//------------------------------// // Future Story: Mega-Man // Story: Flash Sentry One-Shots // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Canterlot, a city known for its many otherworldly situations. Protected by seven girls with incredible magical abilities. These girls had faced magical anomalies that most people would think were impossible. But now, a threat will appear and a new hero must rise to fight against it. It was another peaceful day in Canterlot City. Well...as peaceful as it can get in a city that's filled to the brim with magic that could turn anything it touched into a source of great chaos. At CHS, the students were arriving for another day of school. That included the school's best musician, Flash Sentry. The guitar player had just parked his car outside the school and got out, someone else getting out the other side. This was a boy of around thirteen with slightly darker skin and hair then Flash, wearing a black T-shirt under a white open shirt and brown pants. His shirt had the mark of a bat and ball on it. They grabbed their bags and headed for the door, Flash having his nose in a book. The younger boy looked up and rolled his eyes, "don't you think you've read enough. That's all you've been doing since last night. Flash shot him a glare, the teen knowing that meant leave me be. Flash had a big math test that day and it was not a subject he did great in, so he was cramming as much as he could. "Alright," the kid walked away while pulling a baseball and mitt out of his bag. The teen, known as First Base to his brother, rushed over to where he spotted his friends hanging and threw his ball at them. With the distraction gone, Flash got back to studying and was making good progress...for about five seconds. "Hey Flash!" He looked up from his book and saw his two closest friends standing outside the entrance. Micro Chips and Sandalwood smirked as he reached them, Micro Chip spotting the book and smirking. "Still worried about the test?" "Maybe," Flash replied. "I just wanna make sure I get at least a passing grade. If I don't, my mom's gonna kill me." "I doubt she'd kill you," Sandal said. "Maim...maybe." He and Micro laughed as Flash rolled his eyes. "Seriously dude, lighten up. I'm sure you'll be fine. With all the help Twilight's been giving you, you'll have this test in the bag." Flash smirked, unable to stop himself from doing so at the mention of those enjoyable occasions. Despite knowing she wasn't the Twilight he had first crushed on, Flash still held a soft spot for the purple skinned magi-girl. He had actually learned more about her then he had the original Twilight, though that may be because he'd spent less then ten hours around the original Twilight since she lived in an entirely other dimension. "Speaking of Twilight," Micro looked between the two. "Did you hear she and the rest of the Rainbooms managed to save a bus that went out of control the other day." This caught the two's attention. "Apparently, it's breaks failed and it couldn't stop. So Rainbow used her super-speed to rush the passengers out of it before Twilight and Applejack stopped the bus. Meanwhile, Rarity used her magic to shield any pedestrians the bus almost hit while Pinkie used her magic to blast anything out of the way that might make the bus flip or crash." "Awesome!" Sandal smirked, "they're so lucky. Getting to have superpowers like that. I wish we could have powers so we could save the day." "Indeed," Micro adjusted his glasses, "it would be an interesting experience to be sure." Though Flash didn't say anything, he too wished he had some form of superpower. That way, he wouldn't just have to sit on the sidelines and let the girls do all the work. He remembered a few months back, when he had sung a song commemorating the girls and even managed to help them when Micro's machine went haywire. But despite the words he had sang, he was envious of their abilities. "FLASH!" The teen was pulled from his thoughts when his brother called out to him, making him turn to see something flying at him at high speed. Before Flash even knew what was happening, his arm shot up and caught it inches before it hit his face. The impact didn't even hurt, Flash's brain still rebooting after the shock of what had happened. By the time it was back online, Base and his friends had rushed over to him. "You okay?" He asked his brother, who finally brought his hand down. "I'm fine," he assured him. "Sorry about that," a kid he new as Rumble apologised. "I guess the ball just...got away from me. Cool reflexes though." "Thanks," he tossed the ball back to him, "just be careful next time." They all nodded and rushed back to where they were, Micro and Sandal smirking at Flash. "Man, why are you not on the baseball team?" Sandal asked, "you'd be great. Or maybe the dodgeball team." Flash shrugged, "not really something I'm interested in." They nodded before Micro spoke up again, though this time he was more cautious of his words. "Have you...heard anything from your dad?" This made Flash frown, the teen looking down at the ground. Three months ago, his father had vanished. Trail Blazer was a pilot and often took journeys to other countries, whether carrying passengers or cargo. He had flown all over the world and never had any problems. Bust suddenly, on his last voyage, his ship vanished for it never arrived at his destined airport. His family had been devastated to learn about his disappearance. His mother, Misty Vail, had refused to accept that he was gone and her sons were equally defiant. They knew that Trail was alive somewhere, but so far there hadn't been any sign of him. "No," Flash shook his head, "but he will contact us." Micro and Sandal smirked, nodding their agreement before the bell rang. The three stepped into the school and headed for their lockers, which were close to each other by luck. They grabbed their books and headed for their first class, the three expecting another normal day at CHS. But what they didn't know, was that this particular day wouldn't be normal in the slightest. In a dark place, a single dim light illuminated the shadows. This dim light came from a computer screen, which had multiple windows showing images from CCTV cameras all around Canterlot. That light also illuminated the face of the one watching, the figure being in a large robotic throne. It was a middle aged man with greying blonde hair. The entire left side of his face was covered with a robotic mask, while his left eye appeared to have been completely replaced with a red cybernetic one. He wore a black metal suit and his right arm appeared to have been replaced by a robotic one. His entire mouth could be seen and it was not smiling. "Pathetic mortals," the man whispered. "Going about their lives without a care in the world. Completely unaware that their lives are about to change." He pressed a button on the arm of his chair, causing it to turn a hundred and eighty degrees before coming to a stop. "It's time to show these fools the power of my genius. Uni-Troopers. Helicondors. Bulldozers. Awaken!" Suddenly, the place he was in was illuminated by spotlights. This allowed the rest of the room to be revealed as a giant metal hanger-like area filled with groups of mechanical monstrosities. The first group looked like the cross between a unicycle and a suit of armor. The top half was the armor, which was white and the hands were replaced with short blades, but from the waist down, it was a motorised unicycle. The second group looked like a blue osprey marine helicopter that was about the size of an actual osprey. Only the central body looked like an actual bird, with a head in place of a cockpit with a yellow beak and a bird tail instead of a helicopter one. Connected to the bottom of its body was a single gatling gun turret. The whole thing was also covered in yellow strips The third group looked like your standard bulldozer, though it was the size of a quad-bike. Only instead of a shovel it had an actual bull's head. It was black in colour with with red horns that had holes in the end of them. One by one, the eyes of the machines lit up as they started moving. The engines revved up on the Uni-Troopers, the blades began to spin on the Helicondors and fire shot out of the horns of the Bulldozers. "Go," he told them, "unleash your wrath on Canterlot. Show them the power of machines over organics." That was all the instruction they needed, as a large set of doors opened at the back of the room to reveal a tunnel that the machine army flew through. "Metall!" Seconds later, something appeared out of the darkness. That something was a small robot that appeared to be a gray head with yellow feet, wearing a yellow mining helmet with a green cross on it. "You summoned me master," he said as the cyborg pressed a few buttons. "The time as come to begin my assault." As he said that, something came out of the table. A glass baby bottle filled with a strange purple liquid, which the man took and lowered to Metall's level. "But for this to be successful, I require a general to lead my army. Take these nanobots and go find something that can become that general. Something with a little...flare." "Yes master." Metall scampered forward and took the end of the bottle into his mouth, the robot sucking the purple liquid into itself. Once the liquid was gone, it let go and scurried along the ground. "I won't let you down." The man turned to him and watched him slowly make his way along the ground, a sigh escaping his lips as he shook his head. He pressed a few buttons and suddenly, one of the Bulldozers returned and drove up in front of Metall. "GO!" Metall took this as his cue and suddenly, burst of fire exploded out of his feet. Enough to propel him into the air before dying, the little robot landing on the Bulldozer before it drove back out of the hanger. He turned back to the screen and let out a chuckle before looking over at a picture that sat on the side of the desk. It was broken and parts of the picture looked burnt, but the image was clear. Two men were in the picture, standing side by side wearing lab-coats. One was the figure, only this version was completely human. And the other man... "Well, Trail. It seems all your efforts were in vain. Now nothing can stop my rightful conquest. Nothing!" Back at CHS, Flash let out a sigh as he closed his locker. He had just finished his math test and was now on his way to lunch, wanting to quench his frustrations with a grilled cheese. He arrived at the cafeteria and quickly got in line to grab his food. Once that was done, he moved over to a table and sat down. He was usually the first one of his friends to arrive at the cafeteria, so would need to wait for them to arrive. As he did, he took out a notebook and pen. Now that he had completed his math test, he could let his brain work on other things. One such think was his music, the teen beginning to write notes with one hand while eating with another. He then got thirsty, so put his food down and swapped which hand he was writing with as he took a drink with the other. As he did, he noticed a group enter the cafeteria. That group was the famous Rainbooms, the magical protectors of their town. The girls got in line for their food before heading for their table, the seven laughing at something Pinkie said as they did. Flash couldn't help but smile at them, wishing the friendships he had could be as close as their's. At this moment, Micro, Sandal and his band-mates, Ringo and Brawly, arrived and had their food. And so the lot continued to enjoy their lunch while talking about their own interests, completely unaware of what was coming their way. In the streets of Canterlot, the people were enjoying their everyday lives. But then, something appeared on the streets of the town. Robots. They rolled down the streets at high speed, the Bulldozers leading the pack and ramming whatever car or vehicle got in their way. At the same time, the Helicondors soared through the air and began firing lasers out of their gatling guns. The lasers caused whatever they struck to explode, while the Bulldozers unleashed jets of fire from their horns. The Uni-Troopers were at the back of the pack, though they quickly split up and began crashing into the buildings that the other robots were blowing open. They used their metal blades and slash at anything they could find, destroying them. The people were quickly thrown into a panic and began to run for their lives, but the Uni-Troopers were hot on their tails. After a few minutes, the police arrived with SWAT vehicles. They parked up and the officers leapt out of the vans, being lead by a man with white skin and blue hair wearing a black shirt and gray pants with a long white overcoat. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest. "Get the civilians to safety!" He cried before focusing on the robots, "what the heck are these things?" Before he could get an answer, the Helicondors flew up and started firing. The SWAT soldiers raised their shields to try and defend, but those shield were soon destroyed the same way the other things hit by the laser were. The men found themselves getting blasted backwards, the lead officers growling at this as more robots charged forward. "You're not getting passed me!" He cried while taking out his gun and firing at them, but the shots just bounced right off. "No way." He was then forced to leap out of the way as a Bulldozer charged, managing to avoid it and duck behind a car before it could spot him. The man looked around and gasped seeing the robots continue down the street, barely slowed down by this officers. Fear then gripped him as he realised something. "Oh no. They're heading for Canterlot High." He got out and pulled out his phone, "Twily." Everyone had just completed their lunch and were enjoying the remainder of their break. At the Rainboom table, the girls laughed at another joke while Sunset took out her journal and began writing in it. "What'cha writing?" Pinkie asked her, Sunset look up. "Just letting Princess Twilight know everything's fine," the Equestrian turned human explained. "Ever since the music festival, there hasn't been any magical anomalies." "I guess it would be a stretch to suggest that was the last one we have to deal with?" Rarity asked. "We should always be on guard," Twilight told her. "It could be months or even years before the next magical issue, but we should still be ready." They all nodded in agreement, Rarity then smiling. "So, deary. How have things been going with you and Timber?" Twilight blushed at that, unsure how to respond. She and Timber hung out from time to time, but the two of them hadn't been able to spend a huge amount of time together lately. She was soon saved from needing to come up with something when he phone rang and she took it out, "it's my brother." She answered the call, "hey BBBFF. What's-" "TWILIGHT!" She was forced the pull the phone away from her ear, her brother was shouting so loud. "You have to run!" Everyone who heard him raised an eyebrow. "Run?" Twilight asked, "why?" She soon got her answer when the building suddenly shook, knocking almost everyone out of their seats or off their feet. The cause was a giant explosion that occurred outside, many students quickly getting up and rushing towards the windows to see what had happened. And what they saw terrified them. "Robots?" Rainbow asked, looking both confused and in love. The love quickly vanished when they spotted a flying one fire a bunch of lasers and cause more explosions. "What the hey are they doin?" Applejack asked as several Uni-Troopers appeared and turned towards the school. "ATTACKING!" Sunset yelled as the robots charged, the many students quickly turning to run off as fast as they could. It was a mass exodus, as the crowd of teenagers rushed towards the nearest exit. Flash found himself getting swept away by the crowd, only able to look towards the back and see seven students remaining where they were. "LET'S DO THIS GUYS!" Rainbow cried as she and the Rainbooms each grasped their geodes and were consumed by a light, which faded to reveal them wearing their magical outfits. As the robots got closer to the school, they suddenly found themselves facing a large wall made of blue hexagons. They fired at this wall but it didn't seem phased by it, this giving the Rainbooms an opening to rush outside. "Where did these things come from?" Sunset asked, turning to Twilight. "I've never seen anything like them," she explained. "But they appear very well designed." She turned to the others, "I don't suppose you could leave one of each in tact so I can study them?" As she asked that, one of the Helicondor flew above Rarity's magical wall and fired at the school. The laser struck and caused part of the roof to explode, scaring the girls. "Sorry Twi," Applejack cracked her knuckles. "But a'h don't intend to hold back while these things try and hurt our friends." Twilight sighed, "understood." She and the others got into a fighting stance as Rarity made an opening in her defences. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow rushed outside. Rainbow started zipping all over the place, avoiding the attacks from the Helicondor while searching for a way to take them down. Pinkie threw several explosive treats at the machines, but they exploded off the metal and barely left a scratch. Applejack was having a tough time, the farm girl's super strength useless since she couldn't get close enough to use it on the robots without getting struck. The only one who seemed able to do anything against the robots was Twilight, who was able to grab them in her magic and pull the robots apart. She crushed the Helicondor's gun barrel and pulled its rotors off, twisted the Bulldozer's horns and ripped the caterpillars off and turned the Uni-Troopers at one another as they tried to slash at her. The only problem was Twilight could only grab so many things at once and there were a lot of robots. Whenever she managed to disable on, another charged at her and she was forced to take evasive manoeuvres to avoid getting hurt. If this kept up, the city would be half destroyed by the time she managed to disarm the last robot. "This is taking forever!" Rainbow cried as she ran back behind the shield, "I can't find any way to shut these things down." "Seriously?" Sunset asked. "I thought I could find something I could pull off, but these things are completely sealed. Not a loose wire or anything." As she said that, Applejack and Pinkie found themselves blasted backwards and hit the ground in front of the shield wall. Rarity gasped and created another shield around the two as Twilight flew over and landed besides them. "This is nuts," Applejack groaned as she picked herself up. "We're barely slowin'em down!" "What do you expect?" Sunset asked, "we've only ever faced one robot before and that one wasn't as advanced as this." "So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked, looking worried. Sunset shared this expression, "I don't know." Back inside the school, Flash, Micro and Sandalwood had escaped the fleeing crowd and rushed through the school. He wanted to escape, but he couldn't yet. "BASE!" He cried, "where are you!" He took out his phone and called his brother, preying he was okay. "Flash!" Base's voice called out from the other side, "where are you?" "Where are you?" Flash asked, Base and his friends replying that they had gotten out of the school and were heading off to try and find a place they could hide from the robots. "Good. Don't come back here. Get as far from these robots as you can." "Alright. But what about you?" Flash and his friends arrived at an exit leading to the parking lot. "We'll do the same. Call me as soon as you've found someplace safe. Be careful." "I will," he replied before hanging up. At that moment, the three jumped outside and found the parking lot was deserted. "Alright," Micro pointed to Flash's car, "let's get out while the getting's good." They other two nodded and rushed for the car. But before they could get close to it- KABOOM! The three were thrown backwards as Flash's car blew up, pieces flying everywhere. Flash's reflexes allowed him to roll back to his feet and look up to see a Helicondor above them, now pointing its weapon towards them. "RUN!" He yelled as Micro and Sandal jumped up to do so, the Helicondor's rapid fire cutting Flash off from them. "FLASH!" They yelled as Flash was forced into a corner. "Just go!" He told them as more Helicondor flew around the building, "I'll be fine." The two wanted to tell him no, but the sudden fire from the robot bird caused them to run or be blown up. Flash wasn't much better, soon finding himself in a corner as the Helicondor re-aimed. But then, Flash noticed something on the floor besides him. One of his car's hubcaps. "Here goes nothing!" He said as he grabbed the piece of metal and threw it at the robot with all his strength. And too his surprise, when it struck the metal disk actually cut off the robot's head. "Wow." He watched as the robot sparked and thrashed around before dropping dead. "I can't believe that worked." He didn't have much more time to wonder how it worked, as more robots began to come around the side of the building. Flash quickly rushed towards one of the fences and hopped over it, landing and running in the least robot populated direction. As he did, he looked back and spotted the girls continuing to fight against the robots but weren't having much luck. In the laboratory, the figure was watching as his robots caused more and more destruction and smiled. "Yes," he whispered, "that's it. Level this city so I might rebuild it in my image." The screen changed to show the police trying bigger and better weapons on his troops, but they had little to no effect on them. But despite this, there was one thing that made him frown. An area where his robot signals were being lost. Something was destroying his robots, slowly but assuredly. The caused appeared on screen, showing the man the Rainbooms using their powers to defeat his robots. "So, these are the famous magical girls." He chuckled when he saw the challenge they were giving his robots as they moved through the town away from the school they had been protecting. But one thing was clear. "My robots will win." He zoomed in on the girls and saw them all panting, clearly beginning to tire. "They'll exhaust themselves long before they finish my army off." He sat back in his chair and put his hands together, "maybe I should have my troops capture them. Their strange powers would be interesting to study." He hummed, "could they have nanobot enhancements?" He was so focused on the girls that he didn't notice another section of the screen showing the image of a blue haired teen running through the city. Flash ran as fast as he could, but found that the entire street was in chaos. Several store windows had been shattered and multiple vehicles had been turned over, ripped apart or crushed. The teen knew whatever did all this was likely still close by. He had to escape before they found him. But before he could search for an escape route, he suddenly heard something. "HELP!" He stopped in his tracks and turned towards the scream, looking around an overturned car and seeing a woman cowering up against a wall as one of the humanoid robots slowly approached her. Flash gasped when he realised the women was holding something in her arm. A baby. Without even thinking, Flash rushed out from behind the care. "HEY!" This caught the machine's attention, making it turn to Flash only to see him pick up a rock off the ground and throw it. It bounced off its head but appeared to do no damage. "Run!" He told the woman, who took his advice and got up to rush to safety. With its prey escaped, the robot focused entirely on Flash and charged while the teen ran. It rolled up to the car between them and sliced it with a single swing of its bladed arm, cutting it in half and giving it free rain to chance Flash. The teen felt himself begin to panic and as the robot drew near, he suddenly leapt to the left down an alleyway and caused the robot to miss him. "Ha!" Flash cheered while running down the alley, only to come to a stop when he found it was a dead end. "No, no, no, no, no!" He turned back the way he came, only to see the robot had recovered and now blocked his way. Flash and it stared one another down, the robot revving its engine as it prepared to attack. Flash's heart was beating a mile a minute, the teen rocker knowing he was as good as dead. But he refused to show this thing fear. "If this is how it ends," Flash's hands tightened into fists as the robot charged. "Then I'll go down FIGHTING!" He rushed forward, raising his fist and letting out a might roar. The two closed the gap and met in the center of the alleyway, Flash being the first to attack by throwing his fist forward. All he expected was a broken hand, but he didn't care. However, what he got was a very different outcome. When Flash's fist slammed into the robot's chest, the metal actually crumbled beneath it. The entire chest was suddenly crushed, the force of the punch knocking the robot backwards before it could attack back. Flash was shocked to see this, and even more shocked when he realised his hand wasn't broken or even hurt. All he could do was watch as the machine fell to the floor while sparks came out of its crushed chest. It thrashed around for several seconds until it finally stopped, its lights switching off. "What..." Flash stared at his fist as a million questions flew through his mind. But before he could try and figure any of them out, his entire body sudden froze. "Ahh!" He cried as his arms and legs went stiff, though his neck and head could still move. "What's...happening?" He tried everything, but his arms and legs refused to move. He couldn't even wiggle and finger or a toe. That soon changed however, when his arms and legs began to move in ways other then how he wanted them too. He turned towards the wall that had blocked his path before running forward. "Wait!" He cried as he got closer and closer, feeling like he was about to jump. "I'll never make-" He couldn't finish as he leapt forward, only to find himself flying higher then he had ever jumped before. But not high enough to completely clear the wall. Gravity took its toll as he was level with the wall's top, the teen hitting it and grabbing the top with his hands. His finger strength had somehow become that of a rock climber, as he felt himself grip the wall before pulling himself up and onto it. Flash didn't get the chance to really absorb this information as he soon found himself leaping off the wall and began to parkour upwards until he reached the roof. Once he was on said roof, his legs began moving and he ran faster then he had ever run before. So fast that when he reached the edge of the building, he jumped with enough momentum to reach the next roof over and land perfectly. And this continued, Flash remaining a prisoner of his own body as he jumped from one roof to the next. All the while, more screams and explosions filled the air from the robot attack. "Where the heck am I going?" Back in the main city, Metall was riding a Bulldozer as it and several more caused mayhem. The Uni-Troopers continued to race around and high speed and slash at anything that moved, while the Helicondor surveyed the area from above and sent any info they obtained to the others. Metall hummed as he looked around, "master wants something with flare." He had the Bulldozer come to a stop so he could look inside one of the blown apart buildings. But all he found inside was a fire extinguisher and a couple of broken phones, none of which looked like they would give his master what he want. "Come on!" He cried as the robots rolled down the street, "isn't there anything in this city that has flare!?" "Raaah!" Applejack cried as she threw the remains of a care at a Uni-Trooper, crushing it only for several more to show up. "Ahh, come on! Where are these things even comin' from?" "I wish I could tell you!" Twilight told her as she picked up a Bulldozer and threw it at some Helicondor. "Who cares!" Rainbow cried as she sped onto one of the Bulldozers, looking for an opening she could use to pull out some wires. "Just keep fighting!" She spotted some Helicondor turning towards her before firing, the blasts slamming down on the robot. But to Rainbow's annoyance, the machine was undamaged by them. "Oh come on!" "Hurry," Fluttershy told a little girl that she and Sunset helped out of hiding while Rarity kept them covered with her shields. Pinkie was also throwing explosive treats at the robots, but it was requiring large amounts of the confectionery to damage one of them. "I'm running low on ammo guys!" She cried before jumping behind Rarity's shield to avoid a Uni-Trooper's slash. "And I can't keep these shields up forever," the fashionista announced. "Me neither," Applejack grabbed a Uni-Trooper's arm and pulled it off before beating the robot with it. "Easy enough for Rainbow to say to just keep fightin, but we're not the machines. A'm starting to run out of juice." "We all are," Twilight agreed as Rainbow came to a stop. "There's just too many of them." "I'm fine," Rainbow assured before she bent over and panted. "Just...give me a minute." A blast besides her caused the rainbow haired girl to cry out and leap behind the shield. "Never mind. You're right. We can't keep this up." Sunset frowned, knowing they needed to stop the robots. But there was no way the seven of them could do it alone. They needed help. Flash's insane body had brought him to the warehouse section of the city, the teen leaping onto the roof off a warehouse and moving over to the edge. He then jumped down, Flash bracing himself since he expected this to hurt. But when he slammed into the ground, superhero style, he didn't feel anything. "Wow," he said as he stood up and moved over to one of the warehouses. "Why would...I bring me here?" He got his answer when he placed a hand up against the wall of the warehouse, a square of red light suddenly appearing around it as some kind of scanner went over his hand. After a few seconds, the scanner beeped before the warehouse doors opened up. As they did, Flash's body moved into the warehouse but the place was completely pitch black. The doors closed as soon as he was inside, the lights then illuminating the building and allowing him to see what was in front of him. The what it was made him gasp in amazement. A laboratory, the likes of which Twilight Sparkle would drool at. Multiple computers and machines were littered about the place, along with tubes and other strange objects he had no idea what was. And at the back of the room was the largest computer of all. And as Flash moved towards it, the screen lit up and a bunch of coding appeared that Flash didn't understand. In that moment, Flash's body finally returned control to him and he almost fell over as his legs were suddenly jelly. "Wow!" He quickly regained his balance and looked himself over, testing to find he was back in complete control. "Finally. Now why the heck was I brought here?" As he said that, the computer suddenly changed to show words. State name and birth-date. "What?" Flash raised an eyebrow, but decided to humour the computer. He placed his name and birthday in before pressing enter, the computer beeping before more words appeared. Security question. When you and your father went camping, how big was the fish the two of you caught? Flash was amazed by this, his brain flashing back to that day. It was one of the happiest memories he had with his dad, catching the giant fish and eating it for dinner. But before they ate it, they used his dad's measuring tape to see how big it was. He typed the answer into the computer and pressed enter, the computer beeping for several seconds before it finally showed new worlds. Access granted. Now activating Cybernetic-Analysis-Support-System. "What?" Flash asked before he suddenly heard a new voice. "Hello Flash-" "WAH!" Flash jumped and looked around, but couldn't find anyone in the room. "Who said that?" "I did," the voice replied from nowhere. Flash then turned back to the computer, realising where the voice was coming from. "I am the Cybernetic-Analysis-Support-System. Cass for short." "Cass," Flash replied, "you're a computer?" "Artificial intelligence," the computer corrected. "I was developed by your father, Trail Blazer." "What?" Flash asked, "my dad made you?" "That is correct." "But...my dad wasn't a scientist. He was a pilot. He was good with machines, sure, but not some kind of super genius." "That is where you are wrong. While he was a pilot in his youth, his travels lead him all over the world. Those travels allowed him to meet people and learn from them, Trail using what he learned to slowly become a master of programming and robotics. He was eventually approached by the government to work on a secret project, which he could not even discuss with his own family. That is why he continued to explain he was a pilot, to cover for his true work." "What government project?" Flash asked, "and why am I even here? One minute I'm getting attacking by some crazy robot and the next, I'm crushing it with my bare hands before my body suddenly goes nuts and brings me here." "You are here because of the protocol your father left behind," Cass replied. "But maybe it is better if he explains it to you himself." "What?" Flash asked, wondering what she meant until a new light flickered in the corner of his eye. That light was projected down from the ceiling and slowly took shape, forming a human body that Flash recognised. It was a man that looked just like him, but was taller and older with a blue beard around his face. Trail Blazer. "Dad!" Flash rushed over to him, Trail looking down as his son stepped in front of him. "Is it really you? How are you-" He stopped as he reached out to grab his father, only for his hand to go right through his body. He pulled back and realised what was going on, "you're a hologram." "That's right," Trail nodded. "I developed this hologram to explain everything to you should the need arise." "The need for what?" "The need for you to know what you really are." Flash felt confused, but also a little scared that his father was about to say something to him that would change his whole life. "What are you talking about?" Trail took a deep breath, despite only being a hologram. "Do you remember the story your mother and I once told you, about when she was pregnant with you." Flash's mind clicked an he remembered. "You said mom was in a car accident and hit pretty badly. But when the doctors checked her out, they found the two of us were fine." Trail frowned at this, "we were both fine...right?" Trail sighed, "your mother was. But you...were affected." "What?" "The accident caused some fetal damage." "What kind of damage?" Flash asked, "does mom know about that?" "No. Neither did the doctors. I scanned you before they had the chance and when I realised what had happened, I acted instantly." "What happened to me!?" Flash was really starting to get on edge now. Trail sighed again. "Basically, yours arms and legs were badly damaged. Had I not acted, you would have been born crippled and likely would have spent your life in a wheelchair...if you had even survived." Flash looked down at his arms and legs, unable to believe what he had just heard. "But...but I look fine." He looked up at him, "what did you do?" Trail frowned. "Cass has already told you about my work for the government?" Flash nodded. "What I was working on was a super solider project, designed to create men that are stronger, faster and more resilient then most men. It involved using specialised microscopic robots. Nanobots." "Nanobots?" "Yes. They would be injected into the body and then rebuild that body, replacing tissue and bone with machinery. It could be used to make soldiers more powerful, or to help those who had lost limbs in wars or accidents. Though it was originally designed for warfare, I knew the practical applications for it were infinite. I worked hard on the nanobots until, finally, I had perfected a batch. But that's when your mother was in the accident." Flash's brain slowly put the pieces together, once again looking down at his hands. "You used them on me." "Yes," Trail nodded. "When nobody was looking, I injected your mother with the nanobots and programmed them to enter you through her. Once inside, they began repairing the damage. You arms and legs were reconstructed using mechanical bones that they grafted onto your real ones. They also embedded a microscopic chip into your brain that would allow you to control them like you would any other appendage." "So I'm am robot?" "No," Trail shook his head, "of course not." He thought for a moment, "I guess the technical term would be...cyborg." "I'm a cyborg!" "Yes. But this doesn't make you any less human." "Except for the parts of me that aren't human!" Flash told him, "how much of me is robotic? Am I more machine then man?" Trail shook his head, "no. The nanobots were able to repair your body and left fifty-two percent of it unchanged." "But the other forty-eight percent is robotic?" Trail nodded. "So my entire life, I've been half machine." He continued to stare at his arms, "but I've grown? If my arms and legs are mechanical, how have they grown with me?" "The nanobots are still within you. They've continued to increase the length of your arms and legs in proportion to your natural growth. I wanted you to be like any other kid." "But I'm not!" Flash cried, "I'm...some kind of freak. Other kids can't crush metal with their bare hands!" It was then he realised something, "how did I do that? I'm suddenly so much stronger. I've had trouble carrying heavy boxes up the stairs. How did I destroy a killer robot?" "Because you've finally awakened your true strength." Flash gave Trail a questioning look. "Your robotic arms and legs are incredibly powerful. At full strength, you could lift a bus full of people over your head. But of course, this isn't something normal people can do. So I installed a program to limit your natural strength to that of a normal person. Had you ever done any weight training, the nanobots would have known about this and undo the limit enough to match how strong you should have been with real arms and legs. But today, those limits were completely removed." "Why?" Flash asked, seeing a frown appear on Trail's face before he turned to the computer. Flash turned to it as well and the screen flashed on, showing images from CCTV cameras all over the city. They showed the robots attacking the city, attacking people and destroying everything they came across. "Mechano." "Mecha-who?" Flash asked. "Mechano was the other person working on the nanobot project. But he had...other plans for it. Plans I only found out after we completed the nanobots. Those robots have the same nanobots you have, which is what activated the protocol that removed your limits and brought you here." "He wants to destroy Canterlot?" Flash turned back to the screen, anger welling up at the sight of his home being attacked. "Not destroy. Conquer. He must be planning to turn the city into his own personal fortress, which will allow him to create even more robots. If that happens, he'll begin to spread his clutches out through the rest of the country. And after that, the world." "How do you know this?" "The real me discovered Mechano's plans not long after you were born, when we had mastered the mass production of nanobots. I found evidence that they were being used to build something. When I confronted him about it, he didn't deny it." He let out a sigh, "he was a brilliant scientist but I always sensed there was something...wrong with him. But I didn't know how unhinged he was until I discovered what he was doing. And when I confronted him, he set one of his machines on me." Flash's eyes went wide. "But before it could hurt me, it began to malfunction and destroyed our lab. I managed to escape, but Mechano appeared to be lost." "But he wasn't," Flash pointed to the screen. "He's back and he's causing mayhem." "I knew he wasn't gone," Trail explained. "They never discovered a body and a man like him wouldn't use something that could malfunction if he didn't have an escape plan. I knew he was licking his wounds and working on perfecting his creations, so I had to counter with my own." Flash wondered what he meant, but quickly realised what he was getting at and looked down at his arms. "Me?" Trail nodded. "Cass, bring up file titled Project Mega-Man." The computer beeped before several windows opened, revealing blueprints of a humanoid figure in a set of strange armour. "What is this?" "The fruits of my research. The government wanted a super soldier and I created one. However, the project was shut down after Mechano's mad attack on me. But I knew he would be back and that we would need some way to fight back." "So you want to turn me into a super weapon?" Flash turned to his father in horror. Trail looked back at him, a grim look on his face. "I never wanted you to be anything other then a normal boy. And even now, I won't force this on you. But there is no one else that can possibly protect this city from Mechano. Only the power of the nanobots can stop the ones Mechano created. And you are the only one with them." "You had years to do all this," Flash told him. "Why didn't you make some more nanobots and give them to someone else...like the police or the government?" "We both know they wouldn't just use them to stop Mechano. They would create millions of new weapons that could cause great suffering around the world. They can't be trusted." "But I can?" Trail nodded, moving to put his hand on the boy's shoulder only to stop upon realising what he was. "I know you, son. You're a good person. You wouldn't let power like this change you or use it for your own desires. You'd only ever use it to help people, like right now. But it's your decision." They turned towards the screen, watching as more and more of their city was ripped apart. "You can call your mother and tell her to bring Base here. You'll be safe until the heat dies down, then get out of the city." "But then Mechano would win," Flash told him. Trail nodded. "If you want Mechano to be stopped, it means you must embrace who you are. You are Flash Sentry, a cyborg." As he said this, his image began to flicker and crack. "Dad?" Flash looked worried as Trail looked himself over. "I created this hologram in a hurry. I was only able to make it last so long." "But where are you?" He asked, "the real you?" "I do not know," Trail replied as his image grew weaker and flickered more. "I created this hologram in case anything should ever happen to me. So that I could explain all this too you myself. It appears it was the right call." His form started to turn see through. "Now it's up to you Flash. If you chose to do this, Cass will be here to help you with everything you need. And hopefully, I'll eventually return and help you as well." His form was almost completely gone, "goodbye son." "Dad!" Flash rushed forward, but his father's hologram completely vanished. "Hologram records have failed," Cass explained. "I am sorry Flash." The teen let out a sigh as he stared at where his father had once been, many more questions filling his mind. But then a scream made him turn to the computer and see several Helicondor chasing after some people. His father's words echoed through his head and he stepped forward. "Cass, how do I do this? Become this...Mega-Man?" His answer came when the keyboard flipped up and revealed a hole beneath it, where a strange metal bracelet sat. "This is the Mega-Band. Using the activation phrase while wearing it will allow me to transfer the data to your nanobots, which will do the rest. But be warned, this will not work unless you are mentally open to the fact that you are part machine." Flash grabbed the bracelet and held it in his hands, then clutched it tight. The day's events were spiralling in his head, especially the information he had just learned. But he knew he had to do this and placed the bracelet on his wrist. "What's the phrase?" "The phrase is a word your father created so it would not be used accidently. Megamorph." Flash took a deep breath and closed his eyes, readying himself. "Alright," his eyes shot open, "Megamorph!" The Mega-Band flashed before unleashing a blue light that completely engulfed him. Within the light, Flash felt himself beginning to change. His clothes were slowly beginning to change as they were covered in a white light that then exploded off of him to reveal his new suit. Said suit was some kind of skin-tight leather jumpsuit that was blue around his chest and arms and black from his waist down. A black metal belt appeared around his waist with a large blue buckle, while a white strip went up the sides of his legs and waist before ending at his armpits. Another flash of white light appeared around his chest, arms, legs and feet, which then exploded off to reveal blue football armour-like metal around his chest, blue metal gauntlets around his arms and blue metal boots around his feet and legs. His head was then enveloped by the light that exploded off of him, revealing a blue helmet with circles over the ears that had a light blue band running up the helmet to give it a headphone appearance. The helmet also had a red visor covering his eyes and a black mask covering his mouth and chin. The light faded to reveal Flash in his new appearance, the teen looking himself over and being amazed by the sudden transformation. "Wow," his muffled voice spoke. When the thought of taking his helmet off entered his head, both his visor and mask retracted into the helmet. "This feels...incredible." "I know what's happening is a lot to take in," Cass told him. "But right now, your city is in danger." Flash nodded, "you're right." He turned towards the door as it began to open, the cyborg rushing forward as his helmet closed back up. "Wish me luck!" With that, he ran out of the warehouse and turned towards the city. He felt himself run faster then he had ever run before and as he got close to the edge of the warehouse area, he jumped and got a good fifteen meters before falling back down and landing atop one of the warehouse roofs. He then rushed forward and jumped over to another building, easily making the distance and continuing to move forward. "Watch out Mechano," he cried while jumping into the air again. "Mega-Man's coming for ya!" Back in the main city, Metall and his group soon arrived at a building sight. The construction crew soon spotted them and all panicked as the robots caused havoc. At the same time, Metall looked around. "Something with flare," he told himself until he spotted a man drop a welding torch as he tried to escape from an attacking Uni-Trooper. "Ooh." The Bulldozer came to a stop in front of the torch and Metall jumped down. "You look like you have flare." As he said that, the green cross on his head opened up before a long clear tube with a needle on the end came out. It slithered over to the torch and the needle was injected into the metal. The purple liquid flew through the tube and into the needle, then was injected into the torch. After a few seconds, the liquid was all used and Metall retracted the hose into his head. He stepped back as the torch began to glow purple and shake, the entire device soon being consumed by the light before it form changed. It slowly grew large and took a more humanoid form until, finally, the light faded to reveal the new creation. A humanoid robot with red armour. Its head looked like a knight's helmet with a plume made entirely out of fire. Its shoulders were large orbs with a hole in them, while its arms ended in large welding torches. The visor lit up, signalling the robot's activation. And as soon as it did, it let out a mighty roar as the torches ignited and burst of fire exploded out of its shoulder holes. "I...am...BLAZE-MAN!"