//------------------------------// // Strange new world // Story: Parabellum of Freedom // by EndlessPossibilities58 //------------------------------// "The imminent destruction of all we know and love, begins now." - Sir Edmund Burton - Transformers: The Last Knight. Phil sat in the passenger seat of a Humvee, traveling down an undeveloped and bumpy road. They were in the middle of a convoy of vehicles moving through the jungles of Oahu, heading out on an exercise retreat. "Blow out the candles buddy!" came Phil's voice from his phone, which was playing a video taken during Max's birthday. In the video, Max sat at a table, with Mark, Catherine and himself standing around the boy. He had a little birthday cake in front of him, with a number "5" candle atop it. In the video, Max blew out the candle with a huff of air. His parents and uncle started cheering and clapping, eliciting a happy look from the child. "What did you wish for sweetie?" Catherine asked her son. "I can't tell you!" Max replied with an exasperated sigh. "If I tell you, it won't come true." "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot," Catherine feigned ignorance as she chuckled. "He's gotten so big," said the driver, who was a buddy of his from base. Phil nodded his head in agreement, pulling himself away from the video when the driver spoke. "Yeah, he sure has," Phil replied. "We just celebrated his fifth birthday about a month ago." "I'd like to have kids at some point," said the driver, never taking his eyes off the road. "Just have to find the right partner, first." "Are we going to be at the site, soon?" Phil asked, putting his phone away as he turned to the road in front of them. "Just about," the driver nodded. "We should be arriving any moment now." Soon, Phil could see the area ahead of them begin to clear up, as the trees and bushes started to thin out. He could see the vehicles in the front of the convey start to spread out. As they moved into the clearing, he noticed how they all seemed to be acting erratically, with all of them appearing to be keeping away from the center. However, what he saw next left him utterly speechless. "What in the world!" the driver exclaimed in shock as he pulled into the clearing, his eyes locked on the same thing Phil was seeing. In the center of the clearing was some kind of spacial anomaly, around fifty to a hundred feet in diameter. It was made of a kind of purplish cloud, with accents throughout it that looked like stars. There seemed to be some kind of opening in the front, like a doorway. It kind of reminded Phil of the portals created by the space stone, from the MCU. Phil couldn't believe what he was seeing, unable to take his eyes off the mesmerizing sight. This was the kind of thing that only happened in the movies, so to see something such as this in real life, it was world shattering. The driver pulled clear off the caravan and came to a stop, allowing Phil to step out of the vehicle. It was clear that he wasn't the only one caught off guard, as this strange anomaly was causing quite a stir amongst the others; all around the clearing, people were approaching the cloud, gathering around it to do nothing but gawk at it, and wonder just what it was. Phil stepped closer to it, joining the crowds of men and women. "What is it?" he wondered aloud, staring into the vast cloud and the stars within. "Where do you think it came from?" he overheard someone nearby say. "I've gone hiking in this area, and this definitely wasn't here before," said someone else. Among the gathering crowd, Phil spotted Captain Murphy not far from his position. He stood facing the cloud, a firm look on his face. "What do you make of all this sir?" Phil asked as he approached the captain, wanting to get his take. The Captain turned, the sun's rays being absorbed by his darker skin as he regarded him. The black man shook his head at Phil's question. "I honestly have no idea, son," he said with clear sincerity. "I probably don't have to tell you this, but this thing was not here before." "Well, what do we do now?" Phil questioned. The Captain paused for a moment, a contemplative look on his face as he regarded Phil's words. "You!" he said, getting the attention of a soldier who was moving towards one of their Humvees. "I want you to radio in to base and tell them what's going on here; tell them to send more troops and resources, I want to send in a well-armed team to investigate this thing." "Yes sir!" the solder saluted, before leaving to carry out their orders. Upon hearing that the Captain intended to send a team in, Phil's eyes instinctively wandered to the anomaly. Ever since he was young, Phil had always had a fascination with the unknown; he had often dreamed about what else could be out there in the universe, all the world's that existed beyond their gaze. As he stared at the anomaly, he felt a fire start to burn in his chest, a desire for adventure that wouldn't go away. He didn't know what lay within the depths of the cloud, but he yearned for the chance to find out. "Sir?" Phil began, once again getting the Captain's attention. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to volunteer for the mission into the anomaly." "Hmm." the Captain's lips pressed into a thin line. "What's your name, soldier?" "Phil Matthew's, sir!" he replied, straightening his posture as he identified himself. The Captain stood there stoically, making Phil's chest grow tense with dread the longer it took him to respond. The Captain nodded his head ever so subtly. "We'll see," he said before turning to leave. Phil sighed in relief, feeling a weight lift off of him. He hadn't exactly said yes, but he didn't say no, either. "Thank you, sir," he said to the retreating Captain. Some time later, the additional troops Captain Murphy requested began arriving, with more resources and equipment in tow. They had also brought along plenty of ammo, something the convoy needed greatly, as the majority of the rounds they had were blanks. A perimeter was set up around the anomaly, with soldiers making sure the area was safe and secure; whatever this thing was or where it came from, they would be ready for anything that might happen. After being approved for the mission, Phil was teamed up with three other men, whom he would accompany into the anomaly. The newly formed squad was outfitted with the standard issue M-16 rifle and a sidearm, plus plenty of ammo. Once they were appropriately equipped for whatever they might encounter, the group set off for their mission. Stopping at the threshold of the doorway, the squad paused just at the edge, hovering between the known and unknown. As Phil stared into the depths of the anomaly, he found himself having second thoughts on doing this. He quickly took a deep breath, letting his nerves settle as he tried steadying himself. "You all ready?" Phil asked the rest of the squad, to which they all confirmed yes. "Okay, let's do this," Phil said to his team, before they all stepped through into the doorway. Stepping into the anomaly, the changes were quickly apparent. The light around them diminished rapidly, soon leaving them in near darkness. The temperature also dropped a bit as well, not to the point where it was freezing, but to the point where it was noticeable. Within they anomaly, it was as if they were walking down an invisible road through deep space. The tunnel made by the anomaly held a purplish glow to it, bathing them all in its light. The whole time they were in the tunnel, Phil found himself in awe, blown away by what he was seeing; it was so magnificent, he didn't know how else to describe it, it was just the most incredible thing he'd ever seen. Soon, they reached the other end of the tunnel, light from the other side spilling through into the darkness. Exiting the doorway, they were shocked to find they had emerged in a place very different from where they were. They now found themselves to be in a regular, plain old forest, which was a far cry from the lush jungle they just left. Cautiously, the group worked to secure the exit, making sure the surrounding area was free of danger. They were in a clearing that was considerably smaller than the other side, with this side of the doorway having that same strange cloud around it. "let's radio in, and inform the others what we found here," said one of Phil's squad mates, once they determined the area to be secure. "Good idea," Phil replied, before he grabbed a walkie-talkie from his person and began to speak. FOB, this is yellow one. Radio check, over." After a few moments of waiting for a response, he tried again. FOB, this is yellow one. Radio check, over." Again, there was no reply. "I don't think they can hear us," Phil said in defeat as he put his walkie-talkie away. "We must be out of range." "What we do now, then?" asked a squad mate who was known as Calvin. He had a medium build, with a thin beard on his face. "I think we should leave someone stationed here at the anomaly," Phil replied. "That way, if we come across something, they could act as a relay between us and back home." "I'll stay," said the youngest of them as he moved back towards the cloud. "I was never one for hiking anyway." Leaving the one squad mate by the anomaly, the others started off into the forest. Moving through the woods, Phil looked at the treeline, unsure what to make of it; the forest seemed mundane, but at the same time, had a distinctively alien feel to it. "How much do you want to bet this is some kind of conspiracy?" put forth Calvin. "Like this is some kind of top-secret project, and we're just in Iowa somewhere?" "Maybe this is all a prank?" suggested Shawn, the other man with them. "Maybe this is just the Captain's way of playing a joke on us?" Phil shook his head. "I seriously doubt that," Phil said, before cracking a smile, "that would depend on the Captain having a sense of humor in the first place." The other two gave a chuckle. They examined all the flora they came across, seeing many familiar plants that wouldn't seem out of place back home. They also saw familiar animals too; they could see squirrels scampering around in the trees, as well as little birds fluttering all around. Overall, the forest seemed to be calm and tranquil, a peaceful sensation that appeared to permeate the air itself. Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes caught their attention. The men went rigid and stiff, going on full alert. They brought their weapons to arm, incase whatever was moving turned out to be hostile. They kept their eyes trained on the bushes, where after a few tense moments, the perpetrator of the commotion revealed itself. A bunny came bounding out of the underbrush, making the three men relax. The bunny scampered out into the open, unafraid of the humans, whose presence didn't seem to bother it. Phil chuckled to himself, a warm feeling entering his chest. Kneeling down, he gently approached the rabbit, being sure not to make any sudden moves; the bunny didn't seem to be scared, resting calmly on the forest floor as Phil closed the distance. "Hi, there..." Phil cooed softly, trying to sound friendly and unthreatening. Reaching out a hand, he gently started scratching the top of its head, earning an ear twitch in response. He felt his lips curling upward into a smile, the world seeming to fade into the background as he greeted the small creature. Finishing with the scratches, he stood back and gave the rabbit some space. Afterwards it moved on, promptly retreating back into the depths of the woods. The three men then continued on their way through the forest. For a while nothing of note happened, the woods proved to be completely uninteresting. However that didn't last for long. They soon found themselves at the top of a hill, looking out over what looked to be a small town in the distance. "Should we try and scout it out?" suggested Shawn, only to discover that Calvin had already pulled out his binoculars. Phil and Shawn waited patiently, standing by as Calvin looked at the town. "This doesn't make any sense!" muttered Calvin. Phil's eyebrows hiked up. "What do you mean?" he asked. He gestured with his hand toward the town. "I don't see any people down there, just their pets!" he passed the binoculars to Phil. "Here, look for yourself." Taking the offerd item, he gazed through the binoculars at the little town. He soon discovered Calvin's words to be true, as there were no people, only small, colorful horse like creatures. As he continued to examine them, he took notice to their movements and odd mannerisms, and found himself coming to a startling realization; his eyes going wide, he felt his jaw drop as he contended with this new revelation. "You're not going to believe this!" Phil exclaimed, never looking away from the binoculars. "I think the pets are the people!" "What the hell are you talking about?" said Calvin, the tone in his voice indicating his disbelief. "Here, see for yourself," said Phil, passing the binoculars back to his squad mate. "Look closely at the horses," he said as Calvin looked toward the town. "Well I'll be dammed," Calvin said, shocked. "What do we do?" asked Shawn. "I want to try and get a closer look," Phil said as he began moving down the hill. "Should we come with you?" suggested Shawn, Calvin shook his head. "It might not be a good idea. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, and three soldiers are more noticeable than one." Phil nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it'll be better if only one of us goes. These creatures have probably never seen anything like us before, we don't want to cause a panic. You two just stay here, I'll be back in a moment." Leaving the two behind, he descended down the hill, moving toward the settlement. He kept to the trees and shadows, not wanting to be spotted and cause a panic. His boots crunching in the under brush, he soon came upon the edge of the forest, which bordered right up against the town. Phil took cover in the bushes, keeping himself hidden as he gazed at the village. He watched these creatures with awe, his face lighting up like he was he was a four year old with an ice cream cone. They were similar to horses or ponies, but with a dazzling aray of colors they seemed to come in. Some of them also had either wings or a horn, like the myths of the unicorn and pegasus of old. As for their height, he guessed that, including their neck and head, they'd come up to around the chest of a human. Something else he noticed, was that all of them seemed to have some sort of strange symbol on their hindquarters, to which he figured they must have some kind of cultural significance. Judging by the lack of technology and rural setting, he guessed that they were in a pre-industrial revolution civilization; there were no cars or anything, which made sense, as how would they drive with no hands? Phil's eyes widened, a look of uncertainty etching itself upon his face. Actually... how did they do any of this without hands; they had no opposable thumbs, so how in the world did they manage to build a town such as this? It quickly rose to become a big question to him, but as much as he might yearn for an answer, it became clear it would have to be saved for a different day. These pony things were so alien to him, and yet at the same time, also seemed strangely human. He watched how they went about their daily lives, doing mundane things like carrying out errands. He saw how they interacted with each other, greeting their fellows with kindness and smiles, showing that they were a tight-knit community. But perhaps the thing that shocked him the most, the most unbelievable thing about all this, was that the aliens spoke English! Gravity took hold of his jaw, forcing it wide open when he first heard them; he was totally floored, a dumbstruck look plastered on his face. One of the ponies greeted another on the street, asking how they and their family were doing; the other pony replied, saying how they were doing good, and thanked the first pony for asking. Throughout all of this, the two conversersed in perfect English, leaving Phil reeling at how that could be possible. Shaking his head, Phil decided he had seen enough for now. He slowly and carefully lifted himself out of the bushes, before turning back towards to the woods to return to the others. If only he knew he hadn't gone unseen... A contingent of royal guards moved down the streets of town, drawing the eyes of ponies as they moved. They were led by a unicorn known as Stiff Blade, a brave and resilient captain. They were answering a distress call, something that had been brought to their attention when a stallion identifying himself as Sparrow Seeker came rushing to their base in a panic. "What happened exactly?" asked Stiff Blade, casting his gaze toward the stallion that was with them. "Okay, so I like to go bird watching, you see," began the jittery stallion. "Its a past time of mine which I engage in frequently, as I find it to be peaceful and relaxing. Anyway, I was heading out to go birdwatching today and was making my way into the woods, when all of a sudden this human came out of nowhere! It was dressed in strange clothing, and held some object in it's hands." The captain furrowed his brow. "What did it do?" "Nothing!" replied Sparrow Seeker. "It just sat there in the bushes outside of town, watching everypony. I found myself not far from where it was, unable to move; I think the color of my coat and mane helped conceal me from it, because it didn't seem to spot me," he said, indicating the earthen tone of his body. "Although I shudder to think what would have happened if it had seen me, surely nothing good." The Captain nodded. "You're a lucky pony. Left unchecked, humans can be very dangerous." "Here we are," said Sparrow when they approached the edge of town. "This is where I encountered the strange human. And after it was done spying on us, it retreated into the forest, in the direction of that hill over there." "Okay, we'll take it from here, thank you for the tip," said the Captain. "I'm just doing my civic duty," replied Sparrow Seeker. "Now you go and catch that human," he finished, before leaving to let the guards do their job. Stiff Blade gazed into the forest, his eyes examining the lush foliage, half expecting to see something staring back at him; somewhere within these trees, was the greatest threat pony kind had ever faced. "Keep your guard up ponies, we're going in,"he said, never taking his eyes off the treeline. "Why? Its just a human," said one of the guards, just as Stiff Blade was about to step into the woods. He paused, before turning away from the trees as he cast his gaze on the offending guard. She was a rookie, a peach colored pegasus who had very little combat experience. The Captain looked her straight in the eyes, an air of seriousness exuding from him. "Never underestimate a human in battle," he said, "there's a reason we had to subjugate them." "Sorry, sir," the pegasus said, bowing her head in apology. "Let's go," the Captain said, as he once again turned towards the woods. He stepped tentatively into the brush, followed closely by the other guards. They moved through the forest, gradually pulling away from the safety of the town as they went off in search of this strange human. Stiff Blade kept a steely air about him, moving with a firm resolve. His eyes were trained on the dense foliage all around them, warily eyeing the shadows, half expecting to be ambushed at any moment; the guards held a firm grip on their weapons, ready to fight. As they moved through the trees, some of the guards started talking amongst themselves. They spoke of finding these humans and putting them in their place; and how they should do as they're told, and obey their masters. The Captain was about to add a comment of his own, when he suddenly paused. He maneuvered his ears forward, focusing on the trees ahead as he strained to make out any noise. Listening closely, he was able to pick up the tell tale sound of somebody speaking, coming from a short distance ahead of them. Stiff Blade quickly raised his hoof, indicating for the guards to stop. Almost instantly, silence overcame the squad, as they heeded the Captain's instructions and became alert. With a flick of his head, the Captain motioned towards the voices; keeping quiet, he stealthily moved in their direction, followed by the rest of the guards. He made sure to be mindful of where he stepped, making sure to avoid stepping on any twigs and prevent giving them away. Coming up on the their target, Stiff Blade and the other guards took cover in the bushes, where they proceeded to spy on the ones speaking. Stiff Blade was able to make out three humans sitting in a small clearing. Just like Sparrow Seeker had said, they were dressed in usual garments, and were carrying strange, bulky devices with a tube on the end. "This is unbelievable!" exclaimed one of the humans, completely unaware of those watching them. One of the other humans nodded his head. "I know. If I hadn't seen it for myself I wouldn't have believed it." "You three," the Captain whispered, turning his attention to a few of the guards. "I want you to circle around them. " As soon as he said that, he turned his gaze to a couple other guards on his opposite side. "You go the other way," he said, I want them surrounded!" The guards in question all nodded, before discretely moving around the clearing as they carried out their orders. "What do we do now?" asked the third human. "It's probably time for us to head back and tell the others what we found," replied the second human after a moment. "We should radio in and tell Avery we're on our way back," he said, to which the first human grabbed some little box thing. Upon hearing that the humans were about to leave, the Captain went into a frenzy, his brain going into overdrive. Springing to his hooves, he rushed into action. "Freeze!" he shouted, jumping out the bushes and catching the humans by surprise. The other guards followed suit, entering the clearing and bringing their weapons to bear. "What the hell!" cried out the third human in alarm. The trio quickly took defensive positions, bringing up the strange things they carried and started pointing them at the guards. "You're surrounded! Give us your equipment and surrender!" the Captain demanded. The humans didn't obey, resulting in a stand off between the two parties, with neither side willing to back down. Slowly, the second human lowered his object, before tentatively raising his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, everybody just relax, alright," he said calmly, trying to get both groups to stand down. "I'm sure that this is just a big misunderstanding, that's all." Stiff Blade ignored the human's words, not paying them any heed. "Where is your master, slave?" he said, trying to gather as much information as he could. "For your sake I hope you have a good explanation." At his words, the human paused, before slowly turning to regard the Captain. "Excuse me!" he exclaimed with passion, his eyes blinking in bewilderment. "What's that supposed to mean!" "You heard me, slave!" the Captain said, not about to repeat himself to a human. "Where is your master? If I don't like your answer, I'm going to be forced to assume you murdered them!" "Okay!" spoke the human, shaking his head. "I don't know what kind of Crack you've been taking, but I'm no-one's slave!" he stated with fiery conviction. "I have no master!" One of the guards snickered to himself. "A human without a master, that's rich." "I don't know how you people do things here, but where we come from, slavery is outlawed," said the third human, never dropping his object. "Where's that, fantasy land?" a guard shot back, a mocking tone in her voice. "America!" the human replied simply. The Captain felt his anger rising, growing increasingly irate at these humans. "I said give over your equipment and surrender! I won't tell you again!" Despite his warnings, the humans still refused to give up; They remained defiant, never dropping their guard. "So be it," said the Captain, before turning to his squad. "Take them down, use whatever force necessary!" he ordered The guards made to subdue the humans, moving towards them with weapons drawn. The humans did nothing, and instead just stood there as they continued to point their strange objects at the guards. "Open fire!" shouted one of the humans. There was a flash from the objects the humans carried, followed by several loud bangs. Whatever had happened, it left the Captain reeling, his ears feeling as if somepony was playing an instrument right into them. Upon recomposing himself, the Captain was left utterly dumbstruck to discover that half of his squad lay dead before the humans - whatever those things they had were, they were clearly a lot deadlier than appearances suggested. Despite the newfound danger, the squad refused to back down, as they charged once more at the humans. A guard managed to approach one of the humans from behind, where they swiftly ran it through with a blade. "Fall back!" the second human screamed upon seeing one of their own fall. The two that were left took off into the woods, attempting to escape, but the Captain wasn't going to allow that. The guards chased after the humans, firing arrows and magic bolts at them as they fled. They tried to lose them amongst the trees and foliage, but they kept on the humans, never letting them out of their sights. As they ran, one of the humans took that strange little box to his head. "We need help!" he yelled into it. "We're under attack! Send help! Please, send he-" he was cut off when a magic bolt struck him, taking him down then and there. Only one human left. Phil's legs pounded on the forest floor, every step reverberating through his body. His lungs burned in his chest, working double time as he exerted himself. He tore through the trees, trying to get back to the anomaly and to safety. His attackers had already killed Shawn and Calvin, and despite his best attempts to do so, he couldn't manage to shake them. They fired arrows and lasers at him, to which he returned fire, shooting back at them as he ran. Why were they doing this? He thought to himself, leaves and branches smacking him all over. They seemed to be friendly enough when he was watching them, so why were they attacking him? As he pondered that question, he wasn't watching where he was stepping, and ended up triping on an exposed root. He went down hard, crashing into the forest floor. The air was forced out of his lungs, as if he'd been punched in the gut. Regaining his breath, Phil tried to recover. He could hear his pursuers gaining on him, having lost much ground due to his fall. He scrambled to his feet, trying to get running again. But he only made it a few feet, as they were on him in an instant. They tackled Phil back to the ground. He tried resisting, but they held him down firmly. He attempted to reach for his gun, but they were quick to remove it from his person. "Let me go!" Phil yelled, trying to wrestle free as they restrained him. "Take him in for questioning," said one of the pony-things, whom Phil assumed to be in charge. He leaned in close to Phil, a hard look on his face. "I don't know what you were doing out here, but we're going to find out." After that, they started dragging Phil away. He kicked and screamed, trying to escape, but to no avail; despite his most valiant efforts, they continued to carry him off, to where he had no idea. And Phil didn't yet know it, but something big had just been set into motion.