Sidejacked

by SurveyShip

Chapter 7 - Patrul'

"Well... That is certainly a sight." I commented on a find on our travels

Silver and I are thirty minutes into our journey through Black Mare City as we were following the cargo train of obscene length, like seriously how damn long is this thing? We managed to reach its other end of the train to find another locomotive facing the opposite direction. It was nearly identical to the engine all the way back at the bridge apart from a small, tiny little difference.

And by small, tiny little difference I mean that the engine component was blown outwardly as if a bomb detonated inside of it. It also had strange trails of holes on it too, like the car wrecks on the way to FrostHaul.

Apart from the initial surprise there was not much else to look at so we resumed the trek. For the short time we were following the rails the wind had picked up significantly and a white haze blurred the horizon. However, this could work in our favor, It could make us harder to be seen by Mechanoids. The rails, as of now, are our guide through this with Cosmo alerting us of imminent threats.

I huffed out clouds of cold breath. Snow was accumulating in the nooks of my armor and my mane and tail were covered in flecks of ice, Silver was afflicted by this too. The cold was getting to me, it was no more a bit chilly in the morning but now the weather bares its teeth. However I must remain steady, it is cold but not frigid, I'll live.

But I would not mind something warmer to wear.

The ruined buildings and disheveled surroundings are eerie to say the least, besides the tracks, plots of land are buried under the snow and the small businesses are either abandoned or half-demolished, and some are just a pile of rubble. I am having a hard time believing all of this destruction was solely the work of those machine ponies. In the distance through the snowy haze, once mighty skyscrapers are now empty dilapidated husks that are slowly crumbling away. To think this was a bustling city less than a decade ago, now it looks like it was left to rot for over a century.

"Ma'am, can I tell you something?" Silver asked out of the blue.

"What is it?"

"Do you think they miss us?"

I blink before stopping. "Uh... I am afraid I do not understand your question, Private."

"Perhaps I did not word it right. I mean the ponies back in Equestria, surely by now they have noticed that two guards have gone missing." Silver rephrases her question.

I ponder for a moment. The Royal Guards would have more than likely begun a search for us after disappearing from our post, but after not finding us they would have raised an alarm due to the suspicious circumstances. If they are smart they would have sent out someone to question our friends and... Relatives... My relatives... My folks... Both my mother and father must be confused and bewildered. I admit I do not talk to them much nowadays but I try to send a letter every now and then. I cannot imagine the thoughts that must be running through their heads, that their only goody-two-horse-shoes of a daughter has magically vanished. My heart aches.

"I know two ponies that no doubt are flummoxed on my whereabouts and those are my elderly folks." I responded trying my best to not show too much emotion. I ask a similar question to Silver as to distract myself from the thought. "How about you? Do you have anypony that would wonder where you are right now?"

Silver's expression turns sad, the topic weighs heavy on her. "There is one... It's my little brother, Silver Bits. He is eleven." The private sighs deeply. "He lives with my parents now. But when I was younger, before becoming a guard, I was the one who took care of 'Bits since both my mom and dad had to travel a lot for their jobs. He is very close to me..."

I am surprised, for the longest time I thought of Silver as a laidback mare who delves into, admittedly, foalish pastimes. Her family life was completely unknown to me and to see her feel grief over being separated from her younger sibling imparts that sadness unto me.

"...He would always ask me what all the trinkets and devices around the house do and I tried to explain it as best I could, then one thing led to another and now I am the one wondering how things tick. Heh..." Silver forces a chuckle. "Frost, I can't help but think he is worrying his little head right about where his big sister went too."

I get close to the Pegasus and place a hoof on her withers. "Silver, it is going to be fine. After all of this... Fracas... We will one day return to Equestria with... the best party story in recorded history." I tried to comfort her, consoling ponies is not one of my fortes but it was worth an attempt. She helped me in a moment of weakness and now I return the favor as best I could at least. Silver gives me a soft smile, a good indication.

"Well, that day can't come any sooner." She remarked.

"Alright, now let's move on. The less time we spend here the better." Silver composed herself and we both resumed the journey.

---

The wind was picking up noticeably as a thick miasma of powdery white snow cut visibility down significantly as well as the temperature dropping. It was getting hard to see but I still felt the rails under my hooves. As long as we follow the train tracks we will get out of here. Our surroundings had opened up a little bit recently, but the snowy haze made it difficult to discern anything in the distance short of a vague outline. However we are undeterred.

I frequently would ask Cosmo about the Mechanoid presence. His responses ranged from 'a few streets away' to 'some distance away.' Ignoring the sameness of his answers, those were much preferable responses than 'hot on our heels' or 'right behind us.' I was going to remain quiet for a while until something unusual happens...

…up until something unusual happened.

A giant mass materialized from the horizon in front of us. Around sixty feet tall, it looked like an absolutely gigantic pile of rubble, but most importantly it was blocking our path.

We approached it slowly, inspecting every inch of the pile for any sign of machine ponies. As we got closer more details became visible, like the big square sections arranged evenly in vertical rows, large chunks made out of gray bricks and some areas of the inside were visible revealing... Sideways stairs? Hold on, something is iffy about this. I looked all the way to the left, a tall concrete wall stood there and it ended abruptly when making contact with the pile, like it was smashed by it. I do the same for the other side, it is a bit difficult to make out but I can see a row of buildings just a few feet away from the rails, a section looked like it was crushed by the pile of rubble too.

Then it clicks.

It's just not a regular pile of rubble, it's a Celestia-damned skyscraper that toppled over the rails!

"This is a problem." I commented.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Silver exclaimed.

I pick up the microphone again. "Cosmo, one of those skyscrapers collapsed over the rails. What do we do now?" I inquired about instructions from the pony on the radio.

"Is that so? Not good... Give me a second, I need to plot another route. You two keep an eye out." The stallion instructed as a cacophony of 'beeps' sounded in the background. As I surveyed my surroundings Silver gets close to the microphone and speaks into it

"Hey Cosmo, if you don't mind me asking. If you were in that space station, couldn't you have seen the collapsed skyscraper and found a way around it earlier?"

I stare mildly nonplussed at Silver's astute observation.

"It is not that simple, I don't always have a clear line of sight of you with my station or satellite, that wind storm is pushing clouds in the way and I have to cross-reference your location with the old maps before everything got wrecked. But worry not as Ol' Jimbo has a powerful scanning system keeping you safe!"

I pause for a moment.

Silver pauses for a moment.

...

…

"...Uh, hello?... Are you still there?..." A confused stallion asked.

...

"Jimbo?... Who's Jimbo??" Silver breaks the silence.

The radio goes silent for a second before a sonorous guffawing crackles through the radio's speaker, catching us both off-guard.

"Oh my stars I forgot to tell you about JIMBO!" Cosmo wheezes as he attempts to explain who this Jimbo character is, I fail to understand the humor.

"Cosmo, what is so funny?? Who is Jimbo? Is he another pony with you?" I question the chortling space pony as the laughter slowly diminishes.

"Oh, I'd WISH he was another pony but no. Jimbo... is the name I bestowed upon the satellite that watches over you. Being stuck up for so long made me assign names to a handful of the objects in the space station to distract my mind from the solitude. Like Francis the Propulsion Module or Pip the Little Toaster."

My eye twitches. That... has to be the most RIDICULOUS thing I have ever heard in my life. "Why?..." I questioned Cosmo's decision.

"Why? I just told you, it gets lonely up here and I have to do something to pass the ti-"

I interrupt the stallion. "No, that is not what I mean... Well... that too. But what I really mean is that why the name 'Jimbo' of all things??" I restructured my response. Who names a mission critical piece of equipment 'Jimbo'? Imagine a veteran guard who has spent more time on the line of duty than most ponies have spent in a job and his name is 'Buttermilk' or something.

"Because saying 'Jimbo' is funny to me." He said. "Come on, say it with me... JIMBO!" He exclaims with a falsetto voice tone.

*SNORT*

I hear a snicker escape from Silver. I glare at her, she has a hoof over her mouth trying to suppress a laugh. I am just astounded by the immaturity that is happening right now. "Silver! No, that is not funny!" I reprimanded the private, albeit with half-serious indignation. I am more annoyed by the fact she found such a ridiculous thing funny.

"Ma'am, I swear... Heh... It is not funneh heh heh." She fails to contain her giggling, I roll my eyes in annoyance.

"Anyway, how long is it going to take for you to rechart?" I asked Cosmo to break away from this ridiculous little conversation about naming inanimate objects.

"Oh, right! Scan should be done right about now, just give me a second to read it." Several electronic noises echoed in the background. "Ah! ok. On your right there should be a row of buildings, find an access point and pass through. After that go straight until you reach a park, just about where you'd clear the fallen skyscraper. Just go through it and head back to the train tracks. But be careful, the scan spotted Mechanoid patrols near the park so keep your senses sharp."

I take a deep breath as Silver composes herself. "Alright, we are heading out now. You keep an eye out for Mechanoids."

"Gotcha." Cosmo answers affirmingly.

We deviate from the rails and head to the wall of buildings, scanning the immediate exterior of a damaged door presented itself from the haze of snow. A swift buck tore it off its hinges allowing us access to the building. Time to go.

---

We trailed along the fallen skyscraper, the small detour was maybe a little under three street blocks but we had to traverse through the collateral rubble created by the skyscraper. Judging by its enormous length it was maybe a hundred stories tall and that is excluding the remaining length on the other side of the rails. The weather seems to have worsened, the wind is kicking up more snow into the air reducing visibility to a fraction of what it used to be. And don't get me started with the cold, perhaps we should have taken some of those clothes back on the train...

"Just a little more, Silver." I commented on the mission's status.

"Ma'am, I think I see the park!" Silver pointed out. Even in the blinding haze of white snow you can barely discern an ornamental fence. As we trotted by the fallen skyscraper was narrowing down in its size, extrapolating on this information I can safely assume we are close to reaching the 'top' of the building.

Just as we reached the fence the skyscraper was crushing a section of it, however that is working in our favor, the rubble acted as a ramp of sorts allowing us access to the park. Once inside I contact Cosmo. "We have reached the park, any signs of machine ponies?"

"Be advised there is one patrol on the other side of the skyscraper. I presume its path is just passing by the road beside the park but I wouldn't bet on that." Cosmo gave us a clear warning. "Keep your eyes wide open."

"Copy that." I replied as I holstered the radio. "Silver, stick close and guard my back." I ordered the Pegasus, she nodded and followed.

We huddled up and began trailing the remainder of the skyscraper. We took each step whilst carefully watching the horizon, making sure that if any instance of those machine ponies was visible we had a chance of getting away from their line of sight. As we walked by we managed to reach the roof of the skyscraper. However I was not ready for what I saw in front of it.

Just mere feet from the skyscraper's path of destruction and debris a statue stood. Like if divine intervention came into play the massive metal statue was essentially unscathed. The elements did take a toll on the metal but overall it is in good condition compared to the rest of the scenery.

What the statue depicted was a tall Alicorn with a foreleg raised, her wings spread out in full glory. Her mane and tail was enormous and possessed a number of small swirling patterns. She also was adorned with a large ostentatious metal breastplate with a stylized five-point star as its center point, very similar to the one back at the train. Her pedestal had a giant plaque on the front face but much of the Hoovestroyan text was caked in snow so it was extremely difficult to decipher the small font; the billowing clouds of white powder that rushed around us did not help either. But what I did manage to see was a large chunk of what I presume is the title of the plaque.

"Императрица Андромеда"

Something about this made me curious, perhaps she is a prominent leader or even the queen of Hoovestroya. But I will keep that question for later, I will ask the living repertoire of information known as Cosmo in a better place other than a Mechanoid-infested metropolis. Silver gawked at the statue too, admiring her magnificence but I got her attention. Right now it is not the time to be a tourist.

We made our way to the other side of the fallen skyscraper making sure there were no Mechanoids on sight, of course with a little guidance on Cosmo's behalf.

With confirmation that the Mechanoid patrol had vacated the area we proceeded to scamper back to the train tracks, our original path. I have to admit my heart was racing, the combination of running the equivalent of several hoofball field lengths and the stress of the Mechanoid ponies hounding us was definitely a lot for the ticker in my chest. By an estimation in my head we are around the midpoint of the skyscraper, just a few more harrowing minutes and we are back on track.

But we quite literally ran into a snag. A line of military looking vehicles blocked the road as well as a mountain of rubble was on the road. However, the rubble only covered half of the road and with some maneuvering we could squeeze by the vehicles. I quickly analyzed the situation and began formulating a path through it. But my pondering did not last long.

"FROST, SILVER, WE HAVE A SITUATION!" Cosmo bellowed from the speaker.

My blood freezes. Not good. I scramble to bring the microphone close and speak into it. "What happened!!??"

"A patrol just diverted towards your location, I don't think they know you are there because their pace has not changed but you have to seek shelter now!" Cosmo yawped.

"Ah Dammit!" I cursed. We are very much ill prepared to face off against the mech ponies, if we want to escape this awful place we have to hide immediately! "How close are they!!"

"ONE MINUTE!! SEEK SHELTER NOW!!!" He repeated his orders.

My eyes are rapidly darting around my surroundings. The skyscraper? No, no easy way into the structure. The vehicles? I try opening the visible doors with my magic but none of them seem to budge in the slightest. Something was forming in my stomach, something ugly. The last possible way of escaping the Mechanoids is the nearby buildings, I quickly glance over the establishments to look for something that might let us hide.

Then I see it, a wooden door of one of the buildings looks ajar in the slightest. I instantaneously summon my magic and force the door open.

"Silver! Door! Now!" I bark orders at my companion, but before I could bolt to the door Silver does something unexpected. She unfurls her wings and begins to hover towards me. Before I could react properly she grabs me from my barrel and carries me through the air towards the opened door. But I did not protest her actions, I understood what she was doing. Flying will save us precious seconds.

As we swoop into the building Silver lets me go and I land on the floor on all fours. I turned around and telekinetically shut the door as fast as I could, but there was a problem. In my haste I accidentally damaged the locking mechanism and the pin that keeps the door shut no longer functions. The door shakes with the violent winds of the outside. That ugly feeling growing inside of me intensifies.

My eyes dart around inside the building. It looks like a bar of some kind, toppled tables and broken chairs are scattered all over the place. I tried formulating an idea on how to keep the door still but Silver beats me to it. Without even landing the Pegasus blitzes to a disheveled chair and grabs it before swooping back and wedging it between the doorknob and the floor, locking the door in place.

"Good thinking." I complimented the Private, she smiles, pleased with herself. "Now get down and keep quiet. They will be here any second." I commanded, Silver simply nodded and landed close to me.

As we mentally prepare for the Mechanoids arrival I notice something on the door, a crack, the smallest of apertures. Was this created by me or was it an uncaring environment? A quick glance through it allowed me to see, albeit a very limited view of the outside. I got an idea but a section of my subconscious was debating whether or not to follow through with it. I did not debate it for too long as my yearning for knowledge regarding the Mechanoids overtook me. Besides, the crack was so miniscule that I sincerely doubt anypony would be the wiser.

*Clank*

*Ca-Clank*

*Clank*

The noise of rhythmic mechanical hoofsteps is heard, my heart begins to quicken. I gingerly press my face against the crack on the door.

"Ma'am, what are you doing??" Silver whispers at me, worry in her voice.

"Identifying the enemy." I softly replied. And then, the machine ponies cross in front of my field of view, revealing themselves.

I finally get to see my foes live.

They were... Grotesque. Everything about them just seemed so unnatural. The obvious being the fact they are metal ponies, but even down to their gait was abnormal. Real ponies when they walk have fluid motion, from lifting their legs to taking a step, but the Mechanoids did not do that. What they did was to quickly snap their legs to the next position, each motion giving off a faint mechanical noise. Even marching has an elegance and rhythm to it. This was not marching, this was stomping.

Mechanoids already made me feel uneasy from the inside, even as corpses. But seeing one alive made me feel just gross.

In a group of four the mechs get into view, the appearance of these Mechanoids was nearly identical to their forgotten comrade back at the wrecked cargo transport vehicle but something was off. Their coats were yellow and the general form was the same but the black accents were different.

Ever so slightly the black stripes and blocks that cover their bodies were slightly different shapes between the Mechanoids. As they walked by another two Mechanoids appeared, one of them was a little more unusual than its metal kin. The odd Mechanoid had a much more extravagant paint job, instead of blocks and stripes decorating all of its body a solid coat of black paint covered the left half of its face, vertically. Not only that but its front left leg was painted a withered onyx too, the rest of its body was bare of any other markings apart from the yellow coat.

What was the purpose of the paintjob? I internally asked myself. What use did it serve because a camouflage it is definitely not, amidst the white snow they stick out like a sore hoof. Was it some sort of display of rank? Designation? Is it a symbol? I shake my head, I store those questions for later. I continue spying on the Mechanoids.

They marched away from my field of view, the clanking of their steps grew quieter making way for the howling winds of the outside. I breathed a sigh of relief as they simply stamped away from us, I was then going to check on Silver...

...But as I peel away from the door a faint rumbling echoed. Coming from the outside.

I immediately peered through the crack again, there was nothing, yet. The rumbling grew in intensity, I could not only hear it but I could feel it too. I felt like something big was coming down the road. I prepare myself to see whatever mechanical abomination rolls into view.

It only took a second for the source of the noise to expose itself.

"What... The... Buck is that???" I utter quietly in disbelief.

What (literally) rolled into view was not a pony shaped metal freak but some sort of massive vehicle. It was a slab of metal with caterpillar-like treads on opposing sides, on top of it was another large metal block in the shape of what I can only describe as an oversized fridge, with a tube sticking on the block's front face. It also donned the same yellow paint job with black accents. Eyeballing the whole machine it was maybe twenty feet in length and ten in height.

The large vehicle-abomination drove away from my view, the rumbling of its treads slowly faded and after a moment we were greeted once again by the howl of the wind. We did not dare make a single sound, not even the faintest of whispers, we wanted to make sure to be as quiet as possible for a while until those machines were far as buck away.

For maybe three minutes we remained completely mute until a soft masculine voice broke the silence. "They're gone." A certain stallion said.

I exhale out a stress riddled breath as a shiver crawls up my spine. Silver sits down, visibly shaken.

I levitate the radio close and speak into its microphone. "Cosmo, what happened back there!? I thought you were watching over us!!?" I asked, aggrieved and agitated.

It took a second for Cosmo to respond. "They suddenly appeared in my scanner, likely from an underground tunnel entrance nearby, sensors cannot penetrate that deep underground and of all the directions they could have taken they chose the one road you are on. It was all sheer misfortune... I reacted as fast as I could." He replied downhearted.

I let his words sink in, I can't help but perceive he is a bit... Upset. I process the whole situation, if he had not acted quickly like the way he did we would have most likely ended up in a very bad situation. I feel a bit of discomfiture, I let my emotions slip and unintentionally placed blame onto Cosmo. It was not his fault, it was no one's fault, it was all bad luck.

I compose myself and try to respond in a more thankful manner. "Well if... That is the case then... You did... uh... good, Cosmo." I majestically butchered my attempt of a compliment. Awkward silence permeated around us for what seemed like hours, at least in my head.

Way to go, Blossom... way to go.

"Uh... Okay?...Thanks?..." A confused space pony finally answers. "...Anyway, I'm just glad you two knuckleheads are alright. Did you happen to get a glance of the Mechanoids? The scanner picked up something big." He asked.

I relay the information to Cosmo as Silver stares wide-eyed at the new information.

"Oh... Now that is interesting, you just came across a Mechanoid Automated Tank or MAT for short."

"Interesting?" Silver asked coyly.

"Mechanoids don't normally send armor in patrol missions and I can only think of two possible reasons why it is here. Either it is a remnant of your original pursuers returning to their post; you know, like the ones from when we first spoke. Or they are mobilizing for something." The stallion explained.

"Mobilizing? Why would they need to mobilize such equipment?" I ask.

"Your arrival to Chevalier was not exactly quiet, in the magic department at least. You managed to set off alarms in my station, no doubt you also tripped some sort of Mechanoid sensor. You did spook them pretty hard, they are probably beefing up their patrols after that." Cosmo contemplated out loud.

"Well then, that is something we should definitely keep in mind for the future." I responded. "What do we do now?"

"Hole up in that building you are in, too many patrols are nearby. But once they clear, return to the rails and resume your trek, I'll keep a close eye on you for anything."

"Copy that, we'll wait for your all-clear." I replied and ended the conversation

I holstered the radio and unbuckled the backpack, with my magic I set it down near me and stretched my joints. As I did Silver begins rummaging in the saddlebag and pulls out a ration pack, with some brute forcing with her teeth she tears the packaging and exposes the inside. It looks like a set of some sort of pastry.

She gleefully nibbles on it.

Silver then notices me gawking at her, she then gets closer and offers me a piece of the ration. "Eat something, Ma'am. It has been a long day."

"Thank you." I answer simply as I levitate a segment of the pastry, I then take a bite out of it. It was the very distinctive flavor of an apple strudel, a bit tough but at least it tasted alright.

A small comfort in this strange and hostile world.