Away From the War; Away From Machines

Chapters

Ch. 2: "Prisoner of War"
Ch. 3: "Escape From Canterlot"
Ch. 4: "Uneasy Trust"
Ch. 5: "No Longer Hostile
Ch. 6: "Everfree"
Ch. 7: "Evasion"
Ch. 8: "Battle For Ponyville Pt. 1"
Ch. 9: "Battle For Ponyville Pt. 2"
Chapter 10: "Putting On a Friendly Face"
Prelude
Ch. 1: "Welcome to Equestria"

Ch. 2: "Prisoner of War"

Ch.2: ‘Prisoner of War’

Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, and the Mane Six, all pondered on what to do with the alien once he arrived. After hearing what happened in Sweet Apple Acres, it was obvious to them that he was hostile and could lash out at any given moment, so they would need to take the subtle approach, aimed at getting on his good side, before delving deeper to why he came to Equestria. They hoped that in doing so, he would begin to consider them as friends.

Out of all of them, Applejack seemed the most eager about getting answers out of their visitor as she continued to pace back and forth around the interrogation room. She became the primary worry of her friends, fearing that she might let her anger get the best of her.

“Please, you must calm down, Applejack,” said Rarity.

The farm pony turned her head towards the alabaster unicorn, a steely look in her green eyes. It almost looked murderous. “Calm? How can Ah be calm when the same alien that foalnapped m’ah sister is on his way here? Why, if we’d still be at Sweet Apple Acres, Ah’d buck him straight to the moon.”

“I think Big Mac already beat ya there, pal,” Rainbow Dash chuckled, thinking back to the kick that knocked the alien unconscious.

Feeling a hoof touch her shoulder, Applejack turned to see Princess Celestia standing behind her. “I understand how you feel, my little pony,” she said, “but it’s never a good idea to your anger cloud your who you are. Once the alien is brought here, we’ll question him on his actions. And for his sake, he answers them.”

Applejack flashed a smile. “Thanks, Princess.”

Twilight, meanwhile, was occupied with the strange device levitating in front of her. It was small and somewhat bulky, and the metallic casing was painted a burgundy-red colour. She tapped on the plastic screen with her hoof, and was startled when it suddenly sparked to life.

“What’cha got there, Twi?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“I’m not really sure,” replied the unicorn. “I saw it on the alien’s arm when Shining and his guards apprehended him. Whatever it is, it sure looks advanced.”

She soon found herself losing all control over it as it became enveloped in a dark blue aura, before floating over towards Princess Luna. “Our apologies, Twilight Sparkle,” the Princess of the Night proclaimed, “but we must not tamper with any of its things. We still have no knowledge what such a strange device as this is capable of.”

He floated it over to an earth pony Royal Guard standing in the room. “Lieutenant, please take this to the armoury for storage. We will examine it later.”

The earth pony complied, “Will do, Your Highness.” He took the device in his mouth and cantered over to the door, just as it opened and Shining Armour trotted in with his prisoner in tow.

The human’s eyes became glued to the pony as he passed by, or rather the invaluable piece of technology he was holding in the last place it should be. “Hey! How the hell did you get that—?”

He was shoved further into the room, towards a table that’d been set up in the center. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance stood on the other side. To them, from where they were, looking down at the human, he seemed broken and harmless, but that could have been because of the magic restraints around his wrists. They couldn’t let their guard in front of him for even a second.

“Please, have a seat,” said Celestia.

Hesitant, the human pulled out the chair and sat down. Almost immediately, his found himself being constricted, unable to move any part of his body below his neck. “What the hell is this? I can’t move! What did you do to me?”

“We’ve restricted you with our magic,” replied Luna, a faint glow disappearing from her horn. “It is only cautionary to prevent you from causing another incident.”

Despite her words, the prisoner struggled to break free, but with no avail. What they were using was magic, something that didn’t existence in his world. In other words, something Skynet had never trained them for. After exhausting his feeble attempt, he settled for glaring at the three alicorns in front of him.

“Not fair.”

“Hey, you brought this on yourself,” said Rainbow Dash.

Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to the Princesses. “So, now that you’ve got me, what happens next? Imprisonment? Execution? Experimentation? Whatever you got in store, I bet I can take it.”

“You’re going to be held in front of the Canterlot court,” said Cadance. “But, before you that, we need as much information from you as possible.”

“Information, eh?” The human nodded, understanding what was being told. “Well if you wanna know some things, my name’s Parker; Technical Sergeant First Class. Now with that little introduction out of the way, I have my own question: how do I know I can trust you exactly.”

No pony could respond to that. The question had hit them unexpectedly. All eyes were drawn to Princess Celestia as she stepped forward. “There’s no way we can make you trust us. After all, even I know something like this is something hard to come by. But believe me when I say we just cooperation from you. You have my word no harm will come.”

A brief silence lingered between the two of them, though unbeknownst to Celestia, Parker had been monitoring her words.

Lie detection… Result: 97% truth…

At least she’s honest about her intentions. But that doesn’t mean I can trust her right off the bat. I’ve been in the Resistance too long to fall for that. It’s better to see where this whole thing goes and start off from there.

The Princesses and girls went through a door that led into another room. Celestia, being the last to enter, turned back to Parker. “Shining Armour will be the one interrogating you.”

“I thought you said I could trust you,” Parker remarked.

Ignoring his comment, Celestia continued, “I really hope you’ve taken what I have had to say to heart. Maybe, when this is all over, there can be a lasting friendship between us.” With that, she shut the door.

Shining Armour trotted into Parker’s line of sight. “Alright,” he said, “let’s get started.”

Thanks to a spell Princess Celestia had cast on the wall in front of them, which allowed them to see through it on their side, the Princesses and Mane Six were able to witness Shining Armour attempt to interrogate the human. Though they could not hear what was going on, they could tell it wasn’t going as they hoped it would.

Soon the Captain of the Royal Guard turned away from Parker and trotted into the back room, and was almost immediately crowded by the three Princesses. “Well, what have you managed to learn from him?” asked Luna, eager to know what new information they possessed.

Shining sighed, “So far, nothing. He’s too stubborn. Aside from his name and rank, the only new thing he told us that he was from a place called Anchorage, but every time I try to go beyond that point, he either stays quiet or says something I don’t understand.”

“He must still not trust us,” said Cadance.

Celestia looked through the one-way see-through wall to see Parker still restrained to his seat. The glare had not left his face since he first arrived. “He’s supposed to be held in front of the Canterlot court within the week, but we can’t do that unless he talks. We just need to find a way.”

As Shining and the Princesses contemplated this, Twilight continued to observe the alien from where she was. Though his glare had yet to vanish, it looked like he was examining rather than looking. Could it be possible that he was—?

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.

“It’s Parker,” the lilac unicorn replied. “I have the strangest feeling that he’s watching us.”

“What makes ya say that?” asked Applejack.

“I think he can see us.”

“That’s crazy talk,” said Rainbow Dash. “That spell Princess Celestia cast makes the wall see-through on our side only. The only thing he can see is a brick wall.”

With his HUD activated, Parker’s scan vision instantly allowed him to see the heat signatures of every pony in the other room. His cybernetic implants were just few of the things he thanked Skynet for since he and the others defected.

Multiple hostiles confirmed… Hostile count: 12…

“Let’s see if I can eavesdrop,” he said, monotonously. He used his auditory implants to increase his hearing and listen in on any conversation that might have been going on. Scanning the room, he tuned in until he heard a family voice. It sounded like Princess Celestia:

“We can’t keep him tied to his chair if he isn’t going to say anything.”

“Then, what are we supposed to do?” asked another voice. It was barely above a whisper.

The Princess thought about it for a moment before she responded again, “We might as well take him back to his cell. At least until Luna and I can come up with something.”

“Then we must come up with something at once, sister,” Luna declared.

Shining Armour trotted back into the interrogation room. His horn glowed and Parker’s body was free to move again. He rolled his shoulders, getting the circulation flowing through his arms again. “You decided to let me go? How touching…”

“Save it. You’re being taken back to your cell until we can decide what to do with you.”

“Well it’s better than sitting in this chair all day.” Before he stood up from the chair, Shining’s horn glowed a second time. Magic restraints were placed around the human’s wrists once again.

Parker lay in his cell, staring up at the ceiling. Everything in the dungeon was quiet, except for the occasional loud squeak from the rusted door whenever the Royal Guards would change shifts. The guard standing in front of his cell was a pegasus, by his wings, and had gold armour. If it wasn’t for the magic barrier keeping him contained, he would’ve easily snuck behind him, knocked him unconscious, and proceeded to escape.

The sound of that damned squeak echoed throughout the dungeon as a Lunar Guard appeared at the door. He seemed a bit too nervous about being down here, as was a couple before him. “I’m here to take over,” he said.

The pegasus nodded and made his way for the door. “Thank Celestia, I’m tired. How long till the Princesses call him back for interrogation?”

“I don’t know. The others say we should just wait for the word.”

“I hope they don’t take long. Whatever the prisoner knows that we don’t, it can’t be good for the rest of us.”

The pegasus stepped out of the dungeon, leaving the Lunar Guard alone with Parker. The I-950 turned his gaze from the ceiling to the newest guard in front of his cell, using his HUD to diagnose the pony.

Heart rate and perspiration increasing. Breathing irregular. I’d say he’s a rookie; just recently joined in the military. Maybe a little over a month ago. Eh, I’ve been quiet long enough; maybe I can have some fun with this one.

He sat up, stretching his arms, and turned his attention to the pony. “So…” The moment he spoke, he noticed a large spike in the guard’s heart rate. Yeah, this’ll be fun. “I bet it gets a bit nerve-raking dealing with something like me.”

The guard scoffed. “Please, I’ve been trained to face things more dangerous than you. Things you would dream of seeing.”

Of course, because don’t things don’t exist in my world, idiot. “You’ve trained for them. But have you actually faced them?”

“Well… no.”

“Then how do you know if you’d be willing to actually fight, and not run away?” His question, though rhetorical, was not met with a response as he expected. Great, he’s ignoring me. He sighed. Now I’m bored.

Another hour passed; Parker was back to staring up vacantly at the ceiling when the dungeon door opened, and three Celestial Guards trotted in, spears levitated at their sides. “We’re here to take the prisoner back for interrogation.”

The Lunar Guard smiled. “That’s a relief. Took them long enough.”

“Were you scared, rookie?”

“What? No! I was just bored being down here all day.”

“Sure you were,” replied Parker, earning a laugh from of the guards.

“Shut up!” The Lunar Guard trotted away from the dungeon as fast as he could; the Celestial Guards approached the cell with the lead guard lowering the barrier. He used his magic to restrain Parker’s wrists, and they led him out of the dungeon.

The time it took to get from here to the interrogation room was somewhat long. It gave Parker enough time to think of a way to escape. There were two guards positioned on each side of him and the last one behind him to ensure that he wouldn’t try to escape. Within seconds, he knew exactly how to get out of this. And all it took was one cough…

Bringing his hands to his mouth, he coughed in them. He kept doing this, and eventually his coughing began to grow more violent. This managed to attract the attention of his captors.

“What’s wrong with you?” the lead guard asked, right before Parker dropped to his knees, still coughing violently, relentlessly. He started wheezing and gasping for air.

One of the guards became worried and backed up. “Lieutenant, I think he’s sick.”

“He sounds bad,” said the second guard. “Shouldn’t we take him to the infirmary or something?”

Before they had a chance to react, Parker attacked. He reeled his leg and threw a kick to the guard behind him, sending him flying backwards, and then threw a punch at the second, knocking the pony unconscious. The Lieutenant quickly aimed his spear and fought back. He thrusts his spear, but missed with each of his attacks. One final thrust and Parker dodged; he ducked under the spear as it was thrown towards him and sent a hard kick at the Lieutenant, striking him in his chest plate.

The Lieutenant slammed into the wall behind him hard, leaving a large crack in the stone. The restraints around Parker’s wrists disappeared. He walked over to the unconscious pony and placed two fingers against his neck and sighed in relief to feel his heart still beating.

“He’s out cold, but at least I didn’t kill him.” He reached down and picked up the spear off the ground. “A bit too primitive for my tastes, but it’s much better than nothing. Now to find my weapons and get the hell away from this place.”

Everypony waited in the interrogation room for the guards that were sent to retrieve Parker. It was quiet; not a word had been spoken since they returned. Applejack soon found herself pacing the floor again, impatient on the amount of time it was taking. Although she no longer though about attacking Parker (not any more than she did previously), she’d been deep in thought about a lot of things considering the alien, including what his intentions might be for coming here, specifically to Ponyville.

“How long is it gonna be? They should’ve been back by now,” said Rainbow Dash.

“It normally takes time to get here from the dungeon,” replied Shining Armour. “They should be here soon.”

A few minutes rolled through, and the ponies were still waiting. Before too long, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Princess Celestia called out.

A Royal Guard entered, breathing heavily as if he had been galloping for miles. “Princesses! Captain! The prisoner escaped!”

“What?” they all yelled in unison.

“We found the guards that were supposed to be escorting him knocked out in the hallway. And they’re in bad shape.”

“Put every guard on alert. We cannot allow him to leave the castle,” ordered Luna, almost bold enough to be speaking in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

The guard nodded obediently and galloped out of the room. Shining Armour turned to his sister and her friends. “You six, on the other hoof, are going back to Ponyville.”

Twilight reeled back in surprise. “What? But we can help—”

“No buts, Twilie. If Parker’s loose in the castle, it’s too dangerous for you to stay. Corporal Air Burst…” He turned to a pegasus Celestial Royal Guard, “make sure Twilight and her friends get back to Ponyville unharmed.”

Air Burst, being the loyal Royal Guard that he was, nodded. “You got it, sir. Okay, everypony, right this way.”

Twilight hugged her brother before heading out with Air Burst and the others. Throughout the basements of the royal castle, guards were gearing up and going out on patrol, searching for the escaped alien that was loose somewhere inside their castle. Air Burst led the six mares through the catacombs on their way outside.

The violet unicorn mare came to a stop when they cantered past the armory. “This is where Princess Luna wanted to keep Parker’s device?” Though she did not want to disobey a direct order from one of the royal sisters, the thought of taking it tempted her. It was for science, after all. “It wouldn’t hurt to study just a little.”

She entered the armory, trotting past the various weapons and armors before coming upon a crate which Parker’s device laid upon. She used her magic to pick up the device and placed it into her saddle bag.

“Twilight!” Applejack called from down the hallway. “Come on! We gotta go!”

“Coming!” the lilac unicorn galloped out of the armory and hurried back to her friends. However, unknown to her, she was being watched. Parker looked from behind a nearby wall, waiting she left before quickly hurrying into the armory.

He searched around until finding his equipment, and went through them, finding that one very crucial item was missing. “My Hacker! Where the hell did they put it?” His thoughts immediately raced back to the unicorn. “She must’ve taken it. Great. I’ll have to find her once I get out of here.”

Loading his rifle, and holstering his plasma pistol and M1911, Parker set out to find a way out of the castle.

Shining Armour led a task group through the castle. Much of the security had been heightened; Royal Guardsmen were everywhere. It would be a miracle for any pony to get out without being seen. Parker was no exception. Turning a corner, they came upon something they least expected.

“Oh, Dear Celestia…” Some of the guards could feel his knees began to shake at the sight of the carnage in front of him. A cadre of Royal Guards lay on the ground and the area around them had been completely devastated. Walls were destroyed, the marble columns smashed, and the entire area was smoldering.

He trotted up to a Lunar Guard lying on the ground who was just barely holding onto consciousness. “What happened here? Was it Parker?”

The guard shook his head. “No, it was something worse. Something much worse.”

Ch. 3: "Escape From Canterlot"

Ch.3: ‘Escape From Canterlot’

It took time, but Parker had managed to escape the underground catacombs that were the dungeons, and was now working on finding a way out of the castle. The better part of the three hours that already passed was spent narrowly avoiding Royal Guard patrols roaming the halls. From what he could determine of Equestrian arsenal and training, he could easily outmaneuver and evade them for a while, though he often times debate on whether or not to use his plasma rifle and years of experience to force his way out.

As was the case with the apple orchard, there was difficulty navigating through the castle. His HUD was useless in guiding him, serving only to warn him of hostiles within proximity. It helped him stay hidden and keep the Princesses and Royal Guards off his trail as he moved. Making his way down these halls, his plasma rifle aimed everywhere, reminded him of when he participated in the I-950 revolt. Only this time, he was on his own.

He reached the end of the hall. Peering around the corner, he saw the coast clear and continued, before a shadow suddenly appeared in front of him. It must have been a Royal Guard. He looked around for a place to hide from whatever would come around the corner ahead. Seeing nothing, he raised his plasma rifle, readying himself to face was approaching. But to his surprise, however, what came from around the corner wasn’t a pony, but a human—a Resistance fighter!

Parker was left mouth agape. “Are you real, or just a hallucination?” he asked in disbelief. There was no answer, so Parker decided to press a bit further. “Listen, I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s obvious I wasn’t sent back in time. Where did you come from? Maybe we can find a way out of here.”

He strapped his plasma rifle around his shoulder as he started walking towards the soldier. It was a relief to him that she arrived. Maybe with her, he’d be able to find out what was going on—

Warning… Subject: Unknown android… Status: Hostile…

Before he had a chance to react, the soldier’s arm contorted and transformed into a plasma cannon. It fired a shot, landing at Parker’s feet and tossing the I-950 across the hall. He looked up in time to see the soldier’s skin and uniform turn into pure metallic. They began to retract, and soon the T-X made itself known.

Parker, an aura of fear developing around him, fumbled with the plasma rifle in his hand before taking aim and pulling the trigger. He sprayed shots at the approaching machine, hitting it once in its chest plate but failing to cause no signs of damage. The liquid metal alloy served as a second layer to protect the machine from suffering too much trauma.

Unable to find a proper weak spot, even with his scan vision, the only option the I-950 had was to retreat and rethink a strategy, one that would serve to help him survive long enough escape the castle. The T-X gave chase, of course, with the intent of terminating its target. It fired shot several plasma shots, just barely missing the fleeing human.

Parker unhooked a canister bomb from his back. Twisting the handle at the top, he tossed it behind him. It exploded near a marble column, causing the monolith to collapse and block the machine’s path. Despite this, Parker knew it would find another way around. Using the new time he was given, he kept going, knowing it was a matter of time before the T-X would locate him.

Prince Blueblood felt perfect, as he always did. Of course, since he was the nephew of one of Equestria’s most powerful rulers, he had a reason to. He could get anything he wanted, when he wanted, and there would be no pony to question him. It was truly a privilege being royalty, as he saw it.

The sound of his bedroom door opening and closing drew his attention from his fifth mane combing of the day. He trotted from his bathroom into the bed chamber, hoping to find the servant with his dinner, but was instead greeted with the sight of a weird creature.

“What, in Equestria, are you?”

“Nice to meet you, too,” was the response he got before he was taken hostage. Grabbed by his neck, he was led out of his room with a strange contraption pressed against the back of his head. He didn’t need to guess what it was for him to know it was dangerous.

“You’re that alien the guards captured, aren’t you?” asked Blueblood.

“Yeah, and you’re the second pony I’ve taken hostage since I’ve gotten here. All I want is for you to show me the fastest way out of this castle. Don’t, and you die.” Although Parker was lying with this claim, that was all he needed to convince the stallion:

“Just keep heading straight and then make a right. You’ll reach a staircase that will take you downstairs to the entrance. Now let me go!”

“You really have no idea how hostage situations work, do you?” Parker shoved Prince Blueblood, making the royal pony trot forward. They continued down the hall. All was quiet; no sign of Royal Guards or the T-X, of course he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide from that machine forever. He was still trying to wrap his head around how it knew where to find him in this world. Although, before long, the answer made itself clear:

My CPU signal! I didn’t jam it! CPUs always sent off a signal which Skynet could easily track, allowing her to locate anything of interest, including reprogrammed Terminators and the renegade I-950s. Once he escaped, he would need to find a place to hide while he jammed the signal. Then, he would be home free. He hoped.

“Careful!” Blueblood yelled, breaking Parker from his thoughts. “I just had my coat groomed and my mane brushed. And I rather not have you ruining them!”

The human rolled his eyes. This guy complains more than Central Command does. “Look, just show me a way out of here and you can go back to whatever the hell it is you were doing. It’s not like I want to stay here and play hide-and-seek with the guards.”

Eventually they came across the staircase Blueblood mentioned, and ahead was the entrance leading outside into the night. “Well what do you know,” Parker said, a small grin appearing on his face; “you were telling the truth.”

“Yes, I was,” replied Blueblood. “Now let me go!”

“Freeze!” At the sound of that voice, Parker turned around to see Shining Armour with a group of Royal Guards down the hall. “Let go of the Prince,” he ordered, levitating a spear.

Parker responded by pressing his M1911 against Blueblood’s head. “Don’t take a step closer. Like before, all I want is a way out of here.”

“After what you’ve caused, the only thing you’re getting is a cell in the dungeon.”

The standoff was suddenly intervened when an explosion rang through the area; the T-X arrived on the scene after blasting a hole through the wall. Its plasma cannon arm was still warm as its sights locked onto Parker.

“Dammit! It found me!” The I-950 glanced between both his assailant and back at the guards, and in a brief moment of desperation, he lifted Prince Blueblood off the ground. “You know what? Fine! You guys want this one?” He yelled to Shining Armour, “Then you sure as hell can have him!”

He threw Blueblood at the Royal Guards; Shining caught the unicorn stallion in mid-air with his magic before they impacted, but Parker was left to escape, however, but this time with a walking metal skeleton-like machine pursuing him instead. It stopped just short of walking out the castle, and looked back at the small group of armoured ponies.

Scanning… Non-essential targets… Evaluate objective…

It took aim with its plasma cannon and fired at the ceiling above them before continuing on with its pursuit. The Royal Guards took cover, avoiding the heavy debris falling to the ground. They rose once it was all over, but despite the machine leaving, they knew they were still in danger.

“What in Celestia's name was that thing? I’ve never seen anything like it,” said one of the guards.

Shining Armour was still trying to process what he’d just seen. It looked to him like Parker was scared when that machine appeared and was desperately trying to put as much distance between it and him as possible . . . which meant whatever weapons or motives the machine possessed must have been unimaginable. “Send word to the Princesses. We might have to chance tactics.”

Escaping the inferno shot out by the T-X’s flamethrower, Parker tried his best to put distance between him and the machine so that he could work on re-jamming the CPU signal. As long as it was able to track him, there was no way he would be able to hide from it for too long. Skynet built this model as a faster and easier way to terminate targets, so he could see why the A.I. placed a signal tracker inside when having to deal with the rogue I-950s.

Taking cover behind a wall in an alley, he sought to catch his breath and try to think of a plan that would help in getting away from the T-X. So far, nothing came to mind. Many thoughts were racing through his head at the moment, trying to break down the situation.

Warning… Hostile proximity: 0.9 kilometers…

Parker stopped breathing when the echo of metallic footsteps reached his ears. His grip around the handle of his plasma rifle tightened, almost enough to crush it entirely. He looked over towards the other end of the alley to see an opening. He made his way through, knocking over obstacles in attempt to slow the T-X, before finally emerging out in the open again, in front of a crowd of unicorns. Most were terrified at him after realizing he was the same alien who was apprehended by the Royal Guards, though some showed vague interest in him.

“What the hell are you all staring at? Get out of here!” he yelled. He felt the heat from a fireball behind him and moved out of the way just before he was burnt.

The T-X slowly approached him, its flamethrower spewing out burst of intimidating flames. The ponies in the area fled, terrified of the new monster. Parker backed away from the machine as it came closer; he didn’t want to admit it, not even to himself, but he was afraid. And he had a good reason to, with the machine’s desire to burn him alive as its termination method.

He aimed his plasma rifle and fired. A shot struck the T-X in the shoulder, slightly damaging it with a couple sparks flying from the metal armour. The machine, however, was still coming, its arm now transforming into a power saw. Parker back away more before retreating. He knew it was going to take a lot more than just his plasma rifle to take this machine down.

Air Burst had done his part of escorting Twilight and her friends to the train station, and now they were on their way back to Ponyville while he was returning to the royal castle to await further instruction from his superiors. Along the way, he advised ponies that were left in the streets to return to their homes, seeing as Parker was able to escape captivity.

As he continued his silent flight over the city, the wind blowing against his coat, he noticed the human on the ground. He was making his way through the streets and alley with such ease, as compared to any pony that could.

He’s pretty agile for a creature with only two legs, Air Burst thought. Not wanting to let such a nice opportunity go to waste, he changed his course towards the fleeing human. Maybe I can distract him long enough for Captain Shining and the others to arrive.

Parker had just left another alley before Air Burst landed in front of him, both of his wings open to make himself seem more intimidating. It didn’t look like it was working, as Parker simply stared down the pegasus, growing impatient. “Get out of my way!”

“You’re not going anywhere, alien!”

“You do realize you’re the only one here, right?”

Air Burst trembled. He knew he couldn’t take the human. Not alone, anyway. “Just you wait. The others are on their way; you’ll see.”

The I-950 rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I rather not take your word for it.” He was about to attack when the wall beside them was blasted through, throwing them across the ground. Parker looked up to see blue sensors glowing through the smoke.

“And this is why I told you to get out of my way,” he said to Air Burst, who was still lying on the ground. “The T-X found me!” Picking up his plasma rifle off the ground, he made a run for it.

Air Burst attempted to stand and spread his wings to get away, but a sharp pain in both forced him back to the ground. “My wings! My leg! I can’t move!” The blast had injured him, and now he was in direct sight of the T-X.

Scanning… Hostile threat level: Minimal… Terminate at discretion…

The machine’s hand turned into a power saw as it took a step towards the downed pegasus. Stopping in his tracks, Parker turned to see the helpless Royal Guard becoming a new target of the high-tech Terminator, which was programmed to terminate him at any costs—even if it meant killing a pony to get to him. Still having a guilty conscience, he was forced to make a decision. “Oh, I know I’m gonna regret this.”

Running back, he tackled the machine to the ground before it could kill the pony. He needed to take out the power saw, as well as its other onboard weaponry, if he wanted any hope of surviving against it. Grabbing a rock off the ground, he began to pound away at its arm. Each blow severely damaged the circuit more and more, and Parker was determined to completely break it in order to give him an edge.

His plans were stopped, however, when the T-X tossed him off, throwing him against a wall, the solid brick cracking upon impact. He staggered to his feet, nearly disoriented from the trauma; some of his senses were shot from the back of his head crashing into the side of the wall. In his dizzy eyes, he saw two separate machines, each quickly approaching him. His vision aligned itself just as the T-X reached to grab him.

He ducked; striking the machine in its torso, he grabbed it, lifting it off the ground, and threw it across the area, through a wall on the side of a building. Using the time he had while the machine was probably incapacitated, he continued to make his getaway.

“You owe me big time,” he told Air Burst as he ran by.

The I-950 cautiously made his way through the abandoned streets, hoping not to run into the T-X or Royal Guards. His primary focus was escaping the city alive and without chains around his wrists. He soon came across a post in the middle of an intersection, and just as he thought, it was used for direction people to places in the city. One of the places shown on the post was a train station.

“Oh, thank God,” he said; “A way out of here.”

The arrow to the train station was pointing north; he followed in that direction. He could hear the sound of a loud whistle going off in the distance, thanks to the silence in the empty streets. After minutes of travel, he went through another alley and approached yet another wall—a dead end. The whistle sounded on the other side.

“All aboard that’s coming aboard!” yelled someone—or somepony—probably the train conductor.

Parker hopped up, grabbing onto the top of the wall, and looked over, seeing his only ticket away from town. He smiled in relief at seeing it. As he climbed over, his HUD chimed up again:

Alert… Proximity warning…

“Oh no…” Before he knew it, he was pulled back by the T-X. The machine pushed him against a wall and threw a hard punch. Parker ducked just in time, and the T-X’s fist struck a hole through the structure. The I-950 returned with a punch of his own, only for it to be caught and him being tossed through the wall at the end of the alley, thrown into the open in front of the train.

The conductor pony, after seeing him, quickly rushed his passengers inside, before closing the door. The train started pulling away from the station, and seeing this, Parker quickly got to his feet and ran after it. More adrenaline pumped into his veins and he was able to grab on to a steel support before hoisting himself up to the ceiling. As he climbed, a few plasma shots erupted near his head. He looked back to see the T-X sprinting after him, its onboard plasma turret primped and ready.

Nevertheless, this did not stop the human from unholstering his plasma pistol and returning fire, striking the machine in its leg and slowing it down enough for him to reach the rook of the train. Finally away from his assailant, he took a brief moment to rest, and a moment was all he had before he heard the sudden scraping of metal against metal.

Parker looked back to see the T-X climbing on the side of the train, the polymimetic alloy over its hands taking the form of large pickaxes to achieve this. This thing… it’s got to be fucking relentless. He aimed his plasma rifle and fired a shot, just barely missing as the machine began to step closer.

The T-X’s arm turned into a flamethrower. It launched a huge fireball, making Parker stumble backwards, tripping in the process, to avoid being burnt to a crisp. The train made an unexpected turn as it drove around the side of a mountain. Parker had nearly fallen off the side, hanging onto the edge for dear life. Off the side was a forest, vast and possibly stretched for miles. That gave him an idea.

He pulled himself up and looked over at the T-X, the flames rising from the nozzle of its flamethrower. What he was planning could have been considered suicide, and it would’ve been called that by Angel. But it was the only plan he had for getting rid of the Terminator—at least for a while.

“Here we go. Need to time this right,” he said. “One… Two… Three!” The human burst into a full sprint. The T-X blasted a massive ball of flames at him; he ducked, however, and grabbed its arm, a stream of fire shooting off into the air. The T-X reached out its free arm in attempt to grab hold of Parker’s neck, but the I-950 spun once, lifting the machine off its feet, and let go, and he watched as the T-X plummeted to the forest below.

The machine was gone; though he could delay detection for quite a while, it didn’t mean he could stay hidden forever. Sitting back, and taking the moment to rest after the fierce engagement, Parker gazed at the passing scenery in his wait for the train to reach its destination.

An hour passed, and the human fell asleep. He was woken up by a loud screech as the train slowed to a stop. He sat up and looked over the edge to see ponies pouring out into the open, some chatting to friends about how they have been gone too long. Looking up, he saw that he was back in Ponyville.

Extensive repairs were being made to the damage caused by the Time Displacement Sphere, as he could see. At least they’re doing something about it. Lying back, he stared up at the night sky and waited for the train to move.

“All aboard! Our last stop for the night is Fillydelphia!” yelled the conductor.

Parker laughed; it almost sounded like Philadelphia. In the silence, save for all of the ponies talking, a thought hit him: “My Hacker! That unicorn still has it.” He remembered seeing her among the ponies when he was being chased through the orchard, which meant she had to be somewhere in this town.

He hopped down from the train and quickly hid behind cover before any of the ponies in the area could see him. Thankfully, they were organic creatures, so they did not have any heat-seeking capabilities as Terminators or HKs had. It would make sneaking around town much easier for him. He left the train station and ventured into town, hiding behind various pieces of cover to conceal his movement.

After what seemed like over an hour, he eventually located the unicorn—Twilight Sparkle. He could see her trotting with the orange mare, Applejack, and with his Hacker levitating next to her. He would need to time his moves just right to advance without being spotted by the ponies. And once he was sure she was totally alone, he could go up, take the small wrist device, and leave as quickly as he came in.

Eventually the tailing led him back to Sweet Apple Acres. Okay, this really can’t be a coincidence. He hid behind a tree and waited as the two mares approached what seemed like a barn house. Applejack stood in the doorway; it must’ve been hers.

“You sure you wanna keep that thing, Twilight?” the cowpony asked, very uncertain of her friend’s decision. “You don’t even know what it does.”

“That’s why I need to know what makes it tick. It’s important. We could be on the verge of a major scientific discovery.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Whatever you say, Twilight. Ah’ll catch ya tomorrow.” She closed the door.

Twilight turned and started back for Ponyville. This was chance. Once she was away, all Parker had to do was go and take the Hacker before she could alert anypony. Suddenly, at the last moment, the voice of a child spoke up:

“You… You’re back?”

He turned around to see Apple Bloom standing behind him.

Ch. 4: "Uneasy Trust"

Ch.4: ‘Uneasy Trust’

The situation concerning Parker had quickly descended from bad to worse after his escape from the castle. The arrival of the second alien was horrifying enough, but after hearing of the conflict between the two, and the devastating weapons they employed, it was obvious that whatever they were fighting about was not good for the rest of Equestria.

“What happened after?” asked Princess Celestia.

“It fired some kind of weapon at us and made part of the ceiling fall. We barely got out of the way,” said Shining Armour. “After that, it went after Parker.”

“What was it that attacked you?” asked Cadance.

“It was a machine. And if Parker wanted to get away so bad, it has to deadly.”

“Nearly gave me a concussion after he threw the Prince at us,” said a Lunar Guard.

Prince Blueblood straightened his mane, still annoyed by the memory of him being used as a makeshift weapon. “It wasn’t fun for me, either. You weren’t the one held against you will. Or thrown like a ragdoll. Once we find him, I’ll see to it that he’s—”

“Held in front of the royal court,” Luna interrupted. She knew what Blueblood was about to imply. He had a tendency to go a bit extreme on a few things. She looked at a medic pony who was in the room. “How is Corporal Air Burst?”

“He’s resting in the infirmary with a broken left wing, but his leg should be healed within the week. But I suggest letting him rest before he’s able to go back out.”

The Princess of the Sun nodded. “Thank you very much, doctor.” The medic bowed his before leaving the room. Celestia looked out the window into the night. One of her most trusted Royal Guards had been injured, and it was increasingly possible that a brutal war between two races was beginning to leak into her country, one that could be ten times worse than the chaos Discord used to cause.

“I want all Royal Guards across Equestria to be on alert,” she said, the tone in her voice becoming serious. “He could be anywhere, so they need to be prepared. Have patrols centered in every city and town to be on the lookout for him."

“You got it, Princess.” Shining went off to relay the order to the rest of guardsmen. All Celestia could do now was hope that her guards would have every thing under control.

Applebloom tried in desperate vain to escape from Parker’s grasp. The I-950 had his hand pressed against her stomach, his superhuman strength being used to keep her pinned to the ground with virtually no effort.

“Let me go!”

“Keep squirming all you want, kid. There’s no way you can escape. Not this time.” He watched as she eventually exhausted herself, clearly frustrated that she was back in this situation again. Despite all that he had been through, it was kind of funny to him, though he could not say the same for the filly.

“Why are you back?” she asked in lackluster. Parker responded by looked over at Twilight as she departed from the orchard. Apple Bloom saw this. “You’re after Twilight now? Why do you keep try’n ta foalnap everypony—?”

She was silenced when quickly Parker placed his hand over her mouth. Her protests her muffled and hardly understandable, but even this didn’t get her to stop. I was right. She’s still got a big mouth. But, just like last time, she’s probably my only chance of leaving here unharmed. I rather not return to that castle.

Once the filly was done screaming at him, he removed his hand and replied, “I’m not after your friend, alright? That device she has with her. It’s mine, and I want it back.”

Apple Bloom eyed him. “What value does it have to you?”

“Let’s just say it saved my life more than once,” replied the human. He moved his hand from over her stomach, giving her freedom to move around again. He expected her run and tell someone about his presence, but it surprised him when she stayed. “Listen, I never wanted any trouble. All of this—kidnapping you and escaping from prison—I never wanted any of it. I have no idea how I ended up here in the first place, and I need your help. Maybe a place to stay for a while since I’m in town?”

The yellow filly tilted her head. “Wow… So a dangerous alien is coming to a little filly for help. But the question is: why should I?”

“Well, there’s always ‘other options’.” Parker reached for his plasma pistol.

Apple Bloom saw this and immediately changed her decision. “Okay, I’ll help. But where exactly are you gonna stay? My house is outta the question, and not like you can just go someplace in Equestria and hope not to get caught by somepony.” She said this in a mocking manner, awaiting a response from her captor.

Parker hated to admit it, but she had a point. No matter what, he couldn’t stay hidden, whether it was from Royal Guards or the T-X. He looked back at Apple Bloom, who bared a smug look on her face as she waited a response. That is why this next question caught her completely off-guard:

“Where’s that tree house of yours?”

Scootaloo stared out the window of the CMC clubhouse into the darkness of the Apple Family orchard. It’s been past a few minutes since Apple Bloom went to her house for some marshmallows they could eat while during the sleepover; she and Sweetie Belle were worried about her. They had been since she was foalnapped by the alien.

“Where do you think she is?” she asked Sweetie Belle who could only shrug.

The unicorn filly was equally worried, if not more. “I don’t know. I hope she’s okay.”

A knock on the clubhouse door drew their attention. It must have been Apple Bloom. Scootaloo went to open it, and as soon as she did, she saw her earth pony friend, and she was in the arms of an unwanted guest. “Oh no…”

She back up next to Sweetie Belle, who was already pressed against the wall on the other side, as the human walked inside and set Apple Bloom down. The filly immediately ran to the embrace of her friends.

They hugged, and Scootaloo glared at the strange being in front of her. She looked ready to charge, though her size didn’t intimidate Parker much. “What are you doing back?”

“Question of my life,” the human muttered, closing the door. “If you must know, I’m in need of a place to stay, and I decided it would be here—in this itty bitty tree house.”

“What? Why?”

Applebloom answered, “It’s because of Twilight. She has something called a Hacker an’ it belongs ta him.”

Parker nodded in confirmation. It was obvious that he was really desperate to get it from her, knowing the immense value it had. “Precisely, and that’s why I’m here to retrieve it.”

“But why should we let you stay here?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Because I am thoughtful, nice, and respectful?” The human said, earning a collection of glares from the fillies in front of him. It was worth a shot. He kneeled down in front of them, setting his plasma rifle down beside him. “Please, I know you don’t trust me, but you have to help. If you do, I promise I’ll be out of your lives for good. For good!”

Scootaloo scoffed. It was too clear to him that she wasn’t even trying to consider going through with it. “After you foalnapped Applebloom, do you really expect us to trust you just like that?”

Parker remembered asking a similar question during his interrogation. He shifted through his memory, memorizing the same response Princess Celestia had given to him: “There’s no way I can make you trust me. Even I know something like this is something hard to come by. But believe me when I say I just want cooperation from you. You have my word no harm will come.”

The clubhouse was quiet, save for the wind blowing against the leaves outside, and to Parker’s utter surprise, the three fillies were talking amongst themselves. He mentally patted himself on back upon seeing it. Wow… They’re actually considering it. Holy crap, I can’t believe that—

“We don’t buy it,” Sweetie Belle said.

At that moment, the I-950 felt like slapping himself. Thanks a lot, Celestia.

“But,” the unicorn continued, “We’ll help you get your device from Twilight.”

“Really? That’s—”

“We’re not done,” Scootaloo interrupted, holding her hoof up. “But in return, you have to keep your promise and leave Ponyville when we do.”

The compromise went through Parker’s mind. It sounded like a good idea; after all, he was only here for the Hacker, and these fillies had extensive knowledge of the city since they possibly resided here. They would know every nook and cranny of this place. In the end, after thinking, he smiled. “You got yourselves a deal.”

After what felt like hours of playing games, music, and taking about these so-called “cutie marks”, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were fast asleep. Parker, on the other hand, had found a place against the wall—the same spot he sat when he first came here. Without any lanterns, everything was dark, prompting him to his night vision to see.

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were in sleeping bags. Toys, comic books, and the like were scattered about around them. Parker hadn’t cared much for what they did; he was only worried about getting his Hacker back from Twilight before she would break it, and he knew there would not be enough time before that happened. She just seemed like the curious one to him.

He directed his attention out the window, towards the sky. The moon was obscured by the leaves, so he used his HUD to see through them. Looking at the floating gray orb in a blue-tinted vision wasn’t the same as looking at it in clear view, though.

Whatever the case may be, it’s still amazing.

Twilight looked at the small object in front of her—the alien’s device. Small, bulky at the edges, a plastic screen, straps to ensure it would stay on the wearer’s wrist, but what really drove her to study it was what might have lain underneath its casing. This was advanced technology, so the components, whatever they were, would have been something she’d never seen before.

She picked up the device with her magic and held it in front of her. The casing was sealed tight with several titanium screws. The lilac unicorn levitated a screw driver and undid the entire thing until the screws were nothing but a small pile on the table. Removing the metal casing, she was met with an assortment of various wires connected to each other and leading to what seemed like a small computer chip set on one side.

“Now, what can I do with you?”

Her concentration was broken by a sudden knock on the door. “Twilie, are you in there?” Her mind froze immediately at that moment. It was Shining Armour’s voice. She couldn’t let him see that she had Parker’s device, especially after Princess Luna ordered it to be in storage. She had to hide where he wouldn’t see it.

She went around the library, searching for a suitable place to hide the device. A few more knocks echoed. “Just one minute,” she called out, hoping to buy some time. “Spike!”

The baby dragon made his way downstairs upon hearing his name being called. “What’s up, Twi—”

“I need you to hide this, quick!” Twilight shoved the device in Spike’s arms. Spike stared down at the contraption in front of him and back at his friend.

“What’s the rush for?”

“Shining Armour’s here, and I cannot let him see that. If he does, he might take it back to Canterlot and then I won’t have a chance to study it.” The unicorn seemed frantic about this, and Spike learned the hard way before not to stand in the way of Twilight when something scientific or academic arises.

As he went to hide the device, Twilight calmed herself and hurried to the door. Opening it, she greeted her older brother, trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. “Hi, Shining! What brings you here?”

“Parker managed to escape from Canterlot,” the Captain of the Guard said.

“He did?” This news genuinely came as a surprise to the purple unicorn. If he managed to escape, it was likely he would be looking for his device.

“Yeah,” replied Shining, “so the Princess sent the Royal Guard all over Equestria to search for him. My team’s been stationed in Ponyville, and while I was here, I figured I’d pay a visit to my favourite sister.”

Twilight blushed lightly. “Aw, that’s sweet. So did you find anything?”

“Not yet. We’re still searching. He could be anywhere in Equestria by now.”

“I’m sure you’ll find him.”

“I hope so.”

A Celestial Guard approached the unicorn stallion. “Captain, a squads has returned from the Everfree Forest. They say they might have found something.”

Shining nodded in acknowledgement. “Got it. I’ll be there in a second.” He turned back to his sister. “I guess I have to go. It’s been nice seeing you again.”

Twilight smiled. “You, too. Just be careful, will ya?” They hugged and Shining departed, shutting the door behind him as he left. Once he was gone, Twilight turned to Spike. “Where’d you hide the device?” she asked.

“I hid it in the plant,” Spike replied. “Last place I’d expect anypony to look.”

Twilight went over and lifted the device out into the open, shaking some of the dirt off of it. The moment she did, the door opened again with Shining standing in the doorway. “Oh, and Twilight, I forgot to mention—” he stopped upon seeing the piece of machinery levitating near the lavender unicorn. “Isn’t that Parker’s device?”

“I, uh…” Twilight was at a loss for words.

“We thought Parker took it back with him when he escaped the castle,” he said. “You had it with you this whole time?” There was no answer. She was too nervous to say anything. “Look, Twilie, you need to bring it back to Canterlot. You’re not safe with it.”

“I’m sure Parker doesn’t know I have it,” Twilight replied, though she was still uncertain with her claim.

“It’s not Parker you should be worried about,” said Shining. “While he was escaping the castle, he was attacked by a machine—something he calls a ‘T-X’. I've seen what it can do. We think they’re both fighting over it. That’s why I think it should go back to Canterlot, where it’ll be under better protection.”

“But, I’ve already began studying it!”

“How far have you gotten?”

“So far,” Twilight replied, “I just opened it. But I’m sure I’ll find out how it works. Please, Shining, you need to give me just a little more time.”

Shining Armour thought it over in his head. He wasn’t sure if it was his conscience or the giant pair of puppy dog eyes his sister was blasting him with, but he couldn’t say no. “Alright,” he sighed, “but I’m going to be keeping an eye on you. Just please be careful with that thing. We still have no idea what it does.”

Twilight nodded. “I will. Thanks.”

Parker could feel something prod at his leg. It was hard, most like a hoof. He tried to pay no attention to it, to keep his eyes closed and continue sleeping, but it was eventually too much to ignore after a while. I realize I’ve only been in Ponyville less than twenty-four hours, but now I’m really beginning to regret coming back here.

“Hey, alien, wake up.”

“I have a name.” Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, he opened his eyes to see the three Cutie Mark Crusaders standing in front of him. Scootaloo, as always, seemed the most agitated about having him here in their tree house.

Parker let out an exasperated sigh as he woke himself up. “So, what’s up?”

“We’ve spent almost the entire day at school try’n ta stir up a plan to get yer thing back from Twilight,” said Apple Bloom. “But so far, noth’n seems ta work.”

“What were your original plans?” asked Parker.

Sweetie Belle thought back, “Well, we wondered if we could sneak in at night, but then we remembered Twilight has a pet owl with her.”

“She also has an assistant named Spike that’ll watch over it when she’s not around,” said Scootaloo.

Parker tilted his head. “Spike?”

The pegasus filly nodded. “Yeah, he’s a dragon.”

The very mention of the word made the I-950 break out in a cold sweat. Dragons… Why is it that I did not see that one coming? “Well I guess that makes this a lot more difficult. Is there anything we could try to get around them?”

“We have no idea,” said Apple Bloom. “All our plans were scrapped.”

Parker stood up and walked around the tree house, contemplating. If there was one thing he learned from his years of deep reconnaissance beehind Skynet lines, it was always to approach an objective from a different angle. “Where does she live in town exactly?”

“In a tree,” answered Sweetie Belle.

Parker deadpanned. “A tree? Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” the unicorn filly said, nodding. “The inside is a library. It’s full of all sorts of books and stuff.”

The I-950 scratched his head, trying to make sense of what he just heard. A unicorn lives in a tree which is actually a library. Okay, that’s it; I think I’ve had enough of trying to make sense of this world. Better to stop now before my brain shuts itself down. “Okay, so she lives in this library-tree, then there should be a way to enter from above. From the branches, I mean. We’ll be able to sneak in while she’s sleeping, take my Hacker, and everything can end there. Does that sound like a good plan?”

The Crusaders thought it over, and at once, they nodded.

They moved swiftly through the baron streets of the town, using the shadows provided by the night to conceal their movements. Parker’s training kicked in during this time, keeping quiet as a mouse as he moved from cover to cover. But still, he needed to follow the CMC’s lead. They knew Ponyville better than he did.

After Scootaloo saw the coast was clear, she quickly crossed the street to the other side, closely followed by Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Parker nearly stepped out of cover when a Royal Lunar Guard suddenly appeared down the road. He watched the area in front of him for anything suspicious before continuing his patrol, and once he was gone, Parker quickly crossed the street to where the three fillies were hiding.

“What are Royal Guards doing here?” he said in a hushed tone, though the way he was saying it, it wasn’t a question.

“Remember that you escaped from Canterlot, and probably caused more damage while doing it,” replied Sweetie Belle.

That made sense to the I-950. This would make the heist much more difficult with armoired ponies roaming around. “Guess your Princesses aren’t gonna rest till I’m behind bars… uh, barrier. Let’s just get the Hacker and get out of here before we’re spotted.”

The CMC nodded in agreement. They continued through town, avoiding various Royal Guards that were on late-night patrol duty on their way to Ponyville Library. As the fillies said, it was giant tree with windows and a door carved into it, as well as a balcony. “It’s weirder seeing it up close,” Parker thought aloud as he continued to gaze at the unnatural sight. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale.

“Yer thing-a-ma-jig should be somewhere inside,” said Applebloom.

“It’s called a Hacker, and I sure hope you’re right about that statement.” They quietly approached the library. Parker looked up to see the balcony, high atop a few branches. “Okay, you three wait here. I’m gonna try to climb up. I’ll unlock the door from the inside. Got it?”

They nodded. Parker took a few steps back before charging at the tree, running up the bark before grabbing into one of the branches. Pulling himself up, he continued to scale the side of the library, using window sills, branches—anything he could grab—for leverage, until eventually reaching his destination. He gently pushed open the balcony door leading into the library. He could see Twilight sound asleep in her bed and a purple dragon asleep in a basket. To his surprise, it was a baby dragon.

That must be Spike. I was afraid of him? That’s embarrassing. He quietly made his way downstairs to the front door and unlocked it, letting the CMC inside.

“What you did out there,” said Scootaloo, “was awesome. How’d you do that?”

“Years of training,” said the I-950. He closed the door before any Royal Guard pony outside could see them, and they began their search. It was hard searching in the dark, but they did not want to run the risk waking Twilight or Spike. But one question did cross the mind of Sweetie Belle:

“Hey, where’s Owlowiscious?”

“Who?” Parker asked.

“The owl we told you about. He’s not here.”

The human chuckled, “Maybe he joined the owl mafia.”

Scootaloo deadpanned. “What?”

“I’m not good at making jokes, alright?”

They scanned the entire downstairs, coming up short in their search. Most of what they’d found were a bag of gems and few pictures of an alabaster unicorn which Parker recognised as one of the ponies present during his interrogation. After finding nothing, the four of them decided to check upstairs. Going up the steps, they were met with Twilight and Spike still asleep as they were when he first entered. Parker noticed a small red and yellow bird sleeping in a nest next to Spike’s basket.

They went around in their search, still coming up short. “Where the hell could it be?” asked the I-950 after searching in a potted plant.

“Knowing Twilight, she’d probably hide it where we least expect it,” said Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo looked at her. “Which is?”

“I have no clue. Just throwing a suggestion out there,” the unicorn filly replied. They were about to give up the search and head back to the tree house when the sound of blankets rustling suddenly drew their attention.

When they turned their heads, they saw Twilight sitting up in bed.

Ch. 5: "No Longer Hostile

Ch.5: ‘No Longer Hostile’

His years of training suddenly erased from his mind, his body frozen, Parker merely stared at the violet unicorn as she sat up, yawning. This was it; he would be compromised. The Royal Guard would enter the library and take him back to the castle. He was lucky he jammed his CPU signal before coming here, or he would have a difficult time fighting back against the ponies and T-X at the same time. But that would only be temporary before the signal would unblock itself again.

He heard hooves scrambling against the wooden floor. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders had taken to hiding from the unicorn’s line-of-sight. Acting upon his impulse, Parker did the same as Twilight got out of bed. She trotted downstairs, mumbling “water” under her breath, and the moment she entered the kitchen, the I-950 pulled himself over the banister, careful not to make a sound as he climbed over back onto the second floor.

Using his night vision implants to see through the darkness, he scanned the area until he spotted the CMC hiding underneath a table. He silently made his way over to them. “Hey, girls…”

“Parker, is that you?” asked Applebloom.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“How can you even see us? It’s too dark in here,” said Sweetie Belle with a mix of utter confusion and curiosity.

The human didn’t answer. “Listen, you three, we need to abort; just get out of here.”

“What about your Hacker-thingy?”

Parker was hesitant—the last thing he wanted to do was leave without it—but he answered, “We’ll have to come back for it later. But right now, we should focus on not being spotted.”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement, “Yeah… That sounds like a good idea.”

“But we can’t go through the front door without alerting Twilight,” said Sweetie Belle.

Parker shrugged at this. “So what? We’ll just use the balcony.”

“It isn’t gonna be easy for us to climb out of a tree, ya know.”

“You three just leave that to me. Now come on.”

The fillies got from under the table, and they and Parker headed towards the balcony when they heard hooves trotting up the stairs. They got back into cover before Twilight stepped onto the floor, the fillies under the table again with the human crouching next to them. Parker saw Twilight crawling back into her bed before going to sleep.

He looked over at the CMC and motioned them to move towards the balcony. They silently made their way across the floor, wincing at every creek the floorboards made. He reached out to open the door, and the four of them stepped out into the night. Parker breathed a sigh of relief once his feet touched the wooden balcony and he closed the door until a satisfying click reached his ears.

“That was easy,” he said.

“Yeah, but now we have to get back to home,” said Scootaloo, “which means we have to make our way past the Royal Guards again.”

The I-950 threw his head back in frustration. This is going to be a really long night.

It took more time than usual since the Royal Guards were beginning to change shift, but Parker and Apple Bloom finally managed to return to Sweet Apple Acres after taking Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to their respective homes. The clock on his HUD read around 12:43a.m., though he figured the time zones in this world would be different, also. Picking Apple Bloom up, the I-950 scaled the house to her room. He opened the window and dropped her inside.

He was about to climb back down and return to the tree house when Applebloom chimed, “Hey, Parker. Thanks for take’n us. It was fun—dodge’n Royal Guards and sneak’n ‘round Twilight’s library at night.”

The I-950 smiled, though he wanted to make it seemed forced. He failed, but didn’t care. “Spend a day in my world. We go through this stuff every five minutes. Anyway, thanks for trying to help get my Hacker back. It was unexpected, to be honest. You could have just left while I was sleeping and turned me in. But instead you decide to help me out. Why did you do that?”

“M’ah sister always told me everypony has a good side buried deep within. Ah don’t think yer all that bad like everypony says, Parker. Ah believe there’s some good in you.”

Parker opened his mouth. He wanted to say something, but no words came out. With his whole life spent as a technical war machine, he wasn’t used to those words. “G’night, Applebloom,” he said and scaled back down before heading back into the orchard.

A few days ago, Scootaloo’s initial thoughts of Parker were that he was a dangerous alien sent here to invade and take over Equestria. She denounced those thoughts, instead viewing the human as a close friend alongside Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, despite the differences they had to each other.

“It’s impossible, Scootaloo,” Parker said. “Nothing organic—pegasi included—can break through the sound barrier. They try and they would be ripped apart in seconds.”

The young pegasus filly flapped her wings, hovering in the air for only a few seconds. “Are you kidding? Rainbow Dash is the only one I know who can.”

“It’s true,” said Sweetie Belle. “We’ve seen it ourselves. It’s called a Sonic Rainboom.”

Parker barely stifled a laugh. “Sonic Rainboom…? That makes it even more ridiculous. Look, I’m just gonna say this: it’s all just smoke and mirrors.”

“Is not!” yelled the two fillies.

“Is, too…” Parker countered, “But maybe when this whole thing blows over and I’m not a fugitive running from the law anymore, you can show me firsthand. I’d love to see it.”

They heard glass rattling against each other and looked towards the doorway to see Apple Bloom entering the clubhouse with a crate of bottles balanced on her head. “I’m here with apple juice, everypony. Ya’ll want any?”

“Yes, please,” said Scootaloo as she and Sweetie Belle hurried to the crate. Parker followed behind; he reached for one of the bottles and popped the top off before taking a swig. The moment the liquid hit his tongue, he finished the rest before going for another.

Apple Bloom reeled back, slightly disgusted but unable to hold back a small laugh. “Whoa, slow down, Parker. You act like you haven’t anyth’n decent ta drink in ages.”

The human replied after downing his fourth bottle, “Drink, eat, sleep; you name it. Can’t get stuff like this where I’m from anymore.”

“And where is that?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Parker chose not to answer that question. Lately he noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders were trying to get him to talk about his home world. He didn’t want to tell them. Seeing how young they were, they couldn’t fathom the type of horror he and humanity were subjected to on a daily basis. Every time they asked, however, he would break off the conversation and change the subject. “So...” he clapped his hands together, walking casually around the tree house, “what’s the next plan for retrieving my Hacker?”

Applebloom replied, “Actually, Parker, we were thinking, maybe we could spend the day together instead. Ya know, as friends?”

The I-950 thought about it. He thought it was a good idea, a good way to take a break and refresh his mind for future heists against Twilight. Besides, it was the first time they actually called him a friend. He looked at them. “Alright, sounds like a plan. But no asking where I’m from.”

“Why are you so secretive about it?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Parker smiled at the filly’s rising curiosity. Because it’s fun watching you three wonder so much? “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.”

Applejack stood next to her apple stand awaiting new customers. Everything in the marketplace had finally been restored, having been beforehand devastated by the fireball. More than a week passed since Parker escaped from custody. Maybe he was hiding somewhere far from Ponyville, or better, being chased by Royal Guards or captured again. She doubted the last two, though.

After a few minutes, her first customer approached. It was the guard that escorted her and her friends out of Canterlot. “Howdy, Corporal Air Burst. How’s yer wing feel’n?”

The pegasus guard glanced at his bandaged wing, cringing at the memory of his unwanted up-close-and-personal encounter with the machine. “It’s been better, Miss Applejack. I’m just glad I survived.”

“I’m surprised Parker didn’t do anyth’n else to ya.”

“Oh, it wasn’t Parker. It turns out he’s being chased.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Chased?”

Air Burst nodded, “Yeah. Something he called a T-X. It’s a machine—a very dangerous one if he’s running from it.”

“Ya’ll find either of ‘em yet? They gotta be somewhere.”

“Not yet. We’re still looking, trying to find some leads in the area. Hopefully something that’ll tell us where they might be.”

The cowpony smiled. There might have been some hope in locating the two aliens before they had a chance to cause more damage. “Well, it’s good ta hear yer feel’n alright. Hey, while yer here, ya feel’n hungry for an apple?”

The guard nodded, “As always!” He dropped some bits on the counter and took one of the juicy red fruits in his mouth. As he left, the two were approached by an alabaster unicorn.

Applejack tipped her hat and greeted her, “Hey there, Rarity.”

The prim unicorn returned the favour. “Good afternoon, Applejack. I have to ask you, do you know where Sweetie Belle might be?”

“Last I checked she was hanging out with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in the orchard. They’ve been spend’n an awful lotta time there, lately.”

“They’re probably trying to earn some type of cutie mark.”

Applejack shrugged. “Well whatever they’re doing, I’m sure it’s safe.”

At those words, Rarity shot the farm pony with a subjective glance.

“Point taken,” Applejack said.

Another day passed. Parker managed to completely patch things up between him and the CMC, although he resisted the fillies’ repeated attempts to get him to reconcile with any other ponies. He figured the Princesses and Royal Guards would not be too forgiving after his and the T-X’s sudden path of destruction through the streets of Canterlot.

With a sudden jolt of energy, the I-950’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up in his spot, sweating and breathing heavily.

He looked around to see that he was still in the tree house. There was a lack of three fillies around planning for their cutie marks, so he figured it was around morning or they were still in school. He sat himself up against the wall, his hand grasping his chest to slow down his increasing heart rate. It was a dream. It was all just a dream.

“Are you feel’n okay?” He turned to the voice to see Applebloom standing in the doorway. She bared a worried look in her eyes.

He nodded, “Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Where are Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo? I usually see you hanging around them.”

“Sweetie’s help’n her sister, Rarity with a dress and Rainbow Dash is teach’n Scootaloo ta fly. It’s jus’ me for the time be’n.”

“Just you, huh? That must be boring.”

“Actually…” Apple Bloom trotted up to him. “Ah was wonder’n if you could help me harvest some apples around here. Cider season is come’n up soon, and we need ‘em ta brew.”

Parker mused over the question for a minute and nodded, “Sure, but only if I get some cider after you’re done making it.”

Apple Bloom happily agreed. The two of them left the tree house, and Parker followed her. Most of the walk was quiet between them. Eventually they reached a large space in the orchard. Buckets had been placed underneath the trees that were chosen to be harvested.

“Okay,” said Apple Bloom, turning to the human. “The apples here look ripe; now all we gotta to is buck ‘em outta the trees.”

Parker barely stifled a laugh upon hearing her words. “What did you say?”

“Buck ‘em,” Applebloom repeated, not being able to realise finding what was so funny about what she said. “Ya know, jus’ kick ‘em outta the trees.”

The human tilted his head. “Kick ‘em?”

Applebloom nodded. “Yeah. It’ll take some time, Ah’ll admit—”

“I know a faster way.”

The filly was set back. “Faster way?”

Before she could ask, Parker aimed his plasma rifle at one of the trees. He set his finger on the trigger, but just as he was about to pull, Apple Bloom sent a kick to his leg, throwing the human off, the shot firing off into the sky.

“What was that for?” asked Parker, holding his leg as the pain was being suppressed.

“What do you think you’re do’n?” responded Applebloom.

“I told you: I was gonna get these apples down.”

“If Ah knew you’d meant like this, Ah would’ve stopped you before you even tried ta to it. Listen, Ah was always told that you should never rush things; that if you do, it’ll only lead ta more trouble than you want. It’s better to take things slow than try ta finish ‘em as fast as possible.”

Parker mused on her words, taking them into thought. He remembered the war, hearing a similar speech to one of his comrades.

“Skynet’s vulnerable without us.” The I-950 was frantic, trying to convince his brothers and sisters about his plan. “We know all of her secrets.”

“Not all of them, Xavier,” replied Angel.

Rachel continued, “Remember who she is. She might have tricks up her sleeve that we’ve never even seen. It’s better to wait than strike now and waste more lives on an operation that might fail. Use guerrilla tactics—wear Mom down before dealing a killing blow.”

Xavier didn’t like what he heard. Either way, continuing this war would result in more lives lost to the machines. “And how long will that be? How long will it take before she’s weak enough to finish her off?”

Parker shrugged. “As long as it needs to. But Mom trained us better. It’s stupid to attack now without proper knowledge on what she was planning. We’re most likely her primary targets. Don’t worry, we’ll have our time soon enough.”

He looked down at the small filly standing in front of him. “Alright, I’ll take your word for it. Show me how it’s done.”

“It’s easy. Ah’ve been do’n it for years.” Applebloom cantered towards one of the trees. “All ya gotta to is line up yer shot and give out a kick.” She demonstrated, lifting her hind legs before reeling them back and releasing them towards the base of the tree. The kick had made some of the apples fall into the buckets below. “See? Now you try.”

Parker played through the demonstration on his HUD. “Are you sure about this, Apple Bloom? Chances are if I kick the tree, I’ll break it in half.”

“Then give it a punch—as soft as you can.”

The human looked down at his fists. “Define ‘soft’…”

“Jus’ get the apples outta the trees.”

Walking up to one of the trees, Parker balled up his fists. He looked up at the red apples that were hanging from the branches. He wondered: if Applebloom and her family made her apples as well as they made apple juice, how good would their apple cider taste? He reeled his arm back and threw a punch at the tree.

Vibrations were sent across the bark, and almost immediately, the apples fell into the buckets until the entire tree was bare. “Wow…” the earth pony stared up at the sight. “You must be strong.”

Parker smiled, though before he could respond, the tree uprooted from the dirt and fell to the ground. “I guess I hit it a little too hard,” he said.

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, ya did.”

Time flew by before the two finished harvesting the apples. They returned to the clubhouse, heading up the wooden plank inside. Parker stretched his arms as he took his seat against the wall again.

“How many apples did we get?” he asked.

“Jus’ enough to make twenty barrels of cider,” replied Applebloom, excited at the amount of work that got done. “Thanks fer yer help, Park. Ah couldn’t have done it without ya.”

Parker smiled, rubbing the earth pony on the head. “Thanks, Ribbons. You know, my friends back home call me Park all the time.”

“Do they?”

“Yeah… They’re—”

“Hey, guys!” Sweetie Belle’s voice shouted from outside. She and Scootaloo hurried into the tree house. Her saddle bag was bulging from whatever things must have been inside. “Look what we got!”

Straining, the unicorn filly’s horn glowed a faint light green colour, coupled with some sparks flying out, and she pulled the GPS/Hacker from inside. The small wrist device had already been disassembled with the metallic casing having been taken off and some of the wires disconnected from the computer chip.

She dropped it in Parker’s hands, but he could look down at it in disbelief.

“It was like that when we found it,” said Scootaloo.

The I-950 diagnosed the state it was in, bringing up his HUD. Diagrams and reports flooded his vision. “It doesn’t look too bad. Some minor damages here and there, but nothing too serious. I think it can fix this.”

He set it on the table and immediately got to work, eagerly reassembling it. Apple Bloom glanced over at her fellow Crusaders. “How did you two managed to get it from Twilight?” she asked.

“She was out,” said Scootaloo. “We saw Owlowiscious was asleep and Spike was the only one watching over it.”

Scootaloo continued, “So, we got some leftover gems from Rarity and used a trail of them to lead Spike out of the library. The rest was easy.”

Apple Bloom face-hoofed after hearing the incredibly easy plan. “Why didn’t we think of that before? We could’ve gotten this whole thing done a lot sooner.”

Within minutes, Parker managed to put his device back together. Everything was back in place. He hit the side a few times before it crackled to life, the azure-blue background glowing on the screen.

Parker was literally at a loss for words. He shifted through his mind to find something to say. “This is amazing. I can’t tell you three how much this means. I… Just, thanks. A lot…” The good vibe felt around the inside of the tree house soon disappeared as the Crusaders stared at the ground. “What’s wrong?”

“Remember the deal we had?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Parker shifted through his memory before realising what the filly must have talking about. “Oh, right… That…”

“Ah don’t remember a deal,” Applebloom said hastily.

Sweetie Belle looked at her. “You know, that deal we made when he—” She was interrupted when Applebloom shoved a hoof in her mouth.

“We can’t jus’ let him leave like this. There’s no way he can hide from the Royal Guard forever.”

“Well he can’t stay in our clubhouse forever,” said Scootaloo.

The human responded: “Nor will I.”

“Friends don’t abandon other friends,” said Apple Bloom. “Parker’s our friend, and Ah think we can help outta this jam.”

Sweetie Belle eyed the earth pony. “How?”

“If you’re thinking about going out in the open, I don’t think that’s the great idea I was looking for,” Parker proclaimed. “There’s no way to tell if any pony out there won’t end up turning me in.”

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin, before a smile grew on her face. “Maybe there is somepony.”

Ch. 6: "Everfree"

Ch.6: ‘Everfree’

The sun was hanging just on the horizon, preparing to end another day. The once-blue sky was coloured deep orange, painting the white clouds. On the ground, the group of Parker and the CMC were making their way down a dirt road towards the outskirts of Ponyville. The entire walk, Parker kept thinking to himself; the serenity and quietness of the area helped him process his thoughts in this situation.

There was absolutely no way this plan Apple Bloom’d thought of would work. After what unfolded this past week and a half, there would not be a single pony in this entire country who would simply “sit down and talk” with him.

He looked down at the scarlet-maned earth pony. She looked determined as she led the I-950 to wherever she was thinking of. She had no idea how far-fetched her plan sounded. “I really have no idea where you’re thinking of, Apple Bloom, but I highly doubt your method.”

Apple Bloom glanced up at him. “Relax, alright? This plan’ll work.”

“No offense, Apple Bloom, but I agree with Parker. I really think you’re biting off more than you can chew,” said Sweetie Belle.

“At least there’s a chance she won’t attack him,” the earth pony said.

Scootaloo countered: “It’s Fluttershy. She wouldn’t harm a bug, let alone an alien everypony including her thinks is dangerous.”

“That’s the point. We bring Parker to her, he talks her down, and she agrees ta help us get him on everypony’s good side. It’s as easy as one-two-three.”

They eventually reached a cottage in the distance. The pink-maned, yellow pegasus mare—Fluttershy—was busy feeding the critters that had surrounded her. There were a lot more animals that Parker hadn’t seen in his life, the only type being the guard dogs that stood throughout Arcadia, alerting humans in case an Infiltrator unit managed to slip past defenses.

Sweetie Belle called out: “Hey, Fluttershy!”

The pegasus turned to face the CMC fillies, but froze when she saw their new guest alongside them. Letting a shriek in fear, she retreated into her home, multiple clicks sounding from immediately after the door closed shut.

Parker, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle looked over at Apple Bloom, who looked back at them. “Ah never said she wouldn’t run.”

They approached the door. Sweetie Belle pressed an ear against the wooden frame, trying to listen out for any noise. Nothing.

“Fluttershy!” Scootaloo knocked on the door. “Are you still in there?”

“Of course she’s still in her house,” Apple Bloom interjected.

Fluttershy suddenly shouted through the door, “Girls, you need to get out of here! He’s out there, just waiting to get us all!”

“But Parker’s not dangerous. We need you ta listen!”

There was no response. Sweetie Belle looked in through the window. “I can’t see anything. She turned off all the lights.”

“We need to get out of here. This plan’s not working,” said Scootaloo, trying to reason with Apple Bloom.

“It’s too late for that now,” said Parker. “She already knows I’m out here. It’s better to go along with the plan while we still can. We have no choice.”

“But how are we supposed to get her out? We can’t even see inside.”

Parker contemplated on what he could use. “Hold on, let me see if I can have a look.” He activated his HUD and switched over to X-Ray vision. He could see the timid pegasus hiding behind a bunch of stuff that’d been piled up in front of the door, near the other end of the living room. “Wow… Ponies know how to build barricades. That’s new.”

“How do you know she’s hiding behind a barricade?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Instincts.” Parker kneeled down and said to the fillies in a low, monotone voice, “I’m gonna try to lure her out. Watch this.”

He stood. Clearing his throat, the I-950 called to Fluttershy, but in the voice of a familiar pony: “Fluttershy, are you in there?” His new voice had completely mimicked Twilight’s, not missing a pitch. The Crusaders looked on in amazement as he continued, “Parker’s nice, I swear. Could you open the door?”

There wasn’t an immediately response. After a few moments, Fluttershy finally spoke up, “Is that really you, Twilight?”

“Yes, it’s me. Could you please open up?”

A moment of silence passed, before there was finally a response: “Okay, if you say so, Twilight.” The sound of stuff scraping across the floorboard and hooves trotting soon reached their ears.

Scootaloo looked up at Parker. “How did you do that?”

“Natural talent,” said the human.

Clicks were heard again as Fluttershy undid the locks on the door. Once the final lock was off, and the door creaked open a small bit, Parker forced it open and entered, closely followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Fluttershy backed away, her ears drawn to the sides of her head as she looked up in fear at the human. Parker simply stood there in front of her, returning with his own gaze and his plasma rifle strapped around his shoulder. Multiple thoughts were racing uncontrollably through her mind as to what might happen to her. But an important question escaped her mouth: “What happened to Twilight?”

“She was never here,” was the response she received from Parker.

Apple Bloom slowly approached the trembling pegasus and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Fluttershy, we need ta talk.”

The CMC explained everything they could to Fluttershy. Initially, the yellow pegasus avoided eye contact from Parker, still afraid of the human and his abilities in combat. After all, with his actions in Sweet Apple Acres—including kidnapping Apple Bloom—and escaping Canterlot despite the amount of Royal Guards, she had a perfect reason to be scared.

Though as the fillies told her more about him, she began to be more open. It seemed that they genuinely trusted the human, not being tricked or forced into any type of deal he might have made with them.

She looked over at Parker. He was looking at the many bird houses that lined the inside of her home. He looked indifferent, like he’d never seen anything like them before. His weapons were laid out on the table as his way of trying to prove that he was friendly. She didn’t believe what he said at first, but now she saw that he was telling the truth.

Turning back to the girls, she listened as they finished explaining. “You understand now, Fluttershy?” said Scootaloo. “Parker’s not that dangerous. He’s nice. And we really need your help in proving that to everypony in town.”

The pegasus contemplated. “I don’t know. This is a really big deal.”

Apple Bloom acknowledged, “We know, we know. But seeing as you’re one of the Elements of Harmony, you’d probably have more of an influence. Ponies would listen more to you than us. So, what do you say?”

“Please, Fluttershy?” asked Sweetie Belle.

The pegasus took some time to think it over. By now Parker had rejoined the group to hear what her answer might have been. Regardless of what she’d already been told, she was still skeptical about the whole thing. There was the off-shoot that, with the Royal Guard patrolling town, getting him in without resistance would be difficult. But there was a lower chance of that happening if she was there to accompany the four of them. Would there?

She looked up to see eager eyes fixed to her, still awaiting her decision. She answered, “Alright…” she sighed lightly, “I’ll help.”

Parker smiled. “Really?”

Fluttershy, albeit reluctantly, nodded. She squeaked when the I-950 suddenly picked her up into a hug, saying “Thank you!” repeatedly, like a hyperactive kid on loads of candy, until the CMC intervened.

“You might wanna calm down a bit, Parker,” said Apple Bloom, directing his attention to the pegasus. “You're kinda make'n her nervous.”

“Right...” Parker set her down, blushing from his sudden outburst. “Sorry. I don't really have much of a grip on my emotions. I’m learning to keep them under control, though. But still... thank a lot.”

Fluttershy stammered, “You’re welcome, I guess.”

An awkward silence passed as they sat, just staring at each other. Scootaloo turned her gaze out the window to the see daylight quickly beginning to fade. “It’s getting late. We should head home.”

“Is it okay if Parker spends the night here?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back tomorrow,” said Sweetie Belle.

Fluttershy was still skeptical, but hesitantly, she nodded. They a nod to each other, determined that this plan would work after all, the fillies departed from the cottage, leaving a nervous Fluttershy alone with the human. She looked at him as he smiled back in her direction.

“Don’t worry,” said Parker. “I’m not gonna hurt you. There’s really nothing to be worried about. I made a deal with the CMC on the way here not to cause any trouble whatsoever. So, you’re safe.”

“It’s not that I’m worried about you being here,” said Fluttershy. She looked out the window before closing the curtains. “It’s the Royal Guard. They patrol here around my home regularly. They might see you.”

Parker shrugged at this. “Well we’ll just have to get lucky and hope there’s a chance they forget. And if they do see me, I’ll have to stop them from alerting the other guards in town.”

Fluttershy gulped at hearing this. “You’re not going to kill them, are you?”

“No, that would cause a lot more trouble. I’ll just have to knock them out, tie them up, and then hide them. And so the same with anyone that comes here.”

“I don’t think that would work.”

Sighing lightly, Parker walked over and took a seat on the couch. “We’ll have to think on something, then, if that happens.” He took a moment to think.

Fluttershy stared at him as he sat with his hands folded in front of him and deep in his thoughts. She opened her mouth, no found no words to say. There was nothing she could say at this moment, even though she wanted to, so she trotted up the stairs, saying good night as she left.

Parker returned the favour, waving to her as she left upstairs. He lay back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling in silence. The floor creaked above him; most likely Fluttershy making her way to bed. He figured it would be time for him to go to sleep, as well.

Parker’s eyes slowly opened, and the only thing he could see in front of him was a white blur. Optic implants immediately cleared his vision, and when they did he found himself being watched by a rabbit. At first, they did not do anything, just staring at each other for a long period of time.

Then, a smile spread across his face, although he was still slightly disoriented from his recent sleep to actually notice.

Hooves clopped against the ground and Fluttershy came downstairs. “Angel, don’t mess with him,” she said, almost in a cautious-like voice. It became apparent to him that she was still a bit frightened by his presence, though not so much since last night.

Parker’s smile grew wider. It was like he was drunk on alcohol, even though it was only for a split second at that moment. “Your name’s Angel,” he said, drowsy and disoriented from his slumber. “I got a friend named Angel back on Arcadia, in my world. Your name reminds me of him.”

“Is he… like you?” Fluttershy asked.

Parker eyed her. “What do you mean ‘like me’?”

The pegasus hid her face in her pink mane, kicking at the floor. “Ya know… your weapons… and equipment?”

“You mean a soldier. Yeah, he is; one of the best I-950s in the Resistance. Would've been dead multiple times if he hadn't been there for me.”

“Oh,” said Fluttershy. Without another word, she began making her way to the door before being stopped by the human: “Where are you going?”

“Outside to feed my animal friends breakfast,” she replied.

“Want me to help?”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t ask—”

“Don’t worry.” Parker stood from the couch and went over to the door. “It’s something called ‘hospitality’, right? I pull my own weight around here since you’re nice enough to let me stay.”

Fluttershy thought it over. It would be nice to have some help around here. “Okay, if you say so.”

“Awesome.” The human opened the door into the outside. Animals were up and about in the sunlight, much more than he’d seen yesterday. Exactly how many pets alone does this one pegasus have? The question would stick with him as one of the many great mysteries of this strange world. “So, what do we do first?”

“Well, the chickens need feeding,” replied Fluttershy, directing his attention to a chicken coop nearest to the cottage. She pointed to a bag of seeds that he’d use to feed to them before going off to tend to the other critters.

The bag wasn’t very heavy. Parker felt as though he was getting the hang of it. It was spreading seeds on the ground, after all. How difficult could that be? Taking care of animals is easy, he thought, spreading the last handful of seeds. “Alright, I’m finished.”

Fluttershy hovered over, her wings keeping propelled slightly in the air, to see his progress. She shook her head. “Oh no, that’s way too much.”

The human looked down at the scattered seeds and back at the pegasus. “Are you kidding? I spread three handfuls. That’s plenty for them to eat, right?”

“It’s a little too much for their delegate tummies. I don’t think they can eat that much.”

Parker deadpanned. Delegate tummies? In Chickens? Really? But then again, remember where you are, Parker. This isn’t exactly the world you’re used to. “You’re the caretaker. You’ve probably been around animals longer than I have.” Hope they don’t end up going hungry. “What’s next on the list?”

With Fluttershy’s help, Parker went around the cottage, tending to the many different animals that inhabited the area. Though he received a couple of bites from ferrets and badgers and nearly got pecked mercilessly by a few birds, through much effort, he managed to get everything done. All the animals were fed.

Thank God. Parker sat on a bench next to a pond. His gaze turned from the animals in the yard to a massive forest Fluttershy’s home sat beside. He figured that was where much of the animals came from, but he couldn’t shake that something seemed eerie about it.

“That’s the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy landed next to the human. “It’s the scariest, most terrifying place in all of Equestria.”

Parker glanced at her. “And you live next to it because…?”

“Sometimes animals stumble out of the forest—most of them injured—so it’s my job to make sure they’re well again.”

“You must be pulling your hair out trying to take care of all them.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not really. Tending to all the little woodland creatures is my special talent. I can communicate with them on a whole other level than any other pony in Equestria. It really comes in handy.”

“I bet it does.”

They sat in relative silence, save for the animals munching on their treats. The human could not recall a time after his defection where he saw things this peaceful for him. Suddenly Fluttershy shot up. She did a quick head-count of the animals already in the yard, right before she became alarmed. One of the animals was missing. “Where’s Mister Quackers?”

Parker looked at her. “Mister Quackers?” He noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders approaching from down the road. They came up in front of the cottage, surrounding the human.

“Parker, we’ve thought of somepony we can introduce you to,” said Applebloom.

Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’re gonna take you to see Rainbow Dash.”

Parker crossed his arms, staring down at the orange pegasus filly. “This isn’t because I kept saying that Rainboom-thing was a hoax, right?”

“No, of course not. I’m over that little argument.”

Lie detection… Result: 18% truth…

Parker couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, let’s get going then.” He stood.

Sweetie Belle stopped him. “Not yet. We still have to think of a way to introduce you without causing another problem. Rainbow Dash isn’t exactly one to run away from anything scary or dangerous.”

“So, what you’re saying is she’ll attack me on sight.”

“Pretty much…”

The fillies noticed that Fluttershy seemed frantic, and knowing her, it involved either her anxiety around other ponies, the fact that she still feared of Parker, or her animals, which led Applebloom to ask what was wrong. Her response was that Mister Ducky—a duck usually spending most of his time in the pond—had waddled off. Parker activated his HUD, switched to his scan vision, and the duck’s faded trail of footsteps was revealed. They were leading away from the cottage. “I think I know where he went, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

Fluttershy cantered up to him. “You do? Where is he?”

Hesitant, Parker lifted his arm and pointed towards the Everfree Forest.

For reasons the human couldn’t understand, he felt right at home within the Everfree Forest as he and the ponies made their way through the dense, jungle-like canopy. His grip was almost tight enough to literally crush the handle of his plasma rifle, and his scan vision provided him the chance to see through the giant leaves and grass for any hostile that might have been stalking him.

With his many cybernetic implants and years of experience in this sort of environment, he was calm with walking out in the open, though he couldn’t say the same for the Cutie Mark Crusaders or Fluttershy—especially, Fluttershy. From what they told him about this place, it being an unnatural forest where the clouds moved on their own, plants grew on their own, and animals took care of themselves (the last part particularly making the yellow pegasus nervous) it looked like they had just seen a ghost.

He looked back at them, seeing their eyes dart left and right for potential dangers. “I’ll tell you four now: I don’t see what’s so wrong about this forest.”

“This place just isn’t natural,” said Sweetie Belle.

Parker shrugged at this. “It doesn’t bother me much. In fact, this place kinda reminds me of home. We don't have magic to regulate our lives.”

“But you haven’t seen what lurks around in these parts,” said Applebloom.

“And if you don’t have magic, then how does your world work?” asked Scootaloo.

Parker answered, “We just let nature—or what’s left of it—run its course. After all, my race has managed to stay alive this long, haven’t we? We don’t have the luxury of being able to physically moving the sun or moon, or manually changing the seasons. I believe that whatever happens in my world happens for a reason.”

A sudden rustling in the leaves bought their attention. Parker aimed his plasma rifle to the noise, but through his scan vision, it was a single fox wandering through the darkness. He lowered his weapon. “False alarm: No danger here.”

The ponies’ tensions eased once they heard that. He turned to face them. “See? What’d I tell you guys? Nothing to—”

A low growl simmered through the air. Parker turned to find a beast had been prowling behind him; looked like a wolf, but in his heightened vision, he saw that it was made entirely of lumber, and had glowing yellow eyes cutting through the shadows. “Could someone tell me what the hell that thing is?”

Sweetie Belle gulped, stammering, “Timberwolf.”

In a flash, the Timberwolf pounced. It quickly swiped its wooden claws, nearly digging into the flesh of the I-950. Parker bashed it in the face with the stock of his weapon, making it reel back in pain, right before aiming and pulling the trigger. Out of echoing sound of plasma fire, the beast lay limp on the ground, three smoldering holes embedded in its ribs. “That was just too easy.”

Fluttershy looked up at the scene. Her heart began to race upon seeing it. “He… He killed it… He really killed it…” The CMC were as disturbed as she was. They had never seen a dead animal before, even a vicious one.

Parker looked down, astonished, as the creature before him. Wow; a wolf that’s made entirely out of wood. This is incredible! But if this is a wolf, then—

Three more Timberwolves suddenly jumped from out of the underbrush, surrounding their new prey; their maulers dripped with tree sap. Just as the human thought: Of course there's a den somewhere nearby. That would've been too easy. “Everyone stay back. I got this.”

The Timberwolves prowled in front of the I-950 and the ponies standing behind him. He aimed his rifle, but before a shot could be fired, Fluttershy trotted past him. This literally left Parker in complete shock, seeing a pony a timid as this one cantering up in front of a pack of vicious wild animals that would rip her to shreds within seconds. “Fluttershy! Don’t!”

Nevertheless, the pegasus, with a deep breath, stood her ground. What happened next would have led Parker to regard this as some sort of prank. Not only was Fluttershy talking to all of them, but she was actually calming them down. One even rolled over onto its back while she rubbed its belly! “I know, precious,” she cooed, the Timberwolf she was petting beginning to shake its hind leg hyperactively. “You’re just an innocent, cuddly wolf, aren’t you?”

Parker was completely speechless at that, feeling his mouth do a series of openings and closings without words. Innocent? One of them tried to use me as a human chew toy! Disgruntled, he lowered his rifle as Fluttershy hovered over; the Timberwolves withdrew and disappeared into the leaves. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“I told you before,” said Fluttershy, “I can communicate with animals unlike anypony else can do.”

“But still, the Timberwolves… I would’ve expected at least one of them to attack when you got closer to them.”

“All animals—even vicious ones—deserve a small jester of kindness. And not…” She averted her gaze towards the dead Timberwolf, “…violence.”

The human failed to respond to that, despite him wanting to. He simply could not find the right words to say that would make the renewed feeling of guilt that’d rounded up inside of him go away. As always, he hated this emotion. It always tied his stomach up in knots, making it seem like he needed to vomit, and he lost his ability to think straight without the unbearable constant reminder of what he’d done flooding his mind.

“Are you okay, Parker?” asked Applebloom. The human nodded.

“Yeah,” he managed out, “It’s okay. I’m fine. Let’s just find the duck and get out of this forest before something else jumps at us.”

Much of their time was spent traversing through the thick canopy. Without his HUD map, he relied on the CMC and Fluttershy to give him guide him through; he would be useful in giving the small contraband protection in case any hostile was to suddenly attack; though it was obvious, if it were an animal, Fluttershy would have it taken care of. He still wondered to himself how this timid pony was capable of talking with any and every living creature she came into contact with. It left him seeking more answers about this world and how it worked.

The silence lingered until Scootaloo broke it: “Hey, Parker; you wanna talk?”

“About what?” the human responded.

The filly tried to think of something she could use to start a conversation. “How old are you?”

“In human years, thirteen; in pony years, I’m around your age.”

“You’re still a child?”

“Chronologically? Yes…”

Applebloom thought of something to keep the conversation going. “You said there was no magic in your world. That everything just happens. How does that even work?”

Parker shrugged. “It just happens. Unlike you four with Equestria, humans are thrown at the mercy of an unpredictable nature each and every day.”

“It’s like a gigantic Everfree Forest,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Sort of…” The human replied, “Except without the entire jungle-like environment in most areas. Like I said, whatever happens in my world happens for a reason.”

The sound of a quack echoed through the air. Parker’s auditory senses could hear it almost as clear as day. “That has to be Mister Quackers,” said Fluttershy. She was growing evermore worried. “Oh, I hope nothing bad happened to him.”

“It’s fine,” said Parker. He scanned the area through the leaves. “I can see him chilling near a pond. Don’t see any predators stalking him, though. We can still go in, get him, and get out without any trouble.”

Applebloom nodded in agreement. “Then what’re we wait’n for? Let’s go—!”

Her mouth was covered by the human. “I said there aren’t any predators around. But I never said they couldn’t hear us. We need to do this quick and quietly. Okay?”

They nodded. Going through the leaves and into the open, they saw the duck—Mister Quackers—drinking from the pond and waddling carelessly in the area. No predators seemed to be in sight, which was a good sign. Fluttershy sighed in relief as she hurriedly zoomed over towards him. “I was so worried about you. You’re not hurt, are you? Are you alright? Please tell me you’re alright!”

She received a quack in response, and afterwards hugged him.

“Isn’t that a touching reunion,” said Parker, his tone hushed as not to alert any hostile. “Now, let’s get—” He noticed a lizard-like tail protruding from under the bushes. What was strange about was that it had razor sharp spikes sticking out. “What the hell is that thing?”

The ponies looked towards what he mentioned, and their faces lost all colour when the tail retreated back into the bush, right before a rooster’s head, which was actually attached to a serpent-like body, rose out into the open. It flared dragon wings, growling, and glared deeply at the group with crimson-red eyes.

Parker raised his plasma rifle in impulse. “I’ll ask again: What the hell is that thing?”

“Cockatrice,” Fluttershy stammered. She and the CMC were slowly backing away.

“Don’t look into its eyes, Parker,” said Sweetie Belle, her own eyes closed. “It can turn you to stone!”

The human did a double-take, and glanced down at the unicorn filly. “Stone? Are you kidding me?”

“Watch out…!”

The Cockatrice charged at Parker the moment he looked back. It stared at him, aiming to turn him into a statue; however, the I-950 reached its hand out in front of him and grabbed its head, covering its eyes with his hand. Now . . . all he had to do was squeeze. Just squeeze his hand and kill the Cockatrice. End the threat right there. They could go home and there would be one less dangerous creature stalking through this godforsaken forest. But then he looked at Fluttershy, who was watching on, and couldn’t help but feel that pang of guilt he felt after he’d killed the Timberwolf. I can’t kill anything in front of her. Can’t kill her trust any more than I already have. God, I hate this emotion so very much.

Instead of going about his instincts—killing all hostiles—he threw the Cockatrice into the bushes. “Get out of here! Retreat! Retreat!” They turned and ran from the area, hoping to get far enough so the serpent/rooster beast couldn’t follow.

Apple Bloom looked back and saw nothing but the vines and leaves that engulfed much of the trail. “Ah think we lost it,” she said, slowing down.

They all came to a stop, catching their breaths. Parker ran his hand across his forehead and wiped from the grime onto his hand. “What sort of twisted place is this? How on Earth do things like these even exist?”

“They’ve existed for thousands of years,” said Scootaloo.

I’ve recently dealt with Skynet trying to mess with the laws of physics, but this tops anything she could possibly achieve. Parker soon managed to catch his breath. “Alright, so does anyone know the way back to Fluttershy’s cottage?”

“Just follow us and we’ll get’cha there,” said Applebloom.

A nod. The human followed until his HUD beamed:

Unidentified Hostile…

“It followed us,” he said. The others looked at him. “The thing’s really fast, I see.”

They glanced around for any sign of the Cockatrice, but found nothing. Parker turned in time to see a shadow rising behind Applebloom. There it was. “Behind you…!” He sprinted towards her, just as she was about to turn. The Cockatrice had its eyes glazed, and ready for its next victim.

Parker ran until he was mere inches away, before sliding on the ground, and making a grab for the young earth pony. He wrapped one arm around her, picking her up, used his other hand to shield her eyes from the Cockatrice’s stare.

Optical vision: OFF…

The I-950, however, was looking forward at the Cockatrice’s eyes. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy bared witness to the standoff. Parker was keeping Apple Bloom’s eyes shut and staring into the eyes of the beast, but the strangest thing they saw was the fact that the human was suffering no affect from the Cockatrice’s stare.

“Hurry,” Parker said to Apple Bloom, setting her down. “Keep your eyes closed and get over to the others. I got this.” The filly galloped the Crusaders and Fluttershy, who were staring in shock at the scene.

Inferred Vision Mode: Active…

When Parker’s vision finally came to, he was greeted with a large red blob—the Cockatrice’s heat signature—on a blue background. He noticed it turn its attention to the fleeing filly and grab its tail before it got far. “Get out of here!” he yelled to the ponies.

They took his word and fled, quickly galloping away from the scene. Parker tossed the Cockatrice into the bushes, giving himself some time to set himself up. He aimed his plasma rifle in every possible direction for the serpent. He could hear it hissing from where it was, just ready to attack. The problem was figuring out where exactly it was going to attack him from.

Hostile incoming…

He turned around quick enough to see the Cockatrice pounce at him. He grabbed its neck and held it away from him as it snapped its beak, trying to get a bite out of him. Lucky his heat vision was on; it kept Parker from looking into the serpent’s eyes. He tossed to the ground and aimed his rifle.

The Cockatrice slithered out of the way as Parker fired a barrage of plasma at him. It was difficult to get a clear shot with how it was circling the ground around him. It began to coil around his leg and travel up his body as a last means of attack. Parker quickly grabbed it by its tail and pried it off before it could get far.

It was feisty, though; the serpent still tried to get a couple bites out of him. Instead, he threw it against a tree, hard enough to even knock some of the wind out of it. That seemed to have done it as the Cockatrice began to slither away, with Parker letting off some potshots to scare it. He waited for a while to see if it would try and attack him again, switching between X-ray and thermal visions, but after a few minutes, it became apparent that the serpent was gone.

Scanning… No hostiles detected…

He lowered his weapon, sighing in relief now that the Cockatrice had retreated. Now he could focus on getting back to—

ROAR!

“Oh, fuck me…”

The sun was just beginning to set by the time the four had returned to Fluttershy’s cottage. The yellow pegasus set Mister Quackers down, letting the duck waddle back over to his pond. She sighed in relief that her pet was safe and sound. They turned back to the Everfree Forest and noticed a figure staggering out.

It stepped into the sunlight, they saw that it was Parker. He looked much horrible than usual. Claw marks littered his face and uniform, and it looked like he had seen a ghost. His eyes were glazed, staring into space, as he stumbled back and fell against a tree stump.

The CMC hurried to him, a bit worried at what he might have gone through. “Are you all right, Parker?” Scootaloo asked him.

The I-950 looked down at them with a tired expression. “Don’t make me go back in there,” he responded, standing to his feet. He was used to dealing with the unknown back in Alaska, but the Everfree Forest topped anything Skynet threw at him.

Fluttershy approached him. “Thanks for all your help, Parker.”

“So you trust him now?” asked Scootaloo. The yellow pegasus nodded in response.

Parker gave a smile, throwing his fist in the air. “Halle-fucking-lujah!”

“One down, five more to go,” said Applebloom. “Rainbow Dash is next.”

“But we still gotta plan our approach,” said Scootaloo.

Parker dismissed them. “Whatever you three decide to plan, I’m calling this my biggest accomplishment since escaping Canterlot. I just wanna enjoy this.”

Apple Bloom and Parker returned to the clubhouse. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were returning to their homes for dinnertime, and it was just about the earth pony filly did the same as well. “Thanks fer save’n me from the Cockatrice,” she said, “And Ah still wanna know how you managed not to get turned ta stone.”

The human was finding some amusement in watching them try to figure out where he originated from, so he decided to keep teasing them. He simply responded with, “…In time.” The filly was frustrated, albeit in a playful way.

“Ah’ll seeya tomorrow, Parker.” Applebloom left, leaving Parker alone in the tree house. After his adventure within the depths of the Everfree Forest, the only thing he wanted to do was sleep and recover.

“You again! What the hay are you do’n back here?” a voice yelled, abruptly waking Parker. It sounded southern—

Wait . . . southern . . .? The human opened his eyes and looked to the doorway, and there she was; Applejack standing there with a deep, almost murderous, glare in her eyes. The next words Parker said were the only things that could sum up his reaction: “Ah, give me a fucking break!”

Ch. 7: "Evasion"

Chapter 7: “Evasion”

The Everfree Forest was a plentiful place, full of all sorts of ingredients Zecora could use for making useful things like potions, as well as medicine to give to her equine friends in Ponyville. Residing deep within its depths, she knew every last inch of this place like the back of her hoof. Truthfully she preferred living in the Everfree Forest to life in a town or city. It was much quieter, serine, and had a perfect environment, one that reminded her of her home in the Zebralands.

She picked up a Heart’s Desire plant and placed it in her saddle bag. She checked over her list—ingredients for a type of medicine Fluttershy could use to help recuperate any sick animal—and crossed it off. It was the last thing that she needed, so she began the trek back to her hut. She never had any trouble finding her way back, always using an important route that would help her avoid running into the dangerous creatures that inhabited the forest.

Along the way, she noticed some tracks embedded in the dirt. They didn’t look like normal animal tracks. Looked more disfigured than that. Curious as to what they might have belonged to, she followed them, and what she soon came upon was complete devastation. Trees surrounding the area were broken in two. The ground was scorched earth, smoldering dirt with no signs of grass anywhere; and standing in the middle of it all was a tall, lumbering creature made of metal, with blue linings running and glowing across its skull and body.

“Oh my, oh my; what is this horrid creature before my eyes?”

The creature—the T-X—turned at the sound of her voice, staring at the zebra, almost as if it was examining her. Zecora could not move, frozen with fear as this . . . whatever this thing was continued to stare.

Analysing… Subject threat level: Zero… Evaluate objective…

It turned away, not finding any danger from the zebra.

Searching… Target: “Parker”… Target found… Pinpointing…

Its target finally located, the T-X continued on through the forest. After what like hours to the zebra, Zecora brought herself back to reality. She watched this new, strange monster walk away from her on its two metallic legs. Only then did she see that it was headed. She gasped. “Oh no… I must head for Ponyville, and warn them of this new evil!”

There was no time to lose. Taking a route around the monstrosity, she galloped as quickly as her hooves could take her on her way to Ponyville.

Apple Bloom’s stomach growled audibly. She couldn’t wait for dinner. She would be sure to sneak some out to Parker once everypony was out of the away. After seeing his reaction to the apple juice and other stuff she had brought him, she was sure he’d love whatever Granny Smith was cooking up.

Opening the front door, she cantered inside, trotted into the kitchen. On the table were four plates set with applesauce, mashed apples, hay fries, and hot dandelion sandwiches. Placed in the middle were a bowl of macaroni and cheese and a plate with a stack of more dandelion sandwiches.

She down at the table alongside with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh; though she realised they were the only ponies here. “Hey, where’d Applejack go?”

“She went out look’n for you,” said Granny Smith. Big Macintosh nodded in confirmation. “Said she was gonna search the orchard first.”

Apple Bloom’s heart skipped a beat. “She’s… in the orchard?”

“Last place you were at with those two other nice fillies you’re always spend’n time with, though we better go find her since you’re already here.”

“I’ll go!” Apple Bloom said instantly, hopping out of her seat. She calmly trotted towards the door, trying to seem as unsuspicious as possible. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you two know it.”

The moment she stepped outside again, she galloped for the orchard. She quickly passed by the apple trees and jumped over overgrown roots until she reached the CMC clubhouse. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were there as well; they were surrounded by their stuff and some wood that lay scattered across the grass, and were staring up in disbelief at the clubhouse. “What’re ya’ll look’n at?”

The earth pony trotted over to see the entire side of their clubhouse had been demolished. “What happened?” she asked, “What’re ya’ll do’n here?”

“It’s Parker,” said Sweetie Belle. “He’s being chased through Ponyville by Royal Guards!” Apple Bloom was setback at the news.

“We have no idea how they found him. I saw him running through the street from my house,” said Scootaloo.

“Applejack came out here look’n for me and must’a checked the tree house. And Ah guess that’s when . . .” She looked back up at the damage that had been done.

Scootaloo sighed. “I guess we couldn’t keep him hidden forever. He was gonna get found out eventually.”

“Well we gotta help him. He’s our friend,” Sweetie Belle proclaimed, “and no matter what, we don’t leave friends behind, right?”

“Yeah!” They all nodded simultaneously, clapping their hooves together in a form of a high-five, before heading for town.

Two weeks ago, Parker was hanging out with the CMC as they helped him retrieve his Hacker from Twilight; and now he was running through Ponyville, being chased across the streets by a squad of Royal Guards. Ponies moved out of the way to avoid being trampled in the pursuit. In all of his time staying hidden from ponies other than the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Fluttershy, he had never formulated a plan in case he was compromised. The I-950 realized before that he would be located eventually, whether he liked it or not, and personally, it was embarrassing to him that he forgot one of the most important rules of being a soldier—always have a backup plan in case things didn’t go the way you wanted it.

He turned left and cut through a narrow alley, knowing it’d be difficult for the ponies chasing him to follow, though he couldn’t say the same thing for the pegasus guards. They were flying overhead, watching his position from the sky and informing the others where he was. That effectively ruined any chance of finding a decent hiding spot to hunker down in.

There was no doubt about it: all of Ponyville was alerted, which meant he would have every Royal Guard in town moving towards him, possibly armed to the teeth with spears and crossbows. It was no longer safe to stay; he would have to escape town and seek another place to hide, somewhere the ponies wouldn’t dare follow. The Everfree Forest. Guess I have no other choice.

His mind wandered to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The human owed them a life debt for agreeing to keep him hidden, even though it meant risking lots of trouble in the process. And he decided this would be it. He was sure they would benefit from him leaving rather than of staying, not having to worry about being caught sheltering a wanted criminal in their tiny tree house.

A large group of ponies stared in shock at the human’s sudden emergence from the alley. The entire scene eerily reminded him of Canterlot—

“It’s him!” a pony yelled suddenly. Fear crept upon the others’ faces as they looked on. “He’s the one who nearly destroyed Ponyville!”

“Hey, wait!” Parker tried to reason with them, though he doubted it would do any good. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to—!”

“There he is!” another voice yelled out. “After him!”

Parker turned his head and spotted a squad of earth pony Lunar Guards charging for him. Dammit to hell! The last thing he wanted to do in this situation was kill a pony. Knock some unconscious, sure; killing just one of them would make the scene much worse than it already was.

His scan vision made a few of the pegasi in the clouds known with outlines from their heat signatures appearing. He knew he would have to take them out, or at the very least distract him to buy him some time.

Unholstering his plasma pistol, he aimed up and fired. Some of the pegasi moved out of the way—the human had no intention of trying to hit them—while others fell out of the clouds when the plasma sailed close to their heads.

“That should do it; at least for the time being.” The situation, however, wasn’t getting better. He took out the threat in the air, albeit temporarily, but he still had a whole squad of earth ponies chasing him.

He turned a corner and was immediately greeted with spears aimed at him by several unicorn guards. They threw the spears; Parker dodged, and continued left, and the spears nearly struck the guards behind him. He hurried behind a building to hide from the Royal Guards while he thought of an escape plan to get out of Ponyville undetected.

Suddenly he heard his name called, and saw as the Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped towards him. “What happened?” asked Apple Bloom. She was eager to know what really happened.

“Your sister saw me sleeping in your tree house. I got out—or… smashed my way out, because she was blocking the doorway—but that didn’t stop her from going and telling some Royal Guards that were on patrol.” Parker slid down to sit against the wall, taking a breath. “Been trying to avoid them ever since, but they are everywhere. Pegasus guards in the sky have been watching me move through town and keep giving my position away. Nowhere is safe.”

“Well we can get out of this one, right?” asked Apple Bloom. “I mean, we got outta trouble lots’a times when we were try’n ta steal your Hacker back from Twilight. Remember—”

“That was different: No one knew I was in town. But this…” Parker took a sigh in frustration at what was happening. If only we had more time. “I’m gonna have to leave Ponyville… for good, this time.”

Scootaloo stared at the ground. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Come on, Scoots, we knew I couldn’t stay hidden forever, no matter how hard we tried. Introducing me to your friends was just a way to avoid something like this from happening. But things happen unexpectedly sometimes, and that is something we don’t have control over, even with magic.”

“Where will you go?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“The Everfree Forest,” replied Parker. “It’s the only place where the Royal Guard won’t actively try to capture me.”

Applebloom gasped. “What? You can’t go in there!”

“Why not? I can handle myself just fine, just like last time.”

“Sure, you dealt with that Timberwolf and a Cockatrice, but those were just two creatures. You ain’t ever faced the likes of a Manticore, or an Ursa monster!”

Parker nodded, though it was out of understanding. “I know it’s not a safe place, but it’s my only option. Listen, you helped me when I needed it. Time has come that I returned the favour. The last thing I want is for you three to get in trouble for hiding me. You’re my friends, and that’s something I can’t allow.”

The fillies stammered, “But—”

“Please, no buts, alright? I’m serious about this. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.” He flashed them a heartfelt smile. “The most you three can do for me is not get into trouble. Promise me that.”

The girls didn’t like this, being forced to say goodbye to a close friend, but reluctantly, they nodded. “We’ll miss you,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Same here,” said Parker. He stood, readjusting his plasma rifle, holstered his plasma pistol. “Spending so much time here in town, I know where I’m going. I should be able to reach the Everfree Forest easily, if there are no Royal Guards standing in my way.”

He stood up and peered from behind the building, finding an entire group of Celestial and Lunar Guards searching the area for him. “I’ll have to sneak out another way.” He looked back at the three disheartened Crusaders. “You three’ll have to stay here and blend in with the crowd. Just . . . act like you don’t know me and you’ll be fine.”

With that he departed away from the area, sneaking around the guards in his search for a second way out of Ponyville. A guard appeared just as he had left and looked down at the fillies. “Have you three seen where the alien went?”

Applebloom brightened up, seeing this as one last bid to help a friend. She pointed in the opposite direction that Parker ran. “Ah think he might have gone that way, sir.”

The guard nodded and went in her direction, followed by several others.

Parker used his implants to full advantage. He looked up at the sky, his scan vision peeking through the clouds. He hadn’t seen any pegasi since he fired the warning shots from his plasma pistol. Perhaps they deemed it too dangerous since he had his weapons with him. The human didn’t know. Maybe they were just changing tactics.

He looked from behind a building to see a large crowd of ponies roaming in the streets. It seemed that they were unaware of his presence in Ponyville, and he figured that would make things much easier. He had no need to be concerned with being chased from out of hiding. He scanned the area for a decent path, and just as he found one, before he stepped out, a voice yelled—

“There you are!” He was suddenly tackled to the ground. It didn’t feel like this pony was wearing armour, and when he looked to see, he found that it was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-coloured mane pinning to the ground. “Did you really think you could get away?”

“I’m guessing you must be Rainbow Dash,” said Parker, “Now if you don’t mind, could you get the hell off me?”

Rainbow scoffed, “Fat chance!” Her voice was rising, which caused some of the ponies to look in their direction.

Parker muttered a curse under his breath. “Listen, lady, if you really think I meant to attack Ponyville, you’re wrong! It was an accident!”

“Tell that to somepony who cares!” was the pegasus’ response. More and more ponies around the area heard her, and they turned in shock to see Parker in plain sight.

“Ya know… Scootaloo was kinda right. You’re—”

Rainbow interrupted, “Don’t you bring Scoots into this.”

“There he is!” Parker turned his head to the source of the voice to see a group of Royal Guards down the street. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be here any minute. Arrest him before they arrive!”

They charged, galloping through the crowd of ponies. Parker muttered another cursed before looking up at the pony pinning him down. “I’m sorry; I really am,” he said, “I apologize for what I’m about to do.”

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

Without another word, Parker placed both feet on Rainbow’s stomach and kicked her off, the strength caused from years of training enough to launch the pegasus like a speeding rocket through the sky. He stood up and shouted, “Please don’t tell Scootaloo what I just did! She’d kill me!” before resuming his evasion from the guards.

He couldn’t get away. After hours of running, for the first time in his thirteen years since his defection, he was becoming exhausted. His breathing was laboured and could barely draw any more air as he continued. He placed his hand to his chest to find his heart rate increasing. So this is what the others deal with when running from Terminators. They have my sympathies.

Rounding a corner, he was greeted by an entire legion; literally dozens of Celestial and Lunar Guards were standing in his way, spears and crossbows at the ready. There was nowhere he could run. He stared down the large number of ponies in front of him, keeping him from advancing.

So now what? He asked himself. Do I surrender? Or—

A sudden jolt of electricity ran through his body before he could come up with an answer. His Heads-Up Display was riddled with nothing but static, obscuring everything in his field of vision, and when it stopped, Overload…, continued to flash on his HUD until the I-950 collapsed and slipped out of consciousness.

Shining Armour trotted up to Parker. The human ended up as he did when they first captured him: He looked broken, almost a mess, because of the long chase through Ponyville. Princesses Celestia and Luna approached him, looking down at the unconscious human as they decided what they would do next.

The CMC had no idea how Parker was faring in his escape from town. They hoped he managed to reach the Everfree Forest like he wanted. There, he wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested and taken to a dungeon in Canterlot. On a bright side, there was a chance he would meet Zecora, so he would actually be safe in the forest.

As they trotted through the streets, they noticed a large gathering of ponies in the area. Curious they went to see the commotion.

“Hey, what’s go’n on?” Applebloom asked one of the ponies.

“The Royal Guards finally managed to recapture that alien.”

The fillies froze at the words. They looked at the passing column of Royal Guards, and among them were the Princesses, Shining Armour, and Parker, who was lying unconscious on a wooden plank as they carried them through.

The CMC withdrew from the crowd. “We gotta find some way to help him,” said Sweetie Belle. She and the other two were speaking in low tones to keep from being heard.

“Ah say we follow ‘em,” said Apple Bloom.

“Are you kidding me?” Scootaloo said. “They could be heading back to Canterlot. We can’t follow them there!”

“Ah don’t think they are.” Apple Bloom looked through the crowd to see the Royal Guards making their way down the street. “Looks like they’re head’n further into town. We can tail ‘em as long as we don’t get caught.”

“You really think we can pull that off?” Scootaloo asked.

“Of course! If there’s one thing we learned from Parker when help’n him get his Hacker from Twilight, it was sneak’n around Ponyville without be’n seen. We just gotta see where they’re headed. So, what d’ya two say? Are ya with me?”

Scootaloo smiled, and so did Sweetie Belle. “We’re with ya. Let’s go save Parker!”

The first feeling the I-950 experienced after regaining some consciousness was the uncomfortable feeling of restraint. Literally. It felt like a boa constrictor had firmly wrapped itself around his body, keeping him immobile. He opened his eyes to find that he was in a library, as indicated with all the books stacked upon shelves, though he still felt disoriented from the blast of electricity that was shot through him. It’d nearly fried his CPU to a crisp.

The first thing he saw when looking up was a pair of blue eyes staring at him. It startled him a bit, until he realised they beloned to a pink earth pony with poofy mane and tail standing in front of him. “Everypony, he’s awake!”

The other ponies in the room approached him, albeit cautiously, but Parker saw he had no way to escape. His hands were behind his back from being magically bound to a podium and the ponies were keeping a fair distance to prevent any possible means of attack he might launch against them. This entire scene reminded him of his attempted interrogation in Canterlot.

“How do you feel, Parker?” asked Celestia. She was still trying to make nice.

He looked up at the regal alicorn. “Like I was shocked with over a thousand volts of electricity,” he responded. “But other than that, I feel just peachy, thanks.” He sighed from seeing the ponies in the room. They were same ones he met in Canterlot. “I really hate being recaptured, ya know? It gets annoying after a while.”

“What’s annoying is this headache. I smacked right into a wall after you kicked me,” said Rainbow Dash, running a hoof across her head.

Parker shrugged innocently. “At least I apologized. Not many people would say they’re sorry when they do that. Besides, I’m kind of surprised you decided to bring me here of all places. I would’ve expected you to take me back to Canterlot.”

“Believe us, we do plan on returning you to the dungeons underneath the castle so you won’t do any more harm,” said Luna, “but our situation is urgent.”

“How urgent?”

“That machine that chased you through Canterlot,” said Shining Armour; “we need to find it, fast, before it causes any damage.”

Parker shook his head, snickering at the crazy idea that was coming out of the stallion’s mouth. Only from looking at the Princesses did he realize that he was serious about capturing—or, trying to capture—the T-X. “I don’t think that would be the best idea. That machine wouldn’t let you come within five meters of it without launching a plasma bomb at you. You trying to capture it would mean suicide.”

“It can’t be that tough,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, you would think so, but you haven’t been fighting machines for as long as I have. Spears and crossbows won’t even put a dent in its armour.”

“What more can you tell us about it?” asked Celestia.

“What more is there to tell besides the fact that it’s a walking weapon of mass destruction? The T-X has an agenda: to terminate me and others like me. And it won’t hesitate to kill anything—or anyone—that gets in its way.”

“How long have you been fighting it?”

“Well I’ve been hiding from it for the past couple weeks. Trust me, there are plenty more like it where I’m from. And they’re all controlled by Skynet.”

“And who’s Skynet?” asked Twilight.

Parker paused for a moment. Did he really want to tell him about the war against the machines? Or could he just keep it to himself? “Let’s just say Skynet is something that you don’t wanna mess with. As far as I’m concerned, the T-X is my problem and I’m the one who needs to fix it. Just be lucky it doesn’t know I’m here.”

Then a though hit him: Did I remember to re-jam my CPU?

The metal creature Zecora encountered in the Everfree Forest had to be close; she had to find Twilight and her friends before it got here. She galloped down the dirt road as fast as her legs could take her, going over the stone bridge into Ponyville. Twilight’s library was further into town, and it was a good thing she knew where it was.

Along the way, she eventually ran into the interesting unicorn mare—Lyra, as the zebra knew her by. “Is there anything wrong, Zecora?”

“There is a dangerous creature on its way here,” said the zebra, “and this is what Twilight Sparkle needs to hear.” A few ponies in the area, as well as some Royal Guards, who heard turned to listen. They weren’t sure what creature she was talking about, but to them, it must have been urgent for Zecora to come out of the Everfree Forest to warn them about.

“What do you mean?” asked Lyra.

Zecora responded grimly, “A metal creature comes this way, bringing with it fear and decay. The destruction it causes is unheard of and threatens the peace of Ponyville unlike anything above. I have seen it with my own eyes. There is no remorse, no regret from this monster. These are no lies. You must take heed of my warning, and—”

“What is that thing?” one of the ponies in the crowd pointed towards the bridge where a figure stood; metallic with blue lines running throughout its body; the creature thatn Zecora had tried to warn them about.

“That must be the machine Parker was talking about. That T-X,” said a guard who was a unicorn. He lifted a spear with his magic and threw it at the machine, only for it to bounce off its metal structure. Not a dent. Not even a scratch.

Scanning… Subject status: hostile…. Engage…

It’s arm transforming into a plasma cannon, the T-X aimed and fired.

Ch. 8: "Battle For Ponyville Pt. 1"

Chapter 8: “Battle for Ponyville Pt. 1”

The sound of explosions reached the library fairly quickly. Parker could hear it. He was all too familiar with that sound; the sound from a plasma cannon. The ponies running in fear from the T-X drew one conclusion: he never re-jammed his CPU, which meant the machine had been following him all the way from the Everfree Forest. In technicality, he led it here.

“What was that?” asked Rarity. The explosions were soon accompanied by shots from a plasma turret, and then the fwooshing sound of a ball of flames ejecting from the onboard flamethrower.

Corporal Air Burst entered through the door, or rather slammed through it. “Uh, sir, we have a slight situation going on outside. It’s not looking good.”

Parker felt his breathing tighten, his throat swell up. “It’s the T-X,” he managed to choke out. “Looks like it finally found me.”

Shining Armour looked over at the human in suspicion. “What exactly do you mean by, ‘It found you’?”

The I-950 hesitated, but answered, “It locked onto my signal. It’s been following me ever since I lost it after escaping Canterlot. But now…”

Applejack’s face became red with anger, as did the other ponies in the room—all, except Fluttershy. “You led that thing here, didn’t you?” she snapped.

“I didn’t mean to!” was the response she got. Parker struggled in his restraints for a bit before continuing. “Why would I want to lead the very thing that wants to kill me to the only place I’ve had to hide. Doesn’t seem all too smart, does it?”

“Doesn’t matter anymore,” said Shining Armour, placing his helmet on. “It’s here now, so we have to take it down. Corporal-” He looked over at Air Burst- “your wings are too busted to fly.”

“Don’t remind me,” said the pegasus. “They still feel numb to the touch.”

“Could you stay and make sure Parker doesn’t get away?”

“You got it! That shouldn’t be too hard.”

Parker eyed the unicorn in disbelief. “Did that electricity you shocked me with fry you in the brain? You trying to fight the T-X is suicide!”

“I rather not let that thing destroy Ponyville! Besides, even if it does kill you, it’s still a threat to the Kingdom. It’s not just gonna stop after you’re dead.”

Not until General Connor’s dead, actually, Parker thought. He’s probably next on the list after me and the other renegades are terminated. I wouldn’t count Skynet to skip that opportunity since she discovered time travel. As his attention returned to the ponies in the library, he found that Shining Armour, along with Celestia and Luna had departed to fight the T-X.

Applejack was also about to leave. “Where’re you going?” asked Twilight.

“Ta find Applebloom,” replied the cowpony. “Haven’t seen her since this morn’n, and the last place Ah want her is wander’n around out there with that T-X-or-whatever rampag’n through town.”

“The same goes for Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity. “I simply cannot leave her alone out there with that monster.”

“Scootaloo, also. I’m really worried about her.” Rainbow Dash hurried over to the door, keeping herself in the air with her wings.

“We’ll help you find them.” Twilight, along with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, trotted to the Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack. “Does any one of you have any idea where they might be?”

Applejack thought it over. “It’s a pretty safe bet they’re still together. Ah jus’ hope we find ‘em in time.”

“Then what’re we waiting for!” said Rainbow Dash, “Let’s go!” She was the first out the door. The others followed. Fluttershy, on the other hand, stopped just short of leaving; looked over at Parker who was staring distraught at the ceiling.

She trotted to him. “Are you going to be okay here?”

“I’ll be fine,” replied the I-950. “Just go find Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Don’t worry about me.”

Without another word, the yellow pegasus left to help her friends. Air Burst eyed Parker suspiciously, his view shifting back and forth between him and the door which Fluttershy zoomed out of. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” said the human. “Just nothing…” His thoughts were occupied elsewhere. He was thinking about the CMC, how he might have just put them in danger by leading the T-X to Ponyville.

"Psst… Parker…"

He wondered where they were.

"Parker…"

Hopefully, they were somewhere away from the crossfire. The T-X was after him, which meant it wouldn’t hesitate to attack anyone that got in its way. They would not need to worry about—

“Ow, what the hell!” A rock fell in front of him, only after striking him on the head.

A whisper: “Parker, over here!” He turned to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders over by the door. They hurried inside, hiding behind the podium before Air Burst could see them. “See? I told you he was here,” said Sweetie Belle.

“What’re you three doing?” asked Parker.

“This here’s a rescue mission,” said Applebloom, “We had ta sneak past a bunch’a Royal Guards on the way here.”

Parker was set back. “Really? Impressive, I must’ve taught you well. But enough about that; it’s not safe for you three to be here, not while the T-X terrorizing everyone in Ponyville.”

“It can’t be that dangerous, can it?” asked Scootaloo. She didn’t receive an answer from the human.

“Just go. Besides, it’s only here for me. It’s here to kill me. And if I’m terminated, you guys won’t have to worry about aliens anymore.”

“Don’t say that,” said Sweetie Belle, “You’re a friend to us, not just an alien. And like we said before, we’re getting you out of here.”

Parker gave them a half-smile, before it disappeared. “Well if you can find a way to make these magic restrains disappear, I’ll be grateful.”

The fillies inspected the restraints. They were a faded violet colour, belonging to either Twilight or Shining Armour. “Think you can give it a try, Sweetie Belle?” asked Applebloom.

“Wait? Are you kidding? It’s probably Twilight or her brother’s magic. My magic’s nowhere near that high!”

“What are you three doing here?” A sudden voice asked. They turned to see Corporal Air Burst standing behind them. The CMC couldn’t answer. They couldn’t tell a Royal Guard they were friends with the alien.

“Listen—Air Burst, was it?” Parker responded. “You need to get me out of here. I can stop the T-X.”

Air Burst shook his head. “I can’t do that. I’m under orders to make sure you don’t escape.”

“Are your orders that much more important than the sake of an entire town? We can’t let that machine…” He stopped, taking a deep breath. “Where I’m from, there’s a war going on. A global one: Humans against Machines. The T-X is the latest creation in that war, and its objective is to kill me, along with many others, at all costs—under any means necessary. It does not hold back on killing anyone that gets in its way—humans or ponies. You saw it in Canterlot, remember? When I saved your life?”

That mention of his situation in Canterlot made Air Burst cringe. That machine was not hesitant on trying to end his life. “You did save my life. So I guess that means I need to return the favour.”

“By finding a way to get me out of here,” said Parker.

“But how? I’m a pegasus, not a unicorn. And this is high-grade magic, something that any ordinary unicorn can’t hope to get rid of.”

Apple Bloom placed a hoof to her chin. “Maybe we can break the podium. That might make the restrains vanish.”

“We could try that,” said Air Burst. He and the girls pressed against the other side of the podium. “We each push on three: One. Two. Three!” They pushed, and the podium disintegrated without much effort.

Parker quickly stood, ecstatic. “Finally! I’m free!”

“Actually, Parker…” Apple Bloom pointed to the magic restraints that were still wrapped around his body.

“Dammit, they must have tightened when I got out. Magic is tricky.”

“Is there any other way we can get him out?” asked Scootaloo.

Air Burst shook his head. “Not that I know of. Smashing the podium to pieces was the only plan I thought was a good one. If only—”

They heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. “Guys, what’s going on? I can hear you from upstairs.” Spike walked into down the library, to see Air Burst and the CMC, as well as a semi-freed Parker staring at him. “Did I miss anything?”

“Do you know how to get these restraints off?” asked the I-950.

“No,” replied Spike, “and even if I did, why would I let you go?”

“Because there’s a deadly machine out there that could spell disaster for you and the rest of your Kingdom. That’s why.”

“You mean that T-X-thing Shining Armour told us about. It’s here? Wouldn’t it be better for the Royal Guards to take care of it?”

Parker sighed. “If only it were that easy. Compared to what your military has, the T-X will wipe the floor with anyone that comes within three feet. I’m the only one here who has experience fighting machines, so I know how to take it down. I just need to get out of these restraints.”

“Well I can’t help you there,” said Spike, “Unless…”

“Unless, what? What’re you thinking?”

“Maybe magic’s not flame retardant.”

Parker eyed the dragon with suspicion. “Are you saying you’re going to… burn the magic off me?”

“It could work.”

The human contemplated this for about a millisecond. “Any other bright ideas?” No pony answered. “Come on, I know you guys have something better, something that doesn’t have a possibility of me dying a horrible, flame-related death.”

“We’ll need every possible solution we can get,” said Scootaloo. Unfortunately for Parker, everypony ponies agreed.

The human looked bemused. I know I’m gonna regret this.

Scanning… Target location: 57 kilometers…

Everywhere the T-X went, a reign of destruction followed in its wake. Ponyville had fallen into disarray. The machine sprayed shots from its plasma turrets at anything that confronted it, specifically Royal Guards. The others ponies weren’t a problem. They weren’t keeping the machine from completing its objective. And they would fare better to stay out of its way.

The Royal Guards had been pushed into a corner. They had tried everything they could think of to slow the machine’s advance, but all of their attempts to achieve this were instead met with failure. Blockades, ambushes; everything they employed resulted in the T-X blasting its way through. Literally. The Princesses were helping the guards get the townsfoalk into safe places where they could escape the crossfire.

Shining Armour watched the T-X make its way through the streets amidst debris from destroyed buildings around it. The amount of destruction this one machine could cause was frightening, and it made him wonder how Parker could stand having to fight hostiles like this on a daily basis.

“What do we do, sir?”

Shining pondered this question. They had used everything they could. Well, almost everything. He was accompanied by two other unicorn guards. He tried before to use magic to slow the T-X’s advance, but maybe he could contain it with help from a few other unicorns. “We’re gonna try to use magic one more time. But this time we’ll use it all together. That should at least give us some power to stop it.”

“You sure it’ll work, sir?” asked one of the guards.

“I’m not sure. Right now, I’m out of other options. But it’s better to try.”

“We’re with ya, then.”

Shining nodded. “We’ll need to get to a flanking position and ambush it to catch it off-guard. Got it?” The guards understood and they followed their leader, using as much cover as they could to get to a position far ahead of the machine.

They told him lots of times to hold still, but that was asking too much for Parker, considering a dragon—albeit a baby dragon—was blowing flames just mere inches away from his uniform, which he wasn’t sure was flame-repellent. Another thing that made the human nervous was the fact that Spike was blowing green flames. Were green flames hotter than blue flames? Could he spontaneously catch fire from it?

“Parker…” Apple Bloom looked up at him. “Could you please hold still? Ah think he’s almost get’n through.” She could see the restraints beginning to flicker.

“I have no idea if my clothes can resist flames. If they can’t, then I have a right to be nervous,” he replied.

Scootaloo chuckled. “Stop being such a baby.”

“I think the magic’s starting to disappear,” said Spike. Suddenly more explosions rang through the library walls.

“We need to cut through these restraints faster,” said Air Burst. “Is there any way you can make that happen.”

“If I blow larger flames, maybe that’ll help.”

Parker shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Just keep cutting.” Regardless, Spike began blowing larger flames. It nearly caught the human’s uniform on fire, but he managed to keep from that, and within half a minute, the magic around Parker’s body disintegrated and vanished into thin air.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Apple Bloom mocked him.

Parker scoffed. “Whatever. It’s not like I was scared.” He looked around and saw his Hacker on the nearby table. He went over and clamped it around his forearm, but upon further inspection, he saw the rest of his stuff was missing. “My weapons aren’t anywhere in here.”

“They’re keeping them somewhere else in town,” said Air Burst.

“Where?”

“I have no clue. But they’re probably Royal Guards still watching over them. They shouldn’t be too difficult to find.”

Parker nodded. “Got it. Next stop: outside.” He opened the door and hurried out. The sun was still in its place on the mountain horizon since Celestia and Luna were here helping evacuate the ponies instead of in Canterlot.

The I-950 made his way through the streets, rushing past dozens of ponies who were going in the opposite direction. He activated his Heads-Up Display:

Scanning… Hostile confirmed: T-X… Distance: 70 kilometers…

It’s getting closer, he thought, staring down the path, I need to find my weapons if I wanna have a chance at killing it.

“Parker!” He heard his name called and turned to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders galloping towards him. “We’re here to help!” said Sweetie Belle.

“Absolutely not! Go back to the library; this no place for you right now. And how the hell did you get past Corporal Air Burst?”

Hooves soon reached the human’s ears and he looked up to see Air Burst running towards them. “Technically, I’m not supposed to let you leave my sight.”

“Why are they out here?” asked Parker.

The pegasus guard looked down at the fillies and back at the I-950. “I’m guessing they wanted to help, just like me. I’m still a Royal Guard, and I’m not gonna sit by while a machine destroyed Ponyville.”

These ponies can’t be serious, can they? The determined looks on their faces said otherwise. “No, I can’t let you guys do that. You’ve never faced anything like a machine. They are nothing like the creatures in Everfree.”

“Give me a break, already,” Air Burst said. “I said I was gonna help and that’s just what I’m gonna do. And I don’t go back on my word.”

Parker was left in a state of shock. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Still, he thought, It would be nice to have at least some help this time. “Fine,” he said, “You can help, Air Burst.”

“What about us?” asked Scootaloo.

“There’s absolutely no way I’m letting you three go near a machine. Go find my weapons. We’ll have a better chance at taking it down if I have them. Okay?”

They nodded dutifully, with determination, and hurried off while Parker and Air Burst hurried towards battle. “What was the real reason you sent those three off?” the pegasus asked.

“To keep them out of the way,” the human said, “at least for a while. I’m focused on taking down the machine.”

“Think you can take it?”

Parker shrugged. “I-950s were built primarily for reconnaissance missions. In direct conflict, I’m pretty much screwed. The T-X is stronger, much more resilient, and comes with a wide variety of weaponry and defenses that can turn Equestria into hell on Earth. In other words, it effectively makes me and any other I-950s obsolete.”

Hearing this made Air Burst incredibly uneasy. “So how are gonna do this?”

“Scootaloo told me pegasi have control over the clouds.”

“My wings are still busted. I can’t fly up there.”

“Not if I toss you.”

Air Burst stopped upon hearing those words. He looked up at Parker only to see a cooed smile on the human’s face. “No way.”

“Have it your way.” Before Air Burst could react, Parker grabbed him and threw him up into the air. The pegasus, luckily, landed on a cloud right above. “I’ll lure the T-X over here!” Parker yelled up. “When I give you the signal, you blast it with lightening!”

“Are you sure about this?”

Parker nodded. “Trust me! I know what I’m doing!”

Shining Armour waited behind cover for the T-X to arrive. The two other unicorn guards were on the other side of the streets, awaiting his signal to strike. Their weapons couldn’t pierce the machine’s body, but at the very least they could keep it contained so it wouldn’t harm anypony.

He heard the metal footsteps drawing closer. The elongated shadow of his enemy appeared in front of him, and his horn glowed as he prepared to apprehend the T-X. He looked to the other unicorn guards; they were ready, as well, though the only thing they could do was hope this plan would work.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Its shadow was still on the ground, so it didn’t teleport, if it could do that. Plasma fire followed abruptly, sailing over the Captain of the Guards’ head. How did it know they were hiding there? He looked over at his comrades and nodded. They immediately peered from cover, their horns glowing bright. The T-X was quickly covered by a thick layer of magic. From what they saw, the machine looked like it was unable to move.

“I think we got it,” said Shining. Admittedly, it was creepy looking at it in plain sight, mainly because of its eyes. They were empty, soulless. But that was expected since this thing would attack anypony without hesitation or second thought.

One of the unicorn guards looked at it. “It seems a little too dangerous to take back to Canterlot, don’t you think?”

Before Shining Armour could answer, he felt the magic encased around the T-X tremble. Upon having a precise look, he swore he could see the machine moving. It was moving, taking step after step towards the Captain and his comrades.

“How is that even possible?” Shining couldn’t believe his eyes. The machine was beginning to break free. Keeping it contained was becoming more of a strain with each trudge the relentless machine took forward.

More effort was given into keeping it under control. Their horns glowed brighter with more energy put into stopping the T-X. Though, it wasn’t enough.

Alarmingly, it managed to punch its hand through the barrier, the magic breaking like glass, as it transformed from a turret into a plasma cannon. Shining and the other guards leapt out of the way before the plasma made contact, the barrier encasing the T-X disappearing as a result.

The force from the shockwave threw Shining Armour against a wall. He shook the cobwebs out of his head and looked up to see the T-X standing over him, looking down at him with glowing sapphire-blue eyes. This was it; he was done for.

A whistle, followed by a rock thrown at the machine’s cranium, brought the T-X’s attention elsewhere.

Analysing… Target confirmed…

Parker—the target it’d been searching for—stood down at the street, nothing but a wooden bat in hand. He knew it wouldn’t do any good in dealing significant damage, but he would only need it to distract it so he could lure to the ambush position. “Come on, you rusting metal tin-head! I thought you wanted to kill me!”

Immediately, the T-X aimed his plasma cannon and fired. “Oh shit!” Parker was nearly caught in the blast, moving at the last minute. He retreated; making sure the T-X was following him. I really hope Air Burst is ready with that lightning. “Come on! You want me? I’m right here!”

Shining Armour watched Parker lure the machine away, though he was under fire from its plasma weaponry, which he miraculously managed to avoid. Wondering what the human was planning by leading the T-X further into Ponyville, the Guard Captain stood and followed.

Dodging the oncoming plasma fire from the T-X, Parker made his way further towards the ambush site. Once Air Burst blasted the machine with lightning, its circuits would fry and it wouldn’t do anymore harm. Of course, as with all plans, this one had a chance of backfiring. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to face that.

He ducked behind a crate as more plasma sailed over his head. Looking ahead, he spotted the cloud with Corporal Air Burst positioned on top, waiting for his signal. The I-950’s current position was too far for the lightning to strike, so he would have to get a bit closer in order for it to work.

He made a bolt out of cover. The heavy suppressive fire from the relentless T-X had yet to let up. That made the human go behind various pieces of cover on his way to the pegasus guard. Just a little more, he thought.

One more leap out of cover; he ran under the cloud. “Now!” he shouted.

Air Burst stomped on the cloud, sending a huge bolt of lightning shooting down towards the machine. The T-X looked up in time to see it, and holding out its arm, shot a stream of liquid metal in defense. It made contact; the lightning, having struck a target, dissipated while the metal fell to the ground in a puddle.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding!” said Air Burst. The T-X looked up at him and fired a blast from its plasma cannon.

The pegasus fell from the cloud as he avoided the attack. Because his wings were still injured, he had no means of flying as he hurdled towards the pavement below. Just as he almost hit, he felt a force keep him levitated just a few inches off the ground, and opening his eyes, he found himself encased in purple magic.

He saw Shining Armour. His horn was glowing, which would explain why he was levitating in mid-air. The T-X surveyed the area around it.

Scanning… Multiple targets identified…

What the fuck are they doing? Parker thought. He knew the machine would kill anyone who stood between it and its objective, so it did not surprise him when it turned around and aimed its cannon at Shining Armour.

The stallion was in plain sight. As it was about to fire, Parker charged from cover, tackling the machine to the ground. “Get him-” He pointed to Air Burst, who was still levitating upside down- “out of here. Now!”

He lifted the T-X off the ground, blocked a punch aimed at his head, and tossed it through a wall. Lyra and Bon Bon, who were hiding inside, were shocked to see the machine suddenly crashing into their home. Parker walked into through the hole in the wall, into the kitchen, just as the T-X beginning to stand.

He grabbed it by its neck, lifting it, but was shoved in front of the oven. The T-X marched towards him, its eyes glowing in the shadows around its face. Parker grasped the countertop, reeling both legs before releasing them into a powerful kick, launching the machine through the wall back outside.

“Guess it was just a matter of time before I had to fight this thing face-to-face,” he thought aloud. He looked down at the couple of ponies hiding underneath the table beside him.

“Please don’t hurt us,” said Bon Bon. She was frightened—not as much as Lyra—at seeing the infamous alien in her house.

“I’m not looking to cause collateral damage,” replied Parker, right before prying the entire kitchen sink out of the wall. He ran back out and swung the sink. It practically exploded upon hitting against the metal endoskeleton, but as he expected, hadn’t caused the slightest damage.

Some ponies watched from inside their houses as the two alien creatures fought each other in the streets, smashing through anything in their way. The T-X activated its plasma turrets and aimed; Parker ducked before the first shot was fired and held its arm in the air, letting the plasma sail into the sky.

The machine saw that its target refused to go down easily, so its next best option was to weaken him as much as possible, enough to finish him off with ease. Returning its arm back to normal, it grabbed hold of Parker’s arm tossed him. The I-950 staggered to his feet just in time as the machine fired a shot from its plasma cannon. He avoided, letting the plasma bolt destroy part of the wall behind it. He ran the perimeter, keeping out of the way of the oncoming plasma. The only thing he wished for, however, was his plasma rifle. He wondered where Cutie Mark Crusaders were with his weapons.

A plasma bolt landed right at his feet, throwing him across the air. As he picked himself up off the ground, his hands started stinging. Looking at him, he saw that they had numerous cuts and scrapes running across his palms. Looking up at the relentless machine that was approaching him, he knew he would have to more—a lot much—if he wanted to destroy this thing for good.

“That has to be where they’re keeping Parker’s weapons.” Scootaloo pointed over to a large tent that was being guarded by two Royal Lunar Guards. “Any idea on how we could get past them?”

“Maybe we can distract ‘em with someth’n,” said Applebloom.

“Or perhaps we can sneak inside,” Sweetie Belle suggested. “There doesn’t seem to any more guards around. Most of the ones in town must still be fighting.”

Applebloom acknowledged her. “Alright, then, Ah guess we’re sneak’n in. We’ll have ta do this quick and quiet before anypony spots us.”

They nodded. They made their way over to the tent, occasionally looking between it and the guards to see if they were being watched. Approaching it, they lifted the tarp and hurried inside. Everything was there; Parker’s plasma pistol and M1911 handguns were on a table, still in their holsters, as well as some ammunition and a canister bomb, and his plasma rifle rested against a barrel with his backpack.

The girls hastily placed the handguns into the backpack along with the packs of ammunition and the bomb; Applebloom had strapped the plasma rifle around her body. Luckily as they were doing this, the guards hadn’t noticed them. They would be able to make a clean getaway and get back to Parker. “Ah think that’s everyth’n.”

Scootaloo noticed a small photograph on the ground and picked it up. On the photo was a picture of another human, a female posing playfully in front of the remains of a Terminator. She had black hair like Parker’s but a bit more kempt, and she also wore the same uniform as him, which meant she was in the Resistance as well. “Who do you think it is?” she asked.

“Ah don’t know,” said Applebloom, “Maybe Parker knows. We can ask him after we’re done.” They nodded in agreement on that decision and got out of the tent.

The wall gave way as the T-X smashed through it. Parker stepped inside—into Sugarcube Corner—grabbed it by the neck and slammed it to the ground before stepping on his face. The stomp had left a small crater in the ground, but even that had failed to show damage in the machine which kicked its target away. This was the first time Parker had been exposed to prolonged combat with a machine. Blood was starting to drip from a cut on his forehead, running down his face. Most of what he faced before would have been taken care of easily thanks to his strength and training, but the T-X was something more than just a regular Terminator. Skynet had improved it in so many ways he did not think was possible.

The I-950 Infiltrator thought fast as a strike from the machine’s power saw was swung towards him, blocking it just mere inches from his face. They grabbed each other, but the power saw quickly retracted into the T-X arm as it was replaced by the nozzle of a flamethrower. Parker kicked the machine away, stumbling back towards a door and falling into another room.

He soon found himself staring at two baby ponies, one a unicorn and the other a pegasus. The baby pegasus smiled and waved at the I-950, prompting Parker to do the same. “Hi,” he said, “At least there’s someone here enjoying themselves.”

He heard a gasp and turned to see a blue earth pony mare—Sweetie Belle said her name was Mrs. Cake—holding a broom aimed at him. “Get away from my precious little gingersnaps!”

“Hold on, wait a minute . . .” Parker wiped from the blood from his face, “I’m not even trying to—”

The T-X approached the I-950 from behind and grabbed him, picking him up and holding him against a wall by his neck. Parker watched the liquid metal seep out from beneath the machine’s armour and cover its body. Before he knew it, he was staring at a complete reflection of himself. “You plan on taking my place after I’m terminated. That’s smart for a machine.”

He gulped at the sudden realization that he was facing. He did not want to admit to himself, especially a second time, but he was afraid.

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the others had searched throughout much of Ponyville but still hadn’t found a trace of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, or Applebloom. It was becoming extremely like the situation they faced at Sweet Apple Acres when they first saw Parker with a kidnapped Applebloom.

Initially during the searched, they opted to stay away from the warzone that had erupted in their town, but after a fruitless effort, it became apparent that it was next place they had to search.

Much of this section of town had been devastated. It was scary being here since they had never been in this type of environment before, especially since the T-X was still lurking around somewhere. They last thing they wanted to do was run into it.

“Sweetie Belle,” Applejack called out, hoping for a response in return, “Scootaloo! Applebloom!” No answer. “Where in Equestria could they’ve gotten to?”

“Hey!” A pony hiding in a barrel peered out to see the mares standing there, “Will ya keep it down? I rather not have that thing blasting its way through here. And what’re you six doing out in the open?”

“What happened? Where is everypony?” asked Twilight.

The pony replied: “Either hiding or getting the hay out of town. That alien’s on a massive rampage.” He went into detail about the alien and how it managed to plow its way past every Royal Guard that confronted it. The girls listened attentively and were horrified at what they heard. “It can also shoot flames from out its arm. I don’t know if there’s anypony who can stand up to it without getting hurt.”

Is this what Parker had to deal with before coming here, Twilight asked herself, thinking back to the human’s reaction to the T-X.

“Anyway, why aren’t you six in a hiding place?” the pony asked again.

“We’re look’n for some fillies,” answered Applejack, “Two of ‘em are sisters, and the last one is really important to my friend here.” She pointed to Rainbow Dash. “We jus’ can’t leave ‘em alone with the town under attack like this.”

“Well I’m sure they’re safe and sound. Probably hiding somewhere around here until the coast is clear. But I suggest when you find ‘em, you get as far away from here as possible . . . or hide . . . whichever is best for you six.” Without another word, the pony ducked his head back inside the barrel.

“Oh, I really hope they’re okay,” said Rarity. Hearing more about the T-X had gotten the unicorn more nervous than usual. Her mane was becoming disheveled and ragged, and sweat was beginning to drip down her face.

The six mares continued through town, keeping on the lookout for anything that would lead them to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. From where they were standing, it was like a ghost town. Much of the stores around them were heavily damaged; the ground was littered with patches of flames and broken debris. A loud boom! startled them. They weren’t sure where the T-X was, which only added to the anxiety.

They stopped when they started hearing grunts around the corner, followed by a ding of something hitting against metal. It stopped for a moment, generating an uneasy silence . . . right before a body was thrown into the open, slamming against a wall. The figure staggered lazily to its feet, and girls saw it wasn’t a pony. It was Parker. He looked a mess; battered and bruised; bloodied all over his face and tattered uniform.

He looked up and immediately fell back at the sight of another “Parker” stepping out from behind the corner. “Fucking machine,” he said, staring at the imposter. He was starting to break down, his heart racing as the machine revved up its power saw. That’s when the realization hit him: This is where I’m going to die.

Ch. 9: "Battle For Ponyville Pt. 2"

Chapter 9: “Battle for Ponyville Pt. 2”

Two Parkers…

That’s what the girls witnessed. One was battered and bloodied, and struggling to stand on his own two legs. As he stared at his duplicate, it seemed like he was ready to pass out, probably from the amount of pain he was in and the blood he’d lost after who knows how long he’s been fighting this thing. “What’re you waiting for? Killing me is your mission, right? I’m starting right here, you fucking machine!”

His words shocked the six mares watching them from the sidelines. The other Parker—the clean one—raised his hand, before it contorted into a terrifying-looking device. The girls couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Was this the T-X that Parker had tried so hard to warn them about?

The I-950 stood idle and closed his eyes, waiting for the machine to finish him off. The sound of a plasma-cannon charging had succeeded in increasing the amount of tension he was already feeling. This was it, he thought. This was where he was going to die. Down the street, however, three little fillies were quickly galloping up to the scene; three fillies that Applejack immediately recognized.

“We got everyth’n you needed!” That was Applebloom’s voice. She had Parker’s weapon strapped around her body, and Scootaloo was wearing his backpack.

“You three came right on time!” replied the human. It surprised the six mares at how he said that in such a friendly manner. How could he have possible known who the Cutie Mark Crusaders were?

The T-X fired. Parker dodged at the last moment, making a quick dash over to the fillies and retrieving his weapons and equipment. “We put your other stuff in your backpack,” said Apple Bloom.

Parker acknowledged. “Thanks. I owe you guys big-time.”

Scootaloo noticed the other human marching towards them, though she knew it was a fake after seeing its hand. “What is that thing?”

“Don’t let its disguise fool you,” said Parker. “That’s the T-X I told you about. I was being hunted all over Equestria. Only a matter of time before it found me, I guess. Now, please, for your own safety, stay out of the way. It’s only after me, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting you three get hurt!” With that, just as quickly as he talked, he ran. The T-X let out a growl in rage before charging past the fillies, giving chase after its target.

“Think he can take it?” asked Scootaloo as they watched them disappear down the street.

The others two weren’t sure how to answer. Seeing how Parker looked when they arrived, it would be all too difficult for him to face alone. “Ah sure hope he can,” was the only response Apple Bloom could think it. Her name was called and she turned to see Applejack galloping towards her, before being swept into a tight hug.

“We were so worried about you three!” said Rarity. “You are okay, right?”

“We’re fine,” said Sweetie Belle.

Twilight stared down the street. Sounds of plasma fire and explosions echoed through the air from the continued battle between the T-X and Parker. “Ponyville’s not safe with those two here. We might have to leave town.”

Rainbow Dash, who was hovering above the eight ponies, disagreed. “We can’t leave yet! There has to be something we can do to help.”

“R.D.’s right,” said Applejack. “It’s too early to start think’n ‘bout abandon’n the place. But Ah say we find somewhere safe and outta the way for the little ones. Ah don’t want them anywhere near a fight like that.”

Rarity nodded. “It’s settled, then.”

As they made their departure from the area, Applebloom looked back the ruins of the town. “Oh, Parker, please make it out alive.”

Shining Armour glanced down the street from behind cover, a spear levitating right behind him. He was not sure if it would do any good against the metal creature, but it was better than having nothing in his hooves. Everything seemed quiet; no sign of the T-X anywhere.

“Do you see it?” asked one of the guards. The sound of his voice showed that he was nervous.

“Coast is clear,” said Shining. They moved out of cover, making their way down the partial ruins of the agricultural town.

“Where are the Princesses?” asked Air Burst.

“I don’t recall them ever leaving Ponyville,” said Shining, “so it’s possible they’re at Town Hall, along with anypony else who managed to escape the battle.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I hope.”

The guards began to grow uneasy in this new environment. It wasn’t one they were accustomed to. “I can’t imagine this thing being loose on the rest of Equestria,” said Air Burst. “Parker said there were more in his world—an entire army.”

“We should count ourselves lucky that there aren’t more of them here,” replied a guard. The others agreed.

They jumped slightly at the sound of a garbage can crashing to the ground. The guards gave off a nervous laugh. It was slightly embarrassing that small sounds like could easily startle them now. As they regained their composure, Parker stumbled out of the alley to their left. He looked as tired and dirty as they were, except for the blood on his face. For a moment, they stared at each other, not saying a word. “I suggest you run,” said Parker, almost emotionlessly, “The T-X is chasing me through town.”

Shining could have raised his spear and threatened to take him in; normal cop and fugitive role he was accustomed to when dealing with the human. But something inside him said otherwise. Perhaps Parker was the only way the ponies had a chance at saving Ponyville from utter destruction. “Hold your weapons, guys,” he told the other guards, lowering his own spear. He looked up at the I-950. “Where is it?”

“You’re just as crazy as when you left the library,” replied Parker.

Shining sighed, part of it being in annoyance. “Listen, I know we got off to the wrong hoof. But we should’ve listened when you tried to warn us. Look around. That machine you’re fighting is destroying Ponyville, and alone, the Royal Guards can’t fight it with the weapons it has.”

“Well I got weapons similar to it.” Parker showed off his plasma rifle and spare canister bomb he had attached to his shoulder. “But even with these in my hands, it’s more resilient so it won’t take much damage, and it has sharp reflexes. Taking it down is gonna be too much of a challenge for me, I admit.”

“That’s why we have to help each other,” said Shining. “Let’s call a truce. It’s the only way we can hope to take this thing down. You and Air Burst had a good plan going earlier. Maybe we can up our chances if you had a little more help.”

Parker looked at the ponies in front of him. They were serious, as well. “I don’t know about this.”

“You could use the help,” said Air Burst. “We have magic on our side.”

“And the T-X has a whole bunch of explosives and weapons of mass destruction on its side,” Parker rebutted, “I don’t see the big difference.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Shining said, “And besides, you have faced machines lots of times before, right? Do you have any idea how we can stop it?”

At that, Parker nodded. “There is a sure-fire way: The Central Processing Unit located in its head. If I can take it, the T-X will become nothing more than another dead machine.”

“So what do you have to do get this thing?” asked one of the guards.

“Simple: We’ll need to pin it down long enough for me to snatch it.”

“We’ve tried using magic; it’s too strong,” said Shining Armour.

“Just keep it contained for as long as you can. It shouldn’t take long to remove the CPU. You ready?”

The guards had to steel their nerves. They were going into some very dangerous business fighting the machine, but they maybe with the only one who had experience in this type of combat, their chances would increase, no doubt. Shining looked up and nodded. “We’re ready. Just point the way.”

The guards and Parker started down the road. The radar on Parker’s HUD was used to pinpoint the position of the T-X. “I’ll distract it. You guys get to an ambush position. Once you have it in magic, I’ll run up and rip it out.”

“You sure this is gonna work?” asked Shining.

“It’s the only option we have,” replied Parker, “Might as well take it.”

The area around Town Hall had been fortified to defend against the rampaging machine. Princess Celestia, however, was worried, and despite her best efforts, it was showing. Ponyville, such a small and vulnerable town, was under a terrible assault by a terrifying creature with unimaginable weaponry that they could not hope to stand up against. She had witnessed it herself, from the flames shooting from its arms to the small bolts of light it launched at anypony that tried to attack it.

It was all just a horrible sight of destruction that she would never be able to get out of her mind.

Another thing that worried Celestia was the fact that there were still ponies out there, including Twilight and her friends, trying to hide from the machine. There was no way she would leave them behind.

“Is something troubling you, sister?” asked Luna.

Celestia’s response was, “I need to go.”

“Go where?” Luna looked at her sister in confusion. Was she planning to leave the safe area?

“I can’t leave anypony trapped out there with that thing,” replied Celestia. “The last thing that I want on my conscience is not doing anything knowing there are still ponies fearing for their lives.”

The ponies began to overhear Celestia. Some grew worried. There was doubt for anypony going up against the T-X. What if she didn’t make it? What would they do if one of their leaders was killed at the hands of the machine?

“You can’t go, ‘Tia,” said Luna. She was desperate to keep her older sister here and out of harm’s way.

“I’m sorry, Luna,” said Celestia.

There was an unnerving silence between the two Princesses. Celestia turned to leave the safe area, though before she took off— “I’m coming with you.” Luna trotted towards her sister’s side.

Celestia was taken back. “No, you don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t believe you have any choice, sister,” replied Luna, “When we usurped power from Discord, we took oaths to preserve and protect harmony over the land. I can’t let you face the machine alone.”

Celestia was speechless. Was Luna really serious about this? The Princess of the Night called over to the guards. “Make sure this area is safely secured against any and all threats,” she said. The guards saluted their Princess.

“We must make haste,” she said to Celestia. “Time is not on our side.”

Celestia nodded in agreement, and together, the sisters flew out of the safe area and into town. When they landed, they began their search, looking through windows and trotting into the buildings around them. If ponies were not over at the safe area, then it was certain that they had left town to escape, but that hadn’t ruled out the fact that there might have been a small amount that stayed.

Being here was very unsettling. It was like a ghost town. Admittedly, the sound from the T-X’s weapons would’ve eased some of the tension. At least they would know where and how far it was. The machine could sneak up on them in the silence.

“Do you see anypony?” asked Luna.

Celestia stared through the window into a house. The inside looked ransacked, like it whoever lived there was trying to pack in a hurry. She couldn’t blame them with wanting to run away. “I’m afraid not.” She glanced back to the midnight-blue alicorn. “It looks like many have already gotten out.”

“Let us hope we can find those who haven’t,” said Luna.

Celestia’s thoughts shifted over to Twilight and her friends. Had they managed to escape Ponyville? Were they hiding? Or had the T-X gotten to them? She hoped the last scenario wouldn’t happen.

“Where do you propose we search next, sister?” Luna’s voice snapped Celestia back to reality. There was still chance the six of them were unharmed. She just needed to hang onto that thought. She decided to go north.

The Princesses flared their wings and took off. Landing further into town, they resumed their search, and eventually, the first they found was Zecora. The zebra was hiding under a bench to avoid the machine’s rampage. “Oh dear Princesses before my eyes,” she said; “seeing you here in Ponyville is a relieving prize.”

Luna smiled. “Likewise, Miss Zecora. Tell us, do you know where Miss Sparkle and her friends might be?”

Zecora shook her head. “I am afraid not, royal ones. I had come to Ponyville to warn everypony of the metal one. But if Twilight Sparkle and her friends are who you seek, then I would be happy to help search, for things may not look too bleak.”

Celestia smiled. “Thanks for your help, Zecora. It really means a lot.” The three equines continued through the town. Occasionally, they managed to find some ponies and directed them towards the safe area at Town Hall, but that still left the question of where the Mane Six would be. Hopefully they would be able to find them safe and out of harm’s way.

“You three stay here, okay? We’ll be back soon enough,” said Rarity. The trio of fillies stood in front of her. They were moved to another part of town, away from the ongoing battle, inside a small shop. The owners were probably somewhere else, trying to get away from danger. “And please, do not move from this spot. This is for your own safety,” she reassured them.

“Don’t worry, sis. We promise,” said Sweetie Belle.

Twilight motioned her friends to follow. “Come on, girls. We have to hurry.”

The six mares began their departure, though before Fluttershy could follow, she felt a tug on her mane and looked down at the Crusaders. “Do you think you can keep an eye out for Parker?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I guess, but—”

“Great,” Scootaloo interrupted. “Tell him to meet us here.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked.

“We’re gonna help him beat the T-X.”

Fluttershy’s mouth was agape. “What? You can’t do that! It’s too dangerous!”

“We can still help. Plus, he has Corporal Air Burst with him—a Royal Guard! We’ll still be safe.”

“Fluttershy, come on!” Pinkie Pie called over from outside.

“I’m sorry,” the canary-yellow pegasus replied. “It’s just far too dangerous for you three.” With haste, she galloped out the building after her friends, leaving behind the three Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“What do we do now?” asked Sweetie Belle. The other two didn’t know. Though they did want to help keep Ponyville safe from destruction, the most they could do at the moment was wait for a miracle to happen.

The red dot on Parker’s radar signified the T-X. It was close—really close—and that meant Shining Armour and his guards would have to get into cover. “We know what to do, right? When I give the signal, do your thing. Once it’s restrained, I’ll go straight for the CPU.”

“I really hope this works,” Air Burst murmured. It was obvious that after their last failed attempt at stopping the machine, he was unsure this would work.

“It has to,” replied Parker. He glanced at Shining Armour. “Try and keep the magic over it for as long as you guys can. It won’t take me more than a few seconds to take it out.”

The stallion gave a nod in acknowledgement, and he and his men went behind cover, waiting for the machine to cross their path. Parker continued, making his way to the T-X’s position. He played the scenario of how this plan would be carried out in his head. Once the T-X was led across Shining Armour’s position, he would give them the signal and go for the CPU.

Eventually, the T-X was in sight, still in its disguise. It glanced over at him, eyes glowing blue before firing its plasma turrets. Parker dodged the oncoming fire before returning it with his plasma rifle. After a few shots, he fell back, luring the machine to the ambush area.

Let’s hope this works, he thought, ducking his head as more plasma sailed by.

The sound of the machine’s weaponry drew the attentions of the Princesses and Zecora. The three equines followed it until coming across the two Parkers—one firing at the other who was retreating. They could tell which one was the real machine from the way it attacked: its arm which had currently taken form of its weapon.

“Halt, foul beast,” Luna declared in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “Thy shall do no more damage in—”

The machine paid the alicorn no mind. It looked back and immediately fired its plasma cannon. Princess Celestia blocked it with a magic shield, but the T-X, satisfied, continued on with its chase.

“This new foe is dangerous, no doubt,” stated Zecora; “It will take a miracle to win this bout.”

Parker quickly maneuvered past the debris that lay littered throughout the area in his evasion from the T-X. He increased his speed. Falling behind was the absolute last thing he could afford at the moment.

Three white dots appeared on his radar ahead. “Now!” He yelled as he ran past them. The horns of the unicorn guards glowed.

The T-X was covered in an aura of magic, unable to move. Seeing this, Parker did as planned and hurried over. He tore through the liquid metal alloy to get through to the metallic skull, and once the CPU hatch was exposed, he pulled out his knife and attempted to pry it open.

Danger… Emergency hatch compromised…

The T-X began to struggle recklessly. Shining Armour strained to keep his hold against the machine, the glow on his horn beginning to fade. Parker finally managed to pry open the hatch and got to work trying to remove the small CPU lodged within the metal skull.

Danger… CPU tampered…

In his focus, Parker suddenly felt something against his leg. He looked down to see the bits of liquid metal he had torn off from the T-X were beginning to slide up his uniform. He cursed to himself and tried to speed up his progress, pulling violently at the CPU in order to retrieve it. Soon, the liquid metal traveled onto his shoulders and torso. Parker let go of the T-X to get the stuff off of him. He knew his life would be at risk if they stayed on a bit longer.

The T-X, after much struggling, finally broke free from its restraints. It turned its hand into a power saw and swung at the I-950. Parker, finally managing to get the liquid metal off his body, turned around just in time to grab the T-X’s arm before the power saw could make contact.

The Princesses and Zecora arrived at the scene, as did Twilight and her friends. They watched Parker’s standoff with the machine as he tried to prevent himself from being murdered. The power saw was mere inches from his face.

Twilight saw her brother down the street. He looked exhausted. She galloped to him without time to spare. “You okay, bro?” she asked.

Shining nodded. “Don’t worry. I just lost a lot of energy. How about you? I thought you’d still be at the library.”

“We were,” replied Twilight, “but we needed to find Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle and make sure they were safe first.”

Princess Celestia trotted up. “We set up a safe area at Town Hall.” The moment Twilight heard her mentor’s voice, her eyes lit up. “I was so worried about you. I’m so glad you’re all right,” said the Princess.”

“As am I, my pony friends,” said Zecora.

“But what about Parker and that machine? How are we supposed to deal with them?” asked Rainbow Dash. With all they’ve witnessed these past hours, they figured dealing with those two was going to be problematic for the ponies.

They heard a crash and looked over to see Parker throw the machine through a wall. He glanced at the ponies, yelling at them to go before proceeding to deal with his assailant. The ponies retreated from the area.

“Parker agreed to a truce,” said Air Burst. “He’s gonna help us fight the T-X.”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” asked Rarity.

“All I know is that he wants to survive and we want to save Ponyville,” Shining stated, “Both of those require taking out the machine. I doubt he’d go against his word if that was the case.”

“Ah agree with your brother, Twi,” said Applejack, “But we should get the girls to that safe area the Princess mentioned.” Her suggestion was met with a unanimous agreement from the others.

They made their way back to where they had left the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The fillies were still in the store, contemplating on what they would do. It still bothered Applejack how they knew Parker so well, but she decided to ask them when the whole situation had died down some. “Alright, girls,” the farm pony announced, “come on. We’re go’n towards a safe area that’s been setup in town.”

“Where is it?” asked Scootaloo.

“Near Town Hall,” Princess Luna answered, “We’ll need to stay close together in case we run into the machine again.”

Together, the ponies and Zecora hurried back for the safe area. The sounds of the weapons used by Parker and T-X echoed through the sky. The CMC were worried about the human, seeing the shape he was in and how the town looked since the T-X’s assault first began.

Eventually they returned to the safe area. The ponies were relieved to see their Princesses safe, as well as the Elements of Harmony. “Has anything happened while we were away, guards?” asked Luna.

They nodded. “It’s been quiet over here, thankfully. What about you? Did you see the T-X?”

“We saw it, alright,” said Twilight. “Parker’s fighting it.”

“He got loose again?”

Hearing this, the ponies in the area grew worried. “I don’t recommend going after him,” said Shining. “He’s the only one who has weapons similar to the machine. If all goes well, he can help us save Ponyville.”

Suddenly an explosion rang out from close by. They looked over to see smoke emanating from one of the buildings. Parker staggered out from the smoke, dropping his plasma rifle, before collapsing to the ground. He looked worse than when they saw him, if that were even possible.

The T-X stood over him, its hand changing from a plasma cannon into a power saw once more. A gold aura covered Parker before he was pulled over by Celestia. The T-X regarded the equines.

Scanning… Intervening targets… Terminate…

It fired its plasma cannon again only for its shot to be blocked by a magic shield brought up by Luna. Growling in frustration, it marched towards its target. Parker grasped his plasma rifle, turned over onto his stomach, and launched a grenade at it. The impact blew away most of the T-X’s disguise, the liquid metal sliding off from the machine. Another grenade was fired and the machine’s endoskeleton was soon visible to everypony.

“Are you okay, Park?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“More or less,” said the human.

They looked at the approaching machine. The last of the liquid metal alloy was sliding off of it. Despite being hit by two grenades, there wasn’t so much as a scratch as they could see.

“How in Equestria do you stop this thing?” asked Rainbow.

Parker wasn’t even sure of an answer. He had tried everything at his disposal to try and stop Skynet’s creation. He wasn’t sure how much ammo he had left, so trying to shot at it would only be a waste. He staggered to his feet, looking through the bangs in front of his eyes as the machine slowly got closer.

He looked around for anything he could use before his eyes laid upon the giant building nearby: Town Hall. “Yeah, that should do,” he thought aloud. “Alright, I got one more plan up my sleeve.”

“Let’s hear it,” said Shining.

“We’re gonna crush it. Tell me; how big is that building?” He pointed to Town Hall. The ponies immediately got the idea. “I’ll lure it, and once it’s in position, I’ll detonate my canister bomb and bring the whole thing down on top of it. You all just get everyone out of here as quick as you can. Once I give you a signal, trap it one more time to keep it in place.”

“You sure it’ll work?”

“It’s not like we have other options, do we?” replied the human. He counted to three and then made a break for it. The T-X immediately sprayed its plasma turret at Parker as he ran the perimeter, just distracting it.

Meanwhile, the Princesses, Twilight and her friends, and Shining Armour and Air Burst cleared ponies away from the safe area. They flooded away from Town Hall to escape what would be total calamity. They kept a distance from the vicious machine despite it not being focused on them, though some of the guards had crossbows and spears aimed in case it turned its attention away from the I-950.

Parker dove into cover, reloading his plasma rifle. He had only a few magazines left which he needed to conserve in case this plan failed. Hopefully, it wouldn’t.

He continued running around the perimeter, again diving behind cover. On his next run, he would need to make a break for Town Hall. He inched towards the edge, and the moment the T-X stopped firing to charge its turrets, he ran past it, avoiding it trying to grab him, and hurried to the building.

The T-X pursued him. Parker unhooked his canister bomb and placed his hand on the knob. One well-placed explosion would bring the entire thing down, and also hopefully, crush this d—n machine.

Suddenly, he was thrown off his feet after a plasma bolt landed near him. The canister bomb flew out of his hand. Rolling onto his back, he aimed and opened fire at the oncoming machine. Without the liquid metal alloy acting as a layer of protection, the T-X was taking more damage; the plasma nearly disabled it’s one of its arms and dealt serious blows to its torso. Some sparks were flying from underneath its armour.

Parker looked around for the canister bomb he dropped, and spotted it just to his left. He ran towards it, but pulled back and dropped into cover when he was once again bombarded with plasma fire.

The T-X wasn’t letting up. He was trapped. Then, as he heard hooves, he looked over to see— “What the hell is she doing?”

Applejack, despite pleas from her friends, was galloping towards him, carrying his canister bomb. She dove behind cover to avoid the continuing hailstorm of plasma that was flying at her.

“That was… unexpected,” said Parker.

Applejack rolled her eyes, giving him his bomb. “Listen, Ah don’t appreciate that you decimated part of Ponyville and Canterlot, and foalnapped m’ah little sister when we first met. But from what Ah’ve seen so far, she and her friends care for you nonetheless. Now Ah don’t know what went on these past weeks for you to know them so well, but get’n in each other’s face is the last thing we need, especially now.”

“I agree,” was the I-950’s response.

“How big is this gonna be, anyway?” the cowpony asked.

“Well . . . a canister bomb has enough power to take out an entire Hunter-Killer Tank in one blast. So my guess is really big. Just make sure to get everybody out of the blast zone before I set it off.”

“What about you?”

“There’s a delay after I activate it. I’ll set it for thirty seconds so I have a chance to get away.”

Applejack nodded. “Good luck.”

Parker returned the favour. “You, too…” He moved out from cover, luring the plasma towards him while Applejack took the chance to escape. Unholstering his plasma pistol, he used his Heads’-Up Display for precision as he fired shots at the T-X’s turret system to damage it.

Its primary weapon disabled, the T-X decided to go in close. Parker holstered his weapon and placed his hand on the detonator, waiting for the machine to come a bit closer. Once it was close enough, Parker twisted the handle—the canister bomb glowed at the edges—and he tossed it over near the base of Town Hall.

The timer on his HUD began the countdown; now he needed to distract the T-X and keep it occupied long enough for the others to keep it contained. He charged at it, tackling it to the ground. He grabbed its arm and crushed it, preventing it from using its power saw. He kept it pinned until the timer on his HUD read twenty seconds.

Parker quickly dismounted from the T-X, signaling the ponies at the sidelines as he made a run for it. Shining, Twilight, Rarity, and the Princesses’ horns glowed. A multicoloured barrier formed around the T-X one again, but not before it could latch onto Parker’s wrist to keep him from escaping.

The I-950 tried to pull away, but the T-X’s strength mixed with the unusualness of unicorn magic kept him in place. Twelve seconds on the timer. He called out to the ponies: “It’s got me! Turn off your magic!”

“What do you mean?” asked Rarity.

“Just let it go!” Parker yelled, urgently. Reluctantly, the unicorn’s horn stopped glowing as they released the T-X. The moment it was gone, Parker could feel the T-X trying to crush his arm. Instead, he grabbed its arm with his free hand, using his foot for leverage, and tore it away from its body.

The canister bomb detonated the moment Parker high-tailed it. The building swayed left and right before finally collapsing towards the I-950 and machine. Debris was flung from the now broken windows, plummeting to the floor below. Smoke and dust kicked up when the Town Hall finally hit the ground.

It broke apart in seconds, the impact being heard for miles. The gust of wind that generated after the building fell spread the large amounts of dust everywhere, obscuring everypony’s sight. When it cleared, the only thing left were the remains of what used to be Town Hall. Large amounts of debris littered the area, but there was no sign of Parker or the T-X. Some of the guards searched from the air, but failed to find anything.

“Where is he?” asked Sweetie Belle. Everypony around was silent, no whispers or anything. Most were pretty sure the human was dead.

Suddenly a hand shot out from under the rubble. Parker pulled himself out, crawling into the open. He looked badly injured; a fresh pool of blood dripping from another cut on his head alone signified that.

Full body diagnostics… Massive external injures… Minor Internal Injuries… Pain suppressed… Advised to seek immediate medical attention…

The I-950 stood, limping away from the debris. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were visibly ecstatic to see that he was still alive. For a brief moment, everything seemed all right. As he walked, another figure arose from the underneath the debris. The T-X, the lower part of its body gone, crawled out and activated its plasma-cannon.

Parker turned to look, but too late. A shot blared out, and in a split-second, the human’s left arm exploded with chunks of flesh flying in the air. He fell to the ground, screaming and writhing in agony at his amputation. Blood seeped from of his newly-crafted wound, staining the dirt.

He looked over at the machine. Taking his plasma pistol, he aimed and pulled the trigger until the entire magazine was empty. What the left of the T-X was a burnt, scorch mark-ridden mess. Its skull was nothing but scrap metal, having taken most of the damage from the plasma.

In short, the T-X was dead. He’d won. Finally.

Seek… immediate… medical… attention…

Despite his pain suppression, he could still feel hints of it throughout his body like hot iron. The plasma pistol fell from his hand as he relaxed, and soon enough, the I-950 was out cold.

Chapter 10: "Putting On a Friendly Face"

Chapter 10: “Putting on a Friendly Face”

Full-body diagnostics… Standby… All injuries healed… No life-threatening injuries present…

Parker regained consciousness. The first thing he felt upon waking up was a painful headache, along with a massive loss of feeling in his entire left side. He noted a repetitive beeping sound ringing in his ears; a heart rate monitor. Even though it was necessary for doctors to determine if a patient was in critical condition, he hated those things, and was always left wondering why an I-950 needed it if they couple monitoring their own heart rates with their Heads-Up Display.

He opened his eyes and was immediately greeted with the sight of a plain snow-white ceiling above him. If the heart monitor wasn’t already obvious, he figured that he was in a hospital, though not on Earth; not in Alaska. His time asleep, he almost came to the conclusion that everything he experienced during the past few weeks, from meeting with Applebloom and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to fighting the T-X and completely demolishing Town Hall, was all just a very in-depth dream. Though now, looking at a prim white ceiling in a sturdy structure that hadn’t been completely ruined by warfare, it was apparent that he was still in Equestria.

The voices from someone else in the room drew him from his thoughts. He couldn’t determine who; his senses were too shot for him to figure out.

Then, he groaned, finally coming to a very unwanted realisation. “If I’m back in a Skynet lab, I swear to God I’m going to…” He stopped after feeling a hoof touch his shoulder. He craned his head to see Applebloom beside him.

“Glad to see you’re awake, Park,” said the filly.

At first there was no response, but then the human smiled. “At least I know I’m not back with Skynet.” He sat up in his bed. Princess Celestia and Luna, along with the Elements of Harmony and a doctor, were also in the hospital room.

“How d’ya feel?” asked Applejack.

“I can barely move my body, and I feel like I’m about to vomit and pass out,” Parker replied, crudely, “How long was I out?”

“Three days,” said Rarity, “You passed out after the T-X took out your arm.”

Hearing this, Parker looked down at where his left arm used to be. The area was heavily bandaged, most likely to stop the bleeding. “Is it dead?” he asked, referring to the machine.

They nodded. “We dumped the remains of it in the Everfree Forest. Looks like we won’t have to worry about it anymore,” said Shining Armour.

Those words brought more than relief to the I950. With the T-X gone and out of the way, Skynet would lose an invaluable asset in the war. Score one for the Resistance. “M’ah sister an’ her friends told us everyth’n. Ah can’t believe you were hide’n under our noses this whole time,” said Applejack.

“We were going to tell you… eventually. Me getting spotted by Applejack and the T-X showing up kinda screwed everything up.” Parker pointed towards Fluttershy, “We went to her first.”

Celestia looked over at the yellow pegasus. “Is this true?”

Fluttershy hesitated, but nodded. “Yes, it’s true. He helped me take care of some of the animals and helped save Mister Quackers from the Everfree Forest. Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

“Air Burst told me Parker saved him from the T-X when he was escaping Canterlot. It’s the reason why he helped him in the first place,” said Twilight.

Princess Celestia looked at Parker, who stared back at her. The look on his face told her that she was worried of her decision. “You’re not gonna send him back to Canterlot, are you?” asked Applebloom.

The Princess shook her head. “Doing that wouldn’t be the proper way of saying thanks for helping to protect Ponyville. The least we can do is let him stay here for a while.”

A smile spread across Parker’s face, though it soon faded as he leaned over the bed and vomited into a bucket at his bedside. “That’s just the anesthetics,” the doctor informed him, “It’s still burning out of your system. I suggest you take some time to rest while you can.”

Parker gave a thumbs’ up, lying back on his pillow. “Got it, doc.”

“I believe we should give him time to rest,” said Rarity.

The doctor nodded in agreement. “That would be best for now, but you’re free to come back and visit him any time you like.”

One by one, the ponies left. The I-950 stared up at the ceiling above. With the T-X destroyed and out of the way, he could finally wind down and relax, not having to worry about a vicious machine hunting him down without end. Though, he still had only one objective remaining: he still needed to search for a way home.

“Alright, Mister Parker,” said the doctor, “Time for your shot.”

The I950 eyed the pony. “My shot…?”

He nearly lost colour when a unicorn nurse trotted into the room, a needle levitated beside her. “Don’t worry. It’ll just take a quick minute,” she said.

The only word Parker came upon when seeing the needle was, “Help…”

Three weeks passed since the T-X’s destructive assault against Ponyville. The memories of the traumatic battle between man and machine were beginning to fade away as the town was being rebuilt. The remains of the deadly machine were dumped out in the Everfree Forest, left to rust at the mercy of the unpredictable elements. For once, since its initial arrival in Equestria, everypony could relax.

Parker was back on his feet, though the doctors still insisted he stay for another few days for observation purposes. They were mainly intrigued with the wires that ran throughout his body, as all I-950s had. After some time, he was finally cleared to leave the hospital.

Grabbing his stuff—all except his weaponry which were still in possession of the Royal Guards—he followed Nurse Redheart out towards the entrance. The other patients watched as he left. He wasn’t concerned about them, but the way they stared was a bit unsettling, to say the least. Soon enough, they reached the front.

“This is it,” said Redheart, “You’re free to go. And sorry about your arm.”

Parker looked down at his amputation. The sleeve had been torn and tied up to prevent it from getting caught on anything. “Not your fault. I’m used to it to crap like this.” He stepped through the double-doors outside.

Immediately, he was greeted with the warm weather on face, accompanied by the beautiful, well-kept scenery surrounding the hospital. Unlike town, this area was untouched by the T-X’s assault. In addition, in front of him stood a trio of small eager fillies he recognized.

“How’re you feeling, Park?” asked Scootaloo.

Like I’ve been viciously amputated? N’ah. “Good, so far,” replied Parker. “I’m just finally glad to be back on my feet after a while. What about you three? I would’ve expected you to at least get in a fair amount of trouble when the others found out you were harboring me.”

“We got a lecture about safety,” said Sweetie Belle, “but we didn’t get into any real trouble. Everypony’s just glad the T-X is finally gone.”

Parker smiled. “That’s good to hear.” He outstretched his arm. “Wow, it feels good to not be a runaway fugitive anymore. But I gotta say: I’ll miss having the Royal Guard hunting me down. It kinda gave me something to do in my spare time. So now that I’m free, what happens now?”

Scootaloo answered, “Simple: We go along with the original plan. There’re still some ponies in town that still don’t entirely trust you yet.”

“Even after all I went through?” Parker’s words were said in a mix of disbelief and sarcasm. “Nice to know they appreciated my help.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not all bad,” said Applebloom, “They’re still perhaps just a little shaken up from that machine. They’ll get over it eventually. But in the meantime, there are still a few ponies in town we want you to meet face-to-face.”

“Alright, I’ll bite.” Parker took a seat over on a nearby bench. “So, who are the ponies I’m gonna be meeting?”

“My sister, Rarity, for one,” said Sweetie Belle, “She had some comments to make about your outfit.”

“You mean my uniform?” Parker examined himself. Spending so much time on the run had worn it out some, and thanks to his life-threatening skirmish with the T-X, it had been dotted with bits of dried mud and dirt. “Okay, point taken. Who else?”

“Rainbow Dash is next on the list,” said Scootaloo.

“Are you still mad from when I told you she was a fraud?”

“No I’m not!” the orange filly defended herself. “I’m way over it.”

“Lie detection says you’re a liar,” said Parker.

Applebloom blinked. “Uh, lie detection…?”

Parker waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. So is Rainbow Dash it, or is there more I have to meet?”

“Well, actually, Twilight wants to have a word with you,” said Scootaloo. “She says she still wants to study your Hacker device.”

A chill went down Parker’s spine. After seeing the device disassembled after the CMC retrieved it, the last thing he wanted was to leave in inexperienced hands, and to him, Twilight was inexperienced as they got. “Are you sure she said my Hacker?”

The pegasus filly nodded. “She never really got a chance to have a look at it, and she asked for your help so she wouldn’t break it.”

The human was hesitant about this, but reluctantly, he nodded. “Alright, fine, I trust you. I’ll play along with whatever you three are getting at.”

Applebloom snickered. “Will you relax? Twilight’s as trustworthy as they get. You’ll see.”

Parker felt a degree of uneasiness as he walked openly through Ponyville. It felt strange, for one, not be hiding out constantly, only coming out at night like he was accustomed to. Also, what made him uneasy were stares from ponies in the area. Many had stopped what they were doing as he passed by, probably expecting him to do something

He looked down at Sweetie Belle who was leading him to wherever Rarity might have been. In contrast to him, she was much more calm and collected, and she didn’t seem to mind the multitude of ponies watching their every move.

“Mind telling me where exactly we’re going?” he asked.

Sweetie Belle answered, “My sister’s Boutique. It’s not too far now.”

“And what exactly did she say about my uniform?”

The unicorn filly stopped, trying to remember her sister’s words. “She said that it was ‘horrid’, and questioned how in Equestria you could go out in the open wearing something like that.”

“Okay, then, I’ll be sure to talk to her about that,” said Parker as they kept on their way to Rarity. They soon arrived at a building which Parker described as a “giant circus tent”.

Sweetie Belle knocked on the door, and soon it was answered by Rarity. The mare looked busy, like she was working on something important. She had glasses on and was wearing a tape ruler around her neck. She noticed Sweetie Belle first before looking at the one-armed human standing behind her.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle, so nice of you two to come,” she said.

“Howdy!” Parker greeted her. “Nice to meet you.”

“Well I’d be rude to not invite either of you in,” she said, motioning them inside. Parker was amazed at how the place looked; neat, tidy, and everything not nailed down was in its place. She must be a neat freak, he thought.

Rarity scrunched her nose when she got close to the human. “My goodness, you smell horrible.”

“Thanks. That’s was really nice of you to say,” Parker said sarcastically. “Remember that I’ve had to wear the same thing for almost two weeks and the only way to wash up was a bucket of water Apple Bloom kept bringing me.”

“How ever did you ever overcome that, Sweetie,” Rarity said to the filly.

Sweetie Belle answered, scratching the back of her head, “Well, we’ve kinda been lending him some of your perfume.”

Rarity looked down at her sister. “Perfume? Quick question, but you didn’t take a blue bottle from my room, did you?”

“You mean the small bottle that had the fancy French letters?” said Sweetie Belle, “Yeah, we did.”

The alabaster unicorn could only do a face-hoof. “That perfume was made from a very well-known designer in Canterlot. It was strictly supposed to be used for extremely special occasions!”

“Our bad!” responded Parker. I’m sure she didn’t mean to. She saw something that would help me smell better and we took it.”

Rarity groaned. Three minutes had passed and she was already regretting her decision to meet the human. But she tried to be subtle, to not be rude. The last thing she wanted was to offend her unusual guest, more so than she did earlier, after she invited him in.

“Okay then,” she said, “I suppose I can try to look the other way.”

“So, was insulting my uniform and talking about how much I smell the only reason why you wanted me to come here?” asked Parker.

Rarity shook her head. “No… Well, actually, you’re uniform was the main reason. I just have no clue how you can stand being dressed in… that.”

“Fighting a war doesn’t necessarily give me enough time to wear something nice.”

The alabaster unicorn levitated a tape measure. “Don’t fret, dear. I’m sure I can make you something ravishing to wear while you’re in town. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

The I-950 looked down at Sweetie Belle. “Is this some kind of punishment for kidnapping Applebloom when we first met? Because if it is, I thought we agreed to put that behind us.”

Rarity quickly and eagerly proceeded to take measures of the human in front of her, wrapping the tape measure around his arms, legs, torso, neck, and head. “Your body structure is very complex. It certainly will be a challenge making something, particularly for you to wear.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Parker stood in the same spot for the next few minutes as the unicorn continued. “How long is this normally supposed to take?”

“I should be done soon,” replied Rarity, “Just be patient.”

Parker contemplated on just walking out and not looking back, but the look on Sweetie Belle's face told him that all he needed to do was wait a bit longer. Soon enough, the unicorn was finished and Parker was finally free to move. He looked around at the mannequins that were, not surprisingly, pony-shaped. “You sure you're gonna be able to make something for me? In case you haven’t realised, I'm not exactly…like you.”

“Don’t worry, Park,” said Sweetie Belle, “She can do it.”

The I950 shrugged. “If you say so. So, what’s next?” At that, a towel was tossed at him.

“Shower. Now,” said Rarity, “Just leave your stuff over on the table there.” She pointed over towards a nearby round table. “The guest shower is upstairs and to the left.”

Without much of a choice, Parker went over; he took off his jacket and T-Shirt, folding them and placing them down. Sweetie Belle watched him, and as he did, she bared witness to a larger number of injuries, aside from his missing arm, that’d settled on him.

She tapped on her sister’s arm. “Uh, Rarity…?”

Rarity turned around to see what Sweetie saw. Parker’s back was littered with scars and bruises that made the two unicorns cringe. He didn’t seem to notice them with his back turned as he took the towel and hiked up the stairs.

Twilight answered a knock on the door to find Parker and Applebloom standing in front of her. “Oh, good, you’re here,” she said to the human.

“Yep,” Parker said, “I’m here.” He almost seemed like he did not want to be here.

The unicorn smiled. “I’d really like a chance to study your device some more. Maybe with you here, I can get a better glimpse at what makes it work.”

Reluctant, Parker reached into his pouch and pulled out his Hacker. He managed to repair it before the T-X attacked, which only added to the slight anxiety. As he handed it over to her, he couldn’t help but ask a very important question: “You’re not gonna break it, are you?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” said Parker, “but when Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stole it back from you, the thing was in pieces. I’m just worried you’ll end up breaking it.”

Twilight reassured him, wanting to gain his trust. “I know I was inexperienced the first time I had it, but I can assure you, I know what I’m doing now.”

Lie detection: 22%...

The I-950 sighed, mumbling, “I’m scared,” under his breath.

“Didn’t I tell you to relax?” said Applebloom. “I told you before, Twilight’s one of the most trustworthy ponies I’ve ever met. Your Hacker is in good hooves!”

Parker looked down at the filly. “I don’t believe you. I sure as hell cannot take your word for it, but I guess I have no choice. Might as well get it over with.”

“That’s the spirit!” Applebloom gave a bright smile. “Anyway, see y’all later. I gotta head back home before it gets too late.”

“Okay,” said Twilight, “See you later.”

The Hacker lay in pieces once again on the table. Parker disassembled it, removing everything he thought was important for the unicorn to know about. “This the memory card.” He held up a small computer chip. “It lets me store important data on it: schematics, battle plans from Skynet, pretty much anything I want. The stuff I can store on here is practically endless.”

“How’d you build it?” asked Twilight.

“I came across a downed Hunter-Killer in the ruins. Took out the main components and put them back together in a new device.” He started putting it back together. “In all, building this small thing took me almost a year, dealing with glitches and all that. But it was worth it, seeing as I can hold all of Skynet’s secrets right on my wrist.”

“Do you mind telling me who Skynet is? Or why she caused the war?” the unicorn asked.

“Basically, she’s an A.I.,” Parker explained. “She’s an Artificial Intelligence created by Humanity. Of course, things went wrong during her creation and in the end, she sparked a full-scale war against us.”

Once putting his Hacker back together, Parker tapped on the screen, bringing the device to life. Twilight used her magic to place it back on his wrist. “Thanks.”

“That stuff that covered the T-X,” Twilight said.

“That stuff is liquid metal,” Parker interrupted. “It’s able to disguise itself as anyone it touches. Not as stealthy as a T-1000, but still deadly, as you realize. The metal is manipulated by thousands of nanomachines that work unified under a single CPU signal.”

“Meaning…?”

“They’re basically like a swarm of insects. A hivemind,” Parker said. He stood up from the chair and walked around, stretching his legs. The chairs in this world were way too small for him.

His first thoughts were that the unicorn in front of him would end up destroying eleven months of hard and tedious work, but he was proven wrong, even though he wouldn’t admit it. “I guess that was all you needed to know, right?”

“That’s right,” the unicorn said. She yawned and looked over at a clock on the wall. “Wow, it’s getting late. You’re welcome to stay here, if you want.” Twilight started to descend the stairs towards her room. “Goodnight!”

Parker waved goodnight to the unicorn, and soon after, he heard a door close. Now he was left standing in the middle of the library. He looked around him and before long, came to a realisation: “I have no place to sleep. No place, at all.”

The T-X’s metallic armour was beginning to show signs of rust. Underneath the vegetation that blocked it from the moonlight, the motionless machine simply lay there, expecting to be forgotten.

It stayed this way, until now.

“Yeah, this is where they left it.” The figure pushed away the leaves that blocked the sight of the “dead” machine. The liquid metal was dripping from underneath its casing. He dipped his hoof in the stuff. It was still cold, but he knew he wasn’t water. It had to be something else.

“What is it?” asked the creature next to him.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” he said. He saw what it was capable of. Obviously whatever this thing was, even if it did looked broken and worn out after the guards brought it here, it would have some value. “I think we may have some use for this. Help me carry it back.”

Putting the T-X on a cart, they hauled off into the night.

Prelude

Away From the War; Away From Machines

“Our destiny was never to stop Judgment Day; it was merely to survive it.”

—John Connor, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

‘Prelude’

2039 A.D.

Anchorage, Alaska

Following the map on his Heads-Up Display, Parker made his way through much of the heavy machinery that made up the Skynet Work Camp. He stuck to the shadows to avoid the spotlights from the HKs hovering above, and hid behind a pillar as a T-70 patrol approached. These models were, by definition… primitive, but their chain gun arms could cause devastating damage to humans, especially since being outfitted with the latest plasma weaponry.

Lowering his body temperature, he waited until the machine passed. Once they were gone, he continued until reaching a large complex in the distance, near the center of the camp. The inside was as all Skynet bases looked. Lights reflected off the stainless metallic walls which held holographic screens showing the conditions of every man, woman, and child held prisoner within the camp. He hated leaving them behind, but he would make a plea to Resistance Command to come back for them later.

He looked around the room and noticed a computer terminal nearby. He went over and plugged in a cord from his GPS/Hacker. Almost immediately, various diagrams appeared on an azure background. He moved them around in his attempt to hack into the building’s systems, which didn’t take him long, and soon the words ‘INTERNAL DEFENSES OFFLINE’ flashed on the azure-blue screen.

Angel? You there? I brought down the defenses. Getting to the basement should be easier now. How’s it going on your end?

…Found those plans for the new Hunter-Killer models. Skynet won’t have to worry about making them anymore…

Parker smiled. Perfect. Everything’s going as we planned, then. Next stop: the time machine.

…Race you to it…

Communications between individual I-950 units were done telepathically, with the CPU in their brains acting as conduits. These two units in particular were tasked with sabotaging the base in hopes of hindering Skynet’s army. Plugging his Hacker from the terminal, Parker continued further into the facility. He aimed his plasma rifle in every possible direction in the case that he ran into machines or Luddite mercenaries employed by Skynet.

A set of red dots appeared on his HUD, coming from the right. He pressed himself against the wall and moved alongside it until reaching the end, where a small trio of aerostats zoomed by. Once they gone, he headed down the adjacent hallway before eventually arriving at an elevator, which he took down to the underground levels. It opened, bringing him to Basement Level 7. The corridors were dimply lit; in his scan vision, he noticed several heavy plasma turrets hanging from the ceiling, set up there to mow down any intruder that made the mistake of coming down here. It made him relieved that he managed to disable them beforehand.

Following the map, the sound of his footsteps being the only audible thing he could hear, Parker started down the corridor. He reached an intersection further down and took a left, paying attention to two blue dots on his radar. He eventually ended up in front of a large vault-like door where two more Resistance soldiers stood.

One of the soldiers, Angel, the explosives expert in this mission, walked up. “About time you showed up. I was starting to think you’d pulled out—or worse, got captured by Skynet.”

“You know that won’t happen,” said Parker. “As long as the hidden channel I made is still up, she couldn’t track us even if she tried.” He walked past his I-950 brother to the other soldier standing behind him. This one stood tall over both of them and was staring off into space with emptiness in his eyes. “How’s it going, Sparky? Are your internal systems functioning?”

“Affirmative… All combat functions fully operational.”

“Have you been experiencing any glitches in your hard drive? Don’t lie to me.”

“Negative…”

Angel couldn’t help but laugh at his comrade’s expressionless features. “Triple Eights… Next thing we’ll have to do is mold a personality in this shell. Make him a bit more human, don’t you think.”

Parker nodded in acknowledgment before turning his attention to the door. Green crosshairs appeared on his Hacker, positioning his objective on the other side.

“Door’s locked,” said Angel. “Think you can hack it?”

“You aren’t giving me enough credit. Just watch me back and we’ll be in before you know it.” Kept cover by Angel and Sparky, Parker got to work, making his attempt to hack the door. He moved and rearranged many diagrams that appeared before him on the small screen, only for two more to appear in their place. Hacking into Skynet was always tedious work and required lots of focus, even for the most experienced operatives, but this was taking much longer than they intended.

“What the hell’s taking you?” asked Angel, his G36 still aimed in front of him.

Parker groaned after yet another failed attempt at hacking the vault. “I can’t get it open. I think Skynet started changing everything.”

“What do you mean by that?”

There was no response, as the hacker continued his work. “Sparky, could you explain please?”

“Internal transponder reads that Skynet is aware of intruders in this facility and has placed all units within a five-hundred mile radius on alert.”

Angel deadpanned. “You gotta be kidding me. Are you telling me she’s tracking us?”

The T-888 stayed silent for a moment before responding, “Negative. Scans show no enemy unit converging on our position.”

A loud click emitted through the hall, echoing through the emptiness of the basement. Parker was visibly happy, mentally patting himself on the back. “Ha! Yes! We’re in!”

He stood back next to his comrades as the door unlocked itself and slowly opened. Expecting to be met with a horde of FKs and Terminators, they were instead met with an empty chamber the size of a high school gymnasium. The time machine was located in the center—a large hole with three chrome rings suspended inside, suspended by a magnetic field.

Angel walked forward, his scan vision active in case hostiles were hiding in the shadows. There was no one—no Terminators; no FKs; not even a squad of Luddite mercenaries was present. “Okay, this is eerie. I got the strangest feeling we’re being invited in.”

“Skynet’s loss if she leaves her stuff unguarded,” said Parker. “Just gives us enough time to do what we need to do and get the hell out.”

Acknowledging those words, Angel got to work. He went around the perimeter of the chamber, setting numerous C17 explosives on what he considered weak points in the structure. The force from these small charges would be enough to level half the basement level two times over.

Parker, meanwhile, was standing guard near the entrance with Sparky when he noticed a second terminal next to the time machine. Curious, he went over and plugged in his Hacker, and instantly, the screen was filled with all sorts of diagrams and information, much more than he ever thought.

This is impressive. I hate to say it, but Skynet’s really outdone herself. “Hey, Angel, check this out Skynet’s actually found a way to send non-organic material through time without it disintegrating. Looks like tests were done on old containers with positive results.”

Despite hating Skynet to his core, Angel could not help but be impressed with his “mother’s” advancement. It reminded him of when she almost mastered teleportation. “It just makes destroying this thing that much of a priority.” With every ounce of his concentration, Angel set the last explosive charge and activated it. “Okay, all set.”

He made his way back over to the others. “I’ll blow the charges once we’re far enough from the base, but we’ll need to move now if we don’t wanna get caught. That’ll give us a straight shot at a clean getaway.”

Parker nodded. “Then I guess we better move.”

They turned to leave but saw their path blocked by a single machine. Sapphire-blue lights dimly reflected off its chrome armor as it analyzed its newfound targets. Angel quickly aimed his weapon at the machine.

“I thought you said there was no one down here, Sparky.”

Analysing… Subject: Unknown android… Action: Evade…

“Unit reveals no presence within database. Recommended action would be to evade and continue with objectives.”

“Then what the hell is it? I’ve never seen anything like it—”

“It’s a T-X,” said Parker, the fear all too present in his voice. He inched himself away, a bad sign for the normally optimistic I-950. “Skynet showed it to me during production. It’s a high-level model designed and perfected specifically for search-and-destroy missions.”

Angel looked over at him. “In other words…?”

“We’re screwed.”

The T-X arm deconstructed and transformed into a plasma cannon. Parker and Angel moved out of the way at the last moment before it fired, but Sparky had been hit directly, flying back across the chamber upon impact. Angel aimed his G36 and fired, the weapon’s armour-piercing rounds bouncing harmlessly off the machine’s metallic casing. He took cover behind some crates, as did Parker, as the T-X kept them pinned with a barrage from its onboard plasma turret.

Parker peered from out of cover to see Sparky lying on the ground nearby, a smoldering hold in his stomach. Using his scan vision, he diagnosed the amount of damage the T-888 had received from the plasma shot. “He looks bad. I mean real bad.”

“Is he dead?” asked Angel.

“No, but two of his hydrogen cells took most of the damage. We need to get him back to Arcadia for repairs.”

They ducked as hailstorms of plasma flew over their heads. “And how the hell do you suppose we do that without getting killed?”

Suddenly an idea surfaced in Parker’s head. A very unwanted idea: “I’ll distract it while you get Sparky out of here.”

“Are you crazy? That thing will tear you to pieces!”

“It’s the only plan we’ve got at the moment. Besides, I’m faster. It’ll have a harder time trying to kill me while you two get away. C’mon, Angel, one I-950 dead is better than two.”

“I’m not going through with it—”

“Then if you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it!”

Silence set upon the two I-950s, as the T-X was still relentless with its attack. Angel tried to think of something—anything—he could use to talk his brother of the suicidal move. Reluctantly, however, unable to come up with anything, he agreed. “Fine…” He handed over the detonator. “Blow the charges once you’re sure we’re away. And you better be right behind me, too. I rather not tell the others you died trying to be a hero.”

Parker placed the detonator in his pocket and moved to the edge of cover, waiting a bit before heading out. He sprayed shots at the T-X, grabbing its attention, before quickly sprinting around the chamber. He dodged and avoided the barrage of plasma flying towards him before taking cover again. He reached into his backpack, taking out a magazine, which he promptly packed into his rifle.

Taking a look from cover, he saw as the T-X began to turn its attention to Angel as he carried a heavily damaged Sparky away from the chamber. It aimed its plasma cannon at them but was tackled to the ground before it had a chance to fire.

“Hurry up, Angel!” Parker yelled. The T-X writhed violently underneath him, hissing and growling as it desperately tried to escape. “I can’t hold this thing down forever!” He suddenly felt it grab him by the scruff of his neck and throw him off, making the I-950 smash into the terminal. ‘MALFUNCTION’ read across the screen as the time machine went active.

“Park!” Angel called over upon seeing his brother in danger. “You can’t fight it. You need to get out of there!”

Nevertheless, Parker waived him off. “I told you I got this. You just get out of here!” He grasped the detonator in his hand; flipped the switch and pulled the trigger in the front. Fireballs erupted from explosives placed around the chamber, and soon the area was engulfed in a blazing inferno. Debris fell from the ceiling, blocking off the entrance, and Angel was forced to flee, knowing he couldn’t do anything from where his position.

Parker stood and stared in utter disbelief at Skynet’s newest war machine. He always doubted the A.I.’s ability to put it together, with what little resources she left in her possession, and yet here it was, ready to assassinate him, his brothers and sisters, and possibly John Connor like so many others before were tasked with. Wiping some of the grime from his face, he took aim as the T-X charged at him, its right hand turning into a power saw. He squeezed the trigger, sending streams of plasma towards it, but missed. The machine grabbed hold of him, but he grabbed its arm before it had a chance to bring the power saw down on his head.

Blue electricity rose from out of the time machine as explosions continued to rip throughout the chamber. It surrounded the two of them, and in a bright flash of light, they disappeared.

The moon that illuminated the sky was blocked out by a sudden cloud formation. These clouds were as black as the night and had strange silver-blue linings underneath, running possibly for miles. An abrupt flash of lightning awoke Twilight Sparkle from her sleep. She sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes, and looked out the window just as another bolt of lightning flashed, making her jump slightly. What was weird about this “storm” that she noticed was that the weather pegasi had never scheduled for it to be late night. And where was the rain?

As she took all of this into question, a strange noise began to fill the library. It shook the purple unicorn to her bones. She hopped out of bed and tip-hoofed over to Spike’s basket, shaking the baby dragon gently. “Spike? Wake up. Do you hear that?”

Spike rose from his basket, rubbing his eye. “Hear what?”

At that moment, the noise grew louder. “…That…” Lights around the library began flickering uncontrollably as the noise grew louder and died down, repeating this process without end. It sounded much like heavy wind blowing over an open field.

“What’s happening?” asked Spike.

The two of them made their way downstairs. The library started to shake as if going through a violent earthquake. Books fell from their places on the shelves, scattering across the floor. Twilight and Spike opened the door and headed into the night. The rest of the town was awake and investigating the strange occurrence that was taking place around them. They saw their friends gathering and made their way through the crowd towards them.

“You guys know what’s going on? I can see this all over Ponyville from my house,” said Rainbow Dash, hovering over the rest.

“I woke up and all my animal friends were going crazy,” said Fluttershy. The thoughts of her pets acting the way they did terrified her.

“My Opalescence was swiping her claws at the air as if she’d lost her mind,” Rarity stated.

Just at that moment, Pinkie Pie pointed in the distance. “Everypony! Look!”

Those who heard her turned their attention to where she was pointing. Behind the royal castle, the strange, silver-blue lightning was converging on one spot, growing unstable before a large fireball erupted from the darkened sky. It sailed through the air like a speeding bullet, a huge column of smoke trailing behind it, before crashing in the Everfree Forest. As the initial shock wore off, a second fireball appeared; however, unlike the last, this one smashed through the royal castle before going on a collision course towards Ponyville.

“What in tarnation…?” Applejack stated, her eyes growing wide at the object of destruction heading right for them. “Everypony! Run! Quick!”

The ponies in the area scattered, fearing that the fireball would hit them. Instead, it landed in the streets behind the buildings, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. When arriving at the site, the ponies were greeted with nothing but utter carnage. The Ponyville marketplace—it’d been completely devastated. Many of the kiosks were reduced to rubble, including Applejack’s apple stand, and much of the stores that surrounded the area were heavily damaged, some to the point collapse.

“What do you think caused all this?” asked Applejack.

Twilight replied, “I’m not sure.” She looked over at the castle, a massive column of smoke rising from where it had been struck. “But whatever it was, it must have been enormous.”

Full body diagnostics… No skull fracture… No major injuries… Minimal minor injuries… Pain suppressed…

Parker sat up and spat some blood from his mouth, rubbing the back of his head. Despite having the pain in his body suppressed, he felt like passing out. He staggered to his feet and looked around. He found himself in an alley, between two buildings. They were probably stores. It was night. The sky wasn’t choked with smoke and debris, and the structures that surrounded him weren’t destroyed by decades of brutal warfare.

“Did I… really go back in time?”

Pinpointing… Error… Location and time zone undetermined…

“What? Undetermined? What do you mean undetermined? It’s obvious I went back. Anchorage hasn’t been destroyed yet. At least, I think I’m still in Anchorage. There has to be a map around here somewhere.” His thoughts were broken by the sound of voices coming from out of the alley. It had to be more humans, and it sounded like a lot of them. He wondered what they would say about a soldier from the future—one that came back in time after fighting an army of genocidal machines.

He moved towards the corner and peered around. To his surprise, upon checking who it was, the voices didn’t come from any humans.

Scanning… Subject: Unknown life forms…

“They ponies, no taller than horses. But from what Skynet taught me, animals aren’t supposed to be capable of speech.” Using his optical implants, he zoomed in and saw that some of them had wings and horns. “Unicorns and pegasi; but those shouldn’t even exist. Something is definitely wrong here.”

Scanning… Subject: Unknown life forms… Terminate at discretion…

Parker snorted at his HUD’s suggested action. “Figures Skynet would choose termination as a first resort. As far as I know, she doesn’t control me anymore. I need to figure this out myself.” He used the time he had to think. “Okay, first thing I should do is avoid being spotted. Then—”

“It leads over here! Let’s check it out!” One of the ponies yelled from out of the alley. The human could hear them approaching his position.

“And that’s my cue to leave.” Grabbing his plasma rifle, he headed out the other side avoid the oncoming crowd. He silently moved down the street until coming across the destruction the ponies had been gawking at. The fires had died down by now, becoming nothing more than embers fluttering freely in the light breeze.

“Did I do this?”

Scanning… Residue detected from time displacement sphere…

“Locals aren’t gonna be happy that I did this. I better get out of time and lay low until this whole thing blows over.” He brought up his HUD map hoping for it to show directions, only for a large question mark to appear instead. “But… where am I?”

After wandering the area for nearly a half-hour, Parker eventually came across an apple orchard just outside of town. It was still too close for comfort, seeing as the commotion caused from the time displacement sphere had yet to die down, but he needed a place to rest for the night, and chose to leave before dawn to keep from being spotted.

Upon traversing through the orchard, and eating some of the apples along the way, he eventually came across a small tree house. It was well-built; looked study, and hopefully strong enough to hold him. He climbed up the wooden plank and took refuge inside. The inside was full of children’s toys, a telescope, and a map with the word, ‘PONYVILLE’ scribbled across the top. That must’ve been the town he was just in. Most of the locations on the map had been X’d out.

He took a seat against the wall, setting his hat and goggles, along with his plasma rifle, on the table next to him. “Alright. Sleep here, wake up, and then the hell out of here without drawing attention to myself. That shouldn’t be so hard, right?”

He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, known throughout Ponville as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, cantered through Sweet Apple Acres towards their clubhouse. They planned on yet another montage of stunts aimed at discovering their special talents so they could earn their cutie marks. They were sure to get it this time.

Of course, Sweetie Belle, however, did side against one idea. “Last time we did that, Scootaloo, we ended up covering the entire class in tree sap.”

A nervous smile came upon the pegasus filly’s face. “Oh come on, you two. What’re the chances of that happening again?”

“Very likely if we try,” Sweetie Belle rebutted.

“Ah have ta agree with her, Scoots,” said Applebloom. “It jus’ ain’t worth it.”

They climbed into their clubhouse, and the moment they entered, they were greeted to the sight of something else sitting inside. It was taller than anything else they had seen and donned a tattered and dirty uniform. It had arms and legs like Spike, though it wasn’t a dragon. They deduced that it was a tall, hairless monkey, aside from the small patch of fur on its head. One thing that drew their attention was the strange gizmo strapped around its wrist.

“What do you think it is?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Applebloom prodded the creature in its leg with her hoof, reeling it back when the creature’s leg suddenly twitched. “Ah have no idea. It’s not like anyth’n Ah’ve ever seen. Maybe—”

“Hey…” Scootaloo bought their attention, “I think it’s waking up.”

The creature groaned, rubbing its eyes, giving a big sigh of exhaustion. He had never woken up this early since the day of his defection from Skynet. The fillies watched with a mix of curiosity and slight fear as it looked around the tree house. Pretty soon, it’s turned to them. They shared a moment of silence, neither one saying anything, until one word escaped his mouth:

“…Shit…”

Ch. 1: "Welcome to Equestria"

Ch.1: ‘Welcome to Equestria’

Repairs were being made to parts of the castle that had been struck by the fireball; it was obvious to everypony, however, that it would take some time before everything was completely restored. The damages to the magnificent structure were significant, much more than they expected. Princess Celestia oversaw the effort, watching as the various construction ponies continued their work, removing any debris they deemed hazardous.

Her mind drifted to whatever terrifying creature had arrived in the kingdom. She thought about how much havoc they would create now that they were here, how much destruction. Nevertheless, she tried her best to ignore it; pushed the unwanted thought to the back of her mind. She needed to stay strong for her little ponies.

“How goes the construction, sister?” Luna, Princess of the Night, approached Celestia.

“Well,” replied the Sun Princess. Though she tried to seem nonchalant, it was all too obvious in her eyes that she was worried.

Luna followed her sister down the halls of the castle, ponies bowing their heads as their leaders passed by, eventually reaching Celestia’s room. After closing the door and ensuring there would be no eavesdroppers, Celestia spoke to Luna, “Ponies say they saw two fireballs appear from the sky.”

Luna deadpanned. “Two?” There was a ting of shock in her voice.

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so. I’m landed somewhere in the Everfree Forest. The other—the one that caused all of this—crash-landed in Ponyville.”

“So, we have two aliens to worry about.” Luna was growing evermore frustrated at the current situation they were facing, seeing as Equestria was just invaded by forces unknown. If it was anything like the Changling Invasion that occurred just a few months ago, another like it would throw the entire kingdom into a state of lawlessness.

“I’ve already sent the Royal Guard to investigate,” said Celestia, staring out the window. “They should be report back to us in—”

“Princess!” A single pegasus Royal Guard barged into the room. “Shining Armour and his squad have found one of the aliens!”

Celestia’s heart skipped a beat at this news. “Where are they?”

“There’re in Sweet Apple Acres,” replied the Guard;” just outside a town called Ponyville. The alien’s taken a foal hostage!”

This news came as a shock to both Princesses. Celestia eyed the Royal Guard to see if he was telling the truth, though the expression he bared told her that he was serious. It took her entire being to keep her anger suppressed as she asked, “Who does he have with him?”

Never in Applebloom’s life would she see herself in this sort of situation: foalnapped by a very dangerous alien who was being pursued through her family’s orchard. She had closed her eyes multiple times, hoping to wake up in her bed and say it was all just a dream, but each time she opened them, she would find herself in the alien’s arm as he ran from the Royal Guards. It became apparent that she must was in danger.

The orchard was structured like a maze to Parker. Without the aid of his HUD map, navigation through the area would prove to be a difficult feat for him. He looked over his shoulder to see a group of ponies giving chase. All except seven had armour—either shining gold or dark violet—and they were all led by a single unicorn stallion donned in brilliant violet armour.

Turning his attention back to the front, Parker saw he was quickly running towards a tree and came to an abrupt stop. He turned around to see the ponies surround him, some armed with spears and crossbows which were levitated at their sides. Unholstering his plasma pistol, he backed away until his back was firmly pressed against the tree.

Scanning… Multiple hostiles identified… Total hostile count: 29… Defensive protocols permissible…

I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

“That’s enough running, alien!” the unicorn stallion proclaimed.

Parker chuckled. “Why? Running out of steam already?” He could see some of the guards were physically exhausted. “And just who the hell are you supposed to be anyway?”

“If you must know, my name is Shining Armour, Captain of the Royal Guard,” he said with pride; “and by order of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, you’re under arrest.”

Two earth ponies, an orange mare donning a Stetson hat and red stallion with a work harness, stepped out from the crowd. “Applejack! Big Macintosh!” Apple Bloom called out with delight.

Parker glanced down at the cream-yellow filly in regret. Brother and sister? She has a family? Great, now I feel guilty. That’s the last thing I need at a time like this.

“Listen up, alien!” Applejack declared with fury in her voice. She looked ready to charge at him, as did Big Macintosh, and they would have if it wasn’t for the weapon currently in Parker’s hand. “You’re gonna let m’ah sister go, right now!”

“You’re surrounded,” said Shining. “Just drop your weapons and surrender peacefully.”

A brief silence followed in the ensuing standoff. Parke tightened his grip around his plasma pistol in case any of the ponies tried to attack preemptively. He glanced at the Royal Guards, and then to Applejack and Big Macintosh, before turning his gaze to Apple Bloom. The filly was returning a stare with forlorn in her eyes.

After much thinking, and planning, Parker responded, “It looks like I have my back against the wall. Literally. I guess you win.”

“That was easy,” said Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. “Almost too easy.”

The guards slowly approached Parker, a pair of cuff and chains magically levitating in front of them, when Parker suddenly said, “I’ll go with you, but only if you can catch me.” In that statement, he ran behind the tree and gave it a push. Almost effortlessly, he uprooted the tree from the ground; it fell down towards the ponies, who moved to avoid being crushed.

In the momentary chaos, Parker took his chance to escape. Twirling her lasso, Applejack tossed it around the human’s waist and pulled. It failed to budge him, and instead, she was pulled across the grass. She slammed her rear against the ground in effort to slow him down, but to no avail.

“I’m gonna need some help here, Big Mac!” she called over to her brother. Big Mac threw his own lasso around Parker. It ended in the same result, with him being dragged across the ground, too. Parker pumped more adrenaline into his system as he sprinted, and eventually, the ropes freed themselves from the farm ponies’ mouths.

After running a distance, the I-950 hid in the underbrush, covering Applebloom’s mouth to keep her from making a sound. He looked through the leaves with his scan vision to see a small group of Royal Guards arrive on the scene and begin searching the area.

“Where is he?” asked one of them.

“He’s around here somewhere. Split up and find him.” Their orders given, the Royal Guard ponies dispersed. Parker sighed in relief as they left the area. Now he could think of a plan of action without interruptions. He tried to keep his grip on Applebloom as the filly struggled to escape. He did have a hard time keeping her still, seeing as he had to keep his grip light to keep from crushing the young foal to a bloody pulp.

“Will you keep still already?” She broke free and tried to run, calling to anypony that could hear her voice, before Parker grabbed her again. “That’s enough out of you,” he said, covering her mouth; right before he withdrew his hand in pain after she bit him. Oh, she’s gonna pay for that later. Right now, I just gotta keep her from escaping.

Recommended action: Undetermined… Seek reinforcements…

Great, the one time you don’t know what to do. This is so fucking perfect!

Apple Bloom glared up at her captor, a deep glare in her eyes. “If you hurt me, m’ah brother an’ sister’ll—” She was silenced when Parker covered her mouth again, positioning his hand to avoid being bit a second time.

“Alright, kid, listen. If I wanted to hurt you, don’t you think I would’ve done that by now instead of taking you with me? As far as I’m concerned, you’re my only ticket out of here without being imprisoned—or possibly experimented on.”

Apple Bloom shook her head out of his hand. “Even if you do get away, you’ll still have the Royal Guard search’n for you all over Equestria.”

Equestria… Well at least I know where the hell I am. “And how does that affect me? I’ve spent the last three years being chased throughout my home by a certain entity that wants my head. If I’m able to survive that long in a hostile environment, I’m sure I can avoid a few armoured ponies with spears.”

After checking if the coast was clear, Parker continued further into the orchard.

Day had eventually turned to night by the time the I-950 had found a spot where he and Apple Bloom were able to hideout. Having tied the filly up with the ropes Applejack and Big Macintosh tried to subdue him with, he set her down without the fear of her trying to run away. He started to make a fire from some of the branches on the trees and plucked some for him and the pony to eat.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea, but we’ll rest here before heading out again. Hopefully we’ll find a way out without being spotted.” He set some of the apples in front of Apple Bloom. He caught a glimpse of her and noticed a tear falling from her eye. Was she crying? “No, please don’t be sad. I’m still getting used to normal human emotions, and so far this guilt thing seems to be my least favourite.”

Applebloom just continued to stare down at the grass, forlorn. “You foalnapped me, and you’re keep’n me away from m’ah friends and family. What’s not to be sad about?”

“You… could be dead?” replied Parker, unsure of what to say. His words earned a glare from the disgruntled pony. Okay, bad choice of words. Let me try something else. He walked over to the filly and kneeled down in front of her. He was never good with delivering words of comfort, but he figured now was as good a time as any to learn.

“Listen, you have no idea how lucky you have it; not about the kid… er, foalnapping. I mean, look at what you got: a family that’s worried for you, nice friends, and a home that doesn’t look like it’s been touched by conflict its whole existence. Believe me, you cannot get this stuff where I’m from, not since Skynet started the war.”

Applebloom’s glare began to soften. “You keep mention’n this stuff. What do you mean by it?”

“I can’t say I wanna tell you. Just saying some words. Judging by your age, I don’t think you’d be able to completely understand.” He moved the apples closer towards the earth pony filly. “Suggest eat up and get some rest while you still can. We’re moving out first thing in the morning.”

With that, Parker went over and sat by one of the trees. Nothing else was said between the two of them, leaving Applebloom to take bites out of the apples in front of her right before drifting to sleep. Parker glanced at her before looking back up towards the sky. The moon was out in the open, and for the first time in his life, it wasn’t obscured by smoke and debris.

If that’s the moon, he thought, I’m eager to see what the sun looks like.

The night passed; Applejack and Big Macintosh eventually met up with the girls, as well as two Royal Guards. The orange mare looked exhausted, having been up half the night helping with the search, looking high and low for the alien and her younger sister. “You girls find ‘em yet?” she asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No. Not even a trace.”

“I’ve flown for miles over this orchard and haven’t found any sign of them,” said Rainbow Dash.

“I’m sorry, AJ,” said Twilight, “but I’m beginning to doubt they’re still even in the orchard.”

Applejack was growing frantic over the ill-fated search. “No! They gotta be! Ah jus’ know it. We have ta keep look’n. Ya’ll go an’ check over near the east; me and Big Mac’ll go west. Hopefully we’ll find someth’n that’ll lead us to ‘em.”

With a nod, they went their separate ways. Behind a nearby tree, however, Parker peered from behind the bark to see them galloping away from the area. “Alright, they’re gone. We can keep going.” He removed a hand from over Apple Bloom’s mouth.

“Ya don’t have ta keep do’n that all the time,” the filly protested. Obviously, she was growing annoyed over the seemingly routine occurrence.

“You got a big mouth,” Parker replied, “so yes I do. Look, I told you I’d let you go if you showed me a way out of here. You do know where you’re going, right?”

“This is m’ah family’s farm, so yes. Jus’ keep go’n straight an’ you’ll reach m’ah house. You’ll drop me off there, right?”

“…If there are no ponies around. I rather avoid another incident like the one we’re in now.”

Apple Bloom looked at him. “Then why’d ya do it?”

“I destroyed part of your city, and your castle! Not exactly something anyone would be happy to let happen to them. I’m just glad I didn’t kill anyone; then this situation would have been worse.” Parker followed Applebloom’s direction through the orchard, careful not to run into any Royal Guard.

He soon came across two of them—a Celestial guard and the other a Lunar Guard—searching the area for any sign that could lead them to his location. Covering Applebloom’s mouth again, much to her annoyance, he waited for them to leave.

“Found anything yet?” asked the Celestial Guard.

The Lunar Guard, who had been looking through a bush, shook his head. “No, and I don’t think we ever will. They might not even be here anymore.”

“This is pretty big; probably stretches for miles. I doubt he found a way out overnight.”

“He has a whole bunch of devices with him to help him out. He can probably call a UFO to pick him up!”

The Celestial Guard laughed. “You read way too many comic books. They’re starting to mess with your head.”

Nice to know they’re talking about me, Parker thought. Maybe I can find another route that can take me behind them. He stepped carefully through the underbrush to avoid the two ponies blocking his path. Suddenly, a crack echoed. He looked down to see that he had stepped on a twig. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”

He and Apple Bloom looked to see the two Royal Guards staring at them, looks of utter disblief etched across their faces. An uneasy feeling lingered, both sides waiting for the other to make the first move, when the Lunar Guard suddenly yelled out: “We found him! Everypony, he’s here! He’s—”

Parker delivered a hard punch at the guard’s as he passed by. The strike had caused the pony’s helmet to fly off, a huge dent being put in the side. “Ah, shit! Really hope that didn’t kill him!”

The chase renewed itself with Parker on the run once again. Following Apple Bloom’s directions, he made his way through the trees before eventually approaching an opening. He could see a farm house in the distance. That must have been her home. This was perfect; his ticket to freedom. Once he was out of the orchard, he would negotiate for amnesty in return for giving them the filly.

His dreams were shattered when three unicorn guards appeared at the entrance, spears being levitated in front of them. Parker stopped, seeing his path blocked. Those spears could easily pierce his body since he wasn’t a machine. He looked behind to see the ponies closing in on him. They took one step forward, and Parker fired a shot from his plasma pistol.

“Nobody move! Understood?”

They found themselves at a standoff. Parker knew they couldn’t attack at close range without being hit by his weaponry, nor could they attack from a distance without the risk of hitting Apple Bloom. “I don’t want any trouble. Just give me a clean shot at the exit and we can all go home happy.”

“Fat chance, alien,” said Rainbow Dash. “After what you’ve caused, there’s no way we’re letting you get away.”

“Let’s not forget that I’m the one holding all the cards. You can’t attack me without putting this one…” He mentioned Apple Bloom, “in danger.” His inched himself towards the entrance, his sights constantly shifting between the ponies led by Shining Armour and the unicorn guards behind him.

Scanning… Multiple hostiles identified… Error… Hostile count down by one… Previous count: 29…

Upon seeing his HUD’s report, Parker did a quick head count of the ponies and saw that one of them was indeed missing. “What happened to the red pony?”

No one answered, except there being a smug look on Applejack’s face. Parker soon heard hooves pounding against the ground and turned to see Big Macintosh charging towards him at full-speed. The last thing he saw before being knocked unconscious was a pair of hooves driven towards his face.

Pain. That was all he could feel after constantly slipping in and out of consciousness. Much of the pain was centered on the side of his head after that red pony—Big Macintosh—kicked him. His CPU was probably damaged, though he didn’t feel any significant effects in his brain, aside from most of his senses being temporarily shot. It reminded him of the first time he ever experienced a hangover. He made a mental note never to drink alcohol again.

Faded voices could be heard, ringing in his head like alarm bells. He opened his eyes and saw that he was being dragged across a stone ground. At that moment, he realised he was being dragged across a town in broad daylight like a prize. He raised his head to see a large crowd of ponies—all of them unicorns—gathered en masse, clearing a way as he was taken to the royal castle.

“See that?” the voice from one of the guards echoed in Parker head. He was so disoriented that he absent-mindedly raised his head high enough to see a gaping hole that’d been put through the castle wall. “You caused it.”

That hole was the last thing the human saw before going unconscious again. After what seemed like hours he woke up, this time in what seemed like a cell. He staggered to his feet, and saw the front of his cell was lacking any bars to keep him separated from the outside, instead being replaced by a weird faded purple barrier.

He walked up to the barrier and placed his hand on it. The sensation was incredible… very indescribable. Balling his fist, he threw a hard punch at it, sending ripples across the barrier, but failing to actually break through.

“You can try to escape all you want, but it won’t do you any good.” The voice was eerily familiar. Shining Armour appeared, accompanied by a trio of Royal Guards.

Parker raised his eyebrow. “Wanna bet?”

“We saw what you were capable of back in Sweet Apple Acres,” the unicorn said, “so we took precautions. Your cell’s been charmed with five layers of magic. Not even a Manticore is strong enough break is able to break through.”

So they have Manticores in this world. Why am I not surprised? “There’s one problem with your theory, pal: I’m not a Manticore.”

“Nevertheless, you’re coming with us to be interrogated.”

“And what if I say no?”

At that moment, spears and crossbows levitated into view, all aimed at Parker. The I-950 saw he had nowhere to go, and ended up glaring at the ponies. After placing magical restraints on his wrist, Shining and his guards led him out of the dungeon.

Reboot complete… Status: Online…

Deep within the depths of the Everfree Forest laid the T-X; its sapphire-blue sensors lit up as the machine activated. It surveyed the surrounding area. The map on its Heads-Up Display was unable to determine a proper location. But despite this, its mission hadn’t changed: locate and terminate the treacherous I-950s that dared defect from Skynet.

It looked onto the CPU signal of the nearest target.

Target located… I-950 codename: Parker… Approximately 1750 kilometers northeast…

The polymimetic alloy underneath its armour speeded out and engulfed the machine, and within seconds, gave it the appearance of a female Resistance fighter. Its new disguise accepted, the T-X set out with its mission of termination now its number one priority.