, smoke coming from his M4's barrel. I give him a thumbs up before combing the sky for Falke two which is nowhere to be found. I wipe the rain water off my face and check my radio. "Falke zree, zhis is Priester, do you have sight of Falke two?" I hear static on the other line. "Falke zree, zhis is Priester, I repeat, do you have sight of Falke two?" Nothing but static is heard. "Verdammt!" I look over at Spook, who is looking all around us. "Zhey cannot hear us."
"Let me try." He grabs for his radio. "Falcon three, this is Archangel, do you copy?" Static followed by a panicked voice.
"Ve hear you loud ond clear."
I give a sigh of relief, motioning for the radio. "Give me ze radio." He hands it to me without delay. "Falke zree, zhis is Priester, do you have eyes on Falke two?" A sigh is heard from the other side of the radio, followed by a saddened voice.
"Zhat wreckage in front of you is zhe rest of Falke two."
"Ah shit." says Archangel as he puts his hands up to his face. He bends down, grabbing a piece of wood and throwing it at the house, shattering a window. "FUCK!"
A look of confusion envelopes my face as I stare at him. I turn back to the radio. "Falke zree, vhere is our chopper?"
"After you vere hit vis zhey rocket, Falke vone hit Falke two, causing it to fly directly behind zhe house." I look behind us, smoke rising up from behind the house.
"Verdammt!" I look back to the trees, dead bodies littering the ground. "Do you spot any more terrorists?"
"Negative. You are clear."
I turn to Archangel, who is now leaning against a table. "Come on, ve need to clear zhe house." I load another magazine into my rifle.
"The information I was given was bad."
"Vhat?"
He looks up at me, anger swells over him. "My government lied to me, they told me this was just going to be a small smash and grab mission."
I give him a look of confusion. "Vhat are you talking about, 'smash and grab'?" I walk over to him. "You told us zhis vas just a kill mission."
"Well my government told me that there were only supposed to be around twelve tangos, so I guess we both got lied to!"
"Vhat are ve supposed to be getting?"
"I can't tell you."
Fury envelopes me. "Vell five of my best friends just died to get you here" I point to the mangled wreckage of Falke two. "So give me some ficken answers!"
He looks at the wreckage behind me, his face softens. "Fine, my government sent me here to fi-"
BOOM
A sniper round passes through Archangel's chest, throwing him to the ground. He screams, reaching for his chest, blood drains through his fingers. "SCHEISSE, Ve need a medic over here!" I get down behind cover and pull out the radio. "Falke zree, zhis is Priester, Do you have sight of zhe sniper?"
BOOM
Another round hits my cover. "Priester, zhis is Falke zree, ve see zhe sniper, engaging." Falke three turns back around and begins shooting at the top of the house. I watch as a terrorist with a Dragunuv Sniper rifle falls from the roof, his lifeless body hitting the ground with a thump. I run over to Archangel, putting pressure on his wound.
"Don't vorry, ve vill be out of here soon." I grab the radio. "Falke zree, ve need medical evac, ASAP." Archangel looks up at me, shaking. He picks up a photograph and hands it to me. I stare at it, a picture of his wife and son. I wrap it in his hands. "Do not vorry, you are going to be fine." A lightning bolt hits the house, we are right in the middle of the storm now.
"Priester, ve are coming down, be advised, ve have lightning in zhe area." Just then a lightning bolt hits the helicopter. "Sheisse! Mayday mayday wir gehen hinunter!" The helicopter begins losing altitude fast and flies over us, smashing through the side of the house. I jump on top of Archangel, protecting him from debris as a piece of the helicopter blade flies past us, sticking in a tree. The helicopter comes to a grinding halt before exploding, sending flaming pieces of metal everywhere.
I jump up, putting my hands to my head as I stare at the wreckage. "Scheiße!" I scream, pounding my fist on the table next to us. A lightning bolt strikes five yards away from us, causing me to jump. I look at Archangel who is now, reaching up into the air. Running over to him, I lift him up onto my shoulder before hearing a loud ZAP, sending my world to black.
Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
I awake to the taste of copper in my mouth. It hurts to open my eyes, the sun burning my retinas from above. My eyes adjust as I look around. I see nothing but trees surrounding me. But wait, wasn't I just surrounded by wreckage? I look around to see Archangel on the ground, his eyes open. "Archangel." No response. "Archangel?" I crawl over to him, shaking him by the vest. "Archangel, Vhat is wrong, are you alright!" I check his pulse, his body cold. I feel for a beat... nothing. My body is filled with sadness. I use my hand and close his eyes, uttering some final words. "Auf Wiedersehen, mein Freund. goodbye, my friend." I reach down his vest and pull out his dog tags, observing them.His name was Jack Wright.
I soon notice the radio on his chest, pulling it off, I notice it was knocked to the wrong frequency. Switching it back, I call for help. "HQ, this is Priest, Requesting a pick up at..." I look down at my GPS, currently reading offline. "What the hell? Uh... previous known location was just South past Wildberg, Northern Black Forest." I let go of the button, static coming from the radio. I check the frequency and call again. "HQ, this is Priest, do you copy?" Again, nothing but static. "Dammit!" I put the radio down and look around my surroundings, I have to still be in the Northern Black Forest. I wasn't just struck and sent somewhere else, was I? I look back at Jack. He still has his gear and most of it is still intact. I reach for his rifle, inspecting it. The barrel and receiver are cracked. I put the gun down and grab his pistol, Immediately dropping it after seeing that the ammunition had discharged in the clip, rendering the gun useless. I check his vest for anything of use. I find a pack of cigarettes, a few clips of 5.56mm and 9mm ammo, three grenades, an MRE, and the picture of his family. I put the picture into his breast pocket. I then grab the trench shovel from my pack and begin digging a shallow grave.
_________________________________________
After about three hours of digging through roots and rocks, it starts to get dark. I lay him down in the hole and then cover him with dirt. I take his rifle and boots and stick them in the ground, followed by putting his helmet on top of his rifle. I grab my G36 and start walking away, my head hung low. "Goodbye, my friend."
After about one hour of walking, I decide to make a fire. I grab some wood and stoke it a little bit, causing it to flare up nicely. I sit down on a log and think of my mother, and how I'll never get to see her again.
CRUNCH
I hear something among the leaves behind me, causing me to get up, rifle raised. I had heard stories of how the wolves in this forest would hunt in packs and tear hikers apart.
CRUNCH
I hear it again. I aim, getting ready to shoot whatever comes out of the brush. I look down to see a bunny hop out of the bushes. I breathe a sigh of relief, sitting down, I grab one of the MRE packs and begin chowing down, whilst the bunny stares at me.
"You nearly scared me to death little guy." I say, biting into one of the extremely hard cookies. The little bunny twitches its nose at me, leaning in to get a sniff. I lower one of my cookies to it, motioning for it to come closer. He comes in, sniffing it before taking a bite. His ears go down and he runs away. I look at the cookie, it couldn't be that bad. I look up to the sky, the moon directly above me now. I lean against a tree, my G36 on my lap. I close my eyes and get some much needed rest.
Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
Location: unknown, unknown. two days before capture.
I awake to something licking my nose. I open my eyes to see a small bunny on my chest, his paws on my chin. He sees my eyes open before jumping off of me and sitting on the ground staring at me, his little nose twitching. "What are you doing back here little guy?" I ask, slowly lowering my hand to it's head, rubbing it's ears. "Wow, you are really trusting, aren't you?" The bunny looks at me, and to my surprise, nods. He then hops over to my left pant leg before shoving his head into my pocket, pulling out the rest of my cookie from the night before. "Hey, that's mine." I say, reaching for it, only to have him run past me and into the forest. "That little shit." I say before laying my head back against the tree. I look up and see that it's almost noon. I get up, stretching and cracking my knuckles. I grab my rifle and begin looking around me. "I guess it's time to do some recon." I say as I crouch down. I then make my way to what I can only assume is West.
_______________________________________________
After an hour, I spot a huge mountain range through the trees. It's nowhere close to where I am, yet it stretches above the trees. I see something odd about the mountain. taking a look through my scope, I see a small gold and white spire reaching just past the mountain. Iv'e never seen anything like that in Germany, maybe I really was transported somewhere else. I chuckle at the thought. "That's ridiculous." I make my way through the treeline into a plain. Going prone, I look through my scope, surveying the area. I spot a few small horses off in the distance. I check my eyes to make sure I'm not seeing things, but they are multi colored and have these strange marks on there asses. I feel bad for the poor farmer who now has to wash his horses. I see them move off and into some trees. Slowly getting up I pull my radio and push the button... Nothing, not even a beep. "Dammit, I must've left the thing on over night." I put the radio back on my vest and make my way through the clearing. I approach a small river, I lift up my weapons over my head and make my way across. once I'm over, I put my pistol back in the soaking holster and sling my rifle. I see smoke up ahead, wait, it's moving, All of a sudden a whistle. It must be a train. I get up, running towards the smoke, I run over a hill just to see a pink caboose turn around a small hill, leaving me behind. "Dammit!" I say, kicking the tracks. I immediately regret it, pain surges through my foot as I begin jumping around, holding my foot. "Fuck fuck fuck, that stings." I say through clenched teeth.
______________________________________________
After about two hours of walking, it begins to get dark as I make my way towards a ridge off in the distance. I approach it with caution, slowing my steps, I step on a loose rock, losing my footing. "OH SHIT!" I yell as I slip on some rocks, sending me sliding down the hill and into a raging river. My gear and I go completely submerged for several seconds as I try to fight the current. My head comes bobbing up to see a low hanging branch. Thinking fast, I grab onto it, my arms straining as I pull myself up onto dry land. I turn onto my back and just lay there a few minutes, the grass tickling my neck as I catch my breath. "Holy shit, that was insane." I pull myself up only to be confronted by an old medieval castle. How did I not notice that? I can't be in Germany anymore, we don't have any castles with this kind of... architecture. I look down at my gear, my G36 is completely waterlogged. I sling it on my back and pull out my Glock Commando knife. I make my way around and approach from the front. It looks abandoned, the way the windows are smashed and the ceiling is caving in, it should hopefully prove a good place to stay for the night. I push through the gigantic front doors and make my way up the stairs, admiring the architecture and the decor. I stop, pulling out my flashlight and shining it on two banners, one golden with a white horse with wings and a horn on it while the other one is blue with a blue horse with wings and a horn on it. I've studied history and empires and kingdoms of other countries and I've never seen these before. I continue my way up the stairs, past an old library filled with old books, and enter a long throne room. At the end are two thrones, one with a golden banner above it while the other had a blue banner above it. Making my way over, I notice a table in the corner and promptly walk over to it, putting all my gear on it. I lay my G36 down taking it apart piece by piece, letting the pieces dry. I do the same for my pistol. I'm completely vulnerable without them so I need to be careful.
Once I'm done pulling everything apart, I walk over to one of the thrones and sit down on it. I look up through the ceiling to see the moon, it's radiant beauty compelling me to stare at it. I look down and see my weapons on the table. Getting up, I walk over and pick up the pieces of my G36, checking them each before putting them back together. I pull out a silencer and fasten it on my rifle. Loading a magazine, I pull the cocking lever back. Feeling it rock back into place, I aim for a candle on the far wall and pull the trigger.
TCHH
The candle flies off the candle holder and falls to the ground. I aim for more candles, blowing them all off the walls. I set my rifle down and check my pistol, putting a silencer on. I leave the throne room and enter the library, grabbing the first few books I see. I set up a few books from the old library on a table about thirty yards away. I aim and take fire.
TCH
Down goes one book, it flies off the table in a burst of paper and leather, hitting the ground with a large thud. I bask in my marksmanship skills before shooting the rest of the books.
"Alright," I say, holstering my pistol. "My weapons still work." I lift my hand to my chin, rubbing it. "Now to find a place to sleep." The thrones aren't that comfortable and I figure that if the tables and books are all still here, there has to be a bed somewhere. I relish in the thought of sleeping on a bed, the feel of not having twigs and whatnot stuck in my pants being a wonderful thought. I exited the throne room and began searching for a bed, making my way through the many halls. I approach a room, with a singular bed, containing the same color scheme as the blue banners on the wall. I walk over jumping on the bed, regretting it as a huge plume of dust jumps up. I cough and wheeze a few moments, before getting up and brushing myself off. I see a dresser and walk over to it, wondering what royalty really wore back then. I open it up, surprised to see horse shoes, reins, and a few saddles. "What the fuck!?" I say aloud. "What kind of fucked up things were these people into!?" I slam the drawer shut, dust settling to the ground. One can only imagine the things people used those for back then...
After getting all the dust off the bed, I lock the door and settle in for the night pulling the soft blue blankets over me, as I slip into my dreams.
Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
Chapter 4: Things That Go Bump In The Night
Location: Unknown, Unknown. One day before capture.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I hear a sound buzzing in my ear, without opening my eyes, I swat it away from me, falling back asleep.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I awake again to hear the same buzzing again, this time louder. Opening my eyes, I stretch, grabbing the soft pink blanket. I hadn't gotten rest like that in ages. I rub my eyes before realizing something. "Wait a second, weren't these blankets blue last night." I ponder the thought in my head until I see the blanket move, only to see that it isn't a blanket, but a cluster of small pink balls with wings. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" I scream, falling off the bed, I hit the floor with a loud thud before quickly getting up and brushing the damn things off of me. Looking up, I stare in horror as they all fly off of the now completely stripped bed, now missing the blankets. I look down at my own clothing before seeing small tiny holes in my uniform. Once up, I look around to see the room, much to my horror, full of these small colorful orbs, all of them a variety of colors. They swarm my back pack, eating the cloth. I run to the dresser and grab my rifle. I aim and fire round after round into the horde of colorful furry balls. Once I run out of ammo, I step on one, It makes a sickening crunch followed by a squish before being turned into a thick pink paste mixed with fur. Whatever these things are, the smell they released was enough to make me, an elite soldier of the German military, gag. each one had different colored guts based on the color of its fur.
I then ran over to the dresser, grabbing my back pack as I swatted them off, stepping on them as they hit the ground. I looked up to see one hover its way over to a rifle bullet I had left on the dresser the night before. It picks it up in its mouth and turns, looking at me, before sucking the bullet into its mouth and eating it. I swear to god that when it was done chewing, it looked up at me and smiled. I began checking my bag, making sure everything was still intact. All that was left were a few magazines of ammo and my grenades. I lifted the grenades out and strapped them to my chest. I began making my way out when one of the little balls flies over and lands on my chest. I swat it off and was about to step on it before I saw what was hanging out of its mouth. A small pin one that looked a lot like... Looking down, I stare in horror as I see a spoon fly off of one of my grenades as it hits the ground. Without missing a beat, I kicked it into the hall and jumped to the ground as it exploded, sending small bits of metal and stone everywhere. Slowly looking up, I see that all the small furry ball creatures are gone, possibly scared off by the blast. I begin getting up, brushing my self off, I turn around and go to grab my pack before stepping in a pile of furry ball guts. "OHSHIT!" I yell as I fall to my ass. I slowly get back up, cursing the small bastards that did this. I carefully make my way over to my pack, making sure not to step on bug guts as I make my way over to the dresser. I lean down, picking up my now holey back pack and swing it onto my back. Right as I feel the tug of my bag, the straps break. My bag falls to the floor with a thud and clang as some of my gear hits the ground. I close my eyes, turning my head to the sky before screaming. "FUCKING BUGS!" I then lean down and put on the gear that I can, and leave the gear I don't need.
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Covered in bug stains, I make my way West, deep into the forest. As I walk along, the forest slowly gets darker and darker. I turn on the light on my rifle, looking around cautiously. I didn't want to be surprised by more of those things.
As I make my way through the swampland, I notice that many of the creatures I see are very exotic looking. Some of them I had never seen before. As I walk past them, they cower in fear and run away. I feel a sense of pride, for they see that I'm the most dangerous creature out here. Seeing a spot to rest, I grab a few pieces of wood from around me and begin making a fire, I pull a lighter out of my pocket. Once the fire is started I lean back against a tree, wondering how long I was gonna be here. I felt my stomach rumble, Those little furry bastards ate my rations and even ate a whole box magazine. I take my helmet off, laying it on my lap. Pulling the cross out from under my vest, I recite a small prayer before falling asleep at the base of the tree.
___________________________________________________
Zero days before capture.
crunch
I snapped awake, reaching for my gun, I raised it. Flipping the light on, I noticed my fire had gone out and I was submerged in total darkness, aside from a glow from the moon. That was when I saw the eyes. Big greenish yellow eyes. First one pair then two, then five. They started getting closer, growling as they drew in. I slowly got up and raised my G36, firing a few rounds at them.
TCHH TCHH TCHH
I heard the bullets hit the targets. Nothing, not even a flinch, I knew I hadn't missed. I couldn't have missed. That's when I saw one jump into the moonlight. I almost shit myself. I was staring at a creature that resembled a wolf but was entirely covered with twigs and leaves. Was this a dream? I had to be dreaming, nothing like that exists. I slowly pinched my arm. I wish I hadn't. The moment I winced was the moment they pounced.
I took off running, through the forest, blindly firing shots behind me."Shit shit shit shit." I could hear them behind me, one nipping at my heals. I took a sudden turn and the thing ran head first into a tree, exploding into a mass of twigs and leaves. Its friends stopped, looking at it. I began to turn around when I saw the twigs begin to shake. They began to draw back together, this time creating a slightly bigger wolf. At that point, I ran. "Holy shit!" The chase resumed with the newly reformed monster now hot on my tail.
I came to a fallen tree and tried to jump over it, only to have my foot slip on its wet surface, causing me to face plant into the mud. I pulled my head up, turning over just in time to see the leader jump on top of me. I put my hand on its neck as its jaws began snapping at me. It got close enough to me to bite my vest, shredding one of the Kevlar plates. Thinking fast I found a new foot placing on its stomach and grabbed a grenade, pulling the pin and shoving it into the monsters gaping maw. "Take this, fucker!" I then kicked it over onto the other side of the log, where it exploded. My ears ringing, I slowly got up and looked over the log. The monster was nothing more than a pile of burnt wood chippings. I looked to the left and saw one of them reforming. I raised another grenade, ready to chuck it before it attacked. When it reformed, It took a look at me and ran off, whimpering. I lowered my shaking hand, putting the grenade back on the remains of my ballistic vest. I then reloaded my G36.
CRUNCH
I heard the noise behind me in the bushes. I wasn't going to get jumped again. I grabbed the grenade from my chest and pulled the pin, chucking it over the bushes, where it exploded. I then sprayed the bushes, making sure whatever was in there wasn't going to walk out. I didn't stop until I heard that dreadful clicking noise, notifying me that my gun was empty. I dropped the mag and loaded another one, cocking it.
I slowly entered the bushes, ready for whatever would come out of there. I exited the other side to see a horrifying sight. A small horse on the ground, one of its legs blown completely off. It was wearing golden armor, but that wasn't the thing that weirded me out. It was the fact that this horse had a horn sticking out of its head. I slowly approached it, reaching down, I picked up the bag next to it. The bag read 'Equestrian Military'. I'd never heard of that military before.
"You bastard, you killed him." The voice was English. I turned around to see another small horse, this one also clad in golden armor, but this one had not a horn, but two wings. Strangely enough, that didn't affect me as much as some of the other shit I'd seen the other day. I looked around for the voice.
"Hello, vhere are you? Show yourself!" I raised my rifle, turning all around to make sure I had all areas covered.
"I'm right down here."
I stopped and looked down at the pegasus. "What the fu-?" was all I got out before he turned around and kicked my legs, sending me to the ground with an "OOF!" My face in the dirt, I turned over just in time to see the pegasus rear up and strike me in the face, sending me to unconsciousness.
Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
"And zats how I got here." I tried once more to get the ropes loose, the white horse in front of me lit up her horn, my restraints now being loosened. I go to get up before being pushed back into the chair. "Hey-!" I felt a spear poke my neck, the guard horse wielding it giving me a cold glare while the the cold steel of the spear head gave me goosebumps as the sharpened tip pressed lightly into my neck.
"I never said you were just free to go..." Said the white alicorn, as she got up and left the cell. She got to the door and stopped, turning to me. "I just wanted to know how you got here." She turned back around and left through the door. "Goodbye, Human ." The door closed and she inserted her horn into a lock on the door, she then lifted her head before leaving.
The amount of disdain she used in that one word caused all of my hairs to stand on end. I had to get out of here. I ran to the lock and turned it around, looking at it. It had a single hole about the size of my index finger. If I was right, this was going to be way easier than I thought. I stuck my finger in the hole before feeling a shock. "Shit!" I jumped back, eyeing my finger. I looked in the hole again, nothing. I looked around the lock for an opening to where a battery could possibly go. Nothing. I grabbed a spoon I had in my pocket from one of my last chucked grenades, I inserted it and tried to turn it, it felt like there was nothing inside. I then heard the lock start making an audible buzzing noise. I jumped back before the hole on the lock erupted with fire. The spoon shot out with such force that it stuck in the wall. "Jesus christ..." I walked over to the chair, sitting down and putting my face in my hands. I had picked locks way more complicated than this. I had a degree in
"FUCK!" I screamed, getting up and throwing the chair, it smashed against the wall and onto the floor. I picked up one of the wooden legs and tried smashing it over the lock. The leg broke against it, splintering into pieces. I threw the piece in my hand at the wall. I walked to the back of my cell and, sitting against the wall, began to think of my mother, the way I would never get to hug her again. A tear fell down my face.
"Where is it?" Asked a hasty voice from down the hall. I poked my head up from my knees and saw a small purple horse barge in the room, followed by two guards horses and that white alicorn from earlier. I picked up one of the chair legs and got ready to swing it if they tried to do anything.
"Vhat ze hell do you vant?" I said in the most menacing voice I could muster. The purple horse also had wings and a horn. I raised my weapon even higher waiting to strike if she attacked. The two guards put themselves between me and her, not that they needed to, the door was still closed shut, locked by that fucking lock.
"Guards... move." Her voice shined with authority. The guards did as they were asked and moved out of her way. She approached the door and, inserting her horn into the god forsaken lock, unlocked the door. I stepped further back into the cell as she entered. "I'm not here to hurt you."
"Bullshit."
"She is telling the truth." The white alicorn, her voice now more motherly and nurturing, spoke.
I lowered the chair piece. "Vhy should I believe you?"
"Because there are more of you." The white alicorn gave a raised eyebrow to her student. "I have one other human."
My ears perked up. "Vhat did she do to him?" I pointed at the white alicorn. The purple alicorn looked to the white alicorn, before looking back at me.
"She? Princess Celestia did nothing." She extended her hoof to me, I assume it was her trying to be friendly. "I'm Twilight, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
I lowered the chair leg, dropping it to the floor as I shook her hoof. "Aurik, Aurik Vhilhelm." I let go of her hoof she walked out the door. She stops and turns around.
"You coming?"
I start walking towards her, walking past the one known as Princess Celestia, I get past her and flip her the bird behind my back as I walk away, She gives an audible scoff. I look down at Twilight, her face slightly contorted. "Are you alright?"
We turn a corner and she stops and looks at me with an anxious expression. "I'm about to do a memory transfer spell, this will tell you every thing you need to know about or current situation." She touches her horn to my head and I felt sharp pain surge through my head. I grab my head as all these new memories surge through my brain.
"Have you ever been teleported before?" She jumps down, Her horn beginning to glow a purple aura.
"Tele-what?" I ask, slowly lowering my hands from my head.
"That's what I thought, hold on." Her horn glows bright and I'm blinded by a bright purple light.
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The purple light stops and I run to the wall, emptying the contents of my stomach onto the floor. After I'm done with my episode, I walk over to a table. seated in it are two men. “Ugh. Let’s not do zat again. Vere is zis place?” I look all around me, noticing the decor and how it shines.
Twilight turns to me. “You are in my castle in Ponyville..."
Culture Shock Origins: Aurik Wilhelm
Chapter 6: The Right Types of Notes
Equestria: Twilights Castle, 5 days after arrival
"Fick," I cuss, looking at my chewed up uniforms. "Zhis vone also has holes in it." I throw another uniform, covered in holes at the wall, it falls on top of the other chewed up uniforms I have. I pick up the last one, eyeing it. "Zank god, Zhis vone only has a hole in ze armpit." I put it on, lifting my arm up to look at the armpit, the hole, a relatively small size, shouldn't be too noticeable.
I leave my room and head down the hall. I figure I'd give Dan and Rarity some time off and I have a feeling that something is going on between John and Twilight. Dan, gave me the names of a few bars I could hang out at. One called 'Classy Buckers', peaked my interest, he told me it was a fancier bar and that they had bands that played classical music, told me it was his least favorite bar when he was still allowed to roam around. I figured I'd go give this place a try.
I walk down the hall and enter the map room, where John and Dan and an unconscious pegasus is laying on the ground. I decided to not question it and try and go past when John speaks up.
"Hey Aurik, make sure you take a couple rubbers with ya," He pulls out a condom, throwing it at me. "you don't wanna be catching anything from these ponies." Disgusted, I respond.
"Vuck you, I'm not gonna go and sleep vis any of ze poniez, zat's just vucked up." I never understood how these guys could sleep with them, that sounded disgusting.
"You don't know what you're missing!" Yells Dan, a big grin on his face.
"Sick fuck Americans sleeping with horses, what the hell is wrong with people." Dan gives me a confused look as I walk out the door. Thank god they don't understand German. I walk down the steps and make my way towards the bar.
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I make it to the bar and walk in through the wooden door. Despite its name, it isn't at all what I expected. It looks like a typical pub. I look at the wall and notice the pictures of what I can only assume to be famous ponies holding instruments. I look around and notice a small stage, containing a grand piano being played by a unicorn. A cello, violin, and other stringed instruments. The bar isn't very packed, except for a few ponies sitting around at some of the tables. I walk over to the bar and sit down next to a grey mare with a black mane, her cutie mark a purple clef. Her face wears a stern expression as she takes a sip of her drink.
The bartender, a purple-ish pink mare with grapes for a cutie mark, trots over to me. "What'll you have?" I look around me and point to what the grey mare next to me is drinking.
"I'll vill have vhat she is having." The grey mare scoffs.
"One glass of Buckardi, coming up." She turned around and got a bottle down from the shelf.
I look at the mare, who takes another sip of her drink. "So, you have a Clef for a cutie mark? Vhat can you play?"
She rolls her eyes before looking at me. "I play the cello, I suppose you have heard of me?"
"No." I say, eyeing the door, in case either John or, god forbid, Dan comes through the door.She gives me a look, pointing at the wall of pictures containing famous pony musicians. She points at a picture, one a little bit bigger than the rest.
"I am Octavia, I play concerts all over Equestria."
"Here you go" says the bartender as she places my drink in front of me.
I place the glass to my lips, sipping the cold refreshing liquid. "Doesn't mean zhat I know who you are."
She gets up and walks over to the stage, grabbing the cello. She picks up the bow and begins playing. She plays beautifully. Each cord is tuned perfectly. I sit there in awe as she plays. When she finishes, she gets up and comes back and sits down, she sees my reaction and smirks at me. Seeing this as a challenge, I get up and walk over to the Grand Piano, setting my drink on it. She stares at me as I sit down, I stare at her with a blank expression before cracking my knuckles.
As my hands grace the keys with their presence, I begin playing one of my most favorite songs, Alla Turca By Mozart. I play with gentleness, but ferocity. Hitting every note with such precision, that even I myself is impressed.
When done, I look over to Octavia, her mouth, along with the mouths of every pony in the bar, are open in awe. She then starts to speak. "I-"
I lift my hand, signaling her to stop. She stops, her ears laid back. I then take a look at the cello. The very cello that she was just playing. Grabbing my drink off the piano, I get an evil idea and walk over to the cello, lifting it, turning it over. I look at the back, Inscribed in the back are the words 'Belongs to Octavia'. I chuckle, looking at her, a look of fear on her face as I twirl the cello around on its endpin. I stop it as the strings face outwards, towards the audience. I grab the bow, running through the G Major scale. when finished with that, I take a sip of my drink before setting it down and starting.
Once finished, I look at Octavia, who has now been moved to tears. I set the cello down, grabbing my drink before walking back to my seat.
"Bu-but... how?" She looks completely dumbfounded. I shrug my shoulders.
"My mother forced me to take piano lessons in elementary school. Vhen I got into middle school, I zhen picked up cello and some other string based instruments."
"I've been playing cello all of my life and have never seen a pony come even close to what you can do."
I shrug my shoulders, taking another sip of my drink.
"Berry Punch," Said Octavia, who now had a look of comfort on her face. "Get me and my 'friend' here a couple shots of Applejack Daniels."
"No problem, Octavia." Berry Punch, the bartender, smiles as she gets down two glasses and fills them with this golden liquid. She then places them in front of us before trotting off to another customer.
I pick up the shot glass, eyeing it. I had never seen alcohol this shade of gold before. I look at Octavia who has an amused expression. "Are you going to drink it?" I look away from her and eye the drink one last time before drinking it.
I hold the liquid in my mouth for a little bit, It tastes weird, but it's a good weird. It has a smooth texture. It tastes sweet, much like apples, but also has that bitter taste. I swallow it, immediately wishing I had some more, when Octavia asks for another round. They are delivered to us and Octavia and I take a look at each other before downing our liquor. We slam our glasses onto the bar. Octavia looks up at me, a grin on her face.
"So, what do you know about musical theory?" She asks as another round is delivered to us.
"Get me some more of zhese and I vill tell you everyzhing you vant." I pick up the shot and down it in one gulp. Octavia smiles as she drinks hers and orders another.
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I awake to the sun hitting me in the eyes, activating my headache. Groaning, I shield my eyes with my hand. "Ugh ... vhat happened last night. brrrr." I feel a draft, which causes shivers to run up my spine. I turn towards the outer side of the bed to look at my clock. Slowly opening my eyes, I look to the nightstand that has a purple clock that reads 11:04 AM. I look at the clock one more time before realizing that I'm not in my own bed. "Vhat Zhe hell happened last night?" I hear someone moan behind me. Turning over, my eyes open up wide when I see Octavia laying there next to me on her back, spread eagle. "Vait a second..." I look at Octavia closer and see that she has a smile on her face as she sleeps. "Did... did I just vuck a pony?" All of a sudden memories from last night start racing through my mind. I remember having a lot of drinks last night with Octavia and then it gets blurry from there. Bits and pieces start coming back to me and I remember seeing Octavia last night. She was moving around so much. Where were we, I don't recognize the back ground. I then look at the ceiling and I immediately recognize it. "Oh shit." I look down and notice that I'm completely naked.
"Ohh " I hear Octavia stir. Turning on her side towards me, she opens her eyes and immediately smiles. "You were amazing last night." She rubs her messed up sexhead-mane and flattens close to what it was last night. "I have to say," She smiles and winks at me. "Your rhythm is Impeccable ."
All of a sudden a white mare with an electric blue mane pokes her head up from the foot of the bed. "I'll say!"
"AH! Vinyl, what are you doing here?" Asked Octavia who was just as surprised as I was.
The one known as Vinyl got up and pulled her purple shades off her face. "Well, last night I got a call from you saying that you found this cute guy." Vinyl then breathed on her shades, before wiping them and putting them back on her face. "And that you wanted to take him home and quote on quote, 'Play with his fiddle' and then let him eat your-."
"VINYL!" yells Octavia, who has now covered herself and me under the blanket. "That still doesn't answer my question of why the hell you are in my room." Unknowingly, I grab onto Octavia and pull her in close to me.
"You invited me to have sex with you guys, and being the party pon3 that I am, I did." Vinyl then looked at me and smiled. "You were great by the way, I haven't been railed like that in months."
"VINYL!"
"What, I'm complimenting him on his perfect rhythm."
"Get...out!"
"Ok, Tavi, jeez I'm going." Vinyl turns around and gives me a wink as she exits the bedroom.
" And that was my 'soon to be dead' best friend, Vinyl Scratch."
"She uh, seems nice." I notice that I'm holding onto Octavia even tighter than before. This catches her off guard, she stares into my eyes and blushes. I go in and kiss her, our lips locking tight as her tongue enters my mouth. She then pushes me backwards and gets on top of me, positioning her hips on mine.
"Its time for the Reprisal."
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After about two hours of rigorous sex, Octavia and I decide to go out for lunch. She and I decide to go to Sugarcube Corner, a little restaurant that I had heard of from Daniel, him saying that while the food was extremely good, the staff could be a little... uncouth. We walked in and I immediately saw why. There was Pinkie pie, hanging by her hind legs from the chandelier, clucking like a chicken."Bah Bah BUCKAH!!"
"Vhat ze hell are you doing, Pinkie Pie?" I asked, a look of awe on my face as she jumped down, doing a backflip and stopping a foot in mid air before, gently landing. "V-vhat, vhen, vhy, H-?" Octavia giggled and put a hoof over my mouth.
"Don't question it, she's always like this, we just don't question it anymore." I look and nod at Octavia, an awkward smile on my face.
"I'm keeping the twins occupied, while Mr. and Mrs. Cake are out." She points to the ground where a few blocks are sitting, all lonesome.
"Um, pinkie?" Says Octavia, pointing down at the blocks.
"Hm?" Says Pinkie as she looks at the ground where the blocks sit. Her smile drops as she screams. "BUCKAH!!" She begins running around, picking everything up with amazing strength. She first picks up and chair then a table, she then trots over to the couch and, to my amazement, picks it up with a single hoof. "Oh no, where did they go!? Mr. and Mrs. Cake are going to kill me!"
I look around and, noticing that some little hoof prints made from flour are leading to the back room, I leave Octavia to investigate. I get closer and notice giggling coming from the back room. Walking in, I find two small baby ponies, one a unicorn and the other a pegasus. "Zhere you are." The twins take a look at me before looking at each other, a mischievous grin on their faces.
Before I know it, they are behind me with a rope, hitting my ankles and knocking me down to the ground with a loud thud. "Ow!" I look up to see them hovering a big bag of flour above my head. "Oh sh-" They drop it.
_________________________________________________________
Pinkie Pie and Octavia are still looking as I walk out carrying one twin in each hand. the upper half of my body white, covered with flour. Octavia looks at me and begins laughing, falling to the floor as she laughs. Pinkie Pie looks at me and runs over grabbing the twins. "I am so sorry, a-are you ok?"
I glare at her as I give a small cough, flour flies out of my mouth in a little cloud.
"I'll have you cleaned up in a jiffy." She says as a third hoof comes from nowhere, cleaning me off with a quick pat. after a few seconds, I look down to see that there is no more flour anywhere on my body. I begin to say something but she then pushes me to Octavia. and looks at me, "Sorry again..." She smiles. "Pick whatever you want, it's on the house."
We walk over and I pull out Octavia a chair. "Thank you, Aurik." She smiles. I then go over and sit down.
"Well," Giggles Octavia. "That was fun."
_______________________________________________________________
"Thanks for stopping by and...sorry again." says pinkie as she closes the door.
Octavia and I leave in a slightly happier and cheery mood. Octavia and I walk down the path back towards her house when I get the feeling I should tell her how I feel towards her. I stop, causing her to turn around and look at me with a look of confusion on her face. "Aurik, what's wrong?" I stare into her beautiful purple eyes as she stares into mine. I bend down, kissing her, before pulling away and staring into her eyes.
"Octavia..." I say, my cheeks turning a rosy shade of red.
"Yes, Aurik?" Her face becomes beet red.
"I love you." She covers up her face with her hooves and begins crying. "Octavia," I reach for her hooves, bringing them down, revealing tear stained eyes. "Vhat's wrong?" I suddenly get tackled by her, her lips locking with mine as we roll onto the grassy area. Our lips disconnect and she stares into my eyes, a happy grin on her face. "I love you too, Aurik."
We stay for a few moments before realizing that ponies are staring at us. We get up, brushing ourselves off as we head towards her house. We giggle along until an orange blur renders me immobile by hitting me straight in the groin. I go to the ground, clutching my jewels, letting a whole slur of german cusswords fly out of my mouth. In tremendous pain, I look up to see Octavia on her flank, laughing at me, before helping me up. I then look over and see a small orange filly with a purple mane on the ground, a few feet from a scooter. She turns over, rubbing her head with a hoof as she gets up. She looks at me before getting a freaked out look on her face.
"Are you ok mister?" She trots over to me, abut to put a hoof on me when I hold out a hand, signaling to her that I'm fine.
I look at her and in the most high pitched voice I had ever heard, say. "Hey kid, Vatch vhere you are going next time." She steps back and Octavia begins laughing at me again. Grabbing my jewels, I slowly get up, picking up the little orange filly's scooter and setting it down in front of her. "Now scoot along, kid." I cough a few times, fighting the urge to throw up. Octavia now continue on our way back to her place, although a little bit slower this time.
_________________________________________________________
After getting Octavia back to her house, I then waddle back to Twilight's caste, where I hope to get to my room with out running into John or god forbid Daniel. I enter the doors and walk around. "Where the hell was my room? uh, it has to be one of these doors." I walk around for a few moments, looking in awe at how big this place is before coming to a door I believe to be mine. "Ah here it is." I open it to see John, Twilight, Daniel, and Luna, seated around a table, eating dinner. Hopefully, if I am quiet enough they won't notice me. I begin slowly moving through room when my foot scuffs the ground.
"Oh hey Aurik. You uh, have a good time?" GODDAMMIT!! I look at john's grinning face, the way he smiles is pissing me off, but I can't show it.
"I don't vanna talk about it." I can't let them know I fucked a pony.
Get any tail last night?" Dan adds fuel to the flame as Luna chokes on her dinner, trying not to laugh, while Twilight covers her face with her hooves.
My head aches with anger and guiltas I stare at him, burning a hole into his skull in my mind. "I said I don't vanna talk about it. You Americans are a bad influence. I am never going drinking with you sick vucks. Or with any of you ponies for that matter." I lie, I can't let them know how much of a great time I had last night and today.
"Did you at least use the rubber I gave you last night?" Asks john, a concerned smile on his face. I just glare at him.
"I do not know."
John raises an eyebrow at me. "You should probably get yourself tested." Wait, can these ponies get STDs? "Don't run off with your honey just yet, we got a mission briefing to do." I cuss him out in my mind and sit down as we start discussing the plan.
Author's Note
This was done as a collaboration with my good friend, Thatguywiththeface, so take a trip on down and check out the main story,Culture Shock .
