//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: EXECUTIONER ONE // by Hurgusburgus //------------------------------// HOSTILE ONE. STAND DOWN. THIS UNIT IS TRANSPORTING SIX HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUALS, the machine boomed loudly, yet Celestia paid it no mind. Discord had brought it here, that much she was sure of. She had to eliminate the threat it posed. Coming around, she let loose another burst of energy, and the machine groaned, stuttering as it rocked to left. She grinned. She must have dealt it a grievous blow. Tough it may be, but it was dim-witted and slow. That’s when the world exploded around her, thick clouds of whickering metal, cordite and gunpowder that rattled and shook her violently and she was barely able to stay aloft, let alone fly forwards. It had been a stroke of luck that she’d managed to cast a shield in time and she watched in shock as the behemoth kept assaulting her barriers. She had definitely underestimated this one. She did not know how this battle would end, but she knew one thing. This would be a very difficult opponent to defeat. EXECUTIONER ONE, FIRING SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES, the machine declared. Puffs of smoke soon erupted from its surface and streaks of light soared towards the alicorn. Celestia smiled confidently, dodging to side, giving a chuckle as the howling projectiles hurtled past her, missing by a wide margin. It was a complete shock when the missiles slammed into her shield from behind, covering the sphere of magic energy into roiling flames. What? How did it do that? She was once more on the defensive, dodging and weaving as she was chased by more missiles, but grinned as an idea came to her. She banked around and headed right for the machine… Twilight squealed in horror as Celestia dived right for the machine. “Princess! What’re you doing?” She got her answer a moment later as the alicorn teleported, reappearing on the other side of Executioner One. A split-second later, twelve Siriam-Cornodae Windwaker-7 SAMs slammed into the side of the Ortalian mech. Several screens blew out in a shower of sparks as Twilight and her friends were tossed about like ragdolls, yelling in surprise. Alarms started blaring. ++RUN SYSTEMS ASSESSMENT++ ++SYSTEMS ANALYSIS… COMPLETE++ ++DAMAGE TO CHASSIS… CONSIDERABLE++ ++NANITE REPAIR SYSTEMS…ACTIVE++ ++ENGAGING SECONDARY WEAPONS++ ++ANCESTORS DAMN IT++ ++STOP TRYING TO KILL EVERYTHING, DAMN YOU++ Celestia grinned, relieved to find out her gamble had worked. She was one step closer to victory. She was too busy patting herself on the head to notice a monumental build-up of energy from her opponent as the pair of Tallaxian-made particle disassemblers unleashed their destructive power against her shield. Her barriers held, if only barely. A sharp pain lanced up her horn as she wobbled precariously mid-flight, but remained aloft. Ye gods, that’ll take a while to buff out… Her migraine-addled musings were interrupted as the jags and scars in the machine’s side slowly repaired themselves and she blanched. This battle just got a whole lot more difficult… Canterlot Castle Royal Gardens Oh, this is just amazing! Discord cackled, seeing the beleaguered alicorn diarch keep attacking the machine over and over again. The mech took all the blows head-on and effortlessly returned them with interest. And it was still going, whereas Celestia had acquired a wide array of cuts and scrapes all over her body. Her mane was torn and singed from too many close calls. Her regalia was dented and covered in soot. Yet she still kept on fighting. It was both amusing and admirable at the same time. Oh, it was so invigorating to see her waver and hesitate before the machine. He dearly wished he could grab some popcorn. Alas, his stone prison prevented him from doing so. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. EXECUTIONER ONE, CHARGING MATTER COLLIDER Celestia could feel her body was soaked in sweat. Maintaining the shield was taking its toll on her – the machine was unrelenting in its assault – when she tried to pull of that teleporting trick again, it simply destroyed the missiles chasing her. When she tried to go in close, it vomited great gouts of flame at her and she was forced to pull back. And at all times, an unending hail of solid projectiles would be chipping away at her shield steadily, slowly draining her considerable strength through the sheer volume of firepower it possessed. She was all out of ideas as to what to do. Just then, what seemed like beams of hot air slammed into her barrier – had there been a Ortalian present, he would quickly recognise that as hardlight projectors. She cried out in pain as she plummeted to ground, digging a trench as she came to a halt. Still, she stood back up, fury filling her. She would not submit to this abomination of metal. She would defeat it. She would find out what Discord was up to! Her resolve thus fortified, she turned to face the machine trudging at her. EXECUTIONER ONE, FIRING MATTER COLLIDER, the mech declared in its rumbling voice, bringing its monstrous cannon to bear. A low thrum permeated the air as Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise and she tried to dodge. “NO! STOP!” Twilight cried out in shock as the world dissolved into light and noise and The matter collider fired a single shot that shook the ground for miles around. If there had been a Coalition or an Imperial vessel in orbit of Equestria, the crew would’ve easily detected the power surge. Alas, that was not the case and the discharge of the matter collider went unnoticed. As the smoke and vaporized soil cleared out, Twilight’s heart stuck in her throat. Celestia was lying at the bottom of a relatively deep crater, smoke rising from it. Her body was covered in soot and deep gashes. Was she still alive? She had to find out! Celestia stirred weakly, her body and mind awash with pain. Oh, that one’s going to smart in the morning… She groaned, feebly sitting up as the machine came to a halt in front of her, aiming its entire arsenal at her. HOSTILE ONE. STAND DOWN, it boomed at her, but then, its voice was interrupted by another one and she saw a speck of purple on the machine’s hull. “…don’t worry… One, princess… are okay…” Twilight slipped back inside the window, pulling it shut after her. It had been a stroke of luck she had noticed the latches on the window frame. It had been odd, too – for a machine that advanced to have simple windows that anypony could open and close. Pushing that distracting train off thought of its proverbial tracks, she spoke. “E-Executioner?” EXECUTIONER ONE ACKNOWLEDGES. “Uh-okay. Look, could you let us outside? That’s one of our leaders you just knocked senseless, so I’d like to see if she’s alright. COMBAT RECORDS PROVE HOSTILE ONE ATTACKED FIRST. EXECUTIONER ONE RETALIATED. REGARDLESS, EXECUTIONER ONE WILL ACT. EXECUTIONER ONE, ACTIVATING MEDICAL FACILITIES. “Wait, what?” The door behind her opened and they hoof-toed down the stairs leading up to the command center, eager to see if their princess was okay. Within the hull of Executioner One, machinery stirred. Several hatches opened and several droids flew out, picking up the unconscious alicorn and airlifting her inside, the hatches snapping shut behind them. A moment later, one of the droids flew back out, tossing several pieces of gold out, deeming them as unnecessary, muttering sullenly in binary about waste of good conductor material. Twilight flinched as one of the doors ahead snapped open. HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL ONE. STEP INSIDE. YOUR LEADER IS HERE, Executioner’s voice came floating from seemingly everywhere. That was all it took, though, as all six of them clambered inside, eager to see the alicorn diarch. What they saw was not what they expected. Their leader was afloat in a large tank of light-blue liquid, her tail and mane lazily curling about. There was a strange mask covering her muzzle and a couple of cables attached to her forehead. Her eyes were closed. Twilight whirled around, glaring furiously at one of the screens. “What are you doing to her? Let her go!” REQUEST DENIED. HER WOUNDS ARE NOT HEALED AND IT WILL TAKE TIME TO DO SO. YOU MAY, HOWEVER, TALK TO HER, IF YOU SO DESIRE. A moment and some strange noises later, she saw Celestia stir inside the tank. The alicorn’s eyes opened sleepily, then widened in surprise as she took in her surroundings. She tried to open her wings in an attempt to get out, but to no avail. The glass surrounding her stopped her. Frantically, she tried to escape, heedless of the glass prison she was inside. Twilight could see the urgent fear in the alicorn’s eyes and she acted. “Princess Celestia! Princess! It’s me, Twilight!” At her voice, Celestia stopped struggling and turned to face her student. The alicorn’s mouth moved without sound, but then she saw lines of words scroll across a nearby scren. _Twilight?_ “Y-yes, princess, it’s me.” Celestia looked around, her surprise only growing once she saw the rest of the Elements and she seemed to sigh. _So… it caught you as well._ “No, princess. Executioner One has been carrying us back from the Everfree Forest. It’s not here to hurt us.” _Executioner One? Such a name does not bode well for us, Twilight._ Celestia looked at her imploringly. “It’s broken and it needs help!” _It’s dangerous and Discord brought it here!_ The alicorn’s eyes seemed to flare for a moment. “Wh-what? Really?” _I am surprised. I thought you would notice the stench of chaos around this construct for sure._ “Just because Discord brought it here does not mean it’s evil! It is broken, lost, and it needs help. It’s healing your wounds right now, truth be told.” HOSTILE ONE REDESIGNED AS HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL SEVEN. HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL SEVEN ENDURED SEVERE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION DURING THE BATTLE. MEDICAL FACILITIES ARE REPLENISHING HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL SEVEN’S BLOODSTREAM WITH IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS AND VITAMINS. _Ah. Is that so? You presume to know what my body needs?_ Celestia’s gaze grew cold. INDIGENTS’ BODY STRUCTURE=SIMILAR TO EQUINES OF HUMAN WORLDS. DEDUCTIONS=EASY TO CALCULATE. “Princess, this is all just a big misunderstanding. Please, just hear me out.” Twilight pleaded. _Speak, then. Let there be no secret left untold._ Celestia nodded warily and Twilight sighed, relieved. So she sat down in front of Celestia’s tank and retold what she knew – how she had sought out any scrap of information relevant to the magical shockwave, how she had managed to locate the machine, how she had gotten lost in the Everfree and subsequently found Executioner One and the scrap they’d gotten into with it. She explained how she managed to forge a ceasefire and promised she would help it. She left the long trip untold of, seeing as that was just plain boring. _Hmm. That does explain a lot, Twilight. Still, we do not know what to do with your… new friend._ “I can keep an eye on it. In fact, I’ll lay down some ground rules right now. Executioner One?” EXECUTIONER ONE ACKNOWLEDGES. “You are not allowed to hurt any ponies while you are within Equestrian borders.” REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED. _Will that be good enough, though? Do you promise not to hurt my ponies?_ ACKNOWLEDGED. “Well, that’s as much as we’ll get out of it, I guess.” _It better keep its promise, or my retribution will be swift and furious._ “Princess, calm down. There’s no need for trouble. I can take care of it.” _You mentioned it was broken. I saw it can mend itself without trouble. Care to explain?_ “It’s more complicated than that. Apparently, this machine’s controlled by an artificial intelligence. From what I’ve been told, it’s like copying a pony’s mind and putting it inside a machine like this. And whatever’s holding this intelligence is badly damaged – it said something about extensive mainframe damage – and that’s why it’s acting like this. Because it’s broken. And we should make sure it doesn’t get into trouble until it can fix itself.” _And how long, pray tell, will that take?_ MAINFRAME REPAIRS COMPLETE IN… FOUR WEEKS. _Hmm. That certainly is a long time._ EXECUTIONER ONE WILL TURN TO HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL ONE FOR GUIDANCE WHEN NECESSARY. EXECUTIONER ONE WILL NOT CAUSE TROUBLE. _I thank you for that._ Celestia’s shoulders sagged in relief. _How much longer must I remain inside this tank?_ ESTIMATED… TEN MINUTES. _I see. I can wait that long._ …voracious old men floating in over-turned beds, chainsaw wielding maniacs that look suspiciously like that guy in the Burger King logo, and public masturbation in a subway car… “Wait, what?” Twilight’s face creased in confusion. WHAT. “You just… uh… never mind. I’ll just chalk it up to that damage you took.” ACKNOWLEDGED. So. That happened. Something about Burger King… At the very least, the indigents weren’t hostile any more. Some headway had been made. Wasn’t that what mattered?