Armored core: Equis

Telos's perspective

"Excuse me princesses, but there appear to be five ponies surrounding my AC. Any Idea as to who they might be?" I asked.

After exchanging a glance ,  they followed me, and Twilight spoke up, " Oh, those are my friends, and fellow bearers of the Elements of Harmony"

"Friends eh? Well let's not keep them waiting, I'm sure they want to know who that AC belongs to." I said, walking to the doors of the throne room as I did.

With the princesses following me, we walked to the courtyard. Before I could enter the courtyard however, Twilight stopped me."Telos, see the pink pony? Don't bother trying to keep up with her questions, or try to understand her, it'll just make your head hurt."

"Thank you Twilight, I appreciate the heads up." I said as I walked out into the courtyard. The moment I stepped out into the sunlight , the pink one popped up in front of me. I jerked my head back in surprise and began to wonder how she did it, then remembered Twilight's advice about this particular pony.

"HI IM PINKIE PIE WHO ARE YOU? IS THIS YOURS? WHY IS IT SO BIG? WHY DON'T YOU HAVE HOOVES? WH-" Pinkie immediately started bombarding me with questions before I pushed her lips closed with my index finger.

"All in due time Pinkie, I would like to meet the rest of Twilight's friends, although if they are anything like you, I'm certain we will get along just fine. In my line of work, there are far too many depressed people. Then again, the life of a Raven isn't exactly a cheerful one," I said, grimacing at all the death my job entailed. At this, Pinkie perked up and was about to ask another question, but was interrupted.

"Now just who the hay are ya'll?" one of the wingless and hornless ponies asked, with an audible southern twang.

"My name is not something I can disclose, due to my profession, but you may refer to me by my Call-sign, Telos, and I just so happen to be the owner of that machine behind you." I replied.

"Speaking of which, what in tarnation is that thing? I noticed the sword on it's back, but the rest of the stuff kinda confuses me" she said.

"Ah," I said," That would be my Armored Core unit, or AC for short. It is , for all intents and purposes, a robot that a person controls from the inside. They were originally developed from what are known as MTs, or Muscle Tracers, which were meant for manual labor. However, the Corporations which held most of the power on my world quickly adopted them for military use, which lead to development of ACs. ACs far and away surpass what any MT is capable of. I can tell that the blue, prismatic maned pony is one who enjoys speed, so how about I show you how fast it can go? However, before that, would you all mind telling me your names? I already know yours Pinkie." I said before Pinkie could speak up.

The one wearing a stetson who I had been explaining my AC to said, "The name's Applejack, pleased to make yer acquaintance Telos."

After stating her name, Applejack called up to the blue Pegasus, as I believed my mythology called them, who had been circling the head of my AC, saying " Hey RD, get down here, the owner of this here machine would like t' meet ya."

In a flash, the Pegasus stopped circling, and darted down to the ground in front of me, speaking as she went " Hey there, the name's Rainbow Dash, Fastest flyer in Equestria."

"Nice to meet you Rainbow, maybe we could have a race later." I said. Looking over at a white horned pony with an astonishingly well styled mane staring at me, I said "Well hello there, what's your name, and why are you staring at me?"

Shaking herself, she looked me in the eye and said" Oh! Apologies darling, my name is Rarity, and I was merely admiring your outfit. Black works WONDERFULLY with your complexion, and it hugs your curves VERY well. Tell me, does it have support?"

Blushing at the question, I responded" Y-yes, it does. With the forces I generally have to endure while piloting my AC, having a figure such as mine is generally a detriment without support."

Turning away, I see the last of the group hiding behind the right foot of my AC. Noting that this one must be the shy one of the group, I simply call out to her, "Hey, it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. Could you come out from behind my AC and introduce yourself?"

Upon hearing this, she quietly steps away from my AC, and flutters over to me. Once she reaches me, she hides behind her mane and quietly whispers "My name is Fluttershy"

Seeing as I'm used to listening for the quiet whisper of a hovering MT's thrusters, I hear her the first time, which apparently surprises the rest of Twilight's friends. "Well Fluttershy, it's nice to meet you. Call me Telos." I respond. Turning to Rainbow Dash, I say " Hey RD, wanna see how fast this thing can go?"

Laughing, Rainbow Dash responds, "Sure, let's see how fast this hunk of metal can move"

Upon hearing this, Princess Celestia and Luna both laugh quite loudly, before saying" Oh dear, Rainbow dash, you might be surprised at how fast that 'hunk of metal' is."

Laughing, I remotely extended the ladder and popped the hatch, before jumping on to the ladder and climbing in. Hands dancing across the console in front of me, I brought the AC to life. The previously silent metal beast soon was positively vibrating with energy, as the familiar voice of the AC's AI could be heard saying, " Main system, Engaging combat mode." Activating the external speakers, I said," Okay ya'll, I would strongly suggest that you all head to the entrance of the courtyard, this is gonna get LOUD."

Celestia obviously remembered her brief encounter with the OB system, and proceeded to the entrance posthaste, insisting that the rest follow. Rainbow dash refuses, instead electing to hover high above the courtyard, much to Celestia's dismay. "Well Dash, don't say you weren't warned" I said, chuckling.

Opening the case on the OB activation switch, I flip it before jumping about 20 meters into the air. As I start the jump, the four panels on the back of the core open, revealing one very large booster behind each, which then proceeded to charge with a high pitched whine that made everypony present flinch. At the apex of the jump, the boosters fired, slamming my AC forward at around 500 miles per hour.I flew about 30 miles out before turning around in a wide arc while unsheathing the claymore and activating the laser blade, noting a pair of the black, bug-like things flying towards the castle, and cutting  them in half simply by flying between them with arms outstretched, before correcting my trajectory  and heading back to the courtyard, all at speeds approaching that of sound. As I reached the courtyard, I cut power to the OB, dropping in with a resounding crash. As my AC stood up after flexing its legs to absorb the impact, I activated the external speakers, "Not bad for a 'hunk of metal" eh RD?" The rainbow maned pegasus could only stare.

She then shook herself and said, " THAT, was fast, the only time I can get moving that fast is when I'm diving, and even then, I really have to try." "SO AWESOME!" she said afterwards, and pressed her hands to her muzzle, while making a bit of a duckface.

Giving me a look of disapproval, Celestia looks pointedly at the laser blade, which is still active, and radiating an immense amount of heat. "Would you mind turning that off? I remember saying that the heat that thing gives off is nigh unbearable." Almost as if to prove her point, all of them save Rainbow dash had backed up a considerable distance.

"Heh, whoops, I forgot to turn that off after dealing with a couple of black , bug-like things that were headed for the castle" I said, quickly deactivating the laser blade. At the mention of those two creatures, I was reminded of the blood that still clung to the blade of my sword. After quickly flicking the blade to remove the blood , which splatters it in a small line on the ground, I return the sword to its sheath.

Remembering what Luna said about times of peace, my mind quickly turns military. "Quick question, are you at war with those beings, because those two looked an awful lot like scouts."