//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Questions // Story: Of Guns, Mechs And Magic [Being rewritten in 'A Pilot's Search'] // by Solarus44 //------------------------------// Sol woke up to the sound of birds. Getting up, he looked out the window to see a flock of them flying through the sky. 'Its so beautiful out here,' Sol thought, 'Makes me miss Australia and Harmony.' Sol sat back down on the bed, thinking of his two homes. 'I wonder if I'll ever see them ever again, if I'll ever see the end of the IMC, if I'll ever see mum again,' Sol was snapped out of his thoughts by a knocking on his door. Opening the door, he found Twilight standing there. "It's 7:30!" Twilight looked excited, "Follow me!" Twilight walked away with Sol right behind her. They entered a room with a table. "Please, take a seat, what would you like for breakfast?" Twilight asked, "Oh! And what can your species eat?" Sol thought about his answer, he didn't want to scare her, but he would have to tell her the truth "Well, humans are... Uh... Omnivorous." "So you can eat meat too?" Twilight asked, a bit disgusted. "You sound surprisingly calm," Sol was genuinely surprised. "Well the griffons eat meat as well, so I may be a bit disgusted, but I am not scared or horrified." "Thank you for your understanding, I'll have a salad please." Twilight repeated his order to a cook who had waited patiently. It wasn't long until the food was brought out, they ate in silence. Upon finishing, Sol gave an appreciative burp. "My compliments to the chef." Twilight giggled, before burping herself. "Now can we talk about your species? And would you like the rest of the girls here as well?" Twilight asked. "It is only fair, after yesterday." Twilight nodded and teleported away. It wasn't long until Twilight returned with the other five, each sitting down in a chair. "Well let's start, how about you tell us about yourself Sol?" Twilight levitated a note and pen. "Well, to start with, I'm a Titan Pilot, someone who pilots these giant mechs called Titans. Titans are metal humanoids, humanoid means they have the same body shape as a human, who tower over humans at 7.3 meters tall on average." The Ponies were in awe at this. "What magic creates such a thing?" Twilight asked, pen at the ready. "Humans don't have magic, we simply have our intelligence, curiosity and hands," Sol explained. "No magic! Just how primitive is your society?" Twilight was shocked. "Well, your society is far more primitive to ours," Sol was slightly offended at Twilights comment. "Whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked. "Humans, only sixty years after we invented the first machine that could fly, travelled to our moon." "What! Your lying!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "It's true, and that was a long time ago. Now, we colonise planets," Sol was looking rather smug. "So your species can travel to other planets! Amazing!" Twilight was recording all of this. "Back to the Titans, Titans are used for a multitude of tasks, such as agriculture, logistics, shipping and salvage, deep space search and rescue, cargo transport and construction. However, the most famous use of the Titan is military." "Military? What enemies do you have that you would need such behemoths?" All of the Ponies were very interested now. "Each other." Sol got out of his seat, "Now from my research, I have noticed that the only wars that Ponies have fought has been with other species, such as the Changelings. But until I came here, humans were the only known sentient creatures. Wars are started amongst us for many reasons: religion, land, marriage disputes, resources and much others." "So what does your Titan do?" Twilight started to sound suspicious. "Military. I'm not gonna honeycoat it, I've killed a lot of people and done some horrible things, but it was all for a cause." "How could you kill your own kind!" Rainbow Dash shouted angrily. "Because, I live in a recently discorvered group of Solar Systems called The Frontier. The Frontier is currently being invaded by the IMC. They are stealing our homes, our food, our livelihood. And all so they can make some good dollar. I originally didn't want to join, but my sister did. And one day, she died, while I was at home sitting on the couch playing our favourite game," Sol stared at Rainbow, "We received her Pilot helmet, and I signed right up. I signed up to prevent other sisters and brothers from dying for a companies pay check. I signed up to restore peace to The Frontier. Tell me this, if a group of Ponies rebelled against Princess Celestia, and all five of your friends were dead, what would you do?" Rainbows glare softened, and proceeded to look at the ground. Sol sat back down and decided to bring the conversation back on track. "Titans are equipped with entire weapons systems, ranging from tracking rockets to a giant laser," Sol switched his gaze between all of them, "A Titan is tough, has incredible firepower, and is agile. They are the ultimate weapons of war." "Tracking rockets? What are those?" Twilight asked. "Ah yes, I almost forgot. In this world you still use rather primitive weapons, humans have much more advanced methods of beating each other over the head," Sol pulled out his Wingman, "This is a B3 Wingman, it shoots out a metal projectile at high speeds to pierce skin and armour." All the Ponies were disgusted, with Fluttershy looking a little green. "That should give you some idea of what weapons we use. But now, onto Pilots!" Sol had a giant grin on his face, "Pilots are the apex predator of the battlefield. Where a grunt sees a wall, a Pilot sees a flanking route. Pilots are equipped with jump kits. Jump kits allow Pilots to be insanely mobile. With running on walls, double jumping and the ability to survive any fall, a Pilot is a grunts worse nightmare." "I'd like to see how fast you can go!" Rainbow shouted excited. "Later, when we are outside. Pilots are also physically stronger than any other human, with one kick, a pilot can kill a human." "Ah'd like ta see if you're stronger than an earth pony!" Applejack stood up, "Hoof wrestle!" Sol stood up and walked to to the other side of the table. "Ok, but I don't think I'm that strong." Sol put his wrist against Applejack's hoof. Rainbow started the countdown. "3! 2! 1! GO!" Sol instantly pushed her hoof all the way to the table. "What!" Applejack stared at her hoof in surprise. "I also forgot to mention a Pilot can destroy a robot in one punch, tear off a Titan's panel, and rip out a Titan battery. Pilots are modified physically beyond the boundaries of the human body." "This is so fascinating," Twilight whispered, barely audible over the scratching of her pen. Sol thought about telling them about tactical abilities, but then remembered that although these Ponies aren't the Solar Knights, he couldn't tell them all his tricks. "I have a question!" Everyone turned to see Pinkie Pie getting up from her chair. "This is a very serious question, one that shall decide my opinion of you," Pinkie gave Sol a stern look, "Do humans... have parties?" Sol stared blankly at Pinkie for a few moments, before cracking up in laughter. "Oh bugger me, I was not expecting that question," Sol managed to compose himself, "But yes, humans do party... a lot." "Well humans are okay in my book!" Pinkie announced before sitting back down. "This is all well and good, but how did you get here?" Rarity asked. Sol pulled out the Grizzly Device. "With this. I was on a mission to retrieve this from an IMC facility, it's a time machine." "WHAT!" All the mares screamed in unison. "I don't know how it works, so don't ask me that. But when I retrieved it, a nearby energy wave washed over us. I accidentally activated the Device, and when it tried to time travel, it transported us here," Sol put the Grizzley Device away. "What do you mean by 'us'?" Fluttershy spoke her first words this morning. "Well my Titan, Beck, came with me." "Where is your Titan?" Twilight asked. Sol thought about his answer carefully. "Beck is in the Badlands currently, with the...uh ... Ponies who took us in. She wouldn't have been able to fit in the chariot." "Where were you headed anyway?" Twilight asked. "To Canterlot, to speak to Princess Celestia about my predicament," Sol quickly thought that one up. "Oh! I'll just send a letter for her to come here!" Twilight said cheerfully. Sol just started at her blankly. 'Oh shit. I've done screwed myself now,' Sol thought, "Can you send the letter tomorrow? I'd like to get acquainted with Ponyville first." "Of course!" Twilight seemed happy, "I guess that brings our questioning to an end... for now at least!" As the mares all got up to leave, Sol could only think of one thing. 'What the hell do I do now?"