"Any more questions?" I asked. I really wanted to be annoyed at the amount of questions, but now I was more worried of what game enemies would come next, "No? Okay. Everyone is dismissed"
"Luis? I'm supposed to say that"
I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Sorry, sorry. I'm just..."
"Worried?," asked Luna
"Sure, yeah, I guess," There's still Knight Spark's issues... and... "Actually, Princess Celestia, Luna. Mind staying a little bit longer? We have something else to discuss," I looked as Shining, "Captain Shining Armour, you too, but first I need you to bring Lightning Hooves and Thunder Guard. They're now involved with this matter"
He saluted as everyone else started leaving. Not too soon after, the six of us were alone in the room, "Is this about the team you proposed a couple of weeks ago, prince?"
"Yes," I turned to the brothers, "Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush. You know what's happening first hand," The princesses tried to butt in but I continued, "Look, I really don't want to sound rude, but I'm stressed, worried, and overall way over my head. Let me get this out," they nodded, "Thank you," I sighed, "Sorry. Look, I'm saying all of this with the assumption that the team is basically approved," I turned back to the brothers taking out two of the pip-boys the Tree of Harmony gave me, "The team would be mostly like me"
"Would we... would we have the same powers as you?" Thunder asked
"More like the same potential. I've been collecting powers for a while, that's why I can do what I can do. You, at the begining, will be able to visually see and improve your physical capabilities," I said, showing them my stats, "One thing to note, the SPECIAL stats are an exponent of you actual abilities. From what I've been able to learn, if you do strength training, without powers, to actually train your body, the powers will be affected. Some powers ovelap too. I have one that increases my strength, and I can lift like 5 tons for about half a minute," Everyone was flabergasted, even Celestia was wide-eyed, "Without any powers I can only lift about 80 kg for just as long, it's not like I go to the gym every day, you know?"
"Do you use your full strength when you lose control?" Lightning asked, I flintched
'Lose control' *sigh* I need to get myself in order, "Probably..."
"Then why didn't you take down the deathclaw and mirelurk quickly? It would seem that being able to lift 6 tones would give you a mighty punch!"
"Gameplay balance," I sigh, "Basically there are different... things controlling different parts of my life. My hand to hand is a different ability to my ability to lift and carry things, so I can only to about 10 damage points per punch, even at full strength. 20 if I use a power attack. At least with Fallout creatures anyways... I did punch that maticore to mist that one time," I snapped out of my thoughts and saw everyone staring at me, "Sorry"
"I'll join this task force," both brothers said simultaneously
"Wait. There is one thing you need to know. This decision will be final, no backing down, no giving up. Once you put one of these on, it won't work on anyone else," I take my pip-boy off, My pip-boy is scoffed to hell, jesus, "If you take it off, you will still have some powers, only physical changes though," I said, showing my point by turning back into an anthro wolf and then back to normal, "So no magic or special abilities," I re-focused my attention on the brothers as I put on my pip-boy, "One last-" They already put on the pip-boys... I sigh while rubbing my face, "You guys... You do realize you never discussed the decision with your captain? Or, you know, your literal leaders?!" I half-yelled returning my face into my hands
"It seems we have no other choice other than approving this. Wouldn't you say, sister?"
"It's not like we have new unknow creatures to deal with and a method that has had simulated tests proving it to be effective," sarcasm dripping from her words with a smirk plastered on her face
"Well, that's settled," Shining Armour said, "Princesses, with your permission, I'll take my leave," he then turned to the brothers, "It appears I am no longer your commanding officer. It was a pleasure"
"Wait wait wait wait! You're taking this too well" What's happening right now??
"With all due respect. Prince, you were out for over 24 hours. AND, the princesses brought this matter to my attention last week," Shiny answered, "I will get off you mane, princesses and prince"
As he was going out the door, a thought crossed my mind, He hasn't anounced he's with Cadance yet... a grin grew on my face, "Tell Cadance I said 'hi'!" he stumbled and somehow managed to smack his face on the door frame, and left without a word. "Since now you're part of my team, we already have a mission," I turned to the princesses, "Do we have permission to go on a rescue mission? A quick extraction of Knight Spark from Changeling capture"
"But prince. We don't even know where their hive is," Lightning stated. I kept looking at the diarchs, "Wait, do we?"
Celestia turned to me, "I am going to assume we do"
"I know it's west of here, I don't know how far, I don't know if exactly west, southwest or northwest," I went over the few episodes with the changeling kindom in my head, then a thought crossed my mind, "Don't we have a changeling in custody?" they nodded, "I've got an idea"
The guards closed the cell behind me, "Hello there," I said to the changeling who was hiding in the corner, mentally wishing my light saber worked, But I need Force Affinity level 7. Damn you meditation! "I'm not going to do anything, if that's what you're wondering," I said dropping a table and a couple of chairs from my inventory, and setting them up, "At least join me for tea," I took out a hot kettle and two cups
"What do you want from me?" he hissed out, his green eyes glaring at me as if trying to pierce me
"I'm going to be honest, I want to know where your hive is so I can go get my friend back"
"And why would I help you destroy my home?!" he yelled, still covered by the shadows
"I won't destroy your home at all. All I want is to get my friend out," I poured the tea into the cups, "Look, even if you don't to talk, join me for tea at least"
He slowly walked out of the shadow, confusion slathered his face, "Why are you not pushing me more? I'm a changeling, you're a- you're a... whatever you are, you are a pony prince"
"Well, you've been here for over a week. I'm sure you've been... 'interviewed' by the guards enough," I took a small container filled with sugar, "Sugar?"
"I've... never had tea," he took a seat
"Watch out, it's hot," I put three teaspoons of sugar in my tea. He gagged as he took a sip, This tea is a strong tea for sure
"Three spoons please," I complied. After stirring the tea, he took a sip, "That's sweet"
"I like my tea sweet. That's why I put three spoonfulls," I took a sip of my tea, "So why did you replace general Knight?"
"You really think I'm going to say what the plan was?"
"Fair enough," I took a thoughtful sip, "Before this, you know, espionage, what did you do for fun?"
"I- ... Fun?"
"You know, stuff you enjoy to do. I like to play some games, go for walks, that sort of stuff"
He took a long expectant yet unsure sip from his tea, "I don't think I was allowed to do that sort of stuff"
"That sucks," I know!, I turned to the door, "Wind Sprint"
The guard on the right leaned in, "Yes prince"
Holy shit! I was right?! "Could you bring us a snakes and ladders board game with two pieces and a die?" he saluted, "Thank you"
The changeling looked at me, probably wondering what my plan was, "I won't tell you anything just because you act nicer than the rest"
"I know," I took another sip, "So, what's your name? I'm Luis," I extended my hand, not really expecting to get the same treatment
He scoffed, "You're just going to forget about me anyways"
"I mean, I won't even remember it if you don't tell me it"
"Prince," Wind said from the door, holding a box through the gate
I stood up and grabbed the box, "Thank you," That was fast
Before I could move away, he grabbed my arm, "With all due respect, I hope you know what you're doing"
I nodded before sitting down again, "So, this game is simple. All you have to do is get to the last space, number 100 and if you're close but roll more [...] Sound good?" I asked after explaining the game
"Why are you doing this?"
"Well..." I exended my leg and pointed at the cast, "I got some time to kill before I can do much," I chuckle, "Not because I can't. I just want to get my leg healed up completely"
He looked away with a somber aura, "If you can't serve the Queen, then you'd be exiled and-" His eyes widened and the air around him went cold, "I'm exiled... no no nononono..."
I wanted to say something, but I decided that wasn't going to help. He stood up and sat on the cot in the cell, face in hands. I followed, sitting down with him and placing my hand on his shoulder
"Tarsus"
"What?"
"My name is Tarsus"
"Hey, I know getting exiled can't be tough. But how do you even know you've been exiled? Don't tell me your name just because you gave up!"
"Look! I didn't want to admit it, but the connection I hav- I had with the hive disappeared three days ago," he sunk further into his hands, "I truly have nothing now..."
"Look, Tarsus. You still have something"
He peeked his eye, "And what would that be your oh so knowledgeable majesty"
I can aknowledge the sarcasm. Nice, "You can choose where to go from here"
"Go where?!" He yelled, "This is rock bottom!"
"It helps that you think you can't go lower. Because guess what?"
"What?"
"You can't go anywhere else but up, right?" his face moved to a thoughtful expression
==[POV - Rick]==
What was he thinking?! I continued running down the hallway, Come on! COME ON!! I reached the stairs leading down, I hope I'm not too late! My shoes didn't have enough traction for the sharp turn as I slid past the door, I caught the doorway and pulled myself into the dungeon's hallway making sure my things didn't fall out of my hand
I reached the door and stopped infront of it, panting hard, "How *pant* dare you..."
Luis turned around on his chair to look at me, "What?"
"You were going to play snakes and ladders without me?!!"
The chageling leaned to look past Luis, "You... want to play with me??"
Luis nodded at the guard to let me in, "Sure, why not?" I said, probably more nonchalantly than I wanted
"I'm a changeling? I mean your a pon- I mean- wait! There's two of you?"
"Yeah, two humans fresh out of the oven," Luis said, then stopped, "That sounded a lot better in my head"
"So..."
"So," Luis responded
"Can I join?"
He turned to the changeling, "Mind if he joins?"
"I- sure"
Luis turned to me, "We don't have enough seats. You know that right?"
I looked around the room, and got an idea, "I could just sit on the bed," I walked over to the small, very basic bed and moved it closer to the table, and sat on it. Setting the game piece and energy drink I brought on the table, Maybe a little short but-
Luis lifted me and sat me on the chair, "There," He sat down on the bed, "I'm taller"
"I'm never going to get used to your super strength"
==[POV - Luis]==
"What can I say? It's certainly different," I moved all the pieces to square 0, "Anyways, shall we begin?" Tarsus had been staring at me for a bit now, "What's up?"
"Are you really okay with giving him your seat?" he said, baffled
I looked over to Rick for a second, as if asking him 'is he serious?' "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I? I'm taller, it's easier for me to see the board while sitting on the cot, so it only made sense"
"How do you do it at your- Wait. Sorry. My name's Rick," he extended his hand for a handshake
Tarsus hesitated for a relatively long while before meeting Rick's hand, "I'm Tarsus"
"You have a cooler name than any pony I've met," The guards did very horse-like exhales, "Hey, fellas, I don't know your names! Stop complaining"
"But, Luis, wouldn't you want to keep the best you can get?"
"How do I explain it? Yes? But I kind of prefer to help others than to just myself"
"But... what if you can't get that good thing again?"
"Just find something else, I guess. Does it matter?"
"I guess not..."
"Can we play now?
The two guards were escorting us to the throne room, Tarsus was getting more nervous by the second. Every step we took closer to the throne room made Tarsus more and more uneasy, "I changed my mind," he whispered
I kept looking forward, "Too bad. We're almost there"
"How did you even convince me that this was good idea?! Yesterday I thought I lost everything and now I'm risking what little I actually have?!!" he said, still as a half yell whisper
"I'm here to make sure this goes smoothly, okay?"
We stopped in front of the massive doors, the guards opened the doors and saluted, "The princess is waiting"
"Thank you, gentlemen," I said as I guided Tarsus into the middle of the throne room. The guards at the door closed them but stayed within the room, Vigilant indeed I thought as the guards kept a close eye on Tarsus
"Prince Luis..." the tone of her voice told me everything I needed to know, she really didn't like the idea, "Tell me, what do you think this changeling can offer that may compensate for his crimes? Imitating, and outright replacing a member of the royal guard is a serious crime"
I looked at Tarsus, he looked at me, I nodded, he stepped forward, "Po- *Ahem* Princess, if I may... I believe your son has convinced me of something. Something I thought... I was taught impossible, wrong..." he gulped, loudly, almost painful sounding, "He somehow has given me food... Love... I think. Without giving me it or me taking it forcefully..." He sighed, took a deep breath, and sighed again, "Our peoples can live in peace, but I can't convince mine alone"
"And how would you suggest I help? Your queen will never listen to anypony other than herself"
I stepped forward, "I go talk to her"
"I cannot allow that"
"I'll go with hi-" Tarsus said before being interrupted
"SILENCE CHANGELING!"
Tarsus instinctively tried to use his transformation, but the inhibitor on his horn didn't like that, "AGH! Ouch. Forgot about the darn ring..."
"MOM!" My voice echoed across the room more than hers, I then sighed to calm myself down, "Sorry. Mom, look, let's hear him out"
Celestia stayed almost frozen for a brief moment before talking again, "... I guess... That was an inappropriate response," she sighed, "Tarsus, was it? Tell me, what's your idea? You go with Prince Luis to your hive, and then what?"
Tarsus looked at me, almost asking for permission, I nodded, and he said, "We cannot convince my hive on our own... We need numbers. I know of a changeling who will find this proposition alluring," I raise my eyebrow as my attention was more than piqued, Celestia seemed to share my stance as she shifted in her throne
"Who would this changeling be? Name? Personality? I would like to know who this changeling is before letting them into this city," a small scowl grew on her face, "As you may know, your hive has made hostile moves against this fair nation"
Tarsus recoiled back, "I was following orders- I didn't have- I didn't know... I-I-I-I..." He was most definitely holding back some fairly strong emotions as he sighed, "I have now realised my leader has done things that are less than peaceful, while I just followed orders, blindly believing everything I was told... I know more than I did yesterday, my whole world has-"
I interrupted, "Sorry, really sorry for interrupting. But, can you get to the point? I know I sound like an ass, and am indeed acting like one right now. But I looked at the schedule for court today and it's packed. Again, I'm really sorry for interrupting, but the Princess is too nice to tell you otherwise," I glanced at Celestia and she nodded in agreement
"I guess I was monologuing a bit, hehe... There is this changeling I know of who's been known as too docile to be a drone. His name is Thorax," My eyes widened a bit as he mentioned the name, "But he's been very close to his broodmate Pharinx, the head of patrols, second in command for the army," He sighed, "Thorax might be able to convince Pharinx to help us. And that will make other changelings follow, and- and..." Tarsus looked down at the ground, his whole body shaking, eyes looking wildly at every direction
"... consequences..." He held his head, his breathing became frantic, "She'll kill me! No no nonono!! I can't go back! I have to wait! YEAH WAIT!!"
"Tarsus-" I grabbed his shoulders, "-Tarsus! Stay with me"
"Death... war... no... it won't work.. NO!!"
"Tarsus! Come on, everything is fine," I am going to hate myself so much... I thought as I slapped him across the face
He looked at me, "The queen... she- but- no... She w-won't listen. Too much hate..." He stammered out
"Well, then let it be her undoing agai- Shit, I didn't mean to say that..."
"Prince Luis, you seem to know something about this"
I slowly turn to her, "Well, I was expecting Thorax to not exist in this version of Equestria, specially after I learned a few ponies aren't... 'around', as it were." At least Scoots still has her aunts, I thought before continuing, "Anyways, yeah, I can say with certainty that, if Thorax is the same, he's good. Pharynx... trusts his brother quite a bit so... Maybe we could convince him... maybe..."
I noticed Tarsus staring at me, "You... know... how much do you know? How do you know??"
"I have my ways," I simply replied
"I do believe we have come to an agreement then," Celestia stated
Tarsus was obviously confused, looking between me and Celestia, "Wait... Can you, umm, elaborate, please?"
"I believe you have earnt a pardon," she said in her oh so motherly tone. Turning to one of the guards, she said, "Please sent our guest to the VIP suite, make sure he feels at home"
The guards saluted and one of them walked up to Tarsus, "Please follow me sir"
"And Spear? Please wait outside," The other guard followed the other duo out the door. As soon as the door closed, Celestia started some questioning, "Now, Luis... How much do you actually know about changelings?"
"How changelings look now is nothing but a shade of what changelings are," I said, "And if Chrysalis doesn't change her ways of hate, Thorax might become King of the changelings even in this universe," Celestia was baffled, I guess I could try finding... No, that's a no go in time travel isn't it?" I said to myself
"Is that something you're not willing to discuss about the future?"
"No. Just... I don't exactly want to be the cause of a universal collapse," I also-, "I've had a weird feeling for a little while. We've got an acquaintance that might know more about this, but I don't want to bother him just yet. I need to make sure"
"I guess that's fair. Now, about your plan. What is it?"
"I get to be the bait," I said with a grin, "God, I'm going to regret this so much," I chuckled
I took another sip of my cider, "Ahh. I'm so happy The High Horse has Apple family apple cider"
"You're starting to sound like an ad"
I decided to strike a pose showcasing my mug, "The Apple family prides itself with high quality apples for their cider. With a fresh cup of cider from the Apple family, you can enjoy your evening with friends and family, and we know all about family. Remeber to drink responsibly," I sat back normaly and took another sip, "How's that?" Rick facepalmed
Lightning and Thunder both sat down next to us, then Thunder said, "I don't even want to know. How are you guys?"
"Good, how about you two?"
The brothers looked at their pip-boys, and Lightning said, "I don't know... my clothes feel like they fit, uhm, better? I guess, somehow"
Thunder then followed, "I almost ripped the door knob off on my room... but I did put a point into the strength thing. This is some incredible power you have"
I chugged the rest of my cider, granting me a charisma boost, "And if you get the right modules, sorry, if you get the right additional powers afterwards, you'll be even stronger. Otherwise you'll be locked into a max of 10 for your SPECIAL stats, without boosts of course"
Lightning, "So, what's next?"
I looked at Rick, he nodded in return, so I turned back to the brothers, "What's next is training, you've already have some levels stored because of your experience as guards, and I'm going to help you understand what perks can help you with the way you fight. And Rick has a little of a special arena we've been working on for about a month to train in some scenarios"
"And you guys better make use of it because I had to read way too many books about magic theory and geomancy for this arena," Rick said with a hint of authority, "Magic sucks just as much as scripting, so much troubleshooting...," he sulked out
"After dinner, we're heading back to the castle. I'll be getting your asses up to speed"
Someone cleared their throat. Barkeep, the bar keeper, looked at me with a grin as he lifted a large jar with 'Prince's swear jar' written on it. The jar was nearly 3 fourths of the way full, "You know the rules." I looked at him with a playful scowl and dropped two bits into the jar, "It's one per swear..." he said a bit confused
"Fuck. You." I answered. We both paused for a second before both of us bursting into laughter
"Now you need to sing something," he said, Wha...? That was sudden! I thought as he continued, "You always seem to enjoy our piano, how about something new? You never sing!" he exclaimed
The some of the regulars joined him, "Yeah!" "Come on prince" "Do it!" "Sing something!" "Bet you humans have some cool songs," Why do the guards have to come to this bar... And now I have to sing don't I...
I looked over the instrumnets, That reminds me... I turned to the brothers, "Since you guys have pip-boys now..." I took out a couple of holotapes, "Here, have some duplicates. They are music modules"
"That's actually not a bad idea" He took a sip of his newly ordered cider, "Holy smokes! That IS good.Equestrian magic only let's you play instruments you have some knowledge on how to play"
The brothers just kept staring at their holotapes, "Guys?"
They both looked at me and Lightning asked, "How do we use these?"
"Right! I never showed you, did I?" I pressed on the top of my pip-boy causing it to open the holotape slot, "Like that. Then just insert the tape long-ways with the circle on the left away from you," They did so, meanwhile I took a bass and guitar out of my inventory, and gave them to the brothers as soon as they were ready
Lightning gave the bass to Thunder, who then passed the guitar to Lightning, I guess they know how to play them then, "Are we going to need a drummer?" Thunder asked
"I can play the drums"
"What? Since when?" The most he played was clarinet in junior high...
"Since I had to compile and troubleshoot about 2 million lines of code for the past month. Fun little game, wouldn't recommend it tho"
"Really?" I stoically asked
"It was more like half a million, but my point still stands. I had a lot of free time"
"I don't have a drum set though," Barkeep said
I looked at him, "Don't worry, I have one." I didn't even wait for an answer as I set up the stage
"So where did you even get these?"
I turned to Rick, who was already sitting on the stool for the drums, "I've done a few favours for Vinyl. She's got two music stores, here and Ponyville, so, yeah." I clapped imaginary dust off my hands as the brothers joined the stage, "There we go. Oh, and Rick?"
"Yeah?"
"All you have to do is-"
"Follow your lead. I know, I know. I know full well how Equestrian magic works. Thank you. God, the book was huge..."
"Well then..." I exhaled as I sat at the piano, "Before I start, I want to dedicate this song to my fiancé and son, who are not here at the moment. But they mean the world to me, so, yeah. Thank you," Here we go
"So I wasn't the only one right?" I asked the brothers as we made our way down to the lab
"I know I'm not in the club-" he tapped his wrist, "-But, what happened again?"
"We had a burst of EXP. All three of us. Which means..." I opened the doors to the laboratory. The lab looked as it always did, except for the fact that there was a couple of dead mutated creatures in the center, "The three of us fought those, and them diying triggered the experience"
"They're dead. Why were you in such a hurry to see that?" Thunder asked
"Yeah, what gives? We were having fun, you know?" Lightning added
"Because of a word you'll become very accustomed to. They were legendary variants after all," I said reaching into the carcass, much to the dismay of Thinker and Quick. I pulled a legendary pipe pistol out of the creature, "'Loot'"
Rapid Pipe Pistol
"Huh. That's... ok, I guess"
"What is wrong... with... HOW??" Thinker exclaimed, "What?!"
"You're right. I should've just used the interface," I shook some blood of my hand as Thinker kept having trouble forming sentences, "Why did I 'Kalima' the deathclaw? Gah, disgusting... Anyways. Rapid is a very disappointing effect I have to say. Although... more common ammo in-game...but then again, I could mass produce ammo too and- Sorry, I'm talking to myself." I approached the mirelurk, I wonder what you have... and reached towards it, making sure to use the interface this time
Cavalier's Leather Right Arm
From what I remember from training, either brother would benefit from this more than me... I always played as a tank after all, "I've got an idea. Guys, training just became a bit of a competition. Winner takes this," I said showing the armour piece
" What about that?" Rick asked while pointing at the pipe pistol
I handed it to him, "Here, I'll get some bullets later." He just stared at me as if asking 'are you serious?' "Seriously, take it. Trust me"
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm not taking that"
"There's literally monsters that have similar abilities to their video game counter parts out there, and you're refusing a gun? Like seriously, they are probably here because of me! Take it!"
Rick looked aside for a breif second, something was certainly on his mind, "No, thank you"
"Suit yourself. If you want it, just tell me, okay?"
"Trust me. I don't need it"
"Fine," I turned back around and grabbed the rest of the loot, I've been craving a steak for a while. Wonder what deathclaw tastes like... "Now, Storm Brothers, follow me. I have one more surprise for you guys"
"Wait, Luis!" Quick ran up to me and handed me a potion, but something felt off. "This should help Noctis. I've managed to neutralize the side effects of that other potion from the train incident"
"Really? Wow, that's awesome!" I then looked at her and said in a serious tone, "How much?"
"Oh, nothing"
"Please, how much?"
"It's for a freind, seeing her better is good enough for me"
"I insist"
"Trust me, making the potion was a fun little gam- challange! Hehe..." she said with an air of uncertaintly, maybe regret? I wasn't too sure, Maybe Rick is rubbing off on her? I thought, almost raising an eyebrow
"Fine," I'm still going to pay her back somehow. "See you later guys," we said our goodbyes and headed out the door. As my little group walked away, I took a glance back and saw Quick seemingly soothing a headache, Odd
We rounded the corner and headed towards the new forge. As soon as we walked through the door, I saw Cutting Edge was with a pony I've never seen before. A grey unicorn with a blue-ish mane. She was dresses almost steampunk-like, black pants with a white buttoned shirt behind a brown apron, and a pair of goggles with magnifier lenses on her right eye. The mistery pony seemed to be working with small pieces of metal that almost looked machine-made, springs and the like
"I had to hire a watchmaker for our little project, sire," Cutting said pointing at the mare, "Care to say hello?" the mare was too engrossed in her work to even acknowledge anyone talking to her. Cutting cleared his throat, but nothing changed for the grey pony, "STEELE!"
"AHHH!!" she screamed jumping further than anyone I've ever seen, hitting her head on the awning above her worktable. Steel stood up clutching her head, "Why did you do that?!!" Cutting Edge simply nodded my way, "OH MY GOSH!!" she dropped to a kneel, "Prince! Good health to you my prince"
I facepalmed and groaned, "No titles. Please? Just Luis." Sighing, I turned to Cutting, "How's the work going?" We started moving outside the forge area and into a new building on the training grounds
He smirk, "I've got five done. Field tested and very well used. No problems, sire. They are beauties. As for the smaller, more complicated ones; I have only two ready, unfortunately"
"Wow, you work fast!"
"'Always have pride in your own work' I always say"
"Not what I pointed out, but okay!" I said happily, "Anyways, shall we?" I asked as I held the doorknob for the newest addition to the training grounds. On the other side of the door was a space ready to test the new- who am I kidding, you probably already figured out it's going to be a shooting range anyways. Yes, I made Cutting Edge make modern weapons, woo hoo. Shooty bang-bang stick, hand cannons, whatever you want to call them
"Here they are, sire," the previously mentioned stallion said while lifting a cloth and exposing the weapons. A quad of AK-47's glistened under the sunlight along with a duo of metal-framed glocks, "I could not find this 'polymer' the instructions you gave me called for, but I did as any blacksmith would and came up with an alternative. This is hardened, light-weight steel from one of my previous projects. Still heavier than the instructions, but not by much"
Then Steele steped forward, but second guessed her decision and looked at Cutting, who just nodded. "I was the one to work on the smaller componest of the weapons. I was also in charge of making the casi- Oh my gosh!! I forgot to introduce my self!!"
While she was having a mini panick attack, I looked back at the brothers to see what they thought. I honestly didn't mind, and seeing Thunder and Lightning shrug at each other told me they thought the same, so I turned back my attention at Steele, who was now bowing and repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again. Cutting was just pinching the bridge of his nose, I bet this happens often, I thought. "Steele was it?"
She immediately took me hand and started shaking it vigorously, "YESMYNAMEISSTEELE,I'MSOSORRYFORNOTINTRODUCINGMYSELFPROPERLYBEFOREIGOTDISTRACTEDBYMYWORKANDYOURVISITCAMEASACOMPLETESURPRISEANDIAMSOSORRYREALLYREALLYSORRYAND-"
I tuned her out for the time being as her attitude was distracting me more at the moment, Is she just like a mix of Pinkie and Twilight? Or is it just me? Because I don't think that's a good combo; ADHD with OCD, I feel so sorry for her. Like Jesu- Oh, she stopped talking... Wait did she ask something? Shit, fuck, got to think of something... uhh, "Sorry, I didn't hear the, uhm... question?"
"Oh..." she let go of my hand with her ears flattening against her head in a very dejected maner
Shit! CODE RED!! I REPEAT, CODE FUCKING RED!!! "I didn't mean it like that!! I just got distracted in my own head and forgot to listen! It's just, you remind me of a couple of friends I have in Ponyville and- Sorry, that's no excuse. Can you repeat what you said? Please?"
Her expression became more stoic, but I could see a hint of relieve in her eyes, "My name is Steele, Nice to meet you, prince," she said, extending her hand
I returned the gesture and answered, "My name is Luis, nice to meet you, Steele. And please, don't use titles. I'm just like anyone else," suddenly she started... squeaking? Squeeling?... producing a high pitch noise of exitement? Sure, let's go with that
"OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE AS COOL AS EVERYPONY SAYS!!" she fangirled out. Not even five seconds later, she was back to being compossed, That just gave me whiplash, I thought as she continued, "Like I was saying, I was in charge of the smaller components and the ammunition casings, the primers being the must difficult to make. But anyway, I'll stop boring you with the small details and show you this instead," She reached to the lid of a very large trunk, inside sat a whole bunch of small ammo boxes, some labeled 9mm and the rest 7.62mm
I looked back at the brothers with a grin, "Each of you, grab a glock. I'll teach you a thing or two about pistols," They both did as instructed, "Now, there are some rules about handling a firearm that must never be ignored. Number one: Always treat the weapons as if it's loaded, and by always I do mean AT ALL TIMES. I don't want to see an accidental discharge. That means number two: Finger always off the trigger until you need to fire. Number three: Never aim at anything you aren't willing to destroy or kill. And lastly, number four: Know what your target is and what's behind it. Yes, guns slash firearms will penetrate most things, and even go completely through some, so be careful of what's on the other side. Do I make myself clear?" I instructed with an authoritative tone
The two pip-boy-wearing earth ponies saluted, "Good."
Not too soon after we started target practice, Rick walked in, "Hey!" I greeted
"I can tastes the gunpowder, geez. How long have you guys been shooting?" he took a glance at the ammo crate, noting it was nearly empty, "You know what? Don't answer. I just came to test something"
"Test wha-" I took note of the bandolier around his torso, with crystals instead of magazines or bullets, "Nevermind, I think I know. I guess that explains why you didn't want the pistol," I couldn't help but chuckle as I noticed what was on his hip, a revolver looking weapon with rune inscriptions running on its surface, "I just remembered, I also had a custom order," heading towards the door, I turned to Rick, "Could you keep an eye out on these two? Thanks"
"Sure, no problem. I'm guessing you already filled them in on the 4's of gun safety?" I nodded, as he loaded a crystal into a large chamber in the cylinder, "That's good," he shot and missed, "Damn..."
"Nice shootin' there, Tex," my sarcasm ever present in the comment
He chuckled and shook his head, "Just go get your things before I load a real crystal and shoot you, I know you'll survive"
"Ooh, promise?" a magic beam impacted right next to my head leaving a smoking scorch mark on the impact zone, That's a low power crystal?!! "Hehe, on second thought..." I walked out and to the new forge area
I opened the door and Edge just gave me a side eye from his desk, "I was starting to wonder if you had forgotten"
Chuckling nervously I answered, "Maybe..."
He gave a chuckle of his own, "Figures! Ha!" He walked up to a large safe and opened it, "Made with the schematics you provided, plus a little extra flare. For both"
"Hope it wasn't soo much trouble"
"Trouble?" He dropped a long rifle wrapped in some cloth along with a small ammo box on his counter, "With technology like this, I'd prefer to call it a challenge, sire"
I rubbed my hands together in excitment, "Good to know you think that," Come on... show me the goods...
"Don't worry, sire. I am about to get to the good stuff," he chuckled as he unwrapped the rifle
The 'Fusil Porfirio Diaz' was one of my favourite looking rifles. Although, like everyone else, I didn't care for its actual name, prefering just Mondragón. The Mondragón rifle was made to be able to be switched between bolt-action and semi-atomatic firing modes on the fly, as well as being able to be use with stripper clips or magazines. Of course, I went with magazines for this one. A few things I noticed was that the crest just above the bolt wasn't the eagle eating the snake like it would be on one from earth, instead having the Equestrian crest. The other thing was a flag tied around the stock of the gun, the Mexican flag to be exact. Kind of like Paciencia in Fallout New Vegas, except it was new and not burned
"Since you mentioned the country you came from design this, I decided to contact miss Twilight to recreate the flag. It ended up quite nicely," he grabbed the gun and presented it to me, "I want you to give it a name, sire. It is yours after all, and no other like it will be created"
"El Patriota," I just muttered. Having both the Equestrian and Mexican flags attached to it, it only seemed natural, "It mean 'The Patriot'," I clarified as I grabbed the gun
El Patriota
Deals +25% damage and limb damage, but has +25% more recoil
Violent effect... Fitting. Considering the rifle's history
Edged then reached back to another safe and grabbed another weapon wrapped in cloth, this time a pistol, "Well, sire, I do have a question for ye"
"Shoot"
"Why did you want this weapons, firearms, specifically? The others seem to be more reliable," he asked, still holding back the pistol
"They are very rare guns in my world," I began, starting to look over the rifle, the bolt, profile, and the like, "Of the Mondragón, there were four thousand ever produced, with only a fraction still in the market," I stopped playing with the rifle, "And the other one-" I pointed at the pistol still covered, "-while I don't know the exact number ever produced, I know it was less than a thousand. Even a smaller number are even in circulation anymore"
Edge slowly started to unwrap the pistol, "Then I must congratulate you! You have the only ones in existance here, Luis!"
I looked at the- My brain stopped for a second. Cutting Edge called me by my name... "W-who are you? And what did you do with Cutting Edge...?"
"I do owe you more than you'd know. I've never seen Noctis this happy for this long, ever. I may not be her father, but I've been with her since she was a foal," He stopped to reminisce for a moment. Letting out a small chuckle, he continued, "Her mother thaught me everything I know about smithing, and her dad? That crazy old bat was who I had the pleasure of repairing and reforging the armor of the most for practise. So reckless... Heh... She definetely took after him the most, that's for sure, but took some of her mother's skill with the hammer and turned it to her hooves," Edge's little smirk was most certainly contagious as I found myself smilling at little, but a little thought crossed my mind: Why do I suddenly want to test that?
But if I'm being honest, I was very curious to know what happened to her parents, but it really didn't feel like the right time to ask. After a while of nostalgic silence, Edge finished unwrapping the pistol, "Here you go, Luis, your handgun"
In front of me was a Sistema Obregón, also know as just the Obregón 1911, or just as 'siete chinos' like all colts are usually refered to in Mexico. The gun itself looked like pretty much a regular Obregón, with a thicker slide for the rotating barrel which was just about the only difference from a regular 1911. Of course, this one was also custom, a sun and moon with some stylized lines were engraved on the sides of the slide and a sweetheart grip with a picture of Noctis
"If I remember correctly, on your request, you asked for it to be called 'Amor' specifically," I just nodded in response as I took the gun, "Please be careful, with the grip, I would hate to see it go opaque"
Amor
+33% V.A.T.S. hit chance, 25% less Action Point cost
"Take care of both of ‘em, got it?" Edge said with a commanding undertone, "And I don't mean the weapons"
"With my life"
I was approaching the main stairway of the castle and stopped right next to the banister to talked to the twins, “Rick went on ahead to get some things started, well, ‘ready’ would be a better word actually, Rick’s getting things ready for our little training exercise. I hope you like wave based survival games,” I said as I activated the hidden button. The secret mechanism sprung to life, dropping the stairs and showing the secret tunnel into the Canterlot caves
Thunder was the first one to pick up his jaw from the ground, “How long has that been there...?”
“Probably close to a millennia, I forgot to ask”
Lightning shook his head as we walked in, getting his thoughts back in order, “Wait, what do you mean ‘wave based survival games’?”
“Oh, you know, the longer you survive, the tougher the enemies get, and the more you’ll have to fight each round. You’ll go till you can’t, but don’t worry, death isn’t possible. Rick’s powers can get weird like that,” I finished by pulling a chain causing the wall to split and open. We stepped into a big dungeon chamber where Rick was standing near the edge of the ‘stage’ the room had, he was fiddling around on a terminal adjusting some settings
I couldn't help but feel anger in this room. Every single time I entered it I remember Asmodeus and Noctis... That bastard... I sighed
"I hate that we need this much preparation," Rick said, turning around, "Nice of you to show up. Are you ready?"
Then Faunia dropped from the ceiling, "Luisss, tisss been a long timesss"
"Uhmm, we talked like acouple of days ago. And a week ago too..."
"Sssarcassmsss," she jovially hissed
"Ahh! I get it. You're getting better. Anyways, getting back on business"
"My sschildren are ready," concern graced her face, "Do not harm them"
"Don't worry, within the arena, nothing can get hurt unless they got powers like Luis's. Even then they can't die"
"So, this arena..." Lightning started, "Where is it?"
"And what would we be facing?" Thunder asked
"Well, firstly, some stalkers, thanks to Faunia and her spider," the brothers seemed confused, "The star spiders can use their silk to animate armour, I call those stalkers. Simply because if you are in an abandoned castle they could be in any piece of armour," my explanation pleased the ponies, "Anyways, there's also going to be some golems in there too, kind of like stalkers but a lot more resistant to damage. Plus... a, let's say, a surprise..."
"Seriously? Hehe, sure, let's leave them in the dark about... that. It's going to be fun," Rick got the same grin on his face as I did. He then continued, "Anyways, thanks to the crazy amount of magic trapped with in the cave system, you'll be able to replenish your ammo at the crates we placed all around the area. Just note, you won't be able to carry more than what you entered with, so if you enter with three arrows, or in this case bullets, you'll only be able to go up to three, no more, no less"
"One thing to point out about this little system is that it is attached to a little point system. Couldn't make it too easy, you know? Anyways, your HUDs will display your points, and you get points by dispatching enemies. There is also boosts, or perks, you can buy with those points, as well as upgrading your weapons and armour. Sound good? Think of it like a game," Yes! We recreated CoD zombies within a magical cave in Equestria. Fight me
For those who didn't catch on. Remember the entity that is supposed to live in the caves? Well, using the crystals imbedded in the stone, Rick managed to, well, capture it in a way. The console is there to change the frequency of the crystals, and in turn make the entity have different effects on the cave, like, say, making enemies stronger? Or making ammo appear out of thin air, pretty neat, huh?
Anyway
After a few hours of training, and me showing the ponies how it's actually done to get to high rounds, we stopped. They got very good at handling their AKs and glocks. I still have my doubts with giving ponies guns, but... desparate times call for desparate measures, and video game enemies being around raises quite the concerns
After taking a quick power nap, we went to the station, boarded, and headed towards Ponyville. With Tarsus of course, he's kind of an important VIP at the moment, being the only one to know the actual location of the hive and all. Speaking of Tarsus, he seemed distracted the whole trip, wandering in his mind, but... I wanted to say something
"We'll be arriving in Ponyville shortly. Thank you for riding in the Friendship Express," the intercom said
I turned to Tarsus, "You okay? Something seems to be bothering you"
"Huh?! Oh... It's... It-It's nothing" He stammered
I was less than amused at his very much unsuccessful attempt to hide his true feelings, "You know? You haven't really expressed your feelings enough to know how to hide then, like, at all. Seriously, what's wrong? I'm trying to help"
"I- I- I..." He suddenly tried to avoid all eye contact, "I'm going to die in three days..."
What... "I... didn't quite hear that..."
"IAMGOINGTODIEINTHREEDAYS!"
His yelling managed to wake up Lightning, who somehow managed to actually process what Tarsus said, "Uhh... Wait! What? What do you mean??!"
I have the weirdest sense of déjà vu... Wall-E? Is that your world building? "Did Chrysalis tell you you'd die if you were ever exiled from the hive?"
"Yes..." Tarsus brooded
"You know how many times that has been used as a framing device in stories?" I said, but thought about it for a second, "Well, I only remember the one in Wall-E, but... Wait, did 'The Giver' have something like that too? I don't remember"
"But this isn't a story!"
"You'd be surprised Seriously though, don't worry about it. And if it happens, you'd have enjoyed that time"
"You are too optimistic"
"I've been learning," I said a bit more somber than I intended, "Anyways, get ready, I got you a welcome committee"
The train screeched to a halt, "Welcome to Ponyville. Please be clear of the doors," the intercome said as the doors opened, "And please watch your step while unbording. Thank you for riding on the Friendship Express"
This was the first train out of Canterlot today. It was now just about 6 AM, and because it was now winter, it was still very dark out. We walked out of the train, and the first thing I noticed was Noctis asleep on a bench. I had an evil idea
I jumped and grabbed on one of the beams. Shifting closer to Noctis, I hung upside down, face to face with her, "NOCTIS!" She leaped foward, pass me, and kicked me on the side of the head. I flew to the other side of the station, fully clear of the platform and into a lone tree. I relocated my jaw with a painful pop, I knew her kick were strong, but fuck, Cutting wasn't lying
Noctis ran up to me, "Why are you so STUPID?!"
"Me? You're the one who fell in love with me!" I caressed her cheek with a shit-eating grin and all
She then gave me a quick peck on the lips, "And I don't regret it... often," I chukled, "But seriously, are you okay?"
I stood up, wrapped my arm around her and leaned both of us in to a deep kiss, "More than okay"
"Oddly enough, I don't want to take that love... I feel... satisfied" Tarsus said as the trio walked up to us
Noctis looked at the changeling, "I have never seen a changeling before," she slowly examined him, "Oh, sorry... My name is Noctis Umbra, nice to meet you!"
Tarsus looked at her hand, then to his. He did this about three times before grabbing Noctis's hand and, very unsure of himself, looked at me, almost asking for approval. I nodded to which he seemed to almost smile to in response, "M-m-my name i-is Tarsus..."
"That's a cool name," Noctis said without thinking, "Are you staying with us?" Then she noticed the twins behind Tarsus, and turned to me, "Are they staying with us?"
"Specialist Noctis Umbra," Thunder started, "Who knew you were so cold as to not offer shelter to some old colleagues. My word!" he finished with an exaggerated flare
Lightning smacked the back of his brother's head, "Don't be a jackass," both Noctis and Thunder looked at him as if he had just turned into a fountain, "What?"
"Why are you cursing like the prince?!" Thunder exclaimed
Lightning thought for a brief moment, "I guess... because we were almost killed a few days ago. I was the one conscious for that, so brother, you were the lucky one," he then got a goofy grin on his face, "It's certainly not why Luis curses though, it's more cultural for you, no?" I kind of nod, kind of shake my head, unsure on how to respond, "Anyway, don't worry about it. It's kind of liberating honestly"
Thunder looked at me, "Welp, whatever is going on broke my brother. But if he turns to anything like you, Luis, then it should be fine"
"Wow... so rude," Lightning retorted jokingly
Thunder sighed, "Truly like the prince," he whispered
"Soooo..." Noctis got my attention, "Where are they staying?"
"In the basement," I started, "Just give me a few minutes after we get home, and I'll get their rooms built"
"You'll make our rooms?" Tarsus startled me, "The hive creates it's own rooms when needed. Building something is so weird... Well, at least to me"
"Later I can show you the wonders of buildings, sound good?" The changeling nodded, "Ok then, time to go to the house"
It didn't take that long for me to get the basement ready, so we spent the rest of the day coming up with a plan. It's so stupid it might just work, and like I said to Celestia, I'm the distraction. Tarsus, Lightning and Thunder, will sneak in while I go into the hive and talk to Chrysalis, and hopefully distract a lot, if not almost all of the drones and workers onto the main chamber
After dinner we all went to our rooms. But before going to bed, I had to talk to Noctis
I was laying under the covers in bed as Noctis came out of the bathroom "Hey, Red?" I called her, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Well, Quick thinks she's found a way to reverse the effects of the poison from the train," I said, trying to hide my doubts, "You know? Your vision"
"Oh, really?" She sounded a little disappointed, "That's... nice..."
"You... you don't want it?" I asked a bit confused
"It's just..." She started, "I..." she sat on the bed with me and looked down, "I don't know... There's a- it's just... I'm..." she looked at me with her glasses a bit crooked, I readjusted them, "I love it when you do that..." she said blushing
"And I love doing it," I said while a smile of my own, "But..." I got serious again, "Are you sure? You'll get your perfect vision back. Your eyesight won't continue to get worse. I don't want you to hurt yourself just because of a trivial thing, ok? I want the best for you, and you heard the doctor, you could go completely blind within the next decade or so. I... I shouldn't influence your decision," I took the potion out, "Here. Just say the word and I'll give it to you or throw it out the window"
Noctis stared at it for a few minutes, just thinking. She gasped and took the bottle from my hands, "I'll take it," she then proceded to down the entire thing, "I can just get glasses without zoom"
I smirked and chuckled out "That's true"
"Now," Noctis took off her glasses and set them on the night stand, "Where were we?"
I devilish grin made itself know on my face, "I think I have an idea..." I grabbed the bed sheets and thew them over both of us, pouncing on Noctis. We looked into eachother's eyes as I sat on top of her, "Honestly... I don't know where to go from here"
Noctis, blushing even harder, gave me an innocent smile, "First time too, huh?" I nodded, copying her reddened facial tint, "Do you still want to?"
"I just thought you wanted... and, well... I guess we're both okay without it, right?" she nodded, "Not every ralationship has to be that active..." I said as I got off Noctis, "Besides..." I hugged Noctis into being my little spoon, "This is so much better"
She reached behind to caress my cheek, "I second that"
I'm glad... A hug is such a better way to get warm than exercise anyways
Past Midnight
==[POV - Unknown]==
I stood looking down at Luis sleeping with his little pony, "My little toy has gotten busy, haven't you Eagle?" the feeling of the holotape in my grasp was intoxicating, "I'm going to have so much fun with this," I couldn't hide my smile. The pip-boy opened easily, letting me slip the holotape in, I chuckled almost too hard, "Let the second act officially start," I opened a portal behind me, and turned to it "And now that I'm here..." I stepped through, "Ha ha hah... HAHAHAHAA... Let the games begin anew!!" My yell breaking through the buzzing