//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 Project Horizons 
// Story: Freedoms Call 
// by Bronycommander 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 10: Project Horizons


After the Resistance managed to destroy the airships, the KPA pulled out of the city, allowing US Forces to liberate it. Scotch Tape rested at Independence Hall, as the Resistance had made a temporary base out of it. Parrish was confined to a wheelchair due his injuries but his spirit to lead the Resistance was unbroken. The KPA had managed to break Walker, making him demoralizing the Resistance with his speeches, causing man to desert. Scotch Tape, along with Brady, Elizabeth, Logan and Aiden, joined Parrish as he and a radio operator tried to find out from where the broadcasts were coming.

“Thanks for coming. You heard the latest? Another forty fighters deserted overnight. Walker’s Propaganda is killing us.” Parrish asked them.

“Parrish! I got it! The signals coming from right here.” The radio operator reported success and Jack looked with the others on a map.

“This is it, the old WDED radio building. This is our chance to eliminate him.” He saw an opportunity to take Walker out

“What?! You can’t be serious! He saved Brady’s and my life, he started all of this! Now you want to kill him?!” Scotch Tape couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“His broadcasts have to stop. A rescue is too risky. I’m sorry you two, but he has to die.” Parrish countered.

“No. That isn’t what I joined up for. We have to do better than that.” Brady protested.

“Indeed. We should at least try to rescue him.” Elizabeth added.

“Al right, you’ve earned a shot at this…but you’re on your own. And if you fail then we do it my way, you understand?” Jack asked them.

“Whatever you say.” Brady replied.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Another voice interrupted them from behind.

Turning around, they saw a squad of US soldiers walking in, Sergeant Tanner was leading them.

“The President personally ordered that Walker shall be rescued. His speeches kept the People of America alive, he’s too important for our cause to push the KPA out of our country.” Parrish was surprised.

“Well, in that case, I don’t want to disagree if the order comes from the President.”

“Your friend Brady is welcome to join our attempt to rescue him.”

“Okay. Mind if we join you, Brady?” Logan asked.

“Sure thing. Scotch Tape, appreciate your help but you should stay here for your own safety.”

“Okay. Be careful out there.” The filly was worried for their safety.

“We will, Scotch Tape.” The woman ruffled her mane before they left.

“So, what could I do now?” She wondered.

“Well Scotch Tape, given how you helped the Resistance here, Central Command thought you could assist us in liberating San Francisco.” Tanner explained.

“Isn’t this too risky for me?” Being on the frontline would be too dangerous for her.

“No, you’re not on the front, behind it, doing support tasks like repairing vehicles operating radios and such, so we can guarantee your safety. Besides, you’re looking for your friend Chung, right?”

“Yes, why?” She asked with hope.

“Well, the KPA is gathering most of their troops there, it is likely that he got relocated here.”

She got it. That way, she could meet him again.

“Scotch Tape! You did it!” Amy’s voice’s ringed in her ears as the young girl entered the room with her mother, smiling.

They hugged each other. “Yes, I saved the city. How did you get here?”

“The Army provided us with gas masks so we could get to you. We are very proud of you, young filly.” Kate explained. Scotch Tape blushed, looking to the ground.

“G-glad to hear it. You heard about Chung?”

“Yes we have. Good luck and be careful, sister.” They did a last hug.

“I will, sister.” Then she walked out with the soldiers, to a UH-60 that waited outside, rotors spinning.

As he climbed into the air, the pony looked out of the window, looking at the Red Zones and gassed areas, knowing it would take a long time to rebuild them and removing the gas. The ride towards the east was quiet, none of the soldiers said a word. Even in the air, they needed Hazmat suits to protect themselves as the chopper crossed the radiated river. The Black Hawk landed near a small camp where 2 Humvees were parked, together with one LAV-25 and a M1A3 Abrams. She and the soldiers that were traveling with her got decontaminated here before the convoy packed up and moved towards San Francisco. She got ordered into the APC, the seats were comfortable. Also here, the soldiers stayed quiet.

It was strange to her that none of them said a word, given a talking filly travelled with them.

“So…does anybody of you find it odd that a talking pony is with you?” She asked to break up the silence. One of the soldiers, having black hair and green eyes spoke up,

“Well, we’re nervous about the upcoming battle. San Francisco is the political and economic heart of the GKR occupation, so Central Command knows that the KPA will heavily defend it with everything they have. But if we can liberate the city, it would be a major blow for the Koreans.” Scotch Tape read the name tag. Private Jackson.

“I understand. It’s a big risk, there's a lot at stake.” She replied.

“Yes. It will be a hard battle, I’m sure of that. But I promise you with my honor as soldier, I keep you safe.” He smiled, showing he was honest.”

“Appreciated. I hope Chung and Chang are still alive.” She cared deeply for them.

“I’m sure they are, Scotch Tape. Tell me, it is true about your background?” He asked with curiosity.

“Of course it is.” She told the soldiers how she got here, about her former home and her father and friends, leaving the dark and suggestive parts out of it.

Jackson whistled. “I’m impressed. You’re really made a name for yourself. And here too.” She blushed.

“I know. I hope they can save Walker.”

“I have no doubt they will succeed. If you managed to drive the KPA out of Philadelphia, then we can drive them out of the rest of our country!” He exclaimed with Determination.

“You’re right, we can do this!” she raised her hoof into the air.

“That’s the sprit!” In the evening, the US convoy set up a camp for the night, soldiers stood guard.

“Goodnight my dear, sweet dreams.” The Private wished a goodnight as he walked out to take the night guard.

While the green filly could sleep well, she wondered how the battle would be, if Chung would survive and what would happen after the battle was over. Even if US Military would drive out the invaders, they hadn’t the resources to invade the Greater Korean Republic. And it would be very lossy, she had no doubt of that. This also made her wondering how the Great War could have proceeded had been there no mega spells, it was an interesting question. Due being forced to always be on the move, in order to evade and engage the KPA, the troops moved out early in the next morning, as time was short.

Like back then with Chung, car wrecks and dead cars scattered the roads as the convoy travelled along it. What Scotch Tape found pretty smart was that several supply crates were secured to the bodies of the tanks, carrying much of the supplies, a smart idea to improve.

“How’s the plan when we reach San Francisco?” She asked the soldier.

“Well, we combine all our forces, a multi service, joint operation between the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The Navy attacks the Korean fleet guarding the Golden Gate, fighting through, and then delivering their Marines directly onto the San Francisco shoreline, while the ground troops take key islands and bridges in the San Francisco littoral. The Air force gives air support. We head for Sausalito at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, where we have set up a forward operations base.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

“Yes, but no plan survives first contact with the enemy as Sun Tzu, a military strategist said this once.”

“I see, makes sense. I hope this works.” She replied.

“I hope so too. I got a wife and child in the still free east. I hope I get to see them again.” Jackson sounded sad, showing that he misses them.

“When was the last time you saw them?”

“Two years. I haven’t seen them since this war started in 27. With liberating San Francisco, we can turn this damn war around and I hopefully can see them again soon.”

“I pray for you that you will see them again. Amy’s father was not so lucky. He died in the first days of the invasion.”

“I knew him, a polite and friendly soldier, never left a comrade behind. He was my best friend.” He suppressed a tear.

“Sorry to hear that. Tell me…was it quick?” She hoped he wouldn’t be upset by this.

“Yes it was. A bullet to the head from a 718 soldier if I remember correctly. Intel says that a large contingent of the 718 Division is assigned to defend the Golden Gate Bridge from infiltration or attack. You have seen how they fight, brutal and aggressive, they fight to the last man rather than to surrender.” The filly shivered.

”Yes, I have seen it. Completely merciless.” The driver interrupted them,

“Hope you don't mind some music.”

“Ah, breaker one-nine, this here’s the Rubber Duck. You gotta copy on me, Pig Pen, c’mon? Ah, yeah, 10-4. Pig Pen, fer shure, fer shure. By golly, it’s clean clear to Flag Town, c’mon. Yeah, that’s a big 10-4 there, Pig Pen, yeah we definitely got the front door, good buddy. Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy…” It was a country song, the soldiers sang along, Scotch Tape did too, it sounded nice. After the song was over, the soldiers smiled as Jackson spoke up,

“Convoy, 1978, damn good movie and song.”

“I haven’t seen it but I believe you. Star Trek the First Contact was a good movie for its time.” The young child replied with a grin.

“I agree, very well made, they made the Borg look way scarier than they were in the Next Generation.”

“With that laser they really look scary, I admit that.”

“Yes they are. Gave me nightmares after I first saw the Movie.” The filly shivered for a moment.

“Me too.” Jackson smiled and patted her.

“Good thing that they aren’t real, right? Despite the age, my kid is a big fan of it, the Borg his favorite villains.”

“I can understand that, they’re really interesting, like what their actual origin was and so on. I played Syphon Filter and Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit with my sister, both games are from the late 90s but really fun, I enjoyed every second of it.” She smiled at the memory.

“I played them too when I was your age, good times, good times. I also liked to play RTS games in my childhood.”

“Quite the gamer I see.” The filly commented. Jackson looked down, blushing.

“Yeah, I was. But that also got me in the military. Of course, reality is different than Shooter and RTS games.

“Yes it is. While I travelled with Chung, I dreamed of Need for speed, despite I didn’t knew of that back then.”

“Sometimes, our dreams come up with the strangest things. I dreamed once I was a member of the Royal guard in Equestria, still a human but wearing the Golden Armor, under the command of Captain Shining Armor.”

“That must be an interesting dream, being the only human in the Royal Guard.”

“Yes it was, Scotch Tape. Could you imagine that your father and friends could be in the Royal Guard if the war never happened?”

“I can imagine that, if it goes well is another thing.” As Scotch Tape tried to imagine it, the thought that Blackjack would be mostly drunk on duty couldn’t get out of her head. The convoy came to an abandoned checkpoint.

“It’s quiet, too quiet, stay sharp.” Tanner warned the tank crew with caution, as the tank busted the gate down and exploded, the turret was blown off.

“Ambush!” The soldiers got out of the APC, securing the area, while Scotch Tape stayed inside, looking on her PipBuck startled by the explosion. Strangely, there was nothing hostile on the display, only the yellow bars that represented the US soldiers.

“The only possibility would be that he drove over a landmine but that would never be enough to destroy an Abrams.” Jackson wondered as he scanned the area with a worried expression about their young helper. As Scotch Tape stepped out, a red bar flashed on her PipBuck, spotting a RPG soldier on a nearby hill. “RPG!” She yelled but her warning came too late. The KPA soldier fired, she dived out of the way as the missile headed for the LAV, destroying it, the explosion caused her ears to ring and she was stunned by it. As her hearing returned, the spinning of the Humvees’ miniguns greeted her ears, perforating the enemy soldier before he could fire another shot. As the filly got up, many red bars from the right and left appeared on her PipBuck, coming out of the woods.

“Where they coming from?!” The Private fired his M4, Scotch Tape went into the checkpoint house for cover, pressing herself against the wall, staying calm yet worried about Jackson. She peeked carefully out of the window, the KPA was outnumbering the US forces.

“Scotch Tape, run! We’ll hold them off!” Tanner yelled. Without a word, she did, not thinking she would see Jackson ever again. The filly fled into the woods, never looking back. She kept running, running as fast as her legs could take her. In her panic, fearing an enemy squad might be following her, she overlooking a root, her hoof got caught in it and she fell down into a steep incline.

“Ow! Ouch! Ow!” She fell down the hill, trying to catch herself without success as she rolled and tumbled down. With a painful thud, Scotch Tape landed on the ground.

“OUCH!” She screamed as her entire body ached but nothing was broken. The filly got up, brushing the dust of herself, looking around, the area looked like a farm, decayed buildings, water towers, a tractor, a giant satellite dish was in the background. Her PipBuck showed nothing.

“I guess it’s abandoned.” She searched the buildings for anything useful, starting with the house where the farmer would live. It looked cozy, the walls had seen better days, the shelves were filled with books, some of them were scattered on the ground. “Anyone here?” She called out. On the table in the living room was a journal. She decided to read it.

Letter Home 17th May 1966

 

Darling,

Construction of the Base is almost complete, I can't wait to get back home. Been so weird sleeping all day and working all night. And I won't miss them punishing us just for leaving a hammer in the open. Talk about paranoid. I guess they got good reason though. Nice yo think I did a little bit to make us all safer. The farm facade should look fine from the air; the fake hay bales are a nice touch. Except Willis screwed the pooch and ordered 300 instead of 30. You should have seen the General's face when all those trucks started showing up!

Anyway should be back next week, I hope you are doing ok, and haven't started seeing other guys while I'm stuck out here!!! I know they won't let me send this, but I like to write them anyway.

 

Love, Hank



300 hay bales instead of 30? That must be pretty awkward, yet hilarious! She giggled at it before realizing something.

That appears to be an underground base. Should check if there’s an entrance somewhere. Should take a look at the basement.

She walked into the kitchen to the basement, it was dark, so she activated her flashlight. In said basement was an odd steel door, out of place for a farm. “That must be the entrance.” She looked around seeing a red glowing button hidden behind a crate. After she pushed the crate out of the way, she pushed the button, it switched from red to green and the door opened, sliding aside.

Okay, now let’s…

Out of nowhere, a white light blended her, causing her to cover her eyes.

What the...

Once the light was gone, she uncovered her eyes, not believing what she saw before her. A Unicorn pony with green coat and a long blonde mane was lying on the ground, apparently exhausted from something. According to her PipBuck, the pony was not a threat as it was represented by a yellow bar. Upon closer inspection, she saw that a weapon which seemed to be a bow was next to the unicorn.

How… Who… The filly wondered, never have seen something like this before.

“Ugh…my head…” The stallion rubbed his head, slowly getting up.

“You ok, sir?” She asked the unicorn. “Do you want some water?” She took her canteen out of her saddlebag.

“Ah, thank you.” The green pony levitated the canteen out of her hoof, only now, she saw his eyes and was for some reason terrified. He had no pupils or anything that would be similar to it. Instead, they were completely light blue, fluctuating like water, making her wonder if he could even see something.

“Thank you. What’s your name?” He gave the canteen back.

“S-scotch Tape Sir.” She stuttered out.

“Pleasure. I’m Battle brother Fletcher Fray, Eternal Knight, sworn to the Princess of the night.” He introduced himself with a friendly voice but his expression was neutral.

Eternal knight?

“Sorry, but I never heard of the Eternal Knights.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me, as we are barely mentioned in history books. Ask anypony who knows, we don't exactly...fit in.”

“No, I mean, there were never any Eternal Knights serving under Princess Luna, either in the Great War or before it.”

“Great War?” Fletcher Fray asked dumbfounded. “There were many wars. The biggest and most costly war in Equestria was the Civil War.” She thought for a moment, realizing that his Equestria must be different from hers.

“I think we might be from different Equestrias.” She then explained what the Great War was, where she came from and how she got here. The Knight listened interested to her words.

“Impressive…In the civil war, we invented many new machines and weapons but never such destructive weapons like the Megaspell. My condolences for what happened to you.” His voice was slightly shocked, his expression too.

“It’s okay, Sir Fray. Would you mind to tell me about you and the civil war?” She feared he would be upset about it.

“Well, I descended from a proud family of accomplished war leaders, earning my rank defending my troops and family in the struggles of war. This bow belonged once to my father, who passed it on to me. Where I am from, the banishment of Nightmare Moon had been seen as betrayal and the ponies who favored Princess Luna took up arms and began a crusade against Celestia, founding the Lunar Republic, comprised of countless soldiers and commanders across the world, good and evil. They were led to believe that the Eternal Night would unite the world. That the sun and moon would become one and carry out the purposes of both. One Princess with all the power in the world would mean Equestria was safe from all threats. The War ended with a truce which eventually turned into peace. There was no winner.”

“Th-that’s amazing and terrifying!” The filly was somehow fascinated by it.

“Yes, terrifying indeed. As for how I got here, long before the war, there was as an incredibly powerful sorceress who used an army of automatons, deadly robots to fight in her war. After it ended, nopony was ever able to find out where they got stored, until I and my two comrades found one of those hideouts.

I researched it and found out that some parts of those robots were procured using portals. I was curious if those still work and tried it out and…here I am.”

“I guess the spell failed, can’t imagine they would get some parts from humanity.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“Anyway, Sir Fletcher, we have better chances if we work together.” Scotch Tape suggested.

“Agreed and Fletcher is just fine. I keep you safe with my honor, you have my word, Scotch Tape.” He gave her an honest smile.

“Appreciated. I was about to check this base for supplies. The Emergency power is still running, we should find the main power room.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

They both entered, coming to a dark corridor, Scotch Tape shining with her flashlight, Fletcher Fray casted a flashlight like spell, his trusty bow ready to fire on anything that might be still in here.

“Looks like the emergency power is still running. We should find the main power room.” She suggested.

“Agreed. Stay behind me.” The Knight replied, taking the lead.

While they walking down the seemingly endless hallway which was fallen into disrepair, some boxes and cleaning equipment scattered around on the floor, Scotch Tape asked, “If you don’t mind, Fletcher, what are the Eternal Knights and how can you still be alive after 1000 years?” She felt ashamed for asking it. The Eternal Knight took it with serenity.

“Well, the Eternal Knights are the bodyguards of Princess Luna.”

“Isn’t that the Royal Guard?”

“The Royal Guard is a conventional armed force. We're more like...shall we say...specialists. Nopony ever sees us or hears from us but we've been beside Princess Luna ever since she returned on that fateful Nightmare Night”. There is White Wolf, a deadly Pegasus Mare, skilled with knives but caring on the inside. And our leader, Midnight Blade, a bat pony, as his names says, he uses a blade to fight. He is a talented planner and manipulator, the best leader I and Wolf could ask for. For why I’m still alive, we Eternal Knights swore a vow. To not rest until we placed the Princess of the Night on the throne of Equestria. After Princess Luna returned, that vow could never be upheld, so we thought we should be her Bearers. Back then, a sickness named Ceraporosis which afflicted many victims. There was no cure, so I, together with a friend of mine wanted to find a cure.

He had the idea of using nanomites, have you heard of them?”

“Indirectly, I only know the Breezies used them.

“Correct. Nanomites are natural organisms, similar to Paraspites. They live in nests and are drawn to decaying flesh. Nanomites produce chemicals that dispel bacteria and viruses from the flesh they consume which makes dead bodies decompose a lot slower but when they feed on a live body, it heals and repairs the area they leave the chemicals on. Ceraporosis causes decay in the hooves, wing membranes and horns, so nanomites work to repair the deteriorating flesh. One simply opens a wound on the area near the infected hooves, wings or horn and brushes it against the nanomite nest, but it requires constant exposure to the nanomites and often, the virus can build up an immunity. So, we both worked to create a magically-enhanced breed of nanomite that can be let into the bloodstream similar to injection. They are injected as eggs so once they hatch, they treat the body like a nest and work to repair any sign of deterioration, even those that come from old age. However, it is risky as it can cause to go into shock or a heart failure. Despite this risk, I volunteered to test them, had to remain in a state of meditative repose for almost half a year to stop the nanomites causing my body to lock down. In the end it worked, I was the only test subject who has lived this long. As for my eyes, nanomites affect the pigment in a pony's eyes, coat and sometimes mane. That’s why my eyes are that way but my vision hasn’t changed. Thanks to them, wounds regenerate, as long as I’m not too badly wounded.” Only now, Scotch Tape noticed that his coat had dark stripy pattern around his back and shoulders, his horn had also a dark shade.

“Reminds me of nanobots.”

“Yes, there are similarities between nanomites and nanobots. I was quite surprised when I saw my changed eyes for the first time. Reminded me when I first met Midnight for the first time, unlike other bat ponies, he has colorless eyes, it took me some time to get used to it.”

“I can imagine that.” Scotch Tape was fascinated by it. They came to a closed door to the left and a corridor to the right. A sign on the wall showed that to the left was the control room, while to the right was the power room, along with Barracks, Storage and Engineering. As the door to the power room was also closed, they climbed through hatch in the barrack to the storage room, then through another hatch that leaded to the power room. The filly saw a red glowing button on a generator and pressed it. The light switched to green and the nights on the generator jumped to life. “I think I did something.”

“It seems you restored the external power. Let’s restore the main power. Looks like the current power level for the base is displayed here.” Two displays were to the left and right of the button Scotch Tape had pressed.

The left display showed the power was at minimum with three green bars, the maximum was at 10. The right display, showed letters in alphabetic order from A to H. A was active with three green points.

“Looks like we need to switch four circuit breakers on.” The Stallion figured out.

“Okay, H looks like a good start, has three points like A” Scotch Tape walked to it and pressed the button. 3 green points lighted up, displayed the power level of the circuit breaker. “Jeez. What would have happened if the Soviets had attacked huh guys?” She spoke to herself.

“I don’t want to imagine.” Fletcher replied subconsciously as he pressed the button for the B generator. An alert sounded, a red light with the word “overload” lighted up on the circuit breaker and the power system rebooted to minimal power. “Whoa! Think I overloaded it.”

“Then we choose other outputs.” The filly suggested pressing H again, Fletcher pressed F. The system overloaded again.

“We putting too much power in, we need to choose lower outputs.”

“Yes, Fletcher, let’s try H and G.” She pressed H, the knight G.

Overload.

“Dammit! Too much power!” She complained. “Ok. H and D.” As Fletcher pressed D, had only one point. He tried C, overloading it once more.

“Aw not again.”

“Let’s try it with H, D and E.” The filly pressed H again, Fletcher pressed D and E.

The generators made a powering up sound and the lights came to life. “Got it! Not just a pretty face.” He mumbled.

“We did it! Main power is back online!” Scotch Tape cheered, raising her hoof for a bro hoof. Fletcher returned it with a light smile.

“Ok, let’s go to the control room.” Fletcher took the lead again, the lights in the hallway started to turn on, so they turned their flashlights off.

The main control room consisted of several terminals, and a large monitor with a console under it in the middle of the room.

“I wonder for what the base could have been served for. Doesn’t look like a silo for a nuke.” Scotch Tape looked around, trying to think which terminal she should use first.

The filly took the terminal to her right. It contained emails, presumably from two of the workers on this base.

Hey Tyler, did you heard the news what happened in Riyadh?

Hey Wyatt, Yes I have, terrible. We lost over 200,000 men over there! This is a casualty the Military can never replace!

Well Tyler, I got called for a secret project that shall replace those losses.

Really? How?

That, I'm afraid, I cannot divulge. All I can tell you is that it is revolutionary in design. If it works, our enemies will fall wherever they may appear.

Makes me wonder, with all the budget cuts, how you have enough resources for this.

We have, Wyatt, you will see.

There were no replies after that. “Makes me curious what about this secret could be? You, Fletcher?” Scotch Tape had grown curious about it.

“I admit, I’m curious about it too.” His expression was one of wondering.

Scotch Tape checked the other messages, they were status updates about the project, making both wondering why they hadn’t been deleted.

I’m curious about the status of Project Horizons, care to tell me?

The sender was not shown, but both assumed it must be the leader of the project or a high ranking person while the receiver was Wyatt.

We’re working around the clock, sir. Project Horizons will be ready on schedule, promise.

Status?

We having some problems with connecting the inner parts to the control unit and establishing the internal link but we should solve them shortly.

Just make sure it gets done… for America’s sake.

Yes sir, the weapons should be there shortly.

“I wonder what kind of weapons they needed for Project Horizons.” Scotch Tape wondered about what that project was about.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound too... friendly.” Fletcher replied, unsure if they should continue.

“Okay, a few more messages, let’s see...” Scotch Tape tipped on the terminal.

Status?

The problems have been all solved, weapons are installed. The internal links are stable, it’s ready for combat testing. We did it.

Excellent. Meet me at the firing range. You’ve done good, for both America and the fallen soldiers.

Thank you! I’ll be sure to head out right away, sir!

The messages ended here, the date was 2nd September 2016.

“Hmm, I assume this was the date they tested it.”

“I think so too. Firing range, internal links, what in Equestria where they working on?” Fletcher wondered, his mind filled in confusion.

“This terminal hasn’t anything else. Hmm…” Scotch Tape walked to the monitor, checking its memory. “There appears to be a recording of the test, shall I play it?”

“Well, we have dug deep in, there’s no turning back now.” Fletcher was ready to face whatever Project Horizons was. Scotch Tape pressed the play button. The video showed a man in a military uniform with many awards, possibly a General, being led by two means in white coats, Scientists the two ponies assumed, through the base.

“I assure you General, Project Horizons will meet all your requirements.” One of the scientists said, having brown hair, his eyes were concealed by a pair of goggles.

“I hope so Mr. Archer, we spent millions of dollars into it, I expect that it is well spent.”

“It is well spent.” The other Scientist, having black hair and brown eyes, replied. He was Wyatt as his nametag showed.

They lead the General to a firing range, Wyatt pressed a button.

Instead of a normal firing range, the room started to glow, and several Persons in black clothes, looking like burglar appeared in the room that was separated with bulletproof glass from the speculator room. The filly figured out that this was more a simulator.

“The first model is inspired on the Knightscope K5 security robot of the company with the same name, but more efficient and better.” Archer explained as a gate opened and metallic steps were heard, a silhouette in form of what appeared to be a unicorn appeared. Scotch Tape’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped in dismay when the robot was fully visible. The robot was indeed a unicorn pony with a white coat made out of metal, a Red and black metal mane and red eyes. .It also had what appeared to be a blue security vest that made out the chest and had an Ace and Queen of Spades on the flank.

The robot resembled Blackjack in every detail.

But… how… what… Scotch Tape was lost for words, as well as Fletcher Fray.

He looked also surprised by it. “O…kay…”

“The security model is able to respond to intruders accordingly.” Archer explained as the pony robot started to patrol around the room, the burglar like persons were out of view. One of them tried to sneak past, the Blackjack robot turned around, facing him.

“Freeze! This is a restricted area! I ask you kindly to leave.” It ordered, the robot sounded exactly like Blackjack, having a cybernetic tone.

“It is programmed to use deadly force only when it is absolutely necessary.” The lead scientist explained. The intruder tried to run, a small flap on the left side of the robotic pony opened, a small barrel poked out. It fired what appeared to be a cable, the intruder got electrocuted, twitching before falling to the ground, unconscious.

“It is armed with a non-lethal Taser and a M9 for self-defense. The armor is strong enough to withstand any type of small caliber weaponry.”

A second intruder fired with a pistol on Blackjack’s counterpart, the bullets bounced off, leaving no damage at all. The enemy used a civilian as shield, the drone calmly said, “Drop your weapon and let the civilian go. This is your only warning.” The intruder did not oblige. The mechanical pony’s right fore hoof transformed into a hand, drawing said M9 from a mechanical internal holster, taking aim.

The hostage struggled giving the security robot a chance to take the hostage taker down. She then holstered it and walked up to the hostage. “Do you need medical attention?” the drone had a tone of concern in her voice.

“It is also equipped with an internal flashlight and scanner.” Archer sounded proudly as the light turned off, the drone’s eyes switched to yellow, illuminating the dark.

“There is no point in hiding.” She said, her horn glowed, a white light performed a 360 degree scan, detecting an intruder hiding in a locker.

“As you can see General, this security drone can assist guards during their watch or patrol and respond on its own.”

“Impressive. What about military operations?”

“For that, we made an armored suit for it.” In the moment the lead scientist had said this, the robot walked out, coming back after a few minutes, now wearing military-grade armor, a visor covering her eyes, a Remington Model 870 Shotgun in her hooves. It took both ponies a moment to notice the drone was walking bipedally.

“For military assaults, we outfitted this drone with heavy armor, also very effective in riot situations or defensive battles.” Several enemy targets appeared and the picture of the drone’s highly advanced targeting system appeared on a screen for the visitor, showing how the drone marked the positions of potential shooters, tracking them as they moved into position. The robotic pony opened fire with deadly accuracy - when the shot is right, often without even having to physically look at the target and was surprisingly fast despite the heavy looking armor, even capable of sprinting while firing at the targets It also switched to the same M9 when reloading was not an option.

“Impressive. Most impressive. What about the other versions?” The General asked after all targets were taken out and the Blackjack drone leaved.

“The next model is designed to be a Bomb decontamination robot, but can use also missile launchers and other explosives to destroy tanks or fortified positions.”

“No....way…” Scotch Tape couldn’t believe their eyes as said drone walked in.

It had blue eyes, a dark blue mane and light blue coat, wearing a Milkor MGL grenade launcher and a M72 LAW missile launcher.

“This one looks exactly like Daddy!” Scotch Tape exclaimed, not believing what she saw.

“I wonder what comes next…” Fletcher mumbled, unsure what to think about it.

“The demolitions expert under the drones can disarm mines and other explosives, yet be a very effective fighter.” Archer told his visitor as the drone drew his grenade launcher. The blue mechanic stallion fired directly or indirectly at the enemies with deadly accuracy, also using hand grenades that were attached to his chest.

“For situations where explosives are not an option, it has a build in firearm.” As the scientist said this, a small flap on the left side of the robotic pony opened, a small barrel poked out, firing at enemies that were too close to use the Grenade launcher on them. Then it destroyed a tank with the LAW before leaving. The General whistled.

“What else got you in store?”

“We also worked on a support gunner variant, originally, a M249 Squad Automatic Weapon was planned, but we decided to give it a M134 Minigun.”

“A M134 Minigun?! You can’t be serious, it’s near impossible, and highly impractical for a human being to either carry or operate a man-portable version!” The General replied in surprise.

“I don't work with humans.” Archer smirked. A Large drone entered the room, having violet eyes, a night blue mane and a dusk colored coat, having a horn and winds, an Alicorn, carrying said Minigun in his hooves.

“A robot that looks like an Alicorn?!” The Eternal Knight exclaimed in shock and disbelief at what he saw. The gun started to spin up, tearing the enemies apart, advancing slowly towards, shrugging off any hits it took. An enemy went to cover, the Alicorn ceased fire, picked up the pace and sprinted forward with loud, metallic stomps. As it reached said enemy, the drone bashed him with the minigun, throwing him back several meters.

“For quick movements, it can transform into a UCAV.” The drone jumped into the air, the minigun removed into her belly, the barrels poking out, the legs withdraw and small boosters were activated under the wings, having a similar appearance to the MQ-9 Reaper drone. It flew around the room, raining dead from above before landing, transforming back and leaving.

“A strong support unit. Of course, we thought also of a medical drone.” Archer pointed to the gate.

Okay, that was Lacunae, the medical drone must be… Scotch Tape was cut off as a Pegasus drone with Violet eyes, Bright Violet mane and grey coat walked in, wearing metallic saddlebags with a red cross in them.

“Morning Glory.” She finished her thought loud.

“Okay, Unicorn, Earth Pony, Alicorn and Pegasus, the list is complete.” Fletcher mumbled, wondering what would come now.

“The medical drone it capable of treating many injuries, it was originally designed to assist medics in complex medical procedures and surgery but can also provide medical care on its own.” The lead scientist explained.

“Medic!” a wounded person, lying bleeding on the ground called out, the drone quickly galloped over and spoke “Don’t worry, I have you fixed up in no time! Everything will be alright.” The voice was calming and identical with Morning Glory’s voice.

“It can use fly and fight to defend itself or the wounded.” The drone spread her wings out, flapped them, boosters activated and she took off into the air, evading enemy fired while defending itself with a MP5 that she drew from an internal holster like the Blackjack drone had done.

“It’s impressive work. But… Uh...This might not be immediately relevant, Mr. Archer, but...Why a horse?” The General asked him dumbfounded. Archer scratched his back, slightly embarrassed.

“Well, are you familiar with the TV show My little pony: Friendship is magic?”

The General’s face lighted up with a smile. “Of course I do, my kids love it!”

“To honor the cancelled show and as a tribute we decided to design them after ponies from the show. The ponies you saw resemble the main characters from the fanfic Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons, as we wanted to honor and tribute this well-made story too. For that, we also choose the name of the project on the fanfic name.”

“I see...” Scotch Tape stopped the recording to process all the information.

“That…is… incredible! They made drones based off my father and friends!” She exclaimed in a mix of confusion and embarrassment.

Fletcher had other thoughts. “Wait a moment. TV-show? Equestria is a TV show for human children?” He asked completely confused.

“Well, yes. Let me show you.” Scotch Tape had also found a data of the first episode of the show in the memory, she didn’t care why it was here. It showed how Twilight Sparkle got to meet her friends and how Nightmare Moon returned, only to be changed back into Princess Luna by the Mane 6 with the Elements of Harmony.

“Okay… When Princess Luna returned we…wanted to welcome her back and it…” he struggled to find the right words. “Ended in a misunderstanding. Lucky for us, the Princess of the night… cleared our name. About the show, I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out...What exactly did I do in the show? Just...out of curiosity.”

“Well, I assume you’re an original Character like I am, created by a fan of the show.” She explained.

“I…guess that would make sense…” He replied, trying to process it while Scotch Tape pressed play again.

“…What about the Arial drones?” The General asked. Archer gave a sign and several Pegasus colored in azure blue with golden yellow lightning patterns, having either a winged lightning bolt on the flank for the male and long streak of lightning for the female drones. They had different colored manes and muzzles but their eyes were concealed by flight goggles which consisted of a black frame with sky blue lenses and a golden yellow metal head strap.

“I based them on the Wonderbolts” With that said by Archer, the drones took of into the air in formation, taking out air and ground targets with missiles, bombs and MG fire, the weapons located under their wings.

“And to transport supplies, we designed a transport version of it.”

The next drone was also a Pegasus but with yellow eyes with matching mane and grey coat.

“That’s…Derpy Hooves!” The Eternal Knight exclaimed at the sight, not believing his eyes.

“The legs are modified to lift things.” As the scientist said on comment, the Derpy drone grabbed a nearby crate with its hooves, carrying it around the room.

Scotch Tape stopped the recording again. “Well, given her job as mail mare, this role suits her counterpart if you ask me.”

“Yes. Mindless machines meant to resemble our loved-ones. I can't help but feel that, somehow, in some way, this has got Downriver's bloody hoof-prints all over it.” Fletcher sounded slightly disturbed by it.

“Who's Downriver?” Scotch Tape asked confused. The unicorn took a deep breath.

“Well, how to describe him? Picture the worst pony you've ever met...and then picture him a dozen times worse.” Scotch Tape had seen many worse things in the wasteland, so she asked,

“He's that bad?”

“No, he's worse.” Fletcher replied with disgust.

“Then we should change the subject. I suggest you search the other terminals for useful information.

“Will do.” The other terminals contained messages between the scientist the terminal belonged to and a friend, having similar chats like Wyatt and Tyler had. One terminal, belonging to Archer, mentioned a Sniper drone based on a Unicorn, an infiltrator drone based on a bat pony and a Pegasus drone designed to fight where it would be too dangerous to use firearms.

Wonder what they could be based on. He thought as Scotch Tape tore him out.

“Think, given the recording, that the mastermind behind this had good intentions?

“Forgive me but I find it very hard to believe someone ever builds a machine made to kill while acting out of good intentions.” He replied caught off guard.

“Uh-huh.” She continued the recording while Fletcher checked the Terminal for more information.

“We also worked on a Sniper and infiltrator model. And one model for situations where it would be too dangerous to use firearms.”

The next drone was also a unicorn judging by the silhouette. Once it was fully visible, Scotch Tape couldn’t believe her eyes. “Uh, Fletcher?”

“Yes?”

“May I say that you have an uh...brother?”

“What?!” Fletcher Fray jumped into the air in surprise at Scotch Tape’s words, seeing the drone now fully. It had a blond mane, leaf-green coat and hazel eyes, carrying a Barrett M82 anti-material rifle on its back. It resembled Fletcher Fray in every Detail.

“What…in… the…” The knight asked in shock, jaw wide open.

“The Sniper model can calculate the advance angle and the trajectory for accurate shots.” As on command, the drone drew it’s weapon and took aim at several targets at long distance with deadly accuracy, adjusting aim to compensate for wind and gravity. The recoil for such a rifle was high but the drone handled it like there was no recoil at all.

“To quickly reach an elevated sniper position or to ambush the enemy, we equipped it with a Grapple hook that is connected to its left fore hoof.” The drone raised said hoof at a wall, a cable shoot out of two metallic blades shaped like a bull's horns that were attached to the hoof. The Fletcher drone climbed up the wall, then fired the rifle with only the right roof, again having no problem to handle the recoil. To get down, it grappled one enemy, pulling himself down to him and kicked him before firing a shot from the hip at another hostile. A small group rushed at the Unicorn drone, it quickly switched to a MP5, killing them with clean headshots. The drone went prone, it’s colors adapted to the surroundings, camouflaging itself. Then, it placed a claymore trip mine at a door way, an enemy got killed by it, another got surprised by the drone, a retractable blade came out of the right hoof, slicing him.

“As you can see, despite being designed as Sniper, it can also fight effectively at close and melee range.” Scotch Tape looked at Fletcher’s counterpart in awe after Archer had finished his sentence.

“Amazing and versatile don’t you think, Fletcher? Fletcher?”

Turning around, she saw the Eternal Knight, still in shock from it. “T-that’s…” He was lost for words. “impressive!” he caught himself. “But this is getting ridiculous!” he added.

“The next model was designed for situations where it would be too dangerous to use guns. It specialty is close-quarters melee combat in environments filled with explosives and other hazards.” The next drone was also a Pegasus, having a fiery navy-blue coat with matching eyes and flowing silver mane.

“White Wolf?!” Fletcher Fray shook his head. The Drone was in a room filled with explosives and enemies. Wolf drew 2 knifes, throwing them at two enemies, landing between their eyes, before rushing at them killing them rapidly with a retractable knife from the right hoof. She had taken all enemies out before they could fire a shot.

“Of course we thought of a gun should they fight with other troops in open areas.

The robotic mare drew a MP5, firing with deadly accuracy. As the gun was empty, a hostile used it to charge at her. She threw the gun with new a mag into the air, killing several enemies with her knives before catching the gun and finishing reloading.

Activating her wings, she threw her knifes and fired her SMG with remarkable accuracy in the air, sometimes diving to attack with the retractable knife. She also uses a dart gun on the enemies, putting them to sleep.

“I don’t want to imagine how White Wolf will react should she see this.” Was all Fletcher said, his expression still one of shock.

“And finally, the infiltrator model.” The infiltrator resembled a grey bat pony. As the drone looked forward, Scotch found herself staring at a pair of eyes completely devoid of color, like a pair of pure-white pearls. Yet somehow, it that cold, insidious gaze, she knew they were locked on her.

“Midnight Blade?!” Fletcher recognized it.

“It can infiltrate enemy bases, steal information and vanish unseen.”

The drone came into a room with a computer, hacking it. Once it was done, an alarm got triggered the display showed unauthorized access detected! The robot quickly jumped into the air as the guards moved in, hanging upside down at the ceiling, staying hidden.

“How’s that even possible?!” Fletcher Fray asked confused.

“Magnets and grappling hooks are built in into the hooves.” Archer explained as the guards except for one, started to leave. The lights went out, the bat pony’s eyes started to glow yellow.

“Darkness.” It laughed evil before dropping on the guard, killing him with a retractable blade.

“Like the close combat model, it also has a gun to defend itself at range.” Like Wolf’s counterpart, it used a MP5 against the guards, firing with deadly accuracy as the other drones. Like with White Wolf, the Bat pony drone threw it’s weapon into the air as an enemy charged at him, taking him and several enemies with its blade it before catching the MP5 and reloading.

“Very impressive I must admit. What about teamwork?” The General asked.

“They can work in squads and with fellow soldiers without problems.” As on Archer’s command, all drones got into the room. The Midnight and Fletcher drone scouted ahead, reporting to the Blackjack drone who was the squad leader. She gave out orders with signs or verbally, the Alicorn drone provided covering fire, while the Grenadier drone disarmed traps, the Wonderbolts provided air support, the Derpy drone carried ammo for them, the bat pony and White Wolf switched between melee fights and their SMGs in fighting style, while the Fletcher drone stayed behind to give Sniper support, moving up with the others when the time was right.

“They are linked to each other, creating a hive mind, that way, they can quickly change tactics, report to each other without speaking or gestures and a threat one drone saw is visible for the others too.”

“Very impressive.”

“Thank you, General. As you can see, Project Horizons is the ultimate weapon. It surpasses every other UAV and UCAV the USA ever built.”

“Indeed it does. The nuclear weapon in Green Zone of Riyadh killed over 200,000 of our men. But robots like this would definitely help us. What is their general designation?”

“LP-9 Centaur. LP-Little Pony.9- Number of Sagittarius on the Zodiac.

Have you ever heard of the Scythians? They are stated, according to some histories, to be the first civilization in Europe that perfected cavalry, riding horses into battle as a shock tactic many centuries before the Huns and the Mongols, striking faster and stronger than the foe and sending them into disarray. They plundered every city and village from China to Greece, feared and dreaded by all who knew them. Hence their name. Scythe farming instrument, ploughing through human lives, threshing them like fields of corn. Literally 'Reapers', harvesters of war.” He explained.

“It is believed the Scythians are what inspired the Centaur mythology. Early man, they say, was their prey as the centaurs rode with impunity through the mortal realms, killing men and raping women and children wherever they went. But in the end, man triumphed. The titan Prometheus, their creator and protector, gave mankind the gift of fire. Through fire was crafted bronze and iron and gold and salvation. Man grew strong, strong enough to repel the centaurs with superior armor and weaponry, driving the horse-folk to the lifeless deserts and mountains and prospering unchallenged. The message is clear. Brute force only gets you so far. Victory lies not in muscle but mind.” Archer stopped to take a breath before he walked across the room and continued.

A message that became clear to us at Project Horizons. The horse is not smart enough. The man is not strong and fast enough. A dilemma that has an unorthodox but very simple solution. Combine the two. Discard the weaknesses and hone the strengths. The result. LP-9. We have created an intelligent weapon that possesses the superior strength and skill of the horse and the superior mind of man. We have created...perfection.” He finished and looked at his audience.

“Yes, you have. What was your inspiration for the design if the Sniper, melee and infiltrator model?”

“Well a few months before the oil wars started, I travelled once to London for scientific work. I wanted to take the bus but he was delayed. While waiting, I took notice of a young man that was drawing a sketch that was very detailed and well made. I asked him about it and he told me he wanted to write stories on Fimfiction.net, telling me about his ideas, one of those ideas were those 3 ponies, he called them the Eternal Knights, a unicorn named Fletcher Fray, a Pegasus named White Wolf and a bat pony named Midnight Blade. In one of his stories, they were supposed to be bodyguards severing under Princess Luna’s command. They were the OCs of three friends of him who helped him on his stories. He seemed...a little self-conscious of his hobby. I suppose it's not every young man that's into My Little Pony, or at least its fan-works, but everyone needed an outlet.

Due the shutdown of the website, his stories could never be published. So, to honor his work and also as tribute, I designed those 3 drones after the Eternal Knights, his work had potential.

I also had a gift for him planned but lost contact before I could give it to him. If I meet him again, I’ll give it to him, provided he’s still alive after Russia and Ukraine, signed a ‘mutual interest pact’, cutting off all oil and natural gas trade with Western Europe in August last year, creating a dying economy.” Archer let out a sigh.

“I’m sure you will, Archer. If you don’t mind, what was the present?” Tyler asked curious. The lead scientist let out a weak smile.

“A photo of my work with a special package I made.”

“Regardless Gentlemen, you all did great work.” The General praised them before he leaved. Tyler left too, satisfied with their success. Archer on the other hand looked at the drones that had deactivated, their heads lightly lowered, their eyes all black from it. He seemed to have what appeared to be a guilty expression before he walked out, the eyes of all drones lighted up for a short moment before shutting down again. That was the end of the recording.

“Wow.” Scotch Tape was speechless.

“Okay…If I could, I would like to meet my creators.” Fletcher was completely confused.

“Me and me both.” Scotch Tape replied, wondering if there was more about Project Horizons. From the console, she was able to access the cameras around the base. There were three storage rooms for the drones. The first showed the drones that resembled her friends and father. They were standing on their hind legs in rectangle platforms on the wall, outwards, the filly assumed it where charging stations, it reminded her of the Borg alcoves from Star trek. There were 9 drones of every version, six-squared in order, 36 in total. The second room contained the Wonderbolt and Derpy drones, also six-squared, 36 in total, 4 of every version. The third room stored the Eternal Knight drones, again six-squared, 12 of every version, the Midnight drones were hanging upside down, a cable connected to their back. Only now, both ponies noticed that only one drone of every version had a normal Cutie Mark, all others had Cutie Marks with an almost geometric look, as if it's a gem design imprinted into them rather than a pattern on their coat showing that those were probably produced after the ones with normal Cutie Mark

“It looks like they were never used, still waiting for their first mission.”

“I guess so.” Fletcher replied, finding something interesting in Archer’s terminal. “Scotch Tape, take a look at this.”

He trotted over to him. It appeared to be a diary entry from Archer, regarding Project Horizons.

Project Horizons was a major success but...it came at a price. A horrible price. I can't do this again, I can't. Never should have in the first place. I hope they can forgive me.

“Doesn’t sound so well. I wonder what could have been the price.” Scotch Tape said after she read it.

“Trust me, some things stay better undiscovered.” Fletcher replied with a neutral voice but a light hint of disgust was in it.

“Well, I would like to see them up close.” Scotch Tape couldn’t help it but feel curious.

“If you like. But we better be careful.” Fletcher had nothing against this idea but was a little bit suspicious about the drones.

They walked to a door that side “storage room 1”. Inside, they saw the drones that resembled Blackjack, Scotch’s father, Morning Glory and Lacunae.

“Impressive, they resemble them in every detail. I wonder if they still work.”

“That is a good question. Now, it makes me wonder why the emergency power was still running. I get the distinct feeling that Archer wants my attention. Congratulations. You have it. You might not be thankful for it.” Fletcher Fray looked at the LP-9s, he was really impressed at the detail but didn’t showed it.

“Voice recognized. Initiating activation.” A female voice echoed through the room.

“What did you do?” Scotch Tape asked in alert.

“I did nothing but talk!” Fletcher countered, looking around to see what would activate.

The charging station of one of the Blackjack drones lighted up, the drone’s eyes “opened”, glowing red. She stepped out on her hind legs before getting on all fours.

A white light emitted from the metallic horn, scanning them.

Scotch gulped, fearing it would see them as intruders, Fletcher didn’t even think of drawing his bow, not wanting to make the drone hostile.

“Species…pony, male and female.” It spoke with its cybernetic voice.

The both ponies looked at each other, wondering how the drone would react.

“Greetings, I assume you are lost?” It asked worth a friendly voice, much to their confusion.

“Uh, yes?” Scotch Tape asked, not sure how to react.

“Why are you asking?” Fletcher asked dumbfounded.

“My programming is to never hurt a civilian under any circumstances and help them when in need. The scan showed, that you were scared of me at first and had no intents to steal or tried enter this base on purpose or carry weapons. Friendly.”

“O-kay… Carry weapons, I guess my bow doesn’t count?” The unicorn raised an eyebrow.

“While it is technically a weapon, it’s used for sport too, so I calculated you weren’t a threat. Your voice was also what activated me, as your voice is identical with the Sniper LP-9 and we can activate each other when needed.”

“I see. Shouldn’t your Al be confused about two talking ponies?” Fletcher asked in return.

“My Al is state of the art, and I’m based on the same ponies where you come from. 'That was the most likely outcome.”

“If you say so. Mind if you lead us around, you easily can get lost in this place.” Scotch Tape asked. The drone smiled.

“Sure, follow me.” It wondered both how the LP-9 was able to show emotions. It was fascinating that the base was not fallen into disrepair, still looking as if it had been built yesterday, as the drone leaded them around, showing rest and bath rooms, cafeterias, sleeping quarters and so on, still clean and intact. While Scotch Tape and Fletcher were amazed by that, they didn’t notice a part of the floor that actually was fallen in disrepair. It collapsed as Scotch Tape stepped on it, she fell into a lower level with a scream, landing on her back.

“Scotch Tape? Are you okay down there?” Fletcher called down.

“I’m good.” She got up patting the dust off her.

“You are on the lower levels now. Don’t worry, I’ll join you shortly.” The drone assured.

“Okay.” It was dark, so the filly turned her flashlight on as she walked aimlessly the endless corridor. “Looks like this part fell into oblivion.”

She walked along the corridor, wondering what happened here.

In the distance, she saw a blinking red light. “What could that be?”

Coming closer, she saw what appeared to be one of the drones, but the outer shell was missing, and the insides were visible, apparently damaged, unfinished, or faultily assembled, she assumed. It was leaning with the side against the wall, the blinking light came from it’s eyes. From the size, it was one of the models that were not the Alicorn but wings and horn were missing, so she couldn’t really tell.

“Die!” It yelled in a distorted voice, Scotch Tape covered her head from the expecting bullets.

*click click click click*

“Dang!” the turret complained, causing Scotch Tape to uncover herself.

“Oh, come ON! Oh, this is ridiculous!” The turret seemed out of the bullets. “I, uh... don't have any bullets. Are you gonna give me any bullets? Are the bullets up there?” The filly let out a snorted laugh.

“No, sorry, I can’t give you any bullets.” before walking past the drone.

“Oh, this is ridiculous!” She heard the drone calling out.

Continuing down the hallway, she saw an assembling line to her right. “Must be where they got produced. Explains also the defective drone.” Then she saw 2 lights in the distance, represented by two yellow bars. “That must be Fletcher and the Blackjack drone.”

The wall next to her right got teared apart, she screamed in fear, falling on her back. A drone came out of the created hole. It was an Earth pony, the head was sparking, eyes glowing red, the “fur” was torn from the back onwards, only the chest had cream color with red zebra stripes and red mane, resembling Rampage, the hooves were outfitted with spikes.

“Destroy….destroy… Intruder….terminate…” It spoke in a distorted and broken voice, Scotch Tape crawled backwards as it closed in on her in a zombie-like manner. A metallic clang ringed in her ears, an arrow had penetrated the back of the drone, the tip sticking out of the chest, the robot stumbled. Fletcher charged at it with a spear, ramming it through the chest of the malfunctioning mechanic pony. It sparked more, it’s voice glitching as it dropped on his knees.

The Security pony beheaded it with its retractable blade, the detached head and neck sparkled too before the Rampage drone fell to the ground, twitching.

“Are you hurt?” Fletcher asked with concern. It took the filly a moment to calm down, getting her breathing under control.

“I’m-f-fine.” Fletcher levitated her on his back.

“I hope there aren’t more of this drone.” He turned to the security robot.

“I assure you, this was the only model ever made. Due a malfunction, this drone was only a prototype. The restoring of the main power must have reactivated it.”

“Watch out!” the filly warned as the beheaded body swinged one of it’s spikes before finally shutting down, Fletcher ducked, Scotch Tape covered her head. As she opened her eyes, something landed in her fore hooves. A head. She let out a yelp, it was the head of the Blackjack drone, the neck of the body sparked.

“Would you be so kind as to give me my head back?” the head asked.

“Uh, sure.” She gave it to the body who held it’s fore hooves outstretched. It took the head, attaching it to the neck, spinning it around like a screw. When it came to a stop, the eyes spun around for a few seconds before the security LP-9 shook itself.

“Much better. Thanks to our hive mind, we can still function without problems after getting beheaded or detached from our bodies. Besides, don't think you get rid of me that easily.” The female robot said the last sentence in a jocular tone. That caused Scotch Tape to laugh.

“Wasn’t planning it.” The drone leaded them to an elevator. Riding it up, they were at the same level where the storage and control room were.

“So how did you get here?” The drone asked curious.

“It’s kind of a long story. Scotch Tape replied, telling how she got here and so on, Fletcher too. Both hoped the memory of the Blackjack drone could process everything.

“My condolences. I recommend we take action at once.” She leaded them back to the control and tipped on the console. The screen showed a camera that was moving on a runway, a UAV took off, flying to the last known position of the US Convoy. Bodies of KPA soldiers were scattered around the checkpoint, the Humvees abandoned.

“Looks like they managed to escape.” That gave Scotch Tape hope. The camera detected smoke from a nearby city. Flying over it, the 3 saw that the surviving Us forces were fighting a losing battle, getting slowly pushed back as the KPA had tank and air support.

“That doesn’t look good.” Fletcher watched with worry. Worrying for Jackson, the filly pleaded in despair to the drone,

“We need to save them!”

“We understand.” The drone acknowledged with a emotionless monotone, walking back to storage room 1, Fletcher and Scotch Tape followed her as they wondered what she was about to do. The robot pressed some buttons on a console near her charging station, the other charging stations lighted up, the other drones walked out in union, turning in their direction, also in union. Hearing multiple powering up sounds, Scotch Tape walked to storage room 2, Fletcher to 3. The filly saw how the Wonderbolt and Derpy drones powered up, Fletcher saw how the Eternal robotic Knights powered up. The bat pony drones landed elegant on all fours, the eyes of the unicorn drones glowed blue as they booted up before becoming hazel. The drones walked in formation down the corridor.

“Looks like we got ourselves a small army, Fletcher.” Scotch Tape commented.

“Uh, yes. Shall we join you?” He asked the security drone who was now wearing armor.

“We know to appreciate your battle experience, Fletcher Fray, but for Scotch Tape’s safety, stay here. I have prepared the control room for you.” With that she joined the others. The two ponies walked to it, noticing that the monitor was now displaying what appeared to be a strategic map, the console was for giving orders. The US forces were displayed in blue, the KPA in red. Eventually, the Koreans surrounded the US soldiers.

“Don’t move! Surrender, we have you surrounded, there is no escape!” A KPA officer yelled, training his weapon on them. The Americans raised their hands, the Asians disarmed them. Jackson feared that he would never see his beloved family again as they took him and the others away, the KPA would either admit them into labor camps or kill them.

I hope you could escape, Scotch Tape. He prayed as the situation was lost.

“Incoming! Move! Move! Move! Scramble all squads, repeat, scramble all Squads! Head to high cover and wait for our positions!” the KPA soldiers moved into cover, leaving the Americans confused. They lowered their hands.

“It’s Scotch Tape.” Tanner grinned.

The Wonderbolt drones flew towards the KPA planes and helicopters that moved to intercept.

“Go straight at them! Don't let these dogs scare you!”

“Copy that.”

“We're with you, Spitfire.” The drones acknowledged to their leader as they engaged.

The infantry fired their weapons into the sky, trying to destroy the enemy UCAVs but the mechanic Pegasus had no problem taking out the enemy aircrafts, killing the guards that surrounded the prisoners with their MGs, having pinpoint accuracy, not harming their allies at all.

“Quick!” Tanner and the others grabbed their weapons, firing on the enemy infantry.

An enemy plane tried a strafing run on them, but the leading Spitfire drone intercepted it, flying on towards it, firing a missile that send the KPA plane burning to the ground. Jackson watched how the Wonderbolt drone shot down 10 more aircraft and 3 soldiers in 17 seconds. He couldn’t hold his excitement anymore as the drone flew overhead him.

“That's one hell of a UCAV!” A Z-10 Chimera got shot down and crashed to the ground, the flames and smoke blocked the view to a street behind the US forces.

“Hey, something’s coming through the smoke!” A US soldier yelled, not able to see what it was exactly.

“Spread out, find cover!” Tanner ordered and his men took cover behind a wall. “Get ready to fire!”

Jackson saw two Silhouettes. “What is that?” The soldiers stared when the Silhouettes were fully visible. Two drones an Alicorn armed with a Gatling gun, an armored unicorn with a shotgun. The Alicorn held its weapon into the air before lowering it into a firing position.

“The Goddess judges, I act!”

The armored drone did the same with the shotgun. “No more fooling around. It's time we get serious.” The soldiers ducked behind cover as the drones opened fire. The Americans heard several bodies hitting the ground. Turning around once the fire stopped, they saw several dead KPA soldiers, the ones that were still alive retreated in almost a panic manner.

“We are on your side! Let’s push them back!” The armored drone said as several others formed behind it and the minigun wielding drone. Several 718s were not impressed or cowed by the drones, charging at them, only to be killed by sniper shots, another group advanced, only to suddenly freeze on the spot, twitching, then collapsing. The US soldiers looked behind themselves, seeing a Pegasus Mare and a bat pony landing, a knife on the mare’s hoof, a blade on the bat pony, covered in blood, a sniper glint on a wall on a building next to them. A hook grabbed the ground and a Unicorn Stallion with a Sniper rifle landed on where the hook was placed, then retracted into his hoof. The soldiers looked at each other, impressed but not sure what to say.

“Tanks!” Another soldier yelled as 3 T-99 moved in at the other end of the street. Multiple hoof steps came through the smoke, four blue Earth ponies armed with missile launchers moved in, taking aim. “I'm on it! Move now! I've got him!” They fired at the tanks, with a large fireball, the T-99s exploded, leaving only burning wrecks. As they were destroyed, several Pegasus pony drones with medical equipment landed next to the amazed US soldiers.

“Where are the wounded?” the leader of them asked, Tanner pointed to a tent behind him, the medical drones assisted the medics.

“Sir, we’re running short on ammo!” A private reported.

“Did somebody say ammo?” A grey Pegasus drone asked, dropping supplies before flying back to base to get more supplies.

In the base, Scotch Tape and Fletcher were impressed by it.

“Very impressive for their real first combat action.” Scotch Tape commented.

“Agreed.”

“We are all awaiting your command.” The voice of the Security drone sounded through a radio next to the console.

“B-but I’m no commander!” She replied, not believing what she just heard.

“Scotch Tape, we are fully capable of fighting on our own but having a human commander would make us more effective.”

“Shouldn’t that be Fletcher?” She asked in a scared voice.

“After all you did, we are convinced that you can do this! Besides, don’t you have friends that you don’t want to get hurt?”

“Amy…” Apart from Jackson and Chung, seeing Amy getting hurt by them made her blood boil. The US forces needed every man they could get if the battle of San Francisco shall be a success. Failure could mean they could invade the still free east, getting revenge on the civilians, her sister who suffered already so much.

I won’t let that happen!

“Okay... I'll... I'll try.” She replied with determination.

“You can do this, Scotch Tape. When I first became a commander, I was also scared of failing but I managed to overcome this fear.” Fletcher encouraged her too.

“All US forces, intelligence reports that the enemy has set up MG positions throughout the town. You are instructed to find these positions and remove the threats.” An American reported on the radio. The strategic map showed the drones in a green color.

“Since the Midnight drones are made as Scouts, I would advise that you use them to find those MG nests. My counterparts with their scope can do this task too.” The Eternal Knight gave tactical advices due his experience. She selected all Scout drones.

“Yes?” The leader asked. She moved the camera down the road, giving the command to scout ahead. “Copy that, we’ll find them!” Then she selected the other combat drones.

“Ready.” The Blackjack drone reported.

“Heavy Assault ready!” The Heavy weapon drone acknowledged.

“Grenadiers reporting!” All drones that resembled her father were selected.

“Sniper here.” The Snipers were ready to go.

“Wolves ready for everything!” The counterparts of White Wolf replied.

Scotch Tape commanded them to move up, they got in formation, the Gatling guns and Shotguns were taking the lead, the Snipers were second followed by the Grenadiers and finally the US soldiers while the Medical drones stayed with the wounded.

“Scouts reporting in, first MG position is at the end of the street.” The bat pony report reported in. A half destroyed building was marked on the map, the scout drones kept their distance to avoid alerted the enemy soldiers in it.

“I suggest you order one of the Snipers to eliminate the soldier manning the MG, then a Grenadier uses smoke to cover the attack, the heavy assault provide covering fire while the others clear the MG nest.” The Eternal Knight suggested.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Scotch Tape gave the orders further.

“A prudent course of action.” The robotic squad leader commented, having a light hint of pride in his voice.

The filly selected the first Sniper drone. “Sniper here.” Then she gave the attack order on the MG. “Taking the shot.” The drone took aim, with one shot, the KPA MG gunner was dead.

“Sniper!” the others yelled, scrambling to cover. That was the signal for the Grenadiers to use smoke to cover their advance.

“Suppressing fire!” Tanner ordered, he, together with his soldiers and the Alicorns fired their weapons on the building, pinning the enemy down. The leading Blackjack drone, along with the Scout and Fenrir, so was the name of the White Wolf drones, stormed the building. Scotch Tape and Fletcher noticed that all drones fought with great efficiency, like well experienced veterans.

“For their first battle, they fight like they have done this plenty of times.” Scotch Tape was impressed yet found this strange.

“I suppose this has to do with what Archer meant he could never do this again.” Fletcher replied suspiciously, watching how the light assault drone killed a few enemies with one shot, while the bullets bounced off her armor, the Scouts and Wolves fought either with their melee weapons or SMGs until no enemy was left.

“MG nest cleared!” The leader drone reported.

“The other two must be further down the street.” Tanner suspected.

Before he could ask Scotch Tape, she already gave the scouts the order to look for the other MG nests. They moved down further the road, careful of their surroundings. A squad of the 718 firing from a building to their left, the Gatling guns forced them into cover, the grenades of the Grenadiers took care of the rest, the explosions tore the wall apart.

“Target down!” Tanner yelled.

“Second MG next is dead ahead.” The leader of the bat ponies reported to the filly.

“There is no cover, a attack on open ground is too dangerous. The Grenadiers can take it out from a safe distance.”

“You’re the expert, Fletcher.” Scotch Tape took his advice.

The Grenadiers fired all their missile launchers at once. The house fell apart from the combined blast. “I got that one!” The leading drone of her father exclaimed, attempting to load the rocket in tip-first before realizing his mistake, then simply tossed the rocket in.

“I guess even a state of the art Al can make mistakes.” Scotch Tape assumed.

“Something tells me it’s something different.” Fletcher commented, not believing that an Al would do such a mistake.

“Last MG nest is just down the road.” The bat pony scouts reported.

Like with the second MG nest, it covered open ground, so Scotch Tape had an idea, having an evilly grin. She selected all Grenadiers, then gave the attack order on the house, the MG nest was located in.

The blue robotic stallions raised their Grenade launchers into the air, unleashing a rain of grenades on the MG nest, the explosions leaved nothing but rubble and ruins.

“City is secure!” Jackson was relieved.

“All US forces within range of this transmission, instructions are to assemble at the center of the town and await further orders.” The radio operator informed.

“You heard the man, why don’t you join us?” The leader of the light assault drones asked Scotch Tape and Fletcher Fray on the radio.

“You sure about that?” The filly asked with an anxious voice.

“The town is secure, I calculate that it will be highly unlikely that the KPA will counterattack after they saw us.” The drone replied.

“Okay, I trust you. What about you, Fletcher?”

“I’m impressed by their efficiency. I come along.”

“Don’t worry about the base, the aerial drones will defend it from intruders.” The drone added. Looking on the map, Scotch Tape saw that it would took some time to reach the town by walking.

“It will take some time to get there.”

“It won’t, Scotch Tape.” Fletcher looked for something in his saddlebags, she hadn’t noticed before. It amazed what she saw. Two mechanical wings, the unicorn attached them with a set of belts and straps. The wings were black in color, two thin steel panels atop it folded out and set to its sides like an open book, both with large slots at the ends.

He kneeled down.

“Climb on and hold on tight.” She did as told. “Oh, before I forget. Here.” He gave her what appeared to be pilot goggles, he also set on a pair of goggles. The stallion galloped outside, towards the fields, his horn started to glow. The filly was fascinated as the steel panels extended, producing new panels, each at a slight angle, building up what looked like a crescent, it twisted, its two points tilting up and down, then flapped and the Eternal Knight climbed into the sky. The filly couldn’t help but smile, it was a great to feel the wind brushing against her fur.

“That feels amazing! Why do you have those wings?”

“Glad to hear it. My friend made them for me, got to keep up with Midnight Blade and Wolf somehow. And it’s a nice feeling, the wind brushing against your fur.” He explained as he flew with high speed towards the city. They reached in with a few minutes, he landed and she got off once the unicorn came to a stop. The Humans looked stunned and impressed at the Eternal Knights, the drones had rather proud smiles.

“May I introduce: Fletcher Fray.” Scotch Tape introduced her new friend, who saluted the soldiers.

“Greetings.”

“Likewise. I’m Sergeant Tanner, this is Private Jackson.” They returned the salute, unsure how to react.

The Medical drones joined up, the now treated soldiers behind them.

“Okay, we’re now at full strength.” Tanner was glad that the wounded had survived.

Scotch Tape walked over to a soldier to help him removed some debris.

“T-99!” A US soldier yelled. A barricade exploded, an enemy T-99 moved in. where the filly was. Scotch and the soldier next to her retreated as the tank came to a halt. He fired his MG, a bullet hit the foal in her right hind leg “Ah!” She fell to the ground, incapacitated. The soldier noticed her cry of pain and came back for her.

“I have them in my sight!” two Korean soldiers fired at the soldier as he tried to pick up the filly. The bullet caught him straight in the chest, blood splattered from it and his body fell forwards on her, pinning her down on the ground, helpless.

The tank started to move towards her. “Oh, Celestia! Oh, Celestia!” Scotch tried desperately to get the body off her. “No!” she screamed as the tank came closer.