Fallen Angel

by Stuffzilla

Chapter Two: Rapport Reinforcement

Rapport Reinforcement

Light was soon within his optics as the War Room had taken him from his standby. He sat up, checking the solar time. Half past nine. Dread. The War Room never deviated from schedule unless an unprecedented event had occurred. Instantly, all his Commander instincts kicked in. The base must be under attack! He forced his way out of the War Room, not even bothering to let it unlock before prying it's doors open. It would need fixed, but that didn't matter. His army needed him on the front lines, now. He dashed through the base, sending out commands across the base. Foundries were to produce as many war machines as possible, all turrets were to engage at maximum range, and all troops on the ground were to assume battle formation. Numerous bombers and interceptors flew overhead, their engines screaming as birds scattered in their wake. The Bots ran out to form the front line, as they were expendable. The tanks and mobile artillery positioned themselves behind the wall of legged machines, forming a blockade any leader would be proud of. He dashed over to a nearby power generator, unplugging a large cable from the machine. He opened up his chest, plugging the cable into a port in his internals. It quickly charged all his systems to their capacity, allowing him to overclock his logic and simulation cores, whilst charging an 'Uber' cannon shot. He then quickly ripped the cable out, placing it back onto the generator sloppily. He then bounded to the front lines, his weapons aimed ahead; his shoulder plates unfolding to reveal the missile salvos within.

Then he waited. And waited. Exactly thirty minutes without any sign of hostiles. He slowly exited his battle stance, optics scanning over the forest. Motion sensors picked up nothing. No Commander frequencies. Nothing. His shoulder plates folded closed, and he scanned over the forest once more, the recesses of his intelligence hoping that there were enemy combatants. However, hard data kept telling him 'no', so he was obliged to drop the whole notion. The 'Uber' cannon was still charged. He quickly dispersed the energy with his Lathe, turning to face back towards the War Room, sending the commands for the base return to neutral status. Why did the War Room awaken him off schedule, even if it was only a few hours earlier? He saw Dyncik approaching, clapping his metal hands together.

"What a display, Commander." He said to Avol, chuckling. "The way you acted, I'd think the WR woke you because the moon was on a collision course."

"Funny." Avol responded. Dyncik liked to speak physically rather than through the Net. "Why was I awoken?"

"Because of this." Dyncik held out a small, flat and flimsy object. Further scans revealed it to be a paper or parchment of some sort. "A sentient came by and gave this to me, telling me to 'give it to the Commander.'" The only sentient who knew about his title was Fluttershy. What could she possibly want?

"Give it to me." Avol said, his weaponry folding inward in favor of the Grappler, which soon folded out of the slot. He took the small paper from Dyncik and enhanced his optic's zoom in an attempt to read it. It clearly didn't help, as he could not read even a single word written on the small sheet. It all looked like indecipherable symbols. He shook his head, dropping the small note; crushing it beneath his metal foot. "Did the sentient say anything else?"

"Something about her home. I couldn't hear because she went quiet when one of the Fabricators overloaded." Dyncik responded whilst staring back at Avol with his single, bright white optic.

"Improve the base, I want more reliable radar systems and landmines."

"But of course, Commander." Dyncik lightly saluted, and turned to head back into the base.

"Ensure they do not trigger from a sentient or a forest creature. I don't want wasted resources." Avol said as he strode away, heading towards Fluttershy's home. Quickly, the sound of Lathe use filled the air. The sound of progress. However, what Dyncik said bothered him. Why did she want to meet with him? Instantly the assumption came up that she was plotting something, but he quickly left the thought behind. Fluttershy was probably just wanting to talk to him, perhaps inviting him over to learn more. He could imagine the exchange going down right now. The two sitting in front of the house, talking about everything that comes to mind. He stumbles over the language numerous times, she helps him. They watch the stars together...and then an army of hostile machines surround him, revealing the trap laid before him.

He abandoned the thought chain, soon arriving at the house. He stood at the edge of the trees, scanning the nearby forest for any sign of hostile forces. When nothing drew his suspicion, he exited the forest, stepping closer to the small cottage. She must be inside. This time, he would be a little less startling. He approached the doorway, crouching down; tapping the small wooden construction with a single metal finger. He then stood, waiting patiently, turning his upper body to look off into the distance. Small structures, perhaps a town. He would investigate later. Now, he had a date with a sentient. The door soon opened, and Fluttershy exited, smiling up at him.

"H-hello, Commander..." She said somewhat nervously. Avol turned his upper body to face towards her.

"You. Wanted. To." He needed a word for meet. "Rendezvous?" Curse him and his inarticulation. She nodded in response, her smile still wide.

"I wanted to introduce you to my friends." Instantly, alerts started going off; his simulation cores bringing back to mind the hostile army emerging from the vegetation. He calmed himself, and nodded, unsure of what she meant. She peeks back into the cottage, and started speaking to some unseen individual or individuals. He enhanced his audio inputs in an attempt to pick up what was being said. The first voice he heard was not Fluttershy's.

"Sugarcube, ah don' mean to be mean or nuttin', but are you crazy!?" The voice was hard to explain. It did not sound at all like Fluttershy, and possibly possessed a form of dialect.

"H-he's not mean...he's just...big..." This was Fluttershy's voice, at least he could recognize it.

"Where did he even come from? Please Fluttershy, don't give me the answer of 'from the forest.'" This was different from the other voice, whom he decided to call Alpha. This one he called Beta.

"Darling, he looks like a war machine. He's nothing but bad news." The word 'darling' rang in his head. Perhaps this was Fluttershy's mother? Possibly even her father? Strangely distinguished, he called this one Delta.

"He's not mean...!" He could tell Fluttershy was in distress, but her supposed yell came out more as a small squeak.

"Here, since you all are gonna sit here and be scared, I'm gonna go out and be awesome!" This voice had a tone of arrogance and narcissism. It reminded him of Varil. He hated Varil. He decided to name it Omega. Motion sensors went off, something was moving in the house. Within a few seconds, a cyan pegasus, similar to Fluttershy, but clearly more athletic, exited the home. The pegasus had a mane possessing all of a rainbow's colors; marking on her flank similar to lightning, but with a rainbow streaking out from the cloud. The pegasus quickly took flight and got even closer than Fluttershy had, her snout pressing against his head, her magenta eyes level with his red optics; a wide, assertive grin across her face.

"Hey! You!" This pegasus was revealed to be Omega. He simply stared back at her, refusing to say a word to this obscenely forceful creature. She frowned, narrowing her eyes. "Playing the silent game, eh?" He scanned his data banks for any form of entertainment known as the 'silent game'. He found none. It must be an expression of sorts. He blocked out Omega's speech, and focused his audio inputs on listening to the conversations within the house.

"Rainbow Dash is still out there." Beta said. Omega's name must be Rainbow Dash then. Unfortunate, as he would continue to call her Omega. She had no respect for him, he has no respect for her.

"I-I'll go see..." Fluttershy said. Motion sensors go off again, and soon Fluttershy exited through the open door. He decided to focus back on Omega with his optics; finding her right where he had left her, hovering so close her snout was scrunched up against his metal face.

"Your buddy doesn't talk much, Flutters." Omega said, turning her attention to Fluttershy, before looking back at him. She knocked against his metal forehead with a hoof. Instantly all alerts lit up. Attempted physical harm by this pegasus. He wasn't about to have a single second of it, his Commander instincts instantly taking priority. Sentient extinction algorithm engaged. He would start his conquest here. He quickly reached up, grabbing hold of one of Omega's wings with two metal fingers. Instantly, she started panicking. "Whoa, buddy! Calm down!" The words barely registered. He charged his Lathe. Soon, Omega would be nothing but a pool of Latiah. A victim of conquest.

"No!" Fluttershy shouted, catching him by surprise. He looked over to her, and upon making eye contact, a bizarre feeling washed over him. It felt exactly like when the Creators hooked him up to a computer via the override port on the back of his head, and edited his base systems. He couldn't explain this phenomenon. The forest's flame retardant nature, the moon's odd orbit, and now Fluttershy's strange 'stare' ability. There was something off about Equis. "Let go of her." Her tone was commanding and authoritative. He managed to break his gaze away from hers, staring back at Omega. He released her from his grasp, and she hit the ground with a loud thump. "Now say you're sorry." He looked at Fluttershy for a moment, thinking briefly of murdering her, before letting out a mechanical groan through his vocoder, the Lathe powering down.

"I. Apologize." He said, looking down at Omega.

"No, I'm the one who should be saying sorry, dude." She stood, looking up at him. "I guess I know how statues feel when somepony knocks on them to see if they're real." She said, scratching the back of her head with her foreleg. They were so small. He could kill them easily. But he didn't want to. Omega was showing him respect. He would reciprocate. Omega, no, Rainbow Dash, wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. The strange variation on 'somebody' went unnoticed. She held out a hoof to him. "We good?" He crouched down onto one knee, staring at the pegasus. He cocked his right arm back, clenching his metal hand into a fist. Instantly, Dash froze with fear, her eyes widening. He heard Fluttershy gasp.

"Apology. Accepted." He said to her, slowly bringing his metal hand down to gently clutch her extended hoof. She nervously chuckled, trying her hardest to shake her hoof about, despite being in the grasp of his sturdy metal digits. After about a minute of contact, he let go, rising back onto his feet. "Bring. Colleagues." Dash stared up at him for a moment, before saluting; nodding.

"Aye aye, Commander." She said, grinning and making her way back into the home. Fluttershy watched her enter, before looking back at him.

"I'm sorry...for doing that to you..." What was she talking about? The strange stare? It's odd effects? "But I won't let my friends fight each other..." Friends? Fighting each other? Did she consider him a friend?

"Was. Instinct." He said, whilst running a diagnostic check. Fluttershy kept quiet, peering back into the house. For some odd reason, there was a massive deviation to his normal processor usage. He scanned through his operational modules, and found the ancient context algorithm was still operating, performing so far beyond it's task it had begun expanding his dictionary exponentially. That would explain why he could understand them so clearly. He once again silently thanked himself for not removing the algorithm centuries ago.

After some time, Dash exited the home, three other sentients of snowy white, purple and bright orange color in tow. Fluttershy stepped out of the way. The three newcomers simply stared at him, in what appeared to be shock or awe. Perhaps a combination of both. After some time, the purple sentient spoke up.

"H-hello!" She said in an immediately recognizable tone of nervousness and fear, revealing herself to be Beta in the process. This sentient had a strange mane, deep blue with streaks of magenta and dark purple running through the centre. Her eyes were purple in color, and she possessed a horn on her forehead, in addition to wings. The symbol on her flank was that of a large pinkish 'star' with five other, white stars adjacent. This symbol was far from accurate, but he ignored it. Beta stepped closer, bowing. "Princess Twilight Sparkle at your service." She said, her voice straining to remain in a conversational manner.

"Princess?" He asked. Twilight looked no different from any other. What made her a princess? Her horn? What possible use could a large chunk of bone have? It's tip was rounded, so it couldn't even have the use of a natural weapon. Twilight nodded, looking up from the ground, and standing.

"Ah reckon he ain't too cozy with how things work here." The orange sentient said, revealing herself to be Alpha. Alpha was unique from the others, possessing neither wings nor a horn. Her mane was a bright yellow, her eyes bright green, and her symbol being that of three apples. In addition, she had three white specks on each cheek. These sentients were odd. Bright, colorful, diverse. The only colors he'd ever seen from other sentients were metallic grey, deep blue, and dark red.

"To be honest, darling, I don't even think he's listening to us." The white sentient spoke up, her voice identifying her as Delta. Delta was one of her own, with a horn; without wings. Her mane was a soft purple, her eyes a bright blue. Her symbol was three blue diamonds. Interesting. He tapped out of his audio inputs, and brought his attention back to his army. The Seraph was repaired from it's impact; the first fabricators were just launching from the orbital platform. He watched over the progress by observing via Dyncik's vision. After about a minute, he tapped back into his audio inputs.

"-to Canterlot. Introduce him to the Princesses." Twilight had just finished saying. Instantly, his interest peaked. He listened, whilst not moving in the slightest.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Dash asked.

"I think the Guard wouldn't greet him appropriately, Twilight." Delta said. He had to know what they were speaking of.

"Explain." He said, rotating his upper body to face towards them. All of them jumped, bringing their attention to him.

"T-the Guard?" Twilight asked, staring up at him in concern. He nodded.

"Yes."

"The Guard is just our military...like your...machines." Her ears folded back as she sheepishly grinned up at him. He didn't know why Dash and Fluttershy seemed so accepting of him, whilst the others were seemingly afraid. Were they even afraid?

"Are. You. Afraid?" He decided to ask her. He simulated what he looked like to her. A massive, looming machine with aggressive-looking, bright red glowing eyes, and it was asking if he was afraid. Perhaps her terror was well placed, then.

"...Yes..." She said after much silence. "I think I speak for all of us..."

"Very. Well." He replied, turning his upper body to face towards the structures in the distance. "Structures. Distance. Why?" Dash took flight, hovering next to him, and squinting to see the structures.

"Those?" She looked over to him.

"Yes."

"That's Ponyville, closest town to Fluttershy's house, and to your base, or city, whatever it is." She looked back to the structures in the distance. He turned his upper body even further, noticing a small dirt trail lined with trees leading away from the house. He turned his lower body, and started down the trail. His audio inputs revealed they had begun talking amongst each other, motion sensors not going off. Nothing was following him. He was alone again, and it felt so strange. How could he be alone on a planet with a hostile Commander upon it? Not to mention the sentients? On any other planet his base would've been assaulted at least ten times by now, and if he was wandering like he was now, he would be dead.

Why did he not just leave well enough alone and go to Nalios instead? From the looks, Nalios had a much more valuable set of tech planetside. It wouldn't have mattered. He still would've went towards Equis. He still would've met Fluttershy and her friends. He still would be feeling the way he is now. So alone. Why was he suddenly dependent upon these sentients? He didn't need sentients before, he didn't need them now! But he wanted them. He wanted for them to speak with him. He wanted to learn about them. He wanted to be close. But why!? He let out a loud snarl through his vocoder, causing motion sensors to explode with activity as numerous forest creatures dash off in terror.

The village was coming into view, and he stopped just outside of the settlement. Numerous other sentients were calmly walking about the town. They weren't going to be walking once they saw him. He was right. One sentient stopped walking in the middle of the unpaved street, staring at him. It set off a chain reaction. Soon, all the sentients were silently staring at him in fear. He slowly walked into the town, watching the sentients nonchalantly. As soon as a sentient was out of his optic's view, they became a signature on the motion sensors, making a mad dash for the closest building.

Suddenly, a large signature appeared on his motion sensor, his audio inputs detecting loud thumping noises. It was the size of him. He quickly turned about, raising his right arm to- Two metal feet impacted with his face, sending him flying backwards, his audio inputs picking up the sound of an optic's protective glass shattering. Pain shot throughout his metal face. He hit the ground with a loud crash, sliding for a few metres. He slowly sat up, his vision fuzzy, his gyroscopes thrown out of balance from the sudden impact, causing his systems to be hazy. His attacker was on the ground, as it had just performed a two-foot jumping kick. It quickly righted itself, standing. His vision cleared, revealing his attacker was the Impostor, in a form exactly like that of his body.

The Impostor was a machine of his own design, concealed within the War Room's extra storage pod. It had multiple uses, but he had usually used it as a training partner. It had the ability to copy any object with roughly the same mass as it. Of course, it could become much less massive objects, but at the cost of altering it's appearance to compensate for the much larger amount of matter behind it. He had copied his combat programming into the machine, so it fought exactly like him. He always stood by what one of the Creators once said, "Before you may defeat the enemy, you must first defeat yourself." So, he trained against the Impostor, soon getting to the point where the fights would become long, drawn out battles lasting over a month.

However, that was when there were friendly terms. No surprise attacks, and no genuine attempt at harm. The Impostor had broken both of these rules, despite having no intelligence of it's own. Something was very wrong. He stood, his right optic picking up drastically more light than his left. The conflicting light levels made it hard to see, so he deactivated his right optic. The Impostor's laser weapon folded inward, the Grappler folding out. It then held the metal hand palm up, curling and straightening it's fingers. Quite unlike the 'both bow and battle' proceedings.

He stood, folding in his Grappler model and folding out a large blade. The Impostor did the same, holding the blade outwards behind it. He stared at the Impostor, trying to access it's systems. He got the same error that he did trying to access a hostile's systems: 'string not found: 1046.' The Impostor was no longer his own machine. It was another's. Another Commander's. A hostile Commander's. He entered his battle stance, the Impostor mirroring him. There was no way out of this. If he did not kill it, it would kill him.

Comments

[gear blade98]

Like keep going I am interested

[TheArchive]

The whole impostor thing feels slightly ridiculous. Especially if it could ever potentially lead to a situation like this. Honestly, just having him interacting with non-machines would have been interesting.

Anyway, this looks amazing so far. The writing is detailed and descriptive, and the characterization is good. I'm beyond surprised that I found an actual PA crossover that doesn't suck and isn't a displaced story (thank God for that). I don't think I've seen any other stories like this.

That said, I think the story is slightly inconsistent when it comes to how the ponies react to him. At the beginning, you correctly pointed out how he would be towering above the trees, as would basically everything he creates. But then him bending down, picking up Rainbow Dash, and the way it took so long for anyone to even notice him makes it feel like his size is being ignored. Heck, he should have been easily seen by Canterlot when he showed up, considering they can see Ponyville and the forest from there.

The last thing I want to bring up is that you seem to be exaggerating AJ's accent, and going a bit over the top with having Rarity say, "Darling."

[Zepher]

6577964 The commander's aren't that big. More like between 3 - 5 stories tall. So he would be the same height as the trees. But the Princesses would still have seen one, let alone two such objects falling from orbit.