Chapter 1: Introductions

The one and only! Why, you heard of me?

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I suppose I should start this off by introducing myself. "Welcome to the memory of field test #1 for the Dreamscape and Memory Recorder. I am it's creator, Hotshot. As a quick heads up, this recording won't be anything but me talking and preforming certain tasks to make sure this device records all sounds and visuals properly, so if you are here looking for something of signigance you should search for a different file. With that said, trial one starting now. Ahem, I am the son of Sentinel and Autumn Breeze. We live in a small village near Neighvarro. My mother is a teacher and my father is an officer in the GPE. He is also my inspiration of joining the Enclave myself. I have green eyes, a purple coat, and dull yellow mane. However if all goes well I didn't need to have said that last bit. Then again you might possibly already know of me, but whether it's because of praise for this invention or as a difficult-to-work-with gunsmith depends on if the Council decides to be cooperative. If any of you board members or whatever are viewing this, back off. You're not helping here."

At least the Enclave is being competent practically everywhere else. As terrible as it might have been to do, we made the right choice by keeping the infection, the disease afflicting everypony that lives on the surface and turns them into bloodthirsty and insane savages, contained by the cloud layer. Sure keeping the sun's rays from getting to the surface is destroying any chance of plant life down there but at the same time the less plants their are for the contaminated to eat, the more of the contaminated that will die and make the world safer. Still hard to believe there aren't any ponies without the sickness down there anymore. Maybe a few of them found somewhere safe to live within the Everfree forest or somewhere like that. However "safe" isn't really a good way to describe that dreadful forest. Me and some other newbies came across leaves with teeth in there during our first patrol! LEAVES WITH FREAKING TEETH! Just how messed up is the wasteland below our cloud layer? And why was that forest where our "test flight" took place? If it wasn't for the one Sargent there to watch us I would think they were trying to kill us off.

Upon realizing that I had been silent for a good minute lost in thought, I continued.

"I am an only child, but I do have a cousin named Lily. She was always like a little sister to me, and I guess in turn I was like an older brother to her. Her family recently moved to Thunderhead so we rarely get to see each other anymore." I think that last time I saw here she told me that she had signed up to be a field medic for a group called the Volunteer Corps or something like that.

"Alright, I think that's about all for now."

End Transmission
...
Invalid Command

"Uh..."

Log Off
...
Invalid Command

"Shoot, how do I turn this thing off?"

Deactivate
...
Invalid Command

"Ugh...How about this?"

Memory Over
...
Ending Recording

Finally. I really need to change that when I get back

Ending in 3...2...1

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Upon waking up I removed the mechanical object atop my head and looked around. "Okay first things first, subject check." I looked over at the first box on a checklist posted on a wall.

Post Experiment Test Subject Checklist

#1: Five Senses

I looked around, ran my hoof through my mane, took a wif of the room I was in, and trotted in place very loudly at the same time. "All senses functioning."

#2: Flight

A slight breeze started as I took off and hovered for a few seconds before landing. "Wings still attached and working."

#3: Coat and Mane/Tail Color

I first checked my foreleg and then proceeded to look back at my tail. "No change there."

#4: Cutie Mark

I looked at my cutie mark seeing the same three sparkling gears that are always there. "Same as always." While I had always been decent at tinkering almost anything made of metal to being better modified for the pony whom it will be used by, it wasn't until I had achieved an advancement in Enclave technology through my tinkering that I realized it was my talent. This advancement was a way to make gem-powered weapons almost twice as energy efficient, easily maintained, and accurate by simply changing how they were put together. With the large number of standard guns in circulation however, not many have been able to benefit from my work. As far as I know the only pegasi who were authorized to receive weapons with this specific upgrade are high ranking enclave officers, my father, and I. The council keeps telling me that once I reveal to them how to do modification themselves it will be put into common distribution, along with many job opportunities and perks for me. But something tells me that they won't give them out for a reasonable price to common soldiers. So until that changes I'll stick to upgrading ponies' guns myself for a few bits, an even trade... even caps really as long as it's worth something.

Well, time to move on to the next list. I looked over to a checklist set next to the previous one.

Post Experiment Prototype Checklist

#1: Test Subject Intact

This one depends on the purpose of the device in order to check it off. But in this case with me being the test subject, thankfully I can check it off considering the fact that I was not in a million pieces.

#2: Prototype Intact

I looked back towards the strange mechanical object I had removed from atop my head earlier. The object in question looked similar to a soldier's helmet if you removed to outer part that , you know, stopped bullets and the such. Oh, and I should probably mention that it had a multitude of wires going everywhere across the outside of it. "I'll make it look nice once I get it working" is what I keep telling myself, not that I necessarily trust myself enough to actually follow through with the promise until someone else brings it up. A friend of mine who works on vertibucks up in Neighvarro has a motto of "Functionality before personality." which is something I've taken to heart. Sure, his employers don't quite agree with him but still, it's the thought that counts. What was I doing again? Oh right, prototype not blown up. Check.

#3: No Dangerous Beeping

There was in fact no beeping whatsoever since the machine was turned off. Another thing off the list. Perhaps there should be something to display the subject's condition while in use for anypony on the outside. Maybe a green and red LED or something. Hmn, thoughts for later.

I turned on my cloud terminal and began typing. "Okay, post-experiment check complete. Now to change the exit code word on the D.M.R. Maybe something like deacti- Knock, Knock, Knock -vate. Ugh. It's unlocked!"

The door opened and upon entering an all too familiar voice said, "Hello Corporal Hotshot, the council has sent me to ask if you've reconsidered their offer." As I turned my head to reply my suspicions on who the speaker was were confirmed. Standing before me was a middle-aged stallion wearing a standard Enclave officer uniform. His coat was dark brown and had a mane with two different shades of green, making him look like an evergreen when he stood still. Not that I had ever seen an evergreen tree how it should be myself, but he seemed to match the description somepony gave me. Tall, boring, just sits there. His cutie mark is similar to a custom weapon of his that he calls the Bunker Buster. Despite it's name, the most Bunker Buster would do to a building is make a pony-sized hole after three shots. Nothing to sneeze at, but not as impressive as he makes it out to be. Not that you could see it while he was wearing the uniform.

"Hello Lieutenant Tree Fall, and my answer is still no. Also, please close the door behind you."

"Is there any reason why?"

"Yeah, when door is open for to long it gets a bit drafty in here. Really breaks my concentration." I swear that I could hear him rolling his eyes. After I heard the sound of my door closing I continued. "The council already knows my demands and they haven't been met yet."

"How do you expect us to prove that they will be met right now? This is something we can only prove after the deal is made."

"You could try telling the entirety of the Enclave military that they will be receiving weapon upgrades before I sign the contract. That way you won't only have me upset if you go back on it but all of the Enclave. Also tell them it will be free."

"We don't have the resources to make that kind of equipment for free. Not to mention that you yourself charge to upgrade your clients weapons."

"Two things. One, my income from the Enclave military has mysteriously gone down recently," I gave him a hard stare before continuing. "because of this I've had to find other ways to make a living. Two, I don't charge for the upgrade itself, I charge for any additional modifications a client may desire. You on the other hoof, can easily pay for the resources with all the tax money the government has. That's what tax is for right? Paying for anything the government does for the public."

"You know we can always reverse engineer whatever you changed to our personal weapons you've already upgraded. Why turn down an offer that will benefit you?"

"Ha! If your engineers could figure it out you wouldn't be here making this offer. Even if they did unlock that secret it wouldn't help. I may have made your guns better, but that isn't the same upgrade that I've been giving out." They also wouldn't figure out that their weapons would break apart from any powerful impact. A bullet, a kick, even dropping the darn thing. Course I wasn't going to tell him that part.

His wings flared up in anger, "You just admitted to disobeying orders, I can have you cour-"

"No, I didn't. My orders were to upgrade the weapons of my superiors. The nature of said upgrade was never specified. Did you really think I was stupid enough to give out the very thing you were asking for? Now I have some work to do so I'm going to have to ask you to leave." I turned back to my terminal and resumed typing, hearing hoofsteps getting further away. "This isn't over." was all I heard before the door slammed shut.

"Finally, back to more important matters. Oooh, maybe end sequence would make a good exit code. I should probably make an entrance password system for any memories that are intended for a select few ponies. How long was I in there anyway?" I pulled up the D.M.R database and opened the usage records. "Huh, about four minutes. At least it didn't put me in a year long coma or anything." Alright, let's play Field Test #1 and see how it looks on the outside. I walked over to the D.M.R and placed it atop my head. While holding a button on the bottom of the device I said, "Activate."

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I found myself in the middle of an empty white void. "Need to add a structure of some kind. This isn't helpful at all."

Play Field Test #1
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Command Not Authorized For User

"Oh, need to go fix that."

Deactivate
…
Ending Session

At least that's not a problem anymore.

Ending in 3…2…1

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"Okay, probably should have checked that earlier. No problem. Just need to give myself authority." I started to walk back to my terminal, completely forgetting that they D.M.R was still on my head and it's cord doesn't reach forever, causing me to fall over backwards. I removed the device and was about to activate the terminal when an alarm sounded. Beep...Beep Beep...Beep I sighed, "Patrol duty already? Fantastic." I shut off everything in my workshop and left for the town square where I was supposed to receive my orders for the week.

The flight there was dull and uneventful so I won't bore you with the details. As I flew closer I began to see the same layered hub of Gust. Yeah, I think it's a stupid name for a city too. The square itself is divided into different platforms in one huge stack. Each platform separated by what type of businesses or activities were on each floor. For example, the market floor would be where you go to get groceries while on the entertainment floor are all the stadiums, theaters, and the such. I reached the plaza and flew over to the military platform. Without stopping I went to the lockers to put my personally-modified power armor on excluding my helmet. After a few minutes of making sure I had locked everything in correctly I trotted back outside to get my assignment schedule for this week. Running the handout desk today was a yellow pegasus mare with a reddish-orange mane which made her seem just bright and warm. She also had very stunning eyes that looked to be an actual sunset. She looked a little young to be an officer so I guess she was a trainee or something. She did seem awfully nervous as well. No, I don't know what her cutie mark was because I can't see through a desk.

"Uhh...um...y-your name, rank and designation p-please." What did she think I was gonna do, bite her?

"Hotshot, Corporal, 521637." She began quickly typing on a terminal next to her and within a minute she handed me my new schedule. "Thanks, have a nice day." I began walking away.

"U-um...you too." For her sake I hope she isn't in the communication branch.

Okay, let's see what part of the Neighvarro region I get to fl-… uhh... this can't be right. My schedule had only one patrol assigned to me this week and it was today. I walked back to the desk just as the mare from before had finished helping another pegasus. She looked almost afraid when she saw me coming back.

"Oh, no. D-did I give you the wrong one?

"I'm not sure. Could you check my schedule again and read when I have patrols this week?"

"Y-yes sir." Sir? "Here it is." Her eyes went across the screen for a few seconds. "It says you only have one, which is today."

"Hmm...that's unusual."

"M-maybe they're giving you a few days off."

"Possibly." Not really since my break isn't for another two months, but I didn't want to argue her. "Well, sorry to be a bother. Good bye."

"Good bye."

As I walked away I looked down at the schedule. According to it, I was due in an hour at the platform to patrol the Ponyville area with somepony else. What ever works I guess, time to get some food. I flew over to the cafeteria and had a quick meal before returning to the lockers to get the rest of my equipment on. First came my battle saddle which was equipped with my two personally-modified energy rifles. Then I put on my helmet, hearing the familiar whir as everything turned on. I walked outside seeing ponies gathered at the pre-mission briefing building who were most likely about to start a training session. "Still ten minutes left." I flew over to a nearby cloud and sat down, waiting for whoever my partner was to show up. Five minutes passed before another pony arrived. As he got closer, to my dismay, I recognized the weapon on his back. It was the Bunker Buster, which could only mean one thing.

"Hello Hotshot." Ugh, Tree Fall.

"Let's just get going."

"Eager to leave?"

"Eager to get this over with."

"Bad day?"

"Is now." Before he could reply I took off towards Ponyville. He almost immediately followed behind me. Tree Fall thankfully was silent up until about the half-way point.

"I highly recommend that you take the council's offer."

"Have they told everypony that they will be receiving free weapon upgrades yet?"

"No."

"Then they already know my answer. Why do you continue to waste my time with this?" At this time I began to hover with Tree Fall floating in front of me.

"I am ordered to return with your respon-"

"Oh they want a response? How 'bout this? Leave me alone until you have something important. There, that work?"

"You are being incredibly difficult."

"And you are being incredibly annoying."

"Don't force me to escalate matters."

"What are you gonna do? Break into a civilian's home and seize private property?!"

"This is your last chance."

"Screw you! Sir!"

"Very well, have it your way." At that exact moment I realized that he hadn't let me out of Bunker Buster's sights once this entire argument. Even worse, I heard it charging. The gears in my head began turning.

"Son of a-" Bang. All my senses were overwhelmed by intense pain. Thankfully Tree Fall had hit one of the denser parts of my chest armor. So no hole in my chest, but damn did it hurt. The ringing in my ears wasn't helped by all the alarms in my helmet telling me essentially that everything was broken. Then I noticed that I was falling. I started flapping my wings but almost immediately was overwhelmed by even more pain. As I got rapidly closer to meeting the ground a thought occurred to me. I spread my wings wide as I could and slowed down ever so slightly. Okay that won't work, next plan. And would my helmet please stop beeping at me! I know I'm going to crash, now do something helpful! "Signal distress beacon!"
...
Error: Communications System Disabled

Right, everything is broken. Need to do something fast. Looking around at the surface speeding towards me and my doom, I saw a slanted rock formation that would easily redirect me from straight down to as if I had fallen down some very tall stairs. "Ooh, this is gonna suck." I angled myself to were I was heading straight for the rocks, making sure to be ready to twist myself so that my side would take most of the impact. Then I met said rock formation in full force and toppled down the whole thing. Crashing onto the ground brought another sharp pain across my body. I would have laughed at how I had just survived such a fall but at the moment I was a bit preoccupied by the ache everywhere. Looking up I had a good view of Tree Fall heading back to Gust. "Yeah! You better... run. You... wouldn't have... stood... a cha-" Thud

New Temporary Perk! Presumed Dead: Any ponies that were out for your head before are no longer giving chase (Lose this perk once word gets out that you're still alive).

New Perk! Intense Physical Training Level 1: +2 DT, -1 Damage from moving objects including yourself. Weapon projectiles don't count for this perk.

Author's Note

Okay, I'd like to start this off by saying thank you for checking out this story and a great big thank you to Kkat for creating this world for me to play in. I hope I was able to entertain you guys to some degree and I look forward to bringing more chapters to you [hopefully] soon.