//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Incredible Automated Stallion // by The Infinity Doctor //------------------------------// He plodded along, his iron hooves thumping against the dirt path he was currently following. The object situated upon his back, was beginning to become jittery, pacing back and forth along the length of his back. He didn't know what was wrong with it, his only guess was that it was experiencing a malfunction- it happened all the time, right? Glancing back once more, he saw it facing away from him, its compartments open. How he wished he could ask it what was wrong, its anxiousness was, in-turn, making him anxious. He didn't know how to feel about that...how was he supposed to react to anxiety? Was there some protocol for each of his emotions? Who was he supposed to turn to? He instead focused upon the path, counting ever pebble, in order to keep himself from blowing a fuse from dwelling on his questions. He was beginning to think that coming here didn't sound as it did when the creature first approached him...would his owner replace him? Not that he cared, he disliked standing around, being stared at by the crowds that visited. His wheels creaked as they forced themselves over the dirt, the sound of metal against the ground filling the air. The object sitting on his back suddenly spoke, its quiet voice filtering through his ears. "Searching" it said. Rat-at-ata-tata-tata Trixie pulled her wagon, anticipating when she'd meet the caravan that'd passed through the terrain previously. She grunted as she exerted herself, her powder blue hooves treading the sea of tall grass. A lock of her mane fell into her vision, poking out from beneath her hat. She stopped for a moment, and shoved the lock back under the brim of her hat. She huffed as she begrudgingly continued, not sure if the effort she was putting forth would be worth it. As she went, she kept spying a flash of red appearing, then disappearing. She became confused as to what it was, as it appeared to be sporadic, yet controlled at the same time. 'That's what you get,' Trixie thought, continuing on 'you pushed yourself too far, and now you're seeing things' She tried to ignored the thought, and successfully pushed it into the back of her mind, where it thankfully stayed. She thought she heard a voice up ahead, though it was faint; she tripped, and found herself falling forward, the yoke of the wagon following. Rat-at-ata-tata-tata 'Wha- what's going on?!' she thought, afraid of what the sound could be. Her hooves covered her eyes, hesitantly peeking up. The sound was over as soon as it began, and she discovered that there wasn't a cloud in the sky- if it wasn't thunder, then what was it? Once she was certain the sound wouldn't occur again, she stood, and glanced at her surroundings. She didn't find anything out of the ordinary, and looked back, finding the front of her cart riddled with holes, the normally-pristine wood splintered. She gasped at her precious wagon's condition, and turned, and spied a purple and white pony down the road. She worked to unhook herself from the yolk of her wagon, and run down the road in order to give the pony a piece of her mind. As she did, her hat accidentally fell from her head, falling into the dirt. She picked it up, and dusted it off. She gasped once more, and found that her signature hat was filled with holes, just like her poor cart. 'Oh, that tears it,' she thought angrily, running down the road 'they're going to get a lot more than a piece' 'This thing is a gun...' he thought, staring back at the object. The 'gun' in question had crawled off of his back, dropping to the ground as it walked beside him. He never was a big fan of guns, but the couldn't really hurt him- maybe leave dents in his coat, but never actually kill him. "HEY!" a voice roared behind him. He turned slowly, not knowing what to expect, and nearly blew a fuse when he saw a blue horse standing before him. "Who the buck do you-" the words died on the horse's lips as he turned, himself between the gun and the blue horse. "Hullllooooooo" he said, attempting some form of greeting. The horse only stared in wide-eyed...was if fear? Or something else? He wasn't the best at reading human emotions, given his then-lack of brain function, and now he had to read emotions on horse faces, which could only make things that much more difficult. "Hello" it finally squeaked, backing up. The two of them continued to stare at one another, both sitting in silence. 'This is going to be a bit tricky...' he deduced.