Mare in the Shell SAC 3rd G.I.G.

by Roxy Shot

NW: Meet the Ponies - ENCOUNTER

The sun was bright in this new world. The grass was green and healthy, the sky was a deep blue, and atmosphere was alive. Everything I could see seemed to be more vibrant than Earth. There were no skyscrapers here or industrial looking buildings. Just a simple village.

I crouched down, spring boarded myself to the top of a nearby building, and began my sprint. My gaze focused on the ground during my parkor, studying the village's inhabitants. The unicorn Twilight was not an individual case. The entire village seemed to be filled with equines of all colors of the rainbow.

A white one with a red mane set up a flower shop. A red one with an orange mane stood behind a wagon of apples. What I assumed was the main street was filled ponies buying and selling good in a market place like fashion. The place reminded me of a third world country, or a place back in medieval times.

Focusing on my new mission, I leapt off yet another building to a ginger bread looking house. From there I got a bird's eye view of the surrounding area and easily spotted a tree line in the distance. I then threw myself into a back flip and slammed down to the ground harder than I had intended. The surrounding ponies took notice of my landing, but by then I was well down the road. I weaved through the crowd until I reached the outskirts of the village. I came to the green tree line, but I could not see anything in my line of sight, so I closed my eyes to listen.

I could hear the leaves rustling in the wind, a small stream flowing through the forest, and the chorus of insects. Living in the city most of my life, I rarely got the chance to admire nature. We had simulations that could put a person on the beach, in an open field, even space, but those were just simulations. I only truly got to listen to nature in a few of my days before Section 9, when I was just a regular soldier.

A shrill cry interrupted my thoughts and I mentally kicked myself for getting distracted. Nature could wait; right now lives were on the line. I pulled out my CZ-100 and headed in the direction of the noise. I sprinted through the forest and noticed how the area almost got pitch black as I entered. The sun was still shining bright just outside, so why was the forest so dark? Trees, bushes, and even the sky itself seemed to have sinister faces about their figures. A loud roar sounded to my right and I changed direction.

"Let her go you big jerk!" A childish voice shouted as I approached a clearing in the forest. From my perspective and the dim light, I could see a mammoth of a beast in the middle of the clearing with a long tail and velvety wings. Another panicked cry came from under the beast. There was my objective.

Wasting no time, I lifted my gun and fired four shots at the shadowy beast's wings. A roar of surprise and anger sounded from the creature and I quickly closed the distance between us. The beast looked from side to side, but it would not find me with my thermal optic cameo activated. My main concern now was getting the beast off the child before I went fully on the offensive.

I stopped right in the beast's face and gave two strong jabs to its chin. I then firmly planted my left leg on the ground and swung my body around with deadly force. My right leg connected in a loud crack, round housing the beast in the side of the face. It staggered back in surprise. The average lion weighed around five to six hundred pounds and even with my cybernetic body, forcing the creature back was quite a feat.

"Run! Now!" I commanded to the child, giving the beast my specific location. I anticipated its swipe and blocked its paw with my left arm. The impact of the blow dropped my cameo and I heard a gasp from behind me. The child was still there, I needed to end this quickly. From my defensive position I pointed the barrel my gun at the creature's right elbow that was locked with my left arm and squeezed the trigger.

I then jumped back with a cartwheel and scooped up the child, or filly, and took off towards the exit. I busted through the brush and out into the sunlight again. Behind me I could hear the heavy steps of the creature still in pursuit.

"Go back to your village!" I commanded the filly and set her on the ground.

"But but Scootaloo is sti-" the white filly protested.

"Right here! Thanks, uhhh... Whatever you are. Let's go Sweetie Belle!" an orange filly shouted as she came through the forest and into the light. The mantacore came into the light next, close behind the orange filly and came to an abrupt stop as it spotted me. I had already used five bullets, leaving me ten left in my current clip. I only had the one extra clip from Saito and still needed to capture Hoji. I couldn't waste any more ammunition. I assumed a hand to hand combat stance and readied myself for the mantacore's attack.

But an attack never came. The mantacore started to glow with a white light and was lifted into the air. Then it was suddenly thrust back into the forest as if some invisible hand had picked the creature up and flung it aside. I let my defensive stance fall when I started to feel myself being lifted off the ground. I twisted and struggled against the invisible force, but it held strong.

"Princess don't! She's on our side," a familiar voice came from behind me. Twilight?

"Oh, whoops~," an unfamiliar giggle replied. I was then set back on solid ground and turned around to find Twilight and another equine figure. It was a unicorn like Twilight, but this one had wings as well. It was also twice the size of Twilight. Her coat was white and her mane was the colors of the arctic aurora. On her head rested a crown and a golden necklace hung closely to her neck. She looked very regal in appearance and I assumed she was after hearing Twilight refer to her as 'Princess'.

"I have some questions for you, traveler from another world," the regal pony spoke.

"Of course, I have some questions as well," I returned.

"My student says you have the ability to become invisible. Could you follow us back to the library as such? I would rather you not cause a stir in town," the pony requested.

"Alright, you won't even know I'm here," I said and activated my thermal optic cameo, vanishing from sight.

* * *

I watch closely as Twilight and the 'Princess' trotted through town. Sure enough, every pony they crossed paths with bowed and the Princess returned with a warm smile. So she was royalty after all. If this regal pony was a princess, then surely there was a King and Queen. If there is a King and Queen, then this world is starting to resemble a medieval like time, but with minor modern advances like the electrical lighting I noticed in Twilight's home. Another thought that was going through my mind was how the mantacore and I were lifted off the ground. There was no visible force holding either of us, but the results were physical. Does this equine race have a form of optic cameo or do the unicorns follow modern mythology and control forces such as magic? I shook my head. I may be in another world, but physics would still apply. We reached Twilight's house as I was lost in thought and I silently entered behind Twilight and the Princess.

"There you are, finally!" A brash voice exclaimed as I entered. Inside were more ponies. The one that spoke was cyan blue with a mane of all the colors of the rainbow, and it had wings. Beside her was a timid looking pale yellow pony hiding behind a bubblegum pink mane, also with wings. Pegasi? Beside the shy one was a regal appearing white pony with a curled purple mane, another unicorn. And beside her was yet another pony, this one was pink and pink. Running out of color combinations are we?

"We found Scootaloo and my sister and got them home safely," the pony with the curled purple hair said. I silently sighed in relief.

"Yeah, but then we couldn't find you two, so we decided to wait here. It was soooo boring. What happened?," the brash one used her outside voice again.

"You can show yourself now, Major. These are my friends," Twilight spoke.

"Alright," I replied and dropped my cameo. A collective gasp came from the group of new ponies and I crossed my arms in front of me as they gawked.

"Everypony, this is the Major," Twilight introduced me.

"Woah!" The rainbow manned one smiled and flew up to me. "He looks awesome! Can you fight? Are you the one who beat up that mantacore?"

"She. I happen to be a woman," I corrected. I guess ponies didn't understand what breasts were. That's going to be an awkward topic. The pegasus tilted her head.

"Sorry about Rainbow Dash. I, of course, can tell a lady from a male," the white unicorn spoke as she rolled her eyes at Rainbow Dash... Fitting name. "I am Rarity, it's a pleasure Miss."

"Good to meet you too, Rari-," I started.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! Do you like parties? I hope you do because I'd really really reeeealy like to throw you one!" the pink one bounced up and down in front of me. Before I could respond she was pulled away by Rainbow Dash.

"Sorry about her, you'll get used to it," Dash explained. I just nodded back. I then took a seat on a red sofa and crossed my legs. I needed to get to the point and ask about Hoji. The only thing I had accomplished so far was wasting time.

"Fluttershy? It's alright, she won't hurt you," Twilight spoke to a table, or rather what was under it. The yellow pegasus had taken refuge under a nearby table while the others were making their introductions. Twilight had to try hard to coax the buttercup out from hiding, but she managed.

"H-hello...," the pegasus squeaked. I held out my hand to her and she timidly gave it a sniff. Just like a cat would. She then hopped up on the couch beside me and lifted a hoof. She placed her hoof on my wrist and closed her eyes. After a few moments passed by with everyone watching I opened my mouth to speak, but Fluttershy spoke first.

"Your pulse is very weak. Are you hurt?" She asked. I gave a sigh; this is going to be hard to explain.

"I'm surprised you could feel anything through my titanium shell," I said.

"Titanium... Like the metal? How is that possible?" Twilight asked and took a seat on another couch across from me. The rest of the group followed the suit and found places to sit down.

"My body is cybernetic. Humans have the technology to fuse flesh and machine. Look, I came to this world in pursuit of a very dangerous man named Hoji, it's possible that he is looking to start a war and I need to find him before he does," I quickly changed the subject. The group let out another collective gasp and remained silent.

"I see. We will offer our assistance, but I have some questions that need to be answered first," the princess broke the silence.

"I'll answer to the best of my ability," I returned.

"How did you get here?"

"My team and I tracked Hoji to his lab where we found and activated a portal linking our two worlds."

"Ummm... You did?" Twilight interrupted.

"Yes." I answered. Was she hiding something?

"Princess, remember that spell I told you I found in my last letter?" Twilight looked up to her mentor.

"I do," the Princess replied.

"When I cast the spell the first few times, nothing happened. I tried it again this afternoon and that's when the Major appeared here," Twilight explained. Spell? Cast? Was Twilight implying she could use magic?

"That is interesting, but the Major said that she's the one who came of her own free will," the Princess continued.

"This is just a theory, but what if the two portals that linked our worlds had to be activated at the same time?" Twilight asked. I had to admit, it was an interesting concept and magic would explain how the mantacore was flung through the air earlier today. I then took another look around the room, the same room that I first appeared in and couldn't see any type of electronics. No lab equipment, no giant metal arches, not even a television. I didn't want to believe in a child's concept such a magic, but it wasn't long ago that cybernetic beings were just writings in a some pulp sci-fi novel.

"If your theory is true, Twilight, Then there must be another unicorn opening the portal of this world. And if I find that unicorn, I can find Hoji," I spoke.

"If this man is as dangerous as you say, I will gladly offer my assistance. I will gather a force together and we can plan from there," the Princess suggested.

"That's not necessary. My mission is to capture Hoji and bring him back to my world. Then Section Nine gets him to tell us his plans and just what we're up against. After that my team and I will come back and deal with the rest of Hoji's force," I explained.

"That is not necessary either. You must understand that both Hoji and you are in my jurisdiction now. Therefore you fall under Equestria's laws. I will allow you to go about your mission and bring you team to this world, but this must be a combined effort. I will have a hoof in defending my country. I hope you understand," the Princess retorted.

Well, she had a point. I can't say that if some alien creature came to Earth and started making demands I would let them go as they pleased. I was lucky enough that they didn't treat me as an alien threat and try to detain me

"I understand. Thank you for your assistance," I replied and gave a rare smile.

"Good. I must take my leave now. I'm placing a lot of trust in you Major," the Princess smiled back. "Twilight, make sure to teach the Major a bit about Equestria."

"I will, goodbye Princess," Twilight replied and ran to her mentor's side. The Princess craned her head down and gave Twilight an affectionate nuzzle, like a mother would a child. The others who had sat by and listened to the conversation vocalized their goodbyes as the Princess left and took to the sky with her powerful wings. The others took the Princess' leave as an indication to start asking their own questions.

"Do you like parties!?"

"Are you a spy?"

"I must ask, who designed your attire?"

"Y'all like apples?"

I put a hand to my forehead and let out an audible sigh. Spending the evening answering a bunch of curious ponies' questions was not in my plan. Twilight must have taken notice and she stepped in between the group of ponies and me.

"How about we let the Major get some rest. She's had a very busy day," Twilight informed her friends. To tell the truth, this was one of my slower days, but I wasn't about to share that information.

"I don't really care for parties, I'm a soldier, not a spy, I don't know who personally designed my combat suit, and apples are alright," I answered in one breath. The group gave mixed reactions. Pinkie wore a frown, Rainbow didn't look convinced, Rarity looked disappointed, and the farmer looking one whose name I'd yet to know seemed satisfied. One by one Twilight shooed them outside and closed the wooden door behind her.

"That went better than I expected," Twilight said aloud. Part of me wondered how she had expected the situation to go, but I keep that question to myself.

"Well Twilight, what do you have to teach me about this world?" I asked.

"Here, let's start with this," Twilight answered. Her horn then started to give off a violet glow. A book hovered in front of her with the same violet glow and gently lowered to the table. Magic?

It's going to be a long night.

Comments

[DJ Cobalt]

cool your alive and still writing ....i really like this story keep it up

[Roxy Shot]

258169
Hey thanks!
I live cowards! I survived my sickness, 'yay's all around. Entered the Feb Write Off so that's why this wasn't updated last week. Hopefully now I can go back to updating one story a week.

[DJ Cobalt]

258336 epic

[avatoa]

Uh, dude? You forgot to describe Applejack when you were describing the rest of the Mane 6. Just thought you should know.

[CeresBane]

this... just doesn't work... you insult the stand alone complex series.

You shoulda tried a more light hearted story where the tachikoma find themselves in cyberspace and find a recreation of equestria inside.

[Roxy Shot]

3092589
I really hope that you are either A, joking or B, a troll.

If not then by all means write your own GitS crossover and I would love to read it and see what direction you take the crossover.

[CeresBane]

3106485

looks its writer 101 that if you are trying to do a crossover, that you have to write it so it makes sense for both universes.

Since when did stand alone complex talk about portals and other dimensions? Ghost in the shell from the very first manga has always played with the ideas of transhumanity and human autonomy. The main character was all about policing this new world of cyber crime which required new methods and new ways of thinking, as the ghost in the machine creates anomolies that motoko kusanagi senses, as it in fact shows her the new step towards humanity's evolution.

Transcendance of a physical body to the ascendance into a ghost within cyberspace, essentially becoming a new being.

WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS UNIVERSE HAVE TO DO WITH PORTALS AND AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL UNIVERSE OF PONIES!? Nothing.

Look just because you're too butthurt to comprehend that an idea like yours is immensely asinine doesn't mean I'm a troll. It just means you're being a complete idiot, putting a very cerebral series within context of a very whimsical one without the consideration of one's canon.

[Roxy Shot]

3107621
Wow. Alright then.
First off I want you to take some deep breaths to calm your nerves.

Your post blatantly insults me with the line "you insult the stand alone complex series". So from the beginning you are trying to open a negative relationship between the two of us.

My first line of text from my reply was in response to you telling me to take a "light hearted" atmosphere for the story. From the description and the first two chapters alone this is clearly seen as not my intention and I will not rewrite my story for one reader. I'm sorry if you read some implied animosity in my troll comment, that was not my intention.

I was not being sarcastic in my second line of text. If you think the story needs to be light hearted and about the tachikomas, then I think that is a good idea, but it's not the story I want to write. If you or anyone were to write a crossover with that topic I would happily read it.

Now for your second post's second paragraph, yes I agree. You nailed the philosophical atmosphere of GitS on the head. Now how do you know for certain that none of this will be present from reading the first two chapters?

As for butthurt, do people really still use that term? Let me put this in perspective for you. If I made a list of things I give a fuck about, your non-constructive criticism would not even come close to making that list. If I made a list of things I would consider giving a fuck about you still would not make the list.

I'm going to continue this whether you like it or not. If you plan on continuing to give non-constructive criticism then you will be blocked.

[Iron Nebula]

I like it! The biggest draw in crossovers for me is to take one or more characters and put them in a foreign environment, and see their interactions with the characters of that universe. You have done that here, and I look forward to more. Hope you continue this!