This chapter will be in 3rd person.
Train Ride
One hour…that’s all the time Resistance was given to gather his gear and prepare for the trip. An hour was so little time to contemplate what you might need to take. The will to gather everything is strong but it must be fought. To take everything is to slow yourself and your team down in combat. If things are really as bad as he thinks, he will need to be light and fast.
He races as quickly as his hooves will carry him back to his ship and supplies. He will need to choose the time to reveal his true nature carefully; it’s no longer a question of can he keep his true identity secret, but more like when will they know the truth? Will it be when the first Bullseye round smashes the face of a former pony? Or maybe when he draws his combat knife across the throat of a pony’s former friend? Or when his eyes glow with the same intensity of his enemies?
Whatever the case, they will find out and all he can do is prepare for the shit storm that comes with it. He reaches his ship with forty-six minutes until it’s time to leave. He grabs his backpack and empties its contents on the floor. Each item hits with a metallic twang. Quickly, he grabs several magazines full of Bullseye ammunition and marksman rounds, placing several of each mag into his chest plate and placing several inside of his bag.
He runs down the rows of weapons looking for the cleanest one to take with him. He will care for it on the way but if he could reduce the time on repairs, it would allow for more planning. He’s never faced Chimera made from animals before. Any unicorn could become an Angel and hit anypony with a mental blast. A Pegasus Chimera would be a nightmare to fight. Chimera fighters were faster and deadlier than the closest human jet fighter. The only thing that gave a pilot a chance against them was that a human could be clever. Chimera were boring as pilots and rarely did anything that would make a person say “wow”.
“I can imagine the same rule would still apply here. Pegasi are agile by nature, making them a force to be reckoned with,” Resistance said to himself. He continues down the rack until he finds the best-looking Bullseye and pulls it from the rack. Sliding a magazine inside the weapon brings it to life. The gun charges up and lights turn on from the power source. Aiming the weapon causes its holographic sights to spring up. The sights have two functions: one to show how much ammo is left in the gun and show how much secondary ammo is left. Both read “full”, satisfying the stallion.
Resistance approaches his bag and checks to make sure everything he would need is inside. Ammunition, helmet, and various other items are checked off on his mental checklist. He then looks for something he needs in the pile he made when he dumped the bag’s contents. Sifting through the pile, he finds what he is looking for: a black leather journal he has been making for a while now. He found it once while on a mission in Missouri. A shop had been ransacked for food, medical supplies, and ammunition. He found the journal siting on the counter like someone planned to purchase it. He decided to take it and record his journeys to make sure he left a record of his existence behind. Since then, many of the pages had been filled with pictures and descriptions of the places he’s been and the things he has seen. It also details weapons and Chimera for anyone who finds it.
Resistance cracks it open and skims through the content on a page. It talks about a mission that went well for America during the early days of the war. He flips to another page that details the inner workings of the Bullseye and how to use it effectively in battle. Resistance closes the journal and slips it into his bag. “Just in case I don’t make it, at least they will understand what needs to be done.”
Resistance slings the backpack onto his back and straps both of his chosen weapons to either side of his body. With one last look to make sure he didn’t leave anything, he exits and closes the ship. With his mind buzzing with ideas, he walks back to the library, ready for war.
********
Resistance had made it back to the library with ten minutes to spare. The others hadn’t shown up yet so he took his time reading up on the region they were going to. It was mostly a flat area, meaning there was no chance of sneaking in. Anypony would have been seen approaching from a mile away. With limited ammo at his disposal, it was top-priority to get inside the downed drop ship and stock up.
The door to the library swings open and in walks Rainbow Dash with war paint on her face. “Who’s ready to kick some butt?”
“Oh oh me me!” Pinkie Pie comes bouncing inside wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses and her bag looks stuffed with various party supplies.
Next to arrive is Rarity wearing a camouflaged hat but the coloring makes her stand out more than hide away. “Ready when you are, Darlings.”
“Woowee! Let’s get a move on, already.” Applejack shouts as she enters. She looked prepared for a long trip.
“Oh hold on, girls. I need to get some scrolls and quills for the trip.” Twilight enters and makes her way towards a desk with writing supplies.
Finally, Fluttershy enters with a variety of sporting gear and pillows attached to her body in a form of makeshift armor. “Well at least that’s something,” Resistance says under his breath.
“Ah yeah. I’m so excited. Not only were we called out to help the princess with an important mission but we will probably make the papers again. Everyone will know Rainbow Dash was there to save the day!” Rainbow Dash flies around the Library with obvious excitement. Resistance keeps examining each of the girls and the way they packed. Fluttershy has armor on but it barely looks like it could take a hit from anything. Twilight and Pinkie are nowhere near prepared for a fight. Rarity will give away the position of everypony. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are the best looking out of the group but they still have no idea what they are going to be facing.
Resistance sighs. “This is going to be a train wreck,” He says under his breath. He stands and makes his way over to the chattering girls. “So, we need to leave soon. Let’s make our way to the train station.” All the girls stop and look at the stallion.
No longer is there a smile that graces his face. No longer a calming atmosphere surrounding his presence. Not even a sign of joy is seen on his face. All they can see is his weapons of choice on either side of his body and a serious look emanating from his eyes. The way he was carrying himself changed as well. His body showed signs of an old war pony and not the young vibrant stallion from the past few days. “Rezzy? What’s going on?” Pinkie asks, concern filling her voice.
“Are you ok?” Fluttershy adds.
Resistance looks his new friends in the eyes before sighing. “I don’t know. I could be blowing this out of proportion but I’m terrified of what we will find once we get there.”
“What’s got you so rattled sugarcube?” Applejack asks.
“The object in the picture has me on edge. I always get frightened when I see stuff like it.” Resistance shudders as a flood of memories come back.
“What do you mean? Do you know what that thing that crashed is? Do you know what happened to our missing ponies?” Twilight asks. The others lean in to listen for Resistance’s response. Their eyes were a mixture of confusion, suspicion, and fear.
“What might be waiting for us is a nightmare like you have never seen. I will leave it at that until my suspicions are confirmed.” He makes his way towards the door before Rainbow Dash cuts him off.
“You mean you know what these things are? You have to tell us then.” She demands.
“And what would change if I told you? Would you claim you have faced worse? Would you act tough in front of others? All that will come from me telling you is nightmares that will keep you awake for the rest of your lives.” He voice even and never hinting at his building anger. What do these ponies know? Nothing, absolutely nothing. What chance would they have against a Chimera hybrid, stalker, or even a Leviathan? They would all be dead in no time. Resistance walks around the stunned pegasus and exits out the front door. He turns back and sees that the others had not moved from their spots. “We need to get going.”
Still, they held their ground. Seeing no other option, he decides to barter with them. “Listen, I know I’m not acting like myself right now. I have told you a share of lies and I won’t deny it. But right now, we need to get to the crashed vessel. I promise I will tell you everything after we complete our mission. We need to hurry. Please.” Slowly but surely all six walk out the door of the library and the team makes its way to the train station.
********
On the train, the girls were given a room to stay together while Resistance sat in his alone. A table was in the middle of the room and on it lay the components of a Bullseye. He wanted to clean each weapon to make sure no parts we cracked or destroyed in the crash a few days ago. He slowly inspects each piece for racks before inserting it into place. The weapon is a complex of small moving parts. If just one goes missing the Bullseye would explode in his hooves.
“Now let’s see…this part goes here and this one here.” Putting together the secondary system on the Bullseye was the most challenging part of the weapon. It fires a ‘tag’ at an enemy, and the rounds will follow this tag to the target. If put together wrong, the tag would make contact with the target but the rounds would go crazy. You would harm your allies more than your enemies. With one final click, the Bullseye is back in one piece. Resistance holds the weapon up to the window and admires the shine coming from the freshly-cleaned weapon.
He places the weapon on the seat next to him. After making sure the weapon would not fall, his gaze shifts to his other weapon. “Well, old friend, your turn.”
Resistance picks up his Marksman battle rifle with care. Pushing three pins out of the body of the rifle separates the gun into two pieces. He removes each piece with care and places them on a towel on the table. Just like riding a bike, he never forgot how to take his weapon apart. He’s done this so many times that it has become second nature. Like a machine, his motions are smooth and methodical. Each piece is handled with care as he cleans.
The door to his room flings open and in rushes the bubbly Pinkie Pie. “Hey Rezzy! Wha’cha up to in here? You feeling lonely? Don’t worry, I came back to keep you company! So let’s have our own little PAR-!”
Resistance covers her mouth with his hoof. “Pinkie, I appreciate the fact you came back here, but don’t you want to spend time with the others?” He removes his hoof so she can speak.
A huge smile is plastered across her face. “Silly, I’m with the girls all the time, and now we have our own room together.” Her smile drops to a frown. “But you’re back here all alone. So I thought I could at least be a good friend and give you some company.”
Resistance stares at her before sighing. “I would like some company.” He gives her a genuine smile and the Pink mare looks like she’s about to explode. “But we can’t throw a party in here. I need to clean my stuff, so let’s just talk.” Pinkie nods and slides into the seat opposite Resistance. She glances at all the different parts in front of her.
“What is all this?” She asks.
“These are all parts to my weapon. Just like a sword, my gear requires maintenance every now and again to keep everything in top shape.” He picks up another piece and begins the cleaning process.
“Will you really need them?”
Resistance stops and sits still, letting the question bore into his mind. He closes his eyes in deep thought. Is all this really necessary? Maybe I’m just too tense. But those ships were, no doubt, Chimera ships. Can these ponies even get infected? If so, how bad could this outbreak be? How many will die?’ He looks up and sees Pinkie waiting for his answer. “…I don’t know.”
“Horseapples!” Rainbow Dash busts through the door. “What do you mean you don’t know?!”
Resistance is startled by the sudden entrance. Behind Rainbow the other girls pile into the room. “Have you all been listening in?”
Twilight steps forward. “We just want to know if we can trust you. You are keeping something important from us.”
Resistance’s eyes travel from the girls to the weapon in front of him. He closes his eyes before speaking slowly. “Yes, you can trust me. For now anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow asks while closing the distance between her and Resistance.
“It means exactly what it means. For now you can trust me, but I don’t promise it will always stay that way.” Resistance says without looking at her.
“You expect me to just accept that?” Rainbow is practically shouting by this point. A hoof rests on her shoulder and she turns to look into Applejack’s eyes.
“Calm down sugarcube. Let’s give him a chance to explain.” Rainbow Dash’s furry dissipates to a controllable level but still gives Resistance a glare.
“Fine.” She sits on the seat next to Pinkie. The rest of the girls follow suit and join their friends. “Alright, explain everything.”
Resistance picks up another piece and cleans as he explains. “I can’t tell you everything. The creatures aboard the craft in the picture are called spinners. They appear by the hundreds--sometimes thousands--to swarm a town or city. They capture the inhabitants and cocoon them. That’s where they get their name from.” He continues to clean each piece.
“That’s horrible. Where do such creatures come from?” Twilight asks.
Resistance points a hoof to the room.
All the girls look up with a confused look. “Up? I don’t get it.” Pinkie says.
“Yes it is quite a strange answer. Do you think you could be more specific?” Rarity adds.
“I’m being a specific as I can be. I don’t know exactly where these creatures originated from. All I can tell you is that they are not from your planet. Hell, not even your galaxy.” Resistance starts to put his Marksman back together.
“I don’t understand. Are you trying to tell us we are dealing with…aliens?” Twilight asks. Resistance pops the last pin into place signaling the rifle back in working order. He nods before placing the rifle to his side next to the Bullseye. “I can’t believe it.”
“Don’t freak out yet. I still need to get there and confirm before I can tell you everything. How long until we arrive?”
“About three hours.”
Resistance nods. “I suggest you return to your room and rest up. If these are spinners then you will need to be well-rested.” All the girls make their way to the doors but each one gives a final glance to Resistance. “Don’t worry I will do everything I can to end this.” With that, the door closes and Resistance lays his head on the wall. His eyes close slowly as he drifts off to sleep.
********
Resistance opens his eyes and finds himself lying in the middle of an intersection of a deserted street. The building has changed little from the last time he entered his mind. Windows still cracked and shattered lay inside decaying buildings. Nothing moves or breaths in his mind except him and another. He feels a poke on his side and turns his head to see the minds other inhabitant.
“Boo”
Resistance rolls and turns his back to his other half. “Not in the mood to deal with you.”
“Too bad. You’ll have to listen and like it.”
“I could just tune you out.”
“Temporary solution. You would still seek me out for answers later.”
“What do you want?”
“Just to warn you. The virus has the ability to adapt if necessary. Though I don’t know how it will act in the presence of animal DNA. Could reduce ponies to a soupy mess.”
Sighing Resistance rolls over. “Can you feel the life force of any Chimera yet?”
“No, but I do have a gut feeling we will soon. Be ready for them at any time. Speaking of time, it’s time for you to get up.”
“Has three hours really passed?”
“Yes. Time flies when you’re having fun right?”
“Nothing more fun than talking to a voice in my head.”
“That’s the spirit. Well you need to get ready. Now get out there and kick ass…or flank as the situation demands.”
********
“Sir?”
“Hmm?” Resistance stirs from his sleep and makes up to the conductor standing at the door.
“We have arrived. You need to get off.” He says. He walks off to look for other passengers that need to depart. Resistance stands and rubs the sleep from his eyes. Gathering his bag and weapons he makes his way off the train. As he reaches the door leading off the carriage, he looks out to see a series of tents set up for a makeshift base camp. He can see soldiers acting as patrols all around and several training in sword combat. He sees the girls are standing in front of a large tent that the commander would most likely reside. Pinkie Pie waves enthusiastically at him and he returns a wave. Resistance takes one last look at the camp before stepping off the train. Taking in a deep breath, he heads towards the large tent.
“Time to make an impression.”