Chapter 3
The Journey to Canterlot(And what became of it)
Being deep in the Everfree forest is never a good thing, it's akin to jumping into a pool of very hungry sharks. For that reason, it's the perfect location for a secret base, be it for good or bad. Anyone trying to find your base will either be dead within a few hours or at your doorstep, begging for you to finish him off. Many bases scattered throughout the forest are uninhabited, once used by revolutionaries & black market individuals. One of these was inhabited by creatures not in those catagories, and twice as bad.
"The ground forces need to be deployed!" A deep voice shouted out in the council of war. The room in question was desperately in need of better lighting, but stayed dark at the forceful suggestion of a member of said Council. "Our enemy is here, on our very doorstep no less! We need to strike hard & fast to destroy him before he gains his powers again. Why do all of you disagree and hold back?" The voice, whom was very irritated, belonged to a broad-shouldered, dark tabby, oversized cat.
"I'm very sure we can conquer this land quite quickly, it will be much harder if the AFM show up & alert the current government about our existance," He emphesized the fact by banging his paw onto the long, spindly table.
"I agree, this base cannot stay hidden for long. We must attack tomorrow! These pathetic ponies will bend to our will," a second feline, a female, anthromorphic wildcat clad in furs, concurred with him.
"I don't think so, puny beings, there are a number of problems with this plan," A very demonic-sounding voice chimed in. The creature whom it belonged to was a biomechanical being, shrouded in shadow as if it were a cloak. His armor once colored maroon, now spotted green with age. He was as old as time itself..
"Firstly, these beings are stronger than you think, our forces are not organized neither equipped to launch an assault on this land. I can feel the power like the sun eminating from the capital city, much like Metru Nui in its time. Oh how I wish to crush this place in my shadows." He said slowly and with menace, the shadows around him were eminating a faint piercing screech, wishing it to be so. "Second, I'm sure our dear friend Dr. Fleischer has the solution to destroy the Kobald. Doctor?" The shadowed being gestured to a white, middle-aged Earth Pony with a black & red mane, lab coat & goggles strapped to his forehead. He bowed his head at his introduction.
"Zhank you, Teridax," He thinly smiled when Teridax growled at being addressed by his former name. "As you know, I vas a human before I became stranded here in Eqvestria. I vas part of zhe Fuher's research of mind control, a very ambitious idea at zhe time, by putting electronics in a subject's brain. It would give zhem specific commands und still allow zhem zheir full personalities, so zhat you vouldn't even realize zhat zhey're mind-controlled," Dr. Fleischer paused as if it was something to be proud of. "I even worked in zhe same facility as Dr. Maxis, Sam's father, rest his soul."
The fifth creature, merely a ghost, hovered near his side holding a teddy bear dripping with blood. She was in control of endless armies of undead after a freak accident that killed her father. Sam had been trying to kill the man responsible for as long as she had given her minions orders.
"Vhen I vas teleported here to escape certain death, I vas turned into an Eqvine. I soon discovered zhat zhis land vas filled vith zhem, I decided to continue mein vork here, avay from mein Fuher.
"By pure coincedence, three young ponies played very near to mein shack. I invited zhem in for some nonexistant cupcakes, zhen I trapped zhem und experimented on zhem, trying to reprogram zheir minds to obey me. Zhe first one didn't survive zhe tests. Luckily, zhe second one did, a pink filly. I vould have vorked on zhe third one undtil I vas found out. I escaped and fled to zhe Everfree Forest."
"That's all very well, but how will this "mind-control" get rid of the Kobald?" The tabby demanded impatiently. Dr. Fleischer looked slightly annoyed at this interruption, but recovered his composure.
"I vas getting to zhat, perhaps I should elaborate. Bring in zhe blue one!" He commanded, Teridax nodded at one of his minions, the Rahkshi, who disappeared into the shadows before returning with a cage big enough to keep a pony inside. In fact, there was a pony inside. A light blue mare with two horseshoes as a cutie mark, a periwinkle mane and fandango eyes filled with fear, curled up in the fetal position. The Doctor took joy in her suffering, leaning down to the cage to peer through the bars at her before facing his audience.
"Zhis pony has a sucessfully implanted microchip in her brain. Zhe chip is not activated right now, so she is in control of her thoughts. But vhen it is turned on, she vill still keep her personality, desires und priorities. But vill carry out my commands as a primary objective." He faced his captive, leaning down just inches from her muzzle to muzzle. "Vould you consider me your friend?" he inquired with an evil smile on his face. The mare looked at him with astonishment and fear before replying.
"Go to the moon," She spat at him with anger before snorting in his face. Dr. Fleischer wiped his face with a hankerchief from his pocket.
"Isn't she a charmer?" He teased the light blue mare as he trotted to a control panel behind the oversized tabby, manipulated some buttons & levers before pressing a big red button.
The mare stopped looking angry, rather, she looked somewhat content. Dr. Fleischer returned to the cage with a smug look.
"Vould you consider me your friend?" He asked with a look to send chills down anyone's spine. The mare stared at him for a few seconds, looking him over.
"Of course, Dr. Fleischer, we were foalhood friends," She said happily. The Doctor took the time to shoot an "I told you so" look at the tabby, who growled angrily. Dr. Fleischer then struck up a conversation with the mare.
"Yes, ve vere. By zhe vay, could you do a small favor for your old friend?" The mare nodded, smiling as she did.
"Of course, Fritzy, what would that be?" She tilted her head to the side as she inquired of the German scientist. His face flashed annoyance at being called by his old nickname, one of the guards must've called him that name behind his back. Nevertheless, he regained his smile.
"Could you take zhis knife und plunge it into your chest?" He pulled out a long-bladed, wickedly sharp pocket knife and gave it to the pony. The pony stared at it for a moment and smiled once again.
"Anything for you, my friend," She wasted no time in stabbing herself in the chest, the punture bleeding profusely.
"Thank you.. Mein friend," The Doctor left her there to die as the Rahkshi dragged the cage away and he turned to face his comrades. Teridax looked thoughtful, the tabby looked hopeful, the wildcat had a very toothy smile.
Sam, however, just laughed at the death of the creature.
"Ha! Look at it wizzer!" She giggled at the dying creature with glee, much of it inherited from her father's assistant.
Teridax finally thought it best to ask a question, "When will we have a pony outfitted with these devices, and how will this be used in the plan to bring the Kobald down?"
The Doctor smiled, "Zhat is zhe best part, we already have one," his smile grew wider at his companions' confusion.
"I know you are confused, zhis is not news to me. You see, zhe very first pony I implanted vith zhe chips all zhose years ago is in close proximity vith zhe target. She vill receive zhe commands und procede to bring zhe Kobalt here."
The wildcat grew furious, "What? Then why haven't you sent the commands!" She shrieked, the Doctor narrowed his eyes in frustration.
"Ve can't just off him like zhat. He is a Kobald, there's only one way of killing them. Ve need to break his vill, his hope. Und I have a plan for zhat," He sniggered with unbridled malevolence.
"Oh gosh, this is just too coincedental," I thought to myself. The walk to the train ride went quite smoothly, except for a mint-green mare I recognized as Lyra harrassing me with questions. When I addressed her by her name she fainted dead away, her friend Bon-Bon having to drag her home. Other ponies just wanted to get a look at me, I finally knew how it felt to be ET or that astronaut from Planet 51.
I wasn't worried that I'd threaten the ponies, having my hands bound probably made me a lot less scary. Since the Royal Guards were escorting me & the Mane Six to Canterlot we got on for free. But we had to share seats.
The Mane Six managed to stay together with Helmet Head at the back of the passenger car. Me & Cloud Shot, who was supposed to guard me, ended up sharing seats with some schoolchildren going to Canterlot for a field trip up front. The same class that the CMCs were in. "Just too coincedental.." I thought again.
Sights was hidden near the traintracks a couple miles away from the train station. The bush he was hiding in providing excellent cover for his white fur, which could attract attention to enemy Recon that might be in the countryside. He thought it best to intercept the train after it had departed to keep from being detected.
The cool breeze was pleasant along his flanks, Celestia's sun beating down with soothing heat. Few clouds were in the sky, the few that existed were calling to the tired Pegasus, requesting him to slumber on their soft, downy bodies. His wings spread to their full extent, sensing the glorious day unconsiously to Sights, he forced them back down with prejudice.
"Dang wings, I hate this body." he muttered in his brain, looking up to notice the fine spring day at last. "It was a nice day too when h-" he stopped himself. He wasn't as bad as Upbeat about reminising of that day, but he'd catch himself doing it from time to time. It'd been so long since he had even argued with his creator and friend, being his slightly darker side after all. It was painful, like someone stomped on his heart and diced it up for sushi.
Actually, that had happened to a couple squads in the 1st Quarter, they were scouting out Onu-Metru for anything useful when they were ambushed. The survivors made tasty treats for the enemy's Visorak calvary. But Sights didn't want to dwell on that.
Soon, he'd bring the boss back to his home, to fight again side by side against the ones who wished to kill him.
A train whistle brought Sights out of his dreaming, he spotted the train 200 feet away. "No time, you have a mission." He chided himself. He prepared to jump aboard, his body falling into position.
A couple minutes passed before the train started to pass him, the pink and yellow colors were hard for Sights' eyes to follow. He looked down to what was left of the train approaching, sighting a opening in a boxcar. He grimaced as he prepared himself again.
"Here't goes!" he shouted deep down before leaping, his wings helping him the rest of the way. He slammed into the wall opposite of the car, a wooden crate falling onto Sights in the process. The crate released its load, a large pile of hay poured out onto Sights' head.
Moments later, his head popped out from the bale, comically spitting out strands. "Least I get a snack and a bed." He chuckled. He munched on some of it wishing they were M-rations, even though he despised them. However, Sights recalled that M-rations were the boss' favorite meal on the go. He choked back a sob as he settled down on the comfortable hay. Dreams about the good times & bad times he had with his boss filled his head as he slept, while the train continued onwards toward its destination.
Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic. Mein Gott! I was on DEFCON 1, my hair slick with sweat. Cloud Shot was facing me on the bench across from me, a pony I recalled as Silver Spoon sitting next to him. But that wasn't what got me all in a tizzy. Next to me, to my horror, was Diamond Tiara.
Why me? It just couldn't be Scootaloo or Applebloom or even Sweetie Belle! I lamented to myself, Just my luck I have to meet Diamond Tiara first. The scariest filly in their school. Speaking of Diamond Tiara, she really looked ticked off that she had to sit next to me. After Cheerilee's back was turned, she wasted no time to complain to Cloud Shot.
"Shouldn't this ugly beast be put in the boxcar? I'm sure it'd be much more comfortable for it there." Silver spoon giggled at this, goading Tiara on. I'm sure you two would be more comfortable there as well, I bit back the response. Mein Gott, she really was this mean in the show.
"He's not hurting anyone, he won't bite." Cloud Shot reassured her, I could clearly see his gaze was starting to fill with irritation.
"He smells!" Tiara exclaimed, launching her hooves up in the air to make her point, before covering her nose to further it. Hey! It's not MY fault that the forest doesn't have showers! I raged inside, it was just a matter of time before I broke my silence.
"Ma'am, I think you're hurting his feelings," he informed her with a level, tact voice. He reminded me of my dad, whom could always stay calm in a tough situation. Yeah, before I get very cross. Oh wait, I'm already cross! I steamed silently.
"Oh, now it's a he! You're acting like it could talk. When has it ever talked?"
"Since right now," a deep, throaty voice said right behind her. Her pupils shrinking in fear as she turned around to find a very infuriated human, grinning like a madmare. "Boo."
Tiara screamed as she ran to the other end of the passenger car as if her tail was on fire, Silver Spoon right behind her.
I felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. "Finally!" I exclaimed in my normal voice, "I can get some rest." I attempted to lean back in my seat before remembering that there was no back. I fell back onto the floor, my neck taking most of the weight. That was very painful.
Cloud Shot became alarmed, "You alright, bud?" he asked anxiously. My neck wasn't too hot, but other than that, I was fine.
"E-eeyup," I managed to say before I picked myself up. my neck hurt like the devil, "That was not a good idea, in hindsight." Cloud Shot grinned, amused at my derpyness.
"You got that right, Human," he sat back down and fluttered his wings, stretching them out, Just relaxing.
Still in rage from the incident with Diamond Tiara, I was indignant at not being addressed by my name. I sat down next to him before correcting him. "My name's David, not human. That's my species," I paused before continuing, "I don't call you horse." he tensed up at this.
"That sounds like an insult," he playfully pushed me to the side, I pushed him back harder. He shoved me with force close to a buck.
"Cloud Shot!" he froze at the voice he had dreaded for many seasons and turned his head around. Helmet Head was staring straight at him several rows back, his mouth in an wrathful-looking frown. We both stopped our horsing around at once, Cloud Shot had caused his superior to explode in anger already today, he didn't dare do it twice. Not unless he wanted to polish Helmet Head's hooves for a month or two.
"Sorry about the Sarge, he can get a bit uptight," he whispered apoligetically, I gave a very slight nod.
" 'S alright, I've seen my share of senior officers getting upset over lack of discipline," I assured him. Cloud Shot had a knowing look in his eye as we sat.
I turned my head and got a glimpse of Scootaloo in the back, chatting with a pony I didn't recognize. Since none of the CMC showed any interest in me, I got up & laid down on the bench in front of us. It was vacant and had pillows for sitting on, perfect for a nap. Being flung into Equestria tires you out after the adrenaline wears off.
"Imma take a nap, if that's alright with the guard," I informed Cloud Shot. He shrugged,
"Be my guest," I grinned gratefully, I settled down onto one of the pillows. The total length wasn't enough for my whole body, but I didn't care, feeling instantly sapped of all my energy. Closing my eyes, I started to dream about my home on Earth. My family & friends as well. Homesickness panged deeply inside of me, as I was lost to the land of dreams.
"Wake up!" A voice came from darkness, I opened my eyes to see Cloud Shot's green ones gaze into mine. I hadn't fully recovered from my lethargy to form a coherent answer, so all I could manage was:
"Momsitimerty kobealiteed," the words coming out even worse than I thought, Cloud Shot smirked at my incapiblility at talking.
"C'mon! The carriage is waiting to take you to the Castle!" A few loose connections reunited in my brain, I got off of the floor and got on my feet. I finally noticed where I woke up.
"Um, was I on the floor?" I knew I tossed and turned in bed, so it could've been that. Cloud Shot shook his head,
"Yup, You pretty much were hanging from the bench before that filly, somethin' Spoon trotted by and tipped you over. Caused a good ruckus from the other foals." "Diamond Tiara," I muttered grimly to myself, she fought dirty. I spotted the pink filly exiting from the front of the passenger car with her minion Silver Spoon. Looking back at me, they had triumphant looks on their faces, bathing in their victory. I knew they were gonna pull something, just something so trivial I never would've guessed. Deciding to ignore it, I focused my attention to my guard, who was nudging me along to the exit.
"Why didn't you wake me up when it happened?" I asked. Cloud Shot smiled with a teasing look on his face, stopping a few feet away from the door to explain.
"You looked so peaceful sleeping on the floor, it'd be a shame to wake you. Big softie." "He reminds me of someone I know, it's on the tip of my tongue," I thought absent-mindedly, but proceded to more important matters as I sauntered out the exit. Like the 20 Royal Guards surrounding the door outside.
Sargent Helmet Head took command of the squad, issuing orders to individual guards. Behind the ring of Royal Guards stood 3 carts; one of luxury, for the Mane Six, I assumed. An armored cart with minimal comforts, obviously for the guards. And a third cart with bars on the windows, locks on the door, and even less comforts than the troop transport. I earnestly hoped it was for a wild beast they stored in the back.
A small crowd had gathered a safe distance behind the carts, multi-colored ponies of all kinds, gazing at me and conversing with one another. I got a glimpse of Cheerilee's class observing further away from the main crowd. A couple of the upper-class ponies started laughing about my ridiculous bipedal stance and my garments that lacked any class. I whispered to Cloud Shot very quietly,
"Guard rules?" he nodded glumly. I understood about the level of precaution they were taking, our government would do the same, except they would take it to the max. I took a deep breath and took a couple steps forwards.
"Freeze!" a command from one of the soldiers and about 20 spears pointed at me stopped me in my tracks, I put my bound hands up in obedience and kneeled to the ground. A Guard Officer approached me with caution, a sour expression on his face. His head was about level with mine, a first for me in this world. He looked me over in disdain before speaking.
"The Sargent over there tells me you're somewhat friendly. I don't buy it. I'll have to ask you to step into the cart in peace."
I eyed the cart with the bars, this wasn't very diplomatic, "That one?" I gestured with my bound hands to the one in question.
"Yes. That one," he stated, as if I was an irritating toddler. I sighed as I got up off the ground and trudged to the cart. I climed in and sat down cross-legged on the hard wood floor as the officer locked the door, prohibiting any escape.
The Mane Six piled into theirs, worry appearing on Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity's faces. Pinkie must've got on the train without me seeing her, as I spotted her in the window of the carriage making funny faces at me, having the time of her life. I wished I could be like that, but with you being in a cart/cage and your hands bound, life can push you down. The guards that participated in the ring literally piled into their cart by twos, squeezing together ten in one row.
The carts started off, the luxury one leading mine, as the armored cart came in behind my cart. We disembarked from the train stations, heading through the grand streets of Canterlot to its castle.
*Seven minutes earlier*
The train slowed down to a gentle crawl, a few hisses from the wheel hydraulics signaled that the train was at a complete stop. Nopony even noticed a white Pegasus clad in mute green & sunglasses exit out the back over the noise.
He ran stealthily around the back of the train station, crossing the street behind it to an abandoned alley. Sights crouched low, almost invisible under some grain sacks & garbage. He consulted his METS, a military-grade 7-inch tablet, from his saddlebags to show him the live OAR images coming into Logistics HQ. He noticed the carts moving into the train station, an armored cart carrying about 15-20 Royal Guards were taking position around one of the passenger cars. The passengers themselves were suprised at the barricade of soldiers and hurriedly fled behind it.
Aha, there you are boss, He thought with relief, he now knew exactly where the boss was. Sights also knew that he could do nothing about the guards, those weren't his orders. He decided to hitchhike on one of the carts, preferably the luxury one, so he could set up shop around the castle grounds and mark where he wanted the care package. He could almost feel the safety of a LMG by his side. He also felt pain as someone picked him up & threw him at the wall.
"Foolish AFM Support, don't you creatures ever watch your miserably armored backsides?" the voice cackled at a joke only it could understand. Whatever it was, its voice sounded like it ate rusty nails for MREs today. The stars finally ceased dancing in Sights' vision so he could make out his assailant.
It was from the 1st Quarter, this was evident from its biomechanical form. The armor it wore was colored dark blue with a small Descent marking on its right chestplate that distinguished it as a hostile, Sights guessed that it specialized in water-based attacks. On its mask it had a beak, peculiar for any 1Q being, but masks usually illustrated their personality. No Kanohi mask, thank The One, but Sights didn't fancy fighting with any elemental power that some 1Q beings possessed. Duel-wielding two small blades dripping with poison, it leaned over Sights and sheathed one of the weapons to stroke his cheek with its free hand.
"Looks like this Stealth caught a high-value target, Murka will have fun with this lost Rahi," It purred, like a cat that had captured a mouse. It had to be a she, He lamented quietly as he noticed its voice was slightly feminine. Sights cursed that he didn't bring a weapon on this op. He scooted away from her, scrabbling for anything near him that could be used, Murka advanced on him with undisguised pleasure.
Thwock! He had grabbed the METS unit from the ground and slammed it into Murka's mask, stunning her and causing the dagger to launch into the air. Sights wasted no time to take flight, grabbing the blade in mid-air.
Murka had regained her senses, sending a high-pressure stream of boiling liquid his way, her anger keeping the water hot. Sights barrel-rolled as he dived, narrowly missing the projectile. He swung around behind her and nicked the unarmored part of her calf with her own blade, the poison seeping into the wound. Murka froze up, the poison was paralyzing to any creature unlucky enough to get it into their bloodstream. She fell helplessly on her back while Sights retrieved his METS, no scratches on the screen whatsoever.
"I love how the boss made these tougher than steel," Sights remarked out loud, focusing his attention on his attacker. Her heartlight on her chest was flashing at the speed of sound as her eyes stared at him in anguish. He knelt down near her head, whispering his last rites, before using the blade to disconnect it. Her heartlight stopped immediately, signaling that Murka was gone for good.
After waiting for the head to drain of its liquids, Sights dragged the head and body deeper into the alley, he gave it about 1 hour before they'd be discovered so he needed to get to the castle garden to hide out. He exited the alley into the street, a crowd had gathered at the entrance of the train station so he had a chance to hitch-hike on one of the carts.
Sights snuck around the luxury carriage, diving under it before a guard passed by to aid the ring of soldiers. Shifting his gaze upwards, Sights had an idea.
He observed that each axle had a parallel beam of wood above it, the beam being part of the chassis. It was also flat enough to lie on, perfect for sneaking into the castle unnoticed. Sights slithered onto the beam, wrapping his hooves around it to prevent falling. Now all he had to do was wait.
A couple of minutes later, Sights heard clops of hooves approaching the carriage, followed by the voices of whom he recognized as the Mane Six. The carriage began to move forwards, gaining speed with every passing second. Sights kept a firm hold on the beam, wobbling a bit when the carriage hit a bumpy part in the road. After a few minutes, an argument broke out inside. He couldn't make out what they were saying, the voices were too blended together for that. This continued for a minute or two before one voice silenced the others.
"Girls, girls! I understand we don't know why he's here, but Princess Celestia will decide what to do with him once she meets him." It was obvious that "he" was the boss. Sights knew the history that humans had in Equestria, Celestia had experienced this first-hand and none of it was pretty. He just hoped that the Princess would be merciful.
"Here is your cell," the guard commanded, stopping next to the cell he indicated. The trip to Canterlot Castle in the barred cart was uneventful, minus the throngs of ponies that followed to gape at me. When we got there, the Mane Six were escorted to the throne room to meet the Princess. Me, however, I was escorted to the dungeons until I would meet Celestia. As the guard opened the barred door, I could observe the room I would be staying in.
The cells had floors and walls of cobblestone, the ceiling was wooden planks. Some of the cells had mold growing inside, some taking up two to three of the cells' floors. Luckily, I received a cell with a large mold growth in the upper-right corner. Inside the confinement area, a toilet sat near the mold towards the right. A wooden bed lain on the left, the sheets looked faded in color, as if they hadn't been used for ages.
The guard motioned for me to enter, I obeyed, shuffling in apprehensively. As I grew acustomed to the room, the guard shut the door with a clang, locking it as he did.
Well, to be honest. This wasn't what I was expecting when I dreamed about going to Equestria, I mused, I hadn't received a good rest on the train, so I thought it best to get some sleep now.
I sat down on the bed to take off my shoes, the sheets crackled as I shifted. These must be more than one hundred years old! I laid down onto the bed, sleep fast overtook me as my vision grew dim.
Sights found himself crouching under a bush again, his comms was giving him some trouble as he tried to fix the problem. He had slipped by the guards to get where he was now, in the Canterlot Gardens inside the boundries of Canterlot Castle. He had followed his orders given by Upbeat to take position near the west wall, where he would mark where he wanted the care package.
The west wall itself was covered in creeping vines, this part of the wall surrounding Canterlot Castle was not as well maintained as the other walls since it faced the mountain. Therefore, because of the mountain, none had tried to keep the wall primed for an attack.
The only creature in the vicinity was a lone watchpony on the nearest tower. The guards themselves had been very unalert so far, this one being no different. Proving the point that the 1000 year peace had lulled Equestria into deeming itself untouchable. If only they knew.. Sights thought wistfully.
Sights noticed that the guard was starting to nod off, the time had come to use the IR mark.
Swiftly, he placed a bullet-shaped object in the clearing near his bush hideout, then leaping back into it. He turned on his METS and navigated the interface before him, pressing a button in the "Marker" menu. Nothing happened in the clearing, but Sights could see a red dot on his OAR images he was receiving.
A few seconds had passed before he heard a dull "Thunk!" in the clearing. Sights popped his head out to see a matte black, unbreakable Protodermis case where the IR marker had been before. Sights checked to see if the guard on the tower was still asleep. A snore greeted his relieved ears as he continued to approach the care package.
Sights punched in the unlock code for the package, the touch screen there to prevent the enemy getting their hands on the contents. The contents themselves were enough to make the Support smile like a filly that had received a beautiful doll.
The first thing Sights pulled out was a camo saddle with saddlebags on the sides. It had pockets for frags, ammo, his METS and more. But most importantly, two mechanical arms on the front designed for the carrying of a firearm. The left one was telescopic for aiming & bringing it close to his chest. He fitted it on his back, fitting perfectly with his spine. I wonder how they knew my size as a pony. Sights mused, but another oject within the case stopped him from pursuing the thought.
Sights' weapon of choice was always an LMG, it was his job to suppress enemies to allow his squadmates to advance & hand out ammo and other weapons. The weapon he retrieved from the case was made for the task, the UM-made MF-84, a very accurate, light-weight LMG with low rate of fire & recoil. He enjoyed that gun on many missions before, but the only thing he didn't like was Upbeat must've ordered the PKEs to fit a suppressor to it. Sights detested these attachments, they reduced his range and didn't allow the weapon to make a comforting sound of it firing. The other attachments were a unique, square RDS that only MFs had, and a grip. He attached the LMG to his metal arms, it fit just like his saddle, perfectly.
Some M-rations were in there as well, but Sights put those in his saddlebags before he thought much about them. A small box for four frags was stashed in the corner, Sights gave them a new home in his combat saddlebags. The last item the case held almost made him squeal like a fangirl of any band.
One of the oldest and most widely used equipment in the AFM was the Xtype Multi Use Combat Droid, commonly known as the Xtype. It had a square, stubby black body & white feet, only about 2.5 feet tall, with round, color-mismatched eyes taking up half of its face. Which said a lot because the face was all of the front. The other half of the face was a plate of armor containing its speech circuitry and GPS. The brain, which the design hadn't changed for 3,100 years, sat behind the eyes. Sights was happy to see that he would have some company on this op as he activated it.
The right eye emmited a faint blue light as it went through the startup processes, the left eye was colored black, which led to mismatched eyes. This was a common trait in some Xtypes as there was a fifty-fifty chance of that happening. Why is anycreature's guess.
"Hello, Codename: Sights." it chirped in a female voice, it marched outside to scan its enviroment.
"Hello, Xtype. ID, class and build number, please." he snapped the droid out of its curiousity, pulling it back in the bush. Xtypes almost always had some sort of personality, mainly because the majority of them were very old. The company that manufactured them hadn't made a single one in 254 years. The average age for an Xtype was around 1,250 years, it took about 150 years for it to develop sentient thoughts.
"My name is Psuedo, I am a Logistics and my build number is 0000006. I am thrilled to accompany you on this operation." the answer it gave was cheerful and content as she focused her eyes on her squadmate.
"Six? So you were one of the first ones built?"
"Yes, I was very close to the creator. It saddened me when he was presumed KIA. At least now we know that he didn't croak, eh?" Sights nodded and grinned, Pseudo was an optimist to the max, just like him.
"Aye, I'm gonna patch myself through to base, thanking Upbeat for the charming gifts."
If an Xtype could blush, Pseudo would be a deep maroon as she scuffed her foot around on the grass.
"This is Codename: Sights inside Canterlot Gardens. One enemy Alfa Stealth has been eliminated, received care package. You there, Upbeat?" the response nearly scared Sights out of his fur.
"This is Codename: Flip. Solid copy, Sights. Orders are to continue protecting Obelisk at all costs." a male, professional-sounding voice greeted Sights ears.
"Flip? Where's Upbeat, you robot!" he demanded, Sights and Flip had a long-standing rivalry for the boss's right-hand man.
"She's busy with the Senate. I just got back from my last mission," he stated with his ever-present nonchalant tone. Damn. The Senate is probably getting suspicious. Sights worried. He shifted his gaze to Pseudo, whom was patched into his comms. She knew about the deal with the Senate & twitched apprehensively.
"My mission went smoothly, except it brought Obelisk to the 5th Quarter. The magic the Princess possesses is very easy to botch up, I'm lucky that it didn't kill Obelisk."
"Well, you didn't. Anything else we should know about?" There was a pause from the other end, like he purposely paused for dramatic effect.
"There's a possibility of a Krahka in your vicinity." Pseudo instantly started shaking with fear, her irises darting from left to right.
Oh crap.."T-t-the same one?" A Krahka is a shape-shifting Rahi from the 1st Quarter. They are very intelligent, very protective of their territory, and extremely dangerous. They can even replicate powers and voices of creatures it has encountered. If it was the one Sights was thinking of, then they were in for a difficult fight.
"Affirmitive. She's going to try to neutralize anyone protecting Obelisk, then bring him to their base."
There was an agonizing silence, followed by Pseudo giving a high mechanical whine.
"Ok," his voice kept level, "We'll eliminate it." Sights switched off his comms, He let the information soak into his brain with terror and cursing.
Pseudo was still very shaken up, her artificial brain must've blown a few circuits, "P-permission to lubricate?" She inquired as she leaked oil all over the grass under her before a response came.
*A/N*
Sorry it took so long, I prefer quality over quanity. Please comment so I can fix anything you bring to my attention! Also, I'd appreciate it if you thumb this up if you liked. Since my story was kinda weak at the start, hopefully I can get it up to 20 likes.
Can you guess what franchises these characters came from? Tell me what you think their from! Think of it as a challenge. ;)
With all due respect,