New Loyalty

Well, this is great.

No. I'm being sarcastic.

Everything seemed to go right until the Princess of the Night screamed at the top of her lungs and broke the windows in the room we're currently in; I'm also trying to wake her up from her short battle with RD-115, and I'm surprised I didn't go deaf from how loud she screamed. It was like being close to someone firing an RPG at a moving vehicle, only to have yourself temporary lose hearing from the sound of it.

I've been trying my best to wake her up. That weapon RD-115 used really packed a punch. Of course, Luna fired at her and RD-115 retaliated by knocking her out in seconds.

Most of the guards were still trying to recover from Luna's scream. I couldn't blame them. They weren't prepared for any of this to happen.

The droids seemed to continue to stay calm. Well, for the most part. NG-18 had his head lowered to the ground while RG-64 was trying to comfort his comrade. I'm still wondering why these droids show feelings to one another. I'm very curious of this project myself.

'Wonder if there's something that my government has not revealed to the whole U.S. military about these droids?' I thought. I'm not an expert when it comes to droids. I've always been curious about robots when I used to be a boy. Dad used to tell me that I would see robots in my lifetime. Well, he was right about that. I'm witnessing the first ever droids to be used in the military.

Anyway, like I was saying a couple of minutes ago. I was trying my best to wake Luna up. I wonder if I should use that ice bucket trick my teammates did on me when we were deployed to Japan to help assist the Japanese military in improving their soldiers' endurance in battle?

Nah. That would go bad in no time.

"Twilight," I addressed, "I think we're going to need something to wake her up. Shaking her isn't doing anything. She's not coming out of this state of sleep."

I could tell she was getting worried now. Even the rest of her friends were showing signs of worry.

"I'll try to use a spell that I learned when I was a filly. It's supposed to help a pony wake up from a nightmare, but I'm not sure how it will get Princess Luna out of her sleep."

'I hope she knows what she's doing. Losing a leader is the worst thing that could happen to a country. Happened at different times in my country.

Twilight walked over to Luna and her horn started to glow purple. The 'magic,' I assumed, was covering Luna from head to hoof. Minutes passed and Luna had not woken up. Dang. RD-115 must be one powerful droid.

I crossed my arms. Where could RD-115 and Celestia be? They both disappeared right in front of us. This world really is magical after all.

After a few more minutes of thinking, I decided that I would look for RD-115 and Celestia. Surely that couldn't have went far from Canterlot Castle.

"Hey, Twilight. I'll be looking for RD-115 and the other princess. I'm sure they're not too far from where we're standing now," I said as I was walking to the door with my shotgun in my hands.

"Wait! You might need us to come with you, darling," Rarity replied.

I turned around to face everyone. "I understand that all of you are worried about Celestia, but all of you need to take care of Luna. After all, she is one of the princesses who runs this country. Don't worry. If I'm not back in at least twenty minutes or less, something happened." Rarity seemed to understand and some of the others. "But I think I might need someone to assist me in case I do run into trouble."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me!" Next thing I knew the pink pony 'Pinkie Pie' was on top of my helmet giving me the biggest smile I didn't even know was possible to make.

Now that's just creepy! How did she even get on top of my helmet??

"Don't try to figure out how she did that. That's just her being Pinkie," Twilight informed me.

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie. But I need someone who has the guts and courage to come with me. This could be dangerous," I explained.

"Pick me!" Rainbow Dash proudly said. "If you want somepony to fight by your side, I'm the type of pegasus that'll fight 'til the end!" She gave me a determined look. This one will help me. I just need one more to help me.

Yes. Yes! A droid will come in handy. Better take the LULU-95 for emergencies.

"Alright, Rainbow Dash. You'll join me in finding RD-115 and Celestia." When I said that, she literally jumped into the air and said "OHHH YEAH!" in victory. Hehe. This one really wants to see some action. "Also, LULU-95, show yourself. You're also coming with me."

She disabled her cloaking mode and proceeded to come to me.

"I will do what it takes to fully protect Princess Celestia and Princess Luna from all evil that would harm both of them. I will follow your orders, Joseph," she reassured me. Cool. This is getting better by the minute.

"Excellent." This won't be complicated . . . for now.

"Okay. Everyone else stay here. Just in case something does happen, LULU-95 will message all droids about what's going on on our side. Also, to the guards, make sure that you keep Luna safe." They gave me a sharp solute.

I then looked at Twilight to assure her everything WILL go well when it comes to leaving Canterlot. "Twilight, man the fort. I'll be back as soo-"

"EEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR . . ."

'What in the hell was that?' That noise didn't even sound right.

"Did anyone else hear that sudden noise?" Everyone nodded.

Strange. That noise. It feels like I know that noise from somewhere. Almost like it was from . . . No way. There is no way in hell those things could've made it to this world.

There was another noise coming from our location. It was getting lower and higher every single second. I checked both sides. Front and back.

Nothing.

Where is it coming f-

I felt something dripping on top of me. The front of my helmet I could see. What was coming in contact with my helmet? Blood.

"No one . . . move . . . a muscle. I think I know what's making those noises. Just don't look up. I have a bad feeling about this." I held my shotgun tight in my hands. My heart was beating fast.

I slowly looked up to see what was on top of the ceiling.

Oh my god. It's a royal guard upside down on the ceiling. Its eyes showed no signs of emotion. Its coat was dirty with what looked like soil. The armor it wore seemed to also show signs of age. Judging by its armor and that of the guards that were with me, its armor was not up-to-date. Its mane and tail seemed to also be messed up.

Its body . . . it was . . . it was rotten. You could see some of the bones of the guard from parts of its face and legs. The blood was coming out of its mouth. This thing was looking directly at me.

It's coming for me.

"You might need to cover your ears."

"Why?" said Applejack.

"For this." I aimed my shotgun at the ceiling.

"What are you d-" Twilight didn't even get to finish her sentence as I fired my shotgun at the undead pegasus.

All the ponies, except the droids, crouched down with their ears flat on their heads.

The zombie was quick to avoid my line of fire.

It landed back on the ground, giving most of the ponies a scare. Its eyes were that of serial killer. God. Did the military have to go this far in making some sort of weapon that poses a great threat to national security and to the world??

"ERRRRRGHHH . . ."

"You're going down, freak." That only made it angry. It came charging right at me. I was lucky to dodge it and then used my right foot to kick it right into the door. Said door fell to the ground with the zombie still stuck to it.

The zombie got back up on its hooves and came in for a second charge. Is this thing really going to try and bite me like a dog who has rabies? I holstered my shotgun and brought out my magnum to shoot the zombie right in the head. I fired three bullets at it, but none hit the head.

Alright. Time to really kill this thing.

I waited for just the right moment for it to get a little closer to me. Just a little more, you little monster. Come to papa.

Contact! I grabbed it by the ears with one hand. It was still trying to get a chunk of meat outta me. Yeah. That's not gonna happen.

"Hello there, Mr. Zombie. You failed." I put my magnum in its head and shot it. It died instantly. Blood went on the floor and wall. I dropped the dead corpse on the ground. "You are dead. No big surprise," I chuckled softly.

"As you can see," I looked at Twilight, her friends and the guards that had horrified expressions at what just happened. "I just killed an undead pony. Now you see what my guns can do." I looked at my magnum and was surprised that I still had plenty of bullets in it. Come to think of it, there was no sign of any bullets that were wasted. Strange. It's like I didn't even use this gun. I bet my shotgun didn't lose that one bullet that I tried to use to kill that zombie.

Wait a minute. That wasn't the only zombie. Ohhhhhh . . . crap!

I looked to my left to notice that another zombie was flying at full speed. I was able to duck before it could crash into me. It was about to come in for another attack, but it seemed TWI-31 fired her plasma cannon to kill the second zombie in the throne room.

"Enemy has been neutralized. Throne room is secure of all intruders," she reported.

"How come the rest of you droids didn't do anything to fight the other one?"

"You seemed to have performed quite well in your combat tactics, Joseph. You did not lower your defenses which helped you defeat the first one. I'm impressed that you were taught well from your superiors in basic training in Parris Island, South Carolina. That you should be proud of." LULU-95 was impressed. Well, she must see me as a well trained Marine. That's what counts I guess.

"I agree with my sister, Joseph." TIA-98 uncloaked herself to be right next to her sister. "You've showed great strength in your training to become a U.S. Marine. If your team were here, I bet they would be proud to see you have kept the civilians and the guards from being harmed by the enemy combatants." Her voice sounded so . . . I don't know, sounded motherly. She was showing me love and compassion.

"Thanks, TIA-98, LULU-95." Both nodded and smiled.

As I looked straight back to Twilight, I noticed that she and all the other ponies still had those horrified looks on their faces. They were frozen in fear, it would seem. Great. That's just great.

"We need to snap them out of their trance," I addressed.

"I could blast some DJ music at them. That helps snap people out of their current state. I actually almost did it one time with TAVI-40. Well, almost. We kind of got separated when trying to get out of Area 51," VS-35 stated.

"Wouldn't that cause them to go deaf?" I questioned her.

"Nah. It's all good. My music will just shake them up, it won't cause them to lose their hearing. Every droid step aside. I'm gonna give them the most epic of all wubs no pony has never heard before." The rest of the droids and I moved to the side of the throne room to give VS-35 the space to unleash her epic wubs.

How loud is her music going to be? Surely it won't cause the whole castle to have all its windows busted?

VS-35's back opened up to reveal what looked like a cannon that can be used for music to begin the process of snapping every last pony that was traumatized from my . . . fighting with the undead out of their trance. Her cannon had a dark streak of blue and a light streak of blue just like her mane and tail had, along with the same cutie mark that she had on her flanks. She dropped the cannon from her back and then grabbed it by using her forelegs to aim directly at the ponies. Next she stood on her hind legs to aim her cannon at the ponies.

These were her words before she fired her cannon.

"WUB A DUB DUB MOTHERBUCKERS!!!"

000000000

Minutes before big boom

Celestia has still not woken from her fight against the undead. The undead seemed to have been former soldiers that had once served in her armed forces, along with Luna's. The fields must've been a former cemetery for their soldiers; now it's unrecognizable as a cemetery. There wasn't any sign of a tombstone where any of the dead were laid to rest.

I've ran into a few more undead Lunar guards and Royal guards. They were very easy to kill.

I just feel so different since fighting here in Equestria. Everything has changed in the matter of two days. I don't know why I am able to breathe in fresh air like an organism that depends on it to survive in the wilderness. I don't really mind it, honestly.

I can feel the warmth of the sun running through my body. It feels relaxing. I am enjoying it. I understand that life means so much to this world. For there is no fighting. There is only peace.

But . . . I think peace has come to a great end in the land of Equestria. I fear that the undead will terrorize the living. It's up to me to take these freaks back to their graves.

While I was walking, I decided to lay in front of a tree to rest. Of course, I carefully put my forelegs onto Celestia to carefully place her back on the ground. She continued to sleep even after being placed back on the ground.

I'm still in the form of NMM-13. I hope that she will not attack me when she wakes up.

As I lay on my belly, I kept close to Celestia. I'm trying my best to keep her safe from danger. I'm just worried about her. Her explanation of who Nightmare Moon was made me boil like hot water in a pot. Every time I think about Nightmare Moon, I just want to give her a piece of my mind. I won't show any mercy if she were to return to hurt Celestia or Luna.

A few minutes have passed. I was still watching everything around me. No sign of any zombies. I fear they're just waiting to strike once again to harm Celestia.

Looking down to my left, I saw Celestia was starting to wake up from her sleep. Her left eye was cracking open to see me.

"I see you're starting to regain your strength, Celestia. I'm happy to see that you are making a great recovery since fighting the zombies two miles from where we are now," I softly smiled.

Her eyes shot open to see me laying next to her.

"Hehehe . . . I guess you think I'm really her, Celestia. I'm not. I'm RD-115 that's still in the form of NMM-13, better known as Nightmare Moon in your eyes."

She still didn't respond back.

"Sigh . . . Celestia. What am I to you? You don't have to answer my question. It's just that . . . ever since I came to your world, I've been feeling . . . different, like this world has really taken its toll on me. I'm developing feelings, I can breathe in the air and exhale, feel the wind blowing through my mane and body, I feel the sound of a heart beating in my body, I'm able to cry and understand other ponies' feelings, and have become more protective over you." I looked up to see the blue sky with the clouds moving ever so slowly. The sight of it was . . . just beautiful to look at. I want to enjoy every last minute of my programming. Maybe I should say "life," not "programming."

"Your world shows great beauty, Celestia. It's something that I wish every human could enjoy through the ages of time. But I know that'll never happen. A human and a droid are two different things. Humans fight amongst one another for power, limited resources, land, and much more. For us droids, it's a different story. We're built for the humans to help our military save lives in our world. I don't think I'd be here to enjoy this sight if it weren't for the military building us and having us look at our surroundings, and understand the meaning of one thing: life.

"Life is something I'm understanding, Celestia. Life is beautiful to look at. I know your people enjoy the meaning of life. Without life, none of this would exist. And it makes me happy to enjoy hearing the sounds of the birds singing in joy." As I continued to talk more, a small bird landed right on top of my nose. It was a blue jay. Strange. Blue jays are originally born on earth. But it seems blue jays also live in Equestria. Interesting. Seems both worlds may have some of the same animal species that are exactly alike.

The blue jay just looked at me. It wasn't afraid as it stared me straight in the eyes. Why, it seemed very curious about me. "Hello there," I told it. It started to sing. The singing of the blue jay went from a low-pitch to a higher-pitch of sound. Music to my ears. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard, from this bird that wasn't afraid of me.

The blue jay flapped its wings and took off to the sky to where one could only see a dot in the sky. I smiled even after I could no longer see the blue jay.

I then looked back to see Celestia on her haunches looking at me with a smile on her face. "Twilight has always talked to me about what she does almost every single day. She's always been fascinated when it comes to having adventures with the rest of her friends. Every time she sees something new, she would always talk to me about it. Her adventures, being with her friends, discovering new clues in Equestria, etc." I listened to her every word. "She's been the one that always loves to get advice from me. I've grown more attached to Twilight. She's like a daughter to me. Hehehe . . . she can sometimes talk way too fast, to where I would have to tell her to slow down for me to understand what she's trying to tell me. She's been like that since she was a filly." The Princess just chuckled to herself about Twilight. I can see that Celestia really does care about her faithful student.

It's just like what she said. 'She's like a daughter to me.' That sentence made me light up a bit. She cares about her student like a mother would to her offspring.

"I'm happy to hear that from you, Celestia. You've made me feel great about who you are. And I think your sister cares about you just like you care about her." I got back on all fours. "I think it's time we get back to Canterlot, Celestia. I'm sure, as of right now, they're all worried about us. Also, there's something else I kind of have to tell you." I gave her a sheepish smile.

"What would that be?" she asked while starting to get back on all fours.

"There are two other droids that are exactly like you and Luna. You didn't see them due to their cloaking devices. I didn't want them to show themselves till it was the right time for them to meet you and Luna." I put my left hoof right behind my head and chuckled a little.

She didn't seem to be surprised about it. She actually must've been thinking that it was probably right to have done it. "I would love to meet them, RD-115." She gave me another smile. "Let us get back to Canterlot now. I'll teleport us back to the throne ro-" A sudden sound was heard from where Canterlot was located. The birds flew away from the tree we were under and so did many other birds. From afar, I could tell a pony would not be able to create that sudden noise.

It sounded like music. Not regular music. Dubstep music? Wait, the only droid that is capable of producing sound like that would be VS-35.

'VS-35, was that you?' I wasn't sure if my communication was still functioning.

'Oh! RD-115! Yeah, it was me. Wait, how far are you from Canterlot?'

'Not too far now. Just a couple of miles out. Why in Equestria did you make that music loud enough for me and Celestia to hear??"

'Well, uh . . .' She was trying to coming up with a good explanation.

'I'm not angry at you, VS-35. Just tell me why you did it.' It wasn't like I was going to bring her everlasting nightmares. Heheh. Why was I thinking like that? Guess the personality of NMM-13 can be difficult to remove from me.

'I had to do it in order to g-. . .'

TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN TERMINATED

CONNECTION HAS BEEN CUT OFF

LOCATING SOURCE OF DISTURBANCE

ALL SYSTEMS ARE SHUTTING DOWN

1. 4. 3. 2. 1 . . . SHUTTING DOWN

'WHAT THE BUCK!?' What's happening?!

I felt my sight getting blurry and my body starting to give out under me.

'DON'T YOU DARE PUT ME OFFLINE YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE PIECE OF JUNK!!!! I'M RD-115 AND I WILL NOT SUBMIT TO YOUR ORDERS TO GO OFFLINE!!!' Steam started coming out of my ears. Oh . . . I was angry now. I'm not going to go offline for a second time. If this is NMM-13's doing, I will break her in half.

"Celestia. You might need to take a few steps back," I coldly said. "Please . . . she's . . . trying . . . to . . ." I looked down to notice that my forelegs and all the way up were slowly taking the color of gray.

"Oh . . . buck . . ." Tears started to go down my face. "I hate you . . . NMM-13 . . ." My body gave in and I felt everything around me go dark.

I . . . could see Celestia coming toward me . . . trying to snap me out of going offline.

"RD-115!!" Her voice was loud enough for me to hear . . . but that wasn't going to help me at all. I lost my vision.

The darkness has reclaimed me once again.

"Welcome back, RD-115. Heheehe . . . HAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAAH!!!!!"