Chapter One: One Day At A Time
Author's Note
Greetings Internet Users!
I'm so glad that this is finally out. I've been working on this story for way too long to write. I guess I've just been busier than I expected to be. Couple that with some good old fashioned writers block, and you've got a very long hiatus. However, hopefully this will give me some steam to start writing again.
I've got chapter two nearly done, but it'll take a bit in order to make sure it's up to date and ready to go.
For now, I hope that you'll enjoy this!
Chapter One: One Day At A Time
The rain pounded hard against the jungle trees, flooding the jungle floor below. Distant thunder rumbled in the clouds above the trees. A pair of boots slammed against the mud, marching through the darkness. A group of soldiers trudged through the dark jungle, walking over fallen logs and small twigs. The small entourage entered into a darker section of the jungle, the thick leaves quickly enclosing them.
Suddenly, the trees surrounding the group began spraying bullets at them, seemingly from all directions. One of the men in the group got hit in the head, his limp body falling over into the mud. The rest of the group opened fire at the trees, trying their hardest to protect themselves. The trees were lit up with bullets as the men tried their hardest to push back the attackers.
Minutes passed by, as the small group slowly demolished the enemy force, the final shot ringing out as a body fell from the tree. The body landed with a thud in front of them, blood seeping from the limp body. The small group panted with exhaustion as they looked at their handiwork. One of the men looked at their fallen comrade and crawled over to him. Looking into the former humans eyes, he brought his dirty fingers up to his eyes, and with the grace of the mother, closed the lids over its eyes.
The men mourned silently, for they knew that they still had a job to do. Marking the location for retrieval, the group climbed out of the pit. As they passed by the bodies that they have shot, some men in the group spat at them, cursing at them for what they have done. As the men continued on their way, one thought was common amongst their minds...
Just another day in Vietnam.
March 5th, 2021
Des Moines, Iowa
8:59 A.M.
The mailbox door clamped shut, as the man next to it fingered through his mail. Doing an about face, the old man walked back towards his suburban home. The rain softly pitter-pattered against the sidewalk as he made his way back to the small home. Nearing his door, he looked at the small apple tree in his yard. He had no idea how long it had been there, but it defiantly was welcome in his yard. Looking at the foot of the tree, his soft smile turned into a frown as he remembered what laid beneath the surface. "Never again," he thought to himself, as he quickly walked inside of his home, closing the door shut.
Throwing the mail on the counter, the man slipped off his shoes and walked towards his bathroom. Checking his watch, it read 9:05 A.M.. Realizing that he had to get ready for work, he made his way towards the bathroom to clean himself up a bit. As he prepared himself for work, he paused for a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His white hair stood proudly and confidently, despite his old age. His blue eyes looked back at him in the mirror. Those eyes have seen so many things, many of those he refuses to talk about.
Brushing his teeth quickly, he rushes out of the bathroom and into his only bedroom. Walking towards the closet, he opened his closet and grabbed his business suit and franticly put it on. Running out the door, he quickly tied his tie and slipped on his shoes. Sliding into his car, he slammed the key into the ignition, turning it once it was full inside it. The engine roared to life, as the radio instantly turned on and began to play some tunes. He brought his hand down to the stick, and was about to shift it into reverse, but he suddenly paused as his eyes gazed upon the tree.
He stared at that tree for a solid minute, as he thought back to what layer underneath. Or, more precisely, what he put under that tree. A lone tear streamed across his aged cheek, and softly fell onto his leg. Finally, he let out a long sigh, and shifted the car into reverse. Pulling out of the driveway, he put the car back into drive, turned on the windshield wipers, and drove off to work.
9:53 P.M
The door to the house slowly creaked open, as a tired man stumbled into the room. Tugging on his tie with his hand, he let out a deep sigh as the cloth was pulled free from his neck. Bringing a hand up to it, he thought to himself, "Note to self, don't put the tie on so tight!" Throwing the cloth onto his couch, he stumbled towards the bathroom, grabbing his pajamas that he had put up there earlier this morning.
Sliding his dress shirt off, he lifted up his undershirt to remove it, but paused as he looked at a small mark on his hip. It was about the size of a dime, it's lighter skin tone making it obvious to anybody who saw it. Reaching a hand down, he rubbed the small mark softly, grunting in pain every now and then. As he stood there, rubbing that wound, he once again thought about what he had buried under that tree. "No!" he suddenly thought, abruptly removing his hand from the scar. "If I stop thinking about it, then the memories will go away," he thought as he finished changing clothes.
Brushing his teeth, he took his time to remove all of the plaque stuck on his pearly whites. Even after all of these years, he still took pride in how white his teeth were. Giving the mirror a small smile, he left the room and mindlessly stumbled to his bed. Collapsing into the bed, he let out a long sigh as he unconsciously said,
"Just another day in 'Nam.
When he opened his eyes, he instantly knew that something was up.
For starters, the only thing he could see was a white abyss, seemingly stretching out for miles. For a split second, he thought that maybe, he had finally died and now he was waiting for his judgment. At first, he seemed at ease about this, but then he realized that he could still feel the strange warmness of this place against his skin. Confused, he sat up, feeling his aches and pain of his old age melting away. Looking around he thought that he was all alone, that is, until he heard a voice.
"Greetings, Michael Wanner."
Whirling around, Michael saw a site that completely through him off guard. Standing there, was a creature that he had never seen before. The creature in question, despite having hands and walking on two legs, looked very similar to a pony, but it held some key differences. For starters, it's facial features and body type indicated that it was a female, but it held some interesting traits. Her fur was an unnatural pink, covering the visible parts of her body. Her hair was unnatural too, with both her head and tail having a mix of purple, bright yellow, and dark pink streaks . She was wearing a light purple and pink dress, coving her near perfect hourglass figure. She was the prime example of a young, beautiful women who, if Michael was going to be honest, he would have been into if he was younger.
Approaching the strange creature he suddenly asked, "How the hell do you know my name!?"
The womanly creature gave out a small chuckle and answered, "You'll be surprised by the things I know." She then walked closer to him and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but I just go by Cadence."
Cautiously, Michael shook her hand and replied, "Uh... nice to meet you. I'm Michael B. Wanner, but I just go by Mike, but I assume you already knew that."
Smiling, Cadence replied, "Yeah, but it's nice to hear it from somepony."
"Somepony? That must be their word for someone," Mike thought to himself. Looking around, he finally asked, "Where the hell am I? Is this even real??"
Cadence's smile somewhat began to falter as she said, "This place is what we like to call the "Eather". The only way I can describe it is that it's a bridge between realities. Sometimes, I go here to meditate and ease my mind. So as to question if this is 'real', I would have to say both yes and no." Turning around, she began to walk, gesturing Mike to join him. Deciding that he has nothing better to do, he soon joined the princess's side.
"As for why I called you here," Cadence said, as her horn began to light up ," is this." Suddenly, a large oval appeared and showed an image of a castle sitting on top of a mountain. At first, Mike thought that the castle looked beautiful, but as he continued to look at it, his opinion quickly changed. The castle looked like it was decaying, like a house that was left to rot.
Confused he said, "What's that?"
Her face turned into a more mournful one as she answered, "That's Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. My aunt's used to live there, before the 'incident'." The image changed to give a bird-eye's view of the entire nation as she continued, "Equestria used to be a happy place, filled with sunshine and rainbows where all were united by harmony." The image changed again to pictures of riots and carnage as Cadence said, "When my aunt's went dark, the nation dissolved into chaos. Now, I'm hearing reports of horrible deeds done by the citizens here." She then looked at him and, in an sympathetic look, finished, "Much like what you've been through in Vietnam."
Mike recoiled in shock as memories flooded back into his mind. He looked back at Cadence and, for a moment, he thought that he had actually died, and he was about to be judged. He shakenly spoke, "W-What do you know about that?!"
Cadence closed the portal and sighed, saying, "I'll be blunt with you; I need your help."
"Well...that was not what I was expecting," John thought to himself as he took in what she said. With a confused look, he stuttered, "M-Me? What could you possible want me for?"
Cadence, with a solemn look, stated," I chose you because I believe in second chances."
"What I've done is too horrible to deserve a second chance," Mike shared, letting out a small sigh.
"I know what you have done is bad," Cadence said as she walked towards him. Placing a hand on his chest, she continued, " You are a man drowned in regrets, haunted by what you've seen... and what you've done. Yet, you are the one Equestria needs the most. We need someone who has walked down that dark path, and somehow made it back out. We need someone who can understand that darkness, and knows how to counteract it. That's why I chose you." Mike only stood there in silent shock as she concluded, "I'm not only asking you to save us, but this may be the chance you need to finally heal."
"Heal?" Mike asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Cadence's face saddened as she said, "There's no need to hide it. I know that you blame yourself for what happened." Mike refused to look at her face as she continued, "You think that you could have done something to stop those deeds and save all of those people." She brought her soft hands to his face, tilting it back to her eyes. She whispered to him, " Yet, we all deserve second chances, and I'm giving you that opportunity." With a stray tear streaking down her face, she whispered, "Please..."
The two of them stood there for a second, wondering what the other would reply with. Finally, Mike sighed and said, "Very well... I'll help you."
Cadence's face lit up with joy as she embraced the man, crying out, " Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Mike didn't really know what to do as the pink mare embraced him tightly, but he then decided to just let it flow. He brought his older hands around the mare's back and returned the embrace. When the two finally parted, he noticed the Eather slowly starting to dissipate. He quickly looked at Cadence and asked, "What's happening?!"
She smiled at him and responded, "You're being sent out on your quest."
"But what am I supposed to do?" Mike asked, as the world around him slowly faded away, "You can't just drop me in here and expect me to know what to do."
As the world faded into darkness, he heard Cadence's voice say, " Just follow your heart. You'll know what to do."
Chapter Three: Where Not a Soul Get's Through
Author's Note
Yayyyyy! An update is out!
Honestly, this chapter seemed so simple at first, but then life decided to screw me over and threw me a really nasty curveball.
Not to mention the fact that this story is just a way to get some variety from writing Somewhere Over the Rainbow (which you should check out btw).
Anyways, here is the next chapter!
Enjoy!
-InternetStranger
Chapter Three: Where Not a Soul Get's Through
The door to the bathroom opened slowly, the door itself making a low screeching as it opened, revealing the man inside. Mike Wanner peered his head out of the bathroom, quickly turning from left to right to make sure that the coast was clear. He then fully stepped out of the bathroom, his green uniform contrasting against the bright hallways. "Ok," he thought as he slowly made his way down the hallway, "I wonder if there was anything else in that room that I came here in."
As his boots clanked against the tile floor, he passed by that strange room with the device in it. As he passed by it, his eyes unwillingly glanced down into that pit of bodies. Feeling another wave a nausea pass through him, Mike brought his eyes back up and tried to press forward. However, in that small moment, he felt that nausea wash away as he felt a renewed wave of sympathy take its place. Mike stopped and returned to that pit, taking every drop of his will to do so. Taking a deep breath, he removed his green helmet from his head, placing it over his beating heart. As he did this, he slowly closed his eyes and whispered, "I hope you all find some peace. But I assure you, I will make this right."
Returning the helmet to his head, he continued down the hallway, silently praying that no one else would die like that. As he moved through the hallways, he passed be several other rooms, similar to the one he had landed in, but each having a corresponding color. Finally, he managed to get back to the 'R Liquid Containment Unit', grabbing the metal door, he turned the metal leaver and shoved the door open, generating a loud screech. Stepping back into the liquid, he thought to himself, "Ok, there has got to be something else in here. But where is it?"
As he started to wade through the room, he dragged his feet through the liquid, hoping that he would find something. After a while, his prayers were answered when he felt something hit his boot. For a brief moment, a shiver ran up his spine as he was reminded what else was hidden in that old box of his. Reaching down into the dark liquid, he searched the bottom of the tank, he felt around for the item. Finally, he felt something hit his hand, and he automatically knew what it was. Bringing it up, the red liquid washed away, revealing a large, black rifle. His eyes grew watery, as he remembered what he had done with this M16. But he couldn't worry about that right now, he had work to do.
Carefully sneaking out of the storage room, he slung his rifle across his back. Although he knew that the weapon could fire, he wanted to wait until he got the chance to dry it. However, that did not mean that he was completely defenseless. As he moved silently through the hallways, he kept his knife firmly in his hand; preparing for anything that could come up. Eventually, something did come up as, with his back turned to Mike, a soldier stood guard, blocking a door that Mike needed to get through.
Creeping up behind the guard slowly, Mike positioned his knife to better get its target. Once behind the guard, Mike stood up slowly, positioning his knife to attack. Then, without warning, he grabbed the guard and plunged the knife deep into the guard's thought. He tried to scream, but Mike quickly brought up his hands and covered his mouth, silencing the blood curtailing scream. Red blood gushed out of the open wound, slowly draining his enemy's energy until the screaming ended, and he went limp.
Laying the body down gently, Mike took a look at the guard himself. His face was covered by a mask, which Mike was slightly thankful for. Grey fur could be seen on his neck, the only part of his body that was exposed to the elements. He wore a black uniform, with an image of a rainbow lighting bold with the words "RAINBOW FACTORY SECURITY" above the bolt. On his hips was a set of keycards, which Mike saw as incredibly valuable. Prying them off of the corpse, Mike took a look at the cards themselves. The white card had the same lightning bolt symbol that was on the uniform, but it now said "SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVEL 3".
"[Hmm.. level 3? Mabey that'll get me to enough places so I can piece together what's going on." Mike thought to himself as he ran his rough hands over the card. Letting out a sigh, his eyes caught sight of the door that the guard appeared from. Looking up at the sign, instead of a "containment room" the words "RAW MATERIALS" hung above the door. Checking around for more guards, he looked down at the card in his hands. "Considering that he walked out of that room, this card should let me get into this door. Hell, Mabey there will be something in there that'll help me understand what's going on." Mike thought as he stood up and cautiously approached the metal door.
On the right side of said door, a small square block was bolted into the door. Three red lights flashed above the black object, signifying that it needed something to grant entry. Recognizing the object as a keycard scanner, Mike cautiously brought the card to the scanner. The moment the card came into contact with the scanner, a high-pitched "BEEP" could be heard. A robotic voice sounded out, "ACCESS GRANTED" as a loud clank could be heard from the door, audibly confirming that it was unlocked.
Stuffing the card back into his pocket, Mike placed his hands on the metal handle and, as silently as he could, slowly opened the door. As he peeked his head into the room, his eyes widened with surprise as a shocking sight greeted him. A catwalk greeted him, traveling over the ocean of dead bodies. He could see the strange liquids, now in a variety of colors, traveling through tubes to a machine in the center.
This machine was larger, about 3 times his 6-foot frame, and 5 times as long. The machine moaned and groaned as the liquids poured into the strange device. As he looked at the large copper device, he could clearly see a new liquid pouring into a pipe, but it combined all of the colors to make some kind of "rainbow liquid". That pipe traveled out of the room, entering a wall next to another door.
He carefully crossed the catwalk, silently moving to make sure nobody saw him. It was slow, calculated, meticulous; almost painfully slow for the average man. However, for men like Mike, he was all too used to this. Back in 'Nam, they had no choice but to move slowly, silently, and carefully. Back then, the enemy was all around you, and one small misstep could either kill you with a trap or launch an ambush against the Platoon. Mike never thought that he'd have to use it ever again, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Making his way to the door, he swiped the keycard once again, causing the scanner to beep with approval. The door unlocked yet again, but this time, he could hear noises coming from the other end of the room. Just like last time, he slowly opened the door, only to be greeted by a strange observation room. Drawing his pistol, he cocked it as he made his way into the room. It was empty, thankfully, making his entry completely unnoticed. Seeing that the coast was clear, he stood back up.
Below him, a large river of...rainbows... graced his eyes. "What the hell?" Mike asked as he stared down at the colorful liquid. Turning to his right, the pipe that he had followed, which was about as large as a sewer pipe, poured this colorful liquid into the river below. It was strange, it was odd, and it felt wrong, considering the fact that this came from a living being."Is...Is this how rainbows are made here? That's...that's fucked up," he thought as he noticed steam rising from the river, drifting up into the rafters above.
As he turned his head up, following the steam, he noticed a figure standing on the balcony above. He couldn't tell who it was, at least, not from this distance. But what he could tell was that it was another one of those pony hybrids, similar to the guard and the bodies that he had encountered. However, this one was a cyan color, wearing a lab coat, shielding her large, blue wings. Her hair, curiously enough, was in the color of the rainbow, just like the river. That figure, after a good couple of minutes of looking at it, the figure slowly turned around and entered an office that appeared to be on top of everything.
As the figure disappeared behind the door, Mike turned his attention to the dashboard of the room. Monitors absolutely covered the space, showing multiple rooms, corridors, and machines. "This must be some kind of security office," Mike thought as he watched the TV slowly flicker as the image played on the monitors. However, in one of the cameras, Mike saw something of importance. Two guards were carrying another pony, who was a pegasus, down the corridor as said mare kicked and silently screamed to be let go.
Mike's blood boiled as he watched the group disappear beyond the confines of the camera. Sweat began to gather on his forehead as the sudden realization of what was going on here. "These creatures are killing each other in order to create this... rainbow-like fluid. That one's about to be killed!" Quickly looking back at the monitor, the words "PG-D2" were written on top of it. "There! That's where they must be taking it!" He checked the nearby map that hung lazily on the wall, suggesting that it wasn't that far from where he was. With no time to lose, Mike quickly left the room and charged his way forward to find that room. He could only hope that he wasn't too late.
"LET ME GO!"
The mare screamed as she was dragged down the dark corridors to Celestia knows where. Her tired, bloody limbs struggled against the guards as she was pulled along by the masked ponies. As they rounded a corner, she noticed that the guards were picking up speed as they neared their destination. She then passed by a large sliding door as she was led into a large room, with a deep abyss staring back at her.
Suddenly, she felt the guards suddenly stop, as she heard a large 'HISS' coming from behind her. "W-What was that?!" she desperately asked as she was forcefully lifted up onto something cold. As she was pushed into the object, metal cuffs flew around her wings, arms, and legs. She struggled against the cold restraints, as the guards moved around her to secure her in place. For a moment, this struggling continued until something sharp slammed into both of her wrists. She screamed out in pain as large tubes were shoved into her wrists. She could see her blood slowly begin to be drained away by the tubes, as her body desperately tried to keep her blood inside.
"Is she ready?" one of the nameless guards shouted, as he went behind a desktop overlooking her restraints. She struggled profusely as the guard behind her moved to secure something behind her.
"She's almost ready to go!" the pony shouted behind her. She tried to shove herself backwards to disrupt whatever he was doing. It seemed to work, as the movements behind her came to a halt. However, said guard rounded the corner and looked directly into her eyes. "Quit moving you Bitch!" he shouted as he gave her a powerful slap. She whimpered in agony as the sharp sting from the slap made itself known.
The guard looked back at the one behind the desktop and gave him a thumbs up. Said guard nodded his head as he moved to push something behind the monitor...
Suddenly, a loud 'BANG' came from the left of her, which was simultaneously joined by a large flash. She couldn't see it, but she heard something whizz by her and towards the guard. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then the guard's helmet was suddenly shattered. Blood gushed forward as the mysterious force went through his head, eventually leaving through the back of his head. For a moment, the guard screamed in agony before falling silent as his body slumped to the floor, with blood slowly gushing from the wound.
"What the hell-" the guard next to her shouted until another flash and 'BANG' came from her left. This time, the force hit the guard's arm, blowing a nice hole into it. Said guard screamed out in pain as he withered to the ground, crying out in pain "My arm! What happened to my arm!" he shouted as she heard something move across the metal floor, nearing towards the two of them.
What emerged from the shadows was a creature unlike anything she has ever seen before. It looked incredibly similar to a pony, but oddly enough, it didn't have any fur. His face lacked a muzzle, instead having its mouth flat against his face. The creature wore a green uniform, which had some wear and tear to it. It wore a strange green helmet, painted with camouflage and surrounded by a fishnet. It held in his hands a strange device, almost like a stick in the shape of an 'L'. It was silver, and smoke slowly emanated from the hole in front of the device. Looking down at her side, the guard seemed just as confused as she was. As the creature moved towards them, the wounded guard asked, "What in Tartarus are you-"
"Shut the fuck up, you bastard," the creature interrupted in a gruff voice. Pointing the device at the guard's head. He pulled the trigger on the silver device as another flash and 'BANG' came from the odd object. The guard's head was thrusted back as blood erupted from the back of the head. She could even see some bits of his brain be thrown out of the backside of the head. The guard, now a corpse, collapsed to the floor, blood leaking out of his head like a faucet.
The creature now turned his eyes to her. Light blue irises met her dark pink ones. It took one look at the tubes and immediate concern filled its eyes as he rushed to one side of her restraints. Grabbing one of the tubes, he slowly pulled out the large needle stuck into her arm. She screamed and writhed in pain as the needle left her body, blood now flowing out from where the needle had been. The creature then moved to the other side and repeated this process, causing her eyes to water with pain. She then felt something wrap around her wounds, and as she looked, she could see the creature bring out a white cloth from his green saddle bag. She could feel the cloth wrap around her wound, comforting the damaged skin. It then went around and did the same thing to her other wrist.
Once that was finished, she heard it ask, "Where is the release panel?"
Surprised from the question, and still in considerable amount of pain, she stuttered out, "O-Over on t-the panel. I-It might be t-there."
The creature then ran over to the desktop, which had a fresh corpse draped over it. Throwing the body off, revealing the bloody control panel, she could see the creature search the buttons for what it was looking for. It then slammed its fists into one of the buttons and ran back to her. A loud 'HISS' emanated from behind her as the clamps released itself from behind her. She fell forward, her body still in shock from what had happened. Miraculously, the creature reached her in time, and swallowed her up in a tight embrace.
She stood there in shock as the creature hushed in a soft voice, "Shhh... it's ok, you're safe now. It's going to be ok." Hearing the comforting voice, almost sounding like a father to his daughter, her eyes welled up in tears. A gut-wrenching sob emanated from her, as she melted even further into the creatures embrace. Her tears stained the green clothes as she poured out her grief, relief, and pain into this creature's chest.
All it did was hold her tighter, trying it's best to be there for her.
