“What the heck is that?” Nikita asked “And how it was here!”
“The Zeta-like MS? Man, do you know how much performance that things have in it’s engine?”, Ensign Mark commented. “And Joe held up for like about 6 minutes?, that’s a pretty long time, especially when most of it was a fire exchange!”
On their way back to their base Joseph checked his data bank that was installed along with his suit. He found there is no MS that matches what he has fought with.
“This is perhaps a classified MS project . That means AE has probably sent it here to test! Filthy elites…”
“Why care about AE! They don’t care who they sell to most of the time! They just care about money!”
“Or maybe they’re not! At least this time…” Joseph said “I remember seeing a decal on it that said ‘MSZ-006-3’, I’ll tell them what they are? After returning to the base, just follow the protocol, is that clear?”
“Clear, Sir!”, both of them answered.
“He’s probably a human! No, a special one like us!” Joseph thought “No way a dirty creature can be given with such an MS.”
If you are standing on the ground and looking up at the sky on that Wednesday evening, there will be a group of three dish-shaped objects flying with three trails behind them. Joseph's squad is flying in a triangular formation to where the is setting. The creatures below were shocked by what just happened right before their eyes, the sight of seven gigantic human figures, riding on something that looked like a giant circular shaped carpet fighting each other.
“Is… Is that some type of magic?” a filly asked her mom.
…
“Hey! I’ve never ordered any to “do on your own”!” Haystack scolded Flash when they finally got back to the Canterlot “And is your com link dead or what?”
“I… I don’t know…” Flash answered “I guess there is some malfunction…”
“And we just piss off the Chancellor, dude! He’s a bad pony, yes! But he’s still S.M.I.L.E boss!”
“Cool down, Haystack!” Lyra came and said “He did a great job today!”
“Urgh! At least you are the one who solves the mess later!”
“But, as always, y’all should write a report of what happened in the last mission for us. And don’t forget to tell your mechanics to give us your combat data! And about you, Brandon…” she turned to Flash “You can beat the opponent right in the first time you were deployed with us! That’s good news! Now you will do exactly what I have told your squad!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Then, Flash just gets lonely by himself, among the busy creatures doing their business in the second MS hangar.
…
“There’s your room, buddy!” the Lieutenant pointed at Flash's personal cabin “I don’t know how long this will last, but make sure to enjoy this cozy place!”
It was one of the smaller cabins compared to the majority of cabins across the ship, which he had learned after a short tour of the Canterlot, but he is a pilot so he has been given the opportunity to have his own personal space with everything a particular human like him needs to have.
“Well… this one is for one of the humans who used to train us in the time we still need them to operate these things. They have left now!” Haystack explained “Since this room is not refurbished for the creatures , you can use it freely!”
“Thank you, Lieutenant…”
“Nah! That was Bonbon’s order, we just followed what she said! Honestly, living in a cell will be more appropriate for ya!”
Flash quietly inspected his cabin. The soft bed, cool conditioner, a little wardrobe,… and even a personal bathroom. That’s really everything he needs:
“That’s a hard day for you! Just wake up and you have to climb up to your own suit and fight!”
“Yeah…”
“Lyra said she will tell her subordinate to prepare the luggage for ya! I’ll meet y’all at 7pm, in the cantena!”
“Yes, Sir!”
…
After a refreshing bath, Flash put on his new coffee brown Federation uniform.
“How… How do they have all of these things?” Flash asked the soldier who gave him the luggage.
“Well… Turns out there is an EFF officer who recommends leaving these stuff back for the future soldier. We don’t know when there will be another EFF deployment here, but just wish they do not come again. Some of them are down right racist, but you are certainly not one of them. Anyway, enjoy!”
He keeps thinking wild when he walks down the little white-painted alleyway somewhere inside the ship’s main hall. It was a clean looking vessel, both from the outside and the inside. But he heard Lyra say they are lacking resources.
“Lady Rainbow Dash will solve this for us soon, as long as that filthy Chancellor doesn't stand in the way.” she added.
Some of the lights inside the alleyway are flickering, indicating that they need to be changed.
Then, a blow of cold wind suddenly hits Flash’s back, which makes Flash go goosebumps. He turned around where is standing. It was completely silent and there was no one else but him.
“That's strange…”
After a few more seconds walking in panic, he reached a door. But, no matter how hard he tries, the door just keeps its position.
“This door should be replaced…” Flash mumbled.
“Nah! It’s fine.” A cheerful voice comes up “You just have to do it a little harder.”
He purposely lengthens the word “little”.
“Who… Who’s that?”
Flash rapidly turned his back, only to see the normal silent alleyway, as it should be.
“Who is that?” Flash asked out loud. His mind told him there may be a spy hidden in the ship.
“Awe… You know who I am!” the voice answered back.
Suddenly, he could feel he knew the owner of the voice. It seems like it came from one of the creatures he had seen back in Antarctica, during his first ever encounter with the Alicorn.
“Is that…”
But then, the door suddenly opened.
“Ah, there you are!” Haystack appeared behind the door “I just intended to come to your room! Get to the canteena ASAP!”
…
Just as the mission room when he was first introduced to the ship, the cantina was also crowded with creatures.
“The kirin? Don’t worry, dude!” Blue Thunder said when he noticed some fear on Flash’s face when he saw a couple of kirins walking nearby “As long as you don’t enrage them, they’ll do no harm.”
This has reminded him of the mysterious kirin he had seen previously, as well as his foal hood, when one of the “mothers” told him about the legend of the kirin.
“The kirin is beautiful, but don’t let it fool you!” she said “As soon as you fall into their traps, they can fry you with their unquenchable fire in their nirik form and make them their lunch!”
When they get to the team’s table, Haystack and the rest of his squad are already there.
“So… Do you know anything about the suits we encounter?” Yamina asked, “I mean… their commander’s MS is almost identical to yours.”
“I’ll ask Lyra and Bonbon for more. But they just said they just came here a few earlier to train the ponies and try to capture the Alicorn, just like us! And they come from a unit called the Blue Guards.
“Blue… Guards?” Flash mumbled. He has heard this name before.
“Hey human! Ya know anything about them?” Blue Thunder asked.
“Uh… Actually not much. They are just another small EFF’s unit… I suppose…”
“And we also have the name of the three guys we encountered today!” Haystack pulled out a sheet of paper “Let me see… Joseph Barn, Nikita Govarich and Mark Ester! They formed into a team called the Trio of Terror. How arrogant!”
“Beaten by our new friends the first time deployed!” Blue Thunder laughed “Just don’t take them seriously!”
…
That is the first night he spent as an official soldier fighting for S.M.I.L.E. After his first mission with the team, he have sometimes to to be alone, thinking wild about what he have gone through: the hibernation in the middle of somewhere like the Frozen North for decades, wake up, being found and get tortured in a military base only to work at that same place, encounter a mysterious machine and get pulled back to Equestria only to see how much as changed,…
“And Twilight…”, Flash unconsciously mumbled.
“Flash. Sentry. The shameless pony who stole Her Majesty's crown , is that guy?” some creature said grumpily “Do you see the consequence now, Luster?”
“Luster?” Flash mumbled “Who’s that!”
“Yeah…” the voice that Flash said belonged to a pony named Luster said “I… I don’t know if it will turn out like this…”
“Come on Grisela!” another voice comes up, which Flash found very stylish “We can find another one… Hopefully we can find a better and a more handsome one next time!”
“Found another?” Grisela replied, this time with a higher voice “Don’t you even see how powerful the curse Luster cast on that pegasus?”
“Enough guys, enough!” Luster said to both “We may rely on him!”
“She’s right, guys!” the voice that he had heard in the alleyway before came up “He’s a nice guy, kinda…”
“Oh come on! Not you too, BB?”
He has listened throughout a conversation that he presumes he is just making up. He shakes his head a couple of times, but the voices just keep going and going, and what he hears is crystal clear, like a group of creatures talking right next to his room.
“Please… please just a dream…”
“Hey! You heard what we say right?”
Luster's voice comes up, followed by a knock on the door “Hello?”
“Don’t be shy, my friend. Open the door!” another voice yelled.
Then, more and more knocking followed, and there were some more voices. However, Flash could distinguish them all and that helped him assume that there are five of them.
The voices and knocks ended after a few minutes. Flash wondered what happened and decided to go check for himself.
The door opened, and when he looked outside, everything was still normal. Empty, silent, and that one light still flickering. He decided to get back inside.
Then, something happened in his own cabin which shocked him to the core.
A group of creatures, the group that he had seen when he first encountered the Alicorn, standing a row staring at Flash. They don't move an inch, nothing on them seems to be moving.
Flash could feel the cabin get colder yet the moment he saw them, he started sweating like a bath.
The creatures are still staring at him with that same lifeless face he has seen before. But this time, they decide to go further: the group walked toward Flash all together. They even walk through the beds and stuff in his room with no problem.
“Gh… Gh… Ghost!” Flash sputtering while slowly walking back to the door.
Flash falled down once, but he still managed to touch the door handle. When he try to open it, the door stuck again, just like when he encountered that voice.
“Bring us live! Bring us live! Bring us live!” the creatures demanded while slowly walking towards him.
They keep walking for a few seconds before deciding to stop before him all at once.
“Please tell me this is a dream…” Flash mumbled in fear.
“Oh! It’s no dream.” The kirin said, her mane and tail started to emit fire. “You have taken our gold and gems, now you have to bring us out from this Tartarus!”
“What?”
“You will find a way to free us! That Alicorn Gun… whatever it is, harms us, tear us apart day by day, and you not only steal gems from us, but also stand by and watch us dying day by day! You're selfish!” the pink unicorn said “If you don’t free us from that prison, we’ll promise to come and visit you like this every night!”
Then, after having some maniacal laugh, they decide to jump into him all at once:
“Surprise!”
“Ah!”
Flash suddenly sitting up, breathing rapidly. He then looked back and saw he was still sitting on the bed. His bed nearly got wet because of how sweet he was.
“Save… them out?” he sighed “Luster, Grisela, BB…? Who’s the other two?”