3-10 Recap · 9:02pm Dec 13th, 2015
Nodding, Twilight turned towards the north end of the camp where the mountain towered overhead, and the commander of Whitewater waited with his hostages. “C’mon. We don’t have much time.” The others followed her.
“Just…” the sound of Gilda’s voice caused Twilight to look back over her shoulder. “Please… don’t kill the commander, okay?”
“Thank you, commander,” Twilight said as behind her, Washington, Simmons, and the Blues lowered their rifles.
“I didn’t do this for you,” Godfrey said as he loaded another magazine into his pistol and put it away. “Now go, before I change my….”
The commander was interrupted by the sound of a single shot from a Battle Rifle. The whole world seemed to go silent as Godfrey’s eye grew wide. He grunted in pain as he clutched his chest, and the snow beneath him turned red. The Whitewater commander staggered backwards as more of his blood started to seep through his talon and onto the snow. With one final desperate gasp for air, the big one-eyed griffon’s hind leg slipped over the side of the cliff, bringing him down on the ground. Twilight and her friends could only watch as Godfrey Graywing slid over the side of the cliff and disappeared from view.
Dizzy and nauseous, Twilight backed away from the edge of the cliff and turned towards her friends. All of them had turned to face the two newcomers standing just down the path that brought them up the mountain. A maize unicorn mare with a red and yellow mane like fire stood beside a human in gray ODST armor with blue detail on his helmet and shoulder pads. The latter held a smoking BR in his hands while the former studied the group with a pair of cold, cyan eyes.
“Thank you, Donovan,” the unicorn said, shaking her head. “What a disappointment. Why did we even hire those idiots in the first place?”
“Alright, listen up!” Sunset Shimmer spoke loudly and with authority. “For those of you who are still unaware, the CO of this company is dead.”
The sellswords around her remained silent, but Sunny noticed several nervous glances being exchanged between the various creatures. Sunset Shimmer started pacing along the assembled company as she continued.
“He was gunned down in cold blood by the enemy while trying to make terms with them.”
Beside her, Lieutenant Graywing’s knuckles cracked as she curled them into fists, and Sunny Side noticed she was trembling.
“In spite of this, our deal with Whitewater remains unchanged.” Sunset glanced over at the Recovery Agent at her side. “In fact, after talking to my friends at Project Freelancer, we’ve come to an agreement. In light of Commander Graywing’s determination to see this job through to the end, we’ve agreed to carry out our end of the bargain now.”
The Recovery Agent stepped forward next. “All of you will board the Pelican dropship to your left, which will fly you up to our flagship. Once there, each of you will undergo physical and psychological evaluation. Based on that, the Counselor of Project Freelancer will select the best candidates for our new experimental program.”
Sarge took another glance at what remained of Lopez. “Both of ya tell me: Do you have a stake in any of these pony critters?”
“Eh. Fluttershy’s not so bad,” Grif said casually.
“Yeah, and that Rarity chick and I sorta get along now,” Tucker said.
“Then tell me this: You willin’ to die for ‘em?”
Grif and Tucker were silent.
“An’ do you think any of them are willin’ to die for you?”
No response.
“Precisely. Because despite all of their talk about the ‘magic of friendship,’ them ponies ain’t our friends. We ain’t part of their world.” Sarge picked up his tool case and the white helmet beside it. “We were lucky to have gotten outta this one alive, but how long do ya reckon our luck will hold?.”
Grif and Tucker exchanged a look as Sarge started walking back towards the castle, only stopping to say a few last words. “I don’ know ‘bout either of you, but I don’ fancy dyin’ for a world that I got no stake in.”
The sounds of distant shouts in the direction of the ancient facility drew their attention as the rest of the Freelancer forces that entered the Dyson Sphere started doubling back.
“We need to get moving,” Washington said, going to the holographic control panel and summoning the slipspace rift.
Church glanced at the unconscious pony in his grasp. “Wash, can you carry him?”
“‘S much as I… really… fuckin’ hate to say it… I’ll just slow you guys down…” Simmons said wearily. “I don’t wanna be the asshole that gets everyone killed....” With a grunt of pain, Simmons reached around and pulled the rocket launcher from his back. “Do you think… if I blow up that control panel… it’ll keep those assholes from following you guys out?”
Washington gave it some thought. “I’m sure it’ll at least buy us time.”
“Go then,” Simmons said, then gave a sad sigh. “I’ve always wanted to die alone after telling a bunch of people I hate that I was right... but this isn’t quite how I imagined it.”
“Go. I’ll watch your back from up here!” Washington said.
Nodding, Church held the unconscious Twilight tightly before he jumped and slid down the icy ledge, landing roughly on the slope at the bottom. He then ran into the trees, focused on his sprint and wary of his surroundings. Church was so busy looking for enemies in his immediate vicinity, he failed to check his six. He didn’t notice when Washington adjusted his sights to put him in the center of his targeting reticle. He didn’t expect the sudden BR burst that entered his back, sending him and Twilight tumbling to the snow.
As Washington lowered his smoking rifle, a dozen Freelancer soldiers reached the summit and the circling Falcon came down for a landing. The soldiers all surrounded the Freelancer, weapons raised and shouting at him to drop his weapon and show them his hands.
“All of you stand down!” a voice shouted over the rotors of the Falcon as a fiery unicorn mare and a Recovery Agent hopped out.
“He’s with us!” Captain Donovan barked, and with a few exchanged glances, the gray soldiers all lowered their weapons.
“Nice work, Recovery One. You played your part well,” Sunset Shimmer said as she and Donovan approached Washington. “I guess the Director was wrong not to trust you with this after all.”
Washington said nothing, merely giving the pair a curt nod. Donovan addressed a few of his men.
“Collect the targets,” he ordered.
“There’s more,” Celestia explained to the other ponies. “If you’ll recall, the Director and Sunset Shimmer found the Forerunner ruins but kept me in the dark about it. That was because they were trying to integrate that technology into the Ancora M.I.
“The Forerunner site they discovered was a repopulation facility: A place equipped with pony DNA, embryos, and the technology required to create living, flesh-and-blood ponies. The Director and Sunset Shimmer actually created a living, biological construct, and what was more, they started fragmenting it the same way they did Alpha.
“Fortunately, they were only able to make one fragment by the time I put a stop to the project and confiscated Ancora. Still, I had a living M.I. in my hooves, and I needed to hide it should the Director or Sunset Shimmer ever return to find it.
“That is why Twilight is in such danger. It’s why her magical ability is so much stronger and more versatile than any ordinary unicorn. It’s why Gamma teleported her to Blood Gulch at the start of all this—right into Project Freelancer’s hands. Why they’ve been pursuing her relentlessly all this time. It’s also why I felt obligated to take her under my wing after the incident during her entrance exam.”
For the first time during the conversation Celestia’s face softened, and her look turned sad. “Why I came to love her as if I were her own mother—because in a way, that’s exactly what I am to her.”
This...this is a 3-9 recap.
3616747 It's a recap for 3-10 by using scenes from 3-9 (and other chapters, but mostly 3-9 because thats when a lot of shit happened)