//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Maverick Hunter HQ // Story: Mega Man X: Paradise Lost // by Captain L //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Maverick Hunter HQ Canterlot. It was once a bustling city, a hub of business, economics, and ponies of all kinds. Not only that, it was the capital of Equestria, where the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was located. The city was high on a mountain, proudly displayed for all the ponies to see. It looked nice, and it gave an aura of prosperity and order. Of course, that was all in the past. It was nothing more than a wreck now, just a symbol of what the Changelings had done. The city was quite literally crawling with them, patrols to keep command over the city. One wrong move and anypony was as good as dead. Being a Changeling offered good opportunities for camouflage, and nothing escaped their watchful eyes. Lightning Dust and the robot stallion she had rescued walked up to the front door of an ordinary house, and she knocked on the door. A muffled voice came from the other side, asking “Password?” “Come on Mac, you know it’s me. Just open the door.” The stallion inside asked again. “Password?” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes, sighed, and replied. “Whatever.” The voice on the other side of the door was quiet for a moment before opening the door fully, letting the two in. The guard saw the stallion that Lightning Dust had brought home. “Who is he?” “He’s a robot that I found in the house outside of Maresteropolis. He was what was inside of that capsule, and he saved me from a Changeling. I think it’s fair to trust him.” “And the rest of your team?” Asking was just a formality, as he already knew the answer. “Deceased. I need to ask Captain Sparkle if this robot can join the team. He’s certainly a capable fighter.” Lightning Dust got close to Mac and whispered in his ear. “I think he’s the key to winning this fight. It’s just a gut feeling, but he’s worth the shot.” Mac nodded, and walked over to the basement door. The three of them walked down the dark stairway into the cold cellar. Mac tapped the stone wall in a precise manner, opening the hidden door. Past the doorway was the hidden base of the Maverick Hunters. The room was lit up bright with many computer screens monitoring what was going on in cities all across Equestria. Ponies were sitting at the desks keeping a close eye on what was being displayed, and other ponies were running in every direction following orders. The robot was shocked. “When you said that the Maverick Hunters was a rebellion group, I figured that it would be low-key, small, not this. If Equestria is dominated by those Changelings, how can you maintain an operation like this?” Lightning Dust laughed. “The Changelings may be numerous, but they’re idiots. The only advantage they have is surprise. We may not be able to change our shapes, but most of us have brains. Speaking of brains, I’d like to introduce you to my commanding officer, Captain Twilight Sparkle.” She gestured to a pony standing at the front of the room. It was a purple unicorn mare with a tight black outfit, busy reading something. Lightning Dust provided the robot with an introduction. “Captain Sparkle, I’ve returned from my mission to Maresteropolis, and retrieved this robot. He was the one sealed inside the capsule, and he saved me from an attack. He wants to fight for our cause, and I feel he would be a valuable asset.” The captain looked over from her reading to face them. When she saw the blue robot, she was overcome with shock. “You…it can’t be…,” she whispered, though still loud enough for him to hear. She looked him over closer, and shook her head. “Never mind. You just…look like a pony I knew a long time ago. So, you want to fight with the Maverick Hunters?” The robot saluted. “Yes ma’am, I would. You fight for a noble cause, and I only want to help who’s right!” Twilight nodded. “It’s good to meet someone so enthusiastic to fight. You’ll just have to meet with the leader of the Maverick Hunters for final confirmation. Come on, I’ll bring you.” She began walking towards a side room, and gestured for the robot to follow. The two of them walked through hallways as the robot attempted to make conversation. “Twilight Sparkle? Weren’t you one of the Elements of Harmony? So what happened all those years ago?” Twilight sighed, a note of sadness in her voice. “They just came too quick. They infiltrated unseen, and once they had integrated themselves, they struck. The Elements only work if all six members are present, and the Changeling Queen made sure they weren’t. I don’t even know what happened to my friends. They could be hypnotized, they could be captured, they could be…” She trailed off, not wanting to say the most likely option. “I don’t really like to talk about my past. So what about you? I don’t even know your name.” “I don’t either. I was sealed in that capsule for 30 years, and I don’t remember anything about my life before that, if I had one at all. No name, no creator, you lost your friends, but I don’t even know if I had any. You mentioned I look like somepony?” “Yes, you look like a pony I knew a long time ago. We weren’t friends or anything, but I respected him for what he did. He went up alone against Discord, the King of Chaos, and won. Truthfully, once the Elements were no longer an option, I was looking for him to save us again. But he never came. I shouldn’t have put so much faith in him, wanting him to go against an army, but I believed in him. And seeing you brought back some of that hope.” The robot thought on it, and wasn’t sure what to think. This other pony, my predecessor I suppose, he sounds like a true warrior. Just seeing me brought back those old memories and beliefs. She wants me to be like him. But, what if I’m not? What would happen if I fail? His thoughts were interrupted when Twilight stopped. “Alright, I’ll leave the two of you alone to discuss your recruitment. Just go in here.” She walked away as he entered the room. Inside was a sort of training room, with dummies of Changeling drones propped up on stands. The room was empty, except for one pony taking a dummy on quite well. The pony’s coat was a bright red, with an incredibly long blond mane. Around its waist was a belt, serving no purpose but to hold whatever was hanging off of it. Once the pony was done training, it turned to the robot. He responded to the unsaid question. “I’m here to join the Maverick Hunters, and I was told to speak to you, ma’am.” The pony laughed, in a voice too deep to be a mare. The robot regretted what he had said, but the stallion thankfully wasn’t offended. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first one to think I’m a mare. I probably should cut my mane, but I just like the way it looks. My name’s Zero. And yours?” “I don’t know what my name is. I’m a robot that was sealed away for 30 years in a capsule, and I just got released today. I want to fight with you, and Captain Sparkle said I should talk with you.” “Well, she’s right. I’m the leader of the Maverick Hunters. You’ve certainly got the right attitude, but you can’t be a Hunter unless you’ve got something worthwhile. Are you a fighting robot?” “Well, I wouldn’t call myself a fighting robot, but I do have combat abilities, sir.” “Please, stop with the formalities. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Attack one of those dummies, show me what you can do.” Zero stepped back to allow the robot space. Trying to replicate what he had done in instinct against the real Changeling, he pointed his horn at the dummy, attempting to gather the energy to fire another shot. It was harder than expected to perform the move, but Zero was patient. After a minute, he fired the blast, shooting a hole clean through the dummy. Zero was impressed. “I don’t see many unicorns able to do something like that, besides Twilight. I say that you should be a Hunter. Just work on firing off the shot quicker, you don’t always have time to prepare on the battlefield.” He walked out of the room, the robot following, taking another look at the dummy he destroyed. Back in the main room of the base, Zero and the robot walked in, standing at the front of the room. Zero called out to all the ponies in the area. “Attention, everypony! I’d like you all to meet this robot, the newest member of the Maverick Hunters! I’m sure he’s going to be a worthy comrade to our cause!” The room cheered at their new recruit as Lightning Dust walked to him, giving him a hearty pat. Twilight also came over, a clipboard being held with her magic. “I don’t know if you had any sort of opinion on the matter, but if you’d like, I came up with a name for you.” The robot shrugged. “I didn’t have any sort of idea. What did you come up with?” “I mentioned that pony that you looked like? His name was Mega Stallion. He was a robot too, and I’d like to think of you as the successor to his legacy. So, I’ve come up with…Mega Stallion X! Or just X for short.” The robot tilted his head in confusion. “X? Why’d you choose that?” “X is commonly used as a variable, something that can be any number. It represents unlimited potential. That’s what you mean to us, a robot that can do anything!” He nodded. “X…yeah, that makes sense. From now on, my name is Mega Stallion X.” Though he liked the name, the connotations it carried scared him. Not just the amount of faith that was being placed on him, but the other use of X, a letter denoted to the unknown, something that can’t be trusted. This whole battle is about trust. Do I deserve their trust? Do I deserve their admiration? I may have a name, but I’m nopony. I’ve got nothing that’s shown who or what I am yet. What’s going to happen when things change? Zero smiled. “X and Zero, the unstoppable team. Just get your combat skills honed, and that’ll be the reality in no time.” The main door slammed open, and two gruff stallions were carrying a purple earth pony stallion, properly bound and restrained. The guards threw him to the floor in front of Zero, who was both surprised and disappointed to see the prisoner. “Vile, how can you keep showing up here? You aren’t being controlled by the Changelings, so why do you keep committing these crimes? I’d be surprised that you’ve evaded Changeling capture this long if it weren’t for your complete lack of a heart. They have no use for you, and neither do I. Guards, take him out of my sight.” Though he didn’t say anything, everything Vile needed to say was in the glare he gave Zero. Once he was on his way to being placed in a prison cell, Zero explained to X. “Vile is what we call a Maverick, somepony that fights against us, usually due to the Changeling Queen’s power to hypnotize. Vile’s the only one who just does it for laughs. Stay away from him, he’s insane.” X thought on Zero’s, and a Maverick Hunter’s, definition of a Maverick. Somepony that fights against them. So would they be willing to declare a pony with a differing view as an enemy that must be destroyed? Sirens began blaring through the room, knocking X out of this thought. Twilight was furiously typing on a computer, finding the source of the commotion. “We’ve got a reporting sighting of a Maverick! No, two! Wait…eight. Eight Mavericks. Each of them is attacking our troops. There’s something going on here, the Changelings must be carrying out some kind of plan.” “Do we have any sort of confirmation on who the pony originally was?” Twilight shook her head. “Negative. But everything is indicating that they’re really strong. Zero, you’ll need to be the one to confront them. Avoid lethal force if possible. And…X, I know you just got here, but you’re probably the only Hunter that could stand a chance. Will you go out?” X agreed, though not without unseen hesitation. Twilight used her magic to float a small device over to him. “This is a communicator. You most likely have one built into your systems, but I’ll need to do some investigating in the future to be able to use it. Until then, put this into your ear. I’ll be acting as a guide while you’re on a mission. Do both of you understand your assignment?” X and Zero confirmed their approval, and ran out the door. Twilight sat down and said to herself, “X, don’t fail us.”