Many hours after Alex went to bed the sun was once again risen by Celestia causing a bright ray of light to flash through a window into our heroes face. Causing him to grimace as he began his process of wake up......
The Next Day
Countdown Begin:
36.5 Hours Before Return
Alex POV
Yup, here is something i didn't miss: having to wake up to sun in the eye's. Oh well, wouldn't have it any other way I guess. Was my first thought as the first rays of dawn flashed through the window, effectively magnifying the light, straight into my face as i had the misfortune to be facing the window at the time. Groaning after bit of just laying there trying to go back to sleep, with no success, I decided to just get off my ass. It's time like this where I regret accepting help from Shepard and joining the juggernaut program....
Opening my eye's, I slowly looked around the area of my room i could actually see. And because of my simplicity, the only thing i could actually see was just my simple little dresser. There was nothing in it of course, as i preferred to wear my armor most of the time, but i had it mainly for nostalgic reasons. Sitting up, I got my thoughts together and focused on the one thing that made me this way in the first place: General Shepard. While he had been like every general at first, supporting his men and not sacrificing them and whatnot, it was when he first got mention of Makarov and the nuke, that he began to change. He became something else entirely. And I can't even figure out why...
Slapping myself in the face a couple of times, I got my thoughts back together again and kept myself from drifting again. A side effect to the juggernaut training, a year after the "Incident" and during the time where Shepard was making his rise, was that I would sometimes drift into my thoughts and wouldn't be able to get out of them for a few hours. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to my armor stand but not before looking at myself in the mirror.
God, even after all of these years I still look like I was dragged out of hell itself. I'm glad your dead Shepard, you are the one who did this to me. While I was in my best condition as I could possibly be after the "Incident," I still had several scars that showed the true horror that I, as a lone soldier, have witnessed. While all I wore currently were some flexible thermal underwear, the rest of my body was out in the open for the moment. Taking a look at my body, I slowly observed myself for the first time since I became an experiment.
I was a seven foot tall male with a mid sized head that sported a small tangle of jet black hair. My eye's were roundish in shape and were a deep gray in color, another side effect to the transformation was that my eye's lost their blue coloring and went grey, while my nose was a good size for a man of my style. My cheek bones were a decent height on my face giving me a long angled look that added to my features. My neck was somewhat short but was very thick as it had to fit on my broad shoulders that connected very muscular arms to my body. My chest and stomach were complete muscle everywhere except for areas where it looked as if i had cut myself. While the holes weren't really cuts, if you actually opened one up, you could actually see a soft sheen of metal flash underneath. My legs were long and were very muscular as it should be to support the 250lb male and 200lb's of armor that they were equipped with. In all I would be considered a very attractive man if it wasn't for one thing.... or several things: my scars.
I had scars ranging on several parts of my body, the worst of which being a long scorch scar ranging from my face all the way down my abdomen and around my waist to go back up my back and end on the back of my neck and the scar itself was as wide as my hand going perpendicular. Many were from my current occupation, as a juggernaut I was always with the first charge head on into battle so I got shot a lot, and more than half of them were from the incident before I became what I am today. If anything they were the reason I still keep going today, not because of the artificial equipment inside me to keep me going with all of the damage I've taken, and will keep going tomorrow.
Shaking my head, I brought myself back into the land of the living and continued my way to the armor rack that currently held my gear. While I have been gone for several centuries, the armor rack actually held pretty good considering it's long life of disuse. Chuckling softly to myself, I grabbed each individual piece of armor and began the process of quickly putting it on.
When i was done, I grabbed the ammunition I grabbed in my little armory and strapped it to the pouches in my armor once more. Afterwards i grabbed my M60e4 and swung it over my back so it could rest on the little hooks that extended out of the back of my chest plate. Finally, I grabbed my Beretta .45 cal. handgun and slid a magazine into it before cocking it to load the chamber. Just as I was switching the safety on, one of the guards in golden armor, me and Celestia are going to talk about the metal choice for armor...., knocked on the door before sticking their head in and relaying to me that breakfast was ready.
Nodding to him, I asked him to go ahead and escort me, new castle means I need to learn the layout again, I hated that part, before we began to walk down the hall with him leading the way. While the trip was relatively short, it was also spent in complete silence as the guard was slowly losing his nerve when my boots made a loud thud from walking. Laughing silently in my head, I dismissed the guards lack of courage and continued on the journey.
When we finally arrived to the dining area, The guards by the doors barred the way with their spears before one of them broke the almost never ending silence.
"Halt, you need clearance to see the princess." looking at him with a "Are you fucking serious?" look, i stopped when I realized he couldn't see it under my helmet, I only gave a small retort.
"Really? It's breakfast time and you really think it's a good idea to block my way?" -sigh- "You do realize that I am a guest of Celestia and am one of her oldest friends. Literally." The guard only glared at me.
"You will address her as princess you foul creature else I will drag you to the dungeons and lock you up for that insolence." I only looked at him for a few seconds in silence before throwing my head back and roaring with laughter that only seemed to piss the little guard off even more. I laughed for a few minutes and would've kept on laughing if it weren't for the guard jabbing me in the gut with his spear.
In a few mere seconds I had immediately stopped laughing and only glared at the guard before grabbing his spear and snapping it in my left hand like it was nothing but a twig, which compared to me it really is. That immediately got the guard to back down as he instantly backed towards the door with a terrified look on his face, whimpering all the while. Grunting in amusement, I told the guards that Celestia was expecting me before opening the doors and stepping into the dining room.
Shutting the door behind me, I only stared at the three occupants that were currently in the room sitting at the long rectangular table. Celestia, of course, was sitting at the head of the table staring at me while frozen mid bite. On her left was the same unicorn mare who was with Celestia the night before. However, the male unicorn with the white coat and blonde mane was someone who was completely new to me. Staring at the three, I only casually walked up before sitting across from Celestia at the opposite end of the table. Pulling out my chair, I slowly slid into it and was about to get up slightly before realizing that the chair could hold actually my weight. Looking to Celestia, I voiced out my thoughts about it.
"Ah, yes that. Well i learned from the last time you broke one of my chairs and have recently enchanted all chairs or benches within the castle to withstand the weight of even the heaviest dragon." Smiling under my helmet I nodded in her direction.
"Glad to hear it, it kind of got annoying when everything kept breaking under my weight. I felt like a fat ass." Snorting in response, Celestia chuckled quite loudly before calming down again.
"Anyway, before we get entangled in our plans and preparations, Alex I would like for you to meet the two ponies at my sides. To my left is Twilight Sparkle, my personal student since a young age," Nodding to her and giving a slight salute gesture with my hand, I turned to the other unicorn. "And to my left is my nephew, Prince Blueblood. His family has risen to this title through helping the castle and me through tough times since your.... "departure." Nodding to him as well, his only response was to snort in disgust before turning his head away from me and addressing Celestia.
"Aunty Celestia, you can't possibly be serious about letting this thing sit and dine with us. It looks like nothing but a monster." Yup and there goes my respect for him. Huh, five seconds.... new record. Celestia only frowned slightly at him. However, before she could scold him, I beat her to it.
"It would be best if you were to learn your place prince for you do not know who you are talking to. Ever hear of the old stories of the walking tank?" He only looked at me with the same look i gave the guards a few minutes ago.
"Why of course you fool. Everyone has heard the story of the lost juggernaut. The being who can't be killed and decimated the entire gryphon army with nothing but the weapons he had and his bare hands." I only looked at him with amusement.
"Well what if I told you you are talking to him right now and completely acted as if he was nothing more than a mere animal." The prince only looked quizzically at me for a few seconds before realization set in. His face immediately went to one of complete shock as the color drained from his face. he has a white coat and his face just paled..... I still don't understand the logic of this world.
"But that's preposterous! You can't possibly be the juggernaut warrior! From what I have heard about his kind then you would be long dead by now!" Chuckling a little, I gave a response.
"Of course I am the juggernaut. The armor makes it obvious, as does the weaponry I carry on my back and hip. As for the whole lifespan dilemma, there were some.... "circumstances" that left me frozen in stone for the past nine centuries. I have only recently awakened to help Celestia." The prince only looked at me in slight fear and seemed to even cower when he got a good look at the LMG that was resting on my back.
"F-forgive me my dear sir..... I-i didn't k-know that you had r-recently been awoken. I a-am terribly sorry. Forgive m-me for my insolence." Chuckling in response again, I waved it off as if it were nothing.
"All is forgiven. As they say where I come from, "Its water under the bridge." So you have nothing to worry about. Just don't do it again and we'll be peachy. Now Celestia, after breakfast we need to go over the preparations. We are going to need them to be ready." Celestia only closed her eye's and nodded her head in my direction.
"Of course Alex. It would be unwise to go unprepared. However, before then, why don't we finish breakfast so we will be able to focus more on our tasks that lie ahead." While the two unicorns agreed, I sat in silence before Celestia spoke up again while looking quizzically at me.
"Aren't you going to eat anything Alex? I am sure you must be hungry." Shaking my head, I only gestured at the two unicorns who were dining with us. while the two were confused, Celestia got what I was relaying and spoke up again.
"Ah yes, that. I have completely forgotten. Do not worry. I will have breakfast brought to you later while we prepare." Nodding my head in understanding, I bid them farewell and stood up from my chair. Turning around, I was about to walk to the door and leave before the purple unicorn mare suddenly spoke out.
"Wait!" Stopping, I only stood before turning my head to the side and speaking back.
"What?"
"I would like to follow you and ask a few questions. I have only read a few things about your kind and i want to learn more." Looking to Celestia, she only nodded to me before I sighed loud enough for them to hear.
"Whatever, just don't get in my way and do not ask about my past or the Q&A session will end. Understood?" Nodding her head furiously, Twilight hurriedly turned back and ate the last few bites of her food before bidding Celestia a good day and followed me. When she got to the door, she turned around and told me to hurry up before running out.
"I am already regretting this decision." Celestia chucked quietly before responding.
"Do not worry Alex, she is pure at heart and loves to learn new things. You will be fine."
"It's not for my sake, it's for hers. You know how the history of my kind is and relaying it to her will only strip the cleanliness she has from war."
"I wouldn't worry about it Alex. I believe she will be fine." I only looked at Celestia to see if she was sure and she only nodded in response. Making up my mind I made a reply.
-Sigh- "If you say so." And with that I walked out of the room as Celestia suddenly addressed Blueblood about his behavior towards me.
Five Minutes Later
Me and Twilight were still walking down the hall in relative silence as I was taking us towards our intended destination. We walked through several halls back to my room for some things i would need for preparations. While we were walking, we were almost back to my room before Twilight broke the silence.
"I have so many questions about you and your kind Mr. Alex. Would you mind if I start asking them now?" Glancing down at her briefly, I chuckled quietly at her enthusiasm before responding.
"I don't really care. Remember though that any question that i deem to personal or I wont feel like answering, I won't answer them. Also, call me Alex or sergeant. I may be almost a thousand years old because of my captivity but I'm still in my thirties. Understand?" She looked as is if she were ready to burst. A moment ago she was calmly walking while visibly restraining her excitement. Now she was just jumping in places shout ting 'Yes!' over and over. While I didn't have a problem with her being excited, i did have a problem with wasting the valuable time I had left before Nightmare Moon's return. Steeling my mind, I calmly walked on with Twilight following me once again while she calmed down.
It actually didn't take as long as I thought as the young unicorn brought out a little pad of paper and a quill. Where in the hell did she get those? You know what.... Never mind I'm not even going to ask. And prepared herself to ask her questions. Finally after a few seconds, She breathed in deep before letting out a calm breath and beginning her question session.
"OK, first question. What are you?"
"Human." She quickly scribbled down on her notepad.
"How did you end up here in Equestria?"
"Died." She only looked at me in shock before pestering me about it.
"How did you die? Also how do you think you got here upon death?"
"I was hunting down an old general of mine who sacrificed his own men to save his own ass. As for how I appeared, I kind of flew through the wall while the princess was holding court and passed out because of my wounds" Quickly scribbling down my answer she thought before a second before asking her next question.
"What is your planet like?" That got me to stop short. In a matter of a few seconds, Many memories flashed through my mind of what i remember when I was last on the planet.
"Not very good to say at the least." She looked at me quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes! It would be a great opportunity to learn about a new world!"
"Yeah..... Sure....... Anyway my world is many things right now but "Good" is definitely not one of them."
"How so?"
"War, hunger, racism, starvation, and several other things that make it a terrible place. While it has some redeeming qualities they are few and far between. I had to learn at a young age that the world isn't fair and that you have to take the initiative to get things done."
"Was it that bad?"
"Pretty much."
"......So you were a soldier?"
"Yeah, one of the best after the "incident."
"What "Incident?"
"Question about my past."
"Oh, right..... What were you like in battle?"
"Unstoppable. Because of my armor and training, I was taught to ignore pain and give it everything I've got, and more, to make sure that my main objective is complete. I would march into battle and literally tear through enemy ranks to get my job done. But now that time is over."
"Why?"
"Personal reasons."
".... So how much better are soldiers from your world compared to the castle guards?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Depends on which country. Almost every country has it's own army to fight and most all of those armies have different training styles."
"What about the country you came from?"
"Compared to the guards..... the guards definitely wouldn't have a chance." Looking at the duo of guards we were passing, i gave a whispered "No offense" when they looked at me in annoyance and anger.
"How so?"
"Our training highly differs from yours as our training doesn't consist of just going into battles in rows. We learned that that type of fighting style would waste too many lives with little to no chance of a good result. So we adapted to our own style of fighting."
"Like what?"
"Classified."
"Classified?"
"Military secret. Well, for us anyway." As we turned around another corner we were coming up to my room door. When we were in front of it I turned to Twilight.
"Well I'm sorry to cut the Q&A Session short but I have to grab some things and meet up with Celestia. I'll have to make sure we finish this later, K?" She looked saddened at first but quickly brightened when i said the last part of my statement.
"Sure! It would be great to learn about your world some more." She then turned and left but not without waving at me.
Chuckling a little, I turned back to my door and entered my room. When I shut the door, I quickly went towards my bathroom. While I didn't use it very much, I had a very different purpose for it. Opening the door, I went to the back of the large room and opened the little closet door. Stepping into the little closet, I pried open a hatch and grabbed several pieces of equipment I would need for my mission before closing the hatch back up. Walking back out of the bathroom and my room, I closed my door and walked down the hallway. After asking some passing guards for directions to the throne room, I quickly made my way to talk to Celestia.
After walking in total silence for a few minutes, I finally came up to the massive doors to the throne room and walked through them. Even though Celestia was busy, as soon as she saw me she immediately sent all of the complainers and guards out of the room before motioning me to follow her. Lighting her horn, she led me to a section of the wall in the throne room before using her already activated magic to open a secret door that was hidden. Walking through the opening, Celestia led me for five minutes in almost complete darkness, her horn was providing enough light, before opening another door and entering her study.
Following through, I shut the secret door behind me before turning back to Celestia. Leaning against the wall, I waited for her to finish conjuring a table out of stone in the center of the room that held a map of the Everfree Forest with the old castle in the center and what was apparently the town "Ponyville" just outside of the forest. Once she was done she sat back and waited for me to start.
Walking to the table, I opened the pouches on my chest and withdrew the equipment from before. Throwing them onto the table, I waited for Celestia to get a good look at the several packs of C4 plastic explosives and clay mores before speaking up.
"All right. So what's the plan?"