Welcome to the future. A place where immortality is common, magic and technology have intertwined, and where you can be re-engineered to nearly anything. Minds from the past are re-uploaded into mechanical bodies, along with minds from the present. There are limits to this of course, but it's just a matter of time before they are broken. When will you be re-engineered?
As different ponies of the crowd were placing their bets, Spark and his opponent were circling each other in the crude ring. The ring itself was wooden, splintered and partially burned. There was only one door for entry and exit, it's once white coat of paint was reduced to a mixture of blood, soot, and the underlying color of wood.
The wooden circle was tall, about two ponies tall, and had a metal fence on top. The metal was quite worn as well. Everypony both in the cage and in the near filled room was used to this sight, and that of dozens of sweat covered audience members, eager to make some bits at the expense of others.
Spark lunged at his unicorn opponent and knocked him to the ground. He stood over his opponent and waited for him to surrender. Instead he replied with fireball that singed Spark's eyebrows, and burnt the metal grate above them.
The crowd let roared, the match had just went from first pony down loses, to first pony who dies loses.
Spark prepared his spell, as the other unicorn charged with his body ablaze.
He sidestepped the attack and released a deadly bolt of lightning that tore apart his opponent. Blaze (or whatever his combat name was) was dead. Nothing more than an extra crispy pony without a torso.
The "referee" walked into the center of the ring to the cheering of the crowd. It wasn't all positive, there were a few boos of those who just lost their bits.
"Spark is tonight's winner! As you exit collect your winnings or pay your debts!" She turned away from the audience. "Nice match out there champ." She whispered.
"Would have been better if he had stayed down." Spark said as he checked his blue coat for any blood stains.
"Your opponent? It was his fault not yours, you had to toast him. Now help me close up shop eh?" She flew up to the top of the grate and collected the discarded bottles of alcohol, and herded the crowd off. She wasn't just Cloud Kicker or the referee, she was also the owner of the controversial club. With a grey coat and a sky blue mane, she always had the crowd's attention.
Down below Spark magically drug out Blaze's body to be incinerated, just like every other loser who left a body. Luckily for Spark there was no need to worry about cleaning the trail of blood that dirtied the ring or the rest of the collosseum. 'It added atmosphere' according to Cloud Kicker.
After passing through the ring's door, he walked a few more steps before feeling the furnace's heat.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. He thought as he tossed the body in. Blaze's blood started to boil and he became even more disfigured. Spark turned away, he already knew what the end result would look like, another pile of scrap metal.
Blaze wasn't an ordinary pony, he was cybernetic. Pure artificial intelligence.His magic however, was indeed real magic. Blaze had used real spells before he died, even though he certainly wasn't a pony or unicorn for that matter.
How was this possible? The real question is how could something not be possible in the land Subscape? Androids and cyborgs were engineered every day by large corporations, with additional upgrades at privately owned stores. Even griffons and other pony like creatures had access to immortality. There were still deaths of course, both synthetic and natural, and their minds were reassigned to synthetic bodies if they had lived good lives, or left in purgatory if they had done a great deal of crime.
Spark waved goodbye to Cloud Kicker and walked outside of the building properly known as sector 86, one of the few buildings large enough to have it's own sector.
The rest of the sectors were multiple skyscrapers, with dark exteriors and mechanical interiors. Sector 86 was the only place lacking a modern design in Subscape, and it attracted a lot of attention as a window to the past and the ultimate fight club.
Elevators and escalators connected both the buildings and the separate sections crisscrossing through the little space that wasn't already consumed by the skyscrapers. Spark stepped on the 86 to 82 elevator, a one way trip to his section. The elevator itself was glass and was devoid of buttons or markings, besides the 86-82 that was engraved on the outside doors.
The doors shut silently as the elevator began it's journey down. He got a glance at sector 193, one of the poorer sections of Subscape. He smiled and tried to imagine what life was like there.
Poor souls.
The elevator slowed to a halt, and Spark stepped out. The buildings were arranged from greatest to least, making Spark's complex just a few steps away from the elevator in building 28. Nopony was outside, they were probably watching a replay of his match on their telescreens, or some televised nonsense.
He stepped to the retinal scanner, and stared at it's red center. A few beeps and he was cleared for entry. The metallic slits in the door shifted and formed his shape, and went back in position after he passed.
Inside an occasional rainbow colored light traveled through the walls like a pulse. The light itself was a form of data that could tell you exactly what a building's residents had done. The path of light passed through the two ground elevators and back into the wall.
Spark stepped in the right elevator, as the left one was designated for trips to the underground floors, and a holographic interface materialized.
"Thirty-fourth floor?" As the soothing female voice suggested this, the display shifted from a list of floors to the suggested floor number and a question mark.
He made a check mark motion and the holoscreen blinked twice confirming his decision. As the elevator went upwards the display dropped through the floor and sent holographic pieces flying.
The elevator doors opened and he walked out with part of the light path following him. His door was a black monlith, but after he placed a hoof on it, it de-magnetized and split into strings of metal. His apartment was was simple compared to outside. Glass windows provided light and displayed the inventory and temperature of each room.
Spark glanced at them and decided to take a shower.
The water flowed through his coat and washed the dirt and blood from his last match away. His shower was surprisingly primitive compared to the rest of his apartment, it was a simple water spout.
He turned it off and dried off with some magic, while his body started to relax.
"Telescreen, news." He said calmly.
The windows projected the image of a news pony standing in front of a burning building. Suddenly the ground shook, and Spark stumbled as he tried to regain balance.
There was a large explosion below, and the shockwave sent Spark into the wall. There was another explosion, followed by gunshots. The building lurched forward and there was a sickening crunch of glass, plastic, and metal.
Spark cleared his mind and teleported out of the building. He was shocked to see it collapse in a matter of seconds.
The top half of the building slammed into the ground, while the bottom half dropped down from the floating city into the abyss below. A dust cloud from the wreckage started to crawl towards him and the dozens of ponies and griffons who were watching from a distance.
"Wow that sure was something..." A griffin said aloud.
"You see what hit the building?" Spark asked.
"Wait, you were in there?"
Spark nodded, and the griffin knocked him to the ground with his claws. He countered with a spell that sent the assailant on his back. All the other citizens around them had started to flee for their lives.
Spark prepared another spell and aimed at the griffon's forehead, just as several bullets struck the colt in his stomach and legs. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The griffon stood up on his hind legs, and pointed his revolver at Spark's face. He smirked and pulled the trigger.
There were a few whirs and clicks and finally, a sigh.
"Good. Now just stay there and I'll get a gem for you."
"There we go! I'll just put this here..."
Spark's eyes flew open, and began to glow.
"Can you speak now?" The voice was replaced by a brown stallion who he found was staring him directly in the eye.
"Yes." Spark said in a heavily robotic voice. "What happened to me? Where is my body? Where am I?"
"You were just re-engineered. By me." He smiled.
"I was...re-engineered?" He looked around the room. Bolts, screws and glass panes were scattered around, all looking fairly old. There weren't any telescreens or glass windows, just black walls, a filthy floor littered with dust-bunnies, wire lights hanging from the ceiling, and a door. The tubular lights letting off a dull buzz as the electrical powering keeping the room alit flowed through them.
"Yes, do you remember getting shot?"
The building collapse, being shot, it was all clear as day.
"Yes."
"Excellent, as for your other questions, you're in my shop and your original body is about to be cremated. You're a very lucky pony, that bullet ricocheted off your horn and just about tore apart your face. Your brain is perfectly fine, no hemispheres or lobes damaged." He lifted Spark's head of the table and revealed it's underside.
There were arms, legs and a torso. The pieces contrasted heavily with the condition of the room, and Spark could see his reflection in the light gray parts, along with the rest of the room and the stallion holding him up.
"As you can see you're fully put together and your power source is in place. Well power amplifier really."
"Amplifier?"
"Yes, usually unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies who are re-engineered don't need it, but considering your situation I figured I’d give you one. Been laying here for centuries probably."
The gem was embedded in the chest of the cybernetic body, in the shape of a six pointed star.
"Let's get you hooked up, we can talk later." He placed Spark's head on the table and started to attach his limbs. The stallion worked with incredible speed, and utmost caution to avoid damages.
After a few minutes only one part was missing, his head. The stallion lifted Spark up, and attached the various cables that lined the inside of his cybernetic body. With one final click his head was mounted and the gem on his torso glowed.
"So this is what it's like to be re-engineered..." Spark said in his normal voice, filled with awe.
"It’ll take some adjusting on your part. Like your glowing red eyes for example. Why don't you come back later, you’ll need some time to break in that shell anyway."
"Thank you."
"No problem. Door’s over there."
Without another word between the two, Spark walked out of the workroom. Hearing the door close behind him, he gazed upon the rest of Subscape. It was exactly .803 miles to the ground floor. He climbed over the edge of the building and let his body hang. With a deep breath he let go, and plummeted off the side of the building. Rapidly picking up speed he leaned towards the building and placed his hooves on the glass. Surprisingly he stopped, and was suspended along the building.
I guess all these buildings here really are magnetic.
Putting all his weight onto his front hooves and breaking through the glass, he landed inside the building. The servos in his new body squealed, virgin to the new force placed upon them. After managing to land upright he scanned the room for company. After spotting the door on the opposite end of the room, he concentrated his magic and separated it from the wall. There was a brief moment where the hinges binding the door resisted, squealing like banshees as the telekinetic magic pulled.
Satisfied, he walked through the now gaping hole, and into a rather unexpected surprise. Two stallions were sitting directly across from one another, playing go-fish.
“Got any sevens?”
“...Go fis-”
They looked up just as the doors flew off, and were spellbound to see a cybernetic pony standing before them. And without a skin at that.
“Umm...Jack? I think I forgot my meds.”
“Nah I see it too Frost.”
Spark stood and stared, a bit shocked as the two older earth ponies stared at him.
“What are you doing in my apartment?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, what are you doing?” Frost mimicked, walking closer to the cybernetic felon.
“I just happened to fall, that’s all. I’ll leave you alone now.”
Jack and Frost exchanged looks and laughed.
“You’re funny, but you don’t seem to get it. That door wasn’t cheap, and neither was that telescreen you just broke. You gotta pay for them.” Jack stood face to face with Spark and put a hoof on his shoulder.
“So, how you gonna pay? Wait, I think I see a nice little gem there.” Frost examined the star-like gem and grinned.
“I don’t plan on giving that to you, and you shouldn’t try to take it either.” Spark said coldly, speaking with about as much emotion as a stone wall.
“Oh? And how exactly are you gonna do that?” Smirked Frost.
“I know magic.”
“Well I know bullets.” Jack pulled out a .44 caliber black elongated revolver and pointed it at Spark’s face.
“Now give us that gem and you go free.” Frost smiled.
Before Spark had the time to whisper no, a blade sprung out of his fore leg and two cyberlids covered his eyes. He could see Jack’s heart rate, as well as his imminent threat level which read 20 percent.
“He’s a feisty one huh Jack?”
“Yeah, he’s just got a little scissor not much he can-”
Spark drove the foot long blade into his throat, and kicked him sending his body into another window and out to the ground below.
“What the fu-”
Frost never got the finish that sentence as a hole opened up in Spark’s front right foreleg exposing a small dotted muzzle.
A mare’s voice purred in his head.
Ammo selected: .35 Hollow point.
“What the hay-” he never got to finish that sentence as the roar of machine gun fire ripped through his ear drums, effectively silencing any and everything with it's sheer volume.
For a moment, Frost held a shocked look on his middle-aged face. His silvery eyes opened wide as the muzzle began to flash. The hollow point rounds ripped through his body like BB pellets through Swiss cheese. From what Spark could see, several rounds had gone through the stallion’s chest cavity. His visor switched to an X-ray mode, and showed the stallion’s different organs, muscles, blood vessels, and tissue fibers as the bullets ripped through them all. In those few moments, hundreds of shell casings littered the floor falling out of a rectangular slot in his fore leg.
Target heavily damaged, threat level: Zero percent.
As the voice whispered the force of the bullets threw the old stallion off his hooves and through the window.
At least Jack wasn’t alone.
Almost instantaneously, a crowd started to congregate around the two disfigured bodies. There were murmurs about the identities of the two stallions, as well as theories on how they could have died.
Then a mare screamed. Her voice pierced his ears and garnered his attention. A mare ran up to the body and cradled the upper half in her hooves. She had a light grey fur coat that was worn with age.
She looked up, spotting him, staring out from the broken window. Instantly her face transformed from a mask of despair and tears, into a fierce scowl of anger and hatred. “You! You will pay for this you, you monster!” Her hoarse voice cried.
Spark heard the roar of a SCOOT-Tech Aviali C class Hover-car, a massively produced police cruiser, and watched as it rose up from the ground and fixated it’s headlights on him. He knew that more would be coming, it was only a matter of time.
The hovercraft rotated, revealing a rather large turquoise pegasus with a Gatling gun. The 6 barreled cylindrical contraption began spinning up with a shrill drone as the pegasus gave him a savage smile. Using his magic he vaporized the officer leaving behind only a helmet and shoulder pads.
Magic use detected. Amplifying.
The gem glowed a bright purple and a wall of flame appeared, decimating the crew of the Aviali and scorching its interior. For a moment, Spark cringed as he saw one of the pilots try in vain to swat at the flames consuming him, the skin and hairs blackening. Without any crew, it floated like a corpse in water. Spark just managed to leap inside the craft, and the seemingly alien interior felt like a second home in minutes. Brandishing his foreleg blade, he stabbed the control deck of the cruiser and preformed a cybernetic take over. Without a touching a single joystick or switch, the cruiser flew off to the Subscape badlands, sectors 170 through 200.
He looked back and realized not a single soul had even attempted to follow him. They were quite wise to do so.
As the cruiser approached sector 188 he encountered a problem, there was no place to land. The streets were filled and bustling with ponies, griffins, and changelings. And from what he could see, none of them were up to any good. The streets were dark, the streetlights in disrepair. The many shops lining the avenue were also in need of fixing, with broken and boarded windows, faintly glowing neon signs, and litter scattered everywhere. In addition to the thieves and bandits that populated the area of course. He spotted a building, black, glassy and generic, guiding the car over and hovering over it. He jerked his cyber-blade out of the control panel and prepared to make another jump. The craft immediately lost power and Spark was thrown back into it's cockpit, cracking it’s windows.
It slowly dive bombed out of the sky and several locals came to watch the impending crash. With a blue flash of light Spark escaped yet again. He joined the ponies, changelings and griffins and watched the ship collide with the ground. The force of the crash created a temporary breeze that washed over everypony's garments, and Spark felt rather odd being the only one naked.
“Hey where did that pony go?” Somepony in the crowd asked.
He was gone. Not on his own accord, but due to the actions of another being.
Whatever you do, don’t move, make a sound, nothing. They should start raiding that cruiser any moment now. And, yes I’m cloaking you. I’ll explain that another time.
He was right. A small fight had already broken out over who would get what part of the hover craft, where it was going to be sold. Useless details in Spark’s mind.
Good. I’m uploading a safe- ..well I wouldn’t call it that...a hideout yes. I’m uploading the coordinates to your nervous-system.
As Spark headed off in the opposite direction there was a small fizz, and his invisibility wore off. According to his display, the building was just a couple steps away. It loomed over him, despite it’s broken windows and fading exterior, and he felt as if somepony somewhere was watching him...
Knock on that door, it’s not as modern as yours but it does the job. A red pony with a white mane should should answer. Before he asks who you are mention my name at least twice. Clockwork out.
Connection Terminated.
Spark rapped at the door, and left two small dents. A slide opened up in the door, and just like his brown friend Clockwork predicted, there was a red pony with a rather long white mane. He had some cybernetics himself, a golden set of cy-wings, it's mechanical mesh giving off a rainbow of colors.
"Clockwork led me here. Said for me to mention Clockwork twice." Spark said.
"He did mention somepony would be coming sooner or later." He unlocked at least twelve different locks, and opened the door. The inside of the building looked just as pathetic as the outside. The floors were carpeted with an unsightly brown, the walls were stained with various substances and had cracks running through.
In the midst of this was a couch, a few windows, and three more inhabitants. There was a white unicorn disassembling a rifle of some sort with his magic, and several magazines filled with bullets surrounded him on the floor. Laying on the floor with him was a black cybernetic pony, it was unclear if it was a male or female. The shell was scratched however, revealing it's underlying metallic color. There was a griffon outstretched along the couch, with a sawed off white revolver in his hands, and a cigarette in his mouth. After hearing the door creak open they both began eying their visitor.
"Who's this cy-tech? Is he a server?" Asked the unicorn.
"No he's not. Just ran a scan." Said the black cybernetic, who happened to be female.
"So then you're clean. Clockwork did send ya here after all so I guess your not here to kill us. Why are you here then?" The griffon questioned, getting off the couch.
"Because some brown pony told me to." Spark replied rather snarkly.
"In that case we're in charge of you." Answered the red pony.
"What do you mean you're in charge of me?"
"In charge as in you work for us." The red pony grinned. "My name is Skyfall, that black pony is Dawn, the unicorn's name is Sharpshot, and the griffin is-"
"Arthur. Pleasure to meet you." Arthur smirked at Skyfall. "I think I'm more than capable of introducing myself." He placed the revolver in a leather brown holster. "Do come in, you will be staying here from now on so you might as well get used to it."
It wasn't nearly as good as his old residence but based on the rest of the sector, it might’ve just be a first class hotel.
"Bathroom is upstairs, although I doubt you'll be needing it. What you see is what you get down here, the fun stuff is up on top. C'mon kiddies," Dawn raised an electronic eyebrow at Arthur's remark and Sharpshot snickered. "let's give you a tour."
Arthur led the way to the building's only elevator, which as hidden inside a false wall. Much like the other elevators of Subscape it was entirely glass, and somehow all five of them managed to fit inside it.
"I'm not bothering to stop the elevator, it's much easier to show the floors like this." Arthur pointed to the first floor. It was barren, except for a few targets several hundred yards away from the elevator.
"That's my target range. Test my skills and weapons down there." Sharpshot said proudly. "Gonna have to take you through it later on."
The floor faded away, and was replaced by a much wider space, with what appeared to be several turrets. The barrels were in various sizes, and were scattered about the floor.
"This is my training ground, I fly here. Pretty basic. You don't have any wings so we'll have to make it adaptable for you to work in."
"The next floor you're about to see is my floor," Dawn began. "I do whatever I want in it. The end."
Dawn's floor was a cacophony of dummies, weapons, and general litter. One thing stood out explicitly in the room, a single black box. It didn't appear to be connected to anything else.
The elevator finally stopped on the rooftop, and Spark stepped out first. It was starting to get dark, and the sector had a faint neon blue glow. He could see the various stores that were closing for the day and the nightclubs that were just opening up. The streets were gradually filling up, he had never seen that back in sector 86, usally night was the quietest time.
"What sector are you from?" Arthur asked.
"86."
"So this is foreign to you?" Dawn suggested.
Spark nodded and she smiled.
"Well then, let's see the nightlife."
"You're bringing him out at night already?" Sharpshot looked at her skeptically.
"Let them go, I want to hear some stories when you get back." Skyfall remarked.
"Come on." She said from the elevator. "Night doesn't last forever."
Spark walked inside and the glass doors closed.
"I don't know how good you are at defending yourself," She looked at the various floors with admiration as they passed by. "so if something goes wrong you do as I say; alright?"
"Right." He sighed and already felt that something was going to happen.
The elevator doors creaked open and Spark stepped out along with Dawn, their hooves marking the carpet as they trotted out the door. As the door shut a small cloud of dust kicked up, lifting into the air and disintegrating.
"Hey, I know you think this whole place is a dump but it gets the job done." Her eyes caressed the building with a mother's touch to a newborn foal.
"How long have you been here?"
"Didn't anypony tell you it's rude to ask a mare her age?"
"I didn't ask that."
With a whip of her mane she walked off.
"You had better catch up. A new colt like you’ll get eaten alive here."
With a bounce in his step and a slight grin he caught up with her, and the time between his steps increased.
"Listening to me is the first step to survival." Coming from anypony else he would have disregarded the phrase. In light of his recent endeavors he had learned the choices were not always his to make.
"You have anything interesting to say about yourself? It's going to be a long walk if you don't." She looked into his mechanical eyes and waited for a response. Legitimate or not she didn't care, as long as there was something to do.
"I used to be a fighter." He stated blankly. The night sky was much more intriguing than silly stories or learning experiences. Looking at it through the battered city managed to increase its beauty, particularly due to the contrast of soft glowing signs and sharp, bright stars.
"Were you just re-engineered ?" Her irritation was starting to show. "I mean jeez, you have the attention span of some 8 bit A.I program."
"A few hours ago I was. By Clockwork himself."
"And you're thinking about how different things are going to be now?"
"Yes." He continued watching the stars, who were always watching back.
"It gets better don't worry. All depends on you though, the decisions you make, the ponies you meet, all that stuff."
"What's that light up ahead?"
"That there, is your ticket to the real Subscape."
The "ticket" looked no different than the buildings in sector 86, but stood out like a infected hoof. It was small, about 3 stories tall and easy to spot from its glowing red neon. Pulsating music seemed to escape the small building accompanied by brightly flashing arrays of pink, blue, green, and red light. They flashed with such frequency and speed that they’d probably send an epileptic into a massive fit. Outside of the building however things were far more orthodox, perhaps a bit too orthodox.
The crunching of glass and plastic got louder and more prevalent as they approached it's doors, along with a steady thumping sound. What was it? A club? A training center? The generic black exterior and the grime caked floor outside didn't provide any decent explanations, just statements on how atrocious the city was.
They walked up to the steel doors, and Dawn swung them open like the gates of the Tartarus. A flood of light consumed them and a wave of sound blasted through their eardrums leaving a ringing afternote.
"Scared?"
"No, just curious." Spark answered, yelling to be heard over the noise.
The two stepped inside and the door shut. The entire interior was abuzz with ponies, griffins, bass heavy music and pastel colored laser lights seemingly changing at random and swinging about the club like hyper fairies. The strobes responsible glistened like disco-balls mixed with speeding cameras. There were three floors; the topmost being the VIP section where anybody from neighborhood gang-heads to incognito celebrities looked down upon the moshpit of sounds and bodies drinking and lounging in luxury. The second floor, where the door was and subsequently where the two had come from was a simple stainless steel floor with a bar placed in the corner. Tables and hopping waiters and waitresses indicated this was the bar and grill.
The 3rd and final floor was below them. A combination of stripper poles, a stage, loud music, and writhing bodies gave it a chaotic new-age feel as hundred of ponies, griffins, changelings, and what-have-yous all danced, thrashes, and head-banged to the beat. The four poles where suspended in midair by pulsar technology, and on each one was either a skimpily clad pegasus or griffin, grinding, swinging, and winking at the moshpit below, driving the males and females crazier than they already were.
“What is this place!” Spark shouted above the cacophony. Dawn smiled deviously as she stepped up to the small balcony overlooking the literal moshpit.
“This here? Just call it paradise!” Dawn shouted back.
Spark followed up the stairwell and looked back at the ongoing madness below. It may not have been paradise but it sure was something.
Other ponies watched inconspicuously, as the two made their way to a table and sat down.
"Obviously we're not here to party, I brought you here to give you some background of the sector." The playfulness in her voice fading.
"And that would be?"
"I'd rather show than tell." She pointed a mechanical hoof at the third floor. "There are at least twelve different criminals down there, with most of their bosses being on the upper levels. You see how some of them are cy-techs and others aren't right?"
"Yes."
"A majority of them will be killed by us."
"Us? As in you, Skyfall, Sharpshot Arthur and I?"
Dawn pursed her lips and snickered.
"No, just you and I. And occasionally Sharpshot."
One of the dancers stepped off her pole and walked into one of the more private rooms, teasing the ponies with swaying of her hips and seductive winks as she walked by them.
"We rack up the kills, they pick up the goods. That's how it's been and that's how it’s gonna be." She looked down at the lower floors and examined the several groups of ponies. "We should go."
“Whoa whoa, hold up. You're saying we gonna just go down there, and just... kill them? Just, out of the blue?” Asked Spark, scrambling to get out of his seat. Dawn snorted, her golden eyes twinkled mischievously as she turned and made her way downstairs.
“Eeyup."
Still in shock, he watched her pull out a glowing black .44 magnum. An old version from what he could see.
His vision switched back to x-ray detailing the gun.
“Pendulum?” He asked. The onboard A.I responded.
Pendulum: An alpha-phased developmental weapon combining PULSAR technology, and Oscillation technology.
He saw the inside of the gun, and what appeared to be some sort of cylindrical spinning...thing where the bullet-chamber should have been. A chime signaling the A.I’s response alerted him.
That would be the M.A.C or Mass Accelerating Chamber used to hyper-heat and distribute the bullet.
He watched as she lifted onto her hindlegs, using her left foreleg to fan the hammer as she opened fire on the target.
Oscillatory technology uses the power of the recoil to “launch pad” the bullet, extending range, power and accuracy by 50%.
Replied the A.I smugly. He continued to watch as the super-heated bullet struck one of the “criminals” a changeling wearing a dark black-skin suit in the eye. While most, if not everyone saw the head snap back with the force of impact, Spark saw things differently.
He watched as the first bullet tore the eye-socket and continued on through the rest of the brain going at a 45 degree angle downwards, coming in through the frontal lobe, going through the optic chasm, the Hypothalamus, then through the Amygdala, a small bulb located near the Temporal lobe, before carving a path of super-heated destruction through the Cerebellum.
The club flew into chaos, and Dawn fired five more rounds and the vibrant flash of the muzzle lit up her eyes.
"Don't just stand there, fire off some rounds!" She shouted as the goons from below opened fire.
Warning: Hostile Fire detected.
Arming: Disabled
Disabled?
As he ducked for cover behind a table he tried to trigger his defense mechanisms, doing everything from hitting his hoof on the ground to trying to pull the barrel out of his body. It was still no use, he was weaponless.
Magic it is then.
With a telekinetic shove, he sent the table and a few ponies into a wall with a loud crunch. Exposed, he put up a wall of pure magic to deflect the bullets, turning them against their original owners. With a flash the shield turned into shards of energy, and flew through the air like a shotgun blast, tearing through everything in it's path on a massive scale. Bullets pinged and ricocheted off the telescrenes, puncturing holes in the crystal clear glass and sending sparks everywhere.
As the two engaged in their firefight, a changeling on the lower decks began arming an air burst rocket launcher on the floor below them. The “Ball Buster” as it was affectionately called by those on the receiving end. After sliding in the 20 pound projectile she heaved it up on her shoulders and stood up, slightly swaying from side to side. Looking through its holographic sight, she locked onto the two cybernetic ponies and prepared to fire.
“Spark!” Dawn tackled the weaponless cybernetic putting him out of harms way just as the changeling pulled the trigger. There was a thump, and the "ball buster" tore through the floors hurtling towards the two ponies.
Dawn drew her magnum and reloaded it's M.A.C system in ten milliseconds flat. Pulling out a grey/golden round speed re-loader with six shots already sticking upright, she slammed the reloaded into the chamber. The cock of the hammer and the crack of the gun were heard almost simultaneously as the round penetrated the explosive midair; but it didn't stop there. The metal ball exploded, and the round went through the changeling's left eye before snapping her neck and most likely destroying her collarbone with force.
Nice shot. Spark watched as the changeling's twisted body hit the floor with a thud.
"I think that's enough damage for one night, we should probably get back." The revolver slid back into her forehoof and the metallic slot closed.
The floors of the club were riddled with shell casings and a few molten slugs from Dawn's magnum were melting their way through the floor. The battered and bloodied bodies of changelings, griffons and ponies were sprawled across the floor.
"It's a masterpiece." Dawn pointed a cold metal hoof at the floor. "You done critiquing it yet? If you are I'd like to go.
"Yeah sure." His voice trailed off as he stepped over the head of a cybernetic pony. But upon closer inspection, he noticed there was an additional tech piece protruding out of it. A gold claw had pierced it's eyes, and Spark could see a few of the creature's fingers through the five holes it had made in the back of it's seemingly "indestructible" skull.
Dawn stepped over a bloodied pony and walked through the remnants of the door. Spark followed her back out into the streets, where the sun just started to rise. The sun's rays reflected off the glass debris, creating a prism like effect.
"You just going to keep staring at the sun or are you going to get moving?"
-----
"So," Arthur took a drag on his cigarette, "how did the mission go?"
"Twenty KIA, five casualties not from us."
Who knew Dawn was so good with numbers.
"Doesn't surprise me. I knew they would try to kill each other no matter what."
"Right," he tapped the cigarette and a few of it's ashes floated off while the others fell to the floor. "They're still going to want someone's head for it, probably each other's."
"What was the point of this?" Spark's voice stood out from the rest of the group, it was the only one that carried question.
"You were following orders. All of us were." Sharpshot replied. "Your orders were to fire on the crowd while mine was to make sure you didn't get killed on the first day."
"Speaking of orders," Skyfall interjected, "Clockwork wants to meet with you. Obviously you're going to need some help getting back in there. There is a daily skyrail that passes his building so transportation isn't the problem, it's not getting caught."
"Can't you get me a disguise or something? Or at least a new paint coat?"
Arthur laughed. "You're a wanted pony, I don't think anyone is going to serve you without asking questions first. We'll disassemble you and send you as a package. As threatening as this sounds it's all we can really do for now. Plus it will give you a new perspective on things.” He grinned, clearly he would enjoy this.
Spark sighed and Arthur began to inspect his body. His metallic chest plate still had it's luster, but blood was splattered upon it and his hooves. Using one of his golden talons, the griffon tried to scrape it off, but instead the overwhelming sound of the talon scratching across the surface convinced him to stop.
After regaining his hearing, he started to feel for a screw or a latch of some sort. All he ended up doing was create an extremely odd situation for Spark, a couple of laughs, and a blush from the rest of the group. Arthur paid no attention to this, and instead continued to feel up the stallion. Sadly there was no indication on the metallic body that it could even be taken apart to begin with.
"Just how in the hoof are we going to dissect him?"
Sharpshot's poor choice of words caused Spark to shudder slightly.
"Don't think his model is separable without destroying a few bits. We have cloak tech why not use that?"
Arthur sighed at Dawn's suggestion. She should know by now cloaking was for the bigger high end missions or when they needed to impress a customer. Well, trick more than impress.
"Sneaking in a VIP doesn't exactly deserve the best, no offense. Especially since we're not getting paid to do this."
Skyfall had a valid point, bits were always the motivation and the only reason why they would go out of their way for something or someone.
"Looks like you're on your own for this one. Try and find out a way by the end of the day, clockwork doesn't like waiting."
Sharpshot placed his hoof on the wall, and a panel opened up revealing his prized rifle. He levitated it up and off it's plaque and onto his back.
"In the meantime you can get some shooting lessons from the best in Subscape."
Dawn rolled her eyes as Sharpshot walked off, head held high, to the elevator. Spark followed, and Sharpshot inputted their destination into the holographic interface. The elevator lurched upwards rather roughly, it had to be one of the lower end models. The ones back in sector 86 were much more smooth. Not to mention this elevator was windowless, save for the glass panel over the emergency stop button.
He turned his eyes to the rifle, as it was the only interesting thing in the room, and saw it had the same pendulum technology that Dawn's revolver had. Albeit the chamber on the rifle was slightly larger. Sharpshot felt his rifle was being eyed and he looked back at Spark.
"You have a question about it?"
"No, I just thought back to Dawn's revolver it had the same-"
"Chamber I know. Modified it myself actually; makes your shots even more deadly than a standard pendulum tech rifle. Might as well have some edge over the competition right?"
The elevator screeched to a halt, and it's doors gradually opened. The range floor was exactly the same as Spark had seen it the other day, was it even in use?
"I'm surprised, the floor looks the same as was yesterday."
"Just because the others enjoy having dirty rooms doesn't mean I do."
Sharpshot grinned as he looked around the room, proud of it's cleanliness. Upon closer examination the floors were most likely even more clean than the day before. He placed a hoof on the rifle and slid it off his back. He maneuvered it so the barrel was facing forward, and he stood up on his hind hooves. A holographic target materialized at the end of the range, and Sharpshot began to slow his breathing. He started to gently pull back the trigger, and Spark could just barely hear it sliding back of the trigger guard.
His breathe stopped and the hammer flew forward. The firing pin slammed into the brass shell case, and the gas forced the bullet out of the chamber and into the barrel. It quickly began to rotate, and picked up speed as the gas continued to carry it like a rocket. The smoke and flame dissipated behind the bullet, and the shell casing spun in midair before it hit the ground. The bullet had finally reached the target, tearing through it's center sending holo glass into the wall and floor.
"Nice shot."
"Thanks. I'm trying to get my shots to be just as accurate when I shoot with magic."
He pointed the barrel up at the ceiling and gave the rifle to Spark, who clumsily held it in his hooves.
"Butter hooves?"
Sharpshot smirked, Spark was quite the amateur. Then again it was probably just his new body didn't accept anything that was a duplicate. Why pick up a rifle if your body already stores three? That would mean his body had pendulum tech.
He was starting to envy the gray cybernetic in just the slightest way. His near indestructible body, the shiny coat, that precious jewel on it's front...a well placed bullet could still stop him or anyone in their tracks, no matter what they had.
Foreign weapon detected. Analyzing...
Analysis complete. Weapon is .308 caliber, modified rifle. Contains parts from several factories and shops. Pendulum chamber has been modified to increase bullet speed significantly.
Status update: All weapons are now accessible. A visual route has been established.
"How did you just make your eyes change color?"
Spark didn't answer.
Instead he turned right around and headed into the elevator, indicating on the holoscreen he was going to the ground lobby. The elevator was still moving at it's sluggish pace, maybe even slower than when he first came up to the room. Squatting down on the ground, he chaneled his energy into his legs and leaped up in the air.
Unlike most of the more modern elevators in Subscape, which where much more compact and efficient, this elevator had quite a bit of room in it. As Spark began his descent downwards, his body prepared itself for the harsh landing. His front hooves landed first, cracking the cheap tiles and sending the elevator tumbling downwards. His back hooves did a likewise motion, but their impact was much more severe. The main cables snapped like a rubber band and slashed the roof of the car, creating a rather long gash across it.
With another "hop" he disembarked out of his transport just before it collided with the ground, creating a thunderous crashing sound as it was blown apart. The shockwave put a nice hole where the floor's entrance to the elevator would have been and scattered bricks like a shotgun blast. Spark slid down the sides of the shaft and casually walked out the makeshift entrance and the more official entrance to the building itself; completely oblivious to the three mercenaries that laid scattered around the room.
Sorry to control you like that, but it's quite fun. I'll restore your control in a few moments after I warp you over here.
Warp? Warping was only used by military forces, how could have Clockwork acquired technology of that caliber?
Regardless of how his ends justified his means, he was telling the truth. Spark's body began to break up into several peices and then vanished. Simultaneously his molecules re-arranged themselves back at Clockwork's personal office.
"Good to see that you're here."
"Why did you disable my weapons?"
Clockwork studied the cybernetic that stood before him.
"I wanted to remind you that you're just as biological as anyone else despite your body."
"By almost getting me killed? I don't see what that would solve."
"Your body is a lot more durable than you think it to be. Now for your mission. How familiar are you with tales of old?"
"You mean history?"
"No. I'm talking about folklore, fairy tales, legends."
Clockwork eyed his creation and began to examine all of Spark's mechanical features. He built him, he had the right to look. He also had the right to own the stallion that stood before him.
"You could call them facts. Anyway I brought you here to give you your mission a bit more personally this time. That and I don't want the rest of your brigade interfering."
"Why not? They can get it done."
"Yes, but you can get it done faster. Quite a pity you still don't know your full potential yet. Regardless of that, you'll leave here the same way you came and head to section three. Don't worry about being spotted, it's got cybernetics everywhere. Think of it like a field trip."
"What am I looking for there? Intel? Holo-scroll?"
"Intel, and more specifically a holo-map. Once you retrieve it open it and place your hoof in the center. You will know what to do from there. Now off you go."
Spark felt his eyelids start to sag and he closed them, thinking that by pleasing them hopefully they would stop irritating him. He reopened his eyes, and miraculously to say the least, he was back outside of Clockwork’s sector. It was amazing that such an inconspicuous pony like him, would have access to such advanced technology as a warper. Then again did that sort of tech even exist? He started to scrape the bowels of his mind for any information regarding the subject but he found none. Oddly enough in this search, he started to realize just how organized his mind was.
Not a single one of the creatures that surrounded him even bothered to pay the slightest bit of attention to the silver colored cytech who seemed to be lost in his surroundings.
He started to regain his bearings as his field of view shifted from the interesting marks on the ground, to the only path to sector one. A monorail. While he squinted his eyes at the tiny station at the end of the sector, a clear square with a bold black outline accented the station on the HUD. The smaller image eventually expanded into a full "screen" view of the said station. From this new viewpoint he felt like he could touch it's glass windows and holographic arrival and departure schedule. In a more perverse thought, he realized he could touch the rather curvacious mare that was in the rather long line.
His cybernetic hooves clopped across the asphalt floor as he made his way over to the station. After a few minutes of walking he reached the station and found the same mare, at the same window.
“Hi, how may I help you?”
She had a cold expression on her face, considerably strange since workers like her were supposed to be cheerful sort.
“One ticket to sector one. The fourteen o’ clock rail.”
The mare nodded and a pulled a ticket from the bottom of her counter, sliding it through the rather filthy slit in the glass window.
“Here you go.”
He looked at the ticket in disgust, already presuming it was just as filthy as the window and frankly, the rest of the station. It's tiled flooring was misaligned in several places, with dust filling the uneven crevices between each cracked tile. The walls had accumulated quite a bit of mold about them, and their putrid smell could have easily put any normal pony in a coma. Immune to the general disorder that cluttered the station Spark levitated his ticket and exited the place of business.
Upon exiting what he now deemed to be a pathetic structure he spotted the waiting area for the rail. It was completely deserted but unlike its accompanying station it was clean like the rest of the sector's streets. There was a lone black bench that faced the rail track and considering no one else was around he took a seat.
As his metallic body pressed against the bench a holographic display featuring everything from the time, temperature, and even the latest in tabloid news appeared. The time was shown in a cool blue with simplistic numerals, while the temperature was displayed in an out of place green. Spark glanced at the time in his HUD and felt a slight sense of superiority over the same hologram.
Deep down he must have felt slightly guilty about looking down on something, be it organic or machine, but this time he didn't feel bad at all. He was right, he was the superior being. That didn't mean it was an excuse to act like it right? However, he wasn't acting like that in the first place so what was the problem?
The hologram faded out of sight as Spark felt the ground begin to shake rather violently. He watched in awe as the rail tracks shot up into the air to keep the rail so high in the air. Without warning, the waiting area flew up in the air to meet with the stationary train. He slid out of the bench and landed on the ground with a thump, breaking his concentration and causing his grime encrusted ticket to fall to the ground. He carefully and disdainfully picked up the ticket and carried to the train. As the train shone in the light with it's bright white coat of paint and it's reflective windows, an orange changeling slid open the two doors and took Spark's ticket without question, paying no attention to it's filth and placing it a blue carrying bag where presumably the rest of the tickets lay.
Satisfied, the changeling guided the new passenger to one of the many seats that the train held. Considering the time of day it didn't come as a surprise to see nopony else on the train. Anyone who would have normally been on the train had probably made it to their destination already and were enjoying a meal. When was the last time he eat anyway? A few days ago? No matter, a helping of bullets and magic was enough to satisfy him.
As he took his seat he felt the train glide forward on it's magnetic rail, and it became evident that every chair or bench from here on out had some sort of sensor in it. He could have easily been wrong in his assumption having never even visited the capital before, but why not take a guess.
After tiring of fantasising about Sector one's amenities the fleeting scenery became much more interesting. The skyscrapers and the occasional bodies of water that separated the wealthier sectors flew by quickly, but so quick that he noticed just how bad his sector was in comparison to the rest. And strangely enough, his was above average, a good sector. These sectors, they were so complex and large, royal even. Stranger still, they weren't monotonous like the rest of the poorer sectors, they were unique and styled. And this was only sector fifty.
