From the Shoulders of Giants

by Za Raapini

What Were You THINKING?

From the Shoulders of Giants

Chapter Eight: What Were You THINKING?

By Za Raapini

Johnson awoke to a fresh breeze, chirping birds and the rays of the sun beating down on his face. He also noticed a foul smell, and his mouth felt cottony. His head felt like there was a buffalo trying to force itself out, and there was a sharp jabbing in his side.

As he slowly cracked open his eyes a shot of sunlight hit them and devoured his eyes with its fury. Crying out, he screwed them and tried to move around. He felt around with his hands, trying to get a bearing on where he was. As he moved about, he felt a large goopy puddle.

I did it again, didn’t I? the Gunny thought to himself. Summoning all of his willpower, he went through a mental checklist. Cottony mouth, check. Sharp pain in the side, check. Puddle of vomit next to him, check.

If all this wasn’t bad enough he had the disturbing sensation that he was being watched. Taking a risk and cracking his eyes open again, he noticed something far worse than sunlight filling them.

General Richards. His eyes were ablaze, and his features were twisted into a look that better men than he had tried to comprehend.

“Come with me Gunnery Sergeant. You and I have some things to discuss,” Richards said.

Hanging his head low, Johnson slowly got up to follow him. He could feel sharp pulses of pain every time he moved, but he didn’t dare show weakness in front of the General. Not that it would do him any good.

He followed him, wondering how long it would be before he was sent back to Edwards.

000

The fashionista of Ponyville awoke slowly. Her head felt like a train had been rammed through it, and her mouth felt drier than the desert. What had happened last night?

As she shakily began to stand up, she cracked her eyes open and saw an absolute disaster in front of her. Humans and ponies were passed out everywhere, and the interior of Sugarcube Corner would have looked cleaner had a tornado gone through. This… this was something far worse.

She looked at the mess strewn about everywhere, the puddles of spilled liquor, the smashed and crumbled remains of the snacks that had been left out. She had been to many of Pinkie’s parties, and never had the aftermath of them been this outrageous.

Weren’t these humans supposed to be professionals? That was all she could remember them talking about from what she could recall. Professionals. Hmph. She hardly knew any “professionals” who would leave themselves a drunken mess for ponies to observe in the morning.

As she picked her way carefully through the mess her thoughts ran back to that one human… Johnson, she thought his name was. His drunken antics had completely ruined the night, as after he started talking, everyone started telling their own stories.

It had been too much for Rarity to handle. Johnson’s alone was bad enough, but then everyone else opened up after they took the non-response as an invitation for more stories to be told. The whole night was a blur of friends dying, targets being taken out and the cold realization that no matter what actions they took there was always going to be more fighting.

So then why did they do it? If they knew that they would never stop fighting, why start in the first place? Why did they choose to put themselves through such anguish? Why did their whole species have entire industries dedicated to it?

She knew they were just trying to make conversation, but last night had frightened her. Yes, they had gotten quite emotional, but all of them remained dead-set that what they did for a living was not wrong. Rarity simply could not wrap her brain around that mindset. It was just so… vulgar.

Splash. A small squeak escaped her lips as something truly retched made its way onto her coat. The smell was awful, and it almost looked like there was blood in it. Blood. On her coat. On her coat. Rarity felt her breathing pick up, and her pulse began to quicken. Combined with the hangover it was a most unfortunate combination. She began to feel queasy, and fought back the urge to add more to the puddle she was standing in.

This day was turning out to be an absolute disaster.

000

Sergeant Armand of the COS picked his way into Sugarcube Corner, gingerly avoiding the few ponies that were still inside, and tapping all the operators that were asleep. Overlord and Picante had taken a huge gamble allowing this to happen, and it appeared the gamble had failed.

The men that had been given a pass to drink had done so with gusto, not handling themselves like the professionals they were. Now there were sixty people in no shape to conduct a vehicle recon today, which meant extra duty for the ones who were still sober. Not to mention, between Johnson being a drunken asshole and a majority of those drinking unable to hold their liquor, they had shown their ass in front of some important delegates.

Furious with the situation, Armand almost didn’t notice the white unicorn looking sick right in front of him. Taken aback, he tried to remember what the Major had said in the brief the night before. This was one of the Elements that this dimension was big on. Rarity was her name, he believed.

“Excuse me ma’am. Are you alright?” Armand said. The unicorn wasn’t looking too good. She looked like she was about to vomit, and her breathing was slow.

“N… not at all,” she said with a slur. So she was still drunk then. Just what had gone on here last night? Regardless, Armand felt compelled to get her outside and some medical aid. Combat medicine was markedly lacking in treating for over-consumption of alcohol.

“Let’s get you some fresh air and perhaps a trip to the hospital. Does that sound alright?”

“Wi… will they clean my coat?” was her response. Looking down, he could see that she had stepped in a puddle of vomit on the floor, and her coat was lightly coated with it.

“Of course they will. Let us get moving,” Armand said. He ushered her out of the building, intent on delivering her to the hospital. The last thing that needed to happen while they were here was being responsible for one of these… ‘Elements of Harmony’ dying. It would ruin whatever standing they had, and eliminate any chance for the politicians gaining something out of this.

As he walked out, he motioned to one of his men to continue getting everyone up. General Richards was on deck, and he was furious, to put it mildly.

There was a major shitstorm brewing, and Armand didn’t want to be anywhere near it when it happened. He focused on getting the unicorn aid, and tried not to think about what was coming.

000

“Do you know what my morning has been like Johnson? Do you? Because I don’t think you appreciate the difficulties I’ve had so far. First I get a report that everyone who got a pass to drink ended up being a jackass about it. I appreciate that by the way, really, I do. I try to give you guys a great chance to unwind, we send you some alcohol, because I thought I was commanding professionals. Not a bunch of goddmaned idiots.

“So that was the first thing I heard about. Then I find out you rambled on to six of their key players in some idiotic attempt to make yourself seem important. Leave the fucking talking to the people who have stars on their collar.

“What were you trying to accomplish? Give some big speech on why we’re here? Just trying to put everyone’s minds at ease? Guess what. You don’t do those things! That’s my job! That’s what politicians are for! That’s what people with more responsibilities than you are for! You have, or rather had, one simple job! Do what you were told!

“And you fucked it up! Fucked it up big! Nobody told you to talk to them! Nobody told you to tell them ‘your story’! It’s not important! You just had to do your job, and everything would have been fine! Now we’ve got damage control going on all over the fucking place! This is the single most frustrating day I have had in my life, and you are the cause!

“Get your shit. You’re going back to Edwards, pending legal actions. Let you screw up while you’re waiting there, too,” General Richards finished.

Gunny Johnson sat there and absorbed the General’s words. The man was understandably angry at him, and Johnson knew that his career was likely over. He left the general’s presence and went to where his gear was located.
He just didn’t understand why he had done it. He hadn’t had an episode in years. Was it him reacting to what had happened yesterday? To finding a new world so vastly different from his own?

Was it the lack of combat?

While Johnson didn’t consider himself a war junkie, he had to admit to himself that the adrenaline rush that was felt was simply unmatched. Not only that, but when he was doing his job, when he was surrounded by his friends, his subordinates, that was the only time Johnson felt happy. Not being able to do his job left an empty hole in his being.

Sighing, Johnson lit a cigarette while he waited for the helicopter to come pick him up. As he waited, he looked around the activity surrounding their bivouac area. Some trucks had been dropped off, and a few squads were getting ready to go out on a recon patrol. Doing their jobs. All I had to do was not be an idiot and get rip roaring drunk. Just goes to show you… Johnson thought to himself.

As he felt the familiar buzz rushing through his body, he thought back to the night before. The horrified looks on the ponies faces hadn’t even registered while he was rambling. He just kept spewing the words. He never enjoyed telling the story, but he had done so with every new group of people he had ever met while drunk. Something compelled him to do it, but he had never bothered to find out what.

The arrival of the bird shook Johnson from his thoughts. Time to face the music. He put his cigarette out, picked up his gear, and got aboard.

000

“It’s lucky you got her here when you did. Her blood alcohol levels were extraordinarily high. The fact that she was still conscious can only be attributed to her body’s natural magic preventing anything serious from happening quickly. All in all, a close call if I ever saw one,” Nurse Redheart said to Armand.

“She will recover then?” Armand asked.

“Oh yes, she’ll be fine. Thanks to you. I must say, I was a little shocked when I saw one of… your kind, escorting her in.” Redheart looked a little unsure of herself. She had seen many a pony come in the day prior looking for something to calm their nerves after everything had settled down. Truth be told, she was still unnerved from what had happened. It wasn’t just something you could sleep on and be fine with.

“Just because some particular individuals have not handled themselves with the professionalism that is to be expected in a situation such as this, does not mean that we all handle ourselves like such. This pony was in need of help, so I responded. That is the basic premise of what I do. Help others, in a way,” Armand responded.

Redheart listened to his words, but wasn’t sure how much she believed them. They had acted so aggressively the day before, kicking in doors, brandishing weapons, shouting, those terrible flying things soaring overhead… what had prompted this?

“In any event, I’m glad you brought her in. She’ll be here for a day or two, and then hopefully she’ll get released,” Redheart said. The human known as Armand nodded and walked out. She then let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

She had been terrified he had been going to attack her while he was in the room. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to what they did and why they were here than what they told everypony. She had heard what some of them had talked about. Combat. War. Fighting.

Redheart found herself trembling. She had a feeling she was going to become a lot busier in the days to come.

000

Error: //Location Unknown//

“You see? It’s not that hard to manipulate things. A little tug there, a little twist here, it’s all so simple. There’s a certain elegance in what I’m doing here.”

“I’m just a bit confused on why all of this is necessary.”

“Oh, but you see, that’s the thing. Both of our plans were too rushed. You must gently massage this, let it grow, let the ideas fester. Pull on the strings when you need to, not being too careless. All we need is for them to set up their little base. Then the fun really starts.”

000

Washington, D.C.

DARPA Headquarters

Adam Bowers was not a happy man. The reconciling of paperwork on the portal project was an absolute disaster. Worse, there were some disturbing indications¬¬: national security breach indications. Bowers didn’t have enough proof yet, but he had a powerful feeling the designs had been leaked by someone via encrypted emails.

He tore through the paperwork, searching for something that would confirm his suspicions. He thought about the implications of it being true meant, and that was enough to keep him pressing on. He simply could not allow anything to happen, not when his investigation could unveil everything they needed to know about the mysteries surrounding this portal.

That was another thing that bothered him. Why was there so much mystery here? It was almost as if something, or someone, was actively working to ensure no one could figure what the hell was going on with it. But it didn’t make any sense. The original project paperwork was all in order.

So why wasn’t anything else?

A/N: Hey guys! Bit short this time, I know. Hopefully some things are becoming a bit more clear now. If you’re just joining us, great! Hope you enjoyed it, and if you have anything to point out, feel free to do so below! If you’ve been following this for a minute, why not go back and read Chapters One, Two, and Three again? Did some heavy editing, and that’s partially why this took so long. Chapter One isn’t even recognizable anymore, and you might notice some changes in how things flow. Don’t worry, the general structure is still there, just made some, what I feel, are marked improvements.

As always bros, if you have any of the following: Comments, questions, concerns, bitches, gripes, moans, groans, complaints, you know what to do.

Hope the Americans amongst the audience had a fantastic Fourth of July! And it’s a bit belated, but Happy Canada Day!

This is Za Raapini, signing off. Stay classy. Good night, and good luck.

Comments

[KingOfTheMuffins]

5/5 Banana Muffins. You have kept me interested.

Too bad I won't be able to read many updates since I'm going to RTX this weekend... :|

[reader of the night]

Nice chapter, now i'm zleepy ..... its naptime for me.

[Nick1318]

and so the plot thickens i can't wait to see what happens next dude. you have done a great job of writting this so far, i'm really looking to see what happens.

humans: good, bad, neutral? many ways different scenarios can play out. ponys anger humans, humans anger ponys, ponys frame humans, third force comes into play and throws humans for a loop. third force hostile towards ponys and humans play the hero, humans become separated from one another by ideals and fight amongst each other. ponys become separated by ideals and fight amongst humans and their own kind. so many ways it can go!
Mordin: *takes a deep breath* interesting.

you sir, are an excellent writer! i salute you.

-Nick

[Cunt_Crusader]

Ponies: Lawful Good
Humans: Chaotic Neutral

[1I1I1I]

there is so much win in this fic, i might just explode.

[Frank DuFresne (Doc)]

From the title I thought Boulder and Bow-Tie were going to be colossal retards and attack the humans.

[Flicka Ravenhide]

Simply awesome. Nicely done, as always. Really liked the Armand bits. Keep it coming!

[Maniac]

bratishka.ru/archiv/2008/10/images/2008100103.jpg
The tension. THE TENSION!
Something definitely is up. Some serious shit is gonna hit the fan, I just know it.
Wonder what happens next?

[psp12345]

bodies need to start dropping

[D-Bence35]

I do hope that DARPA has experimental gear that can be used in a war with Equestria...
Maybe an experimental exoskeleton armor made mostly of carbon fibers.
If you know what I mean...

[Cunt_Crusader]

oh mah gawd i can't wait for more

883055

I'M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!

[Andy-025]

863264 the one with the shotgun looks very mutch like a woman

[Cunt_Crusader]

Good sir, I do believe this requires MOAR!

[Cunt_Crusader]

I hate to say it again, but dude, I am sooooo excited for more.