An experiment in FiM reinterpretation.
Featured: 1/19/2015.
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MANE: Maneuver, Assess, Neutralize, Execute.
They are the world’s special forces operators, the best of the best no one sees. Employed by the covert organization known as the Network, MANE teams operate around the world to protect the Network's global interests. Despite their unique personalities, these motley squads of citizens, soldiers, and criminals have completed countless missions together. But in a period of an imperfect peace, many unit had been deactivated. MANE operators went back to their homes in the hopes of rebuilding their lives in harmony. That is about to change.
Twilight, a student of the Network, has received the first assignment of her academic career. As Cell’s personal protégé, she has been tasked with overseeing preparations for a historic diplomatic meeting. But after her mission takes an unexpected turn, an unforeseen evil threatens to destroy the Network and plunge the world into eternal darkness. Against uncertain odds, Twilight must unite MANE VI and fight to restore Harmony, while realizing her place in the world along the way.
Contains humanized, militarized FiM characters in an alternate universe, set on a near-future Earth.
Rated Teen for: scenes of combat, violence, swearing.
Featured Box: 1/19/2015
TV Tropes Recommendation: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanficRecs/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicGeneral
Huh. Apparently deleting old chapters deletes views and comments, yet doesn't cause the counters for either of them to reset.
Regardless, I hope everyone enjoys the story.
And a special thanks to the previous readers, who had the patience to deal with me through the thick and thin.
What is up with the chapter select...?
Oh hey, new cover.
1647374 I'm guessing something in his text format screwed with the format of the page... or something.
1647374
The chapter select is messed up because the first two chapters aren't actually chapters. FIMFiction counts "Note to Previous Readers" and "Once Upon a Time" as chapters 1 and 2, but I start the story on Chapter 1, which FIMFiction considers chapter 3. Oh well, I sadly cannot fix this.
Oh, this looks interesting. I'm definitely gonna read this later
I only got time to read this now, and all I can say so far is:
You quoted Inception?
Well. That is certainly new.
Kicking the story into gear right away… was this actually a change? Because it seems like it is.
Did you change Spike's hair color? I think you did.
1649157
That... doesn't make any sense.
What's with the "//" in the note?
You plan on takeing this to completion?
2101895
Of course.
I'm actually 75% done with my first editing run on Chapter 7 as we speak. I had hoped to release it earlier this week, but I'm always moving at a snail's pace. It seems like that's the typical pace for me. So expect Ch. 7 sometime soon.
It updated? WOO!
Love this chapter. Can't wait for the next one.
Hopefully wont be three months before the next one
Ooh, this is a really good start. I like how you've presented the humanized characters so far, and everything's really well written. Well, I'm hooked - off to the next chapter!
2474920
Thanks for the kind words, mate. I didn't realize that people still managed to find this story, even after so long without an update. Has it really been over two months?
Oh man, I really need to get crackin'.
Chapter 8's coming your way... sometime within the next century. I promise you that.
Aw, Spike holding onto the note was pretty adorable. Now I'm really starting to wonder about this world - is Cell more of a tyrant, if people are just assigned names and designated positions for their entire lives? Families obviously aren't allowed to stay together if these callings take them elsewhere...hmm...Well, onward to the next chapter!
Hmm, another intriguing chapter. You do some interesting world building, revealing bits so the reader knows enough to understand what's going on while still leaving a lot of questions unanswered - I like it
I'm interested to see how you have everyone meet up (as I'm assuming that's what's going to happen) and how they'll interact if Twilight views some of them as different or dangerous because of where they come from. Shining Armour's inclusion was nice as well, and his interaction with his superior really helped get the mindset of Twilight's known world across. So yeah, the rest of this should definitely be interesting. Onward to the next chapter!
2475272
I trawl through a lot of stories in search of new reading material, and this one definitely stood out. Its a shame how many good stories get kind of lost in all the other waffle on the site. No worries about the update time - I've read stories that took way longer, and I'm slow to update myself
Well that went downhill pretty quick. Aand now I feel bad for Sledge. He may be have been a bit douchey, but he was only following orders and ended up saving Twilight's life, so I can't even dislike him anymore. Hopefully Armour fared better - I'm guessing we'll be seeing him again sometime in the future. One thing I don't know - are Dash, AJ and Rarity (still no word on Pinkie or Fluttershy, yet) on Cell's side, or Luna's? I forget if it was mentioned at any point, or if its deliberately been left open so far. In any case, that was another great chapter
A new chapter? I will have to catch up on everything first.
WOO! Another update!
Well, this story has very little to do with the show.
I don't care. It kicks ass.
1660770 Hey man. 'Sup?
2587430
ohai
I've been following this story for I believe more than a year.
2478919 I think it's more like the Spartan program from Halo
2587430
Funny (or not so) that you had to mention that. One of the very first criticisms that this story ever got was that it followed the pilot episode too closely, and it dawned on me that it was true. So I revised, rewrote, and reworked everything to incorporate more and different things, while still remaining within the pilot's framework. You'll begin to see stronger similarities in the chapters to follow.
After the events of Red Thrush High School's removal from this site, and the subsequent humanized-writers freaking out whether their story was relevant enough, I started panicking about whether this story, meant to reinterpret the episodes we know and love, was accurate enough to be considered relevant (and thus stay published). I hastily considered adding in magic, a fictional country of Equestria, humans with horns/wings, and having the world ruled by two deities; at the extreme, I honestly considered cancelling this story altogether. But I let tempers cool and tossed a comment to Poultron, and he said this story was acceptable enough to stay. I was relieved.
Before, I had trouble translating scene after scene directly from each episode; now I have to toe the line between staying faithful to the show while putting my own spin on things. It requires many more trains of thinking, but I feel that it produces a more enjoyable story to read and write.
2587438
If memory serves me correctly, you was one of the first 10 people to Track/Favorite the story.
And for the record, the // mark is used in coding languages denoting an author's comments within the code. I used it in the (now defunct) "// A Note for Previous Readers" chapter to denote that that chapter was not a part of the actual story, and was essentially a page of author's notes.
2587709
Can't say I know much about the Halo lore. A quick read-through of the wiki page leads me to claim, "yes, some similarities are there, but they're more different than they are similar." However, I based the function of the Institute of Military Academics for Guiding the International Community off of a method of conscription from the Ottoman Empire. I hope to get more into the role of the Institute, and of the Network as a whole, in later chapters.
2589138
Was this back when it was the 'Track' button?
Well, this story has certainly caught my eye...and your storytelling has gotten me more then just a little hooked on it. Even after my hesitation and initial, negative opinion that was based solely on the fact that your story was a 'Humanized' one. This story of yours has shown me to give Humanized stories a chance lest I pass up great stories (like this one) due to ignorance. That said, I'm really looking forward to seeing where you take this story whenever you're able to update!
Whoa.
Whoa whoa whoa.
What is THIS? How did you even escape my gaze...?
~Skeeter The Lurker
3017525 It seems as if every story I read, you are always there... Are you stalking me?
... Or maybe, I'm stalking you without even realizing it! 
Definitely gonna keep an eye on this story, though.
But unfortunately, with that Popularity, comes an Air of Arrogance (Pretty much an "I'm Better than you, because my car has so many toys and gadgets that it makes your car look like CRAP" attitude), and Cutthroat Business Practices; Something Rarity Fortunately DOES NOT Have or do. I'd rather see Rarity in a new Cadillac XTS, or a Chrysler 300 Luxury.
For the record, I almost like the idea of Rarity driving a Bentley because it's so exclusive that no one has heard of it.
This truly seems like an interesting twist on the story of the show. This might be just the same ol' prologue, but it certainly hooks up the reader with how simple yet amazing it is. I shall read the rest of the fic so far in order to give a better imput on how good this is/might be.
-HSXI May the Power protect you.
3018402
unfortunately, the Lexus brand has a Reputation for being rather DULL (the Rare Exception being the LFA). if I had to put Rarity in a European car, my choices would be either a BMW M5 (the 2005-10 version known as the E60) an Audi S8, or a Maserati Quattroporte.
I'm favoriting this purely because the comments devolved into an argument over what kind of sport/luxury car a humanized cartoon pony would drive
3020983
my reasoning behind the M5 is because of the 500HP V10 for quick EVACs (although after giving it some thought, the M5 is more suited for Rainbow Dash, and Rarity needs more of a Crossover or an SUV because of her Civilian Career) so in that case, my car choices for Rarity is either a Porsche Cayenne, a BMW X5M, or a Audi Q7 (I'm Shying away from the Mercs because i have a VERY DEEP Seated Wendigo Fueled HATRED for Mercedes Benz that spans 12 YEARS because of a certain American Automaker they "Merged" (more like a Hostile takeover) with.)
3021344
I know, right? But hey, I'm the same way, especially when it came to each character's equipment, weapon loadouts, and how they'd wear and use their gear. I'm a stickler with details and personality, so everything must say something. It's difficult finding an exact item that makes practical sense while still saying something about the character and the world, but such overthinking it is something I subconsciously enjoy.
And regarding 3018025 's and 3018402 's comments regarding the car change, there were a number of considerations given regarding the car, most of them story and character related. I personally don't know much about cars (especially luxury ones), but I did some research and gut-feeling searching to come up with my decisions. If you're truly curious, here's the list of the conditions that had to be met:
I went with a Mercedes Benz S-65 AMG Sedan in pearl-white because it fit all of the conditions, and because Benz is a name readers recognize (Bentley is a brand that seems slightly above common recognition). If you folks have any more suggestions based on the above conditions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Also, 3018402, I've considered and agree with your omniscience suggestion. It does fit better, and I've made the alteration.
3017525>>3017743>>3019873
Thank you for the positive feedback.
Ooo. This is very good so far.
The way you've got the Mane 6 set as... Not bad at all.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Sarah, huh?
And bad memories?
Intriguing....
~Skeeter The Lurker
Heh. The most powerful element?
Wonder what that could be.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Wait... what? Designated names; Forsaken families; Bad memories? What did I get myself into?
Holy Smoke! I wasn't expecting that!
!
Man, this chapter was incredible! I'm starting to enjoy it. Have a like
S**t is just getting more and more serious with each chapter
... I love it
!
2589138
Wait, Twilight lost the case to Nightmare? I though she had it after escaping the manor. She had it when she hitted AJ with it!
3037675
Version typo. I had it fixed in my hard-copy for quite some time, but I guess I forgot to upload the change; I had it changed a day after the chapter was published, and properly fixed two other mentions of the case in that chapter alone. I'll fix the typo immediately. Thanks for catching this one.
For the record, Twilight does not have the case after being knocked unconscious by Nightmare. She still has the handcuff, though.
I always make a small number of post-publishing changes (mostly stylistic or grammar fixes I couldn't catch the first time around), but sometimes I make minor plot changes like this. Twilight was originally supposed to keep the case throughout the story, and I really liked imagining Twilight and AJ's first meeting resulting in blunt-case trauma before they've even shaken hands. But I found it too difficult and boring to remind readers that she does have a burden on her wrist all the time. Plus in retrospect, it wasn't important or memorable enough to burden the readers with. I decided to keep things simpler, reworked the plot slightly, and removed the case from her possession altogether.
3038175
Oh... alrighty then. I actually though that she lost it somewhere between Rainbow knocking her out and getting on the truck, so that the case would be in power of none of the parties...
*No Pinkie, not that kind of parties*
And her little talk with Nightmare in Ch. 9, at first glance, suggested me that she believes that Twilight is still in possesion of Project Harmony, thus, Nightmare doesn't has it. But anyway, this is an awesom fic (one of the many that should have a comic adaptation in my opinion) and I'm looking forward to the next part.
Also (possible spoiler!!!): Why do I have the feeling that Fluttershy is going to have something to do with Manticores defeat?
3042845
I do love me some Teslas (especially seeing some Roadsters or Model S's drive around here), but I have character-description and lore reasons for not including them. They could appear in a later story, though.
In the mean time, I'm busy getting my laptop back and operational, then I'll get back to writing and my 3 month turn-around times.
Not bad re imagining,
Well. At least Sledge went out like a boss.
They shoulda made Spike use the bottle.
~Skeeter The Lurker
So... Midnight is Nightmare Moon?
Alright, I can see it. Curious how you have her as a ambitious member.
~Skeeter The Lurker
3089832
Actually, funny you mentioned the whole bottle thing.
Did you notice that, even though Spike is on the verge of pissing a hole in his pants, it is never mentioned again? In an original draft of Chapter 5, when the SUV arrives at the Selenic Estate, Twilight was supposed to tell Spike that he can use one of the bathrooms inside. Spike's embarrassed response: "I, uh... don't have to go anymore."
I cut that small scene because I felt its levity distracted from the somber mood too much; upon reflection, though, I guess it couldn't hurt. Let's all be honest: we'd all be pissing our pants in a situation like that.