Chapter 1: Six Men...
(Character's thoughts in certain colors in italics.Jay-red Conor-orange Victor-purple Anthony-blue Mark-green Isaac-brown )
One shot, two men. These two men were ‘soldiers’, guarding a certain target that Jay’s employers were not too happy with. Both of them wore body armor and bore automatic weapons gripped tightly in their hands. They stood in front of the door to a sleek, black car. Jay was aiming through the scope of his Cheytac Intervention, from the roof of a nearby building.
It was a sniper rifle he had acquired not too long ago and he hadn't had that much experience with it yet, so he took it out with him on a hit. There was virtually no wind at all, so adjusting sights wouldn't be a big problem. It was a nice, clear day out, with the sun shining. A perfect day for a hit.
Jay's family was a crime family. Almost every man in the family was involved in crime in some way, from petty thieves to godfathers. You name it, there was probably a relative Jay had that did it. Of course, this got certain family members in trouble with the authorities quite a lot, but they always managed to snake their way out of trouble. His father tried to break the ties with others of the family by joining the Marines, but still couldn't get out of that life of crime. He hated being in the crime business, unlike Jay and many others.
'Easy enough...' Jay quickly lined up a grenade on the belt of one of the guards and took a moment to carefully ensure his shot. He fired, and quickly pulled the bolt up, back, and down, all within a second. The resulting explosion was heard by the rest of the guards in the building that his target was supposed to go to. Suddenly, four men, weapons in hand, burst out of the front door. In that instant, the target ran towards a nearby truck for cover. The guards began shooting at specific buildings, doing anything they could to suppress the assassin.'Oh no, you don't...' Jay readjusted his sights on the head of the target, and was just about to pull the trigger, when he heard the cocking of a gun behind him.
Jay layed there for a second, and let out a deep, drawn out sigh. 'So this is how it ends...great. Just great.'
"Don't move." The voice said, no remorse whatsoever in his voice. And Jay instantly recognized it.
"I was wondering just when the hell you were going to find me..." A few more seconds passed, before the assailant spoke up again.
"Time to die, old friend." Jay closed his eyes, accepting his fate. He didn't bother fighting back. He had a good run as a hitman. He was quite infamous, some in the business would even call him legendary. He was honestly just waiting for this day to come. A few more seconds passed, before the loud BANG! echoed through the streets.
***
Victor was hunched over his newest invention. It was a prototype version of an advanced kind of body armor. Victor worked on all kinds of things. From everyday computers and gadgets to the latest military equipment, he was your guy for the newest and most improved things on the market. Sure, he had been involved in some...illegal business before, but it got him money, and allowed him to do what he loved, which was invent things. The body armor Victor was working on was supposed to be a better version of modern body armor. Not only was it better in terms of being bulletproof, but Victor had also integrated an early version of an AI into the suit, which allowed for things that no other suit had, such as a heads up display on a helmet mounted eyepiece. Of course, such a thing was only heard of in movies and videogames, but Victor was determined to make that a reality. Doing such a thing was very difficult though, because it wasn't every day that someone made an AI, let alone integrated into a suit of armor.
Victor suddenly had a burst of creativity.'Wait a second, Ah ha!' Victor quickly grabbed a nearby blueprint for an industrial mining suit idea he had. He thought for a little longer, before it hit him. Victor quickly decided that he should integrate tubes into the armor's design, that could carry a stimulant of some kind through the body to enhance performance on the battlefield. 'Hmm...what should that stimulant be?' The tubes would act like arteries for the human body. 'Brilliant!' Victor quickly grabbed a nearby welder, and got to work. He put on a welding mask, and began the process of adding tubes. The sparks started to fly. A spark flew, and found itself on an open barrel filled with .22 ammo that Victor was going to modify for different purposes. The barrel caught fire, and the ammo quickly began heating up.
Victor turned around, to see the barrel on fire. 'FFFFUUUUU....' That was the only thing Victor could think, before one of the bullets flew out of the barrel, and found itself going in the direction of his head. Just as he was about to move, the bullet made impact with his head, making a soft Fft! sound as it hit.
***
Anthony was walking outside of the bar. He had a bottle of beer in his right hand, and his car keys in the other. His girlfriend walked out right after him.
"I told you, Anthony! It's me or the booze! You have to stop this!" She shouted, clearly angry with the way he had been acting lately. Anthony gave her a dismissive gesture.
"I'm fine, *hic*...honey!" Anthony said, taking another chug of his alcohol. His girlfriend walked up to him, and slapped him right across the face. He rubbed his cheek, confused with what she just did.
'What the hell?!!?'
"We're done! Over!" She screamed at Anthony. Before he could do anything, his girlfriend was out of sight.
'Who needs her? I don't care...' Honestly, Anthony didn't really care. He didn't love her back at all. He slowly walked down the street, in the direction of the parking lot.
Anthony was constantly stumbling, he was that drunk. He could barely keep himself awake. He eventually reached his car. He fiddled with the keys a little bit, before unlocking his car door. Anthony went in, hitting his head against the top of the door frame. 'Ow! Damnit...' He took another swig of his beer, and put his keys into the ignition.'Hehe...success!' The car came on with a satisfying thrum of the engine. Anthony licked his lips, and sped off. He didn't enjoy anything more than a good ol' speed run through town, along with some booze.
Anthony sped right through town, somehow not hitting a car in the process. He rolled his window down, and laughed maniacally into the night. Just as Anthony put his head back into its proper position, a wall had somehow found it’s way right in front of his car. 'OH SHIT!' Anthony's car slammed into the building, and was launched right out of the windshield. He flew into the brick wall, and died upon impact.
***
Conor was unloading some crates on his night shift. He decided to work into the night, just to make ends meet. One of his co-workers quickly walked up to him.
"Hey, Conor! How are you doing?" He asked. Conor hadn't actually seen this guy for a few days, and wondered why.
"Hey, man! I'm good. How are you?" Conor said, a smile on his face. He enjoyed hanging around other people.
"I'm fine, was just sick for the past few days. Why I missed work. Hope boss doesn't fire me." His friend said, putting his hands into his pockets, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He pulled out a lighter with his other hand. "Smoke?" He asked, holding out the cigarettes.
Conor slightly pushed the pack of cigarettes from his face "Ah, no thanks, man."
The co-worker quickly gave him a confused look, and then shrugged it off "Whatever...suit yourself!"
Conor quickly turned back around, and began unloading more crates from the boat.
"Here, lemme give you a hand with that." The fellow co-worker said, lifting up another crate.
"Thanks." Conor grunted from behind a large crate he carried. They went on through the night, unloading crates from a boat that had come in a half dozen or so hours before. After just about finishing off the crates that could be carried by hand, the co-worker quickly went up the ladder of a large crane.
"What are you doing?" Connor asked.
"Just getting some of the heavier stuff. Don't worry about it. Can you direct me to the other drop off point?" The co-worker shouted back from the operator's chair of the crane.
"Yeah, sure!" Conor shouted back up. Conor quickly made his way into a clear area, making sure his friend could see him from there. The crane slowly rotated, and picked up its first crate. Conor signalled over to a pile of large crates that the crane could set down the cargo at. The crane carried the crate right over Connor's head, and set it down right in the pile. As the crane moved, it started to give off a creaking sound. 'That doesn't sound too good...' The crane picked up its second crate, but something was wrong. The creaking sound got worse and worse, and just as the the crate was over Connor's head, the line snapped. Conor's eyes widened as he looked up in horror.'SHIIIIIIIIITTTTT!!!' The crate began its rapid descent down, and smashed into Conor before he could do anything more. He was crushed between the concrete dock floor and the large metal crate. Pancaked.
***
Isaac was walking through the streets. He had just come from the supermarket. He carried his groceries in both of his hands, and was going home. Isaac was eager to go home and just read. He was content with the events of the day so far, and was about 20 minutes or so away from home. He looked up at the sky, and realized just how late at night it must've been. Isaac quickly looked at his watch. 8:00. 'Wow...I gotta get home!' Just as he was about to start jogging home, he heard the unsheathing of a knife from behind.
"Hey there...buddy..." A man said from behind him. Isaac quickly turned around to find three men standing there, one possessing a large knife.
The largest of them gestured to him. "Come here...we just want to talk." The thief said as he walked towards Isaac. He found himself slowly walking back, which was instinct for him.
'Uh oh...'
"Yeaahh....we just want to have a little...conversation." another of the men said, smirking at his partners in crime.
"I'm....fine. No need for you to talk to me!" Isaac said, backing away more. Isaac turned around, and dashed off.
"Get 'im!" The largest criminal shouted, running at Isaac. Running was one of the things that Isaac had plenty of experience with. He picked up speed, and was just about to get away. Until one of the criminals caught up, and tackled Isaac. The criminal began to swing punch after punch into his face. Isaac tried to fight back, but he was no boxer. Isaac began to feel more and more pain as the trio of thieves delivered kick after kick into his chest and head. His vision began to blur, and he felt himself slipping away.
Quickly, the leader of the criminals pulled out his knife, and embedded it into Isaac's chest. He let out a scream of pain. One of the other criminals quickly snapped his hand over Isaac's mouth. "Shut him up!" he shouted. Isaac bit down, tasting the blood of the criminal. He quickly let go, and slugged Isaac across the face. The other criminal put his hands into Isaac's pockets, and managed to get his wallet.
"Got it, boss!" The scum shouted. The thieves quickly bolted off, leaving Isaac to die.
'Ugh..' Isaac's vision was blurring even more as a dark haze closed in around him. He could feel himself bleeding out slowly. Isaac slowly closed his eyes, for what he believed to be the last time.
***
Mark made his way to the top of his apartment building roof. He had nothing left to live for. Mark had no friends, and no family. He was an orphan. As Mark walked up the stairs, he thought about his life. 'Well, I guess tonight is the night.' Mark walked to the edge of the building's roof. He looked down to see a drop that was at least 20 stories. He gulped. 'Time to go, I suppose.' Mark looked up to see a magnificent, starry night. It was the most beautiful night sky he had ever seen. 'Good night to die, I guess.' He let out a long, drawn out sigh. 'If only life had gone a little bit more in my favor...' Mark closed his eyes, and jumped off of the building. 'Goodbye, cruel world.'
Chapter 2: Awakenings
There was one thing that each and every single one of the men felt. Pain. An insane amount of pain. Each of the six men was lying on the ground, all in a different spot in this different world. Each of them woke up at a different time, in a different place.
Jay had just woken up. He looked up to see a clear, blue sky. 'Argh...what the...hell?' He looked to his right, and saw his rifle laying beside him. He looked to his left, and saw a pack. 'Alright...' Sean slowly got up, and put on the pack. He picked up his rifle, and stretched his arms.
"Ugh...where...am I?" Jay said wearily. He scanned his nearby surroundings. He was in a terrain full of rolling hills. 'Well, I guess I can scout out the area from there.' Jay began his trek up the nearest hill. As soon as he reached the top of the hill, Jay noticed something. This place clearly wasn't Earth. It looked like a place out of some little kid's imagination. It was too...friendly looking. He slowly got into a prone position and pulled out his sniper rifle. He scanned the area with his scope. He then saw something that he would consider to be the strangest thing in his entire life.
A cyan...pony was flying in the air. Jay spotted it while he was scoping out the area. When he saw it, he stopped looking into his scope, and rubbed his eyes. He wanted to make sure he wasn't going crazy and seeing things. He looked back, and saw the same pony flying through the air. Jay zoomed in more, and saw the...pony in better detail. It had a rainbow mane, along with a rainbow tail and what appeared to be, a tattoo on it's...ass. 'Seriously, just what in the hell is going on here?' Jay then burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! A PONY!" Jay found himself in hysterics. He had no idea why, but he was. He couldn't stop himself. He kept on laughing, and just as he stopped, the pony turned around to see him in the distance. 'Uh oh!' Jay quickly tried to hide himself, but found nowhere to hide. He then decided to stand up. If he was gonna meet a new species, he wasn't gonna do it looking like an idiot. Jay stood there, and pulled out his katana from it's sheath. He had acquired it from his mother, it was a sacred family heirloom, but it helped a bluff as well. Not to mention, it could cut things with ease. It was the only memory he had left of his mom's side of the family, and his own mom. Jay didn't want to be unprepared, incase the creature was hostile.
Jay looked up, and saw the pony flying towards him. It quickly reached him, and landed in front of him.
"Just who do you think you are, stalking ponies and laughing at them?" The equine said, clearly a female. Upon closer detail, Jay saw that she had beautiful magenta eyes. He found himself staring into them. She began waving her hoof in front of his face.
"Uh...hello? Anypony home?" She said. Jay quickly snapped out of his trance. He then sheathed his katana.
"Um, hey?" Jay said, waving to her. She jumped back the slightest bit. After a few seconds more, she spoke up.
"What's your name?" She asked, giving him a curious look.
"Jay. What's yours?"
"Rainbow Dash." Jay then burst into laughter again. Rainbow then gave a confused, yet angry look.
"What's so funny about my name? Your name is Jay. I don't know anypony named Jay. What even are you?" Rainbow said, annoyed. Jay then stopped cracking up.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've just never heard of the name Rainbow Dash. Where I come from, that isn't exactly a common name either. Sounds like something out of a little kid's head or something. And I'm a human." Rainbow's face only expressed more anger. Jay instantly shut his mouth. He didn't want to say anything more offensive. Rainbow then turned around, not wanting to hear anything more out of him. Jay quickly realized he had just hurt her feelings. He gripped her shoulder.
"Hey...I'm sorry if I came off as kind of a jerk. I know how that feels. Sorry." A few more seconds of silence passed. A leaf blew by the space between Rainbow Dash and Jay.
"Okay. I'll accept your apology." Jay let out a long sigh of relief.
"On one condition. You carry me to town. I'm far too tired to fly any more, and I'm afraid I can't go on. I need to relax, anyways." Rainbow Dash said, a smirk slowly sneaking its way onto her face.
"Alright, seems easy enough." Jay said, carrying her with both arms, cradling her like a baby. Rainbow was surprised at the sudden movement, and let out a sudden yelp. She instantly blushed. Jay found it quite cute. Rainbow then pointed in the direction of a road.
"That's where Ponyville is. Take me there." She said. Jay chuckled a little bit. 'Ponyville...what a creative name. What's next, Fillydelphia?' Jay began the trek towards Ponyville, with his new friend in tow.
Isaac woke up to find himself staring up at what appeared to be the inside of a large tree. It smelled...nice. Isaac stood up slowly. He looked around, and saw something that amazed him. Books. Books, books and more books! 'Oh my...god!’ So much knowledge everywhere!' Isaac presumed it was a library, and he decided that he might as well read some books while he was there. Doing so would probably give Isaac something of an idea where he was. The tree didn't seem very big at first, but upon closer investigation, it contained a massive amount of books. Isaac rubbed his hands together, and browsed the books.
He quickly found a book that seemed interesting. It was a plain, brown book with a fancy print on it. The History of Equestria it read. 'Where and what is Equestria?' Isaac shrugged, and was just about to open the book when a noise came from above him. Isaac stopped in place, and looked up. He saw a...purple pony. 'Wha-Is that a pony?' The pony had a look of terror mixed with curiosity plastered onto her face. It had a horn, and had a dark blue mane, along with pink and purple streaks. 'Quite the hair...' After a few seconds of the two of them staring at each other awkwardly, the pony spoke up.
"What...are you?" She asked. Isaac's jaw dropped to the floor. 'IT CAN SPEAK? WHAT IS GOING ON?' He sighed and began.
"I'm a human. My name is..uh...Isaac." Isaac was confused. Where the hell was he? He guessed he was in Equestria, but he couldn't be sure.
"If you don't mind me asking, just where exactly am I?" He asked.
"You're in Equestria, specifically Ponyville." Isaac then nodded. 'Alrighty then. More questions in 3...2...1.'
"What were you doing with my books?" She asked, pointing to the book opened up in Isaac's hands. He looked down, and saw that he still had the book open. Isaac then closed the book, and put it back in its place.
"Just uh....reading a little bit. Something I do quite often, actually." He said nervously. Something twinkled in the pony's eyes. It was there, just for a second.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said.
"What are you?"
"I'm a pony, specifically a unicorn. See?" Twilight said, levitating a nearby book. The book floated with a purple aura, and Twilight's horn was also in an aura of purple. Isaac stared in amazement.
"Wha-since when did magic exist?" Isaac asked, shocked at the awesomeness that was so apparent in front of him.
"Well, now I can definitely tell you're not from around here." She said. Twilight began to walk down a pair of stairs, closer to Isaac. The expression on her face was one of extreme excitement and curiosity. Twilight walked right up to Isaac.
"I'm guessing you want to ask all of the questions in the world right now?" Isaac said, a smirk on his face. Twilight only nodded, and gestured to a nearby table.
Victor's vision slowly returned to him. He slowly, got up, and realized he was right on the edge of a lake. A few more inches to the left, and he would've woken up in the water. 'Huh...what to do.....aha!' Victor looked down to see a pack, and picked it up. He stretched his arms out, and let out a long yawn.He found himself in a very peaceful looking forest, and began to walk in a random direction. Victor walked along happily, humming a tune to himself, until he eventually reached a dirt road. He looked left and looked right, and decided to take the left route. After walking for a little while, Victor thought to himself. ‘Alright, chances are that I’m not in America anymore. First priority: Find civilization.’ Victor started to pick up speed. As Victor was walking, he realized that he definitely was in a place that he didn’t recognize. ‘Am I even on Earth?’ After a dozen or so minutes of travel, Victor saw what seemed to be a town in the distance. He stopped, and pumped his fist into the air. ‘Haha! Success!’ Victor began running towards one of the buildings. He made his way to the front door, and knocked. After a few seconds of waiting, someone answered the door. What he saw surprised him so much that he jumped back involuntarily. Victor saw a...small horse in front of him. The pony had a frightened look on its face. Victor looked the pony up and down. It had a purple, curly mane, and white coat. It also had blue, sparkling eyes. After staring at each other for a few awkward seconds, Victor coughed and spoke up.
“Uh...hello there, uh, pony?” The pony quickly dragged Victor into her home and shut the door.
“Who are you, and what are with those absolutely dreadful clothes you’re wearing? Diamond Dogs have a better fashion sense than you, and that’s surprising, to say the least.” The pony was clearly a female due to her voice.
“Victor is my name, to answer your first question. To answer your second question, madam, I’m not a fashionista, so I don’t have the best fashion sense in the world...whatever world I’m actually in right now, anyways.”
“Well, I suggest I get you out of those terrible clothes, and while we’re doing that, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
“What is your name?” Victor asked.
“Rarity, dear.” Victor didn’t realize why it took that long to notice, but he realized that Rarity spoke in a posh, British accent.
“Wait, you don’t even know what species I am, and yet you’re already going to make new clothes for me? I can tell this is going to go well...” Victor said, a smug expression finding itself plastered to his face.
“I guess that’s me, dear.” Rarity said as she walked into a closet to get some clothing materials. Victor leaned back in a nearby chair, and relaxed. ‘This going to be fun...'
