- >Private Anonymous.
- >Rifleman of the United States Colonial Marine Corps.
- >This is my first entry in this stupid green book.
- >Just a bunch of useless information I’ll never use.
- >So I’m using it as a journal of sorts.
- >I’m part of Echo Squad, Rifle Team.
- >Corporal Evans has my back for this mission.
- >Watching out for the new guy I guess.
- >My platoon has been directed to some rock called Tranek-5.
- >Search and Rescue op.
- >No big deal, but enough to get my feet wet.
- >I serve with the best, so I better give them mine.
- >You wipe the sweat off your face as you delve deeper into the temple.
- >The heat is unbearable in here.
- >“Shrug it off Private, a little heat won’t kill you.”
- “Yes sir.” You reply focusing on the path ahead.
- >If you’re going to be a bonified marine you’ll need to act like one.
- >The further you go, the stranger this place gets.
- >An ancient temple in the middle of a lifeless planet was one thing.
- >But you feel like someone’s watching you.
- >The black coating around the walls doesn’t help much either.
- >You follow Evans into the next chamber, that black shit covering every inch of it.
- >”I’ve got a bad feeling about it.” Another private blurts out.
- >”Can it Marine, you’re not here to feel.” Evans replies.
- >Evans may act tough, but you can tell he feels it too.
- >This shit is just too weird.
- “Clear.”
- >You move into the next room which opens up into some sort of arena.
- >The scientists should be somewhere in here…
- >”Any movement private?” Sgt. Barret calls out.
- “Nothing on the tracker sir.”
- >”Alright, Alpha and Bravo take left. Charlie Squad, make your way around the right. Delta will cover you from the upper floor. Echo secure this door.
- “Done sir.”
- >”That a boy, now move out.”
- >The marines fan out, leaving your team to hold a door.
- >”Stuck with the shit job, like usual.” Pvt. Johnson moans.
- “Unless you want to get stuck with latrine duty, I’d man up and deal with it.”
- >”Keep talking like that and you might make it places rookie.”
- >Cpl. Evans doesn’t give praise lightly, you’d feel gitty if you weren’t so fucking hot.
- >“We got one!”
- >”Roger that, Delta and Charlie get back her on the double.”
- >Finally, time to get out of here.
- >”Yo Sgt. He doesn’t look to good man.”
- >”We got some more over here!”
- >”Fuck man what’s wrong with this guy?” *pop*
- >”The fuck is that thing?”
- >A few rounds go off at Alpha’s location.
- >You ready your weapon.
- >Hisssss…
- >*ba beep** ba beep*
- >Your motion tracker is going haywire.
- “I’ve got movement!”
- >”No shit marine, where?”
- >You tap your tracker, the signal still growing.
- “I’ve got movement all around sir. 15 meters and moving in.”
- >”There’s nothing besides us, check again.”
- “I’m telling you sir, 12 meters!”
- >”Evans, status report.”
- >He looks at your tracker, “10 meters sir, that’s the truth.”
- >”All squads back to the door!”
- >Too late.
- >A scream comes from your right along with a roar of gunfire.
- >”Charlie and Delta squads report! Give me a sitrep dammit.”
- >”They’re everywhere sgt. We need to g- ahhhh!”
- >More screams come from Alpha and Bravo.
- >Gunfire blazes through the chamber.
- >”Let’s get these assholes!”
- >Pvt. Johnson and Cpl. Foley charge into the fray, letting out a hail of bullets.
- >”Echo Squad, hold that door! Bravo’s on its way."
- >You look at Evans who’s back against the wall and aiming down the sights.
- >”Copy that! Anon we hold until Bravo arrives.”
- >You imitate Evans, scared out of your mind.
- “What about the others?”
- >”What do you think?”
- >Fuck.
- >Something crawls along the ceiling, moving towards you.
- >You squeeze the trigger and it drops like a sack of potatoes.
- “Another!”
- >You and Evans unload everything you have into the crowd.
- >So much for short controlled bursts.
- >”Bravo should have been here by now.”
- >A marine runs around the corner, making a sprint for the door only to be dragged off.
- “What the fuck are these?”
- >”We hold at all costs.”
- >You never signed up for this shit.
- >You make your way towards the door, ready to escape.
- >”Where do you think you’re going private!?”
- “I’m not sitting around here to die like the others.”
- >”We hold!”
- You pepper off another few rounds, dropping another intruder.
- “Like hell I will.”
- >You sprint up the stairs, leaving the chaos behind you.
- >The rings of pulse rifles and shotguns echo in your ears.
- >You won’t die like them…
- >Cold air hits your face, relieving you temporarily.
- >Past the stairs you continue sprinting towards the evac zone.
- >You can still hear the gunfire behind you.
- >You’re almost at HQ when you see a pistol on the floor.
- >Nothing shows up on the tracker as you pick it up.
- >The gun is covered in some oozy substance, sticking to your hand.
- *bleep*
- >Popping up your head, you see it down the hall.
- >It’s black as night, buglike in appearance. Its teeth quiver as it gets ready to charge.
- >You aim down the sights, barraging the bug with ammo.
- >It weaves around the walls gaining speed.
- >Whipping out your Pulse Rifle, you fire the grenade launcher, detonating square on its head.
- >The tunnel collapses, forcing you to find a way around.
- >Your heart is beating at a hundred miles per hour.
- >Who knows how long you’ve been running.
- >Another right, another dark hallway, the cackle of gunfire fading behind you.
- “Fuck!”
- >You check your motion tracker. Nothing.
- >Too fucking close.
- >You walk down the hallway, eyes peeled for anything suspicious.
- >That motion tracker is what got most of your Squad killed, can’t be too careful.
- >Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice- *bleep*
- >Twenty-four meters and closing behind you.
- >A hiss echoes from behind you.
- >NOPE!
- >You barrel down the hallway, throwing away subtlety.
- >That thing isn’t going to get you like the others.
- >Another right and you can see a large room at the end of the hall.
- >Sprint man!
- >The room is bigger than you remembered, the walls shifting away.
- >You shut the door, locking away any monstrosities that may want in.
- >Taking a few steps back, you look around the room for anything you can use.
- >Thank the fucking stars this place is hasn’t been emptied out yet..
- >You even spot a couple boxes of UA-571C Sentry Guns.
- >Nothing on the motion tracker.
- >You strip a few pulse rifles of their magazines, adding them to your own.
- >A pair of legs sticks out from behind the sentry guns.
- >Drawing your weapon you work your way around.
- >It’s Corporal Evans, poor bastard.
- >One of those bugs got him in the head.
- >You spot an Incinerator on the ground next to him, so you bend down to pick it up.
- >Some goo coats the handle and sticks to your hand.
- >You’ve seen this stuff before…
- >You take a step back, bumping into some controls.
- >A loud roar comes from the console.
- “Shit…”
- >You started something alright.
- >A growl turns your attention away from the console.
- >Something grabs you and throws you up against the wall.
- >The thing is blurry, not having a definite shape.
- >*shling* A pair of blades juts out of nowhere.
- >Goodbye world…
- >Another creature slams into your attacker and drops you to the ground.
- >You run to the other side of the room and draw your pistol.
- >The creatures are hidden behind a desk, still fighting each other.
- >A blinding light engulfs you and you can feel yourself losing consciousness.
- >Fucking alien temples…
- >Fresh air fills your lungs invigorating you.
- >Moving your hand around you feel the fresh grass on your skin.
- >The sun extends its warmth and safety to you.
- >You bolt up, your basic training kicking in.
- >The room you were in is gone, now replaced by some open plain.
- >You draw your combat knife and get into stance.
- >There is no sign of your attackers or the temple.
- >You put your hand on your head, where the hell are you?
- >This place reminds you of the pictures you’ve seen of Earth’s past, wildlife and nature running wild.
- >The contents of the room are scattered around, even Corporal Evans’s body.
- >You tear off his dog tags and place them in your pouch.
- >He had your back, but you left him.
- >Too scared to watch his.
- >You should’ve been there.
- “Sorry sir…”
- >Evans still has his Combat Shotgun in his hands, you probably need it more than him now.
- >You sling the shotgun around your back and continue scavenging around.
- >An assortment of guns are tossed about the area, you gather them up and put them all in a large bag.
- >The sentry guns made it, but they’re too big to take alone.
- >A couple research logs were lying about, so you place them in your pocket. Never know when you’ll need them.
- >After a couple minutes you sit down on the sentry boxes and take out your green book.
- >Might as well make use of this thing.
- >Location- Unknown
- >Time- 1320 hours
- >Turns out the “search and rescue” op was a load of shit.
- >There weren’t any survivors on Tranek-5, only some temple.
- >We locked in onto the scientist’s transponders only to find death lying in wait.
- >Nothing could have prepared us for that slaughter.
- >Those bugs… they wiped out my whole platoon.
- >Corporal Evans and I were told to hold the escape route.
- >I was never good at following orders.
- >I panicked and fled like a coward.
- >I left them all behind.
- >I found him back in the main chamber, a hole in his head.
- >Whatever killed him tried to do the same to me, but something happened.
- >I had hit some switch and a blast of light hit me and I woke up in some field.
- >My attackers are gone, but they left me with a bunch of gifts.
- >I have no idea where I am, but I’m going to try and find out.
- >[End of Entry]
- >You look around observing the equipment.
- >It doesn’t seem like a good idea leaving this stuff out in the open.
- >You find some bushes and discard what you can’t carry. You can always come back for it.
- >A river flows nearby, where there’s water there’s civilization.
- >You need to get some answers.
- >You check your equipment, a simple routine.
- >Armor and helmet undamaged, Combat Knife, VP-70 Pistol 2 clips, M41A Pulse Rifle 3 clips, ZX-76 Combat Shotgun 16 shells, M240 Incinerator full tank, flares, motion tracker and your green book.
- >You jot it all down, hell you’re basically a walking armory.
- >You set off down the river, not burning daylight.
- >Location- Unknown
- >Time- 0600 hours
- >Had to turn off my motion tracker, the wildlife kept setting it off.
- >I almost wasted a shot the first time it went off.
- >Those bugs have me jumping at shadows.
- >Still no sign of people, I’m thinking I went the wrong way.
- >Can’t sleep, there’s no telling if those things are here or not.
- >[End of Entry]
- >You keep walking for a couple hours, finally spotting a town on the horizon.
- >The river leads you to a cobblestone bridge, the town on the other side.
- >Looks a bit old timey though, constructed mainly out of wood.
- >You keep your hand on your pistol as you enter town.
- >There doesn’t seem to be any people out, just some small horses. Ponies more like it.
- >The silence is deafening, the ponies all have their eyes on you.
- >They kinda freak you out though you don’t show it.
- >You could have sworn you had heard voices before.
- “Private Anon, Colonial Marines, anyone here?”
- >No response.
- >The ponies continue to stare.
- >Great, find a town and it’s completely deserted except for some cattle. Just my luck.
- >You walk further in, “Hello? Private Anon, Colonial Marines. If anyone’s there respond."
- >”Sorry about them,” a sweet voice responds behind you, “they haven’t seen anything like you before.”
- ”Who’s they?” you say turning around.
- >A purple pony stands before you, a horn on its head.
- >”The rest of Ponyville.”
- >De fuck!?
- >You draw your pistol and back away.
- >”Umm, are you ok?”
- >A talking purple unicorn, and it wants to know how you feel. Completely normal.
- “How can you talk?”
- >This is too much shit for one week.
- >”All ponies can talk, you- you didn’t know that did you?”
- >It steps closer, though you don’t sense any hostility towards you.
- >You holster your pistol, hand still hovering just in case.
- “Affirmative.”
- >She appears puzzled at your language, but signals the all-clear to the others.
- “So what brings you to Ponyville, Anon correct?”
- >She may not be human, but she is willing to help.
- “Yes ma’am. I came looking for others like myself; do you happen to have a radio I can use?”
- >”A radio? I don’t know what that is sorry.”
- >Damn, looks like you’re going to be stuck here for a while.
- >Activate Courtesy.
- “It’s alright, I didn’t catch your name Ms…”
- >”Twilight Sparkle, pleasure to meet you.”
- >Strange name, but ponies can talk so I guess that makes it ok?
- “So Ms.Twilight-“
- >”Just Twilight please.”
- >She seems nice.
- “Apologies, exactly where am I Twilight?”
- >”That would be Equestria.”
- >Equestria huh? Doesn’t ring any bells.
- >You yawn, the lack of rest getting to you.
- >”Do you need a place to stay?” she asks concerned. “You look like you need some sleep and a place to lie down.” You see her eyeing your weapons.
- “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” you reply disappointing her.
- >You can feel your equipment weighing you down.
- “But I could make an exception for now.”
- >She smiles. “There is a house at the edge of town you could use. No one has moved in there since I came here. Is that good enough?”
- “That’d be perfect ma’am.”
- >”Wonderful, I’ll talk to the mayor about your presence here, and please just call me Twilight.”
- >You give her a nod.
- “Roger that ma’am.”
- >She giggles before disappearing in a flash of light.
- >This place is fucking weird.
- >The path to this house is relatively clear. Everyp0ny seems to just clear before you.
- >You don’t even have to intimidate them with your weapons.
- >Other than that, they appear to act just like the civies back home.
- >They buy their shit, go home, and mingle, same old shit just in a different place.
- >The house Twilight mentioned is just ahead.
- >Same structure as most of the other buildings.
- >You always wanted to live in something like this as a kid.
- >No more steel corridors and grey terrain.
- >You shake your head and step inside.
- >The interior is just as homey as the exterior.
- >There’s a kitchen, living room and even a bathroom downstairs. No more shitting in some hole in the ground. Thank god for that.
- >You set your weapons down on the counter, keeping your pistol and tracker with you.
- >Nothing is catching you by surprise.
- >You clear room by room, silently stepping up the stairs.
- >Some office is to your right, empty.
- >You continue your sweep entering another room.
- >What you see utterly stuns you.
- >A bed. It’s an actual bed, not just some dinky mattress or cryo pod.
- >You run your hand over the covers. Your hand practically melds with the cloth it’s so soft.
- >This is the first proper bed you’ve felt in your life.
- >Stories were told at how these things felt, but you never thought you’d get the chance…
- >The house is clear enough for you; you just want to feel this bed.
- >You unclap your armor from your chest and set it on the ground.
- >Flipping on the motion tracker you set it on the nightstand.
- >This place is on the edge of town, so nothing should set it off.
- >Drawing your pistol you plop down on the bed.
- >So… comfortable…
- >You drift off to sleep, pistol in hand.
- >You’re back in the temple, chatting up some of your squadmates.
- >Johnson is passing time playing cards, others restocking equipment.
- >Just a bunch of marines ready to roll.
- >You see Evans in the middle staring at you.
- >He shakes his head and closes his eyes.
- >Black resin seeps down the walls the light fading.
- >The marines scream in agony, clutching their chests.
- >Evans keeps staring at you.
- >Your comrades begin to change, their bodies disfigured.
- >They morph into the very bugs that killed them.
- >You raise your weapon and fire, no ammo.
- >*ba bleep* The monsters surround Evans who continues to stare at you.
- >”We hold…”
- >You run out the door into the blackness.
- >*ba bleep* Something grabs you by the shoulders pulling you up.
- >Evans is inches from your face.
- >”We hold…”
- >His face contorts, finalizing into another bug.
- >It’s teeth quiver and open revealing another mouth.
- >*ba bleep*
- >You shoot out of bed accidentally firing your weapon.
- >Beads of sweat roll down your face.
- >Just a nightmare…
- >*ba bleep*
- >You don your armor and grab the tracker.
- >Something’s coming towards you.
- >You rush downstairs and aim at the door.
- >*ba bleep*
- “Come on in, you fuckers... Come on in... "Ol'Painless" is waiting...”
- >*knock knock knock*
- >”Anon are you alright in there? I heard a loud noise?”
- >Just Twilight.
- “Damn,” you say holstering your pistol, “I’m fine.”
- >You open the door and turn off your tracker.
- “Evening Twilight, something I can help you with?”
- >”I was just wondering how you were settling in. What was that noise?”
- >You pull out your pistol showing it to her.
- “My sidearm, I accidentally set it off when I woke up.”
- >”And it makes that loud of a noise?”
- “You- don’t know what a gun is do you?”
- >”Not really, no.”
- >You sigh, not wanting to explain this shit.
- “Well, I’m doing fine Twilight. Thank you for the thought. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
- >”I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat. Sugarcube Corner is still open, so would you like to go?”
- >You are kind of hungry since you haven’t eaten anything since you got here.
- “Sure just give me a second.”
- >You pick up your pulse rifle and sling it across your back.
- >”I don’t think you’ll need that…” Twilight calls.
- “I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” No one has died after saying that.
- >She looks concerned, but waits for you nonetheless.
- >You lock the door and follow Twilight’s lead.
- >The two of you make small talk, mostly letting her tell you about the area.
- >When you get to ‘Sugarcube Corner,’ all the lights are out.
- “Doesn’t look like they’re open.” You sigh in disappointment.
- >”They’re open, come on.”
- >You follow her into the building, lights still off.
- >You barely make out a sign at the back, ‘something something Anon.’
- “I swear to god-“
- >”Surprise!”
- >God dammit…
- >Ponies fucking galore with each screaming your name.
- >You manage not to gun them down by instinct.
- >You raise your eyebrow at Twilight, giving her a chance to explain.
- >”Don’t look at me. It wasn’t even my idea.”
- “Uh huh.” You’re not buying it.
- >”It was Pinkie Pie’s idea, she al-“
- “Where can I find this ‘Pinkie Pie’?”
- >A haze of pink appears in the corner of your eye. No answer needed.
- >”Hiya!”
- >”Nice to meet you mister Anon, my name’s Pinkie Pie.” She’s completely pink, how fitting.
- >”Did we surprise you? It’s a surprise party so of course you’re surprised…” She continue to ramble on while you pour yourself some punch.
- >You haven’t had fruit punch since you were a kid, which reminds you of your empty belly.
- “Sorry to interrupt, but is there anything to eat?”
- >”Of course we do silly, come on.”
- >She drags you around to a table covered in layers of sugary sweets.
- >Of course, this place is called Sugarcube Corner after all.
- >”Dig in!” she says scarfing down a plate of cupcakes.
- “Do you have any, you know, normal food?”
- >Finishing off her plate, “Why? They’re great just try some.”
- “Sorry Pinkie, I can’t.”
- >She gets on her knees and gives you the puppy dog eyes.
- >Dat fucking face.
- >You give, grabbing a yellow frosted cupcake.
- >This’ll take a good week to work off.
- >You take a bite, Pinkie searching your face for the slightest hint of joy.
- >Pokerface.jpg
- >It’s like you took a bite of heaven and then some.
- >You gulp it down, still expressionless.
- “Eh, it’s pretty good, thank you. Now about that food…”
- >She jumps for joy and guides you to the kitchen.
- >It doesn’t take much to make her happy apparently.
- >You can barely follow her erratic movement as the bounces off the walls.
- >Drawers are opening and closing before you can react.
- >She places a sandwich in front of you, “Tada!”
- >Finally, something substantial.
- >You take a large bite, fighting back the urge to purge.
- >The inside is all grainy and utterly tasteless.
- >Managing to swallow you spot a fake grin.
- “What’d you put in it?”
- >”It’s called a Dandelion Delight! You’ve got hay, lettuce, dandelions of course and a variety of other flowers.
- >No wonder it’s awful, the ingredients are basically all inedible.
- >You open the fridge to see if there’s anything you can actually eat.
- >There’s a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but you need something nice and meaty.
- >Other fridge might have something.
- >Nope, nope and yep, more nope.
- “Hey Pinkie do you any anything else in here besides the obvious? Meat maybe?
- >”We don’t carry meat,” she gasps, “Only those animals in the Everfree Forest eat meat.”
- >Animals… Is that what you are then? An animal?
- >She probably hasn’t thought of anything else.
- “I’m sure that some people eat meat Pinkie, not just animals.”
- >”Hmm…” thinking about it for a minute, “Nope, only animals could be so cruel.”
- >Your nerves begin to flare at her ignorance.
- >So you’re just an animals after all…
- “Have you ever considered that they need it to stay healthy? Not every-“
- >”Ponies don’t need it, so neither do they.”
- >That doesn’t even make sense.
- “You don’t understand, t-“
- >”I understand that eating meat is evil, like those who eat it. More Dandelion Delight?” She says holding out the sandwich.
- >You don’t have to take this shit from this insufferable p0ny.
- “Thanks for the party Pinkie,” you say walking out.
- >”Hey we haven’t gotten out the cake yet!” she shouts after you.
- >You head for the door ignoring the rest of the ponies.
- >You stop by Twilight before you leave.
- “Thank you sincerely for the party, but please, don’t next time.”
- >”What do you mean?”
- >You’re already on your way home when you respond.
- “Ask Pinkie Pie, I’m sure a couple ‘people’ can figure it out.”
- >You open the door and get on the floor.
- >No walking the dinosaur tonight.
- >You’re just an animal to them, some creature that eats the flesh of others.
- >They don’t understand that you actually need it. How could they?
- >It goes against their own being to even think about eating meat.
- >Fuck it, it’s their problem not yours.
- >The bed is still as comfortable as before, though you don’t feel that way.
- >Your not even going to bother with your armor, but you lay down your pulse rifle, pistol and tracker.
- >Flipping on the tracker you lay back in bed.
- >Let’s hope for a good nights sleep.

