My Little Operator

Undisclosed Location
Rainbow Training Facility
Altitude: 15,732 feet

Grey Vulcan gripped the armrests tightly in his hooves. He kept his eyes forward and jaw clenched. He kept his mind off his current situation by remembering the events of the past week. Out of the eight candidates he and Twilight were to recruit three of them declined, two for family reasons and one, Doctor Fluttershy, because she is a conscientious objector. Against his better judgment, he allowed his nephews into the team and did not kill Princess Celestia. He wasn't jumping in front of any bullets for her anytime soon. He met the others when he arrived at the airport with Twilight giving him their files.

Gilda and Brutus Gallio Tiberius, Griffons; Harald Ostenson and Sven Wahl, Yaks; Zavra and Zula, Zebras; and finally Onyx brought his son, Obsidian, along with a Changeling, Soldier 129. They were told not to talk with one another nor to share their real identities.

"Onkel?" his nephew's voice and hoof snapped Grey from his thoughts.

"Ja?" Grey smiled wryly, and his neck twisted stiffly to face the gray unicorn with lime green eyes and light green mane. "Something you need, Price?"

"We are almost there, so you can relax, Onkel," Priceless Defense smiled warmly and spoke calmly.

"I am relaxed. Super relaxed. I am the epitome of relaxation. What do you kids call it these days. . . 'chillaxing?" Grey blabbered and chuckled nervously.

"Didn't Onyx give you vodka to calm your nerves?"

"I am calm! Can't you see how calm I am?!"

Priceless Defense saw his uncle's wild eyes and felt his rapid breaths. He heard metal creaking and saw the armrest bending under his uncle's will. "Oh, yes, absolutely, Onkel. My apologies."

Grey leaned back in the chair and took deep breaths. He felt Price grip his right hoof. He looked up and calmed down under his nephew's lime gaze. "You are so much like your father, Price," Grey commented sadly.

"Thank you, Onkel." Priceless Defense accepted the praise with pride. He might have been young when his parent's died, but he remembered everything during his time with them, even if his little brother claims he has forgotten. His father was a good stallion, and he knew his uncle looked up to him.

If Priceless Defence had to be completely honest, though, he viewed and held his uncle with higher respect than his father. His father was a painter; his uncle was a guard, soldier, war hero, and teacher. Grey Vulcan went through many hardships in his life and still came out on top. His uncle Grey is Price's hero.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, this is your Captain speaking," Rainbow Dash spoke over the intercom with a snicker, "we will be landing shortly so, please, put your seats in an upright position and remain seated. Thank you."

True to her word, within a few minutes, the plane touched the ground which sent Grey's stomach up into his throat.

Mute drove up to the plane in a sports utility vehicle. He waited patiently by the stairs. He watched as the ground crew started unloading the private jumbo jet of its cargo. He checked off the names of the recruits as they walked past him. He hid his faint smile behind the clipboard as Grey hobbled down the stairs aided by his nephew. Grey stood beside Mute; he pulled Photo Finish aside to stand with them while Onyx joined them. Mute stepped up to the line of recruits to address them.

"You will all address me as 'Mute.' For your safety and the safety of your family, I suggest you don't share too much with your new comrades. All documents of your existence were destroyed. I will be giving you your new identities."

These are the new identities of the operators:

Rainbow Dash - Ash

Limestone Pie - Castle

Maud Pie - Pulse

Pinkamena Pie - Thermite

Marble Pie - Buck

Brutus Gallio Tiberius - Smoke

Gilda - Jäger

Priceless Defense - Rook

Avenging Defense - Fuze

Vinyl Scratch - Twitch

Obsidian - Blackbeard

Photo Finish - Blitz

Harald Ostenson - Kapkan

Sven Wahl - Tachanka

Zavra - Bandit

Zula - Valkyrie

Soldier 129 - Frost

"Now," Mute continued, "with that out of the way, you all are going to run ten laps around the base. Those who do not complete the laps in an hour will have to sleep outside. Stay in the Main Hall when you all are done. Get goin'." The recruits all started running in different directions. Mute used his crimson magic to ground Ash, Smoke, and Jäger, who were already in the air, "No flying."

Twilight stood still and smiled sheepishly, "Even me?"

"Get going, filly," Grey instructed with a small grin.

Twilight, with her smile gone, started trotting off after Rainbow Dash.

"Even if we are officers, I, Blitz, still believe we should be training with them."

"It's not training, love," Mute spoke up as he headed for the SUV, "that'll give us time to talk and plan things over with you, Blitz."

As they shuffled into the black vehicle, Grey spoke up to Onyx who was in the back seat with him. "I couldn't help but notice your interactions with the Pies."

Onyx beamed. "Yeah, I know them personally. When I first heard Marble break my record I had to investigate myself. Ever since I have been close with the Pies. Marble is such a sweetheart." Onyx's smile disappeared, "I hope this doesn't change her."

"Yeah." Grey watched the six black VTOL's pass by. Up ahead, he saw a barracks, hanger, a large building (which he assumed is the Main Hall), and a smaller building next to it (which could be the officer's barracks). Behind the hanger, he could see tall obstacle structures and the top of another building. All the buildings were a stone gray, to match the surrounding mountain. A control tower zipped by and Grey noticed a radio station tucked beside the tower.

"Very impressive facility," Onyx commented, "Now, I know we are spoiling them."

"Right?" Mute grunted in amusement, "Camp Radden was such a bloody shite hole."

"Hey! They did the best they could in a short time," Grey defended the budding Engineer Corps of the past.

"Pfft!" Onyx stifled his outburst. "You only say that because you created it!"