Project: PARADIGM

by CluelessDetective

Clear and Present Danger

Your Majesty,

Given the rising tensions with the Griffon Kingdom and their allies, as well as the chaos surrounding the disintegration of the Diamond Dog Confederacy, I believe we need a form of defense beyond our existing law enforcement and your Royal Guard.

You commissioned the University’s think tank to analyze and devise methods of dealing with these crises, and we’ve devised and experimented with a solution.

Now, for a moment we shall ignore present threats. Given that the major threats of the last century could not be defeated by the Elements of Harmony, even on the one occasion you were able to force a bond with them, another line of defense is advisable.

I am not proposing we build an army – as I know you abhor the concept – or a gendarmerie or even a militia of citizens to call upon in times of need.

We’ve known of parallel universes unlike or own for a decade now, and my colleagues and I have perfected a way to selectively remove specific individuals from their own universes and bring them to us; in light of these individuals representing specific concepts, we’ve dubbed it Project PARADIGM. Initial testing, which has been kept secret by casting memory spells on the candidates before returning them, proves that we can bring heroes to us.

These heroes we may bring however, are limited to those that exist within a decade of our time, regardless of what universe they’re from. This is because time is relatively constant even as space is divided. Still, many have technology greater than our own, and when asked, our candidates seemed universally willing to help on reasonable conditions.

With your permission, we will begin preparations to create a list of candidates to call upon should we ever need them, and form a more permanent system to maintain the project.

Sincerely,
Professor Cosmic Rift
-Letter sent to Her Majesty Princess Celestia, dated 903 A.N. Retrieved from Canterlot Archives.

***

Sam Fisher came to in a hospital bed. The room was a clean white and smelled of antiseptic, though there were no signs that he’d been operated on, he wasn’t hooked up to anything, and wasn’t wearing a hospital gown. To his right and left were curtains that blocked his view of any other patients, and another one in front of him kept him visually isolated. He sat up and groaned, noticing a bruise on his abdomen that hadn’t been there before.

I feel like I just got punched out by Superman. I must’ve hit something after that EMP went off.

Ignoring the pain, he got out of bed and stepped on a footlocker. Opening it, he found his clothes and Casio watch. Next he opened the curtain before him and saw a cluttered desk was in front of him. It was covered in information that upon closer inspection contradicted what seemed reasonable.

Pictures of unicorns, pegasi, and "normal" ponies –which is what he assumed they were due to their relatively small size and equine appearance – with coats, eyes and manes of all colors. A calendar that read “April 5th, 1003 AB”, with a subtext saying that “AB” meant “After Banishment”. Tools and lab coats seemed to be designed for quadrupedal use. Dozens of small signs indicating he wasn’t anywhere he knew, in a place populated by the same creatures in the pictures. The details were too much to allow any other conclusion than that he was on another world, and that thought was topped off by a globe too drastically different to be Earth.

Sam cleared his mind of all the emotions that whirled in his head. Disbelief, worry, wonder, fear, curiosity, and anger gave way to logic and reasoning. He was on a new world, and he’d have to figure things out on his own.

Okay, probably best I don’t piss anyone off.

Vic definitely made it out okay, and Sarah… She’ll understand why I had to go in for him.

To his right and left were a pair of other divisions of the ward marked with the faces of two other men. It hit him that his picture corresponded with the area he’d woken up in. That meant two other people besides him were there, so maybe he wasn’t entirely alone.

He pulled back a curtain to reveal a fit, sleeping Caucasian man in his late thirties. He had a brown beard and a mullet – one of the few he’d seen that didn’t look bad – as well as a pair of boxer-briefs on. Some small scars were present on his body, as well as a few larger ones. The man didn’t seem injured, however.

After a few seconds of weighing his options, Sam decided to wake him up. He tapped the man’s shoulder and noticed him stir a little, then open his blue eyes.

“Morning. Get dressed and we’ll talk.”

“What the hell?” He moaned in a gravelly voice, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Like the man who woke him, he stepped on a footlocker when he woke up. He opened it to reveal a suit that looked about as tight-fitting as the one Sam used to wear, albeit in gray instead of black.

The former Splinter Cell left the “room”, and waited for his nameless cohort to emerge. It felt like ten minutes, though it might’ve been his eagerness to communicate with another human being about their situation that got him so uncharacteristically anxious. He was checking his watch when he heard the man behind him ever so faintly and turned to face him. His suit was indeed tighter fitting than Sam’s was, and he’d put on a bandanna.

“Kept you waiting, huh?”

“I wasn’t really missing much. I think there’s one other guy. After he gets dressed, I’ll show you guys something and we’ll do introductions.”

Behind the final curtain was a ruggedly handsome man with blonde hair and a fresh pair of stitches. The man in the sneaking suit got him up and showed him his clothes. He ran his hand along his stitches and felt the shirt, as though he were surprised whatever caused the wound hadn’t affected the fabric.

After he got dressed, he spoke up.

“A bit quiet aren’t we?” He remarked in a British accent.

Sam merely grunted. Waving them over to the desk, he showed them all the evidence of them having left their world. The pictures of ponies, the texts, the objects clearly designed for non-human use, and the unfamiliar geographic representations of this new world.

They took it relatively well, externally at least, although since they weren’t talking much to begin with there was less for him to go on when making that judgment. For all he knew, they were panicking internally, something he’d barely avoided himself. It’d take serious effort to remain calm and rational.

“I think some introductions are in order. Bond. James Bond.”

Sam and the man in the sneaking suit looked at each other for a moment, their eyebrows raised in disbelief. Then they remembered where they supposedly were, and independently concluded that they were probably from different realities. It would’ve been a hard pill to swallow in almost any other situation.

“Sam Fisher.”

“Solid Snake.”

“Alright. Bond, Snake, c’mere.”

Sam showed them over to the desk in the room and indicated the various pieces of evidence that supported his theory of being on another world. They each pointed out additional details, furthering that notion. All things considered, they were all taking it surprisingly well.

“Yes Mr. Director, I’m happy to say they’re all going to be fine,” A male voice said outside the room. He sounded pleased with himself.

A peach-colored pony in a doctor’s coat led a larger navy blue, unicorn stallion in a fitted business suit into the room.

“I’m glad. We’ll need them for-”

“Need us for what?” James asked, interrupting him and drawing both ponies’ attention.

“I didn’t expect them –I mean you – to recover so soon, I-” The doctor stammered

“We brought you here,” The one he called “Mr. Director” said flatly. “I had you taken from your own universes before you were killed.”

“Why would you abduct us from our own universes? What the hell do you have to gain from that?”

“My nation has something to gain, gentlecolts. Or rather, it would’ve lost something if I hadn’t. And so would you. Believe me, we wouldn’t have done something this drastic if I thought there was another way.”

“Go on,” Sam, outwardly cool about the whole situation. James and Snake glared at him, but Sam was interested to hear his explanation.

“A few weeks ago, my country was attacked. A device of some kind caused an outbreak of black pox that wiped out a town of 1,014 ponies.”

“A bioterrorist attack?” Snake repeated.

“Officially, it was a freak accident, and after a period of mourning, Equestria returned to normalcy. In response, Princesses Celestia and Luna gave in to the pressure of some within their inner circle to form a way to combat these threats. They signed the Royal Equestrian Security Act into law.”

“So they head this country?”

“Yes, they do, and Luna has recently begun to assist her after returning from a thousand years of banishment. Celestia has led this nation herself for over a thousand years and seen regimes rise and fall, and never once used aggression or a military entity of any kind. No militia, self-defense force, or gendarmerie. The only armed force in Equestria is the Royal Guard, who protect her, her sister, and the city of Canterlot. But times are changing and the world is becoming more and more dangerous, making the means that once kept the peace insufficient to deter all forms of aggression. Their magic, and the Elements of Harmony, are no longer enough.”

Disbelief at her claims of longevity and magic were tempered by the absurdity the situation had to begin with. The men kept their mouths shut.

“The Royal Equestrian Security Act did many things, but two hold relevance here. One was that it formed the Clandestine Security Agency, which is still in its infancy and is being assisted in its growth by allied nations; it’s not yet ready, and adjusting to the techniques and technologies the Griffons have given us is challenging. Most ponies aren’t ready to take lives.”

“And the second?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It reactivated an old program originally intended to use magic to bring heroes to Equestria, should we ever need them. You three are the fruit of that program. When this crisis ends, my leaders and I promise to return you to your respective realms, just after you left them.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I need more assurance than just your word. I’ve been used for ‘good’ more than a few times,” Snake growled.

The Director nodded. “I figured you wouldn’t budge, and I don’t blame you. I’ll take you to the Princesses to let you have some reassurance. Follow me.”

“S-sir, they’re not ready to be moved yet,” The doctor protested as the four of them walked out of the room.

“Try and stop us,” Sam replied coldly.

The suit led the humans out of the ward and into the next room, an office filled with a mish-mash of old and modern technology haphazardly organized within what must’ve been a dungeon or safe room once. It really did seem like the CSA was just formed a few weeks before.

“Right now, we’re directly under Canterlot Castle. These passages were designed as a refuge for the upper echelons of the Equestrian government in case Canterlot were ever attacked and would be used to protect them until allied nations came to our aid. They were recently used during much of the Nightmare Moon incident. Our first choice was actually the crystal caves also underground, but we couldn’t find a way into the place.”

“And the safe room leads straight to the throne room,” Sam reasoned as they neared a staircase.

I hope these stairs aren’t too long.

They ascended for several minutes before reaching a chamber. Surprisingly, not one of them was winded. Sam worked hard to keep his SEAL physique at age 54, and he assumed the other men did too for theirs, though they had the advantage of youth.

And those ponies called me a hero. I’ve got too much red in my ledger for that. I don’t know about Snake, but Bond isn’t exactly clean either.

The Director knocked on the door at the other end of the empty room and pressed an ear against it. After a few moments, he led the three men onwards.

They opened the door for the trio to reveal a grand hall, with stained glass windows and a magnificent red carpet. A larger winged unicorn, or alicorn, rested upon a throne made of gold and marble, lined with purple silk cushions. Her coat was alabaster, eyes were violet, and her mane was a multicolored mass that flowed in the absence of wind. She wore a golden crown and necklace, as well as matching horseshoes.

From what Sam could tell by her facial expressions, she was curious. And yet a slight narrowing of the eyes indicated this was unpleasant for her, from a moral standpoint if what the Director said was true. She tried to appear regal and friendly, and she succeeded in projecting that air for the most part.

These ponies were sufficiently human-like that he could apply his decades of experience to dealing with them. That was an asset he enjoyed having.

Another one of similar stature sat to her left. This one was navy blue, with a mane that flowed similarly but showed the stars of the night sky instead. Her apparel was made of a curious black material, with moonstone insets shaped like a crescent moon.

The way she shot a brief look of worry and disapproval at her sister when he and his acquaintances entered suggested a disagreement between them, likely over either the CSA or the humans’ arrival, perhaps both.

Day and night motifs. Celestia is the white one and Lune is the blue one. There’s some conflict between them over us.

The Director led them in front of her and knelt, as did James, probably because he had a queen himself. When Sam and Snake failed to do the same, Luna’s horn glowed for a moment and she glared at them.

“Kneel,” He whispered at them. They still didn’t comply. Sam couldn’t speak for Snake, but he personally resented the idea of showing submission to royalty, especially the implication that they were worth more as people than non-royalty.

“Director,” Celestia said calmly, smiling just a little.

“Your Majesty,” The spook began, standing back up. “The three candidates arrived successfully. We confiscated most of their equipment. After I entered the ward to find them awake, I explained the situation and they requested your assurance that when their work is done they could return.”

“Ma’am, we’re all glad you retrieved us before we were killed. But-” James began.

“We understand completely. You have our word of honor that should you survive and succeed, we will return you to your own worlds,” Luna said icily, not even omitting the danger they’d face. That concept was met with a mixed reaction from Celestia, who quickly changed the subject.

“I believe some introductions are in order,” She said in a pleasant tone, as though the previous conversation had never happened. “I’m Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Princess Luna.”

“Bond. James Bond. MI6 now, but I held the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy.”

“Sam Fisher. I was in the NSA’s Third Echelon division before I retired from field work. I was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy SEALs before that.”

“Solid Snake. Used to be a First Lieutenant in the Army’s FOXHOUND unit, took the same way out as Sam.”

Inwardly, part of Sam wondered why he was barely angry at being dragged back to battle for a third time that month. First there was the coup attempt, then rescuing Vic just last night, and now he was in a new world where he had to fight an enemy he knew nothing about. But then, if he was anything short of extremely furious, he’d still be in control.

“It was with great reluctance that I authorized this provision of the Royal Equestrian Security Act a month ago. I ordered you to be brought up here when you woke up because wanted you to know that this isn’t something my sister and I take lightly, but with the danger my little ponies face, it was a necessary evil,” Celestia explained, somber. “You must understand, we’re mainly a peaceful nation, with no experience with these kinds of activities. We’ve called in help from other nations, but we needed our own response immediately.”

“My sister considered hiring freelancers or borrowing agents from another nation, but without belief in a system they defend or love of that nation they are doomed to fail, and foreign agents always have their own agendas regardless of any loyalty to their allies. I advised that we instead wait until next month for our first operatives to be ready. As you can imagine, I’m not entirely fond of this idea,” Luna added disdainfully, making no effort to conceal her feelings on their presence. “You at least, are bound to the task of helping us, though I have little confidence in your abilities.”

“Forgive her. My sister does not trust easily, and she returned only two years ago from a millennium of isolation, making her… Antisocial. ”

The Director cleared his throat. “Gentlecolts, the magic we used to search for our heroes found you three, and I must assume that was for a reason; we needed resourceful, talented individuals and you three obviously fit the bill. But PARADIGM is a secret unit; as far as the public is concerned, you three are just strangers in a strange land. Only Princesses Celestia and Luna, and the CSA know about you. The Captain of the Guard, the Royal Guards themselves, and the Elements of Harmony do not know about you, nor can they be allowed to know why you’re here,” He explained.

“And our gear?” Snake asked.

“We have it stored nearby. Oh, and when we grabbed Fisher, something threw off the teleportation field and enlarged it, so he happened to come with a dozen crates of human equipment. It’s all in the armory, and we’ll take you there now.”

The suit led them back downstairs and through a series of tunnels. Meanwhile, Snake pulled out a pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth before offering one to Sam. He held up a hand.

“I told my daughter I’d quit.”

“You have a kid?”

“Yeah, but she… She doesn’t need me anymore.”

It’s the other way around, really. With Grimm’s people and Victor’s people protecting her too, I guess I’m just the training wheels that make her feel comfortable. I’m the one who needs somebody to latch onto.

“Well, I don’t think she’ll mind in this case.”

Sam shrugged and took one, which Snake lit after his own.

“Do you have our first assignment?” James asked. “I’d rather know what I need ahead of time.”

“We’ve got a few leads on an attack here in Canterlot and we were hoping you could check them out. We’ll keep an eye on you, and see how this goes. Think of it as a trial run.”

“Alright. What’re we dealing with?” Snake asked.

“We’ve got two leads. A suspicious shipment was sent into the city recently, and we think it’s been moving through the confines of the catacombs and sewers under the city. A lot of criminal activity down there. Those tunnels even lead to the area surrounding the Canterlot Railroad, so there’s a possibility of an attack there.”

“Sounds like my kind of place,” The operative said.

“There’s also some chatter in criminal circles about the National Dessert Competition and the competitors coming via train. Normally, we’d ignore something like that, but there’s some unusual activity going along with it. And since Princess Celestia herself will be there, we’re concerned there might be an attempt on her life.”

“A two-pronged attack is what you’re getting at. An attack that could destroy the Canterlot Railroad with the passengers on the train, and an attempt on the life of one of your leaders.”

“Exactly.”

The four of them arrived in the armory. It was a large, drab-looking room with the same stone walls as the rest of the castle and several crates spread around. Sam recognized them as having been in the building he raided not long before, in the same room as him when the EMP went off.

The electromagnetic field might’ve disrupted the magic that had snatched him and caused it to grab the crates as well. That fit with what the Director said earlier.

EMP radiation disrupts magic. That could be useful.

The spook opened three smaller crates, carrying what they’d had with them when they were teleported.

Sam grabbed his backpack, threw his goggles in it, and holstered his Five-Seven. He also took his OPSAT and earpiece, donning the latter and mounting the former on the diagonal strap of his pack. He left the rifle inside, since he’d be working mostly undercover. A few magazines went in his pockets, and more in his backpack.

Snake left a blue vest and thick kneepads in the crate and grabbed a few grenades and gadgets, tucking them into his suit’s pouches and belt. He then removed a Mk 23 and holstered it, grabbing several magazines. He took a suppressed M9 as well, and some magazines holding strange-looking ammunition.

Bond took a phone, hygiene kit, pack of gum, and a pair of sunglasses from his trunk, tucking them all away neatly.

“I lost my gun before you rescued me,” James said. “You said something about snagging all of this equipment with Sam?”

“Yes. You can take whatever you want from it,” The Director replied.

The agent nodded and opened one of the crates and checked several drawers before finding one with pistols in it. He grabbed a P99QA 9mm, loaded it, took a few magazines, and hid them on his person.

Their new boss gave them a more detailed briefing, and the three men chose their assignments. Snake would chase the suspicious shipment through the catacombs, tunnels and sewers beneath Canterlot. Sam and James would pursue leads on a potential assassination attempt, starting with a few informants in the vibrant entertainment district.

It was time to go to work.

Comments

[TheRaptor103]

I do have to say, so far the story telling is a bit on the more ruff side of things, like Solid Snake wouldn't be so casual about these ponies.

[Dustchu]

Mmm... not many issues, looking good so far. But they seem... too trusting of each other, given their pasts of being super secret agents and shit.

Nice job though

[nullvariable]

Pretty good so far, but some text didn't quite flow naturally.