Author's Note

William here, and I'm finally back. Exams are coming up so I'll be spending a lot of time studying, but on the other hand, a lack of assignments means I may have some more extra time so hopefully I can get the next few chapters out over the course of the next 14 days.

Also, keep reading! I've got something special planned for chapters 14 and 15. We'll say Shadow's Storm gets a bit... dangerous (if you catch this hint you are probably Zeus).

Thanks,

William Sable


Chapter 9: Weapons… Lots and Lots of Weapons

"So you're supposed to do what with that thing?"

"I don't know," Shadow muttered in response, surveying the room, "Apparently I'm supposed to wait for the guy who gave me the orders."

"And that was?" Mane asked, taking a step toward a counter.

"Didn't catch his name, he was acting super hyper, running around. I only talked to him for a minute or so."

"Oh, sounds like Doctor Maxis. He's left for Tango a while back, so he'll get here in an hour or two."

"Alright," Shadow acknowledged.

Storm now saw the purpose of Sierra Zero in full. The room he was in as just part of the weapons division, and it was massive. Row upon row of counters, equipped with lab equipment, dotted the room. Various contraptions lay littered everywhere, with a few scientists testing various pieces of tech in the plexiglass testing chambers that lined the outside of the room.

BANG!

Jumping out of surprise, Shadow whipped his head to and fro, his shoulders tensing.

"Easy there tiger, that's just a gun."

"A gun…" Shadow murmured, "What's a gun?"

"Ah, of course. I partially designed it myself. Firearms are going to be the next greatest evolution of weaponry for all of Ponykind," Mane stated, pulling a pair of safety goggles over her head.

"Firearms… are they super hot swords or something?"

With a chuckle, Blazing Mane answered, "No, they propel a small lead pellet at extremely high speeds, allowing for armour penetration and heavy tissue damage. It's all quiet scientific and gory."

"So it's like… a crossbow on steroids?"

"Sort of, but instead of a high tension rope, we use a small explosive charge to propel the projectile."

"Damn… sounds dangerous," Shadow commented, watching a scientist in an adjoining lab taking aim with a long tubular object.

"It is. We've figured out a way to mass produce them. They'll soon be circulating with the troops… you ask a lot of question, Doctor Whooves."

"Well, I'm just curious. So what use will it be? The E.S.S. already has Equestria by the throat…"

"Yeah, well, don't tell anyone you heard it from me, but a friend of mine is a decent rank in the Agency… apparently there's some master plan that the Director has come up with… all of this fits in somehow. I think he's going to try and take over the throne for himself, if you ask me."

Storm nodded slowly, but found his thoughts drawn elsewhere as two armour clad guards entered the room, moving slowly.

Acting quickly, Storm hastily asked, "So you know nothing more?"

"Not really. All I know is that the E.S.S. is gearing up for some large scale military deployment."

Shadow felt his heart beginning to beat fast, as the two guards fixed their attention on him. They moved quicker, now directly at him and Blazing Mane

"Well, Doctor, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'd love to stay and chat, but that's my cue."

"Cue? Wait what?" Mane asked, confused as she glanced behind her at the now rapidly approaching guards.

"You've been helpful doc, I'll try not to kill you on my way out."

With that, Shadow bolted backwards, leaping over a counter and dashing out the door. Before he had run twelve feet he heard the sound of clomping hooves on his tail. By the sounds of it, they were gaining fast.

Turning around, Storm launched himself forward with his wings. Crashing into one of the guards, Storm rolled over him, landing with all four hooves on the ground, sliding to a stop. Before the other guard could react, Storm pulled the crossbow on his back around and took aim, firing the large bolt at the pony. As it made contact with his shoulder, the armoured guard grabbed the bolt, falling to the ground limply.

Without another thought, Storm ran down the nearest hallway. As the clopping of his own hooves filled his ears, Shadow felt his heart racing. His own mind began playing tricks on him in these sterile halls, causing him to believe he was being followed.

"Calm down, no one has tripped the alarm..." Shadow stated to himself allowed, panting as he came to a stop at a bend in the hallway.

ALERT! ALERT!

A loud alarm began screeching, forcing Storm to cover his ears for a moment. As he lifted his hooves, he could now hear real guards running down the hall behind him.

"Had to open your alicorn damned mouth…"

Without a second to lose, Shadow dashed around the corner. The corridor was short, and led into a large room with a desk. As he entered the room, Shadow spotted a large black door on his right.

Galloping at it, he pushed the door open. The hinges screeched as Shadow took six steps onto the large, raised walkway that wrapped around the front of the building. Then he froze.

At the bottom of the steps leading up the walkway was at least fifteen E.S.S. troopers and one officer.

"FIRE!"

Before the officer could finish the word, Storm bolted to his left. As he slid behind the half wall that adorned the walkway, Shadow heard a chorus of loud blasts, and watched as chips of the door and building began flying everywhere.

"Reload!"

Without a second more of hesitation, Shadow took flight and flew down the walkway, picking up speed. Another blast of gunfire smashed down around him, narrowly missing him as exited the walkway over the half-wall and flew into the sky.

Soaring upward, Shadow let out a deep breath as he zoomed away from the base, toward safety. Directly in front of him was a familiar looking rocky outcropping. Heading for it, Shadow slowed himself down to a cruise speed. A mistake he would regret.

He felt every last bit of breath exit his body, as something forceful slammed into him, catapulting him into a drop. Pulling breath into his body again harshly, Shadow stabilized himself and gained control of his descent.

Glancing behind himself, he spotted two enemy fliers, clad in black flight suits. Before Shadow could observe them further, one of them dived down after him.

Performing a barrel roll to the left, Storm picked up speed as he turned around the rocky outcropping. The enemy flyer kept up with him, remaining on his tail. Performing an Immelmann turn, Storm narrowly avoided his adversary as they flew head on at each other.

Storm quickly performed another Immelmann reversal, coming back around at the flyer. This time, it was his enemy that made a mistake; coming to a stop and slowly turning around to pursue Shadow.

Bursting forward with a heavy wing beat, Shadow smashed into the enemy, forcing the two fliers into a spin as they became locked in combat. Between the element of surprise and his training, Shadow managed to gain the upper hand and throw his enemy at the ground. He watched from afar as the panicked agent became a black dot on the ground.

Hearing the sound of a rushing object, Storm quickly dashed to the side. He watched the other agent fly past, making a wide turn to come around at Storm again. Flying down toward the rocks below, Shadow picked up speed, drawing himself as close as possible to the rocks. He watched as his enemy turned about, coming at him from the side.

"Come on!" Shadow challenged, smiling evilly.

With a puff of air, the agent raced forward, dogged in his determination. As he picked up speed, the agent slowly began to realize his mistake. He didn't figure it out in time.

With small strafe to the side, Shadow avoided the agent, bucking him with his hooves, smashing him between his legs as the rocky outcropping. With a strained groan, the flyer went limp, tumbling down towards the ground. As he smacked down on the sandy surface, Shadow cringed.

"So much for subtlety."