MLP is property of Hasbro. All rights reserved
Alright, this is something I've been forgetting to put in. when Eric talks through the speakers on his helmet, he sounds like… well the closest reference I have is Master Chief. I'm sorry but it isn't as deep as Michael Clark Duncan (the black guy from The Green Mile) and it's deeper than Vin Deisel's voice. But outside of his suit, he sounds like something close to a cross of Vin Deisel and Sam Eliot( the old guy from Ghostrider)
Eric and dash sat at the table in the basement, eating their meal. Alice had been tasked with feeding their child, Eric still not trusting him with a fork and knife. "Sir, I fail to understand the necessity of having the child feed," The AI commented as the boy took a piece of meat from the fork in Alice's articulate grasping claw. "Physically and mentally the child is an average age of thirty two. Feeding him at this point is harmful to development of self sustaining functions." Eric scoffed as he chewed a potato. Chuckling before swallowing the vegetable.
"You were the one that demanded we eat with him, Alice," Eric pointed out to the computer. "Besides, I don't trust him with a knife just yet." Eric cut a piece of his deer steak off, missing the taste of real beef now. "So how's the food, kid?" He asked the boy, receiving a smile.
"It's good," He said, swallowing. "My compliments to the chef." Eric pointed to the ceiling, Alice giving a flourish in her hologram projection. "I'm sorry, forgive me Alice. More potatoes please." The AI nodded, giving him more vegetables at his request. Dash had been smiling the whole time, having forgone the meat for a serving of cooked fruit.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Eric asked as she ate her meal. Dash just shook her head and laughed to herself. Eric gave her a sideways glance, pushing his empty plate away. He picked up his knife and worked the blade into his teeth, removing a meat fiber that had been bugging him. "Really," he said, biting on the blade and bending it slightly. "What's on your mind?" She ate the last of her food, pushing the plate back.
"This," she said. Eric raised a hand in confusion, waiting for an explanation. Dash sighed and set her hooves on the table. "This is the first normal thing that has happened to us since the zombies showed up, albeit a little stranger than I would like." She looked up at the boy who had finished his meal also, now drinking from a straw that was about three feet long. "You and I, eating dinner with our child. Even if we didn't know he existed." The boy nodded, continuing his drink. "And shouldn't be as old as he is. But still, as normal as it has been for nearly four months." She gave a nervous laugh, smiling at the table again.
Eric sat back in his chair, looking at the boy in the restraints. 'He isn't some boy,' Eric thought to himself. They sat in silence for a full five minutes before Eric spoke up. "Well," he said, standing up. "It's safe to say that he isn't so dangerous that he can't wander around the house at will." Eric motioned to the projection of Alice, permitting her to take down the restraints. She started with the legs, removing them and letting Eric hold the child as she released him in full. Eric set him down and let him wander through the room. "But all of the weapons are off limits!" He called after him, getting a thumbs up.
"He needs a name," Dash said when he was out of earshot. Eric nodded, thinking still. "Do you have any ideas?" She asked, getting a shrug. "Care to share them?" Eric shook his head, shrugging again. "Well, I was thinking about naming him after my father." She said, getting a look from Eric. "Eastern Tempest. He was a famous racing Pegasus in Cloudsdale." Eric nodded, thinking of another name to add to it.
"My aunt keeps coming to mind," he said watching the boy observe the sword rack. "Look but don't touch!" He called out. "Alexis Jolene Harris. She was kind of the same way he is. A little out there but still very much on target." Eric watched the kid as he looked up at the black suit of armor. Alice pulled the skull helmet from the wall, letting him see it. He put it on immediately, taking an imposing stance to the hologram. Eric and Dash laughed quietly. "Maybe you're right, Dashie," Eric said. "Maybe he can be saved."
The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of Keith and Twilight. Alice turned around to face them, Eric shaking his head and walking up the stairs. He walked through the house, the puppy running under his feet. "Calm down," he said as the animal hid behind him. "It's just the doorbell." The puppy yipped and hid behind a chair. Eric opened the door, smiling at the ponies. "Welcome to my humble abode," He said, letting them in. "Can I get you two anything?" Keith walked in and observed the house with his ability, doing his job.
"Some drinks would be nice," Twilight said. "Non-alcoholic if you would." Eric nodded and walked into the kitchen, returning a moment later with two glasses of lemonade. "Thank you," she said, taking the glass from him. Eric nodded and gave one to Keith, who set it on a coaster and continued his work. "Honey, please. Take a seat. There is no reason to be working now." Keith let go of the power, nodding after making the observations.
"Do you have other guests?" Keith asked. Eric hesitated. How could he forget about Keith being able to see the kid? "It's faint, but there was something else in here. Are they gone now?" Keith asked, looking back and raising an eyebrow. Eric was about to confess to the kid, when the puppy yipped at Keith. "Ah, there it is." He said, rubbing the puppy behind the ears with a hoof before sitting on the couch with Twilight and drinking his lemonade.
"So," Eric said, sitting back in his chair. "How was the trip?" they shrugged, Twilight mentioning a few teleportations. "And what do you have in mind for the assignment Keith?" Eric asked him directly, wanting this resolved as fast as possible.
"I would like to explore your mind first," Keith said, beginning his explanation. "Anything I find will be strictly confidential and of no consequence." Eric nodded, a little unnerved by having his mind pilfered. "Once the roads and pathways of thought are mapped out, I will try to find, isolate, and banish or extract this being into an object of little importance," Keith reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out a five inch obelisk of quarts. "Something like this. The crystalline structure of gems and stones prove to be the best. But if you want to keep the thing, I would advise something easily destroyed. Something synthetic that could be burned quickly incase thing start getting 'Freaky'." Eric nodded again, letting him continue. "If you decide not to keep it, the captured spirit or whatever it is will be stored away on a prison ship in the northern ocean."
"Wait," Eric interrupted. "A prison ship? I didn't think those existed here, let alone were even needed." Eric shook his head and sighed. "Everything's too peaceful to indicate targets of that much danger being in society." Keith put away the crystal he held, closing the bag. Twilight spoke this time.
"That is why we have them Eric," She said, causing a surprised look to cross his face. "There are beings in Equestria that could be detrimental to our peaceful way if they were to be let loose. Discord is one of them. Me and the other element wielders set him in stone and put him on that ship ourselves, and I set so many magical barriers against anything not harmonious that I doubt he would be able to get back out in my lifetime. Keith set the spirit of Nightmare Moon in a clear diamond, turning it black. It's there too." Eric thought back to the briefing before Three Hoof Pass, remembering what Little Strife said.
"How many ships are there?" Eric asked. "A prison ship is always for the most dangerous convicts, but which one has the greatest level of security?" Keith tapped his chin with a hoof, thinking.
"I would say the northern one," he said. "It sits in a frozen sea about a hundred miles from both the shore and the pole. Everything around it is desolate, barren waste, even the land is nothing but ice and snow. There are no plants or animals, so that takes out food for an escapee. But nothing has ever escaped, yet." Keith tapped his hoof on the wooden table, turning away a jinx out of superstition. "The next one would be the eastern ship. It's so far from shore that you have to take a boat to reach it." Eric was about to say something but Keith was already on the subject. "Yes, you and Dash could reach it with your suits, I know. But I am not allowing you contact with this thing once it's contained. It could rebound and be twice as dangerous."
Eric nodded, waving Dash over as she came up the stairs. "Hey Twi," She said, giving her friend a hug. "So what's going on?" Eric explained the situation quickly. Dash nodded when it was finished. "I've been to one of those ships before." She said, getting a surprised look from the group. "Not to stay, to visit my uncle. He's in the west ship for seventeen counts of murder and mutilation, each." Eric nodded and motioned for dash to join him in the bedroom.
"I need you to put our child in the secondary spare bedroom," He said. "Keith is going to try this in the basement, and I don't want him telling the princess about him yet." Dash nodded, heading towards the basement while Eric went into the kitchen for a drink. "Alice, fix me a small Black Russian please." The speakers chirped as the AI set on the coffee. "Either of you care for something a little stronger?" He asked over the open bar. Twilight shook her head, as did Keith.
Eric and Keith sat in the basement, setting up the area for what they had planned. Keith lit incense to add a calmer air to the room, laying the quarts obelisk between them. "Now I need you to calm down and close your eyes," Keith instructed. "The more memories you add to your mind, the longer it will take." Eric nodded and did as he was told, closing his eyes and relaxing. Keith began, drawing on his ability and delving into the recesses of Eric's mind. He moved through his mind as a thought would, mapping all of the pathways he could find. Then he began to single out the memories that dealt with the other personality, finding himself disturbed with the sheer hatred for life the being had. Once that was finished, he began to isolate the energies that were dormant in Eric's subconscious.
As he did, the being awoke and fought back. Keith was surprised at hoe strong it was, finding himself struggling to keep it in the area he designated. The madness fought back still, pushing the barrier Keith had set up to it's limit. Keith poured more energy into the blockade, forcing the alter-mind back. He placed a hoof on the obelisk and a hoof on Eric's brow, using his own body as a passage. Keith cringed As the contained entity passed through his own mind, finding it trying to grasp onto him and take hold. The madness passed through completely, changing the glow in Keith's vision of the stone from gray to red.
Keith removed his hoof, falling back and panting on the floor as Eric suddenly became dizzy. "Woah," he exclaimed, catching himself before falling back. Eric looked at the stone, now emitting a red light. "Is that…" he asked, getting a nod from the exhausted pony. Eric watched it, finding himself drawn towards it. He leaned in, looking at it wit ha curious fascination. "It's strangely pretty for such an evil thing…" he said, reaching out toward it. The stone was surrounded in a dark red glow as Keith lifted it away with magic, placing it in a lead container.
"If you touch it," he said between pants. "It will take control permanently and you will be fucked up beyond all recognition," Keith smirked, finding Eric confused. "FUBAR, son. FUBAR." He said to Eric, trying to sound like his old DI back on Paris Island. Eric and him laughed together, trying to take the feel of darkness out of the room. "I have to say, that was close to having Nightmare Moon move through me," Keith said. "except it didn't try as hard to take hold as she did."
Eric stood up and helped the pony to his hooves, climbing the stairs afterwards. Night had fallen, and Eric left Keith to go to bed. "So how did it go?" Dash asked, sitting up in bed reading the same book from yesterday and petting the puppy. "What did it look like?" Eric shrugged and stripped out of his shirt, tossing it in the hamper.
"Red," he said, laying down beside her. "All that's left to do is take it to the prison ship and drop it off." Dash nodded, turning out the light and setting her book aside. "I just hope it all goes well," Eric said, closing his eyes as Dash rested her head on his chest.
"Alright boys, look alive! We got inbound." Five humans began shouting orders to the royal guards stationed on the Northstar, milling around and taking their orders from an American with a wood and steel 1903 Springfield rifle in his hands. "Load the cannons and dunk the javelins in tar! I want every weapon ready to fire on a moment's notice!" the soldier said. He wore a white and gray US Army winter ACU uniform. His helmet was hanging loose on his head and his tactical vest was open. "hey Limey," he called across the deck to another human. "How far out are they?" The human gave him a count on his hand, lowering a finger until the class of metal on metal rang through the ship.
"Sergeant Sid, Front and center!" The black and red robot ordered. The American soldier ran up to the robot, snapping to attention and saluting. "At ease soldier," the robot said. "There is a chariot coming in with a prisoner, I want this deck clear and an empty path to the hold furthest from you statue." Parker nodded, turning around and issuing the orders to clear off. He turned around to see the robot facing away from him, gripping its head with both hands. The robot lifted the head off, revealing a human inside.
"Hold it!" Parker said, drawing his colt 1911 pistol and pointing it at the human's head. "What the fuck are you doing here, ya Kraut bastard?" he demanded, refusing to lower his weapon. "Did Hitler win? Is the world controlled by Fascists now? Answer me you Jerry fucker!" He stepped forward and pressed the weapon against the human's head.
Eric sighed and turned quicker than the soldier could react to. He slapped the pistol from his hand, the gun firing before it left his hand. Eric tore the 1903 rifle from its shoulder strap, dropping it a hundred feet behind him. "The hell do you think you're doing, Sergeant?" Eric yelled at him, pushing him back out of his face. "You assault and threaten a superior officer! I should have you court marshaled for such disobedience!" Eric shoved him, knocking him to the floor. Parker looked up, stunned that this man had such abilities. The man stood over him, his angry expression melting away into a smile and a helping hand. "No, the nazi's didn't win." Eric said, pulling him to his feet. "Eric Johnson. Call-sign Firebird." He shook Parker's hand, walking towards the center of the mile long ship. "One hell of an op you pulled," he said, running a gloved hand over a cannon after picking up his helmet. "Kinda cold, isn't it?"
"Yes sir," he said. "It's rather important, considering what's in the hold. What you see here is the height of weapon technology, at least by pony standards." Eric looked back at him tossing the man his helmet. "I mean, other than yours sir." Eric gave a hand sign to put it on. Parker took off his steel helmet, sliding the one Eric had thrown him on. The interior lit up and confirmed his ID before showing him a video.
Eric continued his tour of the boat deck, noting its massive length. He had thought the instruments had been thrown off by the polar fluctuations, but it was indeed nearly a mile long. Now the remainder of the measurements fit. It was three hundred feet above the water and almost four times as wide at the rails. The weapons were also built to proportion, the cannon he stood next to being almost fifty feet long and firing what seemed to be boulders three feet wide. There were also Balista, each about ten feet across and firing twenty foot logs with iron tips. There was a reserve of C-4 explosive beside each one. 'explosive trees,' Eric thought with a chuckle. There were some of the logs coated in what smelled like unlit napalm, possibly to be launched and lit from on the fly.
Parker walked up to him, handing him the helmet back and saluting. "Sir, my apologies for earlier insubordination." Eric waved his hand after setting the helmet on his head and activating the compression.
"At ease, already," he said, exasperated. "I understand you got stuck in world war two when you were brought here, that's why I had you watch that video. It unlocked you and set you in the proper time phase." Eric turned to him and pulled his arm down from his brow. "I'm pulling rank," Eric informed. "I'm in charge right now, but you don't have to keep calling me sir." Parker nodded, relaxing slightly.
Eric and Keith walked down the corridor, Keith in front of him so Eric wouldn't touch the crystal. "How much further is it?" Keith asked the woman in front. She pointed down the hall, indicating the door at the end.
"Right there," She said, stepping aside so Keith could continue on his own. "So, the famous Firebird of the Hunters graces the Northstar with his presence." She said as Eric stopped beside her. "And why would the leader of Three Hoof Pass be here among the crazy and murderers?" Eric shrugged and looked at her, leaning against the wall of the hall.
"Just making sure it's running smoothly," Eric informed. "As smooth as an ice locked boat can. I heard you came here with Mat," Eric said. "Am I right Vivian?" The woman nodded, adjusting the Japanese sword at her waist. "How did you end up with him? I thought he was clearing Russia."
"He did, and moved on to Mongolia and China," Vivian explained. "I was a refugee from Japan, Kyoto to be exact. I joined the East Asia Coalition to fight off the monsters, but Mat kind of picked me up and tossed me into a dimensional rift one day." Eric smirked and chuckled at the joke. "Oh I wasn't happy. I got here and was dumped in the middle of Canterlot Castle, and the throne room no less. I sat in that damn dungeon for a week before they let me go." Keith closed the door to the cell, walking back towards them.
"All done," he said as he stopped between them. "I'm scheduled back at Canterlot for a concert with Illusions of Tomorrow. Miss Martyre, if you would lead me back to the deck I shall be on my way." Vivian nodded and led them out. as they reached the deck, Keith boarded the chariot, sitting down next to the space heater onboard and closing the door. They took to the air, leaving Eric to explore the remainder of the ship and check on things.
"Alright," he said, turning to Vivian again. "Shall we go to the bridge? I need to make sure the operation is going as ordered." Vivian nodded and showed him to a tower in the center of the ship, a long enclosed platform on top housing the piloting crew.
"There is a door up top," she said. "But it has stairs and the elevator is much faster- Oh sweet heavens!" she shouted as Eric wrapped an arm around her waist and launched up to the top of the stairs. He set her down on the platform, letting her regain her bearings. She looked at him and shook her head. "Don't ever do that again." Eric just chuckled and opened the door.
Inside the bridge was a mass of monitors and computer stations, ponies manning each one except for a man with brown hair and sallow skin. Eric walked up to him and looked over his shoulder at the monitor he was watching. It showed a room with a black crystal on a pedestal, a similar room with the red crystal Keith had put in it, and another room, this one with the stone figure of Discord. "Name," Eric said, causing the man to start and the screen to fuss for a moment.
"Sir, Captain Checkov," the man said in a heavy Russian accent. "I am tasked with monitoring Nightmare Moon, Discord and by order of the princess, the crystal you brought here today, sir." The graying man saluted Eric before motioning to the captain's seat. "I also pilot this beast," he said. "You wouldn't believe what it takes to move this behemoth around the pole, sir. If I didn't know better, I would say it used…"
"Fusion, I know," Eric interrupted. He pointed to the back of his armor. "I'm using it right now. It lets me move at an astounding speed in flight." Eric noticed a screen go blank for a moment before flashing back on. He walked past Checkov, leaning over to a pony. "What was that, sailor?" he asked the blue unicorn.
"Magnetic fluctuation sir," he replied, tapping the screen before it came back on. "It comes and goes at regular intervals, but we doubt the prisoners know." The pony zoomed in on the sleeping prisoner, a pony with seven numbers on its back. "The only things they know anymore are that we are leagues from nowhere and escape is a death sentence." Eric looked at the unicorn. "We retract the weapons on deck and let them get some sunlight and fresh air once a week. And today is it," he said, typing in a few commands on his computer. The weapons lowered into the steel, being covered by retracting plates as thick as Eric's torso. There was a loud buzzing alarm that signaled the prisoners time out as the doors to the cells opened. Guard ponies moved back into private rooms, closing the doors so they were out of harms way.
The prisoners climbed onto the deck through trapdoors, filling out and going about their regular activities they had planned. Over the course of a few minutes, a scuffle broke out between two of the inmates, but quickly dissolved as the remaining inmates policed their own. Several stood in groups, listening to a single pony in the middle talk from a book. The ponies seemed to be worshiping with the speaker, bowing and kneeling as the leader did. In another area, they were lined up in squares of four by four rows, exercising on the deck under the supervision of a large, muscular inmate with his sleeves rolled up. In other areas, there seemed to be organized fighting going on for some form of prison currency. "I think I'm going to go down there," Eric said, Checkov letting him pass without objection.
"I would advise raising your head cover, sir," The Russian said before he walked out. "They can get excited and like to fight for fun. Sometimes the guards get in on it for whatever is offered, even refusing to enforce authority when they lose." Eric nodded, his helmet sliding over his head with a slicing sound. Eric closed the door and looked down over the railing. The stairs had been raised and a thirty foot tall fence had been erected so the inmates couldn't storm the bridge.
"Make a hole!" Eric called over, waiting for the ponies to separate far enough for him to land. Eric jumped over the rail, falling free to the deck below. the impact shook the floor and caused a few of the prisoners to widen their stance for balance. They looked at him, some whispering to their buddies. Eric walked forward, the inmates separating so he could pass and giving him a wide berth. 'not a good sign,' he thought as they continued to part. Eric made his way to one of the fighting rings, watching the goings on.
It was a street fighting style event, prisoners offering up saved rations and meal treats as betting pieces. Some put up cigarettes and others offered their alcohol rations for the pot. The ponies in the center, bounced around like boxers before colliding with a smack. They grappled, kicked, bucked and bit for holds to subdue the opponent before another pony stepped in and broke them up, sending them to opposite sides of the circle. The process continued as Eric walked away towards the circles of bowing ponies.
They were indeed worshiping, praying to the gods mentioned in the Scriptures. Some prayed for release from prison, while others prayed for forgiveness of their sins. Still more prayed for things and reasons, one that touched Eric was a prisoner who prayed for the safety of his family and forgiveness so he could join them in the afterlife. Eric walked away from the circles towards the grid of ranked prisoners.
Several muscular ponies and Pegasi walked by them, ordering them to work harder. The ponies did pushups, headstands, and practiced hoof to hoof combat for the fight rings. Nearly anything you could do at a gym was here. A Pegasus pony stopped next to Eric, tapping him on the leg with a hoof. Eric raised his faceplate and looked at the pony in a deadpan expression. "Yeah?"
The Pegasus shrugged, his wings moving oddly at his sides. Eric noticed they had been cut in half at the folding joint so he couldn't escape, obviously a lifer with no chance for parole. "Ah'm jus wonderin," the pony said in a southern accent. "The hell're y'all doin on the Northstar? Ain't y'all that Firebird feller?" Eric looked up around the deck, noticing how loud the Pegasus' voice had been when he mentioned his name. All of the exercising ponies were looking at him with blank expressions. The ponies all turned to look at him as far away as the front of the bridge, staring at Eric as if he was a prize.
Eric lowered the faceplate with a clank of metal, looking back at the grounded Pegasus. "What of it?" Eric asked the pony, the barrels set in his gauntlets revealing themselves as they loaded to fire. "I don't take to kindly to being called out. So if you don't have a reason to want to die today, you best just drop it." Eric turned around and made his way through the prisoners, the ponies again parting as he walked by.
"Oh no," Chekov said as the ponies began turning towards Eric. "Some idiot mentioned a name." He picked up the microphone to the guard radios, pushing the button. "This is the captain, I need all guards not stationed around the full time stations to move to the fence immediately. We may have an event soon." He put the receiver back on its clip, looking over at Vivian before returning his vision to Eric. "This could be bad."
Eric walked toward the gate, the ponies still separating so he could walk unhindered. "Ah called y'all out ta thank ya," the Pegasus said. "And ta give ya mah blessin ta marry mah niece since her daddy's dead 'n all." Eric stopped and chewed on his cheek for a moment. He turned around and walked back to the Pegasus, the gun barrels receding back into the gauntlets as he flexed his fingers a few times. Dash had told him about her uncle, a country bumpkin that killed his own family, mutilated his sister's daughter, and went on a spree in broad daylight before being took down by a guard with a sword. "She deserves a strong stallion ta show 'er how a mare should act." The clipped pegasus kept saying, bantering to the rest of the ponies. One stepped in front of Eric and shook his head to him, getting moved aside. Eric stood in front of the pony that was talking about Dash. "She could use a good beatin ta show her who's in ch…" Eric stopped him with a full force punch, sending his head over the rail.
Chekov and Vivian cringed as they heard the crack of the pegasus' neck through the two inch thick glass. "Ow," Chekov
Eric picked up the body and threw it over the rail after his head. "I'm feeling rather murderous right now," he said over the speakers before taking off his armor. "Who wants to take me?" he asked with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. "Your all lifers, and I doubt the princess would mind if I finished off a few murderers and perverts. So come on, line up single file. Or all of you can take me at once. Doesn't matter to me." He said, pulling two daggers off of the suit. The ponies backed away, except for a few other pegasi and two earth-ponies with dreads.
"Get him out of there," Chekov ordered, " Those two will kill him for that." Vivian nodded and ran to the elevator. "Where the hell are those guards?" he asked a pony at the computers. They all gave him blank screens and rapid attempts to recover the system. "What's going on? Give me answers!" he ordered.
"All of our systems are down," a unicorn said. "Massive fluctuations are coming from the containment rooms, they started when Firebird got called out." Chekov felt what color he had drain from his face. If that meant what he thought, they were doomed.
The ponies around Eric were in a near riot, cheering and jeering at the current fighters. One of the earth-ponies lay on the deck, bleeding from a busted muzzle and holding his gut as he recovered from the vicious kick Eric had delivered. The pegasi turned out to be friends of the family, now deceased. Eric had sunk the knives into their chests, snapping the third around the neck. he was throwing punches at the remaining pony, landing hits where he could as the pony bounced around on his hind legs. "You fight well, mon," the pony said, apparently from the fruit plantations in the south sea area. The pony delivered several forehoof strikes to Eric's chest, sending him stumbling back and laughing in violent joy. "Gonna be a pity," the pony said through his thick musical accent. "When I break your face!" the pony charged at Eric, jumping on his shoulders and kicking him to the deck.
Eric rolled over and got up as the pony got off of him, feeling his nose having broken at the bone. "Damn!" Eric exclaimed, shaking his head and slinging blood across the deck. "That was the first hit that hurt. If we keep that up, I might be in mild pain." The pony gave him a cold look, not turned away by Eric's banter. Eric spat blood out of his mouth. Eric ran forward and threw a false punch, sweeping the ponies legs out from under him as he dodged back in his former stance. The pony hit the floor and was covered by Eric a moment later. Eric drove his fists into the ponies head, feeling the skin break away and bone strike his knuckles before stopped. Eric got up and stood over the pony, taking off his shirt and throwing the ruined black cloth away. "Fucking idiot!" Eric yelled as he kicked the pony in the ribs. He felt the bone give way to his boot, hearing a satisfying crack. He pulled back for another kick as a shotgun went off, causing all of the ponies to back away.
"Alright you lazy lot!" A British accent said, the shotgun cocking. "that's enough beatin each other off for one day." The human walked into the circle, four unicorns behind him moving to take the wounded ponies off for medical care. He had the beret and woodland camouflage uniform of the British SAS, in his hand a Spas-15 assault shotgun. "Sir, I think you should get in your suit and fly off to your bonnie lass," he said in a now distinguishable Scottish accent. It was light, but definitely there. "Ah bet she'd be delighted to here that ya killed her uncle. Ah know I would if mine was that messed up." he smiled at him and began herding the prisoners below deck.
Eric picked up his shirt, wiping the blood from his nose before placing a thin rod in a nostril and setting the bone where it should be. The fracture screamed in protest but fell in line, causing the bleeding to stop. He got into his armor as the unicorns levitated the dead pegasi off the deck and took them underneath to the crematorium on board. "That was a damn good fight you gave those two," the human said as Eric scaled back the helmet. "They've been lookin for a good brawl since they got here." Eric wiped his face with a gauntlet, looking at the fresh blood. The soldier held out a hand for a shake. "Names Weatherson, nice to meet you Eric." Eric shook his hand and followed him under the desk.
"These prisoners tend to keep peace on their own," Weatherson said as he led Eric through the cell blocks. "Knowin' ya got the cod of chaos aboard and that he can be set loose with the right amount of disharmony tends ta' do that to 'em ah think." Eric and Brandon walked through a bulkhead, entering the center room of the ship. There were two sections to the room, walled off by a large pane of glass. In the left one was the stone figure of Discord, the right holding the black diamond with the spirit of Nightmare moon. "This is the treasure room, aye?" Brandon said. "It's got the most dangerous creatures in the world, and one of the most alluring gems ah've ever laid me eyes on."
The thought was a daunting one. Being in the same room with the two beings sent a surge of fear through Eric's body. "I heard you lost your systems recently," Eric said. "If you haven't regained them by now, I want triple security. Understood?" Brandon nodded, readjusting his grip on the shotgun as they exited. They walked through the cell blocks, a few of the prisoners tapping Eric on the shoulder. He seemed to have gained their respect for either killing Dusty Wind or holding out against the two earth ponies. "How well do the ponies keep the peace?" Eric asked.
"Enough that my guards don't have ta break up any arguments," Weatherson said. he waved to a prisoner across the room. "They aren't that bad when they got nothing to do," Brandon explained. "There are times ah wonder if they are dangerous at all." Eric reached the door, turning the handle before the lights went out. a red emergency light came on as the general quarters alarm went off. The prisoners went crazy, screaming through the bars.
"Firebird!" one screamed at Eric from his left. "You have to help us! Discords loose!" the pony reached a hoof through the bars, trying to grab Eric. "Please! We might me prisoners, but we aren't animals! Help us!" There was a crash at the opposite bulk head, followed by another. The two inch thick steel of the door bowed from the middle, a tear forming as another crash was heard. A large golden eye shown in the tear, staring straight at Eric.
"Oh my," a dark voice said, the eye being replaced by one much smaller. "I think it's another human. I suppose this one will do, considering the one I want is not here any longer." Eric grabbed Brandon by the arm, blasting the door open with a small plasma charge. Eric pulled him through throwing him down the hall and ordering him to the bridge. "Discord, if you so kindly would open this door." The voice said, replaced with an echoing chuckle.
"Why of course, Lady Moon." Discords resonating voice said before the door was knocked in, sliding across the floor and into a wall. The Draconiquis slipped through the bulkhead, rising to the ceiling of the triple layer cell block. A black Alicorn walked through the bulkhead, staring at Eric. "I think this one would be difficult, Nightmare." Discord said. "Considering he did just melt that door with his hand." Eric raised his gauntlets, firing his small caliber rounds and causing the two to shield themselves long enough to slip away. "Inmates, I offer you a reward. Take this ship, and your freedom is guaranteed." The doors fell off their hinges, the prisoners walking out under Discords control.
Eric ran up the corridors, finding the elevator at the top of its shaft. Eric fried the control panel, rocketing up towards the bridge from below. He fired at each level's controls, making sure the prisoners would not reach the bridge. Eric slammed into the bottom of the elevator, flying through and running into the top. "What the hell is going on?" Chekov demanded when Eric stopped in front of him. "Why do I not have any control over my ship?"
"Later," Eric said. "You have to hold out here. Don't let anything short of a human up here. You have to make sure the prisoners do not make it up here. Order all of your guards to defend the chamber with the red crystal in it. Two powerful beings are enough for now." Eric ran to the door, opening it and rocketing out of the bridge to the south.
So how do you think this is going to go?
As always, Read and Review. I need your input.
Vivian Martyre, Leoj Clocktum, Brandon Weatherson, Chekov, Little Strife and Parker Sid property of Timefather64
Mat and Sapphire property of Bahamut Crisis Core.