//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: An Unexpected Ally // Story: Half-Life X MLP: The Lost Timeline // by GordonFreebrony //------------------------------// It was a fine summer day in Ponyville, the wind was blowing a cool breeze along through the grass and fields, the birds were happily singing in the nearby trees, and everything was peaceful as could be. Excepting, of course, the fact the town itself was abandoned, filled with corpses both alien and familiar. Half of the houses and other buildings had holes in them, and a few fires had sprung up. The keen observer from on high might even be able to pick out the small tan lumps of flesh that were walking around, occasionally leaping on a corpse’s head. Through this scene of terror, a sound was heard that was completely and utterly foreign to its surroundings— laughter. “Hold on,” said Barney Calhoun, a short human in a blue uniform, “you mean to tell me that there is a place called Mareia, an ancient and foreboding mine filled with an unknowable evil from an ancient age, and we have to pass through it to get into this Canterlot? Bwahahhahahahahahahahahaha…. You must be pulling my leg Gordon, I mean seriously?” The man he was talking to, a tall, brown haired and bearded man wearing an orange and black suit, bristling with weapons, looked up, “Yes Barney, and you’ll never guess the name of the foreman… Tolkein.” Gordon chuckled as Barney began to literally roll on the ground laughing. He was interrupted, however, by the purple unicorn behind him. “Look, I really don’t think that this is the time or place to be laughing. We are being attacked by Celestia-knows-what, we just lost one of our friends, and we are trying to save the princesses!” Twilight practically yelled the last bit at Barney, who was shocked out of his mirth by the large purple aura that surrounded him and picked him up. “Whoa, hey there! Put me down, please? Gordon can you give me a hand here?” Barney said in surprise as he was held upside down about three feet off the ground. Twilight just snorted in disgust, before dropping Barney in a heap on the ground. Barney stood up, brushing the dirt off of his uniform. “Look, I say laugh when you can. It’s the only way to stay out of the funny farm.” Barney explained, adding, Then again, seeing things like you make me question my sanity still, under his breath. “Whatever, can we leave before more of those things get here?” Twilight said, directing the question to Gordon. “Yeah, lets go.” Gordon began to walk, Barney following. The six ponies took a moment to realize he left, but then followed the two humans. Gordon and Barney both drew their MP5s, scanning the right and left flank respectively. Still, they met very few aliens, only a handful of headcrabs seemed to have survived Pinkie’s rampage. Pinkie herself had begun to get better, but she was still subdued and unusually quiet. Gordon knew better than to try to press her for details about her sudden, devastating attack. The group almost made it out of the town without much trouble. The two men had exchanged their MP5s for 9mms to save ammo. They approached the edge of the town, when all of a sudden, they heard screaming. It was the first sound they had heard that did not come from them or the aliens. “It sounds like Derpy!” Twilight shouted, running towards the sound. The group followed behind, only to enter another scene of carnage. Unlike the rest of the town, which was deserted and destroyed, as if the ponies had fled, this area was covered in blood. In one corner, half of a bright red pony could be seen, the back half nowhere in sight. In the center of the small area stood a gray pegasus being mauled by a headcrab zombie, this one a pony that appeared to have had a leaf cutie mark, except that it was cut in half as if someone had ripped the mark in two. The gray pegasus was missing a wing, and had huge gashes on either side. She was somehow still alive, bucking at the zombie in weak, sloppy kicks. Gordon wasted no time, emptying a full clip into the zombie’s head. The zombie fell down, its head nothing but a mess of bloody pulp. The group turned towards Derpy, concern in their eyes. They knew there was no way to save her. My god thought Gordon She probably painted half of this area herself. Just got to remember: don’t step in the blood! Derpy lifted her head, seeing Twilight. She knew she was dying, and that there was nothing she could do. She pulled Twilight closer to her, pulling Twilight’s ear close to her mouth. “Please, help Dinky… .S-she’s with the class… in.. C-canterlot for… a ..field tri… tri…trip…..” Having passed on her message, Derpy gave up all pretense of staying alive, releasing herself into the welcome folds of darkness, releasing her from the pain. Twilight simply lowered her head, silently mourning for the pony’s pain. She may not have known Derpy that well, but she had been a good mailmare, and she was still a pony. The rest of the ponies were silently amazed by the sheer amount of blood in the small plaza. Fluttershy was quietly being sick in the least bloody corner, trying her hardest not to think about what she was stepping in. The silence was broken by a loud, concerned orange pony; “Gosh darn’t, I can’t believe ah forgot about Applebloom. Mah own sistah! We need ter get ter Canterlot now more dan ever. Why didn’t we send a note to the princess? Lets go guys!” Gordon agreed with Applejack, “Yeah, we should get going befo—“ KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! “—Does it always have to be in the middle of a damn sentence?” Gordon said, pissed at the six Vortigaunts that had just teleported in, surrounding them. Gordon exchanged his 9mm for his shotgun, Barney performing a similar action across from him. They began shooting simultaneously, trying to kill the Vorts before they had a chance to charge up. Already the first two to teleport in had already begun charging. The six ponies just stood around, watching the Vorts perform what they thought was offensive magic. *Zap* *Zap* *Zap* “Brrrr grrrburglemungleburglew!” Gordon shouted, the three bolts of electrical energy passing through his suit as if it was nothing. He downed the last aliens with a double shot, them having moved close together for some reason. “That fucking HURTS damnit!” He shouted, kicking the nearest body. “Alright everyone, lets get the hell out of here. Barney, watch our asses.” Everyone did as Gordon said, moving into a caravan-style formation. They finally got out of Ponyville, looking back at the devastation. In the distance, closer to the Everfree, they saw a small band of ponies that had escaped the town. Gordon noticed the six ponies moving towards the refugees. “We can’t help them guys,” Gordon said, “We need to get to Canterlot, remember. You said we should save your princesses, right? They can probably look out for themselves.” “But what about the survivors?” said Dash, her loyalty to her town showing in her eyes. “As I said, they can look out for themselves. You guys were the ones that said we should get to Canterlot, and I am not changing the goal now. I am sick and tired of moving through a damned maze, unsure of where to go, and having to impersonate a mole just to get from one endless tunnel of concrete and death to another, equally endless tunnel of death. I’m sick of being unsure, I’m sick of having no goal other than ‘escape.’ Therefore we are going to Canterlot!” Gordon poured all of his rage into this statement, scaring the ponies into submission. Rarity felt that his glaring force was like Fluttershy’s stare, just backed up with actual violence. “Look here Gordon, we are only concerned for our town. Yelling at us is no way to treat ladies such as ourselves. Especially a walking fashion disaster like you. He,” she pointed to Barney, “ at least shows some fashion sense.” Rarity snapped, instantly regretting her words. “Walking fashion disaster?” Gordon said, while Barney snickered in the background, “I have just saved your butts from being whooped by extra-dimensional aliens, have agreed to help protect your princesses out of the goodness of my heart, and struggled through more perils in one day then you have in your whole, pampered life, and all you can say abut me is that my suit isn’t fashionable? The one that has allowed me to survive the whole damn ordeal?!?!?!?!” Gordon thundered, making Rarity tremble and Fluttershy duck behind a conveniently placed rock. Rarity mumbled something, her barbed comment swallowed by Gordon’s rage. *FOOM* Out of nowhere, both Gordon and Rarity were entangled in streamers and balloons, covered in confetti and glitter. Near the rock Fluttershy had been hiding behind, a large canon was pointed at them, Pinkie standing next to it. Barney could not hold it in any longer, and began to roll on the ground, laughing harder and harder at the sheer randomness of it all. The laughter was contagious, soon everyone was laughing, even the still-entangled Rarity and Gordon. Fluttershy even came out from behind the rock, laughing in her own, quiet way. Gordon and Rarity were released by a still laughing Pinkie, their mirth covering the footsteps slowly walking up behind them. All of a sudden, unnoticed by everyone else, Fluttershy gasped and hid behind the rock again. Gordon, immersed in the laughter, stopped when he felt a cold barrel against his neck. “Target found, accomplices subdued. Delta Team checking in. Bringing hostiles to base.” Came from the mask of the tallest man in military fatigues. Two others held their guns pointed at Gordon and Barney, the leader observing the ponies sitting there, wondering what type of aliens they were. The leader informed Command about the ponies. “Delta, lethal force advised for aliens. Detain targets and bring ‘em in for questioning. I want to know what the hell they did to us. Overlord out.” “Acknowledged. You heard him boys, down the aliens and bring in the targets.” Twilight jerked out of her daze, the surprise of seeing the sudden, deadly, green monsters fading. She heard them talking about ‘lethal force’ and knew they were talking about her and her friends. In that instant of understanding, she saw the three green things raise their weapons, and Twilight knew what to do. She summoned her magic, focusing on the monsters as she brought up a spell she hated to use. It was a heart-stopping spell that Celestia had taught her in case she ever needed protection. The only time she had used it was on the sparrow Celestia had set up for her to practice on. Using the spell always left Twilight with a sick feeling in her mouth and stomach, as if she had eaten the hearts of what she killed. Her horn alight with magic as she remembered the procedure, and the green things clutched their chests, falling over at the same time. Twilight also fell over, the exhaustion and the sickness of using the spell, even on something that would kill them, left her drained. “What just happened?” Barney asked, checking the soldiers for ammo and tossing extra mags to Gordon. “I don’t know, but I think Twilight killed them. Damn it, the aliens were bad enough, but now the MILITARY has followed me. I think I need to revise my theory. Its not that part of the UNIVERSE wants me dead, its part of the MULTIVERSE that does. I mean seriously. Why else would they chase us down?” Gordon complained, talking mostly to Barney. “Hey, you’re not the only one. The military attacked me too you know. I took a bullet to the arm a while back too. Hell, even the sentry turrets were on the fritz, attacking ME even though I am part of the security force itself.” “At least you didn’t get a free ear piercing, compliments of one of those turrets.” “Damnit Gordon, fine, you win. Again. I’ll buy you another beer when we get home.” The two friends finished searching the bodies, Gordon pulling off one of the helmets that looked like it would fit him. Rarity groaned at his new fashion statement, the clashing colors almost hurting her painfully. Or maybe it was the fact that her home was destroyed. Or some of her friends and neighbors were dead. Whatever it was, Rarity didn’t care. She hurt. Gordon felt he looked good, like some sort of superhero Captain America-like guy. His new green helmet may smell like sweat, but it fit snugly and gave him cranial protection from lacerations and bullets. He signaled everyone to keep moving, trying to stop them from thinking about their problems. They continued to walk, this time being vigilant for the military. Gordon had his suit run a lifeform scan, but it just told him that that function was unavailable due to the unknown floral and faunal lifeforms surrounding them. Gordon sighed, wondering why it worked when he first arrived. The road they were on lead up to the mountain in the distance, a large, ornate castle perched on the side, seemingly built as a lighter part of the mountain. A small city surrounded the mountain, a sheer cliff at the edge of the city. The road led around the mountain, disappearing around the bend. Gordon pointed to the mountain in the distance and turned towards Twilight. “Tell me again why we can’t just walk through the city, instead of rushing through, “Gordon held in a chuckle, “Mareia?” “Well, two reasons. First off, the streets are probably filled with panicking nobles, begging the guards to attack anything that’s not a pony, or doing so themselves, and secondly, we need either a chariot or wings to get up there. It was designed so the only sure way in is through the train bridges, which you can see have collapsed, or by flying, which we can’t. If I had remembered to send a note to Princess Celsetia while we were at home, we would probably already be there, assuming the pegasus chariot could pull you.” “Figures,” Gordon replied, “With my luck, I’m surprised I haven’t had to crawl through an airduct yet. I just want to—“ KKKCCCHHRRTTZZAAAPPP! “—REALLY? AGAIN?!” Gordon shouted at the green portal behind him, already swinging his crowbar at the form that was slowly appearing. ________________________________________________ Corporal Adrian Shephard burst forth through the heavy metal doors. His quarry, one Gordon Freeman, was right in front of him. Shephard saw Freeman jump for the portal in front of him, the man reached out. Than a huge explosion of rainbow light and sound filled the room. The strange aliens that were floating up near the roof all fell. Another explosion rocked the chamber, the catwalk at the other side falling down. Shephard ran for the door that could be seen, the only other way out of the room that was falling apart. More of the aliens appeared, Shephard shooting them as they appeared. He reached the other side of the room, a portal appearing on the end of the catwalk. Shephard ran for the portal, hoping against hope that it would take him somewhere far away from the craziness that was Black Mesa. He reached the portal and entered it just as another explosion of light and sound rocked through the room. He was surrounded by black, endless black, “Where the hell am I? and what the—“ He began, only to be cut off by a large green light in his eyes. He opened his eyes again, catching a glipse of bright, pastel colors, only to receive a concussion from the large, red, metal object that hit him across the face. He collapsed instantly. _____________________________________________ Gordon saw the shape resolve itself into a humanoid in a gasmask and a set of body armor, covered in weapons, with what looked like a barnacle, a squid, and a huge blue cockroach attached to him. Gordon finished his swing, smacking the man in the side of the head. He collapsed to the ground, groaning. Gordon looked over at Barney and the ponies. “Well that’s new. I’ve never seen a soldier teleport, or carry weapons like these. Let’s tie him up. We should take a rest anyway.” “Sure, why not?” Barney said. The rest of the group agreed, some of them flopping down on the ground, exhausted from the whole ordeal. Rarity used her horn and pulled a red velvet couch out of some bushes, falling down upon it and sighing loudly. Pinkie reached behind her back and pulled out a table with a large cake on it. Gordon saw Barney looking curiously at it, his face contorting in an expression of confusion. “Barney, don’t think about it. Just let it go.” Gordon said, surprised that he had become so used to these impossible actions By the time the soldier awoke, he was bound hand and foot, his weapons on the ground across the camp. Gordon had left the blue cockroach, the squid and the barnacle because every time he went near them, the hissed and gurgled at him. The soldier tried to sit up, drawing the attention of both his quarry, a security guard, and six things that stood there. They looked like horses to the soldier, yet they were brightly colored and small, probably only half his height. He looked up at the security guard., sensing the most danger form the man who was trained to kill. He didn’t notice the fact that Freeman had snuck up behind him, pulling his crowbar around his next and squeezing slightly. “Who the hell are you and why are you military types trying to kill us?” Gordon hissed into his ear. “Corporal Adrian Shephard, Hazardous Environment Unit, 115-377-896” Barney broke in on Gordon’s interrogation however, “Shephard? The guy from the locker? I thought you were friendly.” “Barney? What do you mean? I had absolutely no way of being friendly since your lunatic scientist friend here has been trying to kill me. Let me up will you?” Shephard replied. “Barney, you know this creep?” Gordon said. “Yeah. Remember when I told you about the guy in your locker? This is him. I tried to free him, but he didn’t want me to use the satchel charge to break open the door, so, after running out of ideas, I left to find something to pry the door open, but then I got caught in the teleport-thingy again, and I don’t know after that.” Barney replied. “Yeah,” interrupted Shephard, “but you have forgotten two things. One, the hinges were on the inside, so I needed to pull and you needed to push, not the other way around, and Two, You,” he pointed at Gordon, “have just assaulted a US Corporal, and have kidnapped said Corporal. That’s treason.” “Look buddy,” Gordon said as Barney facepalmed, “I have killed more of your comrades than I can feasibly count. I have killed thousands of aliens, and on top of that, I am in an F-ing pony world, surrounded by bright colors and dead aliens. Do you really think I care about getting tried for treason?” Shephard was at a loss for words. “I will free you,” Gordon said, issuing his ultimatum, “If you agree to help us. If you renege on that deal, or you try to sabotage us, or even contact your superiors, I will shoot you in the fucking head, and waltz on. Understand?” It took Shephard a moment to realize Gordon really did not want to kill him, and was trying to help him. “Ok, I guess we can work together.” A loud gurgling sound was heard on his waist. “What’s that Gill? Your hungry? Ok, let’s let these nice men untie me, and I will feed you.” Gordon saw Shephard talking to the green alien at his waist. He didn’t trust Shephard, but it was really his only option. If things worked out, they had a fully trained military operative on their side, Although the military I have seen should have tried out for the Darwin awards. Sigh but the downside was they had a potential traitor in their midst. Gordon freed Shephard, letting him reach into his belt and pull out a few green balls. These he fed to the alien he had dubbed ‘Gill.’ Gordon waited for the inevitable while Shephard looked around and began gathering his gear. Shephard paused, turned around, and then his eyes widened to the size of dinnerplates. “FLUTTERSHY?!?!?!?!” He said, almost screaming the name. Gordon jumped in surprise, assuming that Shephard would ask what the things were, and not act like he knew them. Shpephard continued to name each pony, and even Spike, who had gone unnoticed by Gordon. Shephard then looked at Gordon, and seeing the confusion in his eyes, he said, “Oh… ummm… yeah, my.. uhhh.. daughter, she.. watches this show… My Little Pony… ummm, she makes me watch it… It’s a kid show, really, but… you know how… daughters… are.. umm, but It’s awesome to see you guys, I mean, not that your life is a show or anything, I mean uhhh…” Gordon watched him, noticing the pauses in his speech, and the way his eyes, showing through the mask, darted side to side. “Ah no you ain’t trying to lie to me!” said Applejack, “Now what in tarnation are you talking about, and how the hay do you know us?” Whatever skin that was visible on Shephard’s face went beet red as he realized he would have to give up his most guarded secret. He mentally cursed himself for his mistake in shouting out the name, and tried to think of any way to get out of his situation. All the while, the group slowly closed in on him, like a pack of lions circling their prey.