Goliath One-Status: K.I.A.

Chapter Four

Earth

June 19, 2023

The massive aircraft carrier known as the USS Barack Obama, the headquarters for the special U.S. military force JSOC, slowly floated across the Pacific Ocean without a disturbance in the world. The crew of the ship was on extremely high alert due to a small helicopter attack that had occurred the previous day. One of the transport VTOLs had been damaged during the attack but it was being repaired at the moment. Admiral Briggs stood in the top floor of the main tower keeping a watchful eye on the deck. He was tired of the threat from Memendez and the fact that one of his best Air Force pilots had just disappeared and he didn’t need any more things to sidetrack him now. Down a few levels, was the transmission room. Where all the information sent from other ships, air forces, ground forces, and satellites is received, and vice versa. One of the operators in the room, the one running the satellite's network, was routing a trans solar system satellite or an orbital V.S.A.T. to try and get another image or something from outside of the solar system as the U.S. has been trying to get something interesting for over 15 years. The last ‘something worth talking about’ moment was in early 2018, when an entire alien colony was thought to be seen on the surface of Neptune. That was kept a secret from then on by Area 51.

“Alright, let’s see if we can get one last looksy here...” The operator said to himself as the view of the orbital V.S.A.T. started to look beyond the edges of the solar system.

One of the V.S.A.T.’s cameras came across the colorful and undiscovered planet they were classifying as OBJECTIVE DEEP SPACE. After a couple of minutes of watching the planet, something of the unthinkable happened. The V.S.A.T. picked up an extremely faint distress signal that was of the same frequency as a F/A-38’s crash call (is what it’s called) coming from the planet. Not believing what he saw, he did a quick reset of the sensors to see if it was an error which happens often. After trying and still getting the signal, he gave another satellite operator a tap on the shoulder.

  “Hey, dude! Are you getting this signal that I’m getting from DEEP SPACE?”

  “Yeah man, I don’t know what it could be. I just did a sensor reset but it’s still there...” Replied the operator with a little concern in his voice.

  “I’m gonna go tell Briggs, he needs to hear about this...” Said the other operator as he got up and headed to the staircase of the tower, but the other grabbed his arm.

  “Do you have any idea what this could be about?.

  “I have no idea...” The man almost mumbled as he walked off.

~~~~~~~~~~

Equestria

June 19, 2023

The three ponies, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, walked calmly through the middle of Ponyville to Applejack’s barn on the other side of town.

  “Did Rainbow Dash tell you why we need to go to Applejack’s barn?” Asked Fluttershy in her usual quiet voice.

  “Nope! She just wanted me to get you two and head to the barn!” Replied Pinkie Pie as she hopped along the two.

  “Hmm, I do wonder what she requires...” Rarity said to no pony in particular.

Once they had arrived at the front of the large barn, they could hear numerous pairs of hoof steps from the other side of the building and Twilight emerged from the front door.

  “Oh good, you’re here! Come on, there’s someone I want you three to meet.”

At the mention of meeting someone, Pinkie’s mind started racing with party ideas as she started bouncing violently, Fluttershy hid behind Rarity, and Rarity was wondering what clothing fashion this newcomer could be into. As they all walked (Fluttershy had to be pushed by Rarity...) to the barn to greet their new arrival, they came to face the craziest being they had ever seen.

~~~~~~~~~~

“How are these other ponies going to react to meeting an alien? This is going to be interesting...”

Marcus slowly walked to the back of the barn with Twilight and Rainbow Dash at his sides. When he entered the barn, Twilight walked to the front of the barn. Marcus could hear her talking but couldn’t make out what she was saying. A moment later, three ponies walked into the barn. He couldn’t even get a good look at the trio before he heard the white one shout,

  “Twilight, look out!!!”

Marcus was encased in a whitish sphere and bolts of electricity were striking him from the inside of the orb. He yelled in pain as he withered up at the bottom of the sphere getting jolted by bolts every second.

  “Rarity, stop!! STOP!!!!” Shouted Twilight as Applejack tackled Rarity. As she did so, the orb surrounding Marcus disappeared and he fell to the ground, twitching violently from all the electricity that was just passing through his body. Marcus’s mind was flashing insanely as he could barely make out Twilight standing over him with an ear to his chest, that was all he remembered before he passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Twilight, look out!” Shouted Rarity as she encased the strange being using an offensive spell she hadn’t used in ages. The Sphere of Eternal Suffering shot bolts of electricity at the creature for a few seconds before she was tackled by Applejack. She yelled in protest but she was no match for the strength of the earth pony's pin. After Applejack had let up, Rarity shot up and began to brush her mane and tail furiously with a brush that came seemingly out of nowhere. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and looked over to Twilight who had a ear to Marcus’s chest.

  “Is he okay?” Asked Applejack who was standing on the other side of the unconscious biped.

  “Yes, his heart rate is really high but he’s still breathing.” She turned to Rarity, whose face was plastered with confusion. “Why did you do that Rarity?!”

  “I...But...Who?” Rarity sputtered.

  “This was that someone that I wanted you to meet!”

Rarity looked like she had just seen the apocolypse, she just stood there dumbstruck trying to process what was happening.

  “I... I’m so sorry... I thought it was a Diamond Dog and I...” Rarity said as tears started to blur her vision.

Then Rainbow Dash put a hoof around Rarity’s back to comfort her as she remembered the last Diamond Dog capture, where they had taken Rarity underground against her will to dig for diamonds and gems for them.

  “It’s okay Rarity, you didn’t know.” She said in a calm voice.

Applejack then walked up to Rarity and said in a calm voice,

  “Ah think it would be best if you left before Marcus here wakes up again, I doubt he’ll be very happy...”

Twilight turned to Applejack to protest but Rarity put up a hoof to silence her, she then turned and left the barn.

Twilight looked at Applejack.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Think about sugarcube, if Marcus here remembers this when he wakes up, he’ll go berserk!” Replied Applejack.

Twilight wanted to argue, but the pony had a point. She then noticed Fluttershy staring ahead with shock on her face from the scene that had just unfolded in front of her, and Pinkie Pie was waving a hoof in front of her.

  “Well you two, this is Marcus.” She said sheepishly as she pointed a hoof at the biped laying face-up in the hey.

~~~~~~~~~~

    Marcus squinted into a bright white light in the distance. Was he dead? Was that Heaven he was looking at? Huh, happened a little sooner than he expected. He turned his head ever so slightly and saw a familiar face smiling down at him.

  “Ma...Michael...?” Marcus said at almost a mumble.

The face smiling down at him then turned to a face of confusion as the light vanished to be replaced by a red wood roof. He then realized that he was laying on hay and dirt ground.

  “Michael? Uh-oh, I think you got his head there Rarity...” Said the cyan blue pegasus to herself.

  “Ug, Rainbow Dash?” He said as he sat up and rubbed his temples.

  “Hey there partner, you alright?” Asked Applejack.

Marcus turned his head to see Applejack and her brother standing to his left.

  “I don’t know... All I remember is that white unicorn and-the unicorn!!”

Marcus fought the urge to throw up and got to his feet as he scanned the room intently to make the pony foolish enough to do this to him regret it. That was when he smelled scorched metal and looked down to see some of the chest plating, his arm plating, and his back plating was streaked with black burn lines from the electricity.

  “WHERE IS THAT HORSE?!” Marcus bellowed so loudly that everyone in the barn with him cringed up.

Marcus heard the back barn door open and snapped around, ready to unload his feelings at the unicorn, but was instead looking at a small yellow filly with a red mane and bow looking at him with curiosity and fear. Marcus eased up a little realizing that he would probably scare the little thing shitless by even moving. Applejack turned and saw her little sister.

  “Applebloom, what are ya doin’ here?”

  “I was just looking to see what all the commotion were about.” Replied the filly. “And what’s that thang?”

  “I’ll tell you later, now please go.” Said Applejack.

After the filly had left the room, Applejack turned to Marcus who was still ready to explode.

  “Now Marcus, ya need to calm down okay? You’ve been through a rough one there so-”

Applejack was cut off by Marcus.

  “A rough one? A rough one!?” Marcus did a sarcastic laugh that made the hair on Applejack’s neck stand on edge.

  “A rough one, yeah, in less than twenty-four hours I’ve almost been killed three fucking times while I'm not even in a war zone and you’re calling that a rough one?!?!” Marcus screamed. He felt all his anger endlessly building up and getting vented only verbally. He stood there while all the ponies stood in the room dumbstruck at the enraged being. Marcus had never been this angry in his life with the exception of one other time.

The yellow pegasus with the pink mane was cowering in fear from the force of Marcus’s assault. Upon seeing said pony, Marcus started to ease up a little finally as his breathing became steady. Marcus just stared at the ground until the bright pink pony slowly walked up to Marcus.

  “Um, excuse me Mr.-um Sir...” The pony said with a little giggle at the end. “But if it makes you feel any better, I brought you a cupcake.” Marcus looked at the pony and sure enough, there was a chocolate cupcake with orange frosting on it perched on the top of the pony's head. Marcus’s flat face turned into a gentle smile as he took the sugary treat. He could only stare at it for what seemed like an eternity, not even knowing how it got on her head, before replying.

  “Th-thank you very much, Mrs.-”

  “Pinkie Pie.” Said the pony happily.

Marcus took a bite into the cupcake and felt one of the best sweet tasting sensations he’d ever felt in a long time wash over his taste buds. He closed his eyes to savor the deliciousness that the bite gave him and Pinkie Pie smiled from ear to ear. Then without warning, the pony moved in and gave Marcus a hug. He recoiled for a few seconds before wrapping his free arm around the pony and pulling her in. Marcus had never felt a genuine hug in what seemed like decades so he enjoyed it while it was to be.

  “Aww, isn’t that sweet!” Chortled Rainbow Dash.

Marcus and Pinkie Pie stopped hugging and looked at the pegasus before Marcus started chuckling. He sighed afterwards and looked around at the ponies surrounding him.

  “Well, this is an of-first answer for me even, I guess all I needed was some love. It was really something new to me after a while.” Marcus said with a smile. “At least since...” Marcus’s frowned but brightened up again when he eyed the yellow pegasus in the back of the barn. He walked over to the cowering pony and knelt down next to it, he then spoke in the softest voice he could muster,

  “Hi there.”

The pony looked up and quickly looked away.

  “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. Can you tell me your name?” He said in his softest voice.

The pony looked up slowly again but didn’t look away. Then without making eye contact, she said in a voice softer than Marcus's,

  “I’m Flu-Fluttershy...”

Marcus smiled.

  “Well Fluttershy, it is nice to meet you. My name is Marcus Jay Ivan, but you can call me Marcus.” Marcus said as he knelt for a few more seconds before standinf and facing the others.

“Goodness it’s getting late!” Pointed out Applejack.

  “You’re right!” Said Twilight. Then she was struck with a problem. “Hey Marcus,” She said as she turned to him. “where are you going to sleep?”

  “Oh oh oh, I know! He can stay with me!” Chanted Pinkie Pie.

  “But he’s too big to fit in your room.” Said Rainbow Dash.

  “Yall can sleep here in the barn.” Said Applejack.

Marcus held up his hand to stop their ranting.

  “Hey, hey... None of you need to reserve space for me. I can just sleep my jet. All the comfort I need is there.”

  “Are yall sure? Cus I can just-” Started Applejack.

  “Please, I insist.” Said Marcus calmly as he started to walk outside with the cupcake still in his hand.

  “What’s a jet?” Asked Pinkie Pie.

  “I’ll tell you later.” Replied Marcus as he exited the barn and walked towards his awaiting 'bed' so to speak.

Marcus climbed into the cabin and closed the glass hatch, and he put his visor in front of his eyes too as a sort of seethough sleep mask. His last thoughts before he fell to sleep were:

  “This is really something new...”

  “That Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy bunch are so nice...”

  “I’m going to fucking kill that unicorn...” and

  “I’m going to fucking kill that unicorn...”

~~~~~~~~~~

June 20, 2023

Marcus slept a bit worse than he would’ve liked, but he still got some quality sleep which was all he needed. When he woke up, he was still ¾ of the way asleep but he was in a good mood. The sun was shining its morning rays on the small town of Ponyville. His mood dampened a few notches when he remembered he wasn’t on his own world, but he pushed it aside as his eyes adjusted to the light. Just as he was about to start getting out, he heard what sounded like a trio of ponies headed for the jet. He didn’t move and listened closely. A few moments later, he was able to make out three voices bickering at each other quietly from outside. He heard one voice that was very high pitched, another that had a very yonge kind of southern voice, and another that was a tad lower than the other two. These three ponies were most likely fillies so Marcus ignored them and tried to fall back to sleep. Just as he was lowering his visor over his eyes, the loudest chant he had ever heard in his life could be heard.

  “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, ALIEN INVESTIGATION TEAM GO!!!!!”

Even through the semi noise-canceling glass, Marcus’s eardrums felt like they had imploded as he groaned in protest. After the pain in his ears had subsided, he pressed a button on the dashboard and the cabin hissed and opened. Without even looking, he said,

  “Hey! Would you mind not exploding my eardrums please!? I’m trying to slee-”

Marcus cut himself off as he looked out and stared at the three fillies staring at him with mouths agape. As he scanned the group, he noticed the same yellow filly that he saw yesterday. He slowly pressed the button on the side of his helmet and the visor flipped into the slot on the front. After a few moments of staring, the three screamed simultaneously  and Marcus just did the same for a reason he didn't even know.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Why are we screaming?”

The three stopped and the dark orange one with the purple mane shrugged and looked at the others.

  “Uh, I don’t know...” Replied the orange one.

Then Applejack came running up the hill.

  “What the hey is goin on here? Hey, what are you three doin here?” Said Applejack.

Applebloom sudently got a look of guilt and shifted uneasily.

  “Well... Ah may have, um... told these two about the alien yesterday...” Responded the yellow one slowly as it tapped it's front hooves together, which Marcus found a bit cute.

  “Applebloom! Ah told you not to tell anypony else!” Said Applejack.

  “I know, I’m sorry.”

Marcus decided it wasn’t necessary for this, Applebloom, to get in trouble because she was excited about him, so he cut in.

  “No, Applejack. It’s alright.” He looked down at Applebloom. “You know Applebloom,” Marcus said as he climbed out of the jet and knelt down in front of the filly. “I appreciate your interest in me. So I’ll make you and your friends here a deal.” Marcus picked her up with ease and set her on the wing of his jet. He did the same with the other two so they were all perched on the left wing of his jet. They all stood for a few before settling.

  “You three can ask me anything you want the answer to.”

The three fillies faces lit up like light bulbs at this news.

  “Really?! Wow, you’re the best!” Said the orange one joyfully.

Marcus nodded. “But before we start, I’ll have some questions for each of you. First, what are your names?”

  “I’m Applebloom!”

  “I’m Scootaloo!”

  “I’m Sweetie Belle!”

  “And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” The three of them chanted together.

Marcus smiled and leaned up against the side of the cabin exterior, this was really cute to him. He was going to enjoy this. He looked to see Applejack and gave her a thumbs up, she returned it by nodding and went to continue with her daily business.

“Well you three I must warn you, I may not answer some questions that are secret or private. Understand?”

The three fillies nodded vigorously.

  “Okay, you go first.” He said as he pointed at Sweetie Belle. “ What would you like to ask me?”

She put her hoof up to her chin for a second.

  “How old are you?” She asked excitedly.

  “I am 36 years of age.”

Marcus pointed at Scootaloo. “You next.”

  “Hmm... Oh! Can this thing fly as fast as Rainbow Dash?” She asked as she tapped a hoof on the wing of the jet.

Marcus had to avoid laughing right in the filly’s face at the ridiculous question.

  “Heh heh, I’m pretty sure it could.”

All three of them started mumbling back and forth at the news that something was actually faster then Rainbow Dash.

Marcus pointed at Applebloom. “Now your turn.”

The filly had the question already in her head. “How strong are you?  Do you think you can you buck an apple tree?”

Marcus had to ponder the second part of the question but he responded to the first part.

  “Well, let’s see...” He picked up Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo under their chests with one arm each. They both squealed with joy as Marcus began curling with them. Marcus grunted a few times due to them being some pretty heavy 'weights'. After a few seconds, he set down the two giggling fillies next to Applebloom who was looking at him with her mouth hanging open.

  “How’s that for an answer, huh? Marcus said with a little snicker at the end.

Marcus turned to face the closest apple tree and approached it. He then looked back at Applebloom.

  “By ‘bucking’ do you mean just kick it?”

  “And make the apples in it fall out!” Replied Applebloom.

Marcus faced the tree as the three fillies watched with hard focus. He waited a few seconds before raising his right leg and front-kicking the body of the tree as hard as he could. The whole three swayed voilently and apples poured out of the vegetation at the treetop. Marcus grunted as a few hit his head ad noticed he left a small dent in the wood where his foot had connected with the tree.

  "Hm, the trees must be less tough here than Earth, I don't think I could acually dent a tree there..."

He turned around to face the three and laughed a little at the look they were giving him. Shock. Wide eyes, mouths agar, speechless. Shock. Marcus clapped his gloved hands to snap them out of their trans.

  “Hello?”

The three fillies then started assaulting him with compliments and cheers. After the bombardment, Marcus walked over to the cabin of the jet and leaned up against the hull.

  “I’ll be damned! This is the most fun I’ve had in a really long time!”