REGRET

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.