Cold Scales

by Konatra

The Good Legion

Spines sat upon her newly built throne in the middle of the commander's room surrounded by her subordinate androids. She still wore the suit because it was oddly more comfortable to wear than without. It was cushioned on the inside and melded with her movements all too perfectly.

The throne was insisted upon by the androids they said constantly 'A Queen needs a throne' why they were like this she had no idea but absolute loyalty was better than uncertain loyalty in her opinion. The chair was chiseled from a block of black crystals with carved images of massive dragons on the head and armrests. This pleased the inner hoarding instincts of Spines greatly but the whole concept was odd. Currently, she just sat idly while viewing the world through her visor with the aid of the newly built satellites.

At the moment she peered down near Ponyville to see a somewhat pleasing sight. Dusk rushed around the far borders of the town facing the Everfree building up masses of dirt conjured up by magic in a hurried state. It seemed like he would raise up a patch while a mile down the wall were a group of contractor ponies that built up wooded structures almost 20 feet tall in a hurried state. The whole town seemed to be in a lockdown of some sort and guards patrolled the streets and deliver food baskets to each house every few hours.

'Looks like Dusk took my warning seriously, thank Solaris he's so vigilant.' The commander dragon muttered this sadly and turned off the visor to see Bek stare down at her from her slouching position. "Yes Bek?"

"Our scout groups have built up a defensive barrier around the second forest layer. We meet resistance every few hours but thankfully it appears we overestimated the enemy as we are easily able to eliminate any Void threat that has surged up thus far but we will remain vigilant as long as you command Lady. We also have come across several locations suitable for harvesting, at the moment we have taken control over five quarry zones and seven abandoned mines so we now have access to basic metals and precious stones we can use at R&D which means we have enough resources to build more units.

Bek crouched down to better meet eye level with his commander because he felt that as a lower-ranking member he should never be looking down upon the leader as a show of respect. Spines never even considered this.

The android leader sent an image to Spine's visor. It showed a curious design of an android she had never seen before. "What's this?"

"It is customary for every General to have their own personal army and elite guards. While we may serve you as only commanding leader here our programing has it that General Tendrix takes priority over all else. In the event he returns you would be left with no soldiers so it would be best for us to create your own legion." This caused Spines to sit up straighter than before in sudden interest. "Our engineers have taken the liberty of making the outline of the design for your units as well as all the other classes, we require your final say to begin construction."

The General nodded and overlooked the designs with more attention. The android was sleek in design and it looked almost like her without a suit with an incredibly dark violet coating. The chest region had the crest of the neck end in a sharp end that juts out. It was both elegant and deadly in appearance. The tail was barbed at each joint and ended in a green laser spike similar to her own tail. The face showed no mouth but two bright green eyes shaped in an intimidating shape. The design also had spines that went down to the tail but these were far sharper than hers.

Next to it was a design half taller than the first with similar design aspects but this one wore a heavy-looking black cloak with dragon patterns in violet etched on the back area. It held a giant hammer that pulsed an electric surge every few moments. It took a second for Spines to realize that cloak was actually the metallic wings of the model. It draped around the elite unit to appear like a hooded mysterious figure and when the time for battle comes the wings would unfurl to large dragon wings with a seven-foot span. The elites looked like they could do serious damage if given the chance. She closed these files and looked to Bek. "Make it happen as quickly as you are able please." The android commander nodded and marched off to the lower sections of the ship.

Spines was once again left alone with her thoughts and to slouch back into the seat. "What has my life come to?" She still wondered how she went from a #1 assistant to a supreme commander over less than a day. In the very least the Void menace seemed to be suppressed for the time being but she knew this was just a momentary calm before the storm if old Discord and Tendrix were easily defeated by the source demon then it was safe to assume the battle was far from over. She did have one plan up her sleeve though. This ship has a super-powerful rail gun attached to the top hull aimed in the general area of the Everfree, according to Bek it was made to take down Monolith class ships that were slightly larger than her own. If the power was amped down quite a bit and a sizable hole carved out in the mountain were made, then chances are Spines had found an easy solution to all her problems. The real matter would be finding the core demon and luring it out into open somehow.

That was a matter for another time since a small alarm went off in her head. Another page opened up in her visor to show an overview of Canterlot via her satellites. She zoomed in at the area of the event to see a group of dark-colored stallions run down one of the less populated streets down the high-class housing area. They seemed to be in a major hurry and were all careering bags full of gems latched to their saddles. Her visor identified these five with an icon of their faces and names. Not far behind were two royal guardsmen in hot pursuit. Each of the runner's names listed in red lettering. "WANTED FOR GRAND THEFT AND VIOLENCE

'Huh, looks like a classic bank robbery gone wrong.' Spines was unsure if she even needed to intervene since this was basic crime stuff the guards were trained to handle, they didn't even have any weapons... On that thought, Spines found this odd, how dumb were these convicts to rob a bank without at least a knife, the leader was a unicorn and the rest of earth ponies so it was likely a magic break-in with heavy intimidation but still something didn't add up. 'What are they up to.' Her visor outlined the predicted route of escape down a dimly lit alleyway which her visor scanned with infrared vision. To her shock, it revealed five more shady-looking stallions and one mare all brandishing knives in their mouths all hiding behind a trash can or box of some sort. 'It's a trap.' The guards would be ambushed in less than a minute.

Spines rose from her seat. "Get a unit down there on the double, assist those guards and take down those criminals!" The androids snapped to attention and shouted Jawohl! in unison. She sat back down and resumed her spying.

By now the guards were entering the shady alley. An alert signal showed a green outline of her soldier rushing out one of the many holes in the mountain. Spines was a smart girl and knew something like this would happen so she had sent first responder units all-around any major location on the planet until the teleporters were completed. So the unit named Z6 boosted out from high above the castle and went into free fall into the hot zone. "On it Lady!" Z6 confirmed.

The General clutched her seat when she saw the ambush set off. The five runners slid to a sudden stop in their tracks and turned to the pursuing guards. This unexpected action caused said guards to stop as well. Behind them appeared the knife-wielding attackers poised to strike, she could see the horrified expressions of the two in realization they were tricked. "COME ON!" Spines pleaded to no one in particular. She messed around with her mental commands in hopes to make the rescue somehow faster. What she did was focus her sight on the descending unit would seem only moments from interception but once she did her mind warped sharply and before she knew it she was falling out of the sky looking down into the dark alleyway.

'What the hell!?' A sixth sense kicked or some other compelling force made her kick down her legs to land on the ground with a solid thud. Time slowed for a moment in which she noticed how her arms and legs were very robotic unlike her suit and how none of this actually felt real in a natural sense. For the moment she concluded she somehow took control over Z6 and was controlling the unit back in her chair but this was no time to stagger for lives were on the line.

___

Flash Bang was having an interesting day. He was an inspiring unicorn who made it out of the lower class by chance to get a job working as a royal guard for Lord Solaris himself. The job was easy as it was demanding, the training was grueling but it was worth it in the end since guards were mostly just meant to keep the peace just by being in the area, Canterlot was one of the safest places in the world not including those times when mass invasions or evil creatures attempt a take over every few years...that didn't count. So when he and his friend in the force, Heavy Heart, saw an explosion at the Canterlot bank well it came as quite an unexpected shock. Still, thankfully all those years of training kicked in and the two of them rushed the thieves, it seemed like a simple enough thing to deal with, he would get close enough to use his signature concussion spell that blinds and disorients anyone caught in the blast while his earth pony partner would beat them into submission. He was only seconds away from casting when they stopped as if their lives depended on it. The guards stopped as well but Flash could feel it in the air that something was very wrong.

He turned first to see the sight of five more ponies holding up weapons. He and his friend knew casting would take too long and wouldn't knock all of them out. Heavy was known for his quick reaction time as he skillfully dodged under the first attack and bashed the neck of the assailant with his armored head. The crook stuttered to breathe and fell back in a disheveled state. This was as far as he would get because the other two near him were quick to drive their blades right into his neck and lower side. It all happened so suddenly and fast both of them could not even register what happened before it was too late. "HEAVY!" Flash screamed which forced himself out of his stupor. Heavy fell a gagging mess, unable to speak or move, Flash made a move to help him comrade but the ground shook hard at that second. He and even the bastards looked back to see something both incredible and terrifying.

In a shade of pure black that melted into the darkness stood an imposing seven-foot towering figure unlike anything ever seen before. A no-faced metallic monster stood straight as if it fell from the sky not a moment earlier. It looked at the smaller lifeforms for a moment and seemed to focus on the twitching form of Heavy Heart. "Stand down now or I will be forced to use the full extent of my abilities!" It was unclear who exactly it was speaking to in its male monotone voice.

Flash looked back to see the criminals look at him in a similar shocked state. What was he supposed to do in this situation? They didn't prepare you for this in boot camp.

One of the crooks circled around the creature. "It's only a Minotaur or something in armor guys, let's get 'em!" And like that the bout of confusion and fear faded from the criminals and they took a more hostile stance. The stranger responded to this by choosing his own battle stance that looked similar to a karate pose Flash once saw in a movie.

"Then you leave me no choice!" They rushed him all at once but the large figure was fast like a Wonderbolt and seemed to faze out for a moment and reappear behind the group. This advantage let the stranger knee one to the side hard enough that he could have sworn he heard a rib or something crack. The pained yowls confirmed this as the crook fell in agony. They turned and one lashed out the knife and struck the center of the stranger's chest but it didn't even make a scratch at all. In response, he gave a low uppercut to the mouth of the attacker which knocked him out cold instantly with a broken jaw. Next he grabbed a large earth pony and lifted him like a doll and flung him over two others. Flash Bang stepped back as he noticed the stranger was only fighting those who attacked him, so he rushed over to the still twitching Heavy Heart.

While this happened he saw the stranger be pushed suddenly into a wall hard enough to break a few bricks, the one unicorn in the party used his magic to keep the stranger at bay but he wasn't done yet. The magic-user conjured up a projectile spell and unleashed a flurry of sharp needles aimed right at the face of the defender. But still, the armor proved its sturdiness and refused to break. Surprisingly he pushed himself out from the wall and marched forward with a bit of resistance to the magic field. It was as if he were either magic resistant or just that strong. The caster didn't seem to notice this until he was only feet away but by then he lifted up a fist and punched the unicorn's horn dead center, even Flash Bang flinched at this knowing the horrible unnatural pain that came from harming a magic casting horn.

The thief unicorn screamed as if he were being torn to shreds and collapses while foaming at the mouth. The final four seemed to come to terms with how mismatched they were and made a move to run away but as they turned to flee already was the stranger in front of them. "Going somewhere?" He asked with venom in his voice. They turned again but this time Flash Bang was prepared and threw a magic ball of white light over at the four before they could move away from it the thing exploded a blinding white light that dazed them greatly, the stranger appeared to be unaffected by this. "Enough of this." He declared and grabbed two up by the throats like cats and smashed their head together with an audible clunking noise, they fell fast blacked out and the other two were picked up by the tails and thrown into the walls hard enough to also knock them out.

Flash could hardly believe what he just saw but there was no time to do any of that because Heavy stopped moving. "Heavy? HEAVY!?" He didn't want to do CPR in case it would make the neck wound worse but what else could he do? "Come on buddy wake up. Just wake up please!" Before he could break down a cold hand pushed him aside politely but firmly.

"Step aside, I'll see what I can do." The stranger declared while kneeling down over his friend.

"Hey don't you hurt him!" He shouted but was promptly ignored while he pulled out an oddly colored vile from his chest pocket and splashed it over the limp body of Heavy Heart. "What are you doing?!" Before he could get confrontational Heavy seemed to recover from his limp state and began breathing as hard as possible as if he were learning how to breathe all over again. Flash almost cried at that moment and moved to be beside his partner.

The stranger seemed to be done with his work and looked to the sky. "Good work Flash, I must be off now but just know Unity will always be there to protect the innocent." Then he flew off without wings, with a small jet on its back. Flash stared up and watched as the black figure got smaller and small until it could no longer be seen through the clouds.

"What in Solaris's name..."

Heavy slowly got back up. "W-...what the hell happened Flash, did we get 'em?"

"...Yeah I think..." For some reason all Flash could think about was how hard it was going to be to file the report on this one.

Author's Note:

Hello again friends, I didn't much plan to add a OC of sorts but I thought it seemed like a good idea at the time, I don't have really any plans for Flash Bang but he may show up one more time down the line. Thank you for getting this far and hope to see you further in as things unfold for Spines.

Comments

[Konatra]

8947804
Oh cool, I guess we can say Spines was just strong enough and got a lucky shot in but later on she'll be hunting much stronger prey so I'll be sure to incorporate that knowledge, thank you.

[lord hades]

Thé sequel