//------------------------------// // Personnel File 15: A Day for Dusk // Story: SPD Emergency // by cyberlord4444 //------------------------------// “So what do you think?” Asked Fetch his colleague Steam Gear, eying the new recruits. Both were present as Cruger gave his little speech after the final day of testing. The room slowly emptied out as all rushed to the boards to see which Squad they belong too. Fetch and Steam Gear however didn’t need to look at it to know who would enter the B-Squad. They got notified beforehand. It was one of the perks of being the leaders in the R&D department. “The earth pony, Dusk I think, did a good job with the equipment she found. I wonder how she would handle the Chicken Launcher, since it is only really effective if you take aim correctly.” Fetch snorted at that. “As if that would ever make it out of the R&D. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours.” After a shake of his head he turned back from his observation of the recruits to his working partner Steam Gear. “Never mind that though. More importantly we should probably prepare for her arrival in the R&D. She is in the B-Squad after all and has the right to choose her own equipment directly from the R&D. We might as well get on with the protocol.” Steam Gear sighed. “True enough.” Fetch lifted an amused eyebrow. “What? Are you pouting because she is no Pegasus?” “Nothing like that! You know that we still have our ‘other’ project. And it irks me a little that we lose some time we could invest in it.” “You are acting as if we had to keep a deadline. Our duty includes first and foremost the SPD, and not some private project. Besides she might be an interesting character to talk too.” No further words were exchanged between the two, only a nod as they slowly walked back  towards the elevator to prepare for their newest arrival. “So Dusk,” Tome called, “what you up to now?” “Well, I think I’m going to go prank R&D while I can. There not likely to be in their lab right now so I’m going to go leave them a little surprise.” Dusk cacled, Flashing Tome a crazed grin as she pressed the button to call the elevator. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tome said, “there might be worse things than ticking off the ones responsible for maintaining your equipment, but I can’t think of any.” “Yeah yeah, I know that. That's why I’m not going to get caught.” Dusk said as the elevator arrived. “Why don't you stay here and I prank them by myself then? It would be much safer.” Dusk then suggested. “Your funeral,” Tome said, “I’d rather stay on their good side.” “I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow then!” Dusk chuckled as she got in the elevator and punched in the floor number to R&D. A minute or so later Dusk had gotten out of the elevator and had wandered over to the entrance of R&D, hoping that it was empty she then opened the door. What greeted her was a large metallic room. It was filled with a variety of different contraptions meant for all kinds of metalwork. Toolboxes as large as tables on wheels were set around the room, always where it was needed or a pony, or even Griffin, were at work. Some working tables adorned the room too, albeit some were heavily littered with unfinished projects and all kinds of metallic parts and cables which Dusk could not even begin to fathom. At least that was one side of the room. The room was in itself divided in two as a straight line trailed along the ground. The other side of the room held more tables, some even for drawing with lamps, as well as flipcharts, blackboards, computers and other learning materials. In contrast to the table on the other side, these tables held way more paper in form of research stacks. The theoretical theme was noticeably dominant in this area. It was quite clear here where the R ended and the D of it started. “This is going to be way too easy.” Dusk said as she entered, grinning impishly as she began sneaking around the room while staying out of sight of the few members of R&D present. After a while she had managed to mess around with some of the things around the lab enough to bother whoever worked at the unattended stations without being noticed, and was setting up a trap with some kind of contraption that launched chickens that she found when the doors opened again... In stepped the last two Unicorns she would have liked to met at the moment. She hastily finished setting up the prank trap and then dived behind one of the tables. The two leaders of the R&D were none the wiser. However, Steam Gear was wiser about one thing. Some of his equipment was touched. He could see small disruptions a mile away. It might have also helped that he build motion sensors. Let’s just say he was cautious like this. With Pinkie Pie and HEART on the loose it couldn’t hurt. Both had an air of curiosity around them which could unleash some disasters. Not to mention a certain foal that sometimes visited the R&D to see her father who was working there. But that put all aside it was important and Steam Gear doesn’t need another incident. He had enough that would suffice for a lifetime. Blood Rush would give him living Tartarus if another pony, Griffin or simply put ANYONE would have to go to the medical wing because of one of his inventions. With that he strode forward, not noticing the tripwire. The only warning he got was a soft clack as the trigger was pulled. His eyes widened as well as his mouth as he shrieked in surprise unintentionally giving room for the projectile as it slammed into his mouth and down his esophagus. Dusk immediately used the upcoming confusion as everyone in the room went towards the fallen engineer to try and escape. Fetch was the first to kneel down to examine him and then the contraption. He heard the soft whirr of the doors as he looked around and saw a figure slipping through it. “Seems like she knows how to handle your Chicken Launcher. Right Steam Gear?” Said pony however was completely out of it. He was quickly carried into the medical wing to a slightly disgruntled but then surprised Blood Rush. Never had he thought that the inventor would fall prey to his own inventions as well as karma considering that he normally send others to the medical wing. Reason enough that he couldn’t help the grin that was on his face. “Justice!” Blood Rush crowed. As soon as Dusk was certain that she was safe she fell over and burst into laughter. ‘By the stars! His reaction! I feel bad for whoever that was… But it’s too funny!’ She thought before slowly regaining her composure, she then looked around and decided to find out what happened to the poor stallion... as well as get better acquainted with the place for future pranking. Dusk then trotted down the hallway as she then began to poke around the entire R&D division as stealthily as possible. When Dusk woke up the next morning she quickly ran to the shower and bathed herself after changing out of her pajamas. After her shower she then quickly put the pajamas away with the packages of her things that her parents had sent over yesterday afternoon before putting on a blue tanktop and a pair of black shorts. She then began to dry her hair while combing it, enjoying being able to properly prepare for the day when she got up instead of rushing for the first time since she arrived when there was a knocking at the door. “Hey Dusk,” said Tome, “so, how mad is the R&D department?” “I dont know.” Dusk said as she opened the door and welcomed Tome in. “Though I am probably going to have to go apologize later… I ended up sending someone to the medical wing I think.” She sheepishly admitted. Tome sighed, “Figures, I can’t leave you alone for 10 seconds without you getting into some sort of trouble.” “Hey! I stayed out of trouble perfectly well before I came here!” Dusk defended as she crossed her arms across her chest. Tome chuckled, “Well anyway, why don’t we go look around, before you piss someone else off.” “Haha, very funny.” Dusk said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her ID. “So where shall we start?” “Well,” Tome said, “I heard some of the older troopers say good things about the simulators, how about we try one of those?” “Shure.” Dusk replied with a shrug before leaving  her room. “So,” Tome said as they walked towards the elevator, “what exactly did you do?” “I messed with their desks just enough to give anyone with ocd a headache and then set up a trap involving some kind of contraption that shot fried chicken…” Dusk said, chuckling nervously as she scratched at the back of her head. Tome gaped, “Why would they even create a chicken cannon?” Dusk simply shrugged, not knowing the answer to the question. “So, what are we going to do in the simulators?” She then asked, changing the subject. “Not sure,” Tome said, “but I heard that it can be used for training or down time.” “Training sounds fun, I wonder if there would be anyone there to spar with?” Dusk wondered, staring into space as they got on the elevator. “Not sure,” Tome said. After a few minutes they arrived. What met them was a hallway lined with doors on either side. “Hey, do you think I could beat one of the members of A-Squad if I tried?” Dusk asked, a trollish smile spreading across her face. “Maybe,” Tome said, “but I heard that the only one allowed to promote someone to A-Squad is Cruger.” “I’m not looking for any promotion.” Dusk said, waving off the idea. “I just want to have some fun, nothing more nothing less.” “What about being able to drive one of those cool Megazord things?” Tome asked. “While that would be cool, unless they built one designed for stealth I can't see myself pulling it off…” Dusk said, scrunching her muzzle. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tome admitted, “now, how do you think we turn one of these things on?” “Um… I thought you knew…?” Dusk said, blinking owlishly. “I know where they were,” Tome replied, “I didn’t get a manual.” “Maybe we should ask for help…” Dusk said as she started to look around for anyone that could help them. “Nah, I think I got this,” Tome said, pressing buttons on the console, eventually getting the door to open, “there we go, I think.” Dusk looked at the door cautiously before asking, “Are you sure? What did you set it to?” “WCS-047,” Tome said, “seems simple enough.” “Umm… I’ll take your word for it…” Dusk said, not having a clue how that string of letters and numbers could be considered simple. She then walked into the simulator alongside Tome before the door closed behind them. “Program enabled,” said a voice from hidden speakers, “Worst Case Scenario 47-Zombie Apocalypse.” Dusk’s eyes immediately reduced to the size of pinpricks. “You have got to be bucking kidding me…” “Um, oops,” Tome said sheepishly. “What was that you were saying earlier about getting into trouble?” Dusk asked as the simulator began to generate the map for the training exercise, the interior of a somewhat dilapidated house. “Don’t look at me,” Tome said, “I just pressed the button that said ‘Load Previous Program’.” “Uh-huh…” dusk said with a smirk, “Next time, we're asking for help.” “Shut up and grab a gun,” Tome said, grabbing a shotgun from a nearby table. Dusk Complied and grabbed a pair of pistols and stuffed them into her back pockets before strapping a shotgun to her back and grabbing a sword. “Ready when you are rookie.” She teased as she spun the sword in her grasp like a baton. “We’ll see,” Tome said as zombies started crashing through the windows, “here they come.” Dusk immediately grabbed the shotgun off her back and started mowing down zombies like a pro while still spinning her sword like a baton, occasionally using it to cut any zombies that managed to get too close to her in half. Tome was proving more of a defensive fighter, laying down trap wards and shooting the zombies in the face with her shotgun when they got stuck. Dusk sighed as she cut off the head of the last zombie before walking over to Tome Guard, sweat dripping from her drenched fur. “That went better than expected.” She said, dropping the sword she had been using before tossing away the empty shotgun and pistols. “Yeah,” Tome said while panting, “I thought for sure that those super fast ones would get us, luckily I know how to set explosive wards.” “True, but we wouldn't have survived those giant ones if it weren't for my ninja like skills.” Dusk bragged before holding out a hand to help Tome back to her hooves. “Wave 1 of 10 complete,” said the voice, “continue?” “NO!” Dusk and Tome shouted in unison. “Understood, would you like to save your progress?” Dusk raised an eyebrow, “Save progress? What's that about?” “If you wish, you may save your progress so that you may continue where you left off instead of starting from the beginning,” explained the voice, “would you like to save your progress?” Tome shrugged, “Why not, it was kinda fun once we got into it.” “Understood, please name your save file.” “Um… How about Tome’s karma?” Dusk joked. Before Tome could protest, the voice replied, “Acknowledged, file saved as Tome’s Karma 001, ending program.” As the virtual house vanished, Tome turned to Dusk, “Did you have to name it that?” “And why not? That is technically what caused this mess to begin with.” Dusk replied as she booped Tome on the nose with a mischievous grin. “Whatever,” Tome said, grinning despite herself, “let’s grab some lunch. Maybe we can come back later.” “After you learn how to operate it,” Dusk replied. Tome sighed, “I’m never hearing the end of this, am I?” “Nope,” Dusk said, grinning from ear to ear. They then wandered off to go get lunch and then wandered around a bit more before deciding to go separate ways after their eventful morning. Taking this opportunity Dusk decided to go back to the R&D today and apologize to the poor pony she had accidentally sent to the medical wing with her prank if she could find him. As Dusk got off of the elevator she then started to make her way towards R&D when a piece of chicken flew past her head. She stared at the flying piece of food as it flew further down the hall out of confusion before turning to find where it came from. In the room she could see the two Unicorns from yesterday. They seemed to be arguing, while one took her pranking weapon out of the other’s hands. “Even though I will not call this a weapon, you shouldn’t shoot randomly around with it!” “That one shot was an accident! And I doubt someone got hit by that stray shot anyway. Still doesn’t mean that my Chicken Launcher is to be sneezed at. It put me in the medical wing yesterday, so it IS a dangerous weapon!” Dusk couldn't help it as she started giggling, remembering yesterday due to the Unicorn’s rambling. She then slowly walked over to the two ponies before clearing her throat. “U-um… Hi, I’m Dusk Roze… Sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean for my little prank to put you in the medical wing.” She said sheepishly. Steam Gear blinked as he looked at her. “Huh. And here I thought it was little Midnight who was playing a prank on me. On the other hand tripwire doesn’t really sound like her. She usually doesn’t use such finesse for her mischievous actions.” Fetch looked from Dusk back to Steam Gear. “I wanted to tell you, but as soon as you got here, you were going about a rant about how your Launcher should be the standard weapon for the C-Rangers! You can’t save the world with grilled chickens Steam Gear!” “But I can try!” he answered like a petulant child, completely forgetting about their guest for the moment. “Um, whats a C-Ranger?” Dusk asked, slightly confused. At that exact moment a female cheerful voice sounded behind her, startling Dusk as she flinched in surprise. “That’s an easy one! A C-Ranger is a member of the C-Squad! And since you passed your tests rather well you became a B-Ranger. So a member of the B-Squad!” Dusk already had a bad feeling about this. She heard that voice before… at her test. She slowly turned around and right behind her was none other than PRINCESS HEART, Changeling princess and emotion sensor. The probably biggest threat around for her secret, right after the medical wing. She squeaked as she quickly backed away from HEART, mentally cursing herself for dropping her guard. Fetch noticed that and immediately set a comforting hand on her shoulder. “No need to be afraid of her. HEART here is the most considerate changeling you will find around these parts, and probably even beyond.” “I-I see…” Dusk said nervously, faking a smile as she removed Fetch’s hand from her shoulder. Then Steam Gear stepped forward, a slight smile on his face. “I can vouch for that too. She is in no way a terrible evil that tries to befall the world and suck everyone empty for their love and claims the prettiest wings all for herself! I will admit that it took me some time to get around that fact, but I can be rather stubborn sometimes.” Said words no matter how nice they were meant earned him a disapproving glare from Fetch’s side. In an attempt to save this conversation Fetch stepped forward and immediately changed the topic. “I assume you are here for your weapons?” “Um, what do you mean?” Dusk asked, trying to avoid talking about herself or Changelings. She didn't want to hurt anyones feelings but she had to keep her secret safe no matter what. Fetch blinked. “Your weapons. What else could you possibly here for? Didn’t you read the file with information for B-Rangers that were send to you?” “File? What fi- Buck, I did it again…” Dusk said before groaning and facepalming. “I assume you are not one for reading scrupulously through your paperwork?” A sigh then escaped his muzzle. “I guess it doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t believe how often that happens around here.” “Sorry… I’m not really the type for paperwork, that was my dad’s thing not mine.” Dusk chuckled nervously. “I personally prefer using my fists and hooves to solve my problems…” She added, playing up her Earth Pony disguise. Steam Gear perked up at that. “I’m sure we could help with your fighting.” With a spring in his step he went to the area in the back where some of the weapons were stored. All others followed him, Fetch already knew what was coming. Before any of them could say something against it music started to play. “Now then Dusk here I heard you were in a plight! But it’s abundantly clear that somewhere in here is the weapon to help in your fi-mphf!” Before Dusk could comprehend the situation a Thestral with a dark blue fur and a dark green mane stepped forward and stopped Steam’s impromptu performance as she stuffed an ice cream cone with ice cream in his mouth. “No,” was all she said before Steam swallowed the ice cream and took the cone out of his mouth. “But-!” “No. The song was enough the first time you did perform it.” Steam Gear grumbled at that. “Fine…” The newcomer then turned around and looked Dusk up and down. “So you are the new member of the B-Squad? I’m Sky Gear, member of the B-Squad and with that your new colleague, but please call me Sora since Sky might get confusing since it is a rather popular name and you don’t want four or five Sky’s replying when you try it.” “Um… Ok?” Dusk said, starting to feel very uncomfortable with so many new faces surrounding her including a Changeling that could possibly be reading her emotions. Steam Gear got a pensive look as his so called cousin tried to pick up a conversation with Dusk. Something Fetch took notice of. “Do you have something on your mind?” He shook his head slightly. “No. Just thinking about how suddenly everywhere characters pop up. I’m half wondering that little Midnight is not jumping out from under one of the desks, though how high would the chances for that be? I’m sure everything is going to be fine!” As luck would have it, or maybe as retribution for tempting Murphy’s Law everything was not going to be fine. Much too late noticed Steam Gear and Fetch the little Earth Pony filly in question with her cobalt blue coat and dark blue mane with a gray streak, as she took a small round object from the table with the experimental weapons in her hand. Before anyone could do anything about it she pressed the button on it and the Goo Grenade exploded encompassing the entire party as well as half the room in a thick sickly green glowing goo, constricting any possible movement. The following incident was forever known in the SPD as the Goo Incident. It took a day's worth of work to finally free all ponies, Griffins, Thestrals and Changelings out of the gooey trap. Not to mention a few days of extra work to clean the R&D completely from the sticky substance. “While annoying… back in the day I might have requested something like that.” Dusk joked as she was picking green goo from her hair while standing next to Steam Gear and Fetch after the three of them were freed. “I hope they don’t blame me for this again. Not to mention what if Cruger finds out about ‘that’ project?” asked Steam Gear sighing slightly as he hung his head. “Don’t worry too much about it. You weren’t the only one in on ‘that’ project. And no one has to know about it. As far as they know we were just inventing a new weapon and it went wrong… Again.” “What do you mean again? Does stuff like this happen a lot?” Dusk asked as she got the last bits of goo out of her mane. Fetch snickered at that. “You don’t know the half of it. Things blowing up is pretty much a daily occurrence. It doesn’t always end up that badly but we have the highest rate of hospitalization in the whole SPD. You can probably imagine what that says about our department, considering we are not the ones stepping in harm’s way to fight crime.” “...” Dusk just stared at Fetch, her eye twitching. “And we never got to the part where we let you choose your weapons,” said Steam Gear a little forlorn. “It will probably take some time to clean all this goo to get to them. I guess you have to take the standard weapon kit like the C-Rangers for now. But rest assured, we will correct that later.” “What did you have there anyway?” Dusk asked, curious as to what she could have gotten had that incident not happened. “Pretty much anything you can imagine. From Magical Shotguns to Energy Shields, as well as close range weapons like Shocking Gloves. Not to forget my Chicken Launcher. But we can also fulfill personal requests. If you have an idea for a weapon you are free to tell us and we see to it and try to make it reality if possible.” “Could you possibly make me a suit that boosts my strength and also can turn me invisible?” Dusk asked, slightly curious. Steam Gear hummed at that in thought. “Boosting strength is possible without a problem since we have the metal muscle we used to create the A-Squad suits with. So it is an integral part of some of the suits already and adding it will go without a hitch. Turning invisible however… What do you think Fetch?” “We learned a thing or two since we are here and were researching something like this at the moment. Not the exact same thing, but something comparable. Our new knowledge of changelings might be just the key for your request. We still might need some time, but it is nothing we shouldn’t be able to pull off.” “Cool. Oh, and could you make the suit auto equip itself or put itself away with the push of a button like those suits I heard the A-Squad has?” Dusk then added as the gears in her head began to turn. Fetch nodded. “A morpher shouldn’t be a problem. We will just add it to the requested features of your suit.” “Perfect!” Dusk said happily. “Well, I guess I’ll let you two get back to your cleaning!” She then said before running off to avoid being dragged into helping clean up.