//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: The Hy-pony-on Corporation 
// Story: Shadow Strike and Long Shot: The Vacation 
// by Fossil-Dragon-Messiah 
//------------------------------//

	The entrance to the Hy-pony-on Corporation's HQ was surprisingly small and lack luster considering it was the entrance to the wealthiest weapon manufacturer and the second wealthiest company in Equestria behind Ponny Co. It was just two sets of automatic doors held open by unicorn magic with a few posters reading the corporation's tag-lines for their different gun models. For Earth ponies, the poster read "All the accuracy in the world don't matter if you ain't got the power to back it up. If it took more'n one shot, you weren't using an Earth Pony." For Pegasus guns, "Only pegasus weapons put the power of thunder clouds at your hoof tips. Pegasus, where form meets function." The unicorn poster read "Buy a unicorn weapon today and feel what its like to hold the power of an alicorn in your hooves". 
Shadow Strike and Long Shot entered the large building. The bland exterior did not do the interior justice. The lobby was massive, the walls were painted a bright yellow with white stripes adorning them occasionally. In the center of the lobby was a statue of the company's CEO, or at least who the two bounty hunters assumed it was a statue of.
The two walked deeper into the building, only to here a gritty voice call out from behind. "You two. Halt."
Shadow Strike and Long Shot looked back and saw a peculiar sight indeed. The voice belonged to a pegasus stallion, but his wings, legs and right eye were not of flesh, but of machine. His wings were a deep black, his artificial feathers sharp and shaped like scythes. His legs were an even brighter yellow than the walls, almost to the point of being gold, and the rear set covered his cutie mark on either side. His eye was a small bluish disk that hummed and clicked as if it was running some sort of facial recognition software.
The cyborg spoke once more. "State your business."
Long Shot responded in kind. "We have an appointment with a mister 'Malware'."
"Name?", the electric equine asked.
"Long Shot and Shadow Strike."
The disk where peculiar pony's eye should have been glowed slightly and hummed even louder. After about thirty seconds of waiting, the stallion spoke again. "You're all clear. Malware's office is on the third floor. The office number is 32-E." With that, the cyborg walked away.
Shadow stared at the bizarre specimen with a look that combined curiosity and suspicion. Long Shot noticed the look on her coltfriend's face and asked, "Hey shadow, You okay?"
"what? Oh. Yeah I'm fine. It's just... something about the color of that guy's leg sets me on edge and I just can't put my hoof on it..." the sword slinger said.
Long Shot put a hoof on the incognito changeling's shoulder. "I'm sure it's nothing. Lets just go."
Shadow merely nodded.
The two took the elevator up to the third floor and walked around until they found office 32-E. Long Shot knocked on the door and said "Hey Malware. It's me, Long Shot."
From behind the door, one could hear the sound of hooves trotting to the door. A screechy voice cried out "ANNNNND.... OPEN!" The door opened opened, revealing a short earth pony stallion wearing a Hy-pony-on uniform. He had a bright orange mane and a dark coat, his eyes were a dark blue and his cutie mark showed a pixelated image of some sort of monster's head. His face wore an expression of naivety optimism and confidence. "Long Shot! So good to see you again! And I take it this is the 'Shadow Strike' you mentioned in your letter?" the tiny pony asked.
"That's me" Shadow said.
"The names Malware. Tech wiz and the best Celestia damned gun maker you'll ever meet." The dark colored stallion proclaimed.
Shadow asked looked at the small stallion and asked "Do you know some sort of half machine pony? There was some guy walking around with robot legs or something."
The tiny pony thought about the inquiry for a second before replying "Oh! You mean Biotech? He's our chief of security. Poor bastard got his limbs blown off and went half blind twenty years ago during the insurgency of Saddle Arabia. Don't ask me how he survived because I don't know. Hy-pony-on's engineers made some cybernetic implants for him after he woke from a coma and then he started working for us. Man, I tell ya, there is nothing a combination of earth pony engineering and unicorn magic can't do."
Shadow Strike nodded. Something about this "Biotech" still set him on edge, but he just couldn't figure it out for the love of Celestia.
Malware returned his look to Long Shot. "So Long Shot, I got those parts you ordered! Just gimme a sec to get em."Malware turned to his desk and opened a drawer. Out of it, he pulled out a large briefcase. "Here you are. In this container are all the parts you'll need for that custom rifle you wanted."
Long Shot took the case. "Thanks Mal...Um... Did you have any progress on the other thing I asked you about?"
The look of innocence and happiness on Malware's face was replaced by one of worry and confusion as he looked to Shadow Strike in a way that asked, "Is it okay for him to be here?"
Shadow saw this look and took the hint. "Hey, it's alright. I have a right to my secrets and you two have rights to yours. I'll just head down to the music store across the street. You two talk about whatever you need to talk about."
Shadow had just closed the door when Malware handed a small flash drive to Long Shot. His tone was now a serious one. "That's all I could get on Blitzkreig off the employee database with out tripping some major firewalls. It's nothing the police haven't already told ya probably. He worked with Hy-pony-on for a few years, cutting sheet metal, then disappeared for a few weeks after a chemical spill only to reappear after he lost his mind."
Long Shot nodded as she took the flash drive.
"Sorry I couldn't get more. I'm good but not THAT good."
The sniper smiled at the hacker. "Don't beat yourself up, Malware. You did all you could and that's what matters." She said as she placed the flash drive in the briefcase.
"Oh! And Long Shot..." The dark stallion said.
"Hm?"
Malware smiled. "That Shadow Strike's a keeper. He's a good pony, I can tell."
Long Shot grinned. "Thanks, Malware. See ya around." is all the sniper said as she left the room and went off to find her coltfriend.
Long Shot found Shadow right where he said he would be. In the music store across the street from the Hy-pony-on corporation, looking at the latest albums from My Magical Friendship, Two Steps from Tartarus and Dj-Pon3.
The sniper approached Shadow as he mouthed the lyrics to the song "Fillies" by My Magical Friendship.
"Hey Shadow. Ready to go to the hotel?" She asked.
Shadow looked at a clock on the other side of the store and his eyes widened. "Oh my... It's that late already?"
"Yeah. we should probably get going." Long Shot said.
Shadow nodded. Together, they walked out of the store and towards their hotel.