Chapter 9
My back aches as I shovel more coal into the forge. My one real hoof is smothered in coal powder, and my mechanical one has a fine layer of dust settled on the top.
It's been two weeks since the incident. After I was fully healed, I was thanked by many for my sacrifice. Some even gave me gifts for what I did! I then settled in and learned how to use my new hoof. It works like a regular arm because it's manufactured to work with my nerves to signal when I want to move my arm, where I want to move it. It's quite strange sometimes, because it's technology, so it malfunctions all the time. Like yesterday, it spun around frantically and nearly smashed the walls of my home. Another day it shot out sparks like a shotgun at random spurts of time, in which it scorched a pine tree and nearly made it topple over.
Yet lately, it's been good to me. It hasn't malfunctioned, it responds immediately, it even picks up things before I can tell it to! I'm not sure why it's being nice to me, but I'm not complaining.
After I shoveled enough coal, I set it ablaze with the power of gasoline and a match. I watched the flames flicker up into the metal roof of the forge. After I'm done making sure it's ready, I walk to the raw iron and put it on a metal tray. I put all different kinds of gems on the tray, as well as some supporting minerals for the blade. I then carry the tray to the forge and slide it inside. I shut the door and walk out the door of the forge.
It takes some time to cook up metals, so I decide to find Eagle a Eyes and see what he's up to. I walk out into the cold air and breathe out vapors of cold air. I rub my sleeved arms as I walk over to the gun factory. I arrive at the door and ring the bell. I hear footsteps coming, and to my surprise, Fluttershy answers the door.
"Who is it?" She yells through the wooden door.
"Take a wild guess." I say in a joking voice.
The door opens and reveals the happy looking face of Fluttershy.
"Neon! Glad to see you! Come on in!" She says, smiling.
I walk through the door and observe the room. It's a medium sized room with a shelf of various weapon parts and a conveyor belt with lots of mechanics and worker ponies. Close to the entrance, there are tables with cutting knives, spray paint and such labeled:
DETAILING STATION
The ponies are at full production speed, handcrafting scopes, carving stocks, smelting metal in the form of barrels, it seems like an efficient assembly line.
"So, what brings you here?" She asks.
"I have some metal back at the knife forge cooking up. It takes a while, so I thought I would visit here for the first time to kill some time!" I explain, happy with my choice of coming here.
"Well, I guessed that from all that coal on your face!" She jokes.
"Yeah. Life of a Smelter!" I announce.
She lets out a snort and rolls her eyes in sarcastic disbelief.
"Fancy seeing you here." I say, still wondering why she's here.
"Well, I'm not really here often, as you know, but today is different. We have something planned that might help us put our research and training to use!"
"What? What's going to do that?" I ask excitedly.
"Here, let me show you." She says mischievously.
I follow her to the back of the room and find two workers and Eagle Eyes gathered around a blueprint. Fluttershy pulls up two stools and I sit in one. I observe the blueprint to find a sniper rifle with multiple cables, a battery box, and other things I cant make out.
"I dunno if it's gonna work, Flutter." Eagle Eyes says nervously.
"Yeah, to get this much power would take ages." Says one of the workers.
"And to find the materials that could withstand such power..." The other worker says.
"I know, I know! I get that this plan seems near impossible, but I have a plan! Now, I have with me here Neon, our teams assassin and knife smith. Lately, his parkour and stealth instructor has been commenting in his overall performance." She nudges my shoulder, the robotic one.
It's true. For whatever reason, ever since my robotic hoof, I've been able to do stunts I never was able to before. I've nearly mastered all the important basics, so I'm not arguing.
"Anyways, there's one place where all these materials can be found. But it's not gonna be easy to get them. The plan leave no room for mistakes. Any mistake could get us all killed."
I shiver, thinking about what would happen if I was the cause of so many deaths.
"But we're trained enough to get it right. The plan involves sneaking in and stealing the materials from, surprise-surprise, Ponyville."
Ponyville. That word rung in my head as I think of the terrible things that had happened there.
"There's a hacker group, S1ic3 n D1c3, who have somehow found the destinations of the materials original owner and stole them from it. Their home destination has been undiscovered for a while, that is, until three days ago. With our scientists basic knowledge of hacking, we've uncovered their location in a small restaurant in Ponyville. A perfect hiding place."
"So this is where you come in, Neon. We'll provide you with any knife of your choice and a silenced sniper. We will also provide an invention of ours, Cloak-N-Kill 1.2 BETA, for you to escape any sticky situation. Your job is to sneak in unnoticed, hack into a PC with the dats needed for tracking the materials, and steal the loot. We'll have snipers outside for backup if needed. You'll have a radio on an earpiece in which you can communicate through a local network to us if needed. You think you're up for this?"
My mind hurts from all this info being processed all at once. I think for a little, then without thinking:
"Yes, more than anything, I do."
"Good. Everyone, get to work on a silenced sniper that'll last Neon!" She barks.
Everyone scrambles to their work stations, finding the right things to make into a sniper.
I look at Fluttershy and she gives me a you'll do fine look.
Hopefully, I will do just fine.
It's time.
It had just been a day since I was told the plan, now here I am, shining gut knife in hand, rifle slung over my shoulder. I feel proud and powerful with this new equipment, and I know it looks as good as it feels to have. I couldn't sleep thinking about this mission, and now, here I am, marching on the road towards Ponyville, not knowing what will happen.
I think I might have a heart attack.
Alongside me are my backup snipers: Mesh Flesh, Candle, and of course, Eagle Eyes. Most of which I haven't met or even knew existed, but once I met them, I couldn't imagine why I haven't met such ponies as them. I feel protected with them on my side. Marching by them makes me feel confident in this plan, more confident than I've ever been.
Let's do this.
We eventually arrive at a bridge crossing a frozen river. We scan the area for any traps laid out by thieves and marauders. So far, it's looks safe. No snare traps or pendulums of immense pain.
Nothing.
We decide to check once more just in case. Candle pulls out a flare from her backpack and strikes it on the ground. She then rolls it across the bridge. Surprisingly, the bridge doesn't catch fire from the heat of the flare. But not to our surprise, we hear the snap of a string, and the bridge fully collapses on itself. Dust flies in the air in a fury as the planks of what used to be a bridge flow downstream, breaking the ice over the river, moving in a clump.
"What now?" I ask.
Mesh Flesh and Candle are both looking around and thinking, but Eagle Eyes looks like he knows what to do
"Here, let me scout out the other side." He says, taking the lead as he should.
He doesn't wait for agrees from the team, instead, he just rises up in the air and dashes forward.
We wait for a signal, but nothing comes. Minutes pass as we start to become impatient and worried. The sun is barely showing on the horizon now, and as it's figure becomes to fade, our nervousness grows. We wait for about possibly an hour, and nothing comes.
Mesh Flesh suddenly becomes too impatient.
"We can't wait any longer, guys, let me try something."
Without warning, his horn begins to glow. A nearby tree begins to dig itself out of of the ground, and levitate. Sweat trickles down Mesh Flesh's face as he brings it to the side of the river. He then tilts it in air, and drops it. It comes down with a crash, but stays intact. It forms a slender bridge across the river, much to our mixed emotions.
"Makeshift bridge." Mesh Flesh says proudly.
Me and Candle both thank him briefly, and we cross the river cautiously. The sound of the previously frozen river now flowing makes me much more cautious on the bridge, for I don't want to flow downstream and freeze my ass off.
We arrive at the other side and find ourselves at the head of a shoveled out trail, much similar to the one I had taken to arrive at the base. We walk down it, cautious of our surroundings. After our hooves are cold and our awareness is at the fullest, we see the sight of a building.
"We've arrived!" Candle exclaims.
We approach the entrance to Ponyville, partially scared, partially curious. We find ourselves marching through deep, un-shoveled snow. We walk in various different directions, confused on where to go next. Without Eagle Eyes and his map, we have no idea where to go. Thinking of Eagle Eyes makes me worried. I get that our main priority is to find the materials, and that's why we were sent here in the first place, but shouldn't we try to look for Eagle Eyes first?
"Hey guys, shouldn't we look for Eagle Eyes?" I ask.
They both stop.
"Here, let me contact his radio..." Candle replies, switching on her earpiece.
I feel relieved that we can at least try to contact Eagle Eyes via radio. Maybe he can-
"Eagle Eyes, you there?" Candle asks, pressing her earpiece against her, well, ear.
No answer comes through.
"Eagle, we need answer!" Candle demands.
Still nothing.
"Don't mess with us! We know you're there-"
"Your little Eagle is with us know." A strange voice replies with.
No one speaks.
"Who is this?" Candle asks nervously.
"I think you know who it is." They say deeply and darkly.
The line beeps, and then no voice comes through.
"Shit!" Candle swears to herself.
We frantically look a tach other for answers on what to do, but we come up with nothing.
I finally speak up.
"They know we're coming." I say darkly.
They both look at me.
"Someone told them before we had arrived." I explain. "And it sure wasn't Eagle Eyes."
Candle and Mesh Flesh both exchange confused glances at each other.
"But...who could it have been?" Mesh Flesh asks.
I shrug and try to think up an answer, but nothing comes to mind.
"I'm going to call in reinforcements. There's not way were-"
"Wait!" I interrupt.
Mesh Flesh goes silent.
"We're going to carry out the original plan. Get in, steal the materials, get out. But, in order to get Eagle Eyes out, I have an idea."
Mesh Flesh and Candle look curious to know of this plan.
"What's the plan, Neon?" They both say in sync.
I bend over and whisper the plan, observing the looks of approval and agreement on their faces. Once I'm done with the last sentence, they nod and march alongside me to the restaurant as if nothing had happened at all.
We finally arrive at the destination we think is the place. This restaurant has dead vine covered stone tables outside with frost bitten ripped umbrellas. The sign that used to have beautiful, hand written words now reads:
GO AWAY
Written in red paint on a big cardboard slab. Glass sprinkles the snowy ground like snowflakes as the windows are broken and boarded up. The structure itself looks like it's sagging of age and uncleanliness.
"Well, this fits the description." Candle remarks.
I nod and slowly walk to the mahogany door. I look back. Mesh Flesh and Candle have already disappeared, probably finding a good sniper post. Speaking of which, I pull out my silenced sniper. I'm still confused on why I'm using a sniper indoors, but I push those thoughts aside because I might not have to use it in the first place. I look at my robotic hoof and switch the Cloak-n-Kill v1.0 BETA to ON. After a few seconds, I look down at my hooves to see that they're not there. I smile and push open the door without effort. Once I enter the building, I observe the main dining room.
Smashed tables and furniture, filthy flooring, old newspapers and trash scattered about, disgusting. I ignore the scenery and look for a secret room where a PC might be. I lunge over the main counter, hardly making It due to how hard it is to see my own hooves, and roll throu the doorway to the kitchen. In the kitchen, it's the same story. Busted pots and pans littering the place, broken kitchenware, the same story. It's quite sad to see all this rubble left behind by the last ponies who worked here. I walk through and hear a crunching sound beneath my hooves. I look down, and nearly scream.
A pony skeleton lay under me.
I scramble away from it and stare, It's lifeless figure looking scared and unhappy. The crushed bone had been a rib, and I felt bad not only for myself, but mostly for the pony who had died. I give my respect to the lives lost for a brief moment, a skill I learned to do during training for respecting the dead, and I got up. I walked around it this time, as I started to walk more cautiously in this building of horrors. I then find a hatch in the back of the restaurant. I open it and a ladder folds out. I cautiously climb down it and flick on the light switch at the bottom of the ladder. This room is different from the rest, it's a single concrete room with storage compartments full of canned food and water bottles. I walk around the room, looking for a PC, and find nothing close to one. I then look at the back of the room and find a single table with a fury of papers scattered all over, and a dusty, old Dell PC. I rush to it and swipe away the papers. I then turn on the PC and wait impatiently for it to turn on. After five minutes of waiting, or what felt like an eternity, the PC finally beams to life. It comes up with a single user, 0. Suspicious name I think to myself. I click on it and strangely enough, it doesn't ask for a password. I then search the computer for any documents that could help me find the materials. I come up with nothing at first, but then after looking in a folder labeled:
KEEP
I find a document called:
MISSION REPORTS
I scroll through the doc until I find the right report.
It reads:
Name: Unknown
Date: Unknown
Time: 4:47 P.M.
Action: Snatching valuable materials from rival.
Why: To sell to someone who wants to pay a high price.
Where it's stored: Vault 2F, lower floor.
End.
I whistle at how resourceful this document was. I smile and remember the vault number 2F. I then switch off the computer and look for where the vault could possibly be. I search for any hidden doors, but without any luck, I find none. I the try pulling items off of the shelves, but that doesn't work either.
My radio then flicks on.
"Neon, you there? C'mon!" Mesh Flesh asks.
I push on my ear piece.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" I ask casually.
"You need to get out of there, right now! Got that?!" He asks, seeming nervous.
"Uh...why?" I ask, confused.
"Just, go! You need it leave!"
"But why? It's going perfectly and now I have to leave?"
Mesh Flesh sighs on the other end.
"It's a trap, ok? We've been set up! You were right when you said someone that wasn't Eagle Eyes told you the plan, ok?! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE!" He repeats, this time yelling.
"Ok, ok! Calm yourself! I'll begin to head on out-"
A frag grenade whizzes by my head as I'm halfway in my sentence. I look behind me to see a pony wearing a trench coat and sunglasses. I look down at my hooves to see that I'm no longer invisible. I quickly look at my hoof and see that the Cloak-n-Kill v1.0 BETA reads:
NO BATTERY
Well shit.
I leap away quick enough to not get hurt by the grenade explosion. I roll and unslung my rifle once more. I look through the scope and look for the trench coat pony. I aim until I see him, charging at me with a taser. I take a shot, but barely miss his head, penetrating a can of preserved vegetables. He's getting closer, and I take another shot. This one hits his hoof with the taser. He collapses and drops the taser, a loud clump! filling the thick, musty air. I walk over and look at his pathetic appearance, sprawled on the floor, hoof in a pool of blood. He's holding his hoof and trying to stop the blood, but that's not working. He then pulls a pistol out of his coat pocket and aims it at me. I barely have time to react as he sprays bullets in a barrage right at my chest. I take cover behind a shelf of water bottles.
Probably not the best hiding spot.
I start to crouch walk to the opposite side of the room, hoping I could escape through the hatch that got me here in the first place. I then make a decision to peek out of the water bottle cover and see if he's there. I take a peek, and right when I do, a hoof punches me from behind, launching me through the water bottle filled shelf. I hit the ground, hard, followed by a loud crunching noise. I lift myself up and see blood dripping from my nose. I'm then pulled to my hooves and grabbed by the neck.
The figure is lifting me off the ground by the neck. My lungs feel like they want to explode. He lifts me up and aims the pistol at my head.
"Say goodnight, Neon!" He exclaims.
Without thinking, I pull out the gut knife and shove it through his throat. Blood splatters on my face as I push it deeper to the sound of his chocking. I finally pull it to the left, and he falls to the ground. Blood pools out from the cut in his neck as I take a few deep breaths to recover myself. I then shake my head and walk towards the ladder.
I'm almost about to climb it, when something knocks me out from behind.