As Luna waked out the dining room, Marcus saw her eyes turn into a shade of pure blackness for a split second. He then swallowed his food quickly and asked to be excused.
"What seems to be the issue, Marcus?" Celestia asked. Marcus shook his head.
"Nothing, just need to clear my head for a second, that's all." Marcus replied as he stood up and pushed his chair in, also walking out of the dining room. As he did, the girls had a look of both confusion and worry, along with the soldiers and Marines, but they kept calm and kept eating.
"What do you think that was all about?" Kayla whispered to Jackson, who was sitting right next to her.
"No idea. Maybe he's just getting himself ready to talk with the higher-ups here?" Jackson guessed. Kayla shrugged as they finished eating, only to witness a couple of pony chefs bringing in more food in carts filled with plates.
Marcus walked beside the chefs as they made their way to the dining room, ignoring the wonderful smell of the food the carts contained. He walked faster as he saw Luna's tail briefly before disappearing into a room. He then slowed his pace to a painfully slow crouch. His back then hit the wall as he peeked his head over, looking into the room.
"Shit..."
Marcus saw that Luna was in the room that contained five ponies wearing military uniforms filled with several medals and awards, in which he figured it were the generals, commanders, and top military advisors. He then noticed that Luna was looking at them with a mischevious look, and was slowly making her way to where they sat.
One of the ponies who wore a red beret and had grey stubble looked at Luna quizzidly. "Um.. can we help you with something, Princess Luna?" He asked, nervously taking a step back as she walked closer.
Luna smirked demonically, making the ponies very uneasy as they slowly rose from their seats. "Yes, I do need your help.." She then disappeared in a midst of blue smoke, only to re-appear in front of the pony with the red beret. "We need your help.."
The pony jumped back a bit, startled by both Luna's sudden disappearance and re-appearence."Uh.. forgive me, but.. 'We-"
The pony was cut off mid-sentance when he felt a sudden tingling feeling around his throat. The feeling then suddenly turned to a vice grip as he noticed that he was forcefully being choked by Luna herself. He tried to use his forelegs to ease the grip, but the efforts were futile, and resulted in Luna slamming him onto the wall behind him.
"Luna! What the hay are you doing?!" One of the advisors shouted at Luna.
"Put him down!"
"Let him go!"
The four other ponies rushed to the general's aid, only to be suddenly launched to the surrounding walls by a bluish haze energy wave, leaving them gasping for air and in total shock.
The general was now unable to do anything, he tried to shout at Luna to let him go, but all that came out were weak croaks and pathetic whimpers. As the surrounding corners of his eyesight faded into black, he faintly hear a stallion's voice shout.
"LUNA!"
The anaconda-like grip around the general's throat suddenly disappeared, leaving him gasping for air as he used his hooves to soothe his neck, hitting the floor as Luna turned swiftly and angrily towards the source of the voice.
Luna glared at Marcus, who was standing in the doorway with an M1911 .45 in his right hand. Marcus then saw Luna's eyes turn back to normal as she shook her head and looked around in utter confusion. "Wha- what happened?.." Luna then looked behind her, noticing the terrified looks she was getting from the five ponies. "What happened?!"
Marcus saw that Luna was on the verge of tears as she looked at him, desperate for an explination. He lowered his M1911."You mean to tell me that you don't remember nearly choking the life out of that pony there?"
"No!" Luna shouted with a broken and desperate tone, tears slowly making their way down her face. She then turned around, facing the ponies once more. "Did... I did this?..." She whispered to no one in particular.
Marcus put his M1911 back in his holster, walking calmly towards Luna and placing a hand on her shoulder. He felt her briefly jump at the touch. He then walked forward and crouched next to the general, who was now coughing while massaging his throat. "Are you okay, sir?"
The general coughed a couple more times before nodding. "Y-yes.. I'm fine.." He responded with a weak and raspy voice before he then looked up at Marcus. "Are you the creatures that everypony keeps talking about?" He asked. Marcus nodded. "I was told that there were more than just you..."
Marcus chuckled briefly. "That's because the others are eating." He then stood up and walked to Luna, who was quietly sobbing and trying to comprehend what just happened. "We'll be right back with the others. I need to talk to Luna, if you don't mind."
The general nodded. As pushed himself back onto his hooves, he heard Luna quietly whisper to him between sobs. "I-I'm... s-sorry.."
"Don't be, your highness.." The general responded with a small smile on his face. "You did not mean to do so."
Luna then wiped the tears out of her eyes as she stood back up on shaky hooves, with Marcus placing his left arm around her to comfort her. "C'mon, Luna. We need to head back.."
As they walked out of the confrence room, one of the commanders spoke up. "What the hay do you think that was all about?"
"Don't know..." The general replied. "Let's just... hope it never happens again anytime soon."
"What do you think about the creature? 'Hyoo-mans', right?"
"I think. That one looked somewhat young and tall... yet mature and something else I can't put my hoof on.."
"And what was that weird metal stick he aimed at Luna?" An advisor asked. "Some sort of crossbow?"
"I don't know. Let's just save our questions for when they come back..." The general replied as he lifted a chair from the floor.
"Celestia better be right about all of this being a threat to national security..." The advisor mumbled. "I'm supposed to be in Las Pegasus right now... "
Marcus and Luna started slowly walking down the hallway in silence, passing by a couple of guards who, in return, took a quick glance at him before proceeding down the hallway. After a couple of moments, Marcus sighed and looked over at Luna.
"Okay Luna, I know what you're hiding..." He said, breaking the silence.
Luna tensed up and refused to respond, as she walked a bit faster than before, but Marcus wasn't having any of it. He stepped in front of her, preventing her from going any further. "Luna... tell me exactly what happened last night." He asked calmly, but not without giving her an accusing glare.
Luna flinched at this and sighed in defeat before speaking. "O-okay..." She then took a deep, ragged breath. "L-last night... I was standing on the balcony outside my room, in the tower right out there." She then pointed outside a window to a tower with concrete railings. "After I rose the moon, I w-was confronted by a creature. Now that I look back... it looked exactly like you... but with a different voice." She then looked at Marcus fearfully. "A-are you the one?..."
Marcus quickly shook his head. "No Luna, I swear it wasn't me, otherwise, I wouldn't be so worried. But I have a good idea on who it might've been..."
Luna looked at him with a look of confusion. "Wh-who?..."
"I'll explain once we sit down with the advisers and generals, but let's just say that the person you saw last night wasn't who you think he was. Think of him as a visual and mental 'manipulator'. A shapeshifter or something along those lines."
"L-like a changeling?.." Luna theorized.
"The hell's a changeling?..." Marcus thought briefly before shaking his head "Don't know what that is, but no. But back on topic; What else did he tell or show you?"
"H-he put me in some sort of mental t-trance, and showed me..." She then choked mid-sentance before breaking down in sobs, "I-it was horrible!"
Marcus then gently gave Luna a comforting hug as she buried her muzzle in her chest. "Don't worry, Luna. I think I know how to deal with this." Marcus then let go of Luna. She nodded as she sniffed. "Just whatever you do, do not fall for his tricks. We have enough trouble already. Now c'mon, let's go get the others." Luna nodded again as they walked down the hallway once more in silence.
After a couple of minutes, they walked into the dining room, noticing that everybody had just finished eating, and were now just chatting.
Kevin let out a long burp before looking over at the two. "Hey, look. It's about time you two showed up. What'd we miss?" Kevin asked.
"Nothing much. We just mt with the generals and advisers for a second before coming back. Speaking of which, they want us there now." Marcus replied. The others nodded as they stood up from their seats and started walking out of the dining room.
"That was probably the best breakfast I've ever had." Kayla said, earning several nods in agreement.
"Better than any MRE, that's for sure." Jackson added, getting a couple chuckled as they walked down the hallway. As they walked towards the conference room, Marcus walked besides Celestia and looked at her to ask a question.
"What do they want to know about us specifically?" He asked.
"Well, the general, General Swordswipe, wants to know what kind of things you and your squad specialize, such as how you handle missions, and what specific jobs you each do individually. The advisers, one of them who happens to be from the Wonderbolts base near the Appleloosian mountains, wants to know the type of vehicles you all have, and their specifics. The Commander of the Royal Guard, Commander Shearslice, wants to give you all a job opportunity of some sort, and wants to know more about your military. And everypony in general wants to know what threat looms over Equestria with the so called 'Cryptids', and how and why they are here." Celestia replied simply.
They then stopped in front of the conference room doors. Ironhoof and another guard who was stationed outside the room itself opened the doors, revealing five well-dressed ponies, one of them wearing a sliver spartan-like helmet. They stood up from their seats at full attention as the pony with the silver helmet walked up to the group. Despite his poker face and 'no-funny-business' attitude, he was still more than surprised to see eight of the creatures Celestia had mentioned, and were also accompanied by four of the Element Bearers. They looked to be all wearing their combat gear, and were carrying several elongated and oddly shaped metal sticks. He was told that they were their weapons, and if the rumors were correct, then they were armed to the damn teeth. Especially the four wearing black uniforms and gear. Calmly, he walked up to them and saluted them. The creatures saluted back in return. He then stepped aside and geistured them to sit down. "Please take a seat, gentlecol-, er... men. We have a lot to discuss."
The humans obliged and sat down on the seats. Luckily, the room itself was quite huge, and the table had enough spaces for all of the ponies and humans, but Celestia and Luna stood aside to watch instead of sitting down. After they all sat down, the General took his seat at the far front. He then cleared his throat before speaking. "Thank you all for coming here. As you all may know, I've been told that you eight are the 'Humans' Princess Celestia has been telling us about, and furthermore, she has also told me that you are all heavily experienced in combat, both offense and defense, along during maritime, and wartime. Firstly, can I ask which group of you is the most heavily experienced in combat?"
The four humans wearing black and tan uniforms rose their hands. "Alright then. Please state your names and ranks."
They nodded. One by one, they gave out their names and rank.
"Private First Class James Thompson, sir."
"Specialist Kayla West, sir."
Swordswipe noticed that the one named Kayla looked different from the others and had a more feminine voice. "I'm guessing you're female?" He asked.
Kayla nodded. "Yes, I am. Is there an issue?"
Swordswipe shook his head. He didn't want to create any unnecassary tensions. "No, not at all. Please continue." He said. Kayla nodded once as she looked at the one human who had a darker skin tone than the others, and had a belt of metallic items around his neck.
"Corporal Jackson Torres, sir."
Then, the one wearing shades and a tan helmet spoke.
"Sergeant Marcus Ramirez, sir."
Swordswipe nodded as he turned to the soldiers. "What about you four?"
"Captain Randy Treston, sir."
"Sergeant Mike Preston, sir."
"Sergeant Dempsey Grant, sir.
"Corporal Kevin Marston, sir."
Swordswipe nodded again as he turned to Marcus. "Are you the leader of the other three?" He asked. Marcus nodded. "Can I ask what is your group called, and what part of your military you're all apart of?"
Marcus nodded again. "Yes sir. Me and the three others are part of the United States Marine Corps. We are specifically part of Marines Special Operations Regiment, or 'MSOR'. Which means we are the best of the best Marines, and we specify in several tactics, and go through even tougher training. Furthermore, we are one of the teams in the Rapid Reaction Force, which is also a Tier-One group that specifies in eliminating Cryptids, which I'm guessing you've heard of..." Marcus paused, waiting for the general to nod. Once he did, he continued. "In the Rapid Reaction Force, there are several teams. We are part of the very first team formed, called 'CIF Team One'. Our team callsign in simply 'CIF-One'."
Swordswipe nodded slowly before taking off his helmet and placing it gently onto the table, revealing his yellow coat and light black mane. "Alright, so you four are Tier-One operators? The best of the best?" He asked again to be sure. The four Marines nodded. "Okay. Can I ask what you all specifically specialize in as a group?"
Marcus nodded again. "Us four have been trained to deal with several situations. Such as Direct Action, Special Reconnaissance, Counter-Terrorism, Unconventional Warfare, Information Ops, Foreign Internal Defense, Counter-Insurgency, Deep Reconnaissance, Hostage Rescue, and other types of missions. Not to mention the obvious that we also have the main mission to find and kill any sort of type of Cryptid that appears or is reported."
When Marcus finished, Swordstrike was more than astonished by all the types they could do and complete their missions assign to them. The commander was on the verge of bursting with utter excitement and as much as they both wanted to see them in action, they kept their composure and moved on to ask a couple of more questions.
"What specific jobs do you all have individually when on duty?" Swordstrike asked.
"Just like I said before, I lead my squad into action, give and take orders, but I'm also a kind of weapon specialist. I can use Kayla's sniper rifle.." Marcus pointed at Kayla, who placed her Barrett .50 Cal on the table with pride, making the general's eyes widen in surprise. "I can use any type of weapon they can, but I'm also both trained and self-trained to take both mental and physical pain than most other Marines, with a boost of endurance than most." Marcus answered.
"I specialize on taking care of heavy weapons, such as this big toy here." Jackson exclaimed, pulling out his M27 and unfolding the bipods before also placing it on the table. "And I am also trained to take physical damage, more so than the regular spec ops soldier or Marine. I also specialize in taking care of the wounded to a certain degree."
"I'm trained to take out targets at a distance with this beauty right here." Kayla said, tapping the scope on her Barrett. " but I can take care of myself in close quarters, and I know how to easily repair electrical equipment, and communication systems."
"I'm the most experienced in the medical field, and I can patch up wounds faster than you can say 'Oh God, I'm hit!'. I am also the most experienced when it comes to handling electronics, and I can fashion a pair of night vision goggles onto a scope." Thompson said proudly. Swordstrike nodded.
"You all act somewhat mature, yet look so young and not very old..." One of the advisers spoke up.
"Uh... does military discipline ring any fucking bells to you, McNarma?" Marcus thought annoyingly, surprised he would ask such a thing before the adviser continued.
"How old are the four of you?" He asked.
"I'm 22." Marcus answered simply.
"I'm 21." Jackson said.
"I'm 22 also." Kayla answered.
"And I'm 19." Thompson followed along.
The four Marines then glanced around the room, clearly noticing the surprised looks on the ponies', including General Swordstrike and the Princess, who looked like they just saw a ghost, but the most surprised were the advisers and the four girls.
"Wait... didn't we tell you our ages?" Marcus asked the girls. They all shook their head in unison.
"Th-that's around the same age as us..." Twilight answered with a surprised tone. Then, the Wonderbolts adviser, Nimbius, spoke up.
"How old are the rest of you four?" He asked, looking at the soldiers.
"I'm 21." Randy answered.
"I'm 20." Mike followed.
"I'm 22, same as those two Marines." Dempsey said.
"And I'm the same age as Mike. 20." Kevin said, lifting and resting his feet on the table.
The room grew into a deep silence, the ponies taking in the ages of these humans. "We expected you to be around their late twenties, or even mid thirties due to all of the action you've all seen and have gone through." Luna commented in a slight state of shock.
"Because we have long hair and stubble, huh?" Thompson asked with a smirk. Luna nodded with a slight pang of guilt. "It's just one of the perks of being in the spec ops community. We get to grow out our hair and have beards instead of getting buzz-cuts and shaves so we can blend in better with civilians, and it just makes us look better."
Luna nodded as she stopped herself from asking another question. After a couple of minutes, Celestia spoke up and broke the silence.
"I would be lying to you all if I said I wasn't surprised. You are all so young and have gone through all of that? That you've showed us?" She asked the Marines. They slowly nodded. "I.. I am speechless. You all seem simply too young to go through such... things..."
The Marines and the soldiers just shrugged. "We weren't forced to do so. It was our choice. We do what we do to make sure people, or in this case, ponies, don't ever have to go through what we do. It's selfless service. 'Loyalty', to a certain, or an extreme degree that very few have ever experienced. We don't do it for fame or money. We do it because we chose to defend our country and rid of the world's evils. And as far as I know, none of us regret doing so." Marcus responded, getting assertive nods from the other Marines and soldiers.
Then, General Swordstrike spoke up. "So you four are part of the special operations from where you came from? At such a young age?"
The Marines nodded. "But we're not the only ones part of the special forces..." Jackson hinted.
"Oh? Who else?" Swordstrike asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Marines then looked over to Mike and Randy, who were smirking in return. "Yep. Us. We're not Marines, but the MSOR isn't the only special operations group out there. There's several in the spec ops community, but me and Mike here are part of the United States Army. More specifically, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, or 'SOAR', for short. Our nickname is the 'Night Stalkers', because we usually fly at night at high speeds, low altitude, and on short notice. It consists of the Army's very best aviators. A Night Stalker's main job is to provide aviation support for other special operations forces in the United States Military."
As he finished explaining, the Wonderbolts adviser was immediately interested. "So you guys use that big black flying machine to fly in these other guys?" He asked. They nodded. "Nice. What does your insignia look like?"
Mike and Randy moved their shoulders to show him and the others their shoulder patches.
"Eh.. doesn't look as cool as the Wonderbolts, not gonna lie, but I still think you guys are all awesome nonetheless." Rainbow commented, getting a couple chuckles from the humans.
"What about you two? Are you the ones who control that huge metal thing my guards brought in on the train?" Swordstrike asked. Dempsey and Kevin nodded.
"Yeah. We're also part of the Army, but we're not special forces. We're part of the 8th Armored Division, which means we get to use those big heavy machines to support and transport infantry, and occasionally, also special forces. It's not really much to brag about, but if the Cryptids are really here like the Marines say they are, then they're gonna need us, no doubt." Dempsey commented, giving a smirk to the Marines.
"Never said we weren't gonna need ya'." Jackson shot back.
"Alright, before we jump into this whole 'Cryptid' thing, I have one more question for you Marines," Swordstrike spoke. "What are your insertion techniques?"
"Patrolling, helicopter touchdown, rappelling down or fast roping down from the helicopter, HALO or HAHO, which stand for 'High Altitude Low Opening', and 'High Altitude High Opening' with parachutes, or if our mission's near water, we use SCUBA gear, or use a Kayak or Canoe." Marcus answered simply.
"Interesting. I'll keep all of those, including your main tactics, in mind." Swordstrike said. "Now, let's talk about what we really came here to in the first place. These 'Cryptids', you so call them. How did you know they were here?"
"Well... it started when a couple of scientists brought in the corpse of a Diamond Dog into the laboratories here in Canterlot. They found that inside the corpse, there were several small green marble-sized eggs in its chest and neck cavity. After a couple of hours, two of the eggs grew to an immense size, and spawned two 'Scout' Cryptids. From what we were told, and saw, they killed nearly everypony in the labs, including a couple of top scientists. We were told by Celestia about this, and we went down there and took out the threat ourselves before it got out of hand. After we killed them and disposed of the corpse and eggs, we found a heavily wounded guard hiding in the closet. After turning on the power, we took him back up and let the medics take care of him." Marcus explained what had happened down at the labs. Swordstrike nodded as Marcus continued. "... then we left Canterlot and went back out to Appleloosa, where we found Mike and Randy. After that, we went into an apple farm and found a 'Hive'. We then searched for the Cryptid who laid the eggs and killed the Diamond Dog. After we found it and killed it, we used the helicopter to destroy the Hive."
"Alright.. nice detail. But can you explain how the Cryptids are even here in the first place?"
"Yes. The Cryptids have actually been around for around 550 million years, back when our planet was being formed. A little birdie told me about how that this planet and our former were formed the same way as ours. The Cryptids, after a comet hit the planet and caused a massive fire storm that obliterated nearly everything that lived, were forced to live underground. As they did, they evolved and survived under the harsh underground climates. Turns out that when we came here, we must've activated one of their Arks, therefore waking up the entire colony."
"So now that they're 'awoken', they want to wreck havoc and destruction on our planet for the sake of conquering it?" Swordstrike asked.
"In a way. From what I was told, we only woke up one Ark." Marcus replied.
"Okay, I'm sorry, but I am really confused." Spoke up Commander Shearslice. "Can you show us what exactly we're up against? And what you've faced?"
Marcus nodded and turned to Twilight. "Can you help us out by using that spell again to help them get a better view of what these Cryptids look like?" He asked. Twilight was hesitant, but she nodded. Once again, she used the spell, making Marcus able to place mental images and show them on the wall. The ponies watched as Marcus started to explain.
"The Cryptids came from another planet and evolved and thrived before any other major life form. When the comet hit, they evolved underground, making more than one type of Cryptids, and even making their own ecosystem. As of right now, I am going to show you each and every type of Cryptid we've fought and killed. Pay close attention, because this is crucial information, and trust me when I say this: You. WILL. Need. This. Information." Marcus warned. The ponies nodded as they used the papers from the desk to take notes. They then waited for him to continue.
"Okay, so, the first thing I'm gonna show you is this. These are called 'Hives'..."
"The Cryptids cultivate and defend huge fungal colonies called 'Hives'. The Hives emit some sort of pheromones that stimulate Cryptids' cold blooded metabolism, and overall urge to kill and conquer. These things can be created quickly and are placed in anywhere that the Cryptids can put and make them. The more they have, the more their urge to kill and conquer grows, not to mention that they can also create and spawn Cryptids themselves if there is a certain amount. The Hives possess a kind of rapid cellular regeneration renders the hives nearly indestructible, unless met with relentless and brutal firepower, or if the stems are cut off from the main Hive itself. Speaking of the stems, the Hives get their own energy from geothermic heat from deep underground instead of sunlight like a plant."
Next up is an actual Cryptid species that I've mentioned before. They are called 'Scouts'.
"Scouts are the ones that we killed back at the labs. These Cryptids have two small eyes and two concave armor plates on the top of their heads, capable of deflecting bullets and melee attacks, unless using armor-piercing rounds, or aiming at their weak spots, which is usually anywhere else but the plates. They also glow a distinguishable and unique yellow-orange aura, which makes them relatively easy to spot at a distance. Like most other Cryptid species, Scouts primarily run or walk on four legs. The Scouts are the weakest among the Cryptids to defeat, taking only a couple shots, and even though their teeth and claws look menacing, if you're wearing good armor, they might as well be playfully poking you. But if they are in groups of four or more, they can really take you down quickly and with ease."
"The next one is like the Scout's big brother. The Hunter."
"The Hunter is at least three times bigger than the Scouts, and are a lot more of a threat. The Hunters are actually average in physical size, with a silver tint to they outer skin, and have a red aura instead of an orange like the Scout's. Also just like the Scouts, their heads are lined with armor plating that is significantly stronger, but again; Armor Piercing rounds can do some magical things. Hunters will charge at you on two legs, making them quite distinguishable from the others. If you don't have the right armor, they will take you down with ease. They are deadly if in groups of three or more."
"Next up is the annoying one we hate. The Scorpion."
"This fucker is a bit bigger than a Hunter, but instead of it trying to hack and slash you like a Samurai on steroids, it had an elongated tale that, when provoked, will shoot out an acidic projectile at you, or the ground near you. Scorpions have four large yellow eyes on a round face with sharp, malicious teeth. They are also four-legged like the majority of the Cryptids, and have polyp-like growths on their back, which store the acid. Even though they look menacing, and are quite annoying, they are actually quite weak, since their weak spots are the yellow growths on their back itself. Their long tails also have yellow plop growths on them, storing even more acid, but making them even more vunerable at the same time. They also tend to jump around a lot, usually on top of rooftops, or even sticking to the side of the walls. When their acid projectiles hit, they not only create an acidic puddle, it also creates a gas cloud that's like a combination of mustard gas and tear gas. Thompson here has gas masks inside his pack, and we all wear special type of ceramic boots so that we can walk over the puddles without worry." Marcus lifted his feet and rested them on the table, showing his boots and their special design.
"And here we got the ones that can either make or break you. The Seekers."
"These bad boys make a helluva'n appearence. They appear in meteorites from the sky, and you can tell when the meteorites about to land when a random lightning strike hits the ground. When it hits the ground, they come in in groups of three to four Seekers. Seekers have a fiery aura around their back and they move very fast and will explode when killed or when in contact with someone or somepony. They have purple growths on their back, making it very easy to kill them. Their explosion consists of a type of plasma that can easily burn through flesh and light armor, and their fiery aura doesn't help when they mix. As soon as the Cryptids were discovered back on our planet, everybody in the military was equipped with a special type of armor that makes it hard for the plasma to seep through."
"The next one is the one 'normal' Cryptid that everybody should fear, and can cause huge amounts of havoc of not dealt with immediately. The Rhino."
"Wait... that's normal?" Nimbius asked, his shock level raising even higher. Marcus nodded before he continued.
Once the images showed up, the girls shuddered, having a brief flashback of their own from when they saw one take down a helicopter in one of Marcus' own flashbacks.
"The Rhino is one of the biggest normal Cryptids out there. They weigh about half a ton, and most of their body is covered in an extreme layer of armor, kinda like an armadillo. In fact, its armor is strong to the point where sometimes, Armor Piercing rounds won't even cut it. So instead, we use incendiary rounds." Marcus said, pulling out the magazine from his M1911 and pulling out a single .45 caliber designed to be incendiary. The advisers, the General, and the Commander leaned in closer, impressed by the look and design.
"One one of these, or any type of incendiary bullet makes contact with the Rhino, it'll engulf their entire, and I mean their entire outer body in flames. In other words, it'll cook them from the inside out. So that huge armor plating the Rhino has is like a double-edged sword if you think about it. The Rhino can either come out from the ground, and you'll know it's a Rhino when you see a huge grey fist punch through the ground." He explained, and couldn't help but chuckle noticing the ponies look down briefly at the floor. "The Rhino gets its name because it will usually charge at you like a... well... a Rhino, and will tend to either rip your chest open, or slam you into the ground. Speaking of which, they also punch their fists onto the ground, creating a small shockwave that can disorient anyone near the radius. Once there's a Rhino in sight, you first priority should be to kill it as soon as possible."
"The next one is the Rhino's big brother. The Mammoth."
"The Mammoth looks similar to the Rhino in various ways, but it also has its own special features. For starters, instead of having a red aura, it has a blue aura, and a blue inscription on its forehead. Another thing is that a Mammoth is exceptionally stronger than a Rhino, having an even bigger and thicker layer of armor. It can also burrow through the ground, and appear anywhere near you. As if that wasn't bad enough, these fucks, when they slam their fists on the ground rapidly, can summon three to six Hunter Cryptids to assist them. But otherwise, they attack in similar fashion to the Rhino, and can take a massive amount of bullets before going down."
"Here we have another special type of Cryptid. The Phantom."
"The Phantom similar appearance to the Hunter albeit having a blue aura, and its skin and armor plate is a bit stronger, and are more agile. What makes it so special, however, is that whenever they jump, they disappear in a dark blue cloud and turn invisible until they make contact with another surface. Behavior-wise, the Phantom can be a 'mixed bag'. It bounces around similar to Scorpions, yet they will attack quite frequently. The hits that the Phantom lands are very powerful and can easily tear of a limb with a single swipe, but they're just about as easy to kill as a Hunter, but not by much."
"Next one is a rare one we've only encountered in one location. The Seeder".
"The Seeder has a similar appearance to the Seeker, but it's more closely related to the Scorpions, because it can also shoot out the same type of acid from its mouth, and has the same growths on its back instead of the ones the Seeker contains. The Seeder gets its name because it can lay larvae that can sprout into a mutated plant, which we call 'Seeder Turrets'. Seeder Turrets are kinda like huge stems with the same plant design as the Hives, but these plant things are capable of rapidly shooting plasma projectiles, and can easily tear through our armor if there are enough of them around. The Seeder usually jumps around as much as the Scorpion, but it will usually try to avoid you, but if you come close to it, it'll spit out its acid at you. Overall, they're not too hard to kill, but nowhere near as easy as killing a Seeker or Scorpion. When killed, it explodes like a Seeker, and leaves the same poisonous gas cloud as a Scorpion."
"Next up we have the tiniest of the Cryptids. We call them 'Bombers'."
"They're kinda like mini flying dragons, but they have a green bulb in the middle of their body that explodes on contact, so think of them as small, flying Seekers. Their main job is just to fly at you and explode. They don't really cause much damage, they're just really a nuisance."
"Next up we got it's big brother.. and I mean big. Meet the Gargoyle."
"Paleobiologists back where we came from had a Latin name for these things, 'Gurgulios'. Like Godfather said, the rest of us call them Gargoyles. They have prehensile wings, high-acuity night vision, radar reflective epidermal tissue, retractable claws, and a chitin tail blade. In other words, they can see clearly in the dark as if it was daytime, they can't be spotted on radar, their claws are kinda like a cat's, and they have a tail blade. They're strong enough to rip off the tail off of the helicopter the SOAR dudes use with their bare mouths. Their tail also has the ability to store and shoot red crystalline 'bullets' at a rapid rate. Their wings, however, are very delicate and if one of them are shot even once, they're rendered useless, and will try to attack you from the ground. Back where we came from, these fuckers had air superiority over all of our cities, bases, and launch facilities."
"The next one is the Cryptid that laid the eggs in the Diamond Dog's corpse, and the one we killed back in Appleloosa. The Cricket."
"This is one of the freakiest and 'unique' Cryptids we've ever fought and seen to date. They are about seven feet tall. Or to put in in easier terms, about a foot taller than me." Marcus said, giving them an idea on how tall the Cricket is. He smirked when he saw the ponies look up to the roof. Even Celestia. He then continued. "The Cricket gets its name due to the clicking noise it makes when the 'whiskers' rub together, attracting its victims, or making you aware that there's a Cricket near you, and it's ready to fuck shit up. It has purple and greyish skin, and also has an armor plate like the Hunter, but it's a lot less effective. It also breathes through its neck like a fish. And if that wasn't enough to freak you out, it has several small eggs on its stomach kinda like a frog. The eggs are usually larve of Cryptids, and are often placed in or around corpses. They can grow to the size of a Scout, because it usually contains one. It also spits out a jet stream of pure acid, different from the ones the Scorpion and the Seeder use. This acid will just burn through you rapidly on impact, and our armor isn't strong enough to counter it. So when we see or hear a Cricket, our first priority is to take it out quick and brutally."
"Okay. Now we're gonna go through the big ones.. and I mean big ones. Mares and Gentlecolts, I present you the Breeder."
As soon as the image popped up, all of the ponies gasped, while Fluttershy let out an 'eep' and hid below the table. Swordstrike was dumbfounded, Shearslice was on the verge of collapsing, and the adviser from Las Pegasus was now laying on the floor.
"Wh-who is that pon- person looking at that... thing?!" Asked Nimbius, completely shocked.
"That would be me." Kayla said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, it was her. Pretty ballsy move for someone who doesn't have balls." Jackson commented, getting slugged in the shoulder for his troubles, but this only made him laugh harder.
"Ah the Breeder... this thing is something. Let's start of with its size. It's about forty or so feet tall, and has several ways of attacking. One of them is a 'machine-gun' like attack, where it brings out two of its appendages from behind its back and aims it at whoever it wishes to kill. These appendages shoot out light purple crystalline projectiles at a monstrous rate of nearly nine hundred a minute. The Breeder also uses its huge front appendages to slam and slash whoever and whatever is in front of it. Kayla there was lucky enough to dive for cover near a huge propane tank before she got slammed herself." Marcus explained the event simply, looking over at Kayla, who just rolled her eyes in return. "The Breeder can also launch huge 'spores' that explode on impact, emitting a dangerous mixture of gas an hormonic chemicals. Even our gas masks can't protect us from this gas, so we just usually move and avoid them, or shoot them in mid air. The Breeder earns its name because it can also launch two to six eggs that can rapidly grow and give birth to a Hunter in a matter of seconds. Most of the Breeder's body is covered in a very tight armor plating except for that little dot on its forehead, which is its main weak spot. It also has a huge weak spot on its stomach, which can easily burst open, and make its organs and entrails vulnerable to gunfire or anything else. We've only faced one of these, but we've been told that there are more than just one."
"The next one is the biggest Cryptid there is to have ever been known to exist. Meet... The Kraken."
"You mean like that old mare's tale about a huge squid that lives in the ocean... eep.." Rainbow's voice faded away as soon as she saw the image.
Marcus chuckled at her reaction. "Heheh... not quite. This one-hundred foot monstrosity is no joke. As the name suggests, the Kraken has the looks of a giant squid, except much more terrifying. Each of its enormous tentacles are topped with fleshy beaks that will snap at and attempt to bite you if you stray too close. It has a huge head, with a gigantic gaping mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. It's skin is white, like all the other cryptids, and it's eyes and pores glow with a ghostly orange light, similar to that of other Cryptids. When it emerges from the sea, it will let out a deafening roar that causes shell-shock. It will then try to slam you with its huge tentacles, which those themselves causes a mini-shockwave capable of distorting anyone near it. It's most devastating attack thought is when it latches it tentacles around the given area you might be standing upon. It'll then begin emitting heat from its body and onto the surface you're standing on, making it seem like you're swimming on lava. The only way to avoid it is to stand on a pair of Cryptid corpses, or stand on one of the Hive remnants. But when it does this attack, however, it's also at its most vulnerable and weakest. That little dot on its forehead is its weak spot. It also has a second type of roar, which emits a thunderous and devastating electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, destroying or distorting any and all electronics within its range. We've only faced and defeated one of these things, but we are not sure if there are more."
"The next one is the second to last one. It'll be short, because we've never faced this Cryptid before. From reports we've read, they've named it 'The Screecher'."
Before Marcus could continue, he heard four 'thump' like sounds behind him. When he turned, he saw that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had actually fainted, along with Nimbius.
"Poor bastards... heheh.."
"Yep.. I wouldn't blame them. The Screecher gets its name because, from what we were told, it uses sound to move and attack, and when it does detect movement, it screeches loudly into the air that attracts every type of Cryptid into the vicinity so they can back the Screecher up. It uses something similar to sonar, like a bat. This Cryptid is different from the others, because it had two mouths, a springy tail, and it's formed in a more similar style to a human. It has a very muscled body and torso, has no arms, but it has two legs and is bipedal like a human. We were told that they can reach speeds of about thirty miles an hour, and its feet contain razor sharp claws that can be used to disembowel somebody with one good swing. Again, we've never faced this... yet..." Marcus mumbled the last part.
"Alright. Now we've reached the final Cryptid, and probably the most dangerous of all. The Ancestor."
"The Ancestors. They're the ones behind the entire thing. They have complete and full control of the entire Cryptid species, and the Cryptids work for them. The Ancestors' head is elongated and has two glowing eyes which sit over a large group of tentacle-like tendrils, which gives the head a resemblance to a squid. The Ancestors are capable of telekinetic abilities, including but not limited to sending commands to creatures that are capable of receiving them and seeing the world through the minds of humans who can be used by Ancestors. One of the victims happened to be someone who was, and still is, very valuable to the human race. Dr. Samantha Cross, but we'll get to that some other time. They're physical bodies are relatively fragile, but they can project a powerful gravimetric field to deflect attacks, and they can even levitate. We suspect the Ancestors are virtually impervious to small arms fire while the field is active, unless using supersonic Armor-Piercing rounds, or this thing." Marcus unslung his NX-1 Disruptor. "This thing uses the brain of an Ancestor, called the Cortex, as ammunition. We'll get to all of this later. Now back to the Ancestor. They can attack by either launching a black-hole like projectile at you, dazing you and making you vulnerable for its second attack, which involves it using its telekinetic abilities to levitate you and choke you to death, unless the Ancestor is interrupted."
"How did it manipulate you humans to see the world while they were 'asleep'?" Nimbius asked.
"It can either infect someone with a minmetic virus, or use one of their own to shapeshift into a human itself, and brainwash whoever their victim may be to do what they want them to do..." Marcus took a quick glance at Luna, who was still focused on the image, and looked as if she was deep in thought.
"Well... this is all very useful information. We got it all written down." Swordstrike said.
"Good. You're gonna need it. Trust me." Marcus replied simply. Nimbius was a bit uneased by this, so he asked him a question.
"I- we suppose that you will all take care of the situation and help us in this effort?"
Marcus sighed lightly and leaned in. "I don't make promises I can't keep. Neither does my squad.. but we aren't done talking just yet. We've only just begun..."