A Golden Offer From a Blackened Heart
I stood atop the castle on the highest balcony, looking out over the horizon. Just behind me, I heard Twilight screaming.
“Jordan WAIT!” she cried
“It’s Okay.” I responded, “I can’t hurt anybody anymore, I’ll be dead soon enough. Goodbye Twilight.”
I ran as fast as I could to the edge of the balcony, and leaped off with all of my might. Time slowed down and all that I could hear were Twilight’s cries of sadness.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” her voice echoed in my mind as time sped back up and I plummeted to the ground. This is it… this is the end.
Detroit, Michigan, Two Months Earlier…
My name is Jordan Scheffler; I am a decent man with an angry mind. I lived out my days working a steady job, making a decent salary, and usually doing whatever came to mind in my free time. I lived in a very damaged house with no heat or water and I hated it, but I always felt obligated to stay there as a way to remember my long gone parents. Being the grouchy, hateful, dick that I was; I have a list of dislikes that’s much bigger than my list of likes, and on the top of that dislikes list, is that goddamn pony show. It just baffled me how people could be so idiotic as to enjoy some kids show where a bunch of talking horses learn the value of friendship, it’s ridiculous. I myself prefer to play video games, practice my guitar, go to a boxing club, or just read a book. I saw that show as way for the rich to get on the good side of the poor, but I wasn’t buying it.
That all began to change one day when I started to argue with one of those freaks.
“You’re a grown man who watches a little girl show, and you’re calling me weird?”
“Hey, it’s just a show, quit being an asshole!”
“I’ll leave you alone wen you all grow the fuck up.”
He left in anger and I bought something sweet to reward myself. As I sat down having my coffee and muffin, another man came over to me. He was wearing a grey suit with a blue tie and brown, Italian loafers. He was carrying a big, silver briefcase. He asked if he could sit down and I didn’t see why not so I let him.
“I saw what happened between you and that man.” He said.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of them too.” I replied.
“No.” he laughed “I hate them just as much as you do, my name’s Harold Benson and I’ve come to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
“I’m listening.”
“Your task is simple,” he put three pictures on the table, each of them one of the characters from My Little Pony “These three characters are royal governors of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. This may sound crazy, but this entire universe is as real as ours.”
“Huh, sure it is.”
“Of course, but it’s not how it’s portrayed on TV, these characters, Cilestia, Luna, and Cadence, have gone mad with power, they’ve become malevolent dictators who rule over their subjects with an iron fist. If we remove them from the picture, then we can free the Equestrians and find a new home for our dying race.”
“I don’t think you understood me, I don’t believe you.”
“I thought you wouldn’t. Just come over to my office at 6:00, here’s my card.” He gave me a small business card with an address on it. “I’ll have all the proof and equipment you’ll need there.”
“You never even told me what I have to do.” I said
“Ah yes, I can’t believe I forgot, I trust you spent some time in the marines?”
“Yes.” I agreed suspiciously. “How do you know that?”
“I needed a man that would be the perfect fit for this job. I saw your Googled people who hate My Little Pony and had a military background. Once I hit enter, your Google Plus account popped up.”
“I don’t want to brag, but I actually got the most medals out of my entire platoon.”
“Then you’ll have no problem handling a gun, I need you to assassinate these three princesses.”
I looked at him in utter shock.
“Don’t you think that that’s a little extreme?” I asked.
“Not when it comes to these monsters. If they don’t die, my plan will be much harder to achieve.”
“I will need a price though.” I told him.
Without saying a word he pulled out his briefcase to reveal that it was chalk full of money.
“All of that?” I asked.
“Why not?”
I thought about it for a little while. I remembered how much I hated those stupid ponies, but I also remembered that I too was living under a power hungry son of a bitch. I was sick and tired of seeing the same thing; the poor lived like dirt, the rich lived like kings, the kings lived like gods, and the gods? Well… they just lived. I knew that nobody deserved to live under a dictator.
“I’ll do it.”
“A wise choice Mr.….”
“Scheffler, Jordan Scheffler.”
I got to the building at just the right time. It wasn’t a tall building; it was just high enough for a man to jump off and die but still remain intact. That got me thinking; Why not just end it all here? I could go home to Mom and Dad and everything will be perfect. But then I remembered that lump sum of cash Harold had showed me. I needed that money, not just for food or bills, but also for my dreams. Someday, I was going to rise to power and save this world, make it better than ever before. I went to the front desk and told the woman my name; she spoke to Mr. Benson through her phone and ten seconds later, she signaled me to the elevator. I was told to go to the bottom floor, when I got there, it looked surprisingly nice. It was a long, well-lit hallway with a red carpet on the floor and gold paint on the walls. Moldings on the walls depicted ancient battles with chariots and spears, seeming to tell a story that ended at the door. The Door was the best part; it showed a molding of a man and an angel standing between a wall of light, the man was standing in the earthly realm trying to get through while the angel stood there with his arms open ready to allow the man into his divine home.
When I walked through the door, the contents of the next room impressed me a thousand times more than the hallway ever will. It was a machine; it had four curved towers standing around a circular platform. The rest of the floor was littered with computers, each one showing lines of code, coordinates, and research. A scientist was standing at each terminal, all except for Mr. Benson, who approached me with a confident smile. This time, he was holding a much longer briefcase and a wide, black suitcase.
“I presume that that’s my luggage?” I asked.
“Precisely.” Said Mr. Benson “Everything you need is in these two cases.”
“I also forgot to ask you, how do you know that this world is real?”
“I was wondering when you would ask that.” He said.
“It all starts like this: I was once a student of astral-physics, then one day, I came a cross a theory that said that humans created universes every single day just by making decisions. This astounded me to know that other worlds popped up all the time with only one difference. The theory also got me thinking, if we could make universe like we make decisions, then why can’t we make universes like we write stories?”
“So you’re saying that universes of stories are also real?” I asked in astonishment.
“Precisely. Worlds from all different kinds of storytelling: Books, movies, video games, even they daydream of a distracted child. Basically stating, while you’re off in La-la Land, the people of La-la Land are doing what you think they’re doing.”
“That still doesn’t explain the universe portal you have in your basement.” I told him.
“This baby came from years of hard work and elbow grease. It took us a long time to figure out how to travel inter-dimensionally, but eventually, we found the answer. A collection of beams moving at light speed converging at one point.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard.” I said, “But how am I supposed to get home once I’m done?”
He reached into the outermost pocket of the black suitcase to reveal a small device.
“This little contraption is designed to transport you between this world and the other, just press the button and poof.”
“But then why do you need such a gigantic transporter?” I asked.
“That’s for when we let in the rest of the world once your mission is complete.”
“I see.”
“I knew you would. But there is something you should know. While the land of Equestria may look very beautiful and innocent, that’s because the princesses have fooled their subjects into believing that their still nice people. So don’t be surprised when everyone gets excited to see their leaders. Or horrified to see them dead.”
“I’ll be careful” I assured him.
“That’s good to hear.” He responded, “Oh! There’s one more thing I need to tell you. If you find that your body is two-dimensional but moves in 3D, that’s normal. As you transition through worlds, your body will adapt to the dimensions of the universe. So don’t freak out if you look like a cartoon.”
“Thanks for reminding me, I probably would’ve freaked out.”
We finished our conversation and I stepped onto the platform of the teleporter. The machine roared to life and four towers started to spin. Suddenly, laser beams started to emit from the top of the towers, and went into one center point, which eventually grew into a big black sphere. I looked at Mr. Benson one last time and he gave me the okay to go through, so I did. What happened between when I entered and when I woke up is history.
I woke up in a grassy field just outside of my destination. The first part of my body I saw was my 2D hand, which could still move in 3D, just as Mr. Benson had said. I was well hidden as nobody else was up here. I got up and checked for the bags; there they were, right on the ground just as I was a few seconds ago. I didn’t want to check them yet because I was worried that I would be spotted with my weapons. I gathered everything and checked my surroundings. It was a beautiful landscape, mountains and trees all round, a small village on the horizon, clouds…not moving at all. I brushed it off, as it seemed to just be something that happened in this dimension. It was much better than the warzone that I was expecting. I took a few more minutes to take in the majesty of this world and headed for town.
I slowly walked down the dirt road and came upon a sign that read “Welcome to Pony Ville.” That was just where I was headed. As I walked into town I was met with someone yelling, “What is that thing?” followed by stares of shock and awe, and then everyone hiding behind something. I was a little freaked out myself, I knew I would be seeing these things but I just wasn’t ready.
My first words to them were basically a lie.
“It’s fine everyone, I come in peace. I only seek three of your ponies.” I almost said people again.
“I’m looking for princesses Cilestia, Luna, and Cadence. Are they nearby? Do you even know what I’m saying?”
They continued to stay in hiding. No matter what I said, they wouldn’t budge. I decided to keep walking on and eventually ran into a pink mare with a curly mane of the same color. I casually said hello but as soon as I said my name, she gasped and ran away at an impossible speed. It wasn’t until twenty minutes later when I ran into another mare. She had poked her head out to get a look at me and we made eye contact, she quickly went back behind the building she came from. I chased her back there and found out that it was a dead end alley. She backed herself into the corner in fear and I got a good look at her. I couldn’t believe my eyes, she was a yellow furred, smooth mane, Pegasus. I was absolutely dumbfounded; my head was spinning with amazement and confusion, while this was happening, the mare was cowering in the corner in fear. I quickly snapped back to reality and spoke to her.
“Wait, it’s fine.” I assured her. She looked up and examined me. She looked at my luggage the most, like she could sense what was in them. Chills ran up my spine like the pony from earlier, all that came to mind was Crap! This is it, my covers been blown and I haven’t even been here for an hour.
“What’s in the bags?” she asked casually.
“Just clothes and a few supplies.” I responded.
“Where are you from?” She asked. I could tell that this was going to turn into a game of twenty questions. I was just glad that my cover wasn’t blown.
“I can’t really remember, I don’t know how I got here or where I’m from.” I lied cleverly.
“Oh my, that’s horrible.” She responded in a high-pitched voice
Everybody was slowly coming out from behind cover, so far so good.
“I know, all I can remember is my name and that I urgently need to speak with the princesses about…something.” I said
“Well my name’s Fluttershy,” She said, “What’s yours?”
“Jordan Scheffler.” I answered
“You must’ve hit your head really hard.” Fluttershy said concerned
“The last thing I remember is waking up just outside of this town, I figured someone here could help me, but I never expected a town full of ponies.”
“We never knew that you species existed either.” She said
“Seems like everyone’s as confused as I am.” I said, “Of course, not remembering where I’m from also makes me forget where I live. I’ll need a Place to stay while I try to jog my memory.”
“There’s an open house for sale just a few blocks down.” She told me, “You can move in there if you want.”
“That’s very kind of you, I’d never expect such a courtesy from anyone.”
“Well, we ponies are a much nicer bunch.”
I got to the house and took a look inside. It was a simple house with a kitchen and a living room on the first floor. The second floor was an entire room meant for a bed and a hell of a lot more. There was a desk in the other end of the room and I put my suitcase on it. I looked inside and saw nothing but clothes. There were a few things here and there like a watch, sunglasses and an iPod. I turned it on and it started in movies; the first selection was a video titled Debriefing. I clicked it and what came up was Harold’s face.
“Hello.” He started, “If you’re watching this, then congratulations, you’ve been officially selected to execute Operation: Arch Angel. As I may have already told you, your three targets are the leading monarchs of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. For the first few days you will have to get yourself acquainted with the inhabitants of both kingdoms. I recommend that you start out making friends with this character: Twilight Sparkle” as he said this, a picture a purple furred, smooth mane, unicorn appeared on the screen. “She has the strongest connections to your targets. She’s the sister-in-law of Princess Cadence, student of Princess Cilestia, and great friend of Princess Luna. I also require you to make nice with the targets. Gain their trust, and this mission will be a cake walk.”
I put the device down and simply listened to the audio so that I could continue unpacking. The rest of the suitcase was filled with clothes and shoes until I reached the bottom.
“At the bottom of your black suitcase, there should a be a gliding suit. However, this is more than just a skydiver’s uniform, this is a technologically advanced stealth robe. It comes with sheathable wings, a HUD that let’s you see through walls and spot targets, and my favorite part, an invisibility feature.”
I looked over at the iPod in disbelief. Did he really just say an invisibility cloak?
“Don’t get too attached to it.” Harold continued, “You can try it on once this video is over. For now, take a look in the silver case.”
I did what he said and undid the buckles. Inside the case were three weapons. A Beret 50.Cal with variable zoom, a silenced M1911, and combat knife.
“Just remember one thing.” He said, “No matter how happy or peaceful things seem in Equestria, don’t fall for it. That’s just an outside ploy that they’re pulling to keep you from rising against them. Good luck, and don’t fail.”
The video ended, I shut the case and locked it again, I took another look at the suit Harold was talking about, and I decided to try it on. It fit perfectly, there was a small screen attached to my left wrist that only read two options, stealth mode and flight mode. I picked stealth mode and as soon as I did that, my body began to disappear, two more options spawned on the screen, uncloak, and target vision. When I clicked on target vision, everything went blurry for a second, and then a hole grew on the wall that I was facing, I felt like superman. There was now a small bar that just increased the layers that the suit could see through as well as the options to either reset the suit or just turn off the X-ray vision.
I reset everything, folded up the suit and headed out to an open area. I also remembered to bring the iPod for the instructional video. Once I found a good spot, I put the suit back on and played the next video.
“Hello again,” Harold said through the screen, “be sure that you’re wearing the flight suit for this video.” I fast-forwarded to when he talked about flying.
“This suit is equipped with special propulsion boots that allow for ascension and is powered by any light source, so it never needs to recharge. This will give you endless flying possibilities.” I skipped ahead to when he actually told me how to fly the damned thing.
“Now I know you’re probably eager to try it out,” he said. No shit I thought to myself, “Without further a due, press the flight mode option on your wrist module.” As soon as I did this, levers started unsheathing across the back of my body, and two black wings, along with a tail fin, took shape.
“To activate the propulsion boots, simply say, “on”.”
I obeyed and the thrusters hummed to life, slowly lifting me from the ground. I put the iPod in my pocket and listened to the audio.
“To hover, first say the word, and then point your feet at the ground. To speed up, just say “fly” and put your body in a horizontal position.” I followed the steps only to find out that I was a natural.
For the next few hours, I learned and practiced the different forms of flying and landing until I mastered it. This was one hell of a suit, and I was wearing it. When I got home, I put everything my closet and got ready for bed. Tomorrow was phase: one of Operation: Arch Angel, and I knew I would need a lot of sleep for that.
