I wander this world, this strange land, alone.
Awake - Edited
Warmth.
Warmth, a great whiteness, and the feeling of hard cobblestone against my side were the first things to greet my senses when I awoke from my past, now, spat into the future by unknown means.
I blinked a few times until the whiteness cleared and gave way to a sprawling metropolis, completely devoid of any life to see. Slowly, as if my bones were made of glass, I put a hoof down on the stonework, then another.
After a moment of careful thought, I hefted my front up, foreleg scrambling for purchase beneath me. After another moment, I hefted my back up, stomping my left foreleg on the ground, and I immediately fell back on my ass because I had slipped on something metallic and slick.
"Uhh..." I groaned in frustration. This time, twirling up on all legs and spinning around, I saw my attacker.
It was a gun.
A 10 millimeter pistol with a brown leather grip.
My eyes beheld this strange artifact, so entranced was I that I didn't hear an enemy ambling closer to me.
As soon I snapped out of my stupor, I picked up the gun, inspecting it. All of the parts were clean and well maintained, bullet in the chamber with a full clip. The only question is, Who's is it?
My question was answered for me when one of the most God - awful creatures I have ever seen stumbled in my path howling like a banshee on buffout.
The thing's head swiveled away from me. As it did, I could have sworn that parts of its speckled scalp spiked and flattened into the air within a split second like a glitch out of Tartarus.
The thing swiveled its head back in my direction. As soon as it saw me, its pupils dilated to pinpricks and its body erupted into frenzied spikes as the god - awful screams it was producing somehow managed to get louder.
There was room in my panicked mind for only one thought which swam downwards to my nigh used vocal chords:
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?"
And with that, it raced towards me at an in-equine speed. gaining ground fast. Thoughts racing, I bit the grip of my new friend and fired off three shots in the direction of the thing's head. The first shot had no effect. The second made it stumble as the bullet was lodged in the creature’s throat. The third caught its forehead on the way down,killing it instantly.
The gun dropped from my mouth and clattered on the cobblestone. My breath hitched in my throat, and my legs started to shake like a newborn fawn. I backed away slowly, as if going any faster would bring the demon back to life. My nerves finally shot and I galloped in the opposite direction, away from both my gun and my assailant. Towards the only landmark my beaten mind could easily identify:
The capital building of this forsaken land.
Canterlot Castle.
***
Dusk had fallen by the time my sudden three mile jog to the castle was over. My legs starting to go numb, I collapsed from exhaustion in front of the great, pearly white doors. I was so focused on trying to bring my breathing and my heart rate down from the exhaustive three mile trek, that I did not notice (once again) a spherical robot about the size of a small watermelon detach from an alcove directly to the left of the doors and hover over to me about a hoof away from my head. Following a few minutes of me continuing to ignore , it finally spoke in a very nonchalant voice.
"We apologize for the inconvenience. Due to a level- four state of emergency being declared, all appropriate government buildings and installations are on complete lock-down. Only members of the Equestrian Armed Forces and primary members of the Equestrian government above clearance level- three are permitted to enter. If you are a qualifying Equestrian Armed Forces member or government official, please identify and proceed to the designated briefing room."
My mind showed nothing but confusion. All I could think and say consisted of
"...What?"
The bot continued to hover for a moment before it spoke again.
"Voice print confirmed. 1st Sergeant *BZZT* E-7 paygrade. Welcome. Please proceed to briefing room five."
And with that, it flew back into its alcove and powered down before signaling the doors to open long enough for me to get off my ass and past the doors before they slammed shut behind me.
"I don't know whether that's a bad sign or a good sign." I said with a sigh. Frustrated, I yelled to the brightly lit ceiling. "WHO THE FUCK EVEN AM I!?"
Not getting an answer and tired of the silence, I plodded off to wherever briefing room five was supposed to be.
I wander this world, this strange land, alone.
Enlightenment- Unedited
The first thing I noticed was how cold the cavernous building was. low sixty's if I were to guess. The building itself was as if no pony had ever stepped hoof inside. Not a scuff on the marble floor or streak of dust on the walls could be seen. The reason why was shown to me shortly. Little bots, about the size of hoofs, flying overhead sentinel like in their movements. Should a piece of fur or clump of dirt fall onto the pristine floor the nearest one would lock on and attack the offending substance, scrubbing with a multitude of brushes and cleaning detergents until the floor was once again spotless.
This fact became apparent to me when I sneezed, causing a good sized cloud of dust to float off my coat and to the floor and about three of them descended, scrubbing for a few moments before lifting off again.
I observed the carefully synchronized dance in my usual silence before continuing on my journey to briefing room five. The way there wasn't as hard to navigate as I had thought, since it was kind of hard to miss the giant sign hanging above the hallway that read "Briefing rooms 1-10"
Shortly I came upon my destination, knocking loudly on the door in hopes of dispelling the mighty silence that surrounded me, save the hum of the cleaning bots.
The door opend and inside stood... not much actually. A projector stood in the center of the room, a few chairs surrounding it with faded paper on the backs of each, with a name on each respectively.
I walked behind them, reading each name out loud as I went down the line
"Sergeant Major Thunderwing, Staff Sergeant Omega, Command Sergeant Major Gatling, Sergeant First class..." I had to squint to read mine, as it was seemingly the oldest out of all of them.
"Bri... Brigadier? Isn't that a navy term?"
"Well yes. But it is also your last name"
My eyes went wide and I let out an undignified yelp as I spun around to find who had spoken.
"Hello Sergeant! I have been waiting for you and the other key sergeants to show for awhile now. I was beginning to think you would never show!"
I stood for a moment in silence, appraising the most ridiculous robot I had seen yet.
It was bulbous, three eye stocks coming out of the top of it, below there was a single thruster somehow managing to keep it aloft without anything stabilizing it and three arms. Each having a single apparatus. with a gripper, a buzz saw and a laser.
My eye just twitched in bewilderment as it continued on, in a strangely British clip.
"Well, better late then never I always say!"
"So. before we get started, are you the only one coming?"
My confused expression remained.
"Yes?"
"Okay!" It started "Please sit in your designated seat and we can begin!"
I obediently sat in my seat, facing the wall the projector was pointed at. as the bot slowly made it's way to the same wall, hovering in front of it.
"Sergeants! You have been called here today for one specific purpose! You all have abilities and clearance needed to restore our great nation. Each of you has a specific location to visit and a specific goal for that location. After you have completed your mission you are to report directly to Her Majesty, Princess Luna. Your objectives as well as anything else you may need are awaiting in your staterooms. Now. Any questions?"
I sheepishly raised my hoof
"Where is my room...?