Augmented Love

Chapters

Chapter 3: Home Early
Chapter 4: The Playmaker
Chapter 5: Truth or Dare?
Chapter 6: Homecoming and Dancing
Chapter 7: The Transfer
Chapter 8: Cogs of Deception
Chapter 9: The Photo
Chapter 10: Comfort
Chapter 11: Testing
Chapter 12: Exposed
Chapter 13: Paying Respects
Chapter 14: Shocking Developments
Chapter 1: Meet the Flyer
Chapter 2: First day of class

Chapter 3: Home Early

Chapter 3

Home Early

Crank’s eyes shot open and he moved a large I-beam off his body. The smell of blood and burning metal filled the man’s nose. The man felt his ribs crack as he sat up. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and groaned. He tried to move his arms. Crank attempted to get to his feet and walk towards the door. His broken legs gave under his weight and the ma cried in pain. The man attempted to stand. His right eye wasn’t working.

Am I blind? No, I can see my left hand. He thought as he flexed his burnt arm. He turned to look at his right arm and gasped. Wh-where’s my arm? He slowly turned his head and saw a the bleeding stub that once could be described as his right arm. Crank’s still good eye shrank to the size of a pin tip and he screamed in agony as he felt the pain ensnare his body.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crank shot up in his bed covered in sweat. Crank was shaking and he looked at his right arm. He clenched his metallic fist and grunted as the small A.I. appeared on his nightstand.

“You okay?”

“Yeah I’m-”

“Don’t bullshit me.” The A.I. frowned. “You had the nightmare again didn’t you?” Crank hung his head.

“So what?”

“You need to talk to someone about it.”

“Like who? Mom and dad are out of the question. Twilight would probably go all analytical on me, plus I don’t even know her or any of her friends that well.” He grunted. “They’d probably look at me like I’m some sort of freak.” He said as he looked down at his arm. The small see through woman frowned as he got dressed. A simple green collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans sufficed.

The man looked at his right arm and made the false skin dissolve. “That feels better.” He said as he stretched his right arm. “That stuff always makes me feel I’m shrink wrapped.”

“Well, you sort of are with that thing on.” The A.I. said. The man made his way downstairs and fixed himself a bowl of cereal. After eating and dispatching with the dishes the man walked down to his work station and cracked his neck.

“D, start up the training program.” He said as the lights dimmed and three rows of green circles circled around the man.

“Begin.” The A.I. said. As the man hit the hologram with his fist it turned red. He did a series of kicks and punches. Soon the green circles were all red. “I measured an 8% increase from last time.”

“Run it again.”

“Are you s-”

“Run. It. Again.” He said in a serious tone. He walked over to the sound system and plugged in his iPony and selected a song. After an hour he heard a small buzzing noise. A battery symbol that was close to being empty blinked in his field of vision. “Time to recharge.” He said with a sigh. He walked over to a wall outlet and groaned. “I hate doing this.”

He forced his right finger into the outlet and felt the electricity rip through his arm. He gritted his teeth and grunted in pain. The small battery then filled and turned green. The man pulled out his finger and sighed.

“This new model eats away at the battery and mana doesn’t it.” He said at the A.I.

“You know what they say, nothing is perfect.” The small woman’s image then blinked twice. “Looks like your friends are here.”

“Keep them busy while I suit up.” He said as he stuck his hand in the machine.

Outside, Rainbow and the other five girls waited patiently. Dash kept her eyes on the metal hawk head on the door and sighed.

“Maybe he’s still sleeping.” Fluttershy asked.

“Its almost noon! Who sleeps till noon on a Saturday?” Dash complained.

“You.” Twilight and Applejack said with a chuckle.

“Hey I don’t sleep. I nap. There’s a difference.” She said with a pout. The group heard the door click and swing open on its own. The group looked at one another before shrugging and entering the house. Rarity’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as she saw the amazing decor.

“This is marvelous!” She chimed.

“Hey where’s Crank?” Dash asked.

“He’ll be up in a few minutes.” The group looked around as they heard a voice echo through the house.

“Who’s there?” Twilight asked. The small blue woman then appeared on the glass coffee table.

“Sorry.” She said with a small smile. The group instantly surrounded the A.I. and looked at her in confusion.

“I didn’t know Cortana had a sister.” Dash yelled.

“That’s not Cortana.” The group jumped in surprise as they heard a familiar voice say. “That is D. An AI I created.”

“AI?” Pinkie said. “What does the A stand for?”

“Artificial.”

“Oh and what about the-”

“Intelligence.” Crank groaned. “She’s kinda like Cortana in a way, only real.”

“Who’s Cortana?” Applejack asked.

“You’ve played the Halo series. She’s one of the main characters.” Crank said in surprise.

“Sorry partner. Dash brought that fancy gizmo of her’s over to mah house last night and we played a few rounds with ya. Never touched the game before then.” Crank blinked and looked at the other members of the group.

“Um, I was there too. Sorry.” Fluttershy said in a weak tone.

“I only tried it because Spike was hanging out with the CMC and a few kids from school last night.” Twilight said.

“I take it that Spike is your little brother or something?” Crank said.

“Yeah I guess you can call him that.” Twilight shrugged.

“I was also in attendance at Applejack’s house, that allowed me to join in last night’s festivities.” Rarity said. “Though I won’t be doing it again. I mean honestly. People running around in such horrid outfits shooting at one another?” She said with a scoff. “Its completely barbaric in my opinion.”

“I thought it was super duper fun.” Pinkie chimed. “but the cannon I picked up wasn’t like my party cannon. It just shot rockets.”

“Party cannon?” Crank said.

“Yup I can show you how it-”

“No!” The other five girls yelled.

“It took me five days to get all that glitter out of my hair Pinkie!” Twilight yelled. “Do you remember that?”

“Oh I sure do Twilight Sparkler.” Dash said with a laugh. Twilight frowned as she looked at the cyan flyer. Crank stood looking at the group and shook his head.

“You guys have the craziest stories.” He said as he shook his head. “So what do you guys want to do?”

“How about a tour?” Rarity asked. “The decor is gorgeous!”

“Yeah, my mom has good taste.” He said as he showed them around. He skipped his room due to the fact that it was messy. Pinkie then walked up to the basement door. “Whoa easy there Pinkie. That’s my office.”

“You have an office?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I do work for one of the biggest tech companies in Equestria.” He said with a sigh.

“Can we see it?” Dash asked.

“I don’t know. There’s a lot of valuable equipment stored in here and-” The cyan flyer made a pouting face. Crank sighed.

Damn you Dash. Why do you use that look on me?

“Fine. Just don’t touch anything.” He said as he led them down the steps. The girls gulped as they saw a door that belonged to a bank vault sunk into the wall. Crank put his left hand on the scanner and opened his left eye as a red line went over it. He then leaned down towards a microphone. “Rising Dawn.” The girls heard a loud metallic hiss and the door swung open.

Jaws dropped as they saw a massive room filled with different machine parts and tools. “Sorry about the mess.” He said in a nervous tone. “I usually don’t have a lot of visitors so I keep it the way it is.”

“Wow and I thought my room was messy.” Dash said.

“I think of it as controlled chaos.” Crank shrugged. Twilight then noticed a cot set up in the corner. “I’m sometimes too tired from working to walk upstairs. So I just crash here.”

“So this is where you make all your gizmos?” AJ asked as she looked at his desk.

“Yup, this is where the magic happens.” He said with a shrug.

“Hey what’s this thing?” Dash asked as she put on a glove.

“Dash don’t-” His warning came too late as a bright blue beam shot out from the palm and hit the wall. The cyan flyer was caught off guard from the blast and fell on her back.

“That was awesome!” Dash yelled. Her smile faded as she saw the man frowning at her. “Heh, heh, sorry.”

“Don’t. Touch. Anything!” He said as he took the glove away from her. “Seriously, if something goes wrong then there’s enough volatile stuff in here to blast us all the way to the Crystal Empire.” The group gulped and each put down the metal object they were holding. Crank rubbed his face and sighed. “Sorry for snapping at you like that.” Something caught Twilight’s eye and looked at the odd devise.

“Um, Crank is this what I think it is?” She asked as she levitated the item.

“Nice to see somebody recognizes something from Attack on Titan.” He said as he walked over to the machine. “It’s still in the prototype stage, but it works to an extent.”

“Can I test it?” Twilight asked as her eyes lit up.

“Hell no. This thing still needs work and I won’t have it blowing up on someone.” He said with a sigh. The girls all gulped. "That reminds me, how did you get into anime Twilight? You don't seem like the person who watches it."

"Fluttershy actually introduced me to it." crank then looked at the timid Pegasus girl who was hiding behind her pink bangs. "I only recently got into it and I started on Attack on Titan." Crank shrugged and saw that several of the girls were starting to look bored. D then appeared on the table beside the man.

“Well, if you girls feel so inclined you could go to the pool.” Crank glared at the AI.

“Oh I haven’t been swimming in ages.” Rarity said.

“Wait, it’s like fifty degrees outside.” Dash said.

“Its an indoor pool.” The AI clarified.

“Um, I didn’t bring-” The yellow flyer was cut off as Rarity snapped her fingers and a bag of swim suits appeared in her hand. The group all raised an eyebrow.

“What? I’m always prepared in case of fashion emergency.” Crank sighed in defeat.

“Okay, there are three bathrooms you guys can change in. I’ll meet you all back in the kitchen.” He said as the girls all left. He glared at the AI who was grinning ear to ear. “I hate you sometimes, ya know that?”

“Love ya too Cranky.” She teased. The man grunted and removed the skin on his fake arm. “Hydro sealer?”

“Duh.” He said as he stuck his hand inside the machine. The metal frame was once again coated in the skin like structure. The man walked over to a closet and pulled out a pair of swim trunks and a surf shirt. As he walked out of the basement door he saw Twilight waiting for him. “Sup Twilight?”

“I’m just worried about you....in the pool....with that arm.” She said in a hushed tone. “Are we gonna get electrocuted?”

“No, hydro sealed.” He said as he held up his arm. The girl was sporting a lavender one piece. The two were then joined by the other girls. The farmer just had a pair of short jeans that cut off at her mid thigh and was donning an orange tank top. Pinkie was donning a frilly bottom with a bikini top.

Fluttershy was wearing a one piece similar to Twilight’s only it looked a bit too small for her. Rarity was donning a white bikini with a metal ring in the center. Rainbow’s was similar only a light blue and the ring had rainbow paint on it. Crank silently thanked Celestia that he wasn't in an anime because he would have probably done one of those crazy nose bleed cannons. Foreign animation aside, he turned back to the girls as he saw Pinkie jump into the pool in a cannon ball fashion.

“Yay!” She yelled. Rarity laid down on a lounge chair and looked towards the ceiling that was made of glass. She summoned a pair of sunglasses.

“I must say Crank this place is simply marvelous.”

“Thanks.” He said with a shrug.

“So why did you move from Manehattan anyway?” Dash asked as she floated on her back. Crank gulped.

“My folks always wanted to move to a small town. They both were raised in the city and wanted to find a nice town to live in when they got enough money.” He said with a sigh.

“Did you leave behind any friends there?” Twilight asked.

“Only a few and they’ve drifted. I still keep in touch with my best friend. I was never a social person back in the city.” He said as he sat down in a chair. “I was usually too busy working.”

“How long have you worked for your dad?” Dash asked. As she stuck her head out of the water.

“Since I was ten.” The girls looked at him in surprise. “My payment at the time was knowledge.”

“Knowledge?” Dash asked.

“I was given almost unlimited access to the information collected from around the world.” The group looked at him in surprise. “Although my body doesn’t have the magical capacity for most of the spells I read about.”

“How come?” Twilight asked. Crank let out a sigh and looked at the girls.

“Every living thing in this world has a some amount of magic in it. Unicorns and Pegasi just have a better time of manifesting it.” Crank said.

“How? Pegasi can’t use magic.” Dash asked.

“Let me explain.” Twilight said. “The three tribes do have magic, its just expressed in different ways. Pegasi have control over the weather and flight, Earth ponies like Applejack and Pinkie are more in tuned with the earth and Unicorns are able to project our magic outward to form spells.” She said as she pointed to her horn. “Unicorn horns are our focal point that allows us to manifest our magic.”

“Correct.” Crank said. “Your magic or mana, as it’s sometimes known as, is essentially your energy.” He said with a sigh. “When someone like Twilight, Rarity or I use a spell, we spend some of that energy. Using too much can result in complete exhaustion or even death.” The group gulped.

“But we’ve seen Twilight tire herself out before.” Applejack said. “A good night’s rest and she’s good as new.” Crank nodded.

“True. Almost everyone has the ability to naturally replenish their mana supply. This usually works when one rests the body and the mana has time to recharge.” He said. “It’s like a self filling glass of water and as you learn more magic, that glass becomes bigger, as the glass becomes bigger the more advanced spells you are able to use.”

“So why can’t you use advanced magic?” Twilight asked.

“I was born with a defect to my DNA.” Twilight cocked her head in confusion. “My body can’t replenish its mana reserve naturally.” The group looked at him in shock. “If I go too long without replenishing it then my body will begin to shut down and I’ll eventually die.” The girls all gasped.

“So how do you replenish it?” Dash asked. Crank grinned.

“I’m a Mechromancer. I can feed off of electricity to replenish it.”

“Mechromancer?” Pinkie asked.

“I can control machines through the electricity in their circuits.” He said as he waved his left hand. A small grey electric bolt shot out of his finger tip and zapped Rarity’s phone. The device started to shake and change. It then broke apart and changed into a small robot figure and started to walk around.

“Awesome!” Dash said in a fan-girl-like voice. The man snapped his fingers and the phone turned back to normal.

“Small things like that don’t use too much mana.”

“Wait, I’ve seen you teleport. Even for me, teleporting takes a good amount of power.” Crank grinned and shook his head.

“I know. Since I’ve been in town I’ve gone around and set up beacons.” He stated.

“Beacons?” Pinkie asked.

“I set up a small little beacons that I can teleport to without using too much magic.”

“Oh! Like checkpoints!” Dash said.

“Exactly. The beacons are made up of isolated bits of my magic that I’ve stationed around town, like the school and the town square.”

“Amazing!” Twilight said. “So anywhere you set up these waypoints you can teleport to?”

“In theory yes, but the farther I am to the waypoint the more mana I have to use.” He said with a shrug. “I’ve tested it with a few inanimate objects and the tests went.....less than exceptional.”

“How so?”

“I teleported an apple to the center of town and only half of it went through. Not sure where the other half went.” He said as he scratched his head. The scholar gulped. “For some reason it only seemed to work on me due to having the same mana. When I was first experimenting with it around the house I started small. From one room to another, down the hall and so forth. More times than I’d like to admit my clothes didn’t make it through.” He said with a small blush on his face. “Now I can do it with ease.”

“Awesome! Can you teleport with someone?” Crank froze at the question.

“Not at the moment. Using a normal amount of magic, I can teleport myself and a small object. Even something as big as a soccer ball puts a massive strain on my mana reserve.” He said with a sigh. Dash got out and laid on a lounge chair.

“So how exactly do you absorb electricity?” She asked as she looked at Crank.

“I stick my finger into an electrical outlet or through any kind of physical contact.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Dash asked. Crank walked over to her and put his right hand on her head. “What are you-?” She was cut off as she felt a massive shock go through her body. The flyer’s hair stood on end which made the others giggle.

“Its kinda like that.” Dash looked into the pool and saw her reflection.

“You are so dead!” She yelled before she gave chase.Crank quickly teleported out into the hallway with the flyer in hot pursuit. He heard a gust of wind and looked behind him to see a rainbow blur close in on him. The blur then tackled him to the ground. Crank gulped as he stared into the deep magenta eyes of his assailant.

He tried to stifle his chuckles at her hair. As he tried to escape the flyer she grabbed his wrists and sat on his chest. “You are gonna die!”

“Well, what have we here?” Crank’s eyes shrank as he heard a familiar voice coming from the doorway. He tilted his head back and gulped as he saw a woman with brown hair and a red horn sticking out of her head. “This is certainly a surprise.”

“Mom? What are you doing back here?” He said in sock. He then saw a familiar red haired man stumble through the door clutching his stomach.

“Your idiot father decided to eat raw fish...again.” Crank face palmed.

“Dad! You know what seafood does to you!”

“I can’t help it. It tastes so good!” He groaned. He then noticed the flyer sitting on top of his son. He was soon grinning ear to ear. “Nice to see you took my advice.” Crank raised his eyebrow and looked back at the flyer. His face turned bright red as he connected the dots. Crank quickly teleported out of her grip and got to his feet.

“Its not what you think dad!” Crank yelled. The two adults just grinned.

“I say, what is all this shouting?” An accented voice yelled. The adults looked to see the other five swimsuit clad girls. The man’s jaw dropped and his mother was awestruck. Crank face palmed with his right hand. He groaned not only in pain, but at the situation.

“Worst timing ever. Of all time.” He groaned.

“Crank, why are there six girls here?” The woman asked as her eye twitched. Crank sighed.

“Mom, dad, these are some friends I know from school.” He said as he gestured to the group.

“Well, I’ll be damned. My son is a player.” The woman then elbowed her husband in the gut. “I mean....what your mother said.”

“I was giving them a tour.” Crank groaned. He turned back to the group of girls and gestured towards the adults. “Guys this is my mom, Nova Dust. She’s chief of surgery at Ponyville General.” He said as he pointed to the woman. “This is my dad. Vermillion Nighthawk, founder and Chairman of Black Hawk Technologies.”

“Nice to meet all of you.” Nova said with a smile. The man just groaned. “Please forgive my husband he’s usually much more lively.”

“Its no problem.” Twilight said with a smile. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The two adults blinked.

“So you’re Celestia’s pupil.” Vermillion said as he looked at her. “I recall her mentioning you last time we were discussing our contract. Nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise.” The rest of the girls introduced themselves and quickly left to change back into their normal clothes. Vermillion was grinning ear to ear as he looked at his son who changed into a green T-shirt and black jeans.

“Here I thought you weren’t into the dating scene.”

“Dad! We were just talking.” He said as the two walked down the hall. “So why did you two really come back?” Vermillion’s face grew stagnant and sighed.

“Mire wanted to propose another weapons deal to me.” Crimson shivered at the name. He had met the Vice Chairman of the company a few times and always felt creeped out by him. “I swear that man never gives up.”

“Well, he's been after your position for years and he only cares about making money. No matter the way.” Crank shrugged.

“True. I’ll have to keep a better eye on him.” He said as the two walked into the kitchen. “So these friends of yours, do they know about.” The man then pointed to his own arm.

“Only Twilight. Before you say anything I didn’t tell her.” Vermillion looked at his son in shock. “Celestia.” Vermillion gritted his teeth and let out a sigh. “Dad don’t get angry. I’ll talk to her myself.”

“I specifically told her that you were off limits.”

“I can handle this.” Crank said as he put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Its my burden to bear.” He said as the scholar came down from the upstairs.

“Ms. Sparkle.” Vermillion said as he waved her in. “A word please.”

“How can I help you sir?” Vermillion held up a hand and chuckled.

“I get sir enough at the office. Vermillion or Hawk will do.” Twilight gave a nod. “Crank here tells me that you know about our little...secret.” Twilight gulped and nodded. “Now I’m usually a very good judge of character. You seem like a nice, smart girl, so I’m hoping that you can keep it to yourself?”

“Of course. I don’t know the full story, but I can see that its a very sensitive topic.” She said with a smile. “Your secret is safe with me.” Twilight nodded.

“Thank you.” Vermillion nodded. “So tell me, how do you know my son?”

“Well, we’re in Calculus together.” She said as they rejoined the rest of the group in the living room. “He also saved Rainbow’s life.” Crank rolled his eyes.

“Really now?” Nova said with a smile.

“She triggered the ADS and got zapped. I took her inside and bandaged her wing.” He said with a shrug.

“Still you did something.” Dash smiled. Crank shrugged off the gesture and sighed. He heard an electronic beeping and looked at Rainbow’s watch. “Ah! Sorry, but I gotta go to work. See ya round Crank!” Dash said before she zoomed out the door and took flight.

“Shoot, ah promised Applebloom ah’d take her fishing.” The farmer said as she stood up. “Nice to meet ya.” She tipped her hat to the adults.

“I must get back to the boutique. Celestia knows when Sweetie Belle will come by.” Rarity said with a smile. “Ta-ta~” She said with a small wave.

“I still have a report to write for the Princess. See you in class.” Twilight said with a smile.

“Oh my, I’d better get home and feed Angel.” Fluttershy said with a smile. The timid woman then quickly made herself scarce. Pinkie then gasped.

“Ugh! I was supposed to watch the twins. See ya Cranky!”

“Don’t call me-” Before the words left his lips the pastry chef was gone. Crank sighed and got up.

“They seem nice.” Nova said.

“Not to mention cute.”

“Oh don’t start with that again!” Crank groaned as he walked down to his workshop.

Chapter 4: The Playmaker

Chapter 4

The Playmaker

Crank sat in Math along side the scholar and took notes as the teacher rambled on about quadratic equations. It was well into the fourth week of school. The class was going slower than a turtle stuck in molasses. He let out a sigh as he heard the bell ring and collected his books. As the two left a familiar blue haired DJ then walked up to him.

“Sup dude?” She asked.

“Not much. Did those speakers get delivered?”

“Yup. Working like a charm.” She said with a smile. “Yeah I didn’t get your name the other day.”

“Its Crank Shaft.” He said with a grin.

“Cool. See ya around.” The DJ said before running off. The man continued on his way into the lunch room and sat down with the group of girls. The farmer and fashionista were in a heated argument once again.

“Con sarn it Rarity.” The farmer groaned. “You gotta stop being so dang fussy, especially in front of Mr. Copper. The man already doesn’t like ya.”

“Well, its not my fault I care about my appearance. I just think that there is no need for one to dirty their hands in such a manner.” Applejack was gripping her plastic force hard enough to break it. “I mean we have machines to weld and what not. Crank?” The man gulped a mouthful of food as he looked at the two girls.

“True we have robots that are programmed to weld ten times faster and better than a person can.” The man said as he took another bite from his cheddar and salami sandwich.

“Ha!”

“But, we’ll always need people to fix the machines. What would happen if the robots working at Detrot Steel Industries shut down? The steel has to be made. So until they get a tech guy like me to go and fix it the workers have to do it themselves.” Rarity frowned at the man as AJ stuck her tongue out in victory. The group stopped chatting as Soarin made his way over to Crank. “Hey coach, need something?”

“Just wanted to see if you reconsidered.” He said with a hopeful smile. “Crank rolled his eyes.

“For the twelfth time this week, the answer is no.” Crank groaned.

“Awe come on! Is there anyway I can convince you? We need that arm of yours.” Crank shuddered at the words.

“I said no.”

“Can I at least have an actual answer?” Crank opened his mouth to speak. "If you give me a legitimate reason then I’ll stop bugging you.” Crank groaned and realized he had two choices.

A.) Keep dealing with Soarin’s begging until the end of the year.

B.) Tell him about his arm.

Crank was searching his mind as the bell rang. The man quickly collected his things and looked at Soarin.

“I’ll stop by your office after school. You’ll get your answer then.”

“Fine.” Soarin said as Crank left and hurried after the pastry chef. The two took their positions at their cooking stations and looked at the teacher.

“Okay class, today you will be preparing a salad dish.” Some of the class groaned. “You will be using knives so be very careful.” Crank pulled out the knives and inspected the blades as Pinkie grabbed the vegetables. Crank selected a plump tomato and started to gently slice it as Pinkie washed the lettuce.

“You do any cooking Crank?” She asked.

“Not really. My mom is an amazing cook. I can barely scramble an egg and make pancakes.” He said with a shrug. “What can you bake?”

“Anything!” She said as her eyes grew to the size of saucers. “Cupcakes, pies, cakes, doughnuts, fritters, eclairs-” Crank help up a hand.

“I got it Pinkie.” He said with a smile. He focused on the task at hand and quickly switched to the onions. As he cut the fumes from the vegetable caused his left eye to water. The man wiped the tear away and continued to dice. One drawback his prosthetic eye had was it’s inability to tear up. He didn’t care. In his opinion he’d already used up half his tears.

The pink mare kept babbling as the Unicorn was carefully dicing the tomatoes. He let her ramble and zoned out. He felt a cold shiver come over him as he saw a lab that had been blown to kingdom come. Blood stained the ground and he saw the mangled biomass that was left of his arm. A high pitched scream snapped him back to reality.

He quickly looked at Pinkie who was wide eyed and was looking down towards the cutting board. Crank looked down at his hand and saw that he had cut the artificial skin open. The chef had mistaken the red lubrication fluid for blood. He quickly grabbed a towel and cleaned it up before the teacher rushed over to him.

“Are you alright Crank?” The teacher asked as she looked at his hand.

“I’ll be fine.” He said trying to sound tough.

“Go to the nurse.” Crank nodded and wrapped his hand in a few paper towels. As he made his way out he deviated and went into the mens room. He pulled out a small spray can and shook it. Crank pointed the end at the broken flesh and pressed the nozzle. A flesh like material shot out and covered the hole. It took a moment for the skin to match the rest of the facade’s tone. He flexed his fingers and sighed at it.

What the hell was that about? He thought as he remembered the vision. If I come back too early Pinkie might suspect something. He thought as he exited the stall. The man hurried down the hallway until he got to the main office. He walked inside and stopped in front of the secretary.

“Can I help you?” She asked as she looked at the man.

“Yeah is Principle Luna in? I need to speak to her.” The secretary picked up her desk phone and dialed the number.

“Luna? Theres a boy here by the name of,” she held the receiver against her shoulder. “what’s your name?”

“Crank Shaft.”

“Crank Shaft.....Okay I’ll send him right in.” She said as she hung up the phone. Crank nodded and walked up to the office. He knocked on the door and heard a familiar voice.

“Come in.” He turned the knob and saw Luna wearing a purple suit and sitting behind a large desk. “Ah Crank, so good to see you again.” Crank pulled a small device that looked like a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He pulled up an antenna that looked like one of the cylinders. He pressed the top and a small light turned on the box.

“Can’t be too careful. You never know who’s listening.” He said as he sat down in front of the desk.

“What is that?”

“Its a small scrambler. It distorts electronic devices like cell phones, cameras and bugs within twenty feet of it.”

“Bugs?”

“Tiny listening devices that people plant to listen in on certain conversations.” Luna looked at her cellphone screen and saw that the screen was flickering.

“Interesting.” She said as she put the phone in her pocket. “How are you adjusting to the school?”

“Can’t complain.”

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Luna said as she raised an eyebrow.

“Long story short. I’m supposed to be getting patched up by the nurse after cutting my right hand.” Luna looked at him in shock. “I’m fine.” He said as he showed her his hand.

“I see. So why are you here then?”

“Personal question. Do you think I can trust Soarin enough to tell him about my arm.” The question took the lunar Princess off guard.

“Why?”

“Long story short, I slammed a ball into your nephew’s face during gym and Soarin wants me to play on the football team because I have such a great arm.” Luna then understood the situation and why she saw her nephew with a bloody nose. “I’ve told him no at least a dozen times now, but he’s persistent. I told him I’d give him a real reason this afternoon.”

Luna put a finger to her lips and thought for a moment before drawing a conclusion.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but you have a magical defect correct?”

“Yeah, my magic doesn’t recharge on its own and I need to feed off electricity regularly.” He said with a sigh. Luna pulled out a book and started to scan the contents. She smiled and tapped a page.

“It states in the school rule book that if a student has a handicap. Physical, biological or mental then they cannot compete in extracurricular sports.”

“Think Soarin will buy it?”

“He will if I tell him to.” She said with a chuckle.

“Sometimes I forget how mischievous you can be.” He said with a smile. “Thanks Luna oh and one more thing. The next time Celestia want to tell someone about my ‘condition’ then run it by me first.”

“What are you talking about?” Luna said in confusion.

“You don’t know? Celestia told Twilight Sparkle about my 'issue.'” He said as he pointed to his right arm. Luna huffed and frowned at the words.

“My deepest apologies Crank. My sister sometimes jumps the gun.” The man nodded and deactivated the scrambler before leaving. The man made his way back to the cooking class to see the students cleaning up.

“Ah good. Hows your hand?” The teacher asked.

“Good as new. I ran into Principle Luna and she healed it up.” He lied with a smile.

“Try to be more careful next time.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He said as he walked over towards Pinkie. The man cocked an eyebrow as he saw that her normal curly hair was straight and a few tones darker than normal. “Hey Pinkie.”

“Oh...hi.” Her tone was lower than usual and she refused to make eye contact. Before he could question the girl’s behavior the bell rang and she immediately picked up her bag and zoomed out the door. Crank put it in the back of his mind and made his way to biology class. During which, the students were learning about plant anatomy.

After that, the man made his way into shop class and took a seat next to Applejack who was giving him the death stare along with Rarity.

“Hey guys. Whats with the faces?”

“What did you do to Pinkie?” Rarity asked as her eyes cut through him like a knife through butter.

“Excuse me?” He said in confusion.

“Ah just came from math class and the poor girl almost broke down in tears.” The farmer snapped at him. “Ah know she’s got class with you before hand so what did ya do?”

“Nothing!” He said in a defensive tone. “We were making a salad. I accidentally cut my hand and went the nurse to get patched up. When I came back Pinkie’s hair was straight and darker than before.” The two girls acknowledged it as they remembered the same signs the last time the baker became sad. “Before I could ask her what was up, the bell rang and she bolted.”

“You cut your hand?” Rarity said as she looked at his hands.

“Relax I’m fine.” He said as he flexed his fingers.

“Okay ya crazy gear heads settle down.” The group looked forwards to see a man with light orange hair and beard. “Today we’ll be learning about the lathe machine. Gents roll up your sleeves and girls put your hair up or stuffit in a hat. That means you Rarity.” A few students chuckled as the fashionista pouted. The group learned the basic functions of the machine and even demoed it near the end of class.

As the bell rang the class packed up their belongings. “Crank, AJ.” The two students looked at the teacher who waved them over.

“Something wrong sir?” Crank asked.

“Not directly.” He said as he cleaned his glasses with a cloth. “You two are without a doubt the best in my class.”

“Thank ya kindly sir.” AJ said as she tipped her hat.

“However, Rarity is brining you both down.”

“How so?” The teacher pulled out a chart with every student packed into groups of three.

“Ya see every member of the group has to maintain at least a C average through the course in order to graduate.” Both students nodded. “You two are doing A grade work, but Ms. Belle is barely passing and if she fails then it’ll bring down both your averages.” The two students gulped. “I could switch her into another group, but I doubt that’ll solve the problem.”

“Ah don’t think it will. Besides Rarity’s my friend, maybe she’ll listen to reason.” Applejack said in a hope filled tone.

“For both your sakes I hope you’re right.” He said as the two left the workshop and went to their final class. Crank sat next to Rainbow who was constantly tapping her foot on the ground or her finger on the desk.

“Something wrong Dash?” He whispered. “You seem a bit....jittery.”

“Well duh! Don’t you know what today is?”

“Um, Thursday?” The cyan flyer face palmed as she groaned.

“The Xbox One comes out today genius!”

“Oh right.” The man had completely forgotten that he had pre-ordered the new console that was hitting the market that day. The man was suddenly filled with excitement. “Totally forgot. Did you pre-order?”

“Duh! Dead Rising 3 for the win! What about you?”

“Ryse: Son of Rome.” Dash rolled her eyes at the name.

“Boring.”

“Hardly. The ancient Greeks are fascinating. Aqueducts, first civilization and Roman metal clashes agains barbarian steel.” He said with a slight school girl giggle. Dash was stifling her laughter.

“Wow, I think you just overshot Twilight in the egg head department.” Crank frowned at the flyer who buried her head in her arms.

“Shut up.” He pouted. Dash just kept chuckling to herself. “Besides I have to see coach Soarin about something.” He said with a grumble. The two perked up as they heard the bell rang. Crank gathered his things and made his way towards the gym with Dash in pursuit. “Why are you coming?”

“Its no fun if I go to the store by myself.” She said as the two walked through the hallway. Rainbow waited outside the boy’s locker room as he went inside. The blue winged Pegasus was going over a game plan on a white board when he heard a tapping.

“Ah Crank.” He said with a smile. “Have an answer?”

“Yes and its still no.” Soarin had a disappointed look on his face. “I have an actual reason.” The man capped his marker and crossed his arms. “Have you ever heard of MRD?”

“Mana Regeneration Disease?” Crank gave a nod. The coach scratched his head. Um, I think its when someone can’t regenerate their magic right?” Crank nodded. Soarin silently thanked his word of the day calendar at home.

“My magic can’t regenerate on its own. I have to take a dosage of electricity every once in a while.” Soarin raised an eyebrow at him.

“Electricity?”

“Its what my magic turns into and its the easiest way for me to keep my dosage up.”

“So let me get this straight. You need to lick a battery every once in a while to stay on your feet.”

“Yes, and it says in the school rules that a student with a handicap like mine cannot participate in any type of physical extracurricular activity. I already talked with principle Luna about this.” Soarin sighed and hung his head. “Sorry coach, but I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of me.”

“Nah I get it.” He said with a sigh. “Thanks for being honest at least.”

“No problem." He said with a smile. An idea came to the young Wonderbolt and he shot up and raised his hand as he pointed at the Unicorn.

“Wait, I just had an idea. You can still be part of the team.”

“I just told you that I can’t-”

“No, the rules say you can’t do anything physical. Would you consider being the playmaker for the team?” Soarin looked at him with a wide smile. Crank tried to think of an excuse but reluctantly sighed.

“You just don’t know when to give up do you?”

“Perks of being Wonderbolt.” Crank rolled his eyes and extended his left hand. Soarin looked at it for a moment and shook it.

“Okay, I’ll need stat sheets on all the team players along with standard background information.”

“Why?”

“You never know what you might find when you go digging through someone’s past.”

“I can have it to you by tomorrow.”

“Okay I’ll see you then.” Crank said with a smile. The man walked out to see the cyan flyer talking with the pink pastry chef. Her hair was still straight and dark. “Hey Pinkie.” The pastry chef immediately wrapped him in a tight hug and cried into his shoulder.

Dash looked at her friend in confusion and then at crank who raised his arms in confusion. “Um, not really sure why you’re hugging me.”

“You got hurt because of me.” She cried. “You cut your hand and-” Crank broke the hug and looked at the woman.

“Pinkie, you didn’t do anything. I have a tendency to zone out at times.” He said as the girls sniffled. “I just lost focus and accidentally cut my hand.” The girl looked at him with teary eyes. “I’m all better see?” He said as he held up his right hand. “Trust me Pinkie, I’ve been through way worse than a simple cut.” The woman’s hair then seemed to explode and return to its bouncy bright pink color.

Pinkie then wrapped the man in another bone crushing hug and smiled. “Pinkie.....need air.” He said as he was going blue in the face.

“Sorry.” She said as she let go and the man gasped. “So where are you going?”

“To get our Xbox Ones.” Dash answered.

“Cool. Well, if you need me then I’ll be at Sugar Cube Corner.” The girl said before zooming out of view. The only thing Crank saw was a pink blur that shot down the hallway with enough force to make some papers abandoned students shoot up into the air and settle on the floor.

“How did she-”

“Its Pinkie Pie. Don’t question it.” Dash said with a sigh. Crank was about to argue but let it go. “C’mon we gotta get going!” The flyer grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway towards the exit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two arrived in front of the local game shop. A line of a few other people from school was inside the shop. Dash was stamping her foot impatiently as she waited.

“Relax Dash, theres only four more people.”

“What if they run out?” Crank deadpanned at the flyer.

“Dash, they’ve had nearly over three-hundred thousand pre-orders. I’m pretty sure that they won’t run out.” He said with a chuckle. Dash glared at him and pouted as her cheeks tinted red.

“Name please?” The game clerk said as the pair approached the counter.

“Rainbow Dash.” He clicked a few buttons on the computer and smiled.

“Okay, looked like you still owe some money on it.” Dash felt her joy slowly drain away.

“What? How much?”

“One-hundred fifty dollars.” Dash frantically dove into her bit bag and looked around.

“I-I don’t have that much.” The clerk sighed.

“Look we can hold it here till the end of closing tomorrow.”

“I get paid next Tuesday.” Dash said in defeat. Crank looked at the girl and knew her pain. That slow, torturous feeling of having something taken away from you.

“Sorry, ma’am. Rules are-”

“Cash or credit?” The two looked at the Unicorn in surprise. The clerk shrugged and looked at his register.

“Um card machine is busted.”

“Cash then.” Cash is always King. He thought as he fished out the money from his wallet and paid the man. “Here you are.” The man went in the back and grabbed one of the wrapped consoles and gave it to the woman. “Right then, my turn I suppose.” Crank gave him his name and received his already paid off console.

“Thanks.” Dash said as the two exited the shop.

“No problem.” He said with a nod.

“No really you just spent like a hundred bucks for me.”

Is she blushing? Nah.

“I was just helping you out. See ya.” He said as he vanished from her sight in a flash of light. Crank found himself in his living room and almost dropped his new console before resting it on the couch. He looked over himself and saw his reflection in the mirror. Good nothing singed this time. He thought as he saw the red battery indicator light up.

Crank quickly walked over to a wall outlet and stuck his finger in the socket. The electricity danced across his arm and lightly burned the fake skin. The man brought his new console up to his room and saw the small A.I. on his desk.

“Xbox One?”

“You know it.” He said as he unwrapped the machine and started setting it up. He kept his gamer tag and booted up the console. He instantly got a friend request from Rainbow and accepted it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Canterlot, Luna’s eyes snapped open as her clone disintegrated and the information went to her head. The Princess quickly got dressed and marched towards her sister’s office. The two guards quickly saluted her as she stormed in to see Celestia sitting at her desk.

“Ah Luna, a package arrived for you today in the mail. I think its that new gaming console you were telling me about.” The Princess said in a happy voice.

“Putting that aside. I have just learned that you told Twilight Sparkle about Crank Shaft’s....condition.” Celestia sighed and motioned for her guards to leave. After they had closed the door Luna sat across from her sister with a scowl on her face.

“Lulu I-”

“Don’t Lulu me Tia.” She said in an almost spiteful tone. “It took a lot of trust on his family’s part to tell us about his secret and then you go and tell Twilight Sparkle without notifying him?” Celestia sighed at the words. “I’m not saying that your student isn’t trustable, but you had no right to tell her his most precious secret.” She stammered.

“I realize that,” Celestia began. “but from what his father had told me Crank has nearly been spending all of his time cooped up in his workshop after the accident.” She sighed. “He asked me to help so I mentioned it to Twilight. She doesn’t know the full story. Even I dare not tell her about what happened.” Luna shuddered as she remembered the story. “I don’t even need to imagine the horror of losing something like that.” Celestia said as she hung her head. “I do see your point and it was wrong of me to tell her that.” Luna got to her feet and made her way towards the door.

“It is not I you should be apologizing to sister.” Celestia nodded and smiled at her sister. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have barbarians to kill and zombies to decapitate.” She said before teleporting down to the mail room. Outside Celestia’s office Blueblood continued on his way with a small smirk and pondering what he had just heard.

Whatever that peasant is hiding. I’ll find it. He chuckled to himself as he went back to his room.

Author's Note

X-box One is out! Have not gotten my hands on one yet.
Still in debate about PS4 vs. Xbox One. (Its too hard to choose!)
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Chapter 5: Truth or Dare?

Chapter 5

Truth or Dare?

“For the last time Mire. The answer is no!” Vermillion yelled as he glared at a Pegasus with jet black wings and matching hair. His green eyes rolled behind a pair of wire rimmed spectacles.

“Think of the money we could make if we made a deal with them.” He said as he and the Unicorn marched down the hallways inside the Vanhoover branch of Blackhawk Industries.

“They’re a bunch of radical extremists and barbarians.” Vermillion said as he quickly checked his breath. “Besides we don’t have the resources for something like that.”

“Just get your cyborg to-” The man was cut off as the Unicorn grabbed him by the collar. The Pegasus felt himself being picked up and his back being slammed against the wall.

“Listen to me and listen to me good because I’m only going to say this once.” The Unicorn’s eyes were burning. “If you disrespect my family one more time then I’ll throw you to the hounds.” The Pegasus gulped. “I protected you from the board members when that business in Stalliongrad went South.”

The man shivered as he remembered the incident. “I did it for old times sake.” He said as he let the man go. “Thats your warning.” The Pegasus sighed and adjusted his glasses.

“Sorry.” He said in a half assed tone.

“Good, because next time,” The man gulped as he saw red electricity arcing from the Unicorn’s fingers. “your position on the board will be the least of your concerns.” He said before storming off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crank sat in his room with a pen in his mouth and a list of plays he had spent the last five hours making up. The man put the pen and pad down before getting to his feet and stretching. The small AI appeared next to him.

“Got a lot of plays?”

“Yeah, but if I put that pen back in my hand its gonna lock up.” He said as he flexed his left hand. “I need some air.” He said as he walked downstairs.

“Your mother is still at work and your father is in Vanhoover meeting with the board members.”

“Thank you D.” He said before leaving his home. The man cracked his neck and felt the cool fall wind whipped at his skin. The man made his way down the road and into the park. The man spied a book on a bench and walked over to it. He picked it up in his hand and read the cover to himself.

Daring Do and the Griffin’s Goblet. He looked at the book and shrugged.

“Look out!” The Unicorn turned around to see a rainbow blur rocketing towards him. He tried to teleport out of the way but the blur was too fast and he felt a hard skull slamming into his chest before feeling his back hit the ground. He felt his back dig into the dirt and his shoulder blades scrape against some rocks. Crank opened his eyes to see a tuff of rainbow hair and a pair of maroon colored eyes staring at him.

“Oops, sorry Crank.” She said as she got off him and helped him up. The man dusted himself off and cracked his shoulder.

“What were you doing?” He asked as he looked at the sweating flyer.

“I was trying out this new trick when a rouge breeze knocked me off course and I started falling.” She said as she cracked her back. “Luckily I landed on something soft.”

“Yeah, me.” He deadpanned.

“Heh-heh. Sorry.” She said as she scratched her head. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“Well, I spent most of the day writing plays for Soarin and I didn’t feel like working so I decided to go for a walk.” He said as the two walked along the path. “Then I found this book.” He said as he held it up.

“Gah!” Dash yelled.

“What?” He said as the flyer ripped it out of his hands.

“That’s mine!” She said covering it with her arms. Crank spied a small blush forming on her face. “You didn’t see me with this got it?”

“So you read. Big deal.” He said with a shrug.

“Yes, it is!”

“I read all the time.”

“Yeah, but you’re smart. So it doesn’t count.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. There’s nothing wrong with reading.” He said as he face palmed. “Daring Do isn’t that bad.”

“You ever read her stuff?”

“Yeah, when I was eight.” He said with a shrug. “I eventually got bored of her.” Dash looked at him as though he had murdered someone.

“What? How can you get tired of daring Do?” The flyer yelled. “She’s only like the most awesomest Pegasus ever.”

“Really?” He said in a sarcastic tone.

“Well, besides me anyway.” She said in a cocky tone. “So what do you read if not that?”

“The Hobbit and other books like that.”

“Boring.” She said as she stuck her tongue out. “Speaking of boring, how was that game you played.”

“Don’t ask.” He grumbled.

“Told you it would suck.”

“The visuals were awesome and the combat was superb.” He said with a sigh. “But the story was just.....shit.”

“You should get Dead Rising 3.”

“I plan to.” He said as he cracked his neck. “Well, see ya later Dash.” A thought suddenly came to the flyer and she zoomed in front of him.

“Hey are you doing anything tonight?” Crank gulped and for some reason felt hot under the collar.

“N-no, why?”

“Twilight, the girls and I are going over to the library tonight.”

“Isn’t it closed?”

“No, Twilight is the librarian there and has the keys.”

“So you guys are having a slumber party?” He said as he raised an eyebrow.

“Nah, we’re just gonna hang out and I need someone else there who isn’t all...girly.” She said with a shiver. “I mean, AJ is cool, but we usually get outnumbered.”

“I don’t know Dash. Six girls one guy? Kinda out of my comfort zone.” He said with a sigh. The girl then put on her best puppy dog eyes and pouted.

Damn you Dash. Damn you to hell!

“Fine, I’ll go. But if things get too girly then I am O-U-T out!”

“Awesome! I’ll tell Twi to make room for one more.” She said before zooming away. Crank shook his head and continued to make his way through the small town. The man yawned and cracked his back. He looked at his phone and gulped as he saw the date.

The man looked around and eyed a nearby flower shop. Crank went inside and saw several assortments of flowers. The Unicorn looked around and started to browse the different types of flowers.

“Can I help you?” Crank looked to his left and saw the red haired girl from his English class.

“Yeah. Rose right?” He said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Yup, Roseluck. You can just call me Rose.” She said with a smile. “You’re Crank right?”

“Yeah.” He said with a nervous grin. Rose giggled at his awkwardness.

“You said you needed help with something?”

“Right sorry, I tend to space out. I need a dozen cut roses.” He said as the girl giggled.

“Sure, do you want the thorns removed?” She asked as she grabbed a glove and slipped it over her slender arm.

“No thanks, they’re fine as they are.” He said in a flat tone.

“So who’s the lucky lady?”

“Hm?”

“I’m assuming you’ve got a date.” She said with a snide smile.

“No, I’m just picking them up cause my mom needed them for a vase.” He lied.

“Oh sorry. I just assumed. I can’t tell you how many times a guy forgets an anniversary or birthday and go with the quick flower card.” She said as she finished cutting the plants.

“So you work here?” The girl gave a nod.

“Yup, I love gardening.” She said as she handed him the flowers. Crank reached into his pocket and withdrew the money.

“Thanks.” He said as he paid the woman.

“Cool see ya around.” She said with a smile. The man nodded and made his way out of the store. The man walked over to a pay phone that was on the corner of the bakery and stepped inside. He put a few coins inside and dialed a number.

“Hello?” A masculine voice said.

“This 119, Grimm Avenue, Manehattan?”

“Yeah why?”

“You’re gonna want to stand back.” Crank’s horn flared and the man vanished from the booth with the flowers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was around eight o’clock at night when the friends gathered at the library. Twilight opened the door and the group made their way inside the library. Twilight quickly set up a few bean bag chairs in a circle and started to cook some popcorn. The fashionista then noticed that they had seven chairs.

“Um Twilight, why is there another one? Is Spike coming?”

“No, he’s having some tournament with Snips and Snails on his game box seven.”

“X-box One.” Dash corrected as she face palmed.

“Right that thing.” She said as she poured some drinks. “Crank is joining us.” The other girls except for Rainbow looked at her in surprise.

“I invited him.” Dash said with a shrug.

“Sound like a hoot.” The farmer said with a nod. The girls then heard the library’s phone ring. Twilight shrugged and walked over to it.

“Hello?” She said as she held the receiver in her hand.

“Twilight?”

“Who is this?”

“Its Crank.”

“Oh good, everyone just got here.” She said with a smile. “Where are you?”

“Manehattan.”

“Why?”

“I had some business for my dad here. Don’t worry I’ll be right there.”

“How? Manehattan is a full day’s trip by train.”

“Hold the receiver away from you.”

“Why?”

“Humor me.” Twilight shrugged as the other girls looked at her.

“Okay.” She said as she held her arm out. The receiver started to crackle with electricity and a bolt of grey lightning shot out of the end and struck the wooden floor of the library. The girls shielded their eyes as they heard a familiar voice grunt.

“Okay, ow.” Crank said as he cracked his back.

“What in tarnation?” The farmer said as she looked at the man. “Where’d you come from?”

“Manehattan.” He said as he rotated his shoulder. “I can travel through phone lines with my magic.” He said was grey sparks arced between his fingers. "Just uses a lot of magic."

“Cool!” Pinkie said. The friends sat down and started to small talk. Crank kept silent most of the time as the girls bantered. Applejack managed to bring some of her family’s hard cider. Twilight and Rarity opted out. Crank only had one glass. Dash’s crazy thinking mixed with the alcohol formed an idea.

“Hey guys, lets play truth or dare.” She said with a smirk. Crank face palmed with his right hand and groaned.

“Ohh! I love that game!” Pinkie chimed.

“Only this time there are rules.” Dash said. “If you can’t perform the dare or back out then you have to face a penalty that the person who dared you gets to choose. Sound fair?” Fluttershy and Twilight both had nervous looks on their faces. Crank rolled his eyes and nodded. “Sweet. Who should go first?”

“Me!” Pinkie chimed. The group looked towards the pastry chef. “Dashie, truth or dare?”

“Dare!” She said in a cocky tone.

“I dare you to...stand on her head.”

“That all?” Dash said as she rolled on her back and did a hand stand. The woman slowly put her head on the floor and balanced herself. Crank was impressed by her athleticism. “See, no problem.” She said as she forced a smile. The flyer then went back to sitting. “My turn.” The flyer scanned the room and looked at her potential victims.

As the game continued the truth’s got more embarrassing and the dares were bolder. Applejack locked eyes with Rarity and grinned.

“Okay Rarity, truth or dare.”

“Dare.” She said with a proud tone.

“Ah dare ya to actually try in shop class.” The group let out a collective ‘ohh’ sound.

“I try!”

“No, no you don’t.” Crank said. “You complain about everything we do. Even during shop clean up.”

“Well, excuse me for caring about my appearance.” She scoffed.

“Well, if ya don’t stop being so dang fussy then Copper will fail ya and you’ll get held back.” The farmer said as she sipped her drink. The seamstress pouted.

“Seriously Rarity,” Dash started. “I had to take that last year and it was kinda fun. Mr Copper is cool. Not cool like me he’s like.” The flyer scratched her chin trying to find the right words.

“Old man cool?” Crank said.

“Yeah, like that.”

“My turn.” Rarity said as she narrowed her eyes on the man. “Crank, truth or dare?”

“Truth.” He said as he sipped is drink.

“What was your first kiss like?” The man almost choked on his drink.

“C’mon Rarity, isn’t that a tad bit personal?” The yellow flyer said. The man thought for a moment and sighed.

“I’ll take a penalty for that one.” He said. Rarity smirked and an idea came to her.

“You have to give Rainbow Dash a wing massage.” The flyer and the Unicorn’s faces turned bright red. The others’ jaws dropped.

“C’mon Rarity, that’s going a bit far isn’t it?” Twilight said in a worried tone.

“It’s a penalty.” She shrugged. The two frowned at each other and sighed.

“Fine.” They both breathed out. Dash got to her feet and sat in front of the Unicorn. Crank was blushing profusely as Dash spread her wings.

“Just don’t hurt them.”

“Relax. My mom is a scalpel jockey. I know how to handle these things.” He said as he put his hand on the delicate appendages. Dash flinched as she felt his hands on her wings. The man slowly started to rub them. Dash was biting her lip in an effort to calm herself down.

The man then went to where her wings connected with her back and applied a little bit of pressure. Both wings were now standing on end. Crank ran some magic into his hands and a small electric current started to work at the nerves of the wings. Dash’s eyes were rolling in the back of her head as she felt the magic lightly shocking the wings.

Her face was bright red and she was clenching her hands as the pleasure washed through her wings. Dash looked up at the ceiling and her tongue was hanging out as she felt her wings stiffen for a final time before falling limp. The cyan flyer was panting heavily and Crank’s face was red as a tomato.

“Happy?” Dash said as she glared the fashionista.

“Very.” She giggled. Crank then got to feet.

“I’m heading out.”

“Why?”

“I have to got to practice tomorrow and teach the team a few plays.” He said as his face returned to its normal color. “The homecoming game is Friday and we need to work our asses off.” He said as he walked towards the door. “See ya tomorrow.” He said with a wave.

The other girls glared at Rarity. Dash’s face was still blushing as she bore daggers through her.

“Rarity, ya just crossed the line.” The farmer said. “Ya just embarrassed him and Dash in front of everyone here.”

“Yeah Rarity, you went over board.” Pinkie added.

“How would you feel if someone rubbed your horn?” Twilight said with a sigh. Rarity hung her head and let out a sigh.

“Fine.” She groaned. “I’ll apologize to him tomorrow.” A long silence fell over the group.

“Maybe we should call it a night.” Twilight said as she started to clean up. The friends departed and made their way home. Rainbow Dash flew into her room’s open window and quickly hoped into bed. The cyan flyer’s face was still bright red as she started to fall asleep.

Chapter 6: Homecoming and Dancing

Chapter 6

Homecoming and Dancing

Crank and Soarin walked towards the field where several men in football uniforms and pads were stretching out their bodies. Soarin held a clipboard in his hand and a whistle was around his neck. Every uniform was enchanted to remove a Unicorn horn or a Pegasus’ wings while being worn to keep the game fair. Once the articles of clothing were removed the horn and wings would re-appear. The Pegasus blew the whistle and the players dropped what they were doing and gave them their undivided attention.

“Okay ladies listen up!” Soarin bellowed. “The homecoming game is three days away and I’ll be damned if Trottingham wins again.” The crowd yelled in agreement. The blue winged athlete then pointed to Crank.

“Crank Shaft here is now our official playmaker. Show him the same respect that you’d show me.” Crank heard a loud scoff coming from the crowd. He focused and saw Blueblood giving him a death stare. Soarin clapped his hands and cleared his throat. “Now lets run some drills!” The men all yelled in agreement and started to perform some of the plays the Unicorn had given out.

Crank was using all of his attention to analyze each player’s strengths and weaknesses. Snowflake was a hulking Pegasus that wasn’t that fast, but made up for it with his endurance and large muscular body. Caramel was skittish, but could weave in and out of difficult situations. Thunderlane seemed to be an even mix of the two combined with his natural athleticism. Blueblood was....well Blueblood. The spoiled Prince seemed to use every opportunity he got to cheat and had three Pegasus goons around him at all times.

Crank glance up at the seemingly empty stands and saw that a few girls were watching the players and were giggling to one another.

Then a Rainbow Dash appeared.

“Sup dude?” The familiar voice snapped Crank out of his analytical state and almost made him fall over. Dash looked at him in surprise and chuckled.

“What do you want Dash?” He said as he collected himself.

“Just wanted to see what you were up to.” She shrugged.

“Why?”

“I’m bored.” She pouted.

“I’m kinda busy Dash.” He said as he pointed back to the players. He spied Blueblood kicking Caramel in his shin just as he was about to score a touchdown. Soarin caught the act and blew his whistle.

“Blueblood! Caramel was about to score for your team! That’s your last warning!” The man yelled. Crank walked over to Caramel and helped him up.

“It was an accident.” The Prince said in an innocent tone.

“Bullshit.” Crank said. “You’ve been giving everyone here problems since practice started and for no reason.”

“Silence peasant.” He growled. “Go back to that dyke and do whatever it is that you do.” The group of men gasped at the language.

“Why you!” Dash yelled as she flew towards the man. Snowflake caught her and managed to restrain the thrashing woman. Crank took his glasses off and looked at the man with a blank look on his face. Normally Crank would never willingly get into a fight, but Blueblood had this coming.

“Coach, we got any spare uniforms around here?”

“Yeah.” Soarin said. “But you said-”

“I won’t be playing in the actual game. I just think Blueblood here need to learn a little discipline.” Crank said before he stormed off towards the locker room. The unicorn got changed quickly and ran back onto the field.

“Okay, first to tackle the other three times wins.” Soarin said. The two got into position and waited for Soarin’s cue. Soarin blew his whistle and the two threw themselves at one another. The inventor wrapped his right arm around Blueblood’s mid section and slammed him on the ground. The second and third time had the same result.

The group of players respectfully clapped for the playmaker. Crank sighed and offered his left hand to Blueblood. The Prince grabbed it and pulled him down as Blueblood’s other hand clenched into a fist and crashed into Crank’s groin. The man was immediately on his knees in pain as Soarin blue he whistle.

“That’s it Blueblood! You are not playing in the homecoming game!” Soarin yelled. The other players gave the Prince a death stare and Soarin sighed. “Hit the showers guys.” Blueblood scoffed and walked towards the lockers. Thunderlane and Caramel helped the man to his feet.

“Thanks.” Crank breathed out.

“No problem.” Thunderlane said as he helped the tactician into the locker room. Crank sat down on one of the benches and Caramel passed him an ice pack. Crank tensed as he put the cold pack on his aching crotch.

“You okay Crank?” Soarin asked.

“I’ll live.” He said with a sigh.

“Good. Blueblood is gonna have to answer for this one.” He said as he waked into his office. Crank waited a few more minutes before walking out of the locker room. The man was surprised to see the rainbow flyer leaning against the wall opposite the door.

“Hey how are you feeling?” She asked as she walked up to him.

“I’ve been better.” He groaned. “Hurts to walk.” He said as he steadied himself against the wall.

“Can’t you teleport?”

“Don’t have enough magic left for that.” He said as he startled to hobble down the hallway. Dash picked up his left arm and slung it over her shoulders. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you out. What’s it look like?” She said as the two started to make their way out of the school and into the small town. The two remained silent until they reached the center of town. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For putting Blueblood in his place.” She said with a smile.

“Yeah about that.” Crank said as the flyer looked at him. “I know I’d be pretty pissed at him if he insulted me like that, but you look like he had just burned your house down and kicked your dog. What gives?” The woman stopped walking and sighed.

“Back in Jr. flight camp I was always picked on by guys like him because of my hair and my attitude.” She said with a sigh. “Just because I don’t act like how girls usually do they automatically think I’m gay.” She grunted. “I hate people like that. Its just not cool to treat someone like that just because they’re different.”

“I know the feeling.” He said with a sigh. “So are you....you know....into girls?”

“No!” She yelled into the man’s ear.

“Jeez not so loud.” He said as he felt his ears ringing. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to assume anything.” Dash sighed and gave him a nod. The two were then approached by the purple haired fashionista. Both of them narrowed their eyes at the girl.

“Hello you two.” She said with a smile.

“Rarity, I’m in no mood for your games.” Crank spat out.

“Yes, that’s why I’m here.” She said with a sigh. “I’m sorry I made you do that Crank. Truly I am.” She said with a genuine look on her face. “Alcohol and parties rarely end well.” Crank sighed and looked back at the woman.

“You’re lucky I’m not the type who holds grudges.” He said as Dash sighed. “Wait, I didn’t see you drink last night.”

“I drank one before you made the dare on me.” She said with as sigh. “Unfortunately, I’m not as accustomed to Applejack’s family cider so my judgement was a tad off.” The two nodded in understanding. “At least allow me to make it up to you in some way.” Rarity said.

“Its no big deal Rarity. We all have done stupid things.” Dash answered.

“No, you must let me make it up to you both for making you do that....uncouth act.”

“You don’t-”

“You must.”

“I don’t need-”

“You must.”

“I really don’t-”

“You must!” She said as she put extra emphasis on the last ‘st’ part.

“Fine.” Crank said as the fashionista smiled. Crank sighed and felt another wave of dull pain coming from his crotch. Rarity noticed that Dash had the man’s arm over her shoulders.

“Might I inquire why you are doing that Rainbow?” She said as she pointed at the man’s arm.

“Blueblood punched Crank in the crotch so he can’t really walk straight.” Rarity gasped at the words.

“My word! I know that Blueblood is a plot head, but what in the name of Equestria made him do that?”

“Crank took him down three times today on the practice field.” Dash said.

“Yeah Dash, I think I can walk now.” He said as he removed is arm from her shoulders.

“You sure?”

“Yeah I’m-” He was cut off as he felt a massive amount of pain rip through his body. He dropped to his knees and started coughing up a small amount of blood.

“Crank? What’s wrong?” Rarity said as she crouched next to the man.

“My mana is low.” He said as he saw the small indicator in the right corner of his right eye. The man frantically started searching for a power source. His right eye locked onto a transformer that was on top of a telephone pole. Crank grunted as he stood on his feet and panted. Dash frantically took out her phone and offered it to him.

“Here you can use this right?”

“Nah, it won’t be enough power.” He said as his left palm had sparks of grey electricity around it. “Stand back.” Crank shot his arm out an electric rope attached itself to the pole and seemed to rapidly pull the man towards it. Dash’s jaw dropped as he latched on to the pole and climbed to the transformer.

Crank grunted and grabbed both of the metal poles on top and felt the electricity course through his body. The man grinned and saw that the battery was fully charged.

“Are you alright darling?” Rarity yelled up as she and Dash approached the pole.

“Yeah, I’m fine now.” He said as he slowly climbed down the pole. The women gulped as they saw bolts of electricity crossing across his arms and body. “Whoops, looks like I absorbed too much.” He said as he looked at the bolts.

“What is that?” Dash asked.

“This is what happens when I take in too much power.” He said as he looked at his hand that had several sparks shooting out of it. “Its too much for my body to contain and it starts to seep out.” He said as he cracked his neck.

“Is it dangerous?” Rarity asked.

“For me? No. For you...lets just say that it would be a ‘shocking experience’ if you were to touch me.” The two took an extra step back. “But in all seriousness yes. If I absorb too much then I’d combust.”

“Huh?” Dash said in confusion.

“I’ll explode.” He said in a flat tone. The man then looked at the telephone lines and he face palmed. Hard. “I’m such an idiot!”

“What?” Both girls said in confusion. The man removed his palm to show a large red mark on his forehead.

“I completely forgot about that.”

“What are you talking about?” Dash groaned. Crank rolled his eyes and pointed up towards the power lines.

“Dash have you ever played Infamous?”

“No, I’m strictly an X-box gamer.” She said in a proud tone.

“Unfortunate.”

“Hey you have one too!”

“Yeah and I also have the PS3 and PS4.” He sighed. “We’re getting off topic. Just watch.” He said as he started to climb the pole. The women watched in surprise as he stood on top of the pole and then balanced himself on the wire.

The girls watched in amazement as his body glowed a grey color and his shoes were sparking. The palms of his hands were also sparking. The man leaned forward and he started to glide on the wire like he was sliding on ice. “Oh man I should have done this a long time ago.” He said as he zoomed down the street.

He heard a whooshing noise and saw that Dash was flying beside him. The man put more magic into his feet and sped up. “Woo hoo!” He yelled as he rocketed down the wires. “Thank you Cole McGrath!”

Crank looked ahead and saw that he was coming up on his house. He jumped off and landed with a forward roll. The man rolled back onto his feet and brushed himself off. “Nailed it.” He said as Dash landed next to him with a smile on her face.

“That was awesome!” She yelled in excitement.

“I used to do that all the time back in Manehattan. Sure as hell beats walking.” He said with a smile. “Well, see ya tomorrow.” He said as he started to walk into his home. The man heard the Pegasus take off and soar into the sky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days started out normally until Crank was called into Luna’s office to discuss the incident between him and Blueblood. Crank felt justified when he heard that the posh Prince would receive two weeks of detention so he wouldn’t be at practice for a while. Everyone was stoked for the game against Trottingham.

Crank gave Blueblood’s quarterback position to Thunderlane. Crank spied the infuriated Prince in the stands grumbling as he sat next to the Luna clone to ensure he didn’t pull anything during the game. Two minutes were left in the game and the score was 34 to 30 with Trottingham in the lead. The group huddled up. Crank could see the looks of despair through the men’s helmets.

“Their linebacker is a monster man.” Caramel said as he cracked his shoulder.

“Their offense ain’t something to laugh at either.” Thunderlane added as he panted. Soarin looked at Crank who appeared to be deep in thought. The Unicorn had spent most of the game analyzing the students from Trottingham. Their speed, strength even the way they breathed. The man pulled out a sheep of paper from his notebook and made a quick play.

“Okay I have an idea. Its a long shot, but it just might work.” He said as he gave a quick explanation of the play. The players grinned and broke the huddle.

“Hike!” Thunderlane yelled. Caramel was right behind Snowflake as he took the ball. The hulking athlete barreled through the opposition without breaking a sweat. Soon, the entire enemy team was gunning for him and he was only half a yard from the end zone.

“You ready Snowflake?” Carmel yelled.

“Yeah!” The man said as a few players grabbed his legs and started to trip him the man threw the ball up as Caramel stepped on the athlete’s back and jumped off his shoulders. Snowflake grunted in pain as he felt the cleats dig into his shoulders. Caramel launched himself towards the ball and caught it in mid air. As his feet hit the ground the man took off like hell itself was chasing after him. A large player blocked his way and tried to grab him.

Caramel easily dodged the player’s bone crushing arms and dove into the end zone as the timer ran out. The crowd and the teammates roared as Caramel did a victory dance. The scoreboard read 36 to 34. Crank let out a sigh of relief as the team members picked up Caramel and carried him back towards the locker room.

Crank walked into the locker room and heard the loud shouts of laughter and praise. Several players were patting him on the back and chanting his name.

“Nice work Caramel.” Crank said as he high five’d him.

“Dude if it wasn’t for your plan we’d have lost.” The other players cheered in agreement. Crank rubbed the back of his head and gulped.

“All I did was write stuff down. You guys actually played.”

“Oh quit being modest.” Soarin said as he slapped him on the back. “Head home guys and enjoy the spoils of victory!”

“Yeah!” Snowflake yelled. Crank collected his things and made his way outside where several girls were swarming around Thunderlane, Caramel and the other athletes. Crank deviated from the path and teleported back to his home. As he stepped into the door he smelled his mother’s cooking.

“Hey hun.” The brown haired woman chimed. “How’d the game go?”

“We won. By the skin of our teeth, but we won.” He said as he put his bag down and sat down on the table. The woman squealed in delight and gave him a hug.

“Oh I’m so proud of you!” She said as she kissed him on the head.

“Mom!” The Unicorn said as he grumbled. “I didn’t even play.” The woman rolled her eyes and served him a plate of pasta and meatballs. The door suddenly opened to reveal the red haired Unicorn man.

“Hey champ.” He said as he ruffled Crank’s messy hair. “How’d the game go?”

“We won.” He said as he took a bite from his food.

“Awesome!” He said with a smile.

“How are things at the office?” Nova asked. The man face palmed.

“Mire is really pushing my buttons. I’ve had to ‘loose’ his weapons proposal seven times.” He said with a sigh.

“That guy just doesn’t know when to give up.” Crank grunted as he stood up and put his dishes in the sink. The man yawned and cracked his shoulder and looked at his parents. “I’m heading to bed. Its been a long day.” He said as he walked out of the kitchen and up to his room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, the student body was still buzzing about their victory over Trottingham. Crank went through his classes with a bored look on his face. At lunch he felt Blueblood giving him a death stare from across the room. The Unicorn couldn’t help but notice that Rarity was giggling to herself. “What’s got you in such a good mood Rarity?”

“The homecoming dance of course!” She giggled. “I’ve just put the finishing touches on my dress last night.”

“Oh that.” He said as he sipped his ice tea.

“You’re not excited?” Pinkie asked.

“Dances and parties aren’t my thing.” He said with a shrug. “Why? You guys going?”

“Duh!” Pinkie chimed. “I’m in charge of the decorations!”

“Ah’m providing refreshments.” Applejack smiled.

“I’m helping Luna chaperone.” Twilight said.

“I’m....not going.” Fluttershy said in a timid tone. “I’m volunteering at the animal shelter.”

“I’m too cool for stupid stuff like that.” Dash said. The other girls rolled their eyes. The rest of the day seemed to go normal until Crank saw a familiar blue winged man approach him.

“Hey coach. Need something?”

“Nah, still getting over that hair brained plan of yours.” He chuckled.

“When the chips are down, go for broke.” Crank shrugged.

“No complaint here.” The man said. “So you going to the dance tonight?”

“Nah, stuff like that isn’t for me.”

“Too bad. You’re going.” He said with a grin.

“What? Why?” Crank said as he looked at the man un surprise.

“You’re part of the team. You have to go.”

“I didn’t even play. Dances like this are usually for the players.”

“The whole team is gonna be there and that includes you.” Crank groaned and rolled his eyes.

“No way out of this huh?”

“Nope, don’t worry about a ticket. Members of the team and their dates get in for free.”

“Who said I was bringing someone?”

“No one. Just letting you know. Semi-formal is fine, be here by eight.” Soarin said before walking down the hallway. Crank face palmed and groaned. The end of the day came soon. As Crank was getting the last of his things out of his locker he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a familiar red haired girl leaning against the adjacent one.

Two other girls were standing behind her as well. One was wearing a pink T-shirt and had blonde hair while the other had a darker pink shirt and lime green hair. Rose had a nervous look on her face and the green haired one nudged her shoulder.

“Hey Rose. Need something?” Rose was about to turn around and flee only to be stopped by the two other girls. Crank raised an eyebrow at her and could easily see her crimson red cheeks.

“Um....yeah.....How do I put this?” She gulped. “Are you going to Homecoming?”

“Yeah, Soarin needs the entire team there.” He grumbled.

“Oh good!” She said in a happy tone. Crank was taken back by her yelling. “Sorry, I do that sometimes.” She said with a nervous laugh. “I was just wondering....if...you wanted to..I don’t know...go with me?” Crank scratched his head and thought for a moment.

“Um....sure. Why not?”

“Great! I’ll meet you in front of the school at eight.” She said as she and the other two girls tarted giggling to one another. Crank shook his head and headed for home.

Fuck! I don’t have anything fancy. He thought as he made his way out of the school. As he passed the Boutique he deviated and headed inside. The bell over the door rang as he stepped inside.

“Coming~” A familiar singsong voice chimed. The pretty seamstress came out with a smile on her face. “Crank. What a pleasant surprise.”

“Hey Rarity. Hate to make this last minute, but I need a nice outfit for tonight.”

“I thought you said you weren’t going?”

“Soarin is making the team go.” He grumbled.

“Say no more. I shall make you an outfit post haste!”

“Thanks. How much do you charge?”

“Its on the house darling.” She said as she waved him off and summoned a pair of glasses and a tape measure. “Okay, now I need you to strip.”

“Wait what?” Crank said as his face turned bright red.

“I need to take your measurements.”

“You don’t have to go to the trouble to make me a suit.”

“Oh dear, you make it sound like its going to be hard.” She said as she pointed to the changing room. Crank set his bags down and drew the curtain as he took off his clothes. He kept his boxers on for obvious reasons. Rarity gulped as she saw the scar on his right shoulder.

The fashionista pushed the thoughts out of her head and started wrapping the tape around his body. “Well, Crank you seem to take good care of yourself.” The man blushed as Rarity examined his torso.

“Thanks. My mom is a surgeon so she makes sure my dad and I are healthy.” He said as he started to put his clothes back on.

“So are you going alone?” Rarity asked as she started to work on his outfit.

“No, I’m going with Rose.” The fashionista stopped working and thought for a moment.

“That explains Blueblood’s behavior.” Crank raised an eyebrow at the words. “He was having a fit today because Rose turned him down.”

“Great. More complications.” He said as he sat down. The man pulled out his phone and saw he had a text message.

What up?

Who’s this?

Its Dash dummy.

How’d you get my number?

Took it out of your pocket and entered my number when I was dragging your ass home the other day. >:) I put the others in here too.

Kinda stalkerish no?

Most guys like having girls numbers in their phone. ;)

No argument here. I’m at Rarity’s boutique getting a suit for tonight.

Thought you weren’t going?

Soarin’s making me. >:(

Sucks. You get dead Rising 3 yet?

I ordered it. Should be here by tomorrow. He then saw a different text pop up.

Just heard you were coming Yay!

Pinkie?

Yup! See ya then!

Crank put his phone back into his pocket and saw Rarity getting up from her seat.

“Done!” She chimed. The outfit was awesome. A grey blazer with matching dress pants and an electric green undershirt. “I usually don’t like green,” She shuddered. “but in this case it looks fabulous!”

“Thanks Rarity.” He said before teleporting back home. Crank walked into his room and saw the AI standing on the nightstand.

“What’s in the bag?”

“Clothes for the dance tonight.” The AI then beamed. Her image shimmered and she was wearing a long dress and her hair was done up. “No.”

“Oh come on!”

“No, what if someone sees you?”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No!”

“Please?” The AI then copied Rainbow and gave him puppy dog eyes.

“Fine! Just keep your head down.” He groaned as he laid on his bed and dozed off. His slumber was disturbed as his alarm went off He slammed it with his hand and quickly got dressed. The AI was still wearing the dress and smiled at him. Crank groaned and reached for the back of his head. He gripped a mole and tore it back to show an empty port meant for a chip.

“Ready?” He said as he walked over to a chip that had a clear glass center.

“Yank me.” She said as she jumped into the chip and her image vanished. The man inserted the chip into the port and winced. It felt like an ice cube was being rubbed on his brain. He shook off the feeling and cracked his neck before covering the port. “Still cluttered in here.”

“Don’t get any ideas.” He said as he made his way out of his home. His mother then ambushed him with a camera. “Mom!”

“Oh calm down. Its my job to document these things.” She giggled.

“Ugh, fine. D is coming with me too.”

“Have fun and be careful.” She said with a wave. Crank nodded and used the lightning tether to get himself up on the power lines. He glided along the lines and smirked as he closed in on the school. He managed to make out the figure of the girl and jumped off the lines. Rose’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“How did you do that?” She asked in shock.

“Magic.” He shrugged. He offered her his left arm and Rose gladly took it. Crank checked in and the bouncer let him and Rose through. Crank spied Vinyl behind the turn tables and she waved at him. Crank gave her a nod and was immediately approached by Pinkie. She was wearing a pink and white dress that appeared to be covered in candy.

“Hey glad you could make it.” She said with a smile. The two nodded and started to mingle with the other couples. Crank was approached by Thunderlane and Caramel who each had dates. Crank left to grab himself and Rose some punch. He spotted the farmer and fashionista conversing with one another next to the punch bowl.

“Howdy partner.” AJ was wearing a brown dress with green stitching and a nicer looking cowboy hat. “Ah heard from Carmel that ya’ll athletes got dragged here.”

“Yup,” He said as he grabbed two glasses of punch. Rarity then tapped him on the shoulder and pointed across the room. Crank frowned as he saw Blueblood trying to hit on Rose who was rejecting him left and right.

“For the last time, I said scram.” She said in a flat tone.

“Oh whats just one dance? Besides I don’t see your date anywhere.”

“Here he comes now.” Rose smirked. Blueblood’s face grew red with anger as he saw the Unicorn.

“Need something Blueblood?” He said in a flat tone.

“You!”

“Yes, me. Look, just leave us alone.” Crank motioned towards the bleachers and Blueblood saw Princess Luna locked onto him ready to pounce. Blueblood grunted and scoffed in frustration. He got up in Crank’s face and bore holes through his eyes.

“You. Me. Dance off. Now.” Crank looked at the man in confusion. He shot a glance to Rose who had the same look on her face.

“Are you serious?”

“Deadly serious.”

“No way in hell-” The man then felt his entire body freeze. It felt like some foreign presence had taken over. “am I gonna give up a chance to kick your sorry ass on the dance floor.” He heard himself say. The music stopped and the crowd turned to look at them. Crank immediately gulped as Blueblood growled. “Let me just um...use the restroom.” He said as he zoomed off to the nearest janitor’s closet.

The man looked in the fractured mirror and his right eye shot a projection of the AI. “D! What the hell are you thinking?”

“That someone needs to learn a thing or two about respect.” She said as she cracked her holographic knuckles.

“I can’t dance!”

“I know. You suck.” Crank grumbled. “But I can.”

“You don’t even have feet!”

“True, but I do have yours. I also know several dance moves that are sure to wow the crowd and it’ll go great with the song I selected.” Crank weighed his options.

A.) Get humiliated in front of the school by Blueblood.

B.) Let D temporarily control him.

“Fuck it. Fine.” The AI raised her fist in victory. “But afterwards you’re getting pulled!”

“Deal.” She said as her image vanished. Crank felt the same sensation come over him and his body started to move on its own. “Man you really should stretch more.” The AI said as she cracked the man’s arm.

“Can it. Let’s just get this over with.” He said as he made his way back to the dance. Word had gotten around fairly quickly and the students had formed a massive ring where Blueblood was waiting for him. “You first Blue boy.” Crank said as he crossed his arms.

Blueblood removed his jacket and the music started to play.

Everyone clapped. Crank did the same out of respect. Blueblood ran a hand through his blonde hair and smirked.

“Top that.” He boasted.

“I intend to.” Crank said as he walked up to Vinyl and whispered something to her. The electric haired DJ nodded and got behind her turntables. Crank grabbed the hat Caramel was wearing and removed his own tie before stepping in the center of the circle. The AI cracked the man’s vertebra and stretched out his muscles. The girls watched in anticipation as the music started to play.

By the end the crowd roared and cheered. Blueblood stormed off in defeat as Crank felt the sensation leave his body. He saw Twilight, Rarity, AJ and Pinkie hurry up to him.

“That was so cool!” Pinkie chimed.

“Where’d ya learn that fancy foot work?” The farmer asked.

“Just something I picked up while I was in Manehattan.” He said with a nervous grin on his face. Rose then ran up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Nice moves.” She said with a wide smile. The dance winded down after that and the students started making their way back home. Crank walked Rose home. The girl was clinging to his arm like a lost puppy and ‘accidentally’ bumped into him causing his arm to come into contact with her chest. The man sighed and stopped as they reached her door to her flower shop which she lived right above.

“Look Rose, you’re a very nice girl and you’re very fun to be around.” The girl smiled at him. “The thing is....I just thought that this was a one time thing. Now I see that you want to get serious, but I’m just not looking for something like that at the moment. Its definitely not you, its me.” The woman’s smile shattered and she hung her head. “I hope that we can still be friends.”

“Y-yeah....I get it.” She said as she walked to her door. Crank started to walk away and he swore he heard a sniffle coming from the girl. The man felt a few raindrops fall on his head and quickly teleported home. The man walked into his room and took a quick shower after removing the chip from his head. He hung up the clothes Rarity had made him and laid on his bed.

The AI appeared on the nightstand and crossed her arms. The AI was now back to her usual image.

“Are you a complete idiot?” She asked.

“You should know the answer to that one D.”

“Yeah and more often than not I wish I were wrong.” She said before vanishing. Crank shut off his light and waited for sleep to take him.

Chapter 7: The Transfer

Chapter 7

The Transfer

It had been a few weeks since the dance and the cyan flyer was sitting in history class next to the inventor barely staying awake. Most of the students were the same since it was the last class on a Friday. The flyer was resting her head on her arms and was snoring softly. Crank pinched her arm and the rainbow haired girl stirred.

“Now I hope that you all have studied hard for your test on Monday.” Dash gulped at the words. “Its the last test before the quarter ends.” The professor said as the bell rang. Crank collected his books and saw that the color in Dash’s face was gone.

“You did study right?” Crank said as he looked at the woman. Dash had a sheepish smile on her face.

“Um....a little?”

“Dash! You gotta take school seriously.” He groaned.

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “I’ve just got a lot on my plate.”

“Like?”

“Work, practice, family. Stuff like that.” She said as she crossed her arms.

“Practice?”

“Yeah, you’re looking at a future Wonderbolt. Figured that the best way to train was to join the girl’s flight team.” She shrugged.

“I know that stuff is important, but so is your school work.” He sighed.

“Thanks for the pep talk dad.” She said in a sarcastic tone. Crank rolled his eyes. “Besides I got the entire weekend to study for it.”

“Just don’t procrastinate.” He sighed as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. The man put it to his ear and answered with short responses. Dash saw a huge grin appear on his face before hanging up. “Awesome!”

“What?”

“Okay so I’ve been working on a special project for a while now and the last part should be at my house.”

“What is it?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a self powered levitating long board suspended by the users mana reserve.” Dash had a confused look on her face.

“Huh?”

“A hover board that runs off magic.” Dash’s jaw dropped.

“That is so awesome! Can I see it?”

“No, it’s still in pieces and I have to test it.” He said as he looked at the cyan flyer. “Besides, you have a lot of studying to do. Don’t you Skittles?” Crank had opted to give Rainbow a nickname. Unfortunately it usually led to her blushing and punching him.

“I hate that nickname!” She yelled as she slugged him in the left arm.

Totally worth it. Dash had a reddish hue to her cheeks.

“Geez, Dash. Are you this abusive to every guy you meet?” He asked as he rubbed the slow forming bruise.

“No, just you.” She smirked. Crank rolled his eyes and watched as the cyan flyer took off towards her home. Dash zoomed through the clouds until she got to her house. The flyer immediately went up to her room and threw herself on her bed. The flyer yawned and soon drifted off to sleep.

Back down in the town, Crank had just finished opening the package he had received. It was a small sphere with a bright grey light coming from the center. A long snowboard shaped object was hooked up to a series of wires and cables as it rested next to the man. He grinned as he levitated the cylinder over towards the board.

“Hello?” The sudden voice made the man jump. Crank stood still and waited. “Crank? You here?” The voice belonged to the librarian and it was coming from outside his office. Crank set the sphere down and opened the door to see the librarian donning a purple sweater vest.

“Hey Twilight.” He said as he cracked his neck. “How’d you get in my house?” The AI then appeared next to her.

“I let her in.” She smiled. Crank sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Crank face palmed and headed back towards his workstation with the scholar and the AI in tow. “Oh finally got the power sphere huh?”

“Just came today.”

“What’s a power sphere?” Twilight asked.

“Think of it as a small conduit for magical energy.” He said as he held up the sphere. “It takes the user’s power and amplifies or disperses it.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Completely.” He said as he walked back over towards the board and placed it inside the board. There was a low humming noise and it started to glow at his touch. “So why did you come over in the first place?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

“About?” He asked as he crossed his arms. Twilight gulped and eyes his right arm that was covered in the flash like material.

“I know it’s not any of my business, but what happened to your arm?” Crank sighed and the AI vanished from the room.

“There was an explosion at one of the facilities. We were testing a new piece of equipment. I miscalculated and well,” He said as the facade ripped away and showed the piece of engineering. “what you see is what you get.” Crank sighed.

The purple horned girl gulped. “Managed to get the I-beam that was pinning me to the floor off and I started walking towards the exit. Thankfully a rescue team managed to find me before I bled out.”

“Oh my Celestia.” She said as she looked at the arm. “And your eye?”

“Piece of debris from the explosion.” He said as he pointed to his right eye. “Couldn’t save the eye itself, but the optic nerve was intact.”

“Couldn’t you get a transplant?”

“Nope. The hospital didn’t have any in my blood type and they’d already used what blood they had to keep me from bleeding out.” He sighed.

“What about the eye color?”

“My right eye was always green, even before the incident.”

“How does that work?”

“Genetics.” He shrugged.

“Did it hurt? Getting the implants.” She asked with a gulp.

“More than anything you can imagine.” He said as he remembered the incredible pain. “Look Twilight, its been a long day and I have to finish this up.”

“Okay.” She said as she hung her head. “See ya around.” The scholar said as she exited the man’s workshop and left the house. The AI then reappeared next to the man crossing her arms under her chest.

“Sounds like she want’s to help.”

“Yeah, well I don’t want any help from her.” He said as he continued his work. The AI rolled her eyes and looked at the man who continued to work on the board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Saturday morning and Rainbow Dash was abruptly woken up by a hard knocking at the door. The rainbow speed demon stirred and grunted. The knocking continued. The girl opened her eyes and looked at her clock before frowning.

“It’s Saturday ya know!” She yelled as she put the pillow over her head. A few minuted later the knocking continued. Dash groaned and got up. She opened the door to find no one there. She made her way downstairs to see a man with short rainbow hair and light blue wings.

Beside him was a woman with dark brown hair and white wings. Her wine colored eyes were filled with worry. While the man’s golden eyes had anger in them. Dash looked at her parents and gulped. “Um, who died?”

“Ms. Grade point average. That’s who.” The man said as he narrowed his eyes. “We got a call from your history teacher last night.” Dash gulped in worry.

“Storm honey, calm down.” The woman said as she put her hand on her husband’s. The man let out a deep breath. “What your father is trying to say dear is that we’re concerned about your grades.” Dash rolled her eyes.

“It’s your senior year of high school and you haven’t even looked at any Colleges.” The man stated.

“I told you I’m gonna sign up for the Wonderbolts after I graduate.” Storm gritted his teeth and sighed.

“Rainbow, being a Wonderbolt is more about just being the fastest person with a pair of wings.” He sighed. “It requires a lot of discipline and studying.” Dash crossed her arms and grumbled. “You’d better get those grades up missy or you can forget all about that Summer Wonderbolt training.”

“What?” Dash yelled in surprise. “You can’t do that!”

“So long as you live under this roof you will abide by my rules.” He said in a firm tone.

“Mom!” Dash yelled as she looked at the woman.

“I’m with your father on this one Rainbow.” She said as she frowned. “You barely passed last year with a C- average. You need to take your school more seriously and I suggest that if need be get a tutor.” Dash groaned and left the table with a huff. The adults looked at one another and sighed as they saw a trail of rainbows and heard the front door being slammed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crank was walking with his board strapped to his back. He set it down on a bench and gave it one last scan before stepping on it. As his feet hit the board it glowed a light grey and three metal straps wrapped around his feet and ankles.

“D, run a final check.” He said as he put on a helmet that covered his entire head. The man then inserted the chip into the back of his scalp and shivered.

“Roger. Scan compete.” The AI said.

“Okay, lets start out with 10% power.” He said as he crouched and braced himself. The board roared to life and it shot him back in an upwards motion. He felt his chest hit the tree and groaned as he slid down it.

“Ha-ha!” The AI giggled.

“Oh bite me.” He said as his horn glowed and the clamps let go. He got to his feet and brought the board back to the staring position.

“Just keep your head down. There’s two of us in here now.” Crank nodded and took a deep breath before running his magic into the board. The man almost lost his balance as the board levitated up off the ground and stopped in mid air.

Across town at the library, Dash had just gotten done explaining what had happened between her and her parents to the indigo haired scholar. Dash sat across from the Unicorn who had a book in hand and a concerned look on her face.

“Then they said that they’d take away my Wonderbolt training if I didn’t pass!” She yelled. “Can you believe that?” Twilight bit her lip and sighed.

“Well, to be honest Dash.” Twilight paused as she tried to chose her words. “I kinda-sorta agree with them.”

“What?” Dash yelled as she got up in her face. “You’re supposed to be my friend Twilight!”

“I am! I’m just saying that you need to try harder in school.” Twilight said as the flier groaned. “Look, a lot of people have trouble in school. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help every now and-”

“I don’t need anyone’s help!” She yelled.

“Clearly you do.” Twilight frowned. Dash got up from her seat and made her way towards the door.

“I’m out of-”

“Heads up!” The two heard a familiar voice yell. Dash, with all her speed, couldn’t dodge the board using inventor in time and felt a hard object collide with her stomach. The force slammed her against the back book shelf which resulting in the entire unit to come down on top of them. Twilight gasped in horror as she quickly levitated the bookshelf off of them.

The door way was then occupied to show Rarity and AJ who seemed to both be out of breath.

“What in tarnation?” She asked as she looked around the messy room.

“What happened here?” Rarity asked as she walked in.

Twilight lifted the bookcase off her friends and the girl’s all blushed at what they saw. Some how in the tumble, the flyer wound up underneath the helmet wearing man. Crank’s body was in between Dash’s legs and his left hand had landed on her right boob. Resulting in an angry and embarrassed filled blush from the girl. Crank looked down and thanked the maker that they couldn’t see his blushing face through his helmet.

“S-sorry about that!” He yelled as he stood up and took off the helmet.

“Crank? What are you doing here and what the hell is that thing?” Twilight asked as she looked at the board.

“Hover board and I accidentally lost control of it.” He said as he cracked his neck. Dash got up and tried to hide her blush as she covered her chest. “Sorry about that Dash.” He said with a gulp.

“Accidents happen.” She said as she tried to hide her blush. Rarity smirked at the action.

“So what happened?” AJ asked as she crossed her arms. “One minute ah’m running my apple cart. Next I see you fly right into the library on some weird gizmo.”

“Just testing out a new invention.” He held up the board. “Still needs work.”

“Well, thanks to your experiment, you messed up my library.” Twilight said as she crossed her arms. Crank looked at the bookshelf and the hundreds of books that were on the floor.

“Sorry about that.” He said as he put the board aside and lifted the bookshelf back in place with one arm. He turned back around to see Dash, AJ and Rarity staring at him with their jaws hanging low. “What?”

“Partner, if ah know mah wood types and trust me, ah do.” The farmer said. “That there book shelf is 100% oak. Things gotta weigh at least 110 pounds. How in the hay did you lift that with just your right arm?” Crank froze as he tried to think of an excuse.

Shit! Not good! Not good! He thought. Say cool man. You got this. The man let out a sigh and scratched his chin.

“I sent a concentrated dose of magic to my right arm.” He lied. “doing that allows me to temporarily increase my strength.” Applejack glared at the man and raised an eyebrow.

“Eh. I’ll buy it.” Dash shrugged.

“Need a hand with picking these up?” Crank asked.

“Thanks.” Twilight smiled. The group started gathering books and putting them back in the correct order. Rarity grew a coy smile.

“Need something Rarity?” He asked as he looked at the seamstress.

“Mind if I ask something?”

“Shoot.”

“The night of our get together. Why did you choose the penalty rather than tell us about your first kiss?” Crank gritted his teeth at the question. “If you don’t want to answer then that’s fine.”

“There was nothing to tell.” His tone was flatter than a piece of two by four.

“Huh?” Dash asked.

“It..hasn’t happened yet.” His voice had a hint of shame to it.

“Really?” Dash said in surprise. “Why?”

“Most girls in Manehattan only care about one thing; money.” He said in a flat tone. “I dated a girl a few years ago and left halfway through dinner when I overheard her phone conversation saying that she was going to, and I’m quoting her on this, ‘bleed that idiot rich boy for all he’s worth.’” He snarled. “Needless to say, that left me a bit disenchanted with the whole romance idea.”

“Well, shucks that’s too bad partner.” AJ said.

“So is that why you turned down Rose?” Rarity asked.

“Rose?” Dash said in surprise.

“Yeah, they went to homecoming together.” Twilight said. Dash looked at the inventor with a surprised look on her face.

"Rose wanted to go with me so I let her. I thought it was a one time thing and she thought differently. Simple as that.” The man continued to stack the books on the shelf.

“Besides. I usually don’t let a lot of people know about my job. Else people will start kissing my ass for no reason.”

“We’re not like that.” Dash said.

“I know and I’m grateful for that.” The man smiled. “Refreshing to meet people that don’t let money define who they are. Shows good character.” The girls gave him a smile and continued to work. Within the hour the books were set back in their proper place.

“Thanks for the help guys.” Twilight chimed. “Would have taken me forever to put all that stuff back.”

“No problem. Was kinda my fault that happened in the first place.” Crank said as he grabbed his board.

“You free tomorrow?” Dash asked. “I wanna see what that thing can do.” The flyer said as she looked at the board.

“Sorry, but I’ve got work to do tomorrow.” Once again the farmer narrowed her eyes on the man. “See you all in school. Adios Skittles!” Dash’s face went red with anger and was about to tackle the man. Crank snapped his finger and he vanished in a flash of grey light.

“Gah! I hate that nickname!” Dash grumbled. “I’ll see you guys later.” She flapped her wings and flew out the door, causing some loose papers to fall on the floor. Rarity was quietly giggling to herself, while Applejack had a stern look on her face.

“What’s with that laugh missy?” AJ asked as she looked at the tailor.

“Oh nothing.” She smirked. “Why do you look so tense?”

“Something ain’t right about that guy. Ah don’t know what, but he’s hiding something.” She said as she folded her arms.

“That’s a bit judgmental.” Twilight said.

“Ah didn’t say that I didn’t like the guy. Just say’n that he’s hiding something.”

“We all have secrets Applejack.” Rarity stated. The girl then heard her digital watch go off. “Oh silly me, look at the time! I was supposed to meet Fluttershy for our spa visit! Goodbye all!” The girl charged out the door like hell was after her.

Hours later, Dash was in her room with a copy of the Wonderbolt’s monthly magazine in her hands and her music playing. The flyer felt her phone vibrate. She lifted the device to her ear and sighed.

“Need something Rarity?”

“Oh just checking in.” The raised an eyebrow at this. “I saw what happened between you and crank while Twilight was getting the bookshelf off you.” Dash’s face turned red at the memory.

“It was a total accident!”

“Oh I know that dear. However, your face when he called you ‘Skittles’ was priceless.” Dash blushed harder.

“I hate that nickname.”

“Well, I think it’s cute that he has a pet name for you.”

“Pet name?”

“Well, it’s obvious that you like him.”

“So what if I do? He’s a cool guy to hang out with.” Dash heard a slapping noise come from the other end of the phone.

“No, I mean you like, like him.”

“Me and Crank? Ha! Good one Rare’s.” She chuckled.

“Fine. Be stubborn about it. When you take the plunge don't hesitate to call me.” The seamstress hung up and dash retuned to her reading, attempting to get the thoughts out of her head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day was going slow for the apple farmer. She sat at her stand in the middle of town and sighed. She hadn’t had a single customer all day. Even though she had Applebloom to keep her company she sulked at he sales. The girl perked up when she saw the scholar approach her stand.

“Howdy Twi.” The girl had a plastic bag clasped tightly in her right hand.

“Hey Applejack. How goes the sales?” The farmer groaned.

“Not a single sale all day.” The woman said as she stood up and cracked her back.

“What’cha got in the bag Twilight?” Applebloom said as she looked at the bag.

“Just some more paper and other school supplies. I was running low.” AJ gave a nod. Her eyes then widened when she saw a familiar inventor walk past. “Something wrong?”

“Didn’t Crank say that he was working today?”

“Yeah, why?” The farmer then pointed towards the grey horned man as he entered the flower shop. “Maybe he’s taking a break.”

“Why’s he buying flowers?” She asked as she started to walk towards the flower shop. Twilight caught up to her, leaving Applebloom at the stand. As the man came out the two hid behind the corner of the building and watched.

Twilight noticed that he was carrying a bunch of roses. “Wonder who they’re for.”

“Why does it matter?” The scholar asked. The man stepped inside the telephone booth and dialed a number. The girls then saw him turn into light and get sucked into the receiver. “Whoa! How’d he do that?” Applejack scratched her chin and entered the flower shop to see Daisy at the counter.

“Hey AJ. Need something?” She smiled.

“Howdy Daisy.” The farmer tipped her hat. “Just wondering what Crank needed those flowers for.” The woman put a finger to her chin and thought.

“I honestly don’t know. I didn’t ask.” Applejack sighed and hung her head in defeat. “Although, since school started Rose, Blossom and I have seen him come in here every Sunday around noon time and buy the same thing.” AJ raised an eyebrow. “A dozen cut roses with the thorns still on.”

“And he’s never mentioned why?”

“Nope. Not really my business to ask.” The girl shrugged. Applejack thanked the flower saleswoman and left. She met back up with Twilight at the stand and told the scholar about what she just heard.

“The same kind of flowers every Sunday?”

“That’s what Daisy said.” Applejack bit her lip. “Something just ain’t right about that boy.” The two were then interrupted as Dash landed in front of them. “Howdy Dash.” The flyer had a shame filled look on her face. “Something wrong?”

“Hey Twi, are you busy this afternoon?” The flyer said in a shaky tone.

“Um,” Twilight looked at the farmer who shrugged. “no. Why?”

“I kinda,” Dash scratched her chin. “I think that I might need,” She took a breath and gathered her strength. “I was wondering if you could help me study for tomorrow’s test.” She said in defeat. Twilight smiled and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“I’d be happy to help. What’s the subject?”

“History.”

“My specialty. C’mon I was heading back to the library myself.” Dash reluctantly followed the librarian back towards her fortress of knowledge and groaned. Her brain was so going to hurt afterwards.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was noon on Monday and the inventor, along with the rest of the athletic team had been called out of gym for a mandatory meeting. Soarin ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he looked at the teammates.

“Okay guys we need to talk about something serious.” Soarin began.

“What’s wrong coach?” Caramel asked. “We’ve been winning every game since Homecoming.”

“It’s not that. I’m considering cutting Blueblood from the team.” The group all looked at each other with no surprise in their eyes. “I don’t want to make a rash decision on this and I want all of your input on this matter.” The group looked at the grey horned unicorn.

“Why are you all looking at me?” Crank asked as he looked at the players.

“You’re the brains of this outfit.” Thunderlane said. “No offense coach.”

“None taken.”

“Hey I just write the plays.” Crank said as he felt all eyes on him.

“That’s why we’re looking at you. You know the stats.” Soarin said. “The vote has to be a majority ruling.”

“Why isn’t Blueblood here anyway?” Caramel asked. Soarin pulled out a note.

“Apparently he’s in Canterlot for ‘royal Canterlot business.’” The players all knew what this meant. The Prince was out at an auction or some other useless thing like that. Despite being royalty, Celestia and Luna wisely kept him out of any and all political affairs. Crank let out a sigh and pulled out his clip board.

“Well, from what I’ve seen I’d say that Blueblood is not and probably will never become a team player.” Crank said as he put on his glasses and looked at the sheets. “Shows little to no interest in playing or winning for that matter. Constantly complains about getting sweaty or dirty.”

“We almost lost the last game because of his crappy fumble!” Thunderlane said.

“How’d he get to be quarterback anyway?” Crank asked.

“Well, the Principal asked me to put him on the team and well-”

“You’re scared of Luna aren’t you?” Crank said as he looked at Soarin.

“You’re not?”

“Only when she gets angry.” Crank had been on the other end of her Royal Canterlot voice once and once was enough. “However, she cares about this school and I’m sure that she’s noticed her nephew’s behavior.” He said with a sigh. “From a calculated standpoint, I suggest that he should at least be removed from his position of Quarterback.”

“We can’t use him on defense or offense.” Caramel said.

“Even Snowflake is faster than him. No offense big guy.” Thunder said as he looked at the hulking Pegasus. The large man gave a stern nod.

“Okay so lets put it to a vote.” Soarin said. “All those in favor of keeping Blueblood on the team?” Only the three goons that Blueblood constantly hid behind raised their hands. “All those in kicking him off?” Every other person raised their hand. “All right, meeting adjourned.” Soarin said with a sigh.

The team members only had five minutes until the bell rang and started talking guy stuff. Everything from video games to sports. The things that define manliness. Thunderlane took a deep breath before saying this.

“Gents, I bring news from the front. A particular front in fact.” He said as the group huddled together. “Word on the street, from a very reliable source is that Soarin is hung like Sea Biscuit.” The men exchanged looks.

“You mean the horse?” Caramel asked.

“No, the bucking race car genius.” Thunderlane said in a sarcastic tone.

“Where ya getting this shit?” Crank asked.

“From Roid Rage.”

“You mean Snow Flake’s older brother?” Caramel asked.

“Yes, now Roid is packing a verified ten inch wang. I was on the football team with him last year and I caught a glance.” The man said with a shiver. “Anyway, one night I saw him get drunk at the year end party and he dropped it in the punch bowl. I tell you that it was like a visit to sea serpent den.” The men all gagged.

“Oh god I drank out of that!” Caramel yelled.

“Relax, you had already gone home when he did that.” Caramel calmed down. “Now Roid claims that Soarin’s schlong makes his look like one of those small hotdogs you roll up in dough.” The group gulped.

“Wait is like a length thing or a girth. Not that I want a mental picture.” Caramel said with a shiver.

“Last year Roid claimed to have seen it while he was getting out of the shower and all he could do was refrain from coiling it up and put it where the janitors keep the emergency fire hoses.” The group chuckled. The boys quickly shut their mouths as the blue winged athlete came walking back in with a stack of papers.

“Oh right before I forget.” The man said as he put the stack of papers on his desk. “This the info for the barbecue trip in a few weeks. Hope you’re all still coming.”

“Yup.” The group said at once.

“Good, cause all the information is right here.” He said as he pointed to the papers. “If you guys like barbecues then you’re gonna love this place. Nothing, but huge chunks of delicious, mouthwatering, succulent meat.” The man said with a smile.

The boys’ eyes were the size of pin tips. “They’re all cooked to sweet perfection. Take one bite and you’ll see how juicy they are.” Crank was certain that he heard someone threw up in their mouth. “I also got us our own room, so we can really cut loose and have a ball.” He said before leaving.

The team watched the Pegasus leaved and looked at one another in shock.

“Anyone else hear a word he said?” Crank asked. “Cause all I heard was cock, cock, blah-blah. Cockity, cock, cock.” He shivered.

“Yeah, except when he said the words delicious, mouthwatering, succulent meat.” Thunder repeated with a groan. “At which point all I heard was myself screaming.” The other players all nodded.

“Well, now we gotta give him a nickname.” Caramel stated. “How about Super Hung Soarin.”

“No way.” Crank objected.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s too much of a mouth...ful.” Crank face palmed with his right hand and groaned as the bell rang. Crank made his way towards his math class. He sat down next to Twilight and groaned.

“You okay?”

“Yup.” He gulped.

“You sure? You look kinda pale.”

“Trust me Twi. You don’t want to know.” He said as the class started. Afterwards the two sat down at the lunch table.

“Hey Crank where’s you food?” Pinkie asked.

“Not hungry.”

“You sure? Its Hotdog monday.” Crank felt nauseous and shook his head. Dash sat down next to him and grumbled.

“You okay Dash?” Crank asked.

“No, I’m totally gonna bomb that test today.” She sighed.

“I told you-”

“I studied. Twilight is my witness.” Crank turned his head towards the scholar.

“Its true. We started at noon and ended at five.” Twilight said.

“There’s no way I’m going to remember all that stuff.” She hung her head in defeat. “If I fail this test then my dad said that he’s going to take away my Xbox.” The woman groaned and rested her head on her hands. Crank bit his lip and sighed.

“What if I have a way to make sure you pass?” The group looked at him in shock. “The plan is risky, but it should work.”

“I’ll do it!”

“You don’t even know what it is.”

“I don’t care! I’m so close to beating Dead Rising 3!”

“Fine, but after this you promise that you’ll get a real tutor.” He said as he crossed his arms.

“Hey!” Twilight said.

“I mean one you see on a regular basis. Deal?” He asked as he stuck his hand out. Dash eagerly shook it.

“Do ya Pinkie Promise?” Pinkie interjected.

“Yeah, yeah.” Dash said as she went through the motions.

“Good, now hold still.” Crank put his hands on either side of Dash’s head and brought her in close. Dash’s face turned red a tomato as their faces grew closer and Crank’s horn started to glow.

“What are you-” She was cut off as the Unicorn head butted her with all his strength. dash almost fell off her chair as she grabbed her head in pain.

“God damn that hurt.” Crank said as he felt the ed mark on his head forming.

“Now what in the hay did you do that for?” AJ asked as she passed the flyer her cold water bottle.

“Information transfer.” The man groaned. “I transferred any information I know about today’s test into Dash’s head.”

“How did you do that?” Twilight asked.

“Information in the human mind is compiled in electrical impulses. Where you live, your bank account, number, dreams even. It’s all tied into those electrical impulses. I just copied those impulses and put them in Dash’s head.”

“What?” Applejack asked. The man face palmed.

“Okay, think of the information like a word document on a computer. I copied the document and pasted it in Dash’s brain.”

“So why did you head butt me?” She asked as she frowned.

“Normally all I’d have to do is make physical contact, but due to your stubborn personality and thick headedness I thought it might need a little extra force.” Dash grumbled and slapped him upside the head. The rest of lunch went by quickly and luckily Crank managed to eat what he and Pinkie made in cooking class. Shop class was average.

Rarity toned down on the whining. Much to everyones happiness. Crank headed to his last class and sat next to Dash who had a sour look on her face. “How’s your head?”

“Still hurts ass hole.” Dash felt a wave of panic over take her as the teacher entered with a stack of papers.

“Okay students. I hope you all studied.” He said as he started handing the papers out. Crank began his and sat quietly. Occasionally he’d see Dash scribbling something down or biting her nails in frustration. Crank finished halfway through the class and handed his paper in. Dash used the full time and did the same. When the bell rang Dash stayed behind.

“Um, Mr. Quill. Could you possibly grade my test now?” The teacher raised an eyebrow and pulled out her test and a red pen. His un wavering eyes danced across the page and he scribbled things down on it.

“Did you study for this test?” He asked as he looked at the worried girl.

“Yeah, a bit.” She gulped. The man handed her the paper and her jaw dropped. In bright red letting read A-.

“Keep up the good work and you’ll pass my class.” He said as he stood up and walked out of the room. Dash smiled to herself and walked out of the room to see the inventor leaning against a locker.

“Told you that it would help.” He said as the two stared walking down the hallway. The girl immediately wrapped him in a tight hug and smiled.

“Thanks!” She said as she broke the hug. “You totally bailed me out.”

“It’s fine. Just be sure to keep your end of the bargain.”

“Relax, I know what happens when you break a pinky promise.” She shivered.

“Good, I’ll see you later.” He said as he teleported away. Dash zoomed back towards her home and went up to her room. The flyer jumped into her bead and let sleep take her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dash groaned and opened her eye to see the interior of a dark room. Wires were hanging from the ceiling and smoke filled the air.

“What the hell?” She groaned. The woman tried to move but felt herself being pinned by a large piece of metal. She looked to her right and saw her hand flexing. Dash turned her head the opposite way and saw that her right arm was missing. Her mind lurched and did the only thing she could do. She screamed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rainbow woke up in a cold sweat and looked around to see her room. The girl panted and looked at her right arm and sighed in relief.

“Rainbow?” A familiar voice said from the other side of the door.

“Yeah?”

“Something wrong?” She asked as she opened the door.

“Nah, just s crazy dream.” She said as she rubbed her eyes.

“Well, okay. Your father is working late tonight so we’ll be eating a bit later than usual.”

“Okay.” Dash said as her mother closed the door and girl put her head back on the pillow, trying to return to her sleep.

Author's Note

For those of you that got the Rescue Me reference, You are awesome!

Chapter 8: Cogs of Deception

Chapter 8

Cogs and Deception

The voices were almost inaudible. Crank’s eyes opened to see a white ceiling and rose from his hospital bed. It had been a month since the accident. Thankfully Vermillion had managed to use his connections to keep the media hounds at bay. The official report said that there was an explosion at one of the facilities. Almost everyone got out without injury. Well, almost everyone.

Crank and the one death in the explosion were both the exception. The man looked down at his left hand and lowered his head in shame. He didn’t even show up to the funeral. He didn’t have the guts too and the fact that he was in a coma. His best friend, Ratchet had started a rumor that Crank has some odd disease that left his immune system low and was getting some kind of experimental drug treatment. Ratchet came to visit him every day and delivered his school work.

Most kids hated doing their work when they needed to. Crank welcomed it. It allowed him to keep his mind off...other things. Since the accident, BlackHawk had started researching advancements in prosthetic limbs and implants. Crank let the other scientists that made it out do the math. Since he was only sixteen, his body had a good chance of adapting to the implants. The surgery itself was simple, but the doctors would have to further augment his body to handle the strain of the new arm and eye.

First step was training his body to get ready for the surgery. No easy feat. Crank’s frame was always lanky with little to no muscle or fat. Within the next six months, the Unicorn had gained sixty pounds of raw muscle. He went from a 120lb stick to a 180lb man that could be on the front of one of those fancy men’s clothing magazines. You know the ones that mostly show the models’ upper body that was mostly exposed. Most guys would kill for that, course most of their motivation was to get laid.

The augments themselves were different surgeries to help reinforce his bone structure. Needles six inches long filled with liquified magic to increase bone density and muscle mass. The doctors were more than impressed with his resilience and his body adapting to the injections and augmentations. This was to prepare him for his new arm and eye.

The next part was the difficult bit. The arm and shoulder implant. The doctors had to literally ‘rewire’ his shoulder so that the his body would accept the augment. Crank was lying down on the hospital bed with at least ten doctors with surgical machines around him. He thanks that medical protocols prohibited family members from working on other family. Else their emotions would get in the way of their job. A doctor with green hospital scrubs and a bandanna covering his hair leaned over and looked into Crank’s left eye.

“Sir, we’re about to begin.” The doctor said as he took out the anesthetic mask. Crank put up his left hand.

“Leave it.” The doctors looked at one another in confusion.

“It will hurt and-”

“Good.” The doctor looked the patient in the eye and saw that there would be no reasoning with him.

“Last chance.”

“I’ve been through worse.” Crank said as he heard the machines turning on. The doctor gave him a mouth guard to avoid him from biting his tongue. The doctors all silently prayed to the creator and started their work.

Six hours, forty-seven minutes and six seconds. The longest and most painful experience of the young Unicorn’s life. He spent a week in recuperation and got use to his new limb. The drugs that were injected into him eventually settled into his muscles and bones.

The eye was next. The eye itself was a simple electronic sensor that took in everything it saw and digitized it into computer code. The doctors opened up the back of his skull and had to put in the processing chip that would decipher the code and gave his brain a mental picture. It took a month to get use to. Crank felt the bandages come off his face and opened his right eye to see the doctor and his parents smiling at him. The doctor handed him a mirror.

Crank looked at his reflection and saw a small scar over his right eye lid. His iris was like that of his old eye, electric green.

“The scarring should heal in time. How does it feel?” Crank rolled it around and blinked a few times.

“I’ll get use to it.” He said as he scratched his head. Crank then felt a small tear coming from his left eye. The doctor perked up.

“That’s odd.” He said as he pulled out his chart and started to flip through papers that had diagnostic statistics on it. “I thought that the tear duct in your right eye wasn’t damaged and that it would still-”

“It’s okay.” Crank set the mirror down. “I’m pretty sure that I’ve used up half my tears already.” Nova went beside her son and wrapped him in a teary hug.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The grey horned man snapped back to reality as he felt a hand lightly hit his right cheek. He shook his head and remembered that He was in Sugar Cube Corner with the six girls.

“Yo, Equestria to Crank.” The man shook his head and looked to see Pinkie and the other girls glaring at him.

“What?”

“You were just staring at the wall partner.” AJ said as she sipped her drink.

“Sorry, spaced out for a second.” He said as he sipped his drink. The man heard a soft snore coming from his right. He looked over to see Dash sleeping with her head resting on her arms. Crank extended his right pointer finger and lightly touched the flyer’s arm. The man then sent a small jolt of electricity into her arm. Dash gave a slight squeal and almost fell out of her seat while her friends chuckled.

“Morning sunshine.” He chuckled as the group saw that Dash’s rainbow hair was standing on end. Dash frowned and back hand slapped him across the face. “Ow!”

“If you weren’t acting like a bitch then I wouldn’t have to smack you like one.” She said as she crossed her arms. Crank rubbed his cheek and groaned. Rarity let out a small giggle at the reaction. The man heard the Old spice Jingle and lifted his phone to his ear.

“Yeah mom?” Dash smirked and went towards him.

“Pass the weed dog!” She said in a deep tone. Crank put his right hand over her mouth and rolled his eyes.

“Sorry about that, Rainbow is being an idiot.” Dash frowned and muffled something. “So what’s up?” The man gave a nod and groaned. “Oh for the love of Pete, again?” The girls looked at one another in confusion. “I’ll be right down.” He said as he hung up.

“Mph!” Crank then let go of the girls mouth and realized that she had licked his hand.

“Nice Dash, real nice.” He said as he wiped her slobber on his pant leg. The man got up and cracked his back. “Sorry ladies, but business beckons.”

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“Some idiot intern at the hospital busted the MRI machine. I need to go fix it. Again.” He groaned. “Third time in two months.” Crank sighed. Dash and Twilight stood up and followed the man.

“Mind if we tag along? It’d be interesting to see how an MRI works.” Twilight chimed.

“Sure, no problem.” He said as the three ventured out of the bakery. “Why are you coming Dash? Doesn’t seem your style.”

“I need something to take my mind off looking for a tutor.” She groaned.

“How’s that going by the way?” The flyer grunted and grabbed her hair in frustration.

“Bucking impossible! I’ve been to every tutor between here and Cloudsdale and they’ve all sucked!”

“What’s the issue?”

“They were all a bunch of eggheads!” The flyer face palmed. “I couldn’t even understand what they were saying half the time.” The man shrugged and the trio continued to walk down the road. “Ugh, I’m so tired.”

“Yeah you look exhausted.” Crank commented.

“I’ve been having really weird dreams lately.”

“Probably been playing too many video games.” Twilight said with a sigh.

“No, these have nothing to do with the games I play.”

“Well, what happens in them?”

“Kinda hard to describe.” Dash scratched the back of her head and thought. “In one of them I’m in a hospital bed, another I’m in some sort of factory or something like that.”

“Anything else? Anything that makes it stand out?” Dash bit her lip and thought hard.

“Oh yeah, for some reason I was missing my right arm.” Crank froze on the spot and felt Twilight glaring at him.

“I think I know what’s wrong.” Crank gulped.

“You do?” Both girls said in surprise.

“Yeah, you remember that info transfer I gave you two weeks ago?” Dash nodded. “It must have scrambled your brain a bit. That’s why you’ve been having those weird dreams.”

“You scrambled my brain!” Dash yelled.

“Relax. It’ll pass in time.” He said as the group walked into the hospital. “Just let me know if you start hallucinating.”

“Hallucinating?” Dash asked.

“Hallucinating is a seemingly real perception to something not actually present.” Twilight said. Dash looked at her with a confused look on her face.

“It’s when you start seeing weird stuff that’s not there while you’re awake. Like people’s faces melting off, buildings flying around. Shit like that.”

“Oh, no nothing like that.” The woman then wandered off to the restroom leaving the two Unicorns alone. Crank gulped and looked at Twilight who crossed her arms and glared at the man.

“Explain. Now.” She stated.

“Okay so it looks like I may have transferred a bit more than information on history into Dash’s head.”

“Like memories?”

“Yeah, looks like they were from.” He said as he discretely pointed to his right arm.

“So does she know?”

“No, knowing Dash, she would have said something or freaked out when she saw me.”

“I don’t think that Rainbow would-” The woman stopped talking as Dash returned to them and the group walked up to the front desk to see Nurse Red Heart.

“Hey Red Heart.” The nurse gave Crank a warm smile. “My mom said that you’ve been having issues with the MRI.”

“Yeah, right this way.” The nurse got up and lead the trio towards the examination rooms. The grey horned Unicorn saw his mother and gave her a smile.

“Crank so nice to see you dear.” The brown haired surgeon wrapped him in a tight hug. Dash and Twilight were snickering.

“Mom!” He said as he blushed.

“Oh come now dear, I’m your mother.” She said as she smiled.

“So who did what?”

“One of the interns screwed up the controls.” Crank sighed and pulled out his screwdriver. He walked over to the machine and took off one of the panels. The surgeon then noticed the cyan flyer. “Rainbow Dash, here for your monthly collision treatment?” Dash frowned as Twilight giggled.

“No, just need a distraction.”

“From what?”

“I’ve been looking for a tutor, but they’ve all been a bunch of eggheads.” She pouted. “They all get too technical and its frustrating.” She said as she gripped her hair. Nova crossed her arms and thought for a moment.

“Well, if you really want help passing then you could ask Crank to tutor you.”

“Crank?” Twilight asked. “Has he tutored anyone before?”

“Oh yes, he helped his father learn Draconian in time for an important business arrangement.” The two girls looked at one another in shock. Twilight bit her lip as she thought of something.

“Um Dr. Nova,” The Unicorn turned towards the scholar. “I know it’s not any of my business, but what exactly does Crank do for his dad?”

“He tests different equipment for the company and makes adjustments.” She said with a smile.

“Does he ever go to Manehattan for business?”

“Manehattan? Creator no.” She said in confusion. “That is the last place my son would ever want to be.”

“Why?” Dash asked. Nova bit her lip and sighed.

“Sorry Rainbow, but its a personal matter. All I can tell you is that it was Crank’s idea to move out here away from the big city.” The two girls looked at one another in surprise. “Mind if I ask why you’re asking this?”

“A few months ago, Crank was hanging out with us at the library and he teleported from Manehattan.” Dash said.

“Teleported?” Nova asked.

“He came through the phone line and said that he just got back from ‘business’ in Manhattan.” Twilight said. Nova scratched her chin and thought for a moment. Twilight saw that her eyes sharpened like a scalpel.

“He must have been visiting his best friend that lives there.” She said with a smile.

“There.” Crank said as he walked back out of the room and cracked his neck. “Tell the rookies that if they break it again then I’ll use them for spare parts.” The cyan flyer looked at the surgeon who nodded.

“Hey Crank, do you think that you could help me with studying?” Dash asked in a shaky tone. The Unicorn looked at the girl in surprise and scratched his head.

“Uh, sure. When?”

“Does Monday after school sound good?”

“Sure, no problem. Should I go to you or you come to me?” Dash felt a small blush appear on her face.

“Um, your place I guess. Since ya know, you can’t fly.”

“Good point.” He said as he cracked his back. “See ya then.” The man then vanished in a flash of grey light. The two younger girls thanked the doctor and ventured back out into the town. Nova waited until both of them left before she frowned and let out a long sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, Crank was woking in his shop on the tiny sphere that powered the board. The man heard a knock on his door and the man set down his screw driver. He opened the door to see his mother standing with her arms crossed and a stern look in her eyes.

“Hey mom, what’s up?” He asked as she walked inside his shop and looked at her son.

“I know that you’ve been going there Crank.”

“Um, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know that you went to Manehattan.” Crank let out a sigh and crossed his arms. “Crank, we talked about this. It wasn’t your fault.”

“That’s debatable.”

“No, it was a freak accident.” She said in a firm tone. Crank remained silent as his mother walked towards the door. “Just remember that you weren’t the only one to lose something that day.” Crank felt his insides become a knot and made his way up to his room. He spent the next few hours dicking around in Dead Rising 3.

He joined Dash’s game and the two continued to massacre their way through the zombie infested campaign.

“So what are your plan’s after high school?” She asked over the mic.

“Probably get a real job for my dad’s company.” He said as he sipped his iced tea.

“Why?”

“Because that’s what I want to do and I’ve been preparing for it for a long time.” He shrugged.

“Running a company? Boring.”

“A company that has the best technology out there? Not boring. Besides my dad has done a good job keeping Mire at bay.”

“Who?”

“The vice Chairman of the company. Been after my dad’s job for years. All he cares about is money.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Normally yes, but he doesn’t care how he gets it. He want’s to turn Blackhawk into strictly a weapons company. Where my dad wants to keep it as it is.”

“So what’s the issue?”

“Hundreds of thousands of hospital rely on us for our medical equipment, antibiotics and medicines. Mire would shut all that stuff down for weapons.”

“Oh, that sucks.” The two continued the campaign. “Holy crap!” Dash yelled over the mic. “She got a robot arm?”

“Looks like it.”

“That would be so awesome!” Crank turned his character and looked at her in shock. “I mean think of all the cool shit you could do. You could probably lift a ton!”

“Dash she had to cut off her fucking arm! She didn’t want to do it, she didn’t have any choice!” He yelled over the mic.

“Whatever, still looks badass and totally awesome. I’d kill to have something like-” Was all her character got out before Crank started hacking away at her with his katana blade. “Hey quit it! Team killing fucktard!” Once Dash lay dead at his feet Crank called it a night and logged off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day came and went fairy quickly. Unfortunately for Fluttershy they started doing dissections in bilology and Fluttershy was up in arms for protesting. Luckily they had the option of a real or virtual dissection. They both opted for the virtual, but it didn’t stop the animal lover from being cross about it.

“Oh I’m so frustrated I could just scream.” The girl took a big breath and let out a high pitched, but low volumed yell. “Too loud?”

“Relax Shy, I get it you have very strong views on animal testing and experimentation.” He said as he looked at the screen. “But it’s what they’re bred for. If they were taken from the wild then I’d have a problem, but its what they were born for.” That last comment earned him a light slap to the face.

“How can you say that? They’re living creatures! How would you feel if you were experimented on like that?” Crank let out a sigh and gritted his teeth.

“Forget it. I really don’t have the patience to try to explain this.” He groaned. The man finished up the simulation and the class ended. Crank made his way towards History class and took a seat next to Rainbow who quickly slugged him in the arm.

“Jerk!”

“Nice to see you too Dashie.”

“Why did you go all texas chainsaw massacre on me last night?” The man gave a weak shrug. Dash pouted and faced forwards. The class ended with the teacher announcing another exam. The two got up and made their way out of the school and into the small town.

“You!” Crank and dash looked up to see an angry Blueblood glaring at him with daggers in his eyes.

“What do you want Blueblood? I’m not in the mood.” He groaned.

“You got me kicked off the team!”

“No, you got yourself kicked off.” Crank sighed. “You barely did anything useful and-” He was cut off as Blueblood landed a firm fist into the man’s face. Crank staggered back and cracked his neck. “You wanna do this Blueblood?” He asked in a challenging tone. The young Prince noticed that a crowd was starting to form. Blueblood grinned. He loved the attention.

Crank made the bring it on gesture and Blueblood lunged. Crank easily dodged the blow and slammed his right fist into the Prince’s face. Blueblood’s face exploded in pain as he felt his nose broke and was on the ground crying and bleeding in pain. The man steadied himself against a light pole and cursed wildly at the man.

Crank’s horn and left hand flared as the pole coiled around the Prince and imprisoned him in a tight bind. “I think I’ll leave you here for a few minutes to cool off.” The crowd chuckled and Dash was on the ground in a fit of laughter. Blueblood grunted as he tried to break the metal restraints. Crank walked past him and continued down the road. As she passed, Dash stuck her tongue out at the Prince. The crowd started to disperse and two hooded people started to follow the inventor.

Crank felt a chill run up his spine and looked at his phone’s mirror like screen. He saw the two stalkers from the reflection and sighed. “Hey Dash, go on ahead. I gotta get something real quick.”

“Um, okay. See you then.” She said as she took flight and zoomed towards the man’s home. Crank quickly ducked behind a building once she was out of sight. The two hooded people hurried after the man and rounded the corner. The place was empty and the two started to look around.

“Crap where’d he go?” One of them asked.

“Over here.” The two looked behind them to see a pair of hands appear out of nowhere and grab their heads. The two felt an electrical surge corse through their heads. The two then felt the light face and collapsed. “I just can’t get a break today.” He said as he levitated both of the unconscious people into the nearby dumpster.

“What in the name of Celestia?” Crank winced as he turned around to see Twilight with a shocked look on her face. “What did you just do?” She asked.

“Don’t panic.” He said with a groan.

“What do you mean don’t panic? I just saw you shock two people!” She almost yelled. Crank groaned and grabbed her hand and the two teleported away. Twilight found herself inside the man’s house and glared at Crank.

“Before you bite my head off, those two guys I shocked were snatchers.”

“What?”

“Look, my dad is a very powerful man in the business world. A lot of other businesses that deal under the table don’t like him and will do anything to get leverage on him.”

“You mean that those guys were gonna-”

“Kidnap me? Hold me for ransom? Probably.” He shrugged. Twilight gasped in surprise. “Relax Twi, I’ve been dealing with them since I was ten and they can’t get anywhere near me.”

“No way!” Both Unicorns froze as they saw the cyan flyer standing in the kitchen with her jaw hanging low.

“Crap.” He groaned. “Dash, Twi. I’d like you guys to keep a lid on this. It’ll just cause a panic and my folks will overreact.” Crank sighed. Both girls looked at one another and gave a nod. “Thank you. Now if you don’t mind Dash and I have to study.” He said with a sigh.

Twilight sighed and walked out of the man’s home. Crank lead Dash over to the couch and the two sat down as he opened up the text book. “Now let’s talk ancient Griffonia.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two hooded men stood outside a run down office in an abandoned bar in the city of Canterlot. One of them gave a soft knock and gulped.

“Enter.” A booming voice said. The two hooded men entered and saw a taller man with a dark hood over his face. “Since you came back empty handed, I’m figuring you failed.”

“Yes, sir.” One of them said with a gulp. “He got the jump on us and-”

“Imbeciles!” He yelled. “I give you ONE job! Bring the twerp here and you can’t even do that!”

“He got the jump on us sir. It won’t happen again.” The other man said with a gulp.

“Good, because this is your last chance before I take it up with your superiors and we all know how much he hates failure.” The two partners gulped and quickly made their way out of the room. The taller man cracked his back and took off the cloak to reveal his jet black hair and black wings. “And they say that good help is hard to find.” He chuckled.

Chapter 9: The Photo

Chapter 9

The Photo

It was Hearths Warming’s Vacation and most of the students were busy doing things with their families. Crank heard his phone ringing and opened his eyes. He looked at the clock and saw that it was two in the afternoon.

Last time I pull an all nighter. The man thought as he yawned. He rolled over to see Rarity laying next to him with nothing but the sheet covering her form.

“Morning lover.” She giggled. Crank rolled his eyes and jabbed his fist at the girl. His hand went straight through her and her image started to flicker. “Awe, I thought I had you this time.” The woman’s form vanished and the AI appeared in the desk.

“Very funny D.” He said as he cracked his back. He heard his phone ring and looked at the text and saw that it was from Rarity.

Could you be a dear and meet me at my boutique?

On my way.

Crank rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed. He grabbed his coat and teleported into the center of town. He walked up to the shop and dusted his shoes off from the snow. There was only about six inches on the ground, but it was enough for the plows to start going. He made his way inside the shop and rubbed his hands together.

“Coming~” A familiar voice chimed. Rarity came out wearing a nice white blouse and a purple skirt that ended at her knees. “Ah hello Crank.” She smiled.

“Afternoon.” He said with a yawn.

“Sorry about the urgency, but I need your help.” She said as she grabbed her coat and headed out the door. “I don’t know about you, but I could go for some coffee.”

“Right behind you.” He said as he held the door open for the girl. The two then walked down the street to Sugar Cube Corner. They were greeted by Pinkie who sat them down in a booth. “So what’s up?” He asked as Pinkie poured them each a cup of coffee.

“You know that spinning thing in shop class?” Crank bit his lip as he tried to narrow the search.

“You mean the lathe?”

“Yes, I know that Copper is going to fail me if I do poorly on it.” Crank raised an eyebrow as he looked at the girl who was pouting.

“I’ll help you. I think I have one put away in my shop.” He said with a sigh. Rarity smiled at the words.

“Oh thank you dear.” She chimed. “So I’ve noticed that you and Rainbow have been spending a lot of time together.” The seamstress said with a sly grin.

“Yeah, I’m her tutor so that’s expected.” He said a he sipped his coffee.

“Are you sure thats the only reason you spend so much time together?” She asked as she waggled her eyebrows. Crank sat back and thought of the pat few months that he had been tutoring the rainbow haired beaut- Girl! He had to admit that Dash was good looking and she looked adorable when she got flustered. He felt his cheeks turn a rose color, but blamed it on the beverage.

“Yup, she needs help so I’m helping out a friend.” He said as he sipped his drink. Rarity face palmed and let out a sigh.

“Honestly the two of you would make such a cute couple!” She whined.

“Whatever you say Rarity. Whatever you say.” He said as he pulled out his wallet and paid for his drink. As he putting it back in his pocket, something fell out of the wallet. Rarity only saw it for a moment and saw that it looked like a torn photo. The man quickly grabbed it and put it back in his pocket. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go teach Dash about history.”

“What about the lathe thing?”

“You free tomorrow?” The fashionista nodded. “Cool, meet me at my place around noon.” The man then departed and felt his phone vibrating. Speak of the devil. He thought as he lifted the phone to his ear. “Yeah Dash?”

“Hey I can’t meet you at the library today.”

“Why?”

“My parents grounded me.” Her tone dropped and the man heard an audible grunt of frustration over the phone.

“For what?”

“I may have accidentally had one of my stink bombs I was saving for Pinkie go off in their room.” Crank knew that Dash and Pinkie had this on going prank war between them since Nightmare Night. Sometimes he and the other girls were caught in the crossfire. He was still getting all that goo out of his green hoodie.

“Fine so I’ll come to you.”

“Um, how? You don’t have wings.”

“I have a hover board.”

“Oh...right. Let me just clean up first.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up his phone and teleported back to his home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dash was frantically cramming all of her crap that was spread out on her floor into the nearest closet.

Oh jeez, he’s coming here! She thought with a bead of sweat forming on her head. Wait, why do I care?

Because he’s cute.

He’s an egghead!

A cute egghead. Dash frowned as she blushed. Hard. Sure she admitted that Crank was smart and funny. He just had this certain air about him that didn’t feel right. Like he was hiding something. That fact only added to his hot-

“Gah! He’s my tutor damn it!” She said as she cleaned up the last of her things and shoved them inside the closet. She heard the doorbell ring and quickly made her way down the stairs. When she reached the midway point she panic’d when she saw her mother.

The older woman opened the door to her home to see a tall Unicorn man with short brown hair, a grey horn and wearing a P-coat.

“Can I help you?” She asked as her eyes scanned the man from head to toe.

“Yes, this is Rainbow’s place right?”

“Yes, but she can’t go hang out. She’s grounded.” She stated as Dash ran up behind her. Crank let out a chuckle.

“Mom, this is Crank. He’s the tutor I’ve been seeing for the past few months.” The older flyer took a moment to process the information. She couldn’t believe that the tutor that her daughter was seeing was one so young. Her mind clicked when she repeated the name to herself.

“Oh, so you’re the young man my daughter always talks about.” Crank looked at Dash in surprise who had a bright blush on her face.

“Mom!” The older woman then extended her hand.

“My name is Sunny Gale.” Crank gave it a shake and smiled.

“Crank Shaft.” He said with a smile. Gale let the man inside and he took off his jacket.

“Um, how did you get up here?” Gale asked.

“A friend dropped me off.” He said as he looked at Dash who nodded to play along.

“I’m not gonna have to worry about you falling through the floor am I?” Dash asked as she crossed her arms.

“Nope.” He said as he pulled out a vial of small red pills. “Cloud walking pill. Good for twenty-four hours.” He said as he made the vial vanish. Dash shrugged and lead the man up to her room.

“Have fun you two~” Gale chimed in a sweet tone. Dash blushed and face palmed.

“Sorry about that. My mom is a bit weird.”

“Believe me I know the feeling.” He said as he walked into her room. His jaw dropped. Wonderbolt posters nearly covered every inch of the wall space. The flyer’s bed was literally a cloud. A TV and Xbox One sat on a tale against the far wall. “Someone’s a Wonderbolt fan.”

“Har-har.” Dash said as she stuck her tongue out.

“Right lets get to business.” He said as he summoned a book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Gale was walking by her daughters room and she put her ear to the door.

“Wow, they look really soft.” She heard the man’s voice say.

“Don’t be a wuss. Give em a squeeze, they feel even better.” Gale’s jaw dropped and gulped.

“No kidding. They’re really comfortable.”

“Even better when you sleep on them.” Gale opened the door and looked inside. She saw the man sitting on Dash’s bed. Both of them were fully clothed and Crank had one of her cloud pillows in his hands. “Need something mom?” Dash asked.

“N-no, I just thought...um...never mind.” She gulped and closed the door behind her. Crank looked at Dash who just gave a confused shrug.

“What was that about?” Crank asked as he set the pillow down.

“Like I said, my mom is weird.” She said as she sighed. The flyer reached over to her desk and pulled out a pair of rectangular glasses. The plastic was unsurprisingly colored in a rainbow finish.

“You wear glasses?” Crank said as he looked at the girl.

“Tell anyone and I’ll break you.” She said as she frowned and put her hair in a ponytail. Crank felt his face flare up as he looked at the rainbow haired flyer.

“Whatever, lets just get back to work.” He said as he turned his attention back to the book.

“Ugh! I still don’t get this stuff.” She groaned as she laid on her back.

“Just think of it like Star Wars when the Rebellion was taking on the Death Star.” He sighed.

“Um, I’ve never seen Star Wars.” Crank froze and looked at the flyer.

“What?” He asked in confusion.

“I’ve never seen any of those movies.”

“Okay, I’m hearing words, but I can’t put them together.” Dash frowned.

“I’ve never seen Star Wars!” She yelled into his ear. Crank closed the book and took off his glasses. He looked at the flyer and sighed.

“Seriously? You’ve never seen the original Star Wars? That’s like saying, you’ve never had apple pie!” He leaned in close and raised an eyebrow. “You have had apple pie right?”

“Of course I have. AJ is like my best friend. Besides Star Wars is for nerds.” She pouted. Crank snapped his fingers and a DVD copy of ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’ appeared in his hand.

“Wanna bet?” He asked with a grin. Dash cracked her neck and gave a nod.

“I’ll get popcorn.” She said as he turned on the Xbox and put the disk in. Dash walked down stairs and grabbed a large bowl.

“How goes the studying?” Dash almost jumped when she heard her mom’s voice.

“Jeez mom, don’t sneak up on me like that.” She said as she set the microwave. “Yeah, we’re just gonna take a break.” Dash noticed that her mother was giving her a sly grin. “What?”

“Oh he’s definitely a keeper hun.” Dash’s face went bright red.

“Mom! He’s just a friend that’s a guy.”

“A guy you’ve spent a lot of time with.”

“He’s my tutor!” She said as her face grew redder. “Besides its not like dad would approve.” She grumbled.

“I know that your father has his...opinions, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing what you want.” Gale then went back to her work and the microwave dinged. Dash poured the popcorn into a bowl and went back upstairs.

“Ready?” Crank asked as Dash sat next to him.

“Let’s get this over with.” She grumbles as the man pressed the play button.

121 Awesome minutes later.

Dash sat awestruck as the credits rolled as Crank had a smug grin on his face.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow yelled in delight.

“Told you.” Crank chuckled. The man looked at the clock and groaned. “Crap, I gotta go.” The sound of thunder and a flash lighting then filled the room. “Buck.” He groaned.

“What’s up?” Dash asked.

“It’s a thunderstorm.”

“So?” Crank looked at her with a dead pan expression.

“Science 101. What happens when you hold something metal in an electrical storm?” Dash thought for a moment.

“Can’t you just absorb it? Like you did with the battery.”

“Lightning and electricity are two different things Dash. A single lightning bolt has over 50,000 volts in it. If I were to absorb that then I’d die. Since my board is metal it’ll attract it and I’ll get zapped.” That and also his metal arm. The man looked out the window and gulped. “Course I could always jump and pray I land in a deep snowbank.”

“Or you could just stay here for the night.” Dash said in a calm tone. Crank felt his face blush and scratched the back of his head.

“You sure? I don’t want to be a burden or anything.”

“No problem. Let me just tell my mom.” The flyer said as she walked out of her room and went down into the kitchen to see the woman cooking burgers. “Hey mom, is it cool if Crank stays the night? It’s getting pretty bad out there.” She said as another flash of lightning.

“Sure. No problem.” She said with a grin. “Your father called, he’s going to stay over at Tempest’s house anyway.” Dash gave her a nod and went back up to her room. A little while later, the two came down and started eating dinner with the woman. “So Crank, how has the tutoring going?”

“Well, Dash’s grades have improved so they must be doing something.” He said with a smile.

“I’ve noticed.” Gale smiled. “It’s nice to see that Rainy is finally taking her school work seriously.” Crank chuckled at the name. Dash blushed hard at the name her mother used to use when she was little.

“Mom!”

“Oh come now dear, I’m your mother.”

“My mom says the same thing.” Crank chuckled.

“What does your mother do?” Gale asked.

“She’s Chief of Surgery down at Ponyville General.”

“Oh Dr. Nova. She is just a gem.”

“Thanks.” Crank smiled. “So your husband works for the weather factory?”

“Yeah, he’s in charge of the storm cloud distribution.” The three finished up dinner and the two students returned to Dash’s room.

“So now what?” Crank asked.

“Are there anymore of those Star Wars movies?”

“There are five more.” Dash’s eyes lit up like a Hearths Warming tree. Crank snapped his fingers and the next one in the series popped into his hand. The two sat back and started watching the flick. Three quarters of the way through, Dash rested her head against Cranks left arm and started dozing off. When the flick ended it was around midnight. The flyer stirred and immediately raised her head off his shoulder and hid her blush.

“You okay Dash?” He asked.

“Y-yeah.” She said as she collected herself.

“Okay, I’ll hit the couch then.” He said as he started to walk out of the room.

“You’d be more comfortable if you slept on a bed of nails. I got a spare mattress you can use.” She started to look around her room but couldn’t find it. Crank helped in the search and walked over to her closet. “No wait-” Her warning came too late as the man opened the closet and was immediately covered by the crap that had previously covered Dash’s floor.

Crank’s head popped out of the mess and he gasped for air. Dash barreled over in laughter at the man. Crank looked in Dash’s mirror and saw that a rainbow colored bra was hanging around his horn.

“You do realize that this is all your stuff right?” Dash’s laughter stopped and her face went bright red. She snatched the undergarment off his head and Crank dug his way out of the pile.

“Pervert!” She yelled as she dug the spare mattress out of her closet. Crank rolled his eyes and felt his right eye acting up as he levitated the mass of clothes back into the closet. He went into the bathroom and pulled out his screwdriver. He made the object buzz and re-calibrated his eye. A sudden knock on the door snapped him out of it. “You done?”

“Hang on a sec.” He said as he set his screwdriver down on the vanity and let himself out. Crank went back into Dash’s room and saw the cloud mattress next to her bed. The man removed his shirt and laid down on the bed.

“What are you doing?” Crank raised his head to see Dash in a cyan tank top that cut off just above her navel and a a pair of short shorts of the same color.

“Going to sleep.” He said as he hid his blush.

“Why’s your shirt off?”

“Its how I sleep.” He said as Dash walked over to her bed and laid down. She hit the light switch and pulled the covers over herself.

“Night Crank.”

“Night Dashie.” That comment earned him a pillow slap to the face. “Really Dash?”

“Shut up and go to sleep.” Crank chuckled and laid back as he felt sleep take him. Crank awoke the next morning to the sound of chuckling. He looked over to his right to see Dash biting her lip and stifling laughter. Crank looked down at himself and his face went pale. He was pitching a full on eight and a half inch tent in his pants.

The man immediately turned over and the flyer was clutching her sides in laughter. “Thinking on setting up a carnival Crank?” She said as her eyes started to tear up.

“Planning to go for a morning flight Dashie?” He grinned. Dash then realized that both of her wings were standing on end. The flyer immediately blushed and grunted. Crank put his shirt back on and quickly stood up. “Lets just pretend that never happened.”

“What never happened?”

“Exactly.” The two then made their way downstairs to see a handwritten note.

Had to go to a board meeting. Be back by supper.

~Love, mom.

“Great. Now what about breakfast?” Dash grumbled.

“Can’t you cook?”

“I can make cereal.” Crank rolled his eyes and the two each had a bowl of sugar coated Celestia O’s.

“Thanks for letting me stay Dash, but I gotta head back down.” He said as he made his way towards the door.

“See ya.” She said as she flew back up stairs. Crank was about halfway home when he remembered that he left his screwdriver in Dash’s house. The man sighed and made his way back up the stairs and instinctively opened the bathroom door. As the door swung open, time seemed to slow.

Standing in front of him was Rainbow Dash with wet hair and wearing nothing but a cyan towel to cover her midsection. Their eyes locked and they were both frozen on the spot. What happened next was inevitable.

Pomf.

Crank looked in surprise as he saw Dash’s wings pop out, causing the towel to fall to the floor in a heap. Crank’s face went completely red as he gazed upon the athlete’s well toned legs and stomach that was only accented by the remaining water from her hot shower. Her breasts were neither too small nor too large, ranging about a D cup. Dash snapped back to reality and grabbed the nearest thing in range of her right hand as she went to cover herself with her left. “Pervert!” She yelled as her hair dryer hit the man on the forehead. She threw another series of random objects before he shut the door.

“Sorry!” He yelled. As he regained his composure he realized that he was packing a full hard on from the display. He noticed his screwdriver on the floor next to a curling iron. The man quickly teleported back outside and made his way down. As he approached his home he saw Rarity walking up his drive way. She waved him down and smiled as he landed.

“Morning Crank where-” She then noticed the man’s pale face and dazed expression. “are you feeling all right dear?”

“Y-yeah.”

Course I’ll probably be dead the next time Dash catches me alone. He thought as he lead the girl inside his home.

“Might I ask where you got that bump on your forehead?” She asked as they walked down into his workshop.

“Work accident. Slipped and bumped my head on the desk.” He lied as Rarity’s sapphire eyes glared at him. The man walked to the back of his workshop and started to sift through the piles of metal crap until he levitated the large machine out in front of himself and the seamstress.

“Why do you have this here?” She asked as she looked at the large machine.

“Some guys down at the lab broke it and ordered a new one. It seemed like a waste so I brought it back here and fixed it up.” He said as he turned the machine on and it started to hum. He handed Rarity a pair of safety goggles. “So what do you need help with?”

“I need to learn the controls and how to use it properly.”

“So essentially everything?” Rarity gave a guilty smile at the words. “Okay, and put your hair up.” Rarity pouted and put her hair in a ponytail. Crank walked her through the basic instructions and started her off on a piece of aluminum.

“So you just took this from work?” She asked.

“They weren’t gonna use it. Besides I take stuff all the time and no one cares. Just flash the badge and no one asks questions.”

“Badge?”

“My ID badge.” He said as he reached into his pant pocket. He blinked and checked the others. “Damn it!”

“Something wrong dear?”

“Must have left my wallet at Dash’s house.” The man realized what he said and shut his mouth. He felt Rarity’s gaze on him like white on rice and a smile that could give discord a run for his money in the sly department.

“What were you doing at Rainbow’s home hmm?” She asked as she faced the man.

“N-nothing!” He said as he blushed. The girls’ blue eyes cut through his feeble defense like a sharpened katana blade through wet paper. “Okay fine! Just stop with the look it burns!”

“Always works.” She chimed.

“Okay so I went to go tutor Dash at her house yesterday because she got grounded and we have a history test coming up.” Rarity nodded. “Long story short I lost track of time and I had to spend the night. My wallet probably fell out of my pocket while I was sleeping.”

“That’s it?” She asked as she folded her arms under her breasts. Crank thought about the incidents that occurred a few hours prior and gulped.

“Yup. Nothing else.” He said as he returned to his work. The seamstress rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the machine. Crank watched her work and gave her tips on the different speeds. Rarity was using all of her focus to make sure she didn’t mess up. She didn’t even noticed the loosening hair clip that was holding her hair back by a thread.

The next few seconds felt like time had slowed. Rarity’s eyes shrank as she felt her violet locks break free from the clip get grabbed by the machine. The seamstress saw her life flash before her eyes as her head was pulled towards the spinning cylinder of death. She thought it was over until the pulling stopped and something cut her free. The girl jumped forward and grabbed her head to make sure it was still attached to her body.

She looked in the nearest shiny object, which was a bowl to see that a good bit of hair had been cut. The girl calmed down and took a few deep breaths as she slumped to the ground and saw the man kill the machine and hurry over to her. “You hurt?” He asked as he knelt down.

“A little startled, but no I-” She stopped talking when she saw a large red stain on the machine and a few drops of red liquid leading over to the man’s right side. Crank instinctively hid his arm. “Crank! You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine. I-” Rarity then got to her feet and her horn flared. Crank then felt a sensation ripping his arm towards her.

“Oh stop being foolish and-” Rarity’s eyes shrank as she saw the exposed metal frame and wiring. She did what any normal person would do. She screamed. Crank hung his head and turned way as he grabbed his arm and sat down in his chair. Rarity quickly regained her senses and looked at the man, who proceeded to take off the rest of the false skin.

“Oh my god.” She said as she put her hand to her mouth.

“Not a pretty sight is it?” He said with a sigh.

“Oh darling I’m so sorry! I was just startled and-”

“It’s okay Rarity.” He said as he raised up his left hand. “That’s how most people react to seeing my...condition.” The seamstress walked over to him and looked at the metal appendage. She looked over at the lathe machine and saw where the arm had grabbed the spinning machine to halt its motions. The seamstress then looked back at the sleek piece of technology that was attached to the man's body.

“What happened?”

“I was in an explosion. Lost my arm and right eye.” Crank pointed at the green iris. Rarity gasped at the words and wrapped him in a hug. “Please don’t tell any-”

“I swear on my life I won’t.” She said as she sniffled. Crank broke the hug and walked over to the skin machine. He stuck his arm inside and activated it. Rarity watched in amazement as the metal arm was coated in the substance. Rarity then noticed that the grease from the man’s prosthetic limb had gotten on her white blouse.

“Relax, you can use my washer. I’ve got a special soap that’ll remove the stain.” Rarity smiled and followed the man out of his workshop and over towards a washer and dryer. He summoned one of his mother’s shirts for Rarity to change into. Not wanting to repeat what happened earlier he left before she removed her shirt. He waited in the living room for the girl to change as the AI appeared on his knee.

“I take it she saw?”

“Yup.”

“So now what?”

“If she keeps quiet, nothing.” He said as he sat back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dash was in her room and was trying to take her mind off the incident between her and Crank with some Dead Rising 3. No matter how many zombies she decapitated, the scene kept playing back in her head.

Damn it!

Wonder if he liked the view?

Shut up!

Oh come on. You know you liked it.

He’s probably not interested in a girl like me.

The look on his face said otherwise. Dash grunted and shut off the game before falling onto her bed. She buried her head into her pillow and let out a muffled scream. She rolled onto her back and hung her head off the edge of her bed. She looked over towards the cloud mattress that the man slept on and sighed.

Something laid beside the mattress. It was jet black and looked like leather. She walked over and picked it up. Idiot left his wallet. She thought as she opened it. Only about twenty bucks were inside along with an ID badge. Something in the second pocket caught her eye. The girl pulled out the piece of torn paper and looked at it.

It was a photographed torn in half. The image of a teenage girl with dark red, shoulder length hair. She looked about sixteen, what caught Dash’s attention the most were here eyes. The right was a dark hazel while the other was an electric green. Dash gritted her teeth and grunted.

I knew he had a girlfriend. She thought in a defeated tone.

Maybe they broke up?

Why hold onto her picture then?

Ask him and find out. You should return his wallet anyway. Dash sighed and grabbed her coat before flying out of her room towards the man’s house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rarity’s shirt had just finished in the dryer and she quickly put it back on her body. She heard the man walk down the steps as she looked in a nearby mirror at her damaged hair.

“Oh I look awful.” She said as she ran a hand through her hair.

“You can use my mom’s bathroom. She has a lot of hair care stuff.”

“Thank you for the offer dear, but I should be fine until I reach my boutique.” She said as the two walked up to the main floor. “So how long has your arm been like that?”

“Almost two years.” He said as he sat down on the couch. Rarity hung her head and sighed.

“Who else knows?”

“Celestia, Luna, my folks, most of the employees have at least heard about it and Twilight knows too.” Rarity looked at him in surprise. “Celestia told her.”

“I see.” The two then heard a knock at the door. Crank answered it and immediately yelped. Standing before him was the cyan flyer with a raised eyebrow.

“Dash if you want to kill me then at least do it in a painless way.” He said with a gulp.

“Oh calm down you big wuss. I need you to help me pass my finals. Then I’ll kill you for being a perv.” She said as she walked inside.

“It was an accident!” He said as he closed the door behind her. “I just forgot to knock!”

“Whatever.” The flyer then noticed her friend on the couch and felt a small bit of rage forming in her gut. “What’s Rarity doing here?” Her eyes shrank as she noticed her friend’s hair. “And what in the name of Celestia happened to your hair?” Dash said as she walked over to her.

“Ah yes, Crank was showing me how to use the lathe machine and my hair got caught.” Dash gasped. “Thankfully Crank shut down the machine in time, but he had to cut my hair to free me.” Rarity said as she ran a hand through her short purple hair.”Enough abut that, what are you doing here?”

“Just dropping off the perv’s wallet.” She said as she held up the leather object.

“Perv?” She asked as she looked at Crank.

“It was a freaking accident!” Crank yelled as his face blushed.

“Seriously though, peeping on a chick when you have a girlfriend? Kinda creepy.” Dash stated.

“Girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend.” Crank said in confusion. Dash dove her hand into his wallet and pulled out the picture.

“Then who’s this?” Crank looked at the photo and his face went completely pale. He clenched his fists and glared at the athlete.

“Give that back. Now.” He said in an icy tone.

“Not until you tell me who-” She was cut off as a grey lightning bolt shot over her head. The two looked at the man who was sporting an expression that would make even Princess Luna gulp in fear.

“Dash either you drop that photo or I’ll drop you.” He said as he charged another bolt in his hand. Dash looked into the man’s eyes and was shaking in fear. For a brief second she thought that she saw a tear form in his left eye. “Please.” He said in a shaky tone.

Dash nodded and put the photo in his wallet before tossing it to him. He cut the magic flow and put the wallet in his pocket. “Thank you.” Rarity put a hand on Dash’s shoulder.

“I think it’s time that we took our leave Rainbow.” Dash gave her a slow nod and quickly followed her friend out of the man’s home. Crank closed the door behind them and returned to his work shop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the man’s home two cloaked figures were watching from afar with binoculars. They zoomed in on the two girls leaving the house and looked at one another.

“What do you think Archer?”

“I think that we’re wasting our time.” One of the men took off his hood to show his dirty blonde hair and brown horn coming from his forehead. “I mean, we’ve been tailing this guy for what, over a year now? Why?”

“Because that’s what we get paid to do.” The other removed his hood to show his dark blue hair. The man cracked his back and took off the cloak to show his dark blue wings. “That and the last guys ended up in the hospital for six months.”

“What?” The Unicorn yelled in surprise.

“Yeah, kid sure doesn’t look it, but he can fight. Not to mention all the spells and gadgets that kid has on his side.”

“So how do we get him Sleek?” The Pegasus let out a sigh.

“Our ‘genius employer’ suggested that we ‘send him a message.’” The Unicorn looked at him in shock.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa man. I didn’t sign up for that.” The Unicorn sputtered. “I don’t mind all the spying, but I ain’t gonna kill anyone just so-” The Pegasus then forced him up against the a tree.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Sleek yelled. “We’re in too deep! If we try to bail then he’ll find us, crush us, grind us up into tiny pieces and blast us into oblivion!” Archer gulped. “So unless you want to become one of those unidentified victims then we gotta suck it up and think about this carefully.” The Pegasus released his grip and sat down on a nearby rock.

“So who do you think? The Unicorn?”

“Nah, the two don’t seem that close.” He said as he looked up at the sky. “He seems to spend more time with the Pegasus than anyone else in this fricken town.” The Unicorn hung his head and grunted.

“How the hell did it ever come to this?” Archer said with a sigh.

“No idea.” Sleek then came up with a small idea and grinned. “Hey, keep an eye on things here will ya?”

“Where are you going?” He asked as his companion took off.

“To get a little leverage.” He said as he zoomed off towards the vast city of Manhattan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blue winged man ducked behind a building to see a familiar grey winged man walk into his empty home. The blue haired stalker pulled out his binoculars and a pen and paper pad. He saw the man log onto his laptop and quickly wrote down the password. Two hours later the man left his home and locked the door behind him.

Sleek waited until the man had pulled away in his Malibu before trying to pick the lock. The stalker quietly walked over to the man’s laptop and entered the password.

“C’mon there’s gotta be some dirt I can use on this guy.” He said as he started searching through the files. Nothing but work reports and useless data. The man shut down the laptop and wiped his fingerprints off the keys before putting the laptop back in it’s exact place.

He lightly slammed the bookshelf in frustration. The vibrations caused a nearby picture to come off its hangar and fall. The flyer jumped in mid air and caught the picture a few inches before it hit the ground. The sighed in relief and looked at the picture. His ‘employer’ standing next to the Chairman of Blackhawk industries.

As he went to hang the photo back on the wall he felt something in the back of the frame. He ran his hand along the side and found a small computer chip in the back. He was out of time so he made a gut decision and took the chip before hanging it back on the wall and vanishing into the night.

Chapter 10: Comfort

Chapter 10

Comfort

The next few days went by slowly to say the least. Dash refused to talk to the inventor and vice versa. Crank’s gym class had entered the health portion of the semester. The three friends were sitting next to one another when Principal Luna came into the room.

“Good morning students.” She said as they all perked up. “Unfortunately, Nurse Red Heart is sick with the flu and will be unable to teach you today.” Several students fist bumped at the thought of getting out of class. “Fortunately, we have a stand in.” Their dreams were crushed. A woman with long brown hair and a red horn coming from her forehead came into class.

Dash and AJ were trying to stifle their laughter as Crank’s face went pale. Several of the guys gawked at the doctor who looked like she was only in her late twenties despite her age.

“Morning everyone. My name is Dr. Nova and I will be teaching you all about sex.” She said with a smile. Luna left the room and Nova cleared her throat. She noticed her son and gave him a guilty smile. The remainder of class was the longest in the man’s life as he tried to hide his blush. Dash took the opportunity to actually participate in class just to make Crank feel awkward.

“Um Dr. Nova, I heard that the first time hurts. That true?”

“Well, in my personal experience-”

“Nope!” Crank yelled as he teleported out of the room in a flash of light. AJ casted Dash a dirty look as the bell rang. The students funneled out of the classroom and Nova packed her bag. Crank walked into the room and rubbed his head. “Mom why in the name of the creator are you here?”

“Sorry hun, but I owed Red Heart a favor.” She said with a weak smile. Crank groaned and apologized for teleporting out like he did. The man then made his way to math class and took his seat next to Twilight who glared at him.

“Something wrong Twi?”

“I heard that you almost shocked Rainbow over a photo.” Crank narrowed his eyes on the girl and sighed.

“Look Twilight, I really, really don’t want to talk about it.” Twilight sighed and dropped it. The remainder of the day went just as smoothly. As Crank got out of the school Twilight was waiting for him. The man rolled his eyes as she looked at him.

“Rarity told me that she saw your arm.” She said as she walked next to the man.

“Didn’t really have a choice. It was either I stop the machine or Rarity would get a fatal facelift.” Twilight gave a nod as a dark figure ran up behind her.

“Gotcha!” A voice said as a pair of hands grabbed Twilight’s shoulders. Twilight yelped and grabbed the stranger by the arm and flipped him over her shoulder and onto the cold hard ground. Crank blinked in surprise at the motion as Twilight got in a fighting stance. “Uncle! Uncle!” The stranger had light blue hair a white horn was coming out of his head and he looked like he was in his mid twenties.

“Shining?” They both said in surprise. The man got up and cracked his neck and looked at the inventor.

“Crank? What are you doing here?” Shining said as he brushed himself off.

“I live around here.” He said with a sigh.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come to visit ya!” He said as he put him in a headlock.

“Why do you think I didn’t?” The man sent a surge of electricity through his body and made the man let go of him.

“Buzz kill.”

“Wait Shining you know him?” Twilight said as she looked at Crank.

“You kidding Twiley? This guy is my best friend.” The azure haired soldier said.

“That’s debatable.” Crank breathed out. He then perked up and looked at Twilight. “Wait Twiley? Don’t tell me you two know each other.”

“Well, of course I know him!” Twilight said as she crossed her arms. “He’s my big brother best friend forever!” She chimed. Crank looked between the two mages and pointed at them.

“You’re his little sister?” He said in shock.

“Yeah!” Twilight smiled. A long silence fell over the group until Crank looked at Shining.

“Since when do you have a little sister?” Twilight’s smile shattered and turned to face her older brother with a look that would make a timber wolf shiver.

“Shining.” She stated in an icy tone. “I thought you said that Crank was your best friend?”

“That is one sided.” Crank deadpanned.

“So how is it that he doesn’t even know that I’m your little sister?” Shining felt the amethyst eyes of death on him as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse.

“Um...slipped my mind?” Twilight yelled and tackled her brother and proceeded to beat him in ways only a sibling could. After a good five minutes, Twilight finally calmed down and noticed that a crowd had formed to watch the spectacle.

“Why didn’t you stop her?” Shining groaned as he got up and looked at Crank.

“And interrupt a heartwarming family reunion? What kind of friend do you think I am?” He chuckled. Shining brushed himself off and cracked his back. “So why are you here Armor?”

“Well, I had some time off so I decided to pay my sis a visit.” He said as the three started walking down the road.

“How goes the Empire?” Crank asked.

“Good, boring as hell though.” He sighed. “Mountains of paperwork.”

“I know the feeling.”

“So how exactly do you two know each other?” Shining looked at Crank who shook his head.

“Crank’s dad has a few contracts with the guard for weapons, medical supplies and other things like that.”

“I usually show up to test them and make adjustments.” Crank sighed.

“So how’s life going?” Shining asked.

“What did you break?” Crank asked as he looked at the captain.

“Why do you assume that I broke something?”

“Because its you.” Shining hung his head and sighed.

“Fine. Something's wrong with Shiela.”

“For Luna’s sake Armor! That stuff ain’t easy to fix ya know.” Crank grumbled.

“Don’t blame me! Why does it have six pedals, but only four directions?” He argued. Crank groaned and sighed.

“Fine. Drop it off and I’ll take a look.” Shining nodded as the man vanished in a flash of light. Twilight glared at Shining who had a guilty look on his face.

“So, what’s new with you sis?” He asked with a weak grin

“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew him?” She said in an annoyed tone. Shining hung his head and sighed.

“Look Twilight, Crank has some...circumstances around him. I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

“You mean his arm and eye?” Shining looked at his sister in surprise. “Celestia told me.”

“Yeah, that. It’s a very sensitive topic. The only reason that I know is because I was there when the accident happened.”

“I won’t ask. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” Twilight said. Shining smiled and gave her a nod.

“Okay, I’ll meet back up with you after I drop off what I need Crank to fix okay?”

“Okay, I need to do something anyway.” She gave Shining the directions to Crank’s house and headed towards the library. Her mind went back to what Dash told her the other day.

“And then he almost zapped me over a photo!” The flyer said in a frustrated tone.

“What was in the photo?”

“Pretty sure his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend.”

“What did she look like?” Fluttershy asked.

“Um, she had red hair. No wings or horn and she had different colored eyes.”

“What colors?” Twilight asked.

“Um, hazel and green I think.”

Twilight pushed the thoughts out of her head and hurried herself along.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cyan flyer was laying on a cloud staring up at the afternoon sky. For some reason she couldn’t get the man’s face out of her head. Why was he so concerned about that photo? And why did it bother her so much when he yelled at her? The flyer grabbed her hair and grunted as she turned over on her stomach. She looked down and saw a large cloud of smoke in the distance.

The flyer flew towards the smoke and saw a large tent in the back of the inventor’s backyard. She touched down to see the man making his way out of the tent and she frowned. The flyer touched down and made her way over to the man.

“Hey!” The flyer called out. Crank turned to see the flyer. Crank let out a sigh and knew what he had to do. “What are-”

“Before you bite my head off, mind if I say something first?” Dash nodded and folded her arms. “I’m sorry.” Dash raised an eyebrow. “I admit I overreacted the other day. It’s just that,” The man cracked his fists and sighed. “that photo is very special to me and when you touched it I got a bit hot headed.” Dash suddenly felt a pit form in her stomach. “Just wanted to say that. Now what did you want?”

“Oh I just,” Dash felt her face flare up and her courage falter. In a panic she said the first thing that came to her mind. “I just came by to ask for an apology.”

“Excuse me?” Crank said as he frowned.

“Well, how was I supposed to know that that photo was special to you.” Crank narrowed his eyes at the flyer. “If it’s so special then why keep it in a place where you could lose it?”

“Keep shooting your mouth off and Sheila is going to get angry.”

“Sheila? Who’s Sheila?”

“Glad you asked.” He said as he pulled out a remote and pressed a button. The tent wall behind the man collapsed as a large metal object swung over his head and pointed directly at the flyer. Dash gulped when she saw that the rest of the tent collapsed and she was staring down the barrel of large tank.

“Hello, I am the N67 Manticore class battle tank. You may call me Sheila.”

“D-did that thing just talk?” She asked as her blood ran cold.

“Yes, yes she did. Care for another smart ass remark?” Dash shook her head. “Good. Asking for an apology really shows lack of integrity.”

“Why the hell do you have a tank?” She asked.

“Fixing it for a friend.” He said as Shining came back out with a few tools. He looked at the two and made his way up to them.

“Hey guys, everything okay here?” Dash looked behind her to see the guard captain.

“Shining Armor? What are you doing here?”

“I needed a tank fixed. You’re Rainbow Dash right?” Dash gave a sharp nod. The captain then noticed the glares the two were giving one another. “I’m not in the middle of a lover’s quarrel am I?”

“As if.” They both said in unison.

“I’m just making sure that the situation doesn’t,” He said as he looked at the tank. “go up in smoke.”

“Bad pun detected. Firing main cannon.” The tank said. Both the captain and flyer flinched as Shining’s horn started to glow.

“Relax, she’s not loaded.” Crank said as he walked to the other side of the tank and opened a panel. The inventor pulled out a blow torch and started working. Shining looked at Dash as the cannon turned back in front of the tank.

“Jeez, what is with that guy?” Dash said as she crossed her arms.

“Crank doesn’t get angry easily. What’d you do to piss him off?”

“I touched one photo and he gets all testy on me. What’s up with that?” Shining raised an eyebrow.

“Photo?”

“Some torn photo of a red haired girl in his wallet.” Shining’s eyes shrank and he shivered.

“Then you should be lucky that you’re still in one piece.” Dash raised an eyebrow. “One guy made a comment about her and he literally snapped him over his knee.” The flyer gulped. “He spent six months in the hospital with a fractured spine, broken right leg and fractured cheek bone.”

“Holy Celestia. He did that for a photo of his ex?”

“Ex? That’s not his ex it’s-” He stopped when the tank’s cannon pointed at him. “it’s not my place to say. Lets just say that it’s not his ex and that she’s not around anymore.” Dash felt a knot form in her gut and a feeling of guilt wash over her. Shining felt his phone ring and answered it.

Dash looked over at the man who was rewiring the tank and she flew off towards her home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rainbow was laying on her bed and couldn’t get to sleep. What the guard captain had told her.

Ugh! I’m such an idiot! No wonder he was so protective of that photo.

Go and tell him you’re sorry!

I know, but he didn’t pick up his phone.

So do it in person. Dash sighed and got up. She changed into a pair of sweat pants and a jacket. She opened her window and flew out into the cold night sky. The girl flew up to the man’s window and lightly tapped on the glass. She peered into the window and saw that his room was empty. Great. She groaned. I’ll tell him tom- The girl then felt an invisible force grab her and yank her down towards the ground and a strong arm cross over her neck.

“Make a sound and I’ll-” Was all the assailant got out before Dash slammed her fist into his crotch and the man dropped to the ground in pain. Dash then started to take off only to be blindsided by another attacker and this one had wings. Dash felt a strong hand come over her mouth and muffled her yells.

She bit into the attacker’s hand and the man grunted in pain as he slammed his fist into her head.

“Shut it wench.” He said as he pulled out a knife. Dash looked up and saw that he was wearing a black ski mask and a dark hood. He was also wearing a skin tight suit that covered his skin and hair. “Try anything and you’ll get it.” Tears formed in her eyes and the other one she hit got to his feet. “Walk it off.”

“That bitch.” He grumbled in a high pitched voice. Dash noticed that this one had a horn coming from his head. “Now what?”

“Boss said we should rough her up a bit.” Dash tried to yell but the man’s black gloved hand was muffling her screams as she squirmed to get free. “Start with the wings. We don’t want her going anywhere.”

“Right.” He said as Dash felt herself being locked in a magical grip and felt pressure on her wings. The woman also felt her mouth being held shut as she tried to scream in pain. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Orders are-” The man was cut off as he was struck by a grey lightning bolt struck his face and he dropped to the ground. The magic user looked to his left to see a fist colliding with his face. His magic was cut and Dash dropped to the ground. Both attackers gulped when they saw the man with grey electric sparks radiating off his body.

“What the hell is going on here?” Crank yelled.The two attackers took a fighting stance and the magic user shot a few bolts that Crank deflected with his right arm. “Sheila!” Crank yelled and the tank roared to life. The two attacker’s faces went pale when they saw the lights on the tank come alive and it moved forward with the cannon pointed right at them.

“Fuck this! I’m not getting paid enough to fight a tank.” The flyer took off into the sky and Crank put his hand on the tread cover. He focused his magic and a grey salvo erupted from the barrel.

“Firing main cannon.”

The flyer as using every trick in the book to avoid being hit by the salvo as the magic user teleported away. After the flyer was out of range the inventor cut the power and looked at the shaking cyan winged flyer.

“Dash? You okay?” He said as he knelt down next to her. The flyer was visibly shaking and she had tears in her eyes. The lights in his home turned on and his mother came running outside.

“What in the name of the moon is going on out here?” She yelled as Crank picked the flyer up and ran towards the house.

“Dash got hurt by some thugs.” The two quickly made their way inside and Nova called the police. The doctor looked over the flyer and saw that thankfully nothing was broken. Her wing muscles were strained and she got a black eye. The police arrived and took statements. They were very curious why a seven teen year old high schooler had a fully functional military tank in his backyard. A blue suited police officer came up to Rainbow and let out a sigh.

“Ms. Dash, would you like a lift home?”

“N-no, I’m fine to fly.” She said in a low tone. Nova crossed her arms and scanned the girl’s body with her magic.

“Your wings are still agitated Rainbow. If you fly then you’ll run the risk of damaging them permanently.” Nova said. “You need to rest.”

“She can stay here for the night.” Crank stated. The officers all looked at the inventor.

“That okay with you Ms. Dash?” The flyer gave the officers a swift nod and they left. “Okay. If you remember anything else then just call.”

“Have a good night officers.” Nova said as she led them out. Crank got to his feet and looked at the flyer.

“C’mon, I’ll show you the guest room.” He said as he lead Dash upstairs. “Mind if I ask something?”

“What?” She said in a weak tone.

“Why were you at my house at midnight?” Dash hung her head as they walked into the guest room.

“I came to say I’m sorry about earlier.” She said as Crank grabbed some sheets and pillows from the closet. “Shining told me about how that girl in the photo isn’t around anymore and I felt bad about it.” Crank let out a sigh and bit his lip. “I was just being stubborn earlier. I’m sorry about what I said.”

“Its okay. I shouldn’t have gotten so sensitive about it not a fresh wound after all.” The man said as he finished making the bed. “If you need anything then I’m right across the hall.” Crank noticed that dash was still shaking a bit. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Just need to rest.” Crank nodded and went into his own room. He threw on a pair of sweat pants and got into bed. The man was snoozing when he felt something squish the edge of his mattress. He slightly stirred when he felt a feather brush against his exposed back. The man instantly turned over and saw a pair of magenta eyes looking at him.

“Dash?” He said in a groggy tone. “What are you-” He was cut off as he felt the girl shiver.

“C-can I stay here with you tonight?” Crank was lucky that it was very dark in his room or else she might have seen his tomato red cheeks.

“S-sure.” He said with a gulp. The man turned over on his side and tried to ignore the fact that there was an extremely attractive girl sleeping in his bed. Eventually sleep came to the man and he heard soft snores coming from the flyer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dark outside Manehattan, the two assailants were recovering from their run in with the inventor and the tank. The Unicorn held a gem that showed the image of another dark cloaked man with a long scar running down the side of his face.

“A tank?” The image said in shock.

“Yup a fucking tank. Military grade.” The flyer groaned. “Barely got out of there alive.” The image groaned and rubbed his head.

“That’s it! I’m calling it off!” He yelled. “We’ve been dogging this kid for over a year and all we’ve gotten is our asses being handed to us.”

“Praise the maker.” The mage said with a groan.

“You two rest up and keep your heads low.” The image flickered and cut out. The two sighed and each sat in a chair in their cheap motel room.

“Where did that kid get a tank? A gun I can understand, but a tank?”

“Remember the kid’s old man owns the biggest weapon company this side of Equestria.” The flyer grunted. He looked at the chip he had lifted from their employer’s home. “Hey, you have your laptop?”

“Yeah.” He said as he summoned his computer. The flyer took it and inserted the chip into the side port. “What’s that?”

“Insurance.” The Unicorn saw that the files were encrypted and started breaking away at the code. Two hours later the files were revealed. Most of them were video files. After three hours of watching the two looked at one another and grinned. “My friend, we just hit the mother bucking jackpot.” He said as they high five’d one another. The flyer grunted and felt another jolt of electricity hit him.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, that kid zapped me pretty good.” He said with a sigh. “How’s your face?”

“I think my cheek bone is broken.” He said as it was sensitive to the touch. “So what do we do with this info?”

“I say we hold it for ransom and milk the SOB for all he’s worth.”

“Good idea.” The Unicorn said with a smug grin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sun shined through the man’s window and onto his face. He grunted and tried to sit up only to find that in her sleep, Dash had somehow coiled around him. Her head was just below his neck while her arms were around his upper body and one of her legs were wrapped around his own. Apparently, Crank’s arms had also wrapped themselves around the flyer. Crank looked down to see that Dash’s rainbow hair was over her face like a seven colored curtain.

The man put his finger on the girl’s head and poked it to see the that she was in fact real. Dash groaned and nuzzled her head against the man’s chest. Crank’s blush levels increased ten fold at the action. The AI appeared on the man’s nightstand and had a very amused look on her face.

“Hey stud.” The AI said as she waggled her eyebrows.

“D, shut up.” He said with a whisper. The cyan winged flyer stirred and slowly opened her eyes. A long silence fell over the group as Dash realized where she was. Her face went bright red and she immediately slugged the man in the stomach. Crank rolled out of bed onto his floor. “Jeez Dash what the hell?”

“What the hell were you doing?” She said as she covered herself with her covers.

“Sleeping in my bed.” Dash remembered the incident last night and blushed in embarrassment.

“Right, my bad.” Crank shook his head and looked down to see that the girl had left a drool stain on his chest. He blushed and quickly grabbed a long sleeve shirt that clung to his body. Dash saw the scar on the man’s right arm and quickly hid her blush.

“So, want breakfast?”

“Sure.” She said as she immediately hopped out of bed and the two made their way down stairs. The man walked over to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a box of pancake mix. A few minutes later, the flyer was happily digging in to the pancakes.

“Someone likes pancakes.” The man teased.

“Shut up!” Dash said with a grunt. The AI then appeared on the table in front of the two.

“I took the liberty of sending Twilight and the other girls a message of the current situation.” The two then heard the doorbell ring and they looked at the AI in surprise. Crank got to his feet and saw the five girls still in their pajamas with concerned looks on their faces. Crank couldn’t help but chuckle at Rarity who still had curlers in her hair.

“We just got the message. How’s Rainbow?” Twilight said as they made their way into the man’s home.

“Currently, having breakfast.” He said as he pointed into the kitchen. The five girls rushed up to the flyer who gave them a weak smile.

“Are you alright darling?” Rarity asked. Dash was stifling her laughter as she looked at her friend.

“Yeah, but are you?” Rarity looked int he mirror and let out a small shriek. Crank pointed to the nearest bathroom and the woman zoomed off. The other girls realized their predicament and Rarity teleported them each an outfit to wear. Crank then went over what happened the night before.

“So Sheila and I managed to scare them off.” Crank said.

“Who’s Sheila?” Pinkie asked.

“The eighty ton tank in my backyard.” The girls immediately got up and looked out the window and saw the large tank looking at them with the cannon.

“Hello, I am the Manticore class N67 military battle tank. You may call me Sheila.” The girls all gulped and looked at the man.

“Um, Sheila, you’re scaring them.”

“My apologies.” The tank then seemed to shut down and a purple AI in the shape of a woman with short hair appeared on the counter. “Is this better?” The AI said n the same monotone voice.

“D has a sister?” Pinkie asked.

“Nope.” Crank said as D then appeared beside the other AI. “Sheila is a completely different AI than D.”

“How?” Twilight asked.

“Sheila is a dumb AI.”

“That’s not nice. Sheila seems smart.” AJ said.

“Crank is correct. Dumb means something entirely different to an AI than to a human.” Sheila stated. “My functions are only for logistical support and operating the tank.”

“So what’s a smart AI?” Twilight asked.

“A smart AI is like that of a human mind.” Crank said. “They can think outside the box and aren’t limited to set standards.”

“Why in the hay do you need the AI things?” Dash asked.

“AI help my dad’s company work.We couldn’t run half our equipment without them.”

“So you must have a lot the smart ones then.” Fluttershy said.

“No, currently there is only one smart AI in Blackhawk industries.” Sheila stated as she looked at D who shrugged.

“Sheila, head back in.”

“Acknowledged.” Sheila then went back into her tank.

“So how do you make a smart AI?” Dash asked. D vanished from the room and Crank scratched the back of his head.

“Its way too complicated to explain.” He said as he levitated the dishes into the sink.

“Why do you have a tank anyway?” Twilight asked.

“Ask Shining. He completely screwed up the firing mechanism.” He groaned. “Took me all afternoon to fix it. He should be back this afternoon to take it back.” The six girls then walked into the living room and started chatting with one another. As Crank was doing the dishes Fluttershy walks up to him. “Hey Shy, what’s up?”

“Oh I just came to see if I could help with anything.” She said in her usual timid tone.

“No thanks, I’m almost done.” He said as he put a plate in the washer machine.

“Okay, I’m just still surprised.”

“At?” The man asked as he looked at the animal caretaker.

“How Rainbow agreed to stay the night. She’s usually so stubborn and won’t accept anyone’s help.” The flyer said in her usual timid tone. “I guess she must really like you.” The comment made the man blush and quickly hid it from the yellow winged flyer. The two then rejoined the group of girls who were still chatting with one another.

“So you stayed the night Dash?” AJ asked. D reappeared and had a smirk on her face.

“Yeah considering these two woke up-” Crank pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the AI who’s voice cut out.

“Yeah, Dash stayed in the guest room.” Crank said as Dash gave him a nod. Rarity raised an eyebrow at the two and stood up.

“So sorry everyone, but I have to get back and open up my shop.” The seamstress said with a smile. “So glad that you’re okay dear.” The other girls also got up and made their way towards the door. Crank held the door open for them and dash was the last to leave.

“Hey thanks for helping me out last night.” She said with a smile.

“No problem, they were most likely trying to get to me through you.”

“Think they’ll come back?”

“I have a tank. I think I’ll be okay. Just watch yourself.” He said with a smile. Dash gave him a quick hug and kissed him on the cheek. Both of their faces went scarlet red in a flash.

“I gotta go bye!” The flyer said as she zoomed off into the sky. Crank stood at the open door for creator knows how long before he came to his senses. He went back inside and looked at the still muted AI who had a smug grin on her face. He used his screwdriver to give her back her voice.

“You liiiiiike her don’t you Cranky~” She said in a sing-song voice.

“Oh shut up!” He said as he stormed off to his workshop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, the guard captain returned to the man’s home to retrieve the fixed tank. Twilight had told him what had happened with the attackers and Rainbow Dash. Shining circled around the house and saw the man finishing up on the tank.

“Morning Shining.” The inventor said with a smile.

“That’s all you can say? You got attacked last night!” The man yelled. Crank rolled his eyes. “You could have been killed!”

“I’m fine. So is Dash.” He said as he crossed his arms. “I can take care of myself just fine.”

“I’m just worried about you.” He sighed. “She told me to look after you and-”

“Enough!” The man yelled as his magic flared. “I can handle things just fine captain.” Shining sighed and backed off.

“Fine, but you’d better start finding the difference between your enemies and your friends.” He said as he made the tank vanish. “How is the armor coming along?”

“I have a prototype ready for testing.” The man said in a flat tone.

“So I’ll see you in Canterlot next weekend?” Shining said as he looked at the inventor.

“Yeah, see you then and tell your guards they’re going to need to work hard.” Shining chuckled.

“Just go easy on them.”

“No promises.” The man siad with a chuckle. "Oh and before I forget. Here." Crank then pulled out an electronic pad that looked like a radar screen.

"What's this?" Shining asked.

"When I zapped one of the thugs I managed to put a tracer on them." Shining grinned. "It's still trying to locate them, but I want them found and alive. I've got questions for them." The inventor stated in a flat tone.

"Fair enough." Shining said as he looked at the pad. "I'll let you know when we find them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight walked into the hospital with a disappointed look on her face. She had just spent ten hours browsing through the medical text books in her library. Unfortunately, someone had taken out the one she needed. She walked up to the front desk and saw nurse Care Heart. She was working at the computer when she saw the scholar.

“Oh hello Twilight.” She said with a smile.

“Evening Care Heart. I’m doing a project on hereditary genes. Is there anyone here who can help me? I tried looking it up in my library, but someone has the book out.”

“What about the internet?”

“I don’t trust it.” Twilight had always distrusted the machine and always used books for her reports. The nurse rolled her eyes and thought for a moment.

“You’d have to ask Dr. Stable. He’s good with that stuff. He should be in the on call room. You know where it is?” Twilight nodded and quickly made her way down the hall. She found the correct room and saw a man with a tan horn and while coat reading a book. She knocked on the door and got the man’s attention.

“Dr. Stable?”

“Yes, how can I help you?” He asked as he put his book down.

“I was just hoping to ask you a few medical questions. If you’re too busy then I can come back later.”

“Nonsense. I always like answering questions to help people better understand the medical field.” He said as he moved over on the couch to make room for the scholar. Twilight smiled and sat down next to him. “So what’s on your mind?”

“I have a few questions about genetics.”

“That’s a broad question.”

“Specifically hereditary gene traits. Eye color in particular.”

“Well, eye color is a polygenic trait that is controlled by multiple genes. Most of the time it’s hereditary from the parents.”

“What if they have different colored eyes?” The doctor scratched his chin and thought for a moment.

“Well, it’s usually passed down from one of the parents and is considered a mutation of the genes.” Twilight gave a nod. “If it’s not present then it’s possible for the genes to be corrupted by some outside force. Possibly drugs or alcohol, but that would lead to several other problems.” The doctor heard a beeping noise and looked at his pager.

“Sorry Ms. Sparkle, but duty calls.” He said as he stood up.

“That’s okay. Thanks anyway.” As she stood up and walked towards the door the doctor had an epiphany.

“Wait, there is one other scenario.” Twilight turned towards the doctor. “Different colored eyes are usually a trait belonging to twins.”

“Twins?”

“Yes, you see both twins were split from the same original egg and they can share DNA traits such as height, skin color, gender and eye color.” Twilight bit her lip and ran the info through her head. “So sorry, but I really need to get going. Good luck with your research.” He said as he walked past the girl and quickly made his way down the hallway. Twilight made her way out of the hospital and teleported in a flash of purple light.

Chapter 11: Testing

Chapter 11

Testing

The inventor was quietly toiling away at his work. The sound of circuits being wired and sparks flying filled the room.

“Is work all you ever do?” The man jumped as a familiar voice filled the room. He spun around and saw the cyan winged flyer looking at him. His face went red as he saw that she was wearing a pair of tight fitting black jeans that clung to her well toned legs. She was also sporting a tight fitting cyan T shirt that ended just above her navel. The shirt also accentuated her natural physique.

“D-Dash? How did you even get in here?” Crank sighed as a thought came to him. “D?” The man asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yup. She told me that you’d be down here.” She smiled as she walked up to the man.

“Okay, so what’s up?” Dash then had a bright blush on her face and a devilish smirk. She started to look around the man’s workshop. Crank’s blush increased as she purposely put more sway in her step to show off her hips.

“Well, I did some thinking and I really didn’t thank you for helping me out the other day.” Crank gulped as she batted her eyelashes and walked closer to the man.

“Th-that’s not necessary Rainbow.” He gulped as she stood eyeball to eyeball with him and she pressed her chest against his. Dash grinned as her wine colored eyes were filled with lust. Crank felt his blood run down south and teleported out of the girl’s grip. He started to make his way to the door when he was tackled by the flyer. Before he knew it, Crank was on his back and Dash was straddling him.

“Oh come on, I know you want to.” She said as she leaned forwards and the man could see down her shirt. He didn’t even realize that he was now groping Dash’s toned ass and the girl let out a soft moan of pleasure. Crank felt the girl’s weight on his groin and Dash smirked. “Wow and I thought I was eager, but you’re already hard a rock.”

Crank’s horn started to glow but was stopped by a slender hand gripping the appendage. “Not so fast there Mr. magic. Besides, I still owe you for that massage you gave me.” Her hand then started to slowly stroke up and down the horn and Crank groaned in pleasure as his mind started to become blurry. “Now lets take this from the top,” The girl then took her hand off the horn and removed her shirt to show the black sports bra that was barely holding back the two fleshy mounds. “and work our way down.” She said as she ran a finger down his clothed chest.

The man was frozen stiff in more way than one as Rainbow laid back down on him and her eyes were aligned with his. She closed them as her lips drew closer to his own and Crank’s resolve fizzled away as he felt her breath on his lips. His ears were then filled with the sound of an electric alarm clock and the man’s eyes snapped open. He woke up and felt his heart beating faster than a race horse’s on race day.

“It was only a dream.” He said as he laid back on his pillow and let out a sigh of relief.

“What was?” Crank turned his head and he looked in horror to see the naked cyan winged flyer laying next to him in bed with a devilish smile on her face. “Was it as good for you as it was for me?” Crank’s brain turned back on and he flew out of bed in surprise with a yelp. The girl then roared in laughter and her image flickered to show the AI. “I got you! After going through almost every supermodel on the internet I finally got you!”

“Damn it D! I don’t need thoughts like that this early in the morning.” He yelled as he hid his blush.

“Oh don’t be such a downer, you’ve got a crush on somebody!” she chimed. “Can’t wait to tell-”

“No one.” He said as he got dressed.

“Oh come on! Why not?” She whined.

“If Dash ever finds out about me then I’m dead.” The man’s tone could give plywood a lesson on being flat.

“I’m sure Dash wouldn’t care.” The AI chimed. “Sometimes you need to take a chance in life Crank, even when the odds are stacked against you.”

“Remember what happened last time I did that?” The AI fell silent. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to catch a train to Canterlot and you’re going to help me test the new equipment.” The AI hopped into his phone and the two set off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Crank and D got to the train station they were met by Twilight and the other five girls. He quickly hid his blush from Dash and walked up to them. “Hey guys.” The girls looked towards him and Pinkie waved in her typical Pinkie fashion.

“Hey!” The pink girl yelled.

“Howdy partner. What are ya doing here?” The farmer asked.

“I have business in Canterlot with the Royal Guard.” The man said as D appeared on his shoulder. “What about you guys?”

“Celestia has offered us to join her for a tea party.” Rarity said with a smile. Crank nodded and the train pulled into the station. The group sat down and started to chat with one another. Rarity noticed that Dash was fidgeting and was trying to hide her blush from the man.

“So Crank, what exactly are you going to be doing for the guard?” AJ asked.

“They asked my company to upgrade their armor.” He said as the AI showed a diagram of a full battle suit.

“Why? The armor they have seems pretty awesome.” Dash stated.

“These are far more advanced.” He said as he showed them a small hologram. The suit completely covered the user’s body and had armor attacked to what looked like a skin tight suit that acted as a buffer between the skin and the armor. The user would also wear a helmet that would adapt to the user’s head if they had a horn. The suit would also open two ports on the back in case the user was a Pegasus. “These are designed to make a soldier faster, stronger and more durable. They accelerate the magic in a Unicorn making it a force to be reckoned with. There are also several augments that can be equipped to them for non magic users.”

“I don’t get it.” Twilight said. Crank reached into his bag and pulled out a blue gem hooked up to a machine that was no bigger than a watch.

“AJ, mind lending me a hand?” The farmer shrugged and extended her arm. The man put the watch on her arm and pressed the center of the gem. The rock glowed brightly before making the girl’s body turn completely invisible.

“What in tarnation?” The girl said as she tried to look at her hands. as she waved them rapidly she could make out a ghost like version of her arms.

“Cool!” Pinkie said as AJ’s form reappeared.

“Unfortunately, the more you move around the less effect it has and it doesn’t last too long on people who can’t use magic.” He said as he took the item back.

“Any more of those?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, there’s X-ray vision, dome shield and a few others.” The man finished. “I’m even working on a flight module for non-Pegasus guards.”

“Really?” Rarity said in astonishment. “That must be something.” The train then pulled to a stop and the group made their way towards the castle. They all walked down the cobble stone streets of Canterlot and looked around at the sparkling streets. They agreed to stop at a local coffee shop and started chatting with one another. Crank avoided eye contact with Dash and the flyer did the same.

The rainbow flyer then saw two very attractive looking girls make their way over to the table and give Crank the biggest pair of bedroom eyes she’d ever seen.

“Excuse me sir, but aren’t you Crank Shaft?” One of them said in a refined voice. The man sighed and put down his cup of coffee.

“Yeah.” Dash saw the two girls’ eyes boggle and they giggled to one another.

“We just wanted to show our appreciation for all the good ideas your company comes up with.”

Here we fucking go. The man thought with a groan.

“That’s very kind of you but I can’t.” He said as the other five girls looked at him. The two beauties frowned at them and looked back at the man.

“Oh come on what do these commoners have that we don’t?” Dash was about to rip their heads off when Crank stood up.

“Brains for starters.” He said as he narrowed his eyes. “Do you two honestly think I don’t know who you are?” The two women looked at each other as the man took in a big breath of air. “Lilly Vanderhoof, twenty-six years old. Three times divorced over the span of five years with a failing business and gambling problem. Two go hand in hand no?”

“Why you-”

“And you.” The man said as he glared at the other woman. “Crystal Rose. Age twenty-six. Known among the affluent members of Canterlot, mostly for all the drama she causes at parties where you are dragged out due to drunken outbursts and have been arrested on several accounts for public drunkenness and indecency.” Crank said in a flat tone.

“Why you little-”

“I’m gonna stop you right there Ms.Vanderhoof. Unless you want the tabloids to hear about that incident last summer down in Colt Cod.” Both women shut their mouths and stormed off. “Have a nice day.” Crank said as both women flipped him the bird as they walked back into the cold, snow covered streets of Canterlot. Crank looked back at he six girls who all had shocked looks on their faces. “What?”

“You just tore into those two worse than Spike unwrapping his Birthday present.” Twilight said in shock.

“Yeah so? When people get rough with ya then you get rough with them.”

“How’d you know all that stuff anyway?” AJ asked as she cocked her head at the man.

“Internet.” The girls all looked at him in disbelief. “Fine. I have a few ‘connections’ within the Canterlot higher ups that love to gossip. Most of the time it’s needless chatter or stuff I already know.” He shrugged. “Information is power. More you know about someone, easier it is to manipulate them.”

“That’s not very nice.” Fluttershy said with a frown.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t make a habit of it and I only do it if it’s absolutely necessary. Like I just did to those two gold diggers.”

“How did you know that they were gold diggers?” Rarity asked as she sipped her tea.

“I have dealt with people like that enough to see them coming from a mile away.”

“Yeah, but they were still good looking.” Pinkie asked.

“It takes more than looks to get my attention.” Crank said as he and the group got to their feet and paid for their drinks. As they walked back outside an idea came to Rarity.

“So what does it take to get your attention then?” Crank raised an eyebrow at the girl.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Just making small talk.” She said in an innocent tone. She looked back at Applejack who had a confused look on her face. The fashionista then darted her eyes towards Dash who had a pair of rosy cheeks. AJ grinned and gave her a wink.

“Since ya just said that it takes more than looks to get ya hot under the collar ah’m a bit curious myself.” Dash clenched her fist and glared at the farmer. Crank raised an eyebrow and gulped.

“Um AJ, I like you as much as the rest of us do but-” The farmer then slapped him upside the head and chuckled.

“Relax partner ah didn’t mean it like that. You’re too deep in all those fancy gizmos for my liking.”

“Fair enough.” He said with a nod.

“So what kind of girl do you like?” Pinkie asked with a giggle. The man scratched his chin and thought for a moment.

“I guess she did have to be pretty. Not too pretty, but good looking and have a natural appeal to her. I don’t like it when a girl has to bathe in her makeup to look nice.” AJ gave a nod at the words. “She’d have to be funny, fun to hang out with and smart.” Dash hung her head at the last one.

“How smart?” Twilight asked.

“Not a genius, but someone who’s smart enough to know right from wrong. She’s also gotta be in good shape. Oh and she can’t be afraid to get down and dirty.” The girls all raised an eyebrow at the words. “Not like that! I mean she can’t be afraid to break a nail over some physical labor.”

“What about hair and eye color?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m not too much of a stickler about that. Just something....unique.” He said with a shrug. “Mind if we change the topic?”

“Why?” Dash asked.

“Because we’re here.” The group looked ahead to see the large castle before them. Crank showed the guard in front his ID badge and he let them inside. The group was met by the red haired man and a Pegasus with grey wings and jet black hair.

“Good to see you son.” Vermillion said with a smile.

“Who are these girls?” Mire said as he narrowed his eyes on the group.

“They are my guests.” The two men turned around to see the solar Princess wearing a flowing white dress and her younger sister wearing a similar blue one. “I have a scheduled tea party for this afternoon.”

“Isn’t that when you’re supposed to be watching the demonstration?” Mire said as he crossed his arms.

“Yes, might as well catch a show while we have some tea.” Celestia chimed. “That all right with you girls?” The Princess said as the group nodded. Mire sighed and shook his head.

“See you guys later. I gotta get ready.” Crank said as he followed the two men down the hallway.

“Nice to see you girls again.” Celestia said with a warm smile.

“You too Princess.” Twilight said as she followed her mentor. The group did the same. The girls walked through the halls of the castle until they came to an observation platform that was covered by bullet proof glass and was over looking an arena. The two men then joined them and took a seat.

“Let the show begin.” Vermillion said with a grin. A door on the far right side opened to show three guards in the normal guard armor. One was a pegasus, another a Unicorn and the final was a normal guard without a horn or a pair of wings. The doors on the far left opened to show a figure in the armor Crank showed the girls on the train ride. The armor covered the figure completely and the armor was pitch black. The group heard a siren blow and the four charged towards each other.

The guards closed in on the figure and tried to land a punch. The armored figure dodged the blows with ease and slammed its fist into the center guard’s jaw and was sent flying back onto the floor and was out cold. One of the guards took flight and charged at the opponent. The black armored figure was ready and side stepped the blow and grabbed the guard by his leg and slammed him into the ground before throwing him aside. The final guard’s horn flared and let loose a barrage of spells. One of them hit the fighter in the face and it staggered backwards.

The guard then heard a series of static noises coming from the figure. It knocked against its helmet and cracked it’s neck before glaring at the flyer.

“You broke my voice modifier.You cock bitting fucktard.” It said in a female voice. The figure rushed towards the man in a flash and delivered a powerful kick to the soldier’s armored chest. The golden armor started to crack like a dry cookie and the guard was sent flying into the wall. The siren blazed signaling the end of the match and the black figure went off as Crank appeared on the floor wearing a grey lab coat.

“How’s the armor working out?” He asked.

“A little uncomfortable, but it’s working.” The man scanned the armor with his screw driver.

“Looks like the voice modifier is busted.” He said with a sigh. “I’ll fix it when I bring the suit home.” The woman gave a nod and continued back of the arena. The group of girls were awe struck at the display.

“That was awesome!” Dash yelled.

“Most impressive.” Celestia said as she looked at Vermillion.

“It still needs a few tweaks here and there, but it should be ready inside three months.”

“Very good.” Celestia chimed. “Give my regards to your engineers.” The door to the observation deck opened to show the grey horned man.

“You can thank him right now. Crank designed it.” Vermillion said with a smile.

“It’s not done yet.” He sighed. “There’s still a few bugs I need to work out.” The man stated as he crossed his arms. The man then heard a growl come from his stomach and he blushed. Vermillion chuckled and Luna gave a giggle. “Sorry, kinda skipped breakfast.”

“Well, it’s around lunch time anyway.” Vermillion said. “I could go for something.”

“How about it girls?” Celestia said. Before either of them could speak, their stomachs answered fro them with a synchronized growl. Crank stifled a laugh as dash blushed. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Celestia then turned to the grey winged man. “Would you like to join us Mire?”

“No thank you Princess. I have some unfinished business to attend to.” He said as he walked away from the group. The Princesses and the others made their way into the dining hall The group sat at the long table with Crank sitting between Luna and Dash. The cyan flyer quietly dug into her meal and avoided eye contact with the man. Luna noticed several guards whispering to one another while looking at Vermillion.

“Is there any trouble guards?” Luna asked.

“N-no ma’am.” They said with a gulp.

“The why are thou staring at our guest?” The rest of the group looked at them and Vermillion put the pieces together.

“We were just wondering if he was the Crimson Spark.” Vermillion chuckled and looked at Celestia.

“Looks like my reputation precedes me. Course I haven’t heard that name in a very long time.” He chuckled.

“What’s the Crimson Spark?” The farmer asked.

“Here we go.” Crank said with a sigh. Vermillion smiled and sat back.

“Well, you see my dear, the story of the Crimson Spark is a thrilling tale full of adventure, romance and-”

“Long story short, my dad was in the guard about twenty years ago. Kicked some ass and made some spells.” The older man frowned at his son. “Sorry dad but if you told the ‘whole story’ then I’m sure that even Luna here would die of old age which would be quite the achievement.”

“You were in the guard?" Twilight asked.

“Yes, helped pay for college.”

“Which you dropped out of.” Celestia chuckled. Vermillion crossed his arms and sighed. The main doors then opened to show the posh Prince.

“Hello Auntie I-” Blue blood stopped talking when he saw the school girl’s and the grey horned man sitting beside Luna. “You!”

“Nice to see you too Blueblood.” Crank groaned.

“Don’t play innocent!” He snarled as he approached him. “You kicked me off the team!”

“No, you did that yourself. You were doing us more harm than good.” Crank said as he went to take a drink. Blueblood knocked the glass out of his hand and snarled. “I wasn’t finished drinking that.” Crank said in a calm and collected tone.

“BLUEBLOOD!” Luna bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice. She stood up and towered over the Prince. “THOU DARE INSULT OUR GUESTS!” Blueblood gulped and immediately back off as he stared into the icy blue eyes of death. He looked over the woman’s shoulder to see the brown haired man with a blank look on his face. He was also getting vibes from Celestia and the other members of the table.

“Magical duel.”

“What?” Crank said in confusion.

“I call magical duel.” The Prince said in a cocky tone.

“You wanna fight me?” Crank said with a chuckle. A silence fell over the group and Crank looked at his father who gave a shrug. “When and where? This place doesn’t really look like a battle ground.” The group looked at him in surprise.

“We can use that play pen of a stadium.” The Prince said as he walked away from the group. On his way out he slammed the door. The group then turned back to crank who had a grin on his face.

“Princess,” Crank started as he faced Celestia. “I’m not going to get thrown in the slammer if I beat him to a pulp am I?”

“No, in a duel class does not matter and the two fight as equals.” She said with a sigh. “If you win then you won’t face punishment.”

“That’s all I wanted to know.” He said as he cracked his neck. As he made his way out Twilight walked beside Vermillion and taped him on the shoulder.

“Yes?”

“Has Crank gone to any kind of special magic school in his life? I mean I’m not doubting his skill it’s just that,” The scholar paused as she tried to think of what to say. “Blueblood may be an ass, but he’s a Prince and has had exposure to some very advanced magic.” Vermillion scratched his chin and sighed.

“No, to tell you the truth I taught him everything he knows about magic.” The group looked at him in surprise. “The boy definitely takes after his mother when it comes to his personality. Mild mannered and generally level headed, but when he gets angry it’s like a hurricane hits.” The man said with a shiver.

The group saw Blueblood walking out wearing some white armor. The other end showed the inventor wearing a combat vest and boots. Under the vest, the man was donning a skin tight suit with pads on the chest and shoulders. The inventor cracked his neck and looked at Blueblood.

“Prepare yourself whelp.” He said as he cracked his knuckles.

“See Blueblood, here’s the difference between me and you. I already know how this is gonna end.” He said as he cracked his fingers. “The only thing I don’t know, is whether or not you’ll see me coming.” Crank hit a button on his watch and the man’s form turned invisible. Blueblood blinked and fired a bolt of yellow magic in the direction where the man was standing.

A grey bolt of magic shot up and took out a light. Then another and another until only one remained. The one that was dangling over the Prince. Blueblood looked out and saw nothing but darkness. A shot of grey magic then struck the Prince in the shoulder sending him to the ground.

“Coward!” He bellowed. The group then saw the grey winged man walk back up to them.

“Mire, I thought you said you had business to attend to?” Vermillion said in a surprised tone.

“Change of plans.” He said with a sigh. “Testing still going on?”

“No,” Luna began. “Prince Blueblood has foolishly challenged Crank to a duel.” Mire looked at Vermillion.

“Are you insane? If we lose this deal then-”

“Blueblood brought this on himself.” Celestia said in a stern tone.

“I’m sure he can handle anything Blueblood can throw at him.” Vermillion stated with a smile.

“You have that much confidence in him?” Celestia asked.

“You’re forgetting that he has my magic element.” The man said with a chuckle.

“Magic elements?” Dash said as she looked at the man.

“Every Unicorn’s magic has a base element, or a specialty.” Twilight said. “If you can figure out what base element you are and combine that with a spell then it’s power is increased in whatever way the user see’s fit.”

“Correct. You sure know how to pick em Celestia.” Twilight smiled at the comment. “As Ms. Sparkle said, Crank has inherited my electric nature and his mother’s wind nature. Even though he never uses hers.”

“Why would a surgeon need wind magic?” Rarity asked.

“Each different type of magic has different types of uses wouldn’t you agree? Wind magic, when used in a combat situation is a powerful force that cuts down it’s opponents like a sharp knife. Nova uses that and focuses it whenever she’s in surgery.” The girls looked at each other in shock. “It took her years to master it. Just a small bit of that type of magic when perfected and honed can cut through solid steel.”

Crank shot several bolts at the Prince who just barely managed to dodge them. The Prince’s horn glowed and shot several salvos at the darkness. He heard the inventor curse as a blast exploded. Crank slapped away the other salvos with his right arm and fired a few of his own back at the Prince. Blueblood had had enough games. His horn flared and a shield surrounded the Prince. The shield appeared to be at least a foot thick.

“You might as well give up commoner. This shield is made by pure magic and cannot be broken.” He said with a pant.

“We’ll see.” Crank said with a sigh. Blueblood saw something shining in the darkness and saw electric bolts crackling from the lights the man had taken out earlier. Her heard what sounded like several fuses crackling. The Prince gulped when he saw the man outlined by the magic electric bolts he held in his left hand. Celestia’s eyes shrank when she looked at the young man and the power he held.

“Of all the things to teach him, you taught him that Vermillion?” She said as she glared at the red haired man.

“The boy has had a target painted on his back since he was born. The least I could do is show him how to defend himself properly.”

“What kind of magic is that?” Twilight asked.

“It’s called the Thunder Cracker.” Celestia answered. “While Vermillion was in the guard he developed that magical technique for offensive purposes.” She sighed. “It’s what earned him the nick name, Crimson Spark.” Celestia saw that the other girls, including Luna looked at her in surprise. “He used it to cut a bolt of lightning in half before it struck the ground.”

“Thou surely jests!” Luna said as she looked at Vermillion who had a smug grin on his face.

“That sounds a bit like an anime I used to watch.” Fluttershy said.

“The one with the ninjas?” The red haired man asked. Fluttershy gave a nod. “Right, Crank asked me about that too when he found it. While I was in the guard and testing it out, I ran into a man who wrote those anime things Crank liked to read. He was looking for ideas and he like my technique so much that he asked me if he could use it in his series. I agreed and I’m credited in the book for it.” Fluttershy let out a gasp.

Crank gave an evil grin at Blueblood and started to charge forwards. Blueblood still held his grin as Crank closed in. Blueblood’s horn glowed was getting ready to fire a salvo when Crank was at point blank range. When the grey horned man got within a foot of the Prince Blueblood fired. Crank turned on his heel and shot his right hand through the magic shield and grabbed Blueblood by the throat while his left hand, covered in the grey bolts cut through the shield as though it was warm butter.

As his left hand got past the shield Crank cut the magic short and delivered a quick electric charged chop to the Prince’s neck. Blueblood crumpled to the ground and was having difficulty moving. The bell chimed signaling the end of the fight.

“What the hell did you just do to me you worm?” Blueblood yelled as he continued to struggle.

“I sent a bit of my magic into your Central Nervous System. You won’t be moving for a good five minutes.” Crank said as he shot a few bolts of magic into the air and light returned to the area.

“What are you talking about?”

“You are not the sharpest tool in the shed are you?” Blueblood was glaring daggers into the man. “It’s like this Blueblood and I’ll keep it simple so you can understand it.” The man started as he sat down on the Prince’s back. If Blueblood wasn’t furious before then he sure was now. “Your brain sends small electrical impulses to the different nerves in your body. This is how your body moves it’s legs, arms, fingers etcetera. The small shock I just gave you is currently scrambling those impulses and negating you from moving. Cut off from the brain’s orders your body has no idea what to do.”

Blueblood cursed at the man. “I have just literally short circuited you.” Crank got up form his loud seat and started to make his way towards the exit. “You should be fine in about two minutes.” He said with a wave. Crank put his left hand to his mouth and coughed as he felt a familiar ripping sensation in his chest.

Damn, I’m at my limit. He thought as he felt blood fill his hand. The man then heard a loud grunting noise. He turned his head to see that a very angry Blueblood had recovered and was now charging at him with glowing hands and horn. Crank was going to dodge, but felt his magic drain away. No choice!

Crank stood up and barely managed to dodge Blueblood’s first fist. The Prince brought his left magic charged fist around intending to land it in the inventor’s face. His glowing hand was halted and the Prince felt as though he had punched concrete. He looked to see that the man had stopped his fist with his right hand. Crank applied pressure and the Prince cried in pain as he felt his fingers break.

Blueblood then saw that his magic was vanishing and yellow colored sparks were arcing over the man’s arm. Crank let out a low pitched growl and the Prince gulped. “I said it’s over!” Like coiled spring the man’s right arm slammed forwards and slammed into the Prince’s face. Crank heard the bones snap. Blueblood was sent rocketing back ten feet by the magic charged punch.

“Enough!” Celestia yelled as she teleported between the two. Crank was on his knees and panting. He looked at his right arm and saw that the fake flesh had been burnt off a bit. He quickly covered it up with his shirt and started to limp his way off the field. Blueblood was yelling in pain as the medics approached him.

“Holy crap!” Dash yelled.

“That was quite the spectacle.” Luna said as she looked at Blueblood who shoved the medic away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, the Prince had been treated for a broken nose and cheek bone. The bones were already healed thanks to magic and the Prince was now waiting for the extreme swelling to go down. His face looked like head shaped eggplant. Blueblood kept rolling the fight over in his head and he swore by his aunt’s nonexistent beard that there was something odd about that last punch. The sound of his cell phone broke him from his train of thought.

“Who is this?” He asked as he looked at the unrecognizable number.

“Someone who has a proposition that you’d be stupid to refuse.” Blueblood raised an eyebrow at the voice. It was modified by a sound board and was most likely on a private line. “I know that the kid kicked your ass seven ways to Sunday.”

“Watch your tongue!”

“No, you watch yours whelp or so help me I’ll ship you off to the shadow lands before you have a chance to call for help.” The Prince growled. “Look, I know you dislike the twerp. As do I.”

“How do you know the runt?”

“Not important. What is important is that I know how to get to him and you have the means.” Blueblood remained silent. “What if I told you that the brat had something he didn’t want anyone to know about? Something that would get under his skin so badly that he might say attack a defenseless Prince and be hauled off to jail for the next few decades for striking an unarmed member of the royal family?”

“You have my attention.”

Chapter 12: Exposed

Chapter 12

Exposed

The next day started out normal and was the week before Spring Break so everybody had already turned their brains off and started making plans. It was mid day and the group of friends were having lunch at their usual table.

“So what are you guys gonna do over break?” Pinkie chimed.

“Mac needs a hand on the farm and I need the doe.” AJ said in a her usual demeanor.

“I have at least a dozen orders to fill for Sapphire Shores new line of dresses.” Rarity sighed.

“I have to help a few rabbits make a new hole.”

“That don’t seem too bad. How many ya gotta do?” The farmer asked.

“Over one hundred.” The timid girl then squeaked and hid under the table as they heard a thunder clap. The group looked out the window and saw that dark clouds were forming.

“Storms coming in.” Crank said. AJ gave Rarity a wink and she nodded as she looked at the squirming Dash.

“So Crank what escapades are you going to do?”

“Nothing special, work most likely.” He said with a shrug.

“Partner ya gotta put down that gizmo of yours and take a breather or you’ll work yourself into an early grave.”

“Didn’t Twilight give you a lecture like that few years back?” The farmer crossed her arms and pouted at the man as the others chuckled. “What about you Dash?”

“Oh uh...nothing...training I guess. Playing games. You get Titanfall?” Before he could answer he saw Dash frown. Crank looked behind him to see Blueblood fast approaching with a smug grin on his face.

“What do ya want Blueblood? We’re eating.” The man sighed.

“What I can’t have a friendly conversation?” Crank narrowed his eyes on the man. “I just wanted to say no hard feelings.” The man said as he continued on his way. “Oh and to offer my condolences about your sister.” The grey horned man’s eyes shrank and rage swelled within him. Twilight had also noticed that the overhead lights started flickering.

“What’s he talking about?” Dash asked.

“Nothing.” Crank said as he used all his self control to not zap the Prince.

“I hardly think that your sister dying under your watch and loosing an arm qualifies as nothing. I guess she was just too dimwitted to trust you with her life.” Crank cracked his neck and was about to strangle the man when he heard a giggle coming from Pinkie.

“That’s silly! Crank still has his arms!” She said as she chuckled. Blueblood gritted his teeth. If there was one thing he hated it was being laughed at and Pinkie’s laugh had always annoyed him to feats he thought impossible.

“Shut up peasant!” The man fired a bolt at Pinkie that struck her square in the chest and sent her crashing into the fashionista and farmer. “No one dares-” The Prince was cut off as a large magical bolt of electricity hit him square in the jaw and sent him back. Twilight and several onlookers turned and saw the usual calm cool headed Unicorn with rage in his eyes and magical sparks arcing over his body.

The Prince wouldn’t dare be beaten a second time by the inventor and he pulled out a small plastic pistol. Several students hit the floor and gulped. It was a Parisprite 38. It fires concentrated bullets from the user’s magic. It was the standard issue side arm for Police. The room was then filled with a blinding flash of light and the Principal appeared before them.

“CEASE THY ACTIONS BLUEBLOOD OR FACE OUR-” Was all the copy of the Princess could say before Blueblood fired a magic bullet at the clone and it vanished in a puff of Smoke. Crank quickly pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the sidearm as he pressed the button. Another blast erupted from the gun before it exploded and the Prince clutched his hand in pain. The blasts didn’t hit the man but it destroyed his screwdriver.

Crank took the opportunity to lunge at the man and hopefully subdue him. Blueblood gulped and dodged the man’s fist just in time to see Crank’s clenched right hand break through the concrete pillar as though it was cardboard. Several students’ jaws dropped at the display. Blueblood gulped in fear as more Electricity poured out of the man’s body. Crank grabbed the Prince by the collar and slammed his knee into his ribs. He gripped the man’s hair with his right hand and charged his left with magic.

“You. Never. Mention. Her. Again!” He yelled between punches. Blueblood felt blood in his mouth and focused his magic into his horn and let out a bolt of magic that hit Crank square in the face. The blast shot the inventor back and through the window. Crank managed to land in a summersault way and panted. He had already used up at least half of his mana and was getting more worn out. He saw Blueblood jump down with his magic charged.

The man sighed and raised his hands as the downpour continued. The Prince was so busy charging his magic that he didn’t notice Crank gathering his magic in his two hands. Just as Blueblood was ten feet away, Crank brought both his arms down and a massive bolt of lightning with it. The magic infused bolt came down on Blueblood hard. The only thing that anybody remembers is a flash of light and a blood curdling scream.

After the bombardment Crank saw that Blueblood was still moving. Squirming on the ground, but alive. Part of him wanted to continue beating him until only a stain remained but settled for a spitting on him as he walked by. The smell of burnt flesh was present in the air. Crank dropped to his knees as he felt most of his magic drain and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The inventor then heard grunting noises and saw Blueblood attempting to stand up.

“You....little...worm.” The Prince said as a large amount of energy formed in his hand. Crank managed to stand up by steadying himself on his knees. The amount of magic the Prince was holding in his hands was enough to blow up a bus. With the last of his strength, Blueblood threw the sphere. The Prince’s fatigue made the sphere go off course and was now heading for where Dash and the other students were standing. In a flash crank remembered the exploded factory and the yells of frightened people.

The man fought through the pain and extended his damaged right arm and caught the ball of magic. For a second, time stood still before a flash of light and explosion filled the student’s senses. The students ducked as the shockwave hit them and shattered the remaining windows. After the dust settled Dash looked out to see the storm raging on and Crank’s body was on the ground, barely moving.

“Crank!” The woman yelled as she flared her wings and approached the man who was now on all fours. Dash could see that he was turning towards her. When she saw him from the front, she and most of the girls screamed in horror. His right arm had been completely destroyed and wires were sticking out along with mangled pieces of metal. Dash was frozen on the spot and was shaking. The man’s once electric green eye had a large crack in it and was flickering. The right side of his face was also burnt.

The students all looked at the man and gulped as the room was filled with bright blue light. The real Princess Luna stood before them with four guards, along with Shining Armor by her side and a foul look on her face. She looked at the scene before her and put a hand to her mouth in shock. Two guards broke up the students while the other two cuffed Blueblood. Shining summoned a blanket and put it over Crank who grunted in pain as the ambulance arrived and took him away. The last thing Crank saw before blacking out was Dash’s shocked face and tears running down her cheeks.

Author's Note

Sorry about the length.

Chapter 13: Paying Respects

Chapter 13

Paying Respects

School was closed the next few days for repairs and Spring Break soon arrived. No one had seen Crank since he was carried off by the medics a few days prior. Twilight and Rarity told the others how they came to know about Crank’s augmentation. The six friends made their way towards the man’s home just on the outskirts of town and saw the black armored one they had seen fight the three guards. Another in similar green armor was holding a Timber Wolf SMG. The two stood on either side of the gate. The dark suited one stepped forward unarmed.

“Can I help you?” It was the same female voice they had heard before.

“We want to visit Crank.” Twilight said with a gulp as she eyes the other man with a gun.

“No visitors.” The other said in a gruff voice.

“Oh come on!” Dash yelled as she stepped forwards. The green suited man then raised his gun and flipped the safety off. The girls gulped.

“Stun rounds only.” The man stated as the black suit grabbed the gun and crushed it in her hands.

“I can handle this Ratchet. Go take a piss break.” The man shook his head and walked away from the group. “Sorry about that. He’s a bit on edge.” The woman said with a sigh. “Look girls, I know you want to talk to him, but Crank really isn’t in the mood. I mean his biggest secret practically got broadcasted for the world to see.”

“What are ya talking about the whole world?” The farmer asked.

“Ms. Dash, if you would lend me your phone.” Dash hesitantly took out her phone and handed it to the woman. Even with the armored gloves on her touch was delicate as she accessed YouTube and typed in a few words. The girls saw a video of the incident between Blueblood and Crank. “It’s already got over three hundred thousand views.” The group gasped. “So trust me it’s best if you all just go.”

Dash grunted and took flight and zoomed towards the house. “Rainbow don’t!” The armored girl said, but her warning came too late as an electrified net caught the flyer and dropped her to the ground. As Dash struggled in the net she looked for the person that shot the trap. The flier looked up to see a man with a large rifle pointed at her.

The black armored figure then jumped in front of Dash and the shooter backed off. The armored woman picked Dash up and brought her back over to the group and cut her loose. “I think you guys should go, cause next time,” The woman pointed to the roof to man with a high powered sniper rifle had them in their sights. “things will get ugly. If anything changes then I’ll call you.”

The six sighed and made their way home. The sniper stood down as the black armored girl made her way inside the house. The woman arrived in front of the man’s office and typed in the code. The door hissed open and the woman saw the man levitating a long silver rod with a green tip and four small silver arms that seemed to grab the light.

“Need something?” Crank said in a flat tone. The inventor turned around to show that he was now donning an eye patch over his left eye and his coat hung off the right side of his body.

“Your friends just tried to get in.”

“I noticed.” He said as a recording from the Titan’s perspective played.

“Crank they’re your friends and they’re worried about you.” The woman stated in a flat tone.

“It’s not their concern.” He said as he continued to work. The woman grunted and walked right up to the man so they were eyeball to visor.

“You know, sometimes I have to remind myself which one of us is the machine.” The man frowned and extended the new screwdriver and the tip glowed green. “What are you going to do? Kill me again!” The words hit the man like a ton of bricks and he heard the woman gasp from inside the helmet. “Crank....I....I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”

“Activation code, Grand Fissure.” The suit then froze in place and the room fell silent. Crank walked over to the hardline phone and picked up the receiver and dialed a number before getting sucked through the phone line. Five minutes later the woman was able to move again and she cursed in frustration and stormed out of the home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was around noon when Gale heard a hard knock on the door to her home. The flier walked over and opened it. What she saw made her yelp in fright. A 5’8” figure wearing pitch black armor was standing in her doorway.

“Is Rainbow Dash home?” The figure’s voice was definitely female.

“Um yes, what business do you have with my daughter?” The woman asked trying not to sound afraid.

“It’s a personal matter. Just tell her that-” She was cut off when she saw the cyan winged flyer at the top of the stairs.

“You?” Dash said in surprise.

“Yeah, we need to talk.” Dash nodded and motioned for the woman to follow her up to her room. Gale gulped as she made her way inside and shot Dash a nervous glance. Once they were in the girl’s room, Dash locked the door. “We’ve got a problem Dash.”

“What?”

“I said something that I shouldn’t have said and now Crank is worse than he was before.” The woman’s tone was low and sad. “He needs your help.”

“No way!” The flier yelled. “Besides why didn’t he tell me about his arm? I thought he trusted me and the others, looks like I was wrong about him. I say that he should-” Was all she got out as the black armored woman grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the floor with one hand.

“Say anything bad about my brother and I’ll gut you.” Dash gulped as the woman let her go and she dropped to her knees. “All he’s done is help you and now when he needs it, you’re going to abandon him? Some friend you are. You have no idea what he’s been through.” Dash bit her lip and sighed.

“I don’t know where he is.”

“I do. How fast can you get to Manehattan?” The woman asked as she scribbled an address down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One hour later the rainbow haired flyer arrived in the bustling city. She went into the nearest shop and showed the clerk the address. The man pointed down the road and the girl took flight. She then came upon a gate.

Saint Luna’s Cemetery
119, Grimm Avenue
Manehattan, 1022Rainbow gulped and walked into the main building and approached one of the grounds keepers.

“Um excuse me.” The man was in his late sixties and was on the thin side. His dark skin contrasted his dull grey Uniform.

“How can I help you missy?” He asked in a cheery tone. Dash looked at his uniform and saw T. Stone on the name tag.

“Um I’m looking for someone.”

“In or above ground?”

“Above. He’s a bout 5’8” brown hair, grey horn.” The man still looked confused. “Most likely missing a right-”

“Oh, you mean Mr. Shaft.” Dash nodded. “He’s a regular here. You a friend of his?”

“Yeah, do ya know where he is?” The man nodded and motioned for her to follow. Dash followed the grounds keeper and saw rows and rows of tomb stones.

“That boy’s a frequent visitor. Boys stuck in the past most likely.” The man shrugged.

“Why?”

“Never asked. Not my business, but I could tell that he blames himself for whatever happened.”

“How do you know?” Rainbow asked as the clouds started to turn dark.

“Just the way he looks at the stone. You can tell a lot in a person’s eyes if you spend enough time looking at em.” Stone stopped and pointed ahead. Dash could just make out the shape of a man with dark brown hair and the right sleeve of his coat was blowing freely in the wind. “Everybody needs a friend here. Preferably one with a pulse.”

Dash opted for standing behind a tree that was a few feet away from the man. She poked her head out and barely managed to make out the lettering on the grave stone. The woman accidentally stepped on a dry branch and the man’s ears twitched.

“Who’s there?” He yelled. The man charged his magic in his left hand. Dash quietly stepped out from behind her hiding place. Crank gulped as he lowered his hand and cut off his magic.

“H-hey, Crank.” Dash said with a sigh.

“What are you doing here?” He asked as he turned away.

“I came to see if you were okay.” The flier said as she walked up next to him. She got a clear look at the stone and gasped.

Dawn Nebula
5/13/96 - 6/15/13
Beloved Sister and Friend.

The flyer looked at Crank and could see a tear coming from his left eye. Dash wrapped her arms around the man and leaned her head against his back.

“It was my fault.”

“Huh?”

“We tried to play god and I paid the price.” He sighed. “We wanted to see if we could copy a person’s conscience into a computer and create a full AI.” The flier gulped. “I volunteered for the test, but Dawn was just so damn stubborn!”

“How was that supposed to work?”

“It’s like copying and pasting a word document. We’d copy the electronic signals in a person’s brain and transfer it into a chip.” The man wiped his eye dry. “Everything was going smoothly, then something went wrong. To this day I’m not sure what.” He sniffled. “I tried to stop the machine, but it was too late and it overloaded. That’s how this happened.” The man pointed to his right side.

“So those dreams I had?”

“Memories.” He gulped. “It’s strange. We were twins, everyone always thought we were so special and put us both in the same classes. I was always trying to prove how different we were and now I’d give anything to have her back.” Dash felt tears forming in her eyes. “But she isn’t completely dead.”

“Huh?”

“When the machine exploded it destroyed Dawn’s body, but not her mind. After I had woken up from surgery I found that the machine had transferred Dawn’s brainwaves. Her intelligence, personality and memories into a chip.” Dash made the connection and gasped. “D is all that’s left of Dawn, the only link I have left. A fragment, a byproduct of the experiment.”

“What was she like?”

“Brilliant beyond measure, strong, good looking and got along with everyone. She was going to succeed my father and take over the company when she became of age.” He chuckled. “I was so proud to be her brother and now my folks are stuck with me. The one who killed-” The man felt a hard slap hit his cheek.

“Are you an idiot? How can you think that?”

“How can I not? It was my project, my screw up, my responsibility!” He yelled as he rubbed the handprint.

“It was a freak accident!”

“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s still my fault.”

“Let me tell you something pal, if what you’ve told me about Dawn is true then she would want you to keep moving forward and enjoy what you do have.”

“And what do I have Dash? A broken eye, a fake arm and a mind more filled with memory than hope. You don’t know the pain when someone that close to you is taken away. She was my sister, my role model.” He regained control of his voice. “Everything she was I aspired to be. It was my job to take care of her as an older brother. Even if it was only by a minute, she was still my little sister!” The flyer gulped and bit her lip.

“Wanna know why I kept my arm and eye a secret? They are just reminders of my biggest failure as an inventor and a brother. When I hide them it reminds me of when she was still alive and helps the pain just a little.” The man raised his left hand and held his pointer and thumb a few centimeters away from each other. “That much, that much is what’s keeping me going, that small glimmer of light in the tunnel of shit that is my life. That’s what I have.”

“What about us huh?” Dash fired back. “What about Twilight, AJ, Rarity and the rest of us? Are we that unimportant to you that you don’t even consider us friends?”

“Of course not!” He yelled. “You guys are without a doubt the closest friends I have in Ponyville.” Dash couldn’t help but feel warm at the words but held her scowl.

“Fine, ask yourself this. If it were reversed do you think that Dawn would be like this? Sulking and drowning herself in her work?”

“No, she wasn’t weak like-”

“Oh my creator! You have got to be the dumbest smart person I’ve ever met!” The girl said as she started to rip her hair out. “You took on a Prince and saved my butt from those dregs that jumped me and managed to get me, Rainbow Dash, to an A- average. If you told me that a year ago I would’ve called 911 and have you shipped off to the nearest mental ward.” Crank felt his throat go dry. “Look, I know that I don’t know how you feel, but I’m not gonna let a friend continue sulking for something that wasn’t his fault.”

Crank sighed and rolled the words around in his head. “And I’m not leaving while you’re still like this.” The girl said as she crossed her arms and pouted. The man hung his head and chuckled. “What’s so funny?”

“You are without a doubt the stubbornest girl I’ve ever met.” The man said as he shook his head. “Almost no one has given me a tongue lashing like that.”

“Maybe I need to beat it into you.” The girl said as she cracked her knuckles.

“I’m thick headed.” He said as he tapped his skull. “I still say it’s my fault, but no sense in sulking about it I guess.” The sky then started to down pour and the two ran back to the building.

“So are you all metal?” Dash asked as she shook her hair dry.

“Mind if we talk back at my place?” He said as he walked over to a pay phone. He waited until the receiver picked up and heard the voice of the AI. Crank motioned for dash to come over to him. “You might wanna hold on.”

“Hold onto wha-” The woman then felt a pulling sensation and instinctively wrapped her arms around the man’s torso. Dash felt as though she was weightless and only saw a mix of color and light before finding herself back in the man’s office. “Ow.” Dash said as she stood up.

“Note to self. Never do that again.” The man said as he cracked his back. He then saw the black armored figure standing before him with her arms crossed.

“You’re a real pain you know that.” The woman grunted.

“Sorry.” Crank said with a sigh. “Where’s Ratchet at?”

“Said he found a place to stay in town.” The woman said with a sigh. Dash followed Crank up the steps and soon saw the AI on the table.

“Look who’s back.” D said as she crossed her arms. The AI saw that Dash was staring at her with an uneasy look.

“She knows.” The AI sighed and sat down and hung her head.

“So you’re really his sister?” Dash asked.

“Yup, now I really am his little sister.” She chuckled. Dash bit her lip and sighed.

“I really don’t know-”

“It’s okay Dash. Unlike Cranky here I’ve moved on.” The AI said. The front door to the house opened and Nova stepped inside. She walked inside to see Crank, Dash and the AI.

“Oh hello everyone.” She said with a smile.

“How’d things go at the hospital?” Crank asked.

“Nothing too bad. Granted I did get a few questions and odd looks, but I think your father is having a wrestling match with the board members.” She sighed. The woman then turned towards Dash. “What are you doing here Rainbow?”

“Talking some sense into this one.” Dash said as she pointed to Crank. “I’m gonna get going and-”

“Not the best idea.” Nova interrupted. “I heard from the weather team that they’re planning a large storm and it’s already well under way.” The group looked out the nearest window and saw the tree tops blowing violently in the wind. In the distance one was struck by a large bolt of lightning. “You’re more than welcome to stay the night.” Dash’s face went bright red as she and the man both remembered how they ended up in bed together.

“Thanks.” Dash said as she avoided eye contact with the man. The three sat down for dinner and they started chatting. Dash mentioned that her father works for the weather factory and her mother is an accountant for Cloudsdale National Bank. The two teenagers spent the next few hours playing Titanfall. Thankfully Crank had mastered telekinesis and was able to put up some-what of a decent fight.

“Hey Crank.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s gonna happen now?”

“I get a double pilot kill.” He said as he launched the rocket volley at the two fleeing enemies.

“No, I mean with school an everyone.” Crank sighed and thought for a moment.

“There’s only a few months left. Might as well finish what I started.”

“But what about your...implants?”

“I have the pieces I need coming tomorrow to make replacements. So I should be back to abnormal by tomorrow afternoon.” Dash nodded and gave a yawn.

“Think it might be okay if the others come and see ya? They’re all worried.”

“Fine, but no cameras.”

“Deal.” The Titan slayers finished up their match and called it a night. Dash took the guest room while Crank took his own. The man rested his head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 14: Shocking Developments

Chapter 14

Shocking Developments

The man felt the sun shining in his eye and he groaned. When he turned over he saw a tuff of rainbow hair and he gulped. The athlete was wearing her clothes from yesterday and her eyes slowly started to open. Not thinking, Crank shot a blast of electric based magic that pinned Dash’s body to the ceiling by her arms and legs.

“What the hell?” The woman yelled in frustration.

“You mean you’re real?”

“Obviously!” Crank cut off his magic and the woman hovered back down and slapped him across the face. “What was that for?”

“Sorry. D sometimes used the hologram projector to mess with me early in the morning.” He said as he rubbed his cheek. “She even disguised herself as Rarity one time.” Dash raised an eyebrow at the words. “She may be a program now, but she still likes to mess with me. As siblings do.” The AI then appeared on the night stand.

“You should have seen his face when I turned into yo-” Crank pulled out his new screwdriver and made the tiny girl’s mouth vanish. The man snickered and put the device back on the nightstand.

“Course I can mute her whenever I want.” The AI looked at him with a scowl. “Now if you two ladies would excuse me, I need to get dressed.” Dash nodded and went outside the man’s room with the AI on her shoulder. Dash went into the bathroom and was straightening her messy hair. The AI cracked it’s neck and it’s mouth was returned.

“So you got the hots for my bro huh?” The AI chirped. Dash’s face went bright red and looked at the small see through woman.

“What? No!” She said with a blush.

“My logical data analysis sector indicates that you are lying and my bullshit meter agrees.” The AI smirked and snapped her fingers. A video feed from the man’s laptop camera opened and Dash saw the man’s shirtless back. Her eyes widened and she felt her wings spring up. “Ha! Knew it!” The AI smiled as the video vanished.

“Okay fine.” Dash admitted with a blush. “Just don’t say anything!” The AI hoped off her shoulder and grew to a 5’7” woman.

“I may be a blend of light and color, but I know the code.” She put her right hand in a fist. “Ho’s before bro’s.” Dash attempted to fist bump her but her hand went right through the image. “First world hologram problems.” The AI vanished and Dash walked out of the restroom. Crank also walked out with a light green T-shirt and black pants. Dash sniffed the air and smelt something cooking. The two walked down to see Nova over a pan of eggs and bacon.

“Morning you two.” She smiled as the teenagers sat down. “How do you like your eggs Rainbow?”

“Scrambled is fine.” The girl stated. Rainbow and Crank looked towards the doorway to see a man with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. A green horn was coming from his forehead.

“Sup dude?” The man said as he walked over to Crank. He was muscular and tall. Definitely an athlete. He stood at around 5’9” and his clothes hugged his body.

“Hey Ratchet.” Crank said as he shook his hand. Dash raised an eyebrow at the inventor. “Rainbow this is my best friend Ratchet Steel. Ratch, this is my friend Rainbow Dash.”

“Nice to meet you.” Dash said with a smile. Ratchet looked at her and grinned.

“Wow dude, you undersold her when you said she was ho-” Crank blushed and shocked his friend with a gray bolt of magic.

“That’s enough out of you.” He said as he his blush. Nova chuckled and continued to cook. “Where’d you stay last night anyway?”

“I found an inn in town near Sugar Cube Corner.” He said as he dove into his eggs.

“So you’ve known Crank for a long time?” Dash asked.

“Oh yeah, we go back to kindergarten. I actually work for his dad.”

“What do you do?”

“Security. I was actually here yesterday.”

“I didn’t see you.”

“I was the one in the green suit.” Dash glared at him. “Sorry for the shooting you threat, I was kinda on edge.” He said with a sigh. Dash just ate in silence while the two boys continued chatting. The AI then appeared on the table.

“I sent the others a message.”

“Thanks D.”

“Oh and your package arrived.” Grey smiled and helped his mother with the dishes before she left for the hospital. Crank and the other two followed the man down into his lab to see a large crate in the middle of the floor. Crank levitated a crow bar over to the wooden box and pried open the lid. The girl then saw several metal parts, wires and computer chips.

“What’s all that stuff?” Dash asked.

“This is my replacement.” He said with a grin. “You two might wanna stand back.” Dash and Ratchet nodded and stood a few feet away from the man. Crank closed his eye and focused. Several objects rose from the crate and some from the surrounding room. Wires stitched themselves into computer chips. Several metal pieces bent themselves into a small sphere that was soon covered by white glass. The small sphere fell into the man’s hand. Dash gulped when she saw a long needle on the back of the object.

“I hate this part.” Crank said as he walked over to the mirror. He pulled the eyepatch off and carefully inserted the fake eye into his socket. He heard a metallic click and a familiar buzzing noise. He looked in the mirror and saw his black iris become green and bits of code flashed across his vision. He blinked a few times as the code vanished and he saw his reflection. “There we go.” He said as he looked at the other two.

“How does that even work?” Dash asked.

“The eye sends what I see in bits of code. Theres a chip in my brain that decodes the information and I get a mental picture.” He said as he walked back over to the box. His horn glowed and several more, larger metal objects came out. The parts then started to bend to the man’s will and put themselves together. The next ten minutes was filled with a swirling mass of metal parts, wires and gears. Soon the final product revealed itself. It was sleek, sophisticated and undeniably badass.

Unlike the previous one, the cover was completely black and was made of hardened metal. Some of the wiring that was still visible was also black. Dash noticed that near the shoulder was a long rod. Crank walked over to his barren workbench and laid down on it. He extended his left arm and several clamps wrapped around his legs, arm and mid section. Crank levitated the arm over to his right side and guided it into the socket in his right arm.

The man grunted in pain as he rotated it so it would match up with the socket. With one final grunt of pain and burst of magic the arm slid into it’s new home. The man saw several loading bars in his right field of vision and watched as thy all flashed from red to green.

Neural interface start up complete. The words blinked for a few seconds before vanishing. The restraints released him and the man sat up. He flexed his fake hand and cracked his shoulder.

“Wow.” Dash said as she eyed the arm. “That looks so cool!” She said as she walked up to the man.

“It still has a few bugs in it but, nothing I can’t fix.” The three then made their way back upstairs. A few minutes later the three heard a knock at the door. Ratchet approached the door and looked out to see five girls.

“Who is it?” The man said.

“Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie.” The indigo haired girl said. Ratchet looked at Crank who gave him a nod. The man opened the door and saw five of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen. The girls made their way inside and saw their rainbow haired friend next to the inventor. Pinkie, Shy and AJ gulped at the man’s different form than what they were used to.

“How are you doing Crank?” Twilight asked as she and the others sat down.

“I’ve been better.” He said as he looked at the girls. “I guess we should shoo the elephant out of the room and explain my condition.”

“Oh you don’t gotta do that partner.” AJ said with a smile. “We all got things we don’t wanna talk-”

“No, you guys have a right to know.” He sighed. Crank gave them the full story. How he had lost his arm and eye, the augmentation process, his sister Dawn becoming an AI. Everything. It was a good thing that Rarity had put on waterproof makeup. Pinkie’s hair deflated and AJ would occasionally wipe her eyes while Twilight was handling her own feelings and Fluttershy’s tears.

“My word.” Rarity said as she summoned another tissue.

“I...I had no idea that you’d been through so much.” Twilight said as she dried her eyes.

“Not exactly something that’s easy to bring up in conversation.” Crank said as he gulped.

“So what’s gonna happen now?” Pinkie asked.

“Not sure.” He said with a sigh. “I know I’ll have to face the music eventually. Might as well get it over with.” The other gave a nod and Twilight noticed the blonde haired man. “Oh right, ladies this is my best friend from manehattan Ratchet Steel.”

“Nice to meet ya.” He gave them each a nod. Pinkie giggled and whispered something to AJ who also started to laugh. “Mind telling me what’s so funny?”

“Just that,” Pinkie giggled. “together you’re-”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Crank said with a frown.

“You’re-”

“Pinkie!”

“Ratchet and Crank!” Dash blurted out and the girls all laughed.

“Congrats Dash, you are one-millionth person to reference us to that game.” Crank sighed. The girls calmed down and Pinkie’s hair exploded back to its normal self and she smiled.

“Oh! I have an idea!”

“Okay, lets hear it.”

“We throw a party!” Pinkie smiled.

“I think everyone from here to the Crystal Empire saw that one coming.” Crank said under his breath.

“Pinkie, I think the last thing Crank wants is-” The scholar was cut off by the inventor.

“Actually Twilight, that’s not a bad idea.”

“What?” The group of girls said in shock.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no changing Pinkie’s mind when it comes to parties.” The group gave him a nod. “Okay, make it later on tonight and just say that it’s Ratchet’s welcome to Ponyville party or something. I still need to test this thing and make sure it doesn’t blow up or anything.” The group then saw the black suited woman come in and look at them.

“Oh yeah! That’s another thing.” Dash said. “Who is that?”

“Calm down Dash.” The AI said. “That’s just my mobile platform.”

“What?” The AI rolled her eyes and jumped into the suit. The black suit then shook and cracked it’s neck.

“That was me yesterday at the front of the house.”

“No way!” Ratchet said in shock. “She’s been in that thing the whole time?”

“You mean you didn’t find the fact that she slept standing up and drank motor oil to be a little bit odd?” Crank said. The blonde haired man thought back and remembered the suit standing still for hours on end and sipping black liquid through one of those crazy bendy straws with loop-da-loops through her helmet.

“Oh. My bad.” He chuckled.

“Anyway, I have to put this thing through some tests. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours.” Crank said as he stood up and cracked his back. “I guess I’ll see you guys later on tonight.” Pinkie smiled and wrapped the inventor in a bone crushing hug before zooming off with a cloud of pink dust behind her.

“How did she-”

“It’s Pinkie Pie. Don’t question it.” Crank said as he looked at his friend. “Twilight, why don’t you show Ratchet around town before the party starts?”

“You sure?”

“I’ll be fine. I just need to run some tests. Go out an enjoy yourself. Besides Twilight has a crap load of books.” The man’s eyes widened.

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Twilight looked at him in surprise.

“You like books?” The scholar asked.

“Who doesn’t?”

“Here we go again.” Crank muttered as the group left his home. Once they were far enough away dash pulled Rarity to the side.

“H-Hey Rarity c-can I ask you something?” The fashionista looked at her friend and raised an eyebrow. Dash was stuttering and looked more nervous than she did when she competed in the ‘Best Young Flier’s Competition’ one year prior.

“What ever is the matter darling? You look more nervous than Fluttershy when we went to the Crystal Empire for the first time.” Dash was biting her lip and had a bright blush on her face.

“H-how do you,” The girl grunted and gathered her resolve. “get a guy to notice you looks wise?” Rarity froze in place and almost fell over had Dash not caught her. Rarity looked at her friend with tears of joy in her eyes.

“I honestly never believed that I’d ever see the day you’d willingly take an interest in your appearance.” She said as she wiped the tears away. “I’m going to assume that our favorite mad scientist is the guy you wish to impress hmm?” Dash knew that it was futile to deny it to the fashionista and answered with a swift, but wholehearted nod. “Come along dear, I must get your measurements!” The flier then felt herself being dragged by the fashionista towards her boutique.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours ticked by as Crank tinkered with his new arm and added new additions to the hardware and software design. He included several new types of upgrades to the arm. Soon D appeared beside him.

“Crank it’s time to head to the party.” The AI said.

“Yeah let me just finish this up.” He had his screw driver over his arm. The light buzzed green and he flexed the appendage. “Okay all set.” Before he reached the door the AI snapped her fingers and the door closed. “What?”

“Are you seriously going to go like that?” Crank looked down at his green T shirt and jeans. “At least wear a collared shirt.” The woman said with a sigh. Crank rolled his eyes and made his way up to his room and changed into a gray collared shirt and a pair of black pants and matching shoes.

“There, happy?” He said as he looked at the AI. Dawn had sent Rarity a message via private channel. The AI then jumped into the chip and the man inserted her into his head. “How does the new arm and eye register?”

“I’d say a power efficiency increase by twenty percent.” The voice said in his head. “I see that you’ve added a few more defensive options.”

“Well, since my secret is out I gotta be on my toes.” He said as he grabbed the cloaking module. The man left his home and made his way towards Sugar Cube Corner. He ducked behind a building and saw several people entering the establishment. He activated the cloaking mechanism and snuck his way inside.

Soon the place was packed and Crank saw Ratchet talking with Twilight. Soon the lights dimmed and Pinkie grabbed a microphone out of her hair. How she was keeping it in there we may never know.

“Attention everyone, let’s give a big Ponyville welcome to Ratchet Steel!” A light then shined on the blonde haired man and he gave them a nervous smile. “On a side note, we will also have-” The pink haired girl was cut off as a crackling noise filled the air and the cloaking wore off showing Crank.

“Damn it.” He sighed. The spectators immediately gulped and looked at his new right arm. “So much for incognito.” The room was dead silent until Crank cracked his neck and stood up on a chair and faced the crowd. “Look, I know that my appearance shocked you all the other day. To set the record straight I lost my arm in an explosion along with my right eye.” He heard several gasps from the crowd. “The reason why I hid them was not out of fear, I only wished to be treated as an equal among all of you. Sorry for the deception.”

The man stepped back down and sighed. If the AI hand’t been helping him in his head he would have surely panicked. Crank then saw Thunderlane and a few other members of the football team.

“Dude, if anything we should apologize to you.” Crank raised an eyebrow at Thunderlane.

“Come again?”

“We were all kinda freaked out. Hell, some of us thought you were just a robot.” Caramel said with guilt present in his voice.

“So what if you have a robot arm, which looks badass by the way, you still helped us win the regional championships and your our friend.” Thunder said with a smile.

“YEAH!” Snowflake bellowed. Other students fro school gave him a nod.

“Bullshit!” The crowd to see Endzone with his two friends. The three had been in Blueblood’s employment up until Crank and the team had voted him out and their flow of cash stopped. “This guy is a damn freak show. Probably has a fax machine as an ass.” Crank brushed off the insult as Ratchet stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.

“You mess with him,” The man snapped his fingers and his arms were wrapped in yellow flames. “you mess with me.” The three thugs gulped at the spectacle and heard loud cracking noises. Thunderlane, Caramel and the other members of the football team were getting ready to pounce on the three. The group was surrounded by unfriendly eyes. Crank then picked up a metal fork from the table and bend it in half using his pointer, middle and ring finger on his right hand.

The three gulped and quickly made themselves scarce. The teenagers then went back to socializing with one another. Most of the guys were asking Crank about his arm and eye. Soon the fashionista dragging an embarrassed Rainbow Dash made her way over to their friends. The athlete was wearing a flowing cyan shirt that left her shoulders exposed and ended above her naval.

The tom-boy was also wearing a pair of black pants that clung to her body and accented her natural features. Her hair was combed and parted off to the right and she was wearing a little bit of make up. Crank’s throat dried up as he saw the girl. On the outside he kept a calm, cool demeanor. But he and almost every other guy on the inside were like.

“I feel so weird right now.” Rainbow said as she shivered in her new outfit.

“Well, I for one think you look very nice.” Rarity chimed.

“Yeah Dashie you look awesome!” Pinkie said as she hugged her friend.

“You look great Dash.” Twilight said as Dash shook her pink haired friend off. Dash saw that Crank was looking in her direction and felt her face flare up. Twilight sighed and gave rarity a nudge.

“Oh Crank! Could you come over here for a moment?” Rarity yelled to the man. The inventor nodded and excused himself from the group of men. He made his way over to the group and hid his blush from Dash.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Oh we were just critiquing RD’s new threads. What do ya think?” The farmer asked. Crank gulped and looked at the girl. He felt his cheeks flush bright red and felt his mind draw a blank.

“Um...you look nice.”

“Just nice? Frankly I’m insulted that my work goes into the nice category.” The fashionista pouted.

“Pretty, cute, hot choose one.”

“What was that last one?” Dash asked with a blush.

“I said-” The man’s mind snapped and his throat went dry. He could hear D’s laughter in his head and looked for an excuse. He levitated his screwdriver out of his pocket and discretely made a few sparks fly from his arm. “Uh-oh. Sorry girls but I’d better fix this. See you all around.” He said as he quickly made his way out the door. Dash felt disappointed, but then saw the AI appear on her shoulder.

“You gonna let him leave like that?” The AI yelled.

“He said he had to-”

“If I had hands I’d slap you.” She groaned.

“Light bulb’s got a point Dash.” AJ said.

“Light bulb?” The AI then hopped into the woman’s digital watch and slapped her with her own hand.

“Ah take it back!” AJ yelled as she struggled to restrain her own arm. She felt the tugging cease and sighed. “What happened to the Dash ah know? That one wouldn’t give up that easily.” Dash frowned and gritted her teeth.

“You gotta go for it Dash.” Pinkie chimed. D nodded her head before dissolving into the air and went after the man.

“YEAH!” Snowflake yelled as he scored a double bullseye at darts. The other five girls looked back at their friend who was gritting her teeth.

“If you don’t then someone else will.” Rarity chimed. “I do recall hearing that Lotus had taken a liking to him.” Dash’s face was now red with anger.

“Are you gonna loose to her?” Twilight asked.

“Hell no!” The flyer yelled as she flew out the door. The girls high five’d one another and smirked. Rainbow charged out into the darkness of the night and flew towards the man’s home. She saw him walk in the front door and head upstairs. The girl grunted and flew around the side of the house and saw that his bedroom window was open.

Dash flew up to the window to see the man with his back to her and was taking his shirt off. Dash’s face went bright red and saw a mark on the man’s back. She had seen the cover of her science book enough to know the atom symbol. In the center was the power symbol that was displayed on her Xbox power button. Crank turned around and their eyes met. The man’s face went bright red and Dash almost fell out the window trying to hide her blush.

“Dash what the hell are you doing here?” He yelled as he quickly put his shirt back on.

“I wanted to know how you were doing.” She said as she stepped inside his room. “You know, since you just revealed yourself to the school. That’s gotta be tough.”

“I’m fine.” He said with a sigh. Something beeped and he felt that he needed to recharge his arm. He walked over to his bed side and pulled out a plug with eight prongs coming out of it. “Mind if I ask something?” The other end of the cord was a standard three pronged wall plug.

“What?” The man plugged the eight pronged cord into his right shoulder and Dash saw a few lights light up on his arm.

“Why do you care so much?” He asked as he felt the electricity go into his arm. Dash gulped and felt every emotion rushing to her brain and face. The girl was silent for a good five minutes until she gulped.

“I-it’s because I like you.” She said as she bit her lip. “S-so do you like me?”

“Course I like you Dash. That’s why we’re friends.” The girl walked up to him so they were within a few inches away from each other. Crank felt himself blush and saw Rainbow’s cheeks tinted red.

“No, I like you.” The words clicked and Crank felt his spine stiffen as his face went crimson.He only saw a blur as the flyer went forward and pressed her lips against his. Crank was still plugged into the wall and Dash felt several waves of electricity wash over her body. Crank felt his fake arm act on it’s own and wrap around the girl’s waist, brining her closer to him. The action caused Dash’s slowly rising wings to stand on end. The door to the man’s room then opened to show the red haired man.

“Crank I need to-” He froze in his tracks when he saw the two teenagers embracing each other. The two instantly broke apart and they were now blushing out of embarrassment. “I’ll come back later.” He said as he closed the door. The two stood frozen and dared not look one another in the eye.

“Well, that killed the moment.” Dash said.

“Dear old dad.” Crank said as he sat down on his bed. “So are we like...dating now?”

“Y-yeah. If you want to I mean.” Crank gave a chuckle at the words. “What’s so funny?”

“You sounded like Fluttershy for a second there.” The flyer looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess we are.” Dash smiled at the words.

“So how was your first kiss?”

“Shocking.” The girl then lightly slapped him.

“Wow that was a bad pun.” She chuckled as she walked over to the window. “I’ll call you.” She said before jumping out the window and taking flight. Crank unplugged himself and walked over to his door and opened it swiftly to see his parents fall onto the floor.

“Enjoy the show?” Crank said as his parents got up.

“It was her idea!” Vermillion said as his wive casted a death glare at him.

“What did you need to talk about dad?”

“It can wait till tomorrow.” The man said as he and his wife left. Crank changed into a pair of shorts and laid down on his bed and waited for sleep.

Hours later, the man awoke to the familiar sound of his phone going off. He looked at the screen to see he had at least twenty-seven missed messages. All from Rarity. The phone rang again and Crank sighed.

“Yeah?”

“Finally! I’ve been trying to reach you for hours!” She said in an irritated tone.

“I’ve noticed.” Crank looked at his clock and frowned. “Rarity it’s four in the god damn morning. What do you want?”

“Tell me everything that happened! What did you two do? How was-” Crank hit a button and went back to sleep. A minute later the phone rang again. The man raised the phone to his ear and pressed the call button. “Did you just hang up on me?”

“That depends. Did it sound like this?” Crank hung up again and went back to sleep only to be awoken a third time. “Okay that’s it.” Crank grabbed his bluetooth headset and plugged it into the phone. “What now Rarity?”

“Now you look here mister-” Crank zoned her out and answer with a ‘eeyup’ or ‘uh-huh’ as he grabbed a spare tinfoil pie dish and filled it with shaving cream. He grabbed a ski mask and a hoodie. “You two could go on picnics, the movies.” Crank heard a gasp as he teleported in front of her boutique and knocked on the door. “Hold on there’s someone at the door. Odd this time of night.”

“Take your time.” Crank said as he pocketed his phone and hid on the side of the door. He saw the fashionista open the shop and pop her head out.

“Is someone out-” She was cut off as something white and sudsy collided with her face. As she wiped the cream away Crank teleported back to his home.

“Still there Rares?” He asked keeping hi laughter down.

“I think I was just assaulted by a pie.”

“That sounds crazy Rarity, maybe you better get some sleep.” He hung up on her and shut his phone off before hopping back into bed.

Chapter 1: Meet the Flyer

Augmented Love

Chapter 1

Meet the Flyer

Crank Shaft, a seventeen year old man with fair skin and a grey horn growing out of his forehead that seemed to have some control over his messy brown hair woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He hit the snooze button and drifted back to sleep only to be awoken again by a hard knock on his door.

“It’s time to wake up Crank. Breakfast is ready.” A sweet sounding voice said.

“Yeah, yeah.” He said with a groan. The man rose from his bed. He let out another yawn as he stretched his back and cracked his knuckles. He got to his feet and threw on a pair of black jeans, a red shirt and his digital watch. Crank made his way into the bathroom and stared into his reflection.

His left eye was hazel while the right was an electric green. The man made his way downstairs into the kitchen to see a small pile of pancakes stacked on a plate and a woman with a red horn sticking out of her forehead with brown hair in an apron.

“How’d you sleep dear?” She asked with a smile.

“Can’t complain.” He said with a shrug. He eagerly dug into the food in front of him. “Where’s dad?”

“Getting the last of his things together.” She said as she poured another batch. “You sure you’re okay with staying home alone? We’ll be gone for at least three weeks and with school staring-” The man rolled his eyes and held up his hand.

“I’ll be fine mom. You and dad deserve some time off.” He said with a smile. Crank then saw a man with a white horn sticking out of his forehead that was partially covered by his combed red hair. He was donning a tropical island shirt holding a few bags at his side.

“Hi honey.” The stallion said as he gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek. “You alright Crank?” He asked as he looked at his son.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said with a smile.

“We’ll be at the Palm Tree Hotel. Their number is on the fridge. Call us if anything comes up.” He said as he grabbed an apple. “Oh and son.”

“Yeah?” Crank asked as he stopped eating.

“Don’t spend the whole month in the work shop. Go out have some fun have a party for Celestia’s sake. There’s some alcohol in the downstairs fridge, just don’t overdo it.” The man said with a smile. “Go out, have some fun, make some friends, hell get a girlfriend.”

“Dad! You know I’m not into the whole dating scene.” He said with a grumble.

“That’s why I’m saying it. You’re in the prime of your life and you shouldn’t be cooped up in your basement.”

“It’s the best place to be for someone like me.” The two adults looked at one another and let out a heavy sigh. The woman gave him one last kiss on his cheek. Crank waved goodbye as the two got in their Mercedes and drove off towards the air port. The man let out a sigh as he closed the door.

“I’ll be in the workshop D.” He said as he finished cleaning the dishes. A toy sized blue figure appeared on the glass coffee table. The image was definitely a woman with strands of green code running up and down her form.

“Didn’t your parents tell you not to spend the whole month in there?” The image asked in an elegant voice.

“I won’t spend the whole month. Just a good portion of it.”

“No offense, but you’re an asshole.” The image said as it appeared on his right shoulder.

“You just love that sass back feature don’t you?” He said in a snide tone.

“Bingo.” The image said as the stallion walked up to a door with a key pad and pressed a series of buttons. The door clicked open to reveal a large room with machine parts strewn about. The man made his way over to his work bench and pulled out a small silver rod with a blue light at the end of it. “I still don’t see why you carry that probe around with you.” The image said as it appeared on the work bench.

“That’s screwdriver. Probe sounds too.....uncomfortable.” He said as he sat down and pressed the button causing a low buzzing sound. The blue image suddenly turned red.

“Warning! Perimeter breach!”

“Probably just a bird.”

“Negative. I’m picking up an unknown outline in the yard. It weighs one hundred and nine pounds.” Crank got to his feet and grabbed a nearby bat. He walked into the backyard and saw an unconscious woman with cyan wings sprouting from her back and a flowing rainbow mane. She was donning a cyan hoodie and a pair of athletic shorts with a rainbow stripe going down each leg.

He cautiously walked over to the girl and noticed a small burn mark on her left leg. The rainbow haired girl stirred and her eyes fluttered open to see the man looking at her with a confused expression on his face and a bat in his hand.

“Why did you hit me?” She said as she rubbed her head.

“I didn’t hit you. You crashed in my yard. Probably triggered the defense system, which explains the burn.” He said as he pointed to her leg. As she tried to get up she felt a small wave of pain wash over her. Crank put the bat down and offered his hand. The girl grabbed it and pulled herself up. Crank pulled her arm over his shoulder and put his left hand around her waist. “Can you fly?” He asked. The girl felt another wave of pain course through her body as she tried to flap her wings.

“No, I think my wing-” She felt her eyes become heavy and slipped into unconsciousness. Crank walked over to the door and pressed the lettered key pad. He walked inside and put the woman on the couch. Crank walked over to the medicine cabinet. He pulled out a few bandages and wrapped the mare’s wing. The blue image appeared on the coffee table with a confused look on her face.

“Run a scan. Find out who she is.” The man said as he examined her leg. The image blinked once and a series of photographs appeared on the glass.

“Medical files retrieved. Her name is Rainbow Dash, seventeen years old. Weather manager for Ponyville.” The image said as Lightning scanned through the information. He heard a small ringing coming from the girl’s jacket. He pulled out a cracked and barely functioning cell phone. The screen read T-Sparkle before the screen turned black. Crank walked over to a drawer and pulled out a cable and a new phone.

He connected the two devises and watched as the new devise was filled with the old information. He picked it up and found the T-Sparkle contact. He dialed the number and heard it ring a few times before a woman’s voice answered it.

“Hello?” A female voice said over the phone.

“Yeah, do you know a girl named Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes, why?”

“She just crashed in my backyard.”

“Oh Celestia! Is she okay?” The voice asked in a concerned tone.

“She’s fine. Just knocked out, can you come and get her?”

“Of course! Where do you live?”

“Just on the outskirts of town. Big tan house, you can’t miss it.”

“Okay I’ll be there soon. Thank you.” Crank hung up the phone and left the new piece of tech on the coffee table. He then saw the mare starting to stir. He grabbed an odd device that was shooting out a blue line across the mares body. The line moved over her body twice and a diagram of the mares body showed on the screen. Rainbow’s eyes snapped open to see the man pointing odd machine at her.

“Gah!” She yelled as she held up her hands in a defensive position.

“Easy, you have a bruised leg muscle and sprained wing.” He said in a calm tone.

“What is that thing?” She yelled as she pointed at the devise.

“Diagnostic scanner. Think of it as a portable X-ray machine.” He said as he put the machine down on the table. The girl then noticed her bandaged leg and wing.

“Thanks.” She said as she sat up.

“No problem. By the way, one of your friends are coming to pick you up.” He said in a flat tone.

“Who?”

“I called T-Sparkle that was on your phone, which is broken.” He said as he handed her the cracked phone. The girl face palmed and let out a groan.

“Ugh, my folks are going to kill me.”

“Relax, I transferred the info into this new one.” He said as he handed her the brand new device. The girl’s eyes boggled at the phone.

“This is an I-Pony seven! It’s not supposed to be released for another six months.” She exclaimed. “How’d you get this?”

“I have my ways.” He said with a shrug. He then heard a loud knock at the door. Crank got up and opened it to reveal a unicorn girl with a lavender colored horn, indigo hair and a pink stripe running through it. She had a worried look on her face. The girl was wearing a white blouse with a brown skirt that stopped at her knees “Are you T-Sparkle?”

“My name is Twilight and yes.” She said as she stepped inside. “Where’s Rainbow?”

“Over there on the couch.” Crank said as he pointed to the living room. The girl walked over to see her winged friend rubbing her head. “Her wing is sprained and her left leg has a minor burn.” He said as he pointed to the small burn mark.

“Why the hell did you taser me?” Dash yelled.

“I didn’t. The ADS did.”

“What’s the ADS?”

“Automatic Defense System. You probably tripped the proximity alert.” He said with a shrug. Twilight looked at her friends burn and her horn glowed. The burn began to disappear and her wing started to shift. A small purple aura wrapped around the appendage and seemed to heal it. “Healing spell?”

“Yeah, basic but effective.” She said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“You two want anything? Water? Soda?”

“I’m fine.” Twilight said.

“Same.” Rainbow said as the two got to their feet. Crank held the door open for them as they left. As the man closed the door he was stopped by the rainbow haired girl putting her foot between the door and the doorway. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Crank Shaft.” He said in a flat tone.

“Well, thanks for helping me out. I’ll see you around?”

“Maybe.” He said as he closed the door and the two girls walked away from the house. Crank made his way back down into the workshop and started to work on the computer in front of him. He pulled out a chip and inserted it into the console. He spent the next few hours calibrating the codes and setting up software patches.

“Sir, incoming call from your mother.” The small blue image said.

“Put her on speaker.” The blue figure nodded and snapped it’s fingers. “Yeah mom?”

“Hello honey. How are things?”

“Good. Finishing up this software patch.”

“Ugh, what part of ‘don’t spend all your time in the workshop’ didn’t you understand?”

“I just wanted to get this done. Did you need something?”

“Yes, I just got a call from Carousel Boutique, my dress is in. Could you go and get it for me?”

“Sure. I’ll get it in five minutes.”

“Thanks hun, and remember to make some friends.”

“Sorry mom, you’re breaking up.” He said as he started to make some static sounding noises with his mouth. “I.....you....” He said before hanging up. Crank let out a sigh. “D, think you can finish this software patch?”

“Do you even need to ask?” The blue woman said with a nod. Crank got to his feet and threw on his green hooded sweat shirt. The man locked his door and teleported into the middle of the small town. Crank hadn’t been in town since Pinkie had thrown him and his parents a surprise party when they arrived three weeks ago when they first came from Manehattan.

Crank pulled out his phone and followed the markers as they him to a posh shop that had mannequins in the window. He made his way inside and instantly smelled the perfume fill his nose.

“Hello? Anyone here?” He called out.

“Just a minute.” An elegant voice said. Crank sat on a nearby couch and scrolled through his phone. He heard foot steps and looked up to see a stunning Unicorn girl with a vibrant white sleeveless blouse with a purple skirt and three blue diamond design embroidered on the skirt. The girl was also sporting a pair of white high heels and her hair was purple with a curl that was pushed on the right side of her horn. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique. I am Rarity, how can I help you today?”

“My name is Crank Shaft. I’m here to pick up a dress under the name Nova Dust.” The woman’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Oh! You’re Nova’s son. She said you’d be coming by.”

“Well, played mom. Well, played.” He said to himself.

“I wasn’t sure whether I got it right.” She said as she pulled out a sleek purple dress that stretched to the floor.

“We can ask her.”

“How?” She was cut off as Crank flicked through his phone and selected his mothers contact. His phone illuminated and a video image of a woman in a blue collard shirt and pants appeared before them.

“What is it hun?”

“I’m at the boutique and Rarity wants to make sure she got it right.” The man turned the screen around and faced the dress.

“Oh Rarity I love it! You did an excellent job!” The image said with a smile. “I need to get back before your father buys something stupid. You know how he gets.”

“Yup. Talk to you later.” He said as the image vanished. Crank picked up the small device and slipped it back into his pocket. He looked up to see Rarity with a relieved smile on her face.

“That’s a load off my shoulders.” She said as the door opened to reveal the unicorn from before.

“Hey Rarity I was wondering if.....Oh it’s you!” She said as she saw the grey horned man.

“You know him Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, this is the guy that saved Rainbow Dash this morning.” Rarity looked at him in surprise.

“You were the man that she told us about?”

“I didn’t save her. I just brought her inside and tried to treat her wounds.” He said with a shrug. Crank walked over to the attire and put the dress on a hanger. The man then walked past the two and out the door with the dress slung over his shoulder. “See ya.” Crank said as he walked out of the boutique and teleported back outside his home. He hastily made his way up to the door and walked inside.

“D, I’m back. Software patch done?” He asked as he walked up to his parent’s room and hung the dress up in their closet.

“I finished it three minutes after you left.”

“Good. I want to run a system check.”

“Of course.” Crank walked downstairs into the workshop and stepped on the red circle. The man took his shirt off and pressed a button on his watch. The man’s right arm began to shift and the flesh started to rip revealing a metallic frame covering a series of intricate wires and gears. The metal stopped as it wrapped around his right shoulder blade. “How is the Mark V holding up?”

“Better than Mark IV.” He said as he examined the robotic arm with the small silver rod. “I think I jogged something loose. Easy to fix.” He said as he walked over to his tool chest and withdrew a pair of needle nose pliers. He stuck the tool into the mechanism and pulled a small screw out of the palm. “There you are.” He said as he looked at the screw. He looked down at his right arm and let out a heavy sigh. He flexed his fingers and watched as the gears turned.

“Should I run a full check?” The green image said.

“Sure.” He said as he pressed another series of buttons on his watch. Two large robotic arms with a scanner in each side moved around the man and emanated a low hum as the light moved over his skin and metal appendages.

“Your right arm is still at 95% integrity.” The image said as it appeared beside Lightning.

“Viewfinder?”

“Running smoothly.” The blue image suddenly blinked three times. “There’s someone at the front door.” The image said as it’s head perked up.

“Give me a visual.” The image snapped it’s figures and a small video screen appeared on the mirror’s surface. Crank raised an eyebrow at the image of the rainbow haired girl from before waiting on the front steps as she knocked on the door. Crank walked over to a speaker and pressed a button. “Hello?” He said.

“What the hey? Who said that?” The girl said as she started to look around.

“Look at the hawk.” He said. Rainbow looked at the metal hawk head on the door in confusion. “In the eye.” The girl looked closer and saw a small camera inside the head.

“You’re spying on me?”

“Says the girl who’s at my house. Nice to see you used the front door this time.” He said with a grin.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“Sorry, what do you want?”

“Can I at least talk to the real you? I feel kinda weird talking to a metal bird.”

“Give me a second.” He said as he got up and stuck his arm into an odd machine. The machine closed around his arm with a hydraulic hiss. When the machine re-opened his metallic arm was covered in flesh like materiel. The man quickly threw his shirt on over his body and made his way upstairs. The unicorn opened the door to see the girl standing there with an impatient look on her face.

“Took you long enough.” She spat out.

“Cut me some slack, I was working.” He said with a sigh. “So what did you want?”

“I was just bored and I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out.” Crank looked at her in confusion.

“Well-” He was cut off as the door behind him closed and locked.

Damn you D, damn you to hell. He turned back to the woman who had a confused look on her face. “Sure, got nothing better to do.” He lied.

“Great follow me.” She said as she took off towards the road. Crank followed her as the two walked down the street and back into the busy town. “So what do you do? I never see you around.”

“I work for my dad.” He said with a shrug.

“What does he do?”

“He’s a business man. I help test his products.”

“That’s it?” She asked in an unimpressed tone.

“Yep.” He said as Rainbow led him into a bakery. The air smelled rich with caramel, sugar and chocolate. The woman scanned the area and sat down next to Twilight along with four other girls. Rarity smiled as the two approached. Crank noticed a girl who had a brown leather vest over an orange plaid shirt, blue denim shorts that cut off just above her knees. Her brown leather cowboy boots went up half her shin and a brown leather Stetson hat that rested on top of her golden blond hair that was being held in a ponytail by a red ribbon.

One of the other girls was had bright pink curly hair, was wearing an equally bright pink shirt that was mostly hidden behind a white apron. The girl was also wearing a pair of faded skin tight pink jeans that went past her knees and stopped by her ankles. Crank looked at the back corner of the booth and saw a girl with long light pink hair that draped over her yellow wings and was donning a yellow tank top with a brown skirt that stopped at her knees.

“Hey guys.” Rainbow said as she sat down next to Twilight.

“Hey a new person in town!” The baker yelled.

“I’m not new. You threw my family a party a few weeks ago.” He said in a flat tone.

“Right now I remember! I’m Pinkie Pie by the way.” She said as she violently shook his hand.

“Crank Shaft.” He said as he gave her a nod.

“This is the guy that saved me today.” Dash said as the other girls perked up. Crank rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

“I didn’t save you. You just crash landed in my backyard and I tried to patch you up the best I could. My mom would have done a better job.” He said as he sat down across from the rainbow haired girl.

“Who’s your mom?” Twilight asked.

“She’s Chief of Surgery at Ponyville General.” He said as he sat back.

“Oh Dr.Nova! She’s really nice.” Dash said with a smile. Applejack gave a small cough of annoyance. “Crank, this is Applejack and Fluttershy.”

“H-hello.” The pink haired girl said in a barely audible tone.

“Howdy partner.” She said as she shook his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Man, you got some grip.” She said in a thick southern accent.

“Sorry, I guess I don’t know my own strength.” He said as he withdrew his right hand.

“So Crank, what do you do?” Twilight asked as she sipped her drink.

“Not much, read, play video games, workout. Stuff like that. What about you guys, what do you do?” He asked as he looked at the girls.

“As you know, I’m a dress maker.” Rarity said as she flipped her hair.

“Ah run Sweet AppleAcres.” Applejack said with a smile.

“I work here at the bakery!” Pinkie said with a smile.

“I’m on weather duty most of the time.” Rainbow said with a smile. Crank noticed that Fluttershy remained silent. Rainbow looked at her friend who was hiding behind her bangs. “Fluttershy takes care of animals.”

“I run the library.” Twilight said as Pinkie handed Crank a glass of water.

“Thanks Pinkie.” He said with a nod.

“C’mon Twi, we all know that’s not all you do.” Rainbow said with a smile.

“What’s she talking about?” Crank asked as she looked at the Unicorn.

“I’m also Princess Celestia’s pupil.” Crank almost choked on his water as he heard the information.

“What?”

“Yeah, it’s common knowledge around here.” Pinkie added.

“Guess I need to catch up on recent events.” He said with a sigh.

“Yeah, how come we haven’t seen you around before?” Applejack asked.

“Never really need to go into town all that much. I’m usually too busy working.” He said as he sipped his drink.

“What do you do?”

“I work for my dad.” He said in a flat tone.

“What does he do?” Rarity asked.

“He helps test-” Dash was cut off as Crank gently kicked her in the shin.

“Dash! On'tday elltay emthay aboutway myay objay” He said as the girls looked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“He said, ‘Don’t tell them about my job.’” The group looked at Twilight in confusion. “I speak Pig Latin.” She said as she sipped her drink.

“Eallyray?” Crank said in surprise.

“Esyay.” She said in a flat tone.

“Could you two please speak normally?” Rarity said as she let out a groan.

“Sorry, I don’t really like to talk about my job all that much. It attracts all sorts of attention.” He said with a groan.

“What do you do?” Pinkie asked.

“Let me see your phone.” He said as he outstretched his hand. The Pink girl pulled out her unsurprisingly pink covered phone and handed it to the man. Crank removed the back and pulled out a small chip with a hawk head imprinted on it. “This is my dad’s company.” He said as he showed them the chip. The girl’s jaws dropped as they connected the dot’s.

“Your dad owns-” Pinkie was silenced as Crank put a hand over her mouth.

“Shhh! Last thing I need is the paparazzi getting wind of this. They’ll swarm me like a pack of vultures.” He said as he removed his hand. The girls nodded and huddled up as Crank put the chip back into the phone.

“So your father owns THE Black Hawk Technologies?” Rarity said in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, I help make new equipment.” Crank answered.

“Like what?” Twilight asked.

“The new I-Pony seven.” Rainbow perked up and showed the girls the sleek new device. The girls all crowded around the new piece of tech and gazed at it. “Her phone broke, so I gave her a replacement.”

“That’s very generous of you.” Rarity said with a smile.

“Yeah, but I have no idea how to work it.” Crank held out his hand as Rainbow withdrew the piece of technology.

“Let me see.” The man pulled out the silver rod and made the blue tip glow. “Ah, the lock feature got stuck. It’s still a prototype after all.” The Unicorn said as the screen flickered on.

“What is that thing?” Applejack asked.

“My sonic screwdriver.” He said as he put it back in his pocket.

“So you have access to all of the latest technology?” Rarity asked

“Some and I’d appreciate it if you kept this info to yourselves.” He said in a flat tone. Pinkie then made a series of gestures with her hands and the other girls followed suit. “What was that?”

“That was a Pinkie Promise. Once you make it you can’t break it.” The waitress said with a smile.

“I’ll take your word for it.” He said as he got up. “Nice meeting you all, but I need to get back to work.” He said in a flat tone. The man got up and made his way out of the bakery. As he left their range the girls looked at one another.

“He seems interesting.” Twilight said in a flat tone.

“He seemed kind of.....off.” Rarity said as she raised an eyebrow.

“He’s probably just tired. When I went to his mansion he said he was working.” Rarity’s head shot up at the word.

“Did you say mansion?”

“Yeah he lives in that big tan house at the end of town.” Twilight said with a blank expression on her face.

“Oh I simply must find time to see it!” She said with a giggle.

“Simmer down sally.” AJ said as she nudged her friend. “We don’t know anything about him yet.” The girls all shrugged and changed the conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man walked through the door to his home and let out a sigh. Crank walked over to the calendar and realized that he started school tomorrow.

“Fuck.” He said discreetly.

“Trouble?” The image said as it ‘hopped’ from his phone onto the kitchen counter.

“School starts tomorrow.” He said with a groan. “Just what I need, more distractions.” He said as he walked upstairs and laid on his bed.

“You always do well in class. What’s the issue?” The image said in confusion.

“I just want to work on the Prototype.” He said with a groan.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for that, it was an accident.”

“Just shut up.” The small blue image flickered and vanished from the man’s sight. Crank went into the kitchen and opened a can of soda before walking up to his room and lying on his bed. After a good forty-five minutes of trying to fall asleep. Crank groaned and walked over to his X-Box 360 and logged onto his account.

He slid Halo 4 into the console and sat back. As he earned himself an overkill he heard an aggravated, yet familiar voice yell over the mic. The player he had just killed had a rainbow lightning bolt as a call sign and the Spartan’s armor color was cyan.

“Mother bucker!” The voice belonged to a girl. “How did you get that shot off me?” She yelled. The match ended with Crank earning the VIP medal and top of the score board. The next round was team doubles and Crank was paired with ‘Rainboom #1.’ As an enemy came up behind her for an assassination kill, Crank raised his sniper rifle and no scoped the player.

“That’s two you owe me for Dash.” He said with a smug grin.

“What? Who the hay are you?”

“You crash into my yard and you still don’t know?” He said as he threw a sticky grenade onto an incoming jeep.

“Crank?” She said in surprise.

“Took ya long enough.” He said as he finished assassinating another player. The match ended with Dash and the inventor in the number one spot. “Never took you for a gamer.” He said as they exited into the lobby.

“Shows what little you know. I’m awesome at this game.”

“Your KDR says other wise.”

“KDR?”

“Kill Death Ratio. It’s at 1.0.”

“Shut up! I’m rusty.” The voice said in an aggravated tone.

“Sheesh, sorry.” He said as he rolled his eyes. “Wait, you go to the local high school right?”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to be showing this new dweeb around campus tomorrow.” She said with a groan. “From what I hear, they’re supposed to be a total egg head.” Crank deadpanned and let out a sigh. “Sorry dude, I gotta go.” She said before her mic cut out.

*Bleep bloop*

Rainboom #1 sent you a friend request. Crank accepted the invite and logged off before laying down to rest.

Author's Note

My third Human fic hope you like it.

Chapter 2: First day of class

Chapter 2

First day of class.

Rainbow Dash woke up with a yawn and to the sound of her alarm clock blaring. She quickly hit the snooze button and fell back to sleep. The young flyer was then awoken by a hard knock at the door.

“Time to get up Rainbow. First day of Senior year.” A masculine voice said.

“Yeah, yeah.” She said with a groan. The girl said with a yawn. She threw on a simple cyan T-shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans. She quickly flew out the door and made her way towards school. As the large tan colored building came into view she saw a familiar Unicorn man walking to school. She flew up beside him and smiled. “Sup dude?”

“Not much you?” He asked as he looked at the flyer.

“Same. Looking forward to your first day?”

“I guess.” He said with a yawn.

“Well, I’ll catch you later.” She said before zooming off. Crank shook his head and made his way up the stone steps of the school and headed towards the administration office. A woman with a blonde mane and a red horn sprouting from her head was at the desk.

“Hello, how can I help you?”

“I’m the transfer student, Crank Shaft.”

“Oh, yes the principle told me that you were starting today.” She said as she got up. She was wearing a crimson jacket with a matching skirt and look earrings.

“Um who is the Principle anyway?”

“That would be us.” The teenager turned and looked in surprise to see Princess Luna wearing a blue blazer and a knee length navy blue skirt. “So good to see you again Crank.” She said with a warm smile.

“You as well Luna.” He said as he shook her hand.”Why are you the Principle? I thought that you’d be too busy ruling with Tia.”

“This is only a clone." She said as she gestured to her body. "My sister insisted that I learn about our subjects by overseeing the youth in this school.” She said with a sigh. “Since I am friends with a few members of Ponyville, she figured that it would be easier for me to start here.”

“I guess that makes sense.” He said with a shrug.

“Your tour guide should be arriving any moment.” She said as a familiar girl with cyan wings flew up to the two.

“Hey Princess.” She then noticed the Unicorn. “What are you doing here Crank?”

“He is the new student and you will show him where everything is.” Dash’s jaw dropped.

“S-so he’s-”

“The dweeb you’re showing around.” He said with a smug grin. “I’ll catch you later Lu.” He said with a nod. Luna smiled and walked back into her office. Dash then frowned at the man and punched him in the left arm. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Jerk! Why didn’t you tell me that you were the new student?” She stammered.

“You didn’t ask.” Dash pouted and let out a sigh.

“So where’s your locker?”

“The number is 117.” He said with a shrug. Dash then led the newcomer through the hallways until they reached it.

“Let me see your schedule.” She said as he held it out. The girl skimmed it and grinned. “Cool, we’ve got history and gym together.” She said with a smile.

“Lucky me.” He said in a sarcastic tone. The girl teased and stuck her tongue out at him. “Where’s B14?”

“Down the hall, second door on the left.” The two then heard the bell ring. “I gotta go. See ya in Gym.” She said before running off in the opposite direction. Crank followed the directions and walked into the room to see several different people chatting with one another. He then spotted a spare desk next to a girl with long red hair and green eyes.

Crank shrugged and took the empty desk. The girl looked to her right and smiled at the newcomer. Soon a maroon dressed woman with light red hair entered the room.

“Okay everyone, lets settle down.” She said as she put her books down. “I am Ms. Cherilee and this is Literature 101.” She said as the students all quieted down. “When I call your name I’d like you to stand up and tell us something about yourself.”

Damn it. Crank thought. The teacher started to call out names and students hesitantly stood up.

“Crank Shaft?” She asked. The man hesitantly rose from his seat and nodded. “Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?”

“Um, not much to tell really.” He said as he clapped his hands together. “I’m from Manehattan. I’m obviously a Unicorn.” A Pegasus stallion with grey wings and a white mohawk raised his hand. “Yes?”

“What kind of magic can you do?”

“I'm a mechromancer." The group all had a look of confusion on their faces. "Electric and robotic.” The students then nodded.

“Care to demonstrate?” Cherilee asked.

“Um, okay.” He said as he pulled out his phone. He set it on the desk and started rubbing his hands together as arcs of electricity formed around them. He placed his left hand over the device and a bright bolt of blue electricity struck it. The phone started to change and shift. Soon the object disassembled itself and reassembled as a small robotic man.

“Wow.” One student said. The small robotic man then started to walk around the desk.

“Very interesting.” Cherilee said. The devise soon fell apart in a pile of metal shards. Crank snapped his fingers and the pieces reorganized themselves back into the phone. Crank then turned the device back on and several people clapped for him. Crank took his seat next to the girl. Halfway through the class he felt something tap his shoulder. He slowly shifted his eyes down and saw a note on his desk.

The man carefully looked down and unfolded the paper.

My name is Rose by the way.

The man looked up and gave her a nod. The red haired girl gave him a small wink as the bell sounded. Crank gulped and gathered his books. He looked at his schedule and saw that he had gym next. He walked into the locker room and saw a man with light blue wings and dark blue hair.

“Coach Soarin?” He asked. The man turned around in his chair and looked at the man. The Pegasus looked like he was in his mid twenties and was in fantastic shape.

“What can I do for ya?”

“I’m the new student. Crank Shaft.”

“Oh right, I heard that you would be joining my class.” He said as he stood up. “Got gym clothes?” Crank nodded and pulled out a pair of baggy shorts and a loose fitting T-shirt. The man found a spare locked and put his books and bag inside. He put his shirt on first making sure no one saw the scar on his right shoulder blade from his fake limb. The man put his clothes in the locker room and followed the rest of the group out onto the court.

He looked around to see several different people in their groups talking to one another. The man was then approached by a familiar rainbow haired flyer and emerald eyed farmer.

“Sup dude?” She asked with a smile. She was donning a cyan tank top with rainbow short shorts. The farmer was wearing a light orange T-shirt and denim jeans cut off at her mid thighs.

“Howdy partner.” Crank gave them each a smile and a nod. “How are you liking the place so far?” The farmer asked.

“Seems okay.” The group then heard a whistle blow and turned their attention towards the two coaches. Crank thought the coach looked familiar and now it was certain. Spitfire and Soarin of the Wonderbolts were the coaches.

“Alright listen up. Soarin and I are going to be teaching you all during our off season.” Spitfire said. “We’re also in the process of recruiting for Wonderbolt Training.” Dash squealed like a fan girl. “If you think you got what it takes then stop by one of our offices. Keep in mind you must maintain at least a C average or higher in all your classes to be considered for the position.” The cyan flyer then grunted.

The class started out with a quick jog around the gym and a few stretches. Crank was in relative good shape and had formed a good muscular build. He had developed good core muscles when he got his new arm. A small six pack was visible against his skin. Near the end of the class the students saw Soarin rolling out a chart filled with red rubber balls.

“Okay, today we’re going to be playing an old favorite of mine.” Soarin said as he spun one of the balls on the end of his finger. “Dodgeball.” Most people grinned. “New guy,” He said as he tossed Crank a ball. “you’re captain of team A.”

Buck. Crank thought with a gulp.

“Blueblood, team B.” Crank looked and saw a student with long blonde hair and a white horn sticking out of his head. “If any of you fly or use magic then you’re out.” He stated. The class broke into their teams. Fortunately, Applejack and Dash seemed to not like the other magic user and sided with Crank. The next five minutes were filled with flying red rubbery death. Little by little the teams were worn down.

Dash and AJ managed to hold out until the end but soon fell to the other team. Crank gulped as he looked across the court and saw Blueblood along with two Pegasi grinning. Soarin blew his whistle. “Since Crank Shaft is the only remaining player on his team, he can either bring in one person for support or use magic.”

The unicorn weighed his options and looked over at the side lines and saw Dash begging to be put in. He crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

“I’ll take magic.”

“Very well, just no shield spells.” Soarin said as the group got into position. Crank’s right pupil glowed a faint green color. The man’s vision shifted to a light green and a targeting indicator highlighted the three opponents. As the whistle flared, Crank used a spell to quickly get a ball in his hand. He looked ahead and quickly dodged two incoming balls. He used the ball in his right hand to deflect them and slammed the ball forward.

The rubber ball collided with one of the flyer’s arms and left to sit down. The next one to fall was the other Pegasus, leaving only the two Unicorns.

“Learn your place commoner.” The white horned man stated.

“Bring it on blue balls.” Crank said in a mocking tone. A collective ‘ooohhh’ echoed through the crowd. Blueblood grunted and levitated three balls and spun them around, creating a circular shield. One by one he launched them at an alarming speed. Crank dodged the two balls with ease as his tracker picked them up one by one. His right eye turned red as the last ball was flung at him. Crank charged towards the projectile and turned so the right side of his body was facing it. The man flung the red ball out of his left hand and hurdled it towards the jock.

Blueblood quickly side stepped it and grinned. His smile faded away as he saw the man jump in a cartwheel fashion and grip the flying ball in his right hand in mid air. As both feet landed on the ground, Crank used his momentum to give his arm extra force. The ball made a zooming sound as it flew through the air and collided with the man’s face sending him back a good five feet before falling to the ground.

Everyone cheered as Soarin blew the whistle signaling the end of the game. Some looked at Blueblood who had a bloody nose. Dash and Applejack rushed up to Crank and patted him on the back.

“Dude that was awesome!” Dash yelled. Crank’s right eye then shifted back to it’s electric green color.

“Peasant!” Blueblood yelled. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yeah, Tia and Lu’s stuck up nephew.” He said with a sigh. The group looked at him in surprise at how he addressed the Princesses so friendly.

“How dare you address the royal family in such a manner.”

“If they have a problem with it then I’ll take it up with them.” He said as he turned around and walked back over to the locker room. A red rubber ball then hit him on the right side of the face.

“Blueblood!” Soarin yelled. “My office, after class.” Crank shook off the blow and shrugged. Blueblood grunted and made his way inside. Crank went into the locker room and quickly got changed. As he exited he saw Soarin starting to collect the red rubber balls off the floor and put them in the basket. One rolled near Crank’s foot.

“Hey new guy pass that one over here.” He said as he motioned to the ball Crank picked it up in his right hand and got ready to toss it to the coach. As he recoiled his arm his right eye twitched and switched to red as it targeted the teacher.

“What? No!” Crank said as he fired the ball at the coach. Even though Soarin was across the room, the ball hit him with enough force to knock him on his ass. Spitfire’s jaw dropped as she and Crank hurried over to him. “I am so sorry! My hand slipped and-”

“Don’t be.” Soarin said as he got up. A small dribble of blood was coming from his nose. “You’ve got one hell of an arm! How’d you like to be on our football team?” Crank looked at Spitfire who was just as shocked as he was. Soarin pulled out a tissue and stuffed it in his bleeding nostril.

“Um...I’m not too good at sports and I already have a job.” Soarin sighed.

“How about I put you down as an alternate?” Soarin asked.

“Sorry coach, but my job is-”

“Come on! We need someone with your talent.” Crank sighed and held his head low.

“I’ll think about it, but no promises.” He said with a sigh.

“I guess I can accept that.” The three then heard the second bell ring. “Need a pass?” He asked as he pulled out a pen. The unicorn nodded. Soarin pulled out some paper and a pen before scribbled a note on the sheet. “There ya go and if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Crank nodded and made his way out of the gym and down the hall.

The man quickly stopped inside a janitor’s closet and looked in the small mirror that was hanging on the wall. He saw his right eye shifting from green to red in rapid succession.

“Shit.” He said with a groan. “I hate this part.” The man placed the silver cylinder in front of his eye and pressed the button making a low buzzing noise. He heard a small hiss and a clink. Crank gripped and slowly removed the robotic eye from it’s socket. He then pointed the silver rod at the machine. “C’mon you little.”

The man heard a faint beep noise and looked with his left eye to see the iris was green again. He carefully inserted the false eye back into his head and blinked. “I’ll have to run a full check when I get home.” The man hid the sonic device inside his jacket and made his way to class. He pulled out his schedule and read it over.

Math. Room C56.

Crank found the room and quietly opened the door in the back of the class. Hoping not to make too much noise he closed it slowly. When he turned back around he saw everyone in the room staring at him. The teacher looked fairly older and had a grey mustache and horn.

“Late arrival?” He said with a groan.

“Yeah, sorry.” Crank said as he rubbed his head. “I have a pass from Coach Soarin.” He said as he walked up to the professor. The man took the piece of paper and had a sceptic look on his face.

“Very well then, have a seat next to Ms. Sparkle.” He said as he pointed to the seat that was next to the indigo haired girl. Crank nodded and took his seat. Twilight gave him a small smile. The class seemed to drag on forever and the man soon found himself bored. “Okay, Mr. Late, let’s see how boring you find this problem.” The teacher then wrote a massive problem on the board that even made the purple clad scholar gulp. Crank yawned and pulled out his reading glasses.

They were black, rectangular wire rim and were considered stylish. He put his right hand over his fake eye and rested his head on his hand. While Crank had the advantage of having robotic implants he mostly used it from a study aspect. “Mr Late, we’re waiting.”

“It’s impossible.”

“Maybe you should study more instead of-”

“Hold up there Professor.” The class looked at him in shock. “It’s a trick question.” The teacher bit his lip. Crank then spent the next five minutes explaining his answer in full detail. By the end, the teacher looked like he was about to blow a blood vessel. “Is that correct?” Crank said as he put his hands behind his head and smirked.

“C-correct.” The man said as he bit his lip. The bell rang and the students collected their books as they stood up. Crank looked at Twilight who’s right eye was twitching.

“How did you do that?”

“Did I forget to mention that I’m a genius?” He said with a nervous laugh.

“You didn’t even use a calculator!” She said as the two exited the class room.

“What do you have next?”

“Lunch. You?”

“Same.” He said as he followed the girl into the lunch room. The scholar led the man towards a table where the other five girls were sitting.

“Hey what did you talk with Soarin about?” Dash asked.

“He wanted me on the football team.” The girls looked at him in surprise.

“Well congratulations.” Applejack said.

“I’m not gonna join.” He shrugged.

“Say what?” Dash yelled. “Why would you say no?”

“Sports aren’t my thing.”

“Considering what you did to Blueblood’s face ah find that hard to believe.” Applejack said as she ate an apple.

“What are you talking about?” Rarity asked.

“Crank totally creamed Blueblood today in dodgeball.” Dash said with a smile. “Look.” She said as she pointed across the room. The girls followed her finger and saw that the blonde haired man had a large bruise on the side of his face. The Prince then shot the group a look and the girls quickly turned back around.

“I’ve got a good arm.” Crank said with a shrug.

“Serves him right.” Dash said. She then felt something hit the back of her head. Crank saw an apple core bounce off her head and land on the floor. The group turned and saw Blueblood with a small grin on his face. “Why that-” Crank put a hand on her shoulder.

“Easy Dash.” He said with a smile.

“How are you okay with that?” She yelled.

“I have one rule.” He said as he pulled out the silver rod and discretely pointed it at the jock. “Karma’s a bitch.” Crank pressed the button and ten-seconds later, Blueblood’s drink exploded just as he was opening it. The posh student was covered head to toe in the sticky soda. The girls all chuckled at the spectacle.

“That’s it!” The man yelled as he ran towards Crank.

“And that’s my cue.” He said as he ran out of the room with a grin on his face. Blueblood fired a series of magical bolts at the man who dodged them. He ran into the music room and blocked the door with a chair. He turned around to see a girl with shoulder length electric blue hair, a white horn and piercing red eyes. She had a pair of magenta tinted sunglasses resting just above her horn.

“Who the hell are you?” Crank noticed that she had a turntable and a few speakers set up.

“Idea!” He yelled as he ran over and unscrewed the back of one of the speakers.

“Hey what are you doing?” She yelled as the man stuck his right hand inside the mess of wires.

“I’m going to use this speaker as a type of amplifier for my magic.” He said as he jammed his fingers inside a few ports. One bight side to his arm being cybernetic is the ability to plug into other machines. The two then heard a series of loud bangs coming from the door. “By the way, what’s your name?” He asked as he turned the speaker towards the door.

“V-Vinyl Scratch.” She said as she looked at the speaker.

“Nice to meet you Vinyl. Run for your life!” He said as the door burst open to reveal the drenched Prince.

“You are so dead!”

“Heads up, cuz am about to,” Crank quickly levitated the musician’s glasses over his eyes. “drop the bass!” A bright blue beam accompanied by electronic beats erupted from the speaker and slammed the Unicorn against the wall of lockers. Blueblood slowly got to his feet and glared at the man. “Shit.” He said as the speaker died.

As Blueblood was about to fire a bolt of magic when a bright flash of blue light filled the room.

“What is going on here?” Luna yelled in her royal Canterlot voice. The sound wave was loud enough to blow some papers that were resting on the floor down the hallway. Crank quickly walked over to Blueblood, helped him up and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Just an accident Lu-,” The woman scowled at him. “Ma’am.” He said with a weak grin. “You see, Blueblood here was being a pal and agreed to help me test my theory of turning sound waves into the visible spectrum and concentrated form.” Crank lied with a smile. The athlete looked at him in confusion. Vinyl was about to interject, but the man cut her off. “Ms. Scratch here was kind enough to lend me the use of her speakers.”

The Principle then looked at the ruined mechanical devise. “I must have put the feedback up to high and Blueblood here accidentally got caught in the blast.” He said as he lightly slapped the man’s back. “Sorry about the speakers Vinyl, I’ll be sure to replace them.” Luna cocked an eyebrow and looked at the three students.

“Is this correct?” She asked as she looked at Blueblood. The Unicorn weighed his options and knew that the lunchroom and gym scene would come into play.

“Y-yes.” Blueblood said with a grunt.

“Ms. Scratch?” Vinyl darted her red eyes at the other Unicorn who had a nervous look on his face.

“Yup. That’s what happened.” She said in a flat tone. Crank let out a sigh of relief.

“I see.” Luna said as she looked at the group. “Try to be more careful in the future.” She said as she walked down the hallway.

“Wait.” Crank said as he whispered to Blueblood. “Wait.” The Princess rounded the corner. Crank’s ear twitched as he heard her foot steps fade. “Okay, we’re good.”

“Get your hand off me commoner.” He said as he shook off the man’s arm. “I only did that to spare myself the disgrace of admitting that I had to deal with you myself.”

“You’re welcome.” He said as he started to make his way back down the hallway.

“Hey!” Vinyl yelled as she charged after the man.

“Yes?” He said as he turned back around. Vinyl outstretched her arm and opened her palm. “What?”

“My shades.” The man then realized that he was still wearing the woman’s glasses.

“Oh right, sorry.” He said as he carefully gave them back to her.

“You still owe me a new sound system.” She said as she frowned.

“I know. Sorry.” He said as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

“Those were brand new X22’s!” She said as her red eyes bore holes through his.

“I noticed.” He said with a shrug. “Still, the feedback is nothing compared to the X23 model.” Vinyl scoffed.

“Please, those aren’t supposed to come out for another week and they cost four hundred bits a piece. I can’t afford that on my salary.”

“Good thing you won’t have to.” He said as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. He rested it against his ear and heard a voice. “Gizmo, you there?”

“Hey my main man Crank.” A voice said over the phone. “What’s up?”

“I need a pair of X23’s delivered to.” He put his hand on the speaker part of the phone. “What’s your address?”

“Eleven West Mane Street, Ponyville.” Vinyl said in confusion.

“Eleven West Main Street, Ponyville.” Crank repeated. “Oh and overnight it if it’s possible.”

“Done and done. Should be there by tomorrow afternoon.” He said with a grin. “Whoops, boss is coming. Gotta go.”

“Peace.” He said as the conversation ended. He turned back to the DJ who was staring at him in awe. “Done. Should be there by tomorrow.” Vinyl snatched his phone away and typed a few keys. “What are you doing?”

“Heres my number.” She said as she tossed it back to him. “Just incase it doesn’t come, I’ll know how to reach you.” The woman said with a small wink. Crank blushed as the bell rang. Crank grabbed his bag and made his way to his classes. He had Cooking with Pinkie. Biology with Fluttershy. Metal working class with Applejack and Rarity, who was whining practically the entire class. The final period of the day was history.

Crank immediately spotted the rainbow haired flyer who was waving him to the back of the class.

“Why do you have metal shavings in your hair?” She asked as Crank shook his head and the metal shavings tumbled out.

“I just came from shop class with AJ and Rarity.”

“Rarity in shop class?” She said as she barreled over in laughter.

“Yeah, she has to take some kind of shop class in order to graduate.” He said with a sigh. The door opened to show a man with dark brown hair and a brown horn protruding from his forehead.

“Good afternoon class, my name is Mr. Quill and I’ll be your history professor for the rest of the school year.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the man. Class went fairly quickly and soon the final bell rang.

“Ugh finally. That last class took forever!” The girl complained as the two walked through the hallways.

“Didn’t seem that long and the discussion was interesting.” Dash shot him a look and face palmed.

“Ugh, egghead.” Crank rolled his eyes and shrugged off the comment.

“Hey some of the girls are meeting up at Sugar Cube Corner. You want in?”

“Sorry, I have work to do.” He said with a nod. “See ya.” He said before vanishing in a flash of light. Rainbow shrugged and took off towards the center of town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crank teleported inside his home and yawned. The image of the small blue woman appeared on the coffee table.

“How was your first day?” The A.I. asked.

“Oh you know, got asked to join the football team, told off a teacher, got in a fight.”

“So the usual?” The image said as she rolled her eyes.

“Yep.” He said as he sat down on the couch and started his homework. After an hour of non stop working the man heard someone ring the doorbell. Crank got to his feet and saw the indigo haired scholar standing at his door with her arms crossed and a blank look on her face. “Hey Twilight, what’s up?”

“I looked up that problem today after school,” She started as she walked into his home. “and it took Equestria’s greatest minds five minutes to figure it out.”

“So?”

“You did it in three. That’s impossible.”

“I’m a genius remember?”

“True, or your cybernetic implants helped.” The room fell silent as Crank clammed up. The man relaxed and let out a sigh.

“Okay, I think that someone has been watching too much anime.” He said as he chuckled.

“First, there’s no such thing as too much anime,” She said in a flat tone. “and second, I’m not an idiot.”

“How can you possibly think that-”

“Celestia told me.” Crank’s facade shattered. “I am her personal student after all.” Crank narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “She didn’t tell me what happened, just that you lost your right arm in an explosion.”

“Okay Sparkle, I’ve played this game before.” He said in a flat tone. “How much?”

“Hm?” Twilight coked her head in confusion at the words.

“How much do I have to pay you to keep you quiet about this?”

“What are you.....Oh no, no, no.” The woman said in a panic filled voice. “I’m not blackmailing you.”

“So why are you here?” Twilight bit her lip and looked for the right words.

“Can I....see it?” Crank let out a sigh and extended his right arm and his horn flared. The flesh like material started to rip revealing the sleek metal framework. “Wow!” Twilight said as her eyes grew to the size of saucers.

“One downside to it is that I can’t cast with it.” He said as he looked over the arm. “I have to make physical contact with something if I need to focus my magic through it, but I'm working on that part.”

“What illusion charm do you use?”

“I don’t use one.” He said in a flat tone. “I have a machine that encases my arm in skin.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Ever see the Terminator movies?”

“Yeah.”

“Kinda like that. Its living tissue stretched like a glove over the metal.” Crank explained. “Its still a prototype, but it’s working.”

“What else got....replaced.”

“My right eye.” He said as he pointed to the electric green iris. “It can switch from analysis, targeting, thermal, night vision and a few others.” The man then grinned. “My personal favorite is X-ray vision.” Twilight’s face blushed and quickly covered her chest. “Relax Twilight, that last one was a joke.” The scholar sighed and rolled her eyes.

“How do you even see with it?”

“I have a chip in my brain that is connected to my right optic nerve. The camera in the eye sends the image back in bits of code. The chip translated it and sends the image back to my brain.” Twilight was awe struck at the information. “The chip also has an interface with any kind of tech I use.”

“Wow! Wait, so you cheated!” The woman said with a frown.

“No, I did the calculations myself. Did you see me cover my right eye?” The woman thought back to the class and nodded. “I may have these upgrades but I don’t use them to cheat.”

“I’m sorry.” The woman said as she held her head. “I just assumed that you did that to impress some students.”

“Who would I try to impress?” Twilight gulped.

“I don’t know.” She said as she lightly tapped the toe of her foot. “Well, I’d better get going.” Twilight said.

“Alright see ya. Oh and Twilight.” He said as the woman turned around. “Keep in mind that I help write security protocols for major companies.”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking banking, social security, academic records. All that stuff.”

“What are you saying?”

“This, if you don’t keep my secret then what reason would I have to keep yours?”

“I don’t have any-”

“Magic kindergarden.” The woman tensed up and a bead of sweat formed on her brow. “So we have a deal?” He asked as he extended his fake limb. Twilight shook it and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry, I always keep my promises.” She said with a smile.

“For both our sakes, I hope you’re right.” Twilight nodded and left the man alone in his house. The small image appeared on the coffee table and sighed and shook her head.

“Why do you scare people like that?”

“Its fun.”

“Would you really do that? Expose her secrets?”

“Of course not.” He said as he rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m off to work.” He said as he walked down stairs into his basement. He switched on the light and walked over to the skin machine. The man stuck his right arm inside and felt the flesh coating wrap around the arm. He flexed his arm and walked over to his work bench.

He spent the next few hours toiling away at his workbench. Crank stopped three hours in to make himself dinner.

Nothing like some Ramen to warm the body. He thought as he sat down in front of his T.V. After he did his dishes he popped in a game disk. He booted up Halo 4 and saw that Dash had sent him a party invite. He accepted it and was surprised to see five other female Spartans. One was lavender, another was white, a pink one was jumping up and down while an orange and light yellow one were standing still.

“Oh hey Crank.” Dash’s character said in a happy voice. “We’re about to go into big team battle. You want in?”

“Sure.”

“I didn’t know you played this game.” Crank recognized the voice of the pastry chef.

“I could say the same thing about you girls.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked as he character swapped her rifle with a gravity hammer. “Just cause we’re girls doesn’t mean we can’t play video games?”

“No, I just didn’t know that you guys played.” He said as he took a pistol, DMR, two plasma grenades and cloaking. “I have nothing against girl gamers. Hell, I know plenty of-”

LunarPrincess17 has joined the party.

“Greetings Crank we are here to cap some noobs.” The group looked and saw a dark blue Spartan.

“Hey Luna.” Crank said.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight yelled over the mic.

“Yes, we are here to dominate.” She said in a voice brimming with confidence. The eight played together for an hour before Luna logged off to raise the moon.

“How do you know the Princess?” Twilight asked.

“My dad’s company designs new types of weapons and other things for the Royal Guard. When I found out Princess Luna was a gamer, she became one of our go to beta testers for some of our new video game products.”

“Video game products? You said it was a military company.”

“Black Hawk Technologies have a hand in everything. From gaming to medical equipment and military weaponry.” He said as he took out an enemy sniper. “We’ve got labs stationed all around the world researching different things.”

“So what exactly do you research?” Dash asked.

“I just test the stuff and see if needs to be improved.” He said as he threw a grenade at an oncoming tank. “I do play around with it before they need it for production though. So that’s always fun.” He started to chuckle. “One time they wanted me to test this military jeep’s automatic parallel parking function.”

“Now why in the hay would a guard jeep need an automatic parallel parking function?” The farmer asked as she slammed someone with the gravity hammer.

“You never know when you’re gonna need to parallel park your way out of a situation.” He said with a snicker. “After I tested it I did what anybody would do with a jeep.”

“Drive the shit out of it?” Dash asked.

“Bingo.” He said as he picked up the sniper rifle and scored a double kill ending the match. “Dash shouldn’t you be studying? We have a history quiz on Monday.”

“I know! I just wanted to get a few matches in before I study.”

“Right.” He said in a sarcastic tone.

“Hey what about you huh?”

“I already finished my work.”

“Your parents don’t nag you?”

“They’re not here and won’t be for at least two weeks.

“Yeah, yeah egghead.” Dash said with a laugh. “Wait your parents are gone?”

“Yeah, they’re on vacation. Why?” A silence fell over the party of players.

“Hangout at Crank’s place tomorrow!” Dash yelled before logging off.

“Wait what?”

“I do wish to see your mansion darling.” Rarity said in an elegant voice. Before Crank could protest a familiar A.I. jumped into his mic and copied his voice.

“Sure sounds like fun. I’ll be home all day.” The A.I. said.

“Cool see ya then!” Pinkie said before quitting. The other girls followed suit and the man was alone in the party. He turned off his console and frowned at the hologram who regained her normal image.

“Why in the name of Celestia did you just do that?” He yelled.

“Oh calm down. You should be thanking me. I just got six girls to come over to your house tomorrow.” The image giggled.

“What if they see something they’re not supposed to see?”

“Oh quit being paranoid.” She said before she flickered away. The man grunted and looked at the clock. He’d been playing for almost four hours and it was now midnight. Crank yawned and decided to head off to bed.