True Colors

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“Well, all of us almost just died,” Snipes commented as the double doors leading to the throne room slammed shut.

“Shut it,” Holey grumbled a second before Redneck did. The second soldier, however, had more to say.

“And what the fuck was all that back there!?” Redneck growled, jabbing with a finger towards the door.

“I’m not going to have to pull the pin on this thing again, am I?” Holey inquired, tossing the grenade from one hand to the other.

Redneck gave the other soldier a sidelong glare.

“Either you two debate this civilly or I will,” Holey warned, “I’m not listening to anymore yelling.”

“Fine,” Redneck growled, taking a calming breath and facing Snipes, “What the...hell was that back there?” he asked once more, voice a tad calmer, arms crossed in front of him.

“I think they call them ponies or something,” Snipes quipped with a sly grin.

Redneck scowled back.

“What do you mean by ‘that’?” Snipes inquired.

“You drew on me,” Redneck replied throwing out his arms for a second, “What the hell?”

“Same reason Boss drew on me back in the forest,” Snipes replied evenly, copying Redneck’s stance.

“Because you’re losing your shit over everything that’s happening?” Redneck demanded, “Can’t take the heat or something so you’re freaking out?”

Snipes was quiet for a moment before replying, “Okay, fine, I lied. I did it because you drew on the princess.”

Silence.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Redneck asked as his face twisted into a scowl. He took a menacing step forwards. Both Pike and Holey also gave the sniper strange looks.

Snipes didn’t flinch, “You threatened the horse with the horn and wings,” he explained.

“What the...you…” Redneck sputtered for a moment, “You drew your fucking gun on me because I pointed mine at her!? The fuck is up with your loyalties, man? You don’t answer to her, you answer to me! She’s not the one who gives you orders that you are supposed to fucking follow!”

“I’ve begun to question previous loyalties myself, Reddy,” Snipes replied, arms still crossed in front of him, “face the fucking facts; whether you like it or not we’re stuck on an alien planet with no way of getting back. That stupid little black box,” he gestured calmly to the device Pike was holding, “it’s not some fucking key to some fucked up sim. This is the real world!” He gestured outwards with his hands, looking around slowly before settling his eyes back on Redneck, “Everything you see here is real. Wake up and smell the ashes!”

“Yeah, because that makes perfect fucking sense!” Redneck retorted, “we somehow landed on some alien planet with telekinetic mythological creatures!”

“Why would JSOC put us into a broken sim?” Snipes demanded, the cheer gone from his voice once more, voice now level with Redneck’s.

“I don’t know!” Redneck yelled back.

“Exactly!” Snipes replied, throwing out his arms again, “there’s no explanation for why they’d pull us from our mission mid-flight without telling us! Training?” he ticked off a finger, “No! They want to fuck with us?” he ticked off another, “No! The situation changed in the course of an hour?” and another one, “No! Someone they had us fuck decided to return the favor?” one more, “No!”

“Then how do you explain all this?” this time it was Redneck who gestured around him.

Snipes shrugged, “How do you explain the seven wonders of the world? How do you explain the big bang? How do you explain the popularity of Uwe Boll movies?” he paused for a moment, “Honestly? There’s plenty of things in life without decent explanations. Nothing logical makes sense besides what I can see with my eyes,” he jabbed two fingers towards his face, “And you know what? Maybe it’s for the better!”

“What?”

“Maybe it’s for the better!” Snipes repeated, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m lost in fucking paradise!”

“The fuck are you going on about, Snipes?” Redneck asked.

“I’ve seen and done things-” Snipes began.

“Oh, don’t give me that fucking crap,” Redneck complained, “We’re soldiers, there’s some stuff that we do that isn’t entirely nice but that doesn’t-”

“You’re not a sniper, Reddy, you don’t get time to think about killing someone!” Snipes yelled, interrupting Redneck. The unexpected outburst startled the superior soldier into silence and Snipes continued, “I do. I know every detail, I see every detail. Watch that startled expression the second before a man drops from a bullet to the heart, watch a bullet go through some little…” Snipes stopped himself, overcome with a sudden inner struggle. He turned around to face the wall, his tone was dead serious, “Short story short, sometimes you feel like you get to know a bit about these people before you kill them, they aren’t threatening you, they don’t even know that you’re fucking there! And a lot of the time with Harbingers, we’re not killing people who deserve it! I’m sick and tired of doing it! Sick and tired of killing people who don’t deserve it for people I don’t even fucking know!

“Harbingers has had me do some really fucked up shit, Redneck, and this!” he turned back to the trio, his expression pained, “This is where it all ends! All the bullshit! Here I can finally do something good for once in my military career! Wherever the flying fuck your stupid god dropped us, it’s all crystal clear!” he rapidly tapped his skull with a finger as if to emphasize his point, “Right and wrong are as clear as day and night! This world is black and fucking white! Here, I know that I can defend the right from wrong! I don’t have to go around doing some political prick’s dirty work! Here, I can finally do something that is fucking right!”

Another bout of silence erupted, Redneck’s face twisting into a disgusted look.

“Jesus Christ, man. You’re fucking insane, you know that!? You’re no fucking better than Boss!” Redneck snapped, “What the fuck, man? So, what? This is where you aim to redeem yourself? Get to play the bold and righteous hero in your own sick little world? Save the miniature colorful horses from the black evil things!?” he paused, struggling with his rage for a moment, “And what...the fuck is this shit about who we kill in Harbingers? Doing some political prick’s dirty work? Let me tell you something, you piece of fucking shit! You tell me what we were doing before we took this little side trip to insanity, huh?” he stepped forwards and jabbed a finger into Snipes’ shoulder, pushing the other back a step, “What were we on that plane headed for Cuba for, anyways?”

______________________________________________________________________________

(Unknown location)

Silence fell on the room where Chrysalis, two changelings, and the three human prisoners resided in the wake of the Queen’s statement.

Boss’ face remained annoyed. If the statement had been shocking, it didn’t show.

Dice reevaluated the Queen with his eyes, sizing her up with a curious eye.

A knowing, and somewhat scared, look crossed Spotter’s face.

“So you can beat the horses,” Spotter said, half to himself.

“The Equestrians,” Chrysalis corrected with a hiss, “but yes. It will ensure our victory and our survival in our war against them.”

“No. Absolutely not! We can’t take sides in a war that doesn’t concern us,” Spotter asserted, “We have no purpose being here, we can’t help you or the Equestrians.”

“You aren’t the leader of your group,” Chrysalis retorted, turning to Boss, “Well?” she inquired.

“I may not be, but I’m certain that I speak our team’s opinion when I speak,” Spotter countered, looking to the others for support.

Boss remained silent for a short time under the scrutiny of all eyes in the room. Spotter’s determined pair told him that they had no right being here. Dice’s told him that he’d stick by whatever decision he chose. Chrysalis’ showed a determination and, while he was no expert on reading the eyes of aliens, there was a hint of something else in them as well…

“What are you going to do if we refuse?” Boss inquired.

“Keep you here and continue on with my war against the Equestrians, we will win,” the last part was a statement, Chrysalis’ voice dead certain, “When I eventually get your other friends I shall have their testimonies and shall decide whether or not to consider you enemies to our hive. After that...who knows?

“If, on the other hoof, you decide to help us, we shall make certain that you are handsomely rewarded. We shall drop all charges against you three, even your traitorous members if you like, and let you do as you see fit after we win this war.

“If you choose to help me then I am certain that the war shall end far sooner. With your technological edge, Equestria shall surrender.”

Boss was again quiet for a moment, an evaluating look in his eyes.

“You can’t be serious, Boss!” Spotter exclaimed.

“I’m considering all of our options! Now be quiet, that’s an order.”

“Might I ask why you are fighting?” Dice spoke up.

“Survival,” Chrysalis stated, turning to him.

“Care to elaborate?” Dice asked.

“My race, the changelings, feed off of the emotion of love: the action of having a creature care for us whether that action is forced or genuine, though genuine love tastes so much better. Without it we wither away and die.

To put it simply: the Equestrians are a very loving race. Diplomacy has failed and so if my species is to survive, we must take what is ours by force!” a brief fire glared in the Queen’s eyes, a similar blaze taking the lesser changeling’s eyes as they bared their short fangs.

Dice noted the display in silence, eyes scanning over the action cleverly, “And how has diplomacy failed? What did you do to try to get what you wanted?”

“I petitioned to Princess Celestia of Equestria for help. All that I asked was for some of her subjects. Just enough to keep us going. Simply put: she adamantly refused. I made my intentions clear, and she knows how our species functions. She knows that if she refused, that we would die.”

“Enough of this!” Spotter exclaimed, “we can’t help them, it isn’t our-”

“Quiet for a moment,” Dice retorted, cutting Spotter off, “explain to us, then, how your species functions.”

Chrysalis eyed Dice quizzically for a moment, as if trying to discern his motive, a single brow raised curiously before she spoke once more.

“We do ingest both solid and liquid fuel,” she glared off at a wall, the two smaller creatures fluttering their wings as if agitated, “though both have been hard to come by in recent times. But that’s not important, our true sustenance is gained when we can draw the energies of love from another creature.

“So long as the creature’s love is directed towards us,” she pointed a black hoof to her chest, “we can suckle off the love energies. The more that we get, the more powerful we become.”

“I see...I think,” Dice replied, “and what happens to the quote “victim” un-quote as a part of this process?”

Chrysalis frowned, “Short term effects are negligible. If we feed off a creature for too long, they can become emotionally drained, this is sometimes permanent. They are effectively uncaring, robot-like in all that they do.”

“Hm. So if I were to love you, that’d work?” Dice inquired, “hypothetically,” he added a bit apprehensively.

Chrysalis eyed him silently for a moment again before breaking out into a laugh, throwing her head back as the two smaller changelings at her flanks smiled with choked hisses of laughter.

“Apologies if I offer insult, but I doubt that a creature like yourself has much potential for love,” Chrysalis gestured vaguely with a hoof, “what with your weapons and demeanor. You’re a war-loving race like the griffons. Correct me if I’m wrong, but love isn’t the highest link on your species’ chain, is it?”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean-” Dice began.

“‘Maybe’ or not, the Equestrians are a species who do have love set as their top priority. Above all others, they are the only ones with the capacity to keep my race alive and yet they refuse to do so!” she growled with the stomp of a hoof, the two smaller changelings bristling in unison.

“Well maybe they’ve got a good reason,” Spotter put forwards.

Chrysalis bared her fangs, turning to Spotter with glaring eyes. The other two changelings mirrored her as she began to approach the soldier.

“What good reason is there for the extinction of my species!?” she yelled, voice deadly as she came closer, eyes igniting with anger. The two changelings by her side mimicked her angered look.

“I...well...um…” Spotter stuttered, eyeing her approaching horn sharply, “are you certain that there is no alternative? You...mentioned griffons earlier?”

Chrysalis snarled, turning away from Spotter and trotting a short distance away, “The griffons are a cautious, but war-loving race. They’re intelligent and the only thing holding them back from taking Equestria are the ponies inhabiting it. They have very little grasp of magic, the Equestrians are masters of the arcane arts.”

“Magic?” Dice inquired.

Chrysalis snorted, looking at the soldier, “Do not tell me that you do not know about magic.”

“Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand,” Dice replied flatly, “simple tricks.”

“Do you call this!” a flash of green fire erupted around Chrysalis, the humans flinching back at the sight. When the fire cleared, Princess Celestia eyed the three warily, “a simple trick?”

“Maybe not,” Dice admitted, looking the Princess up and down, “how do you do it?”

Chrysalis flashed back to normal, “All changelings have unique camouflaging abilities. We can draw upon the magical energies around us to reshape our forms to a degree.”

“Some sort of weird radiation, maybe?” Spotter muttered to himself.

“Enough of this idle chatter,” Chrysalis spoke up, turning to Boss, “hurry and make up your mind. Are you with my species?” her tone darkened, “or against it.”

The two changelings hissed in unison.

______________________________________________________________________________

(Canterlot)

Snipes folded his arms, but was otherwise silent, glowering back at Redneck.

“Go on! Fucking tell me!” Redneck demanded.

“Bounce off fucking Cuba to hide our actual approach vector, HALO jump into North Korea, bust down some doors, and shoot some of their nukes off before going ghost,” Snipes said, almost mechanically, “The nukes get zapped by our satellites, no harm done to anyone, and everyone and their fucking whore grandmother shoots off their nukes at North Korea, wiping the communist cock-suckers off the face of the earth before they start the third world war. No one’s the wiser. No one hates on the States. We’re one big happy family again.”

“And you think that’s just some pencil dick desk-worker’s wet dream fantasy?” Redneck growled, “These fucking banana skins are getting worse by the fucking hour back home! It’s the cold war all over again only this time someone is going to press the big red button and if we don’t control who does it when then the whole world’s fucked!” Redneck clutched his skull with rage for a moment, “Goddamnit, Snipes! The world needs this to be done! You your-fucking-self were on board with this plan not...what? How long have we been here?”

“Less than a day,” Holey reported, glaring eyes showing that he was on Redneck’s side for this one.

“Yeah, less than a fucking day ago! And already you’re calling everything quits and saying ‘fuck the world’ like some...some dickheaded misanthrope!?”

“This world doesn’t need us to make Korea blow itself up!”

“Ours does!” Redneck yelled, pushing his face in closer to Snipes.

“Then fuck our world,” Snipes growled, copying Redneck’s stance.

“Fuck you, Snipes!”

The two large doors to the throne room burst open, Luna stepping through with an annoyed look on her face. They closed before the humans could look inside. Luna quickly closed her eyes and lit her horn with magical light.

WHAT IS ALL THIS YELLING THAT WE HEAR!?

“Just a happy little conversation, Princess,” Snipes replied with a lingering hint of anger.

IT DOTH NOT SOUND HAPPY TO OUR EARS.

Luna retorted in thoughtspeak..

“What do you want?” Redneck asked, a slight growl in his voice.

Luna’s frown deepened with annoyance.

WE HEARD THY YELLING AND CAME TO SEE WHAT WAS THE MATTER. WE HAD THOUGHT THAT ALL OF THEE WERE CALMING THYSELVES FROM THE HEATED DEBATE, YET FIND YOU HERE IN YET ANOTHER.

“Geez, what’s with all the capslock?” Snipes inquired, covering ears to no effect.

WHAT IS THIS CAPSLOCK THAT YOU SPEAK OF?

“You’re very loud,” Holey dumbed down.

WE ARE SIMPLY USING THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE! AS IS STANDARD FOR SPEAKING WITH OUR SUBJECTS.

“Yeah, well we aren’t your subjects, so could you please talk to us a little more quietly?”

Luna paused for a moment, frowning as if a sudden realization had struck her.

OH, WELL...perhaps we could lower our voice a tad. Our apologies, we should have remembered that diplomats do not tend to enjoy the Royal Canterlot Voice...

“No harm done,” Snipes replied, anger gone and cheer aplenty as he waxed out one of his ears with a finger, adding, “...I hope.”

Our sister wishes that you make up your mind. Shall you lay down your arms and join a group to find your fellows or stay behind the walls? Our sister wishes to know soon, for she has other duties to attend to.

“Hmph,” Redneck harrumphed, crossing his arms, “We don’t go where our guns don’t, that’s final.”

Luna nodded.

Good, for we believe that we may be able to help you do so, but you will require those weapons.

Author's Note

All the pieces are slowly coming into place, but who is to say which side holds the moral ground? Who are the heroes and who are the villains? Is there truly such a difference between the two sides?

Anyways, no word thingies this time , but tell me (and Peace because he's the one that wanted to pose this question) who do you side with at this point in time? The Equestrians or the Changelings? Boss and the gang or Redneck and his group?