Orbital Drop Shock Ponies

Chapter 11: unicorn training

I awoke in a hospital bed. I felt different. Great, but different.

"You're awake," said my rescuer.
"Where are my manners, hello, my name is stethoscope. I'm a doctor and a surgeon. Welcome to my lab."

"Where am I?" I sat up.

"My lab." he sad giving me a stupid look.

"Where's your lab at?"

"We are in it." the doctor grabbed a clip board. " tell me, did you hurt your head in that fall? Oh wait, you did. I fixed it. Never mind."

"Is your lab in a city? In the sky? Where are we?"

"Ten Pony Tower."

"How did I get here?"

"About 2 days ago, a white mare and a green stallion came by and dropped you here. Said they'd be back in 3 days and then paid me in advance. They paid too much, so I decided to give you what the money would get you. Back to full strength. And a unicorn horn."

"What?!?" I put my hoof on my head and felt around.

In the center of my forehead was a tan horn to match my hair color.

"Come with me." stethoscope lead me outside of the tower to a garbage dump.

"What are we doing here?" I said, looking around

"Tests." the doctor picked up a box with his unicorn magic and threw it at me.

Why'd you do that?" I said.

"Why didn't you catch it with your magic?"

"I don't know how to use it!" I rubbed my nose where the box hit me.

"How do I explain this?" the doctor looked around on the ground nervously.

He used his magic to pick up a box, opened his eyes wide, grinned, and dropped the box. "It's like moving a hoof. You do it without thinking about it. But with the horn, if you don't think about what you're grabbing, you grab everything."

I gave him a confused look near the end.

"If you were to lift everything surrounding you, you'd be holding all that weight in you horn. Think of your horn as an extra hoof. You can't lift all this stuff with your real hoof. But if you workout, you could."

"That sounds simple enough." I said, confidently. I tried to raise a wrench with my magic.

I concentrated hard and strong to lift it but all it did was raddle.

"I don't understand. Why can't I lift it?"

"Well," Stethoscope kicked some dirt into the air. "right now, your extra arm is as strong as a foal that just got out of the womb."

"How do I get stronger?"

"With fragments, my dear colt. With fragments."

"I'm not a colt," I said, a little mad at the doctor for insulting me.

"But you are, in my school of magic."

"School? You mean I'm not the first pony mutated into a unicorn?"

"Please," the mint green unicorn said. "Don't call yourself a mutant. Call yourself lucky. Your mind was great enough to circumstand this great power. You see, the average pony mind would be overtaken by the horn. The horn is like an AI, implanted into your head forever. A second mind. Always a second opinion. If your mind is strong enough, you can quiet your second mind. many of my subjects went crazy and started killing others with their powers until stopped. But if you lose the horn, you can't stop listening to its voice. And there's nothing I can do about that. The only reason you're strong enough is because of your great knowledge of technology."

I was shocked at the fact that people have went crazy because of their second mind. If I'm not careful, that could be me one day.

"Now," the doctor gripped a box with his magic. "Back to training."

********

After about 5 hours of lifting, throwing, catching, and smashing boxes (and their heavy contents inside), I was exhausted.

"Good day of training. I can't wait to see what you're capable of tomorrow." the doctor wrapped an orange glow around a handkerchief on a windowsill. It was met by my light blue grip and I wiped the sweat off of my head.

"What about my squad?" I said, giving him his handkerchief back.

"They're in their hotel room. Waiting for you." Stethoscope talked as if I should know this already.

"Where's their room?" I said, a little impatiently.

"it's room 34," the doctor said slowly, as if I should know where the room is.

"Thank you, for everything doctor. It means a lot to me. And will to my team to."

"Good. Because tomorrow, we're learning spells over levitation capacity."

I rushed up a few flights of stairs to what's to be my room.

I opened the room door to find Recon (with a new wound), Fire Light (with a zebra sniper rifle), Chains (With a new rifle decorated with chain decals), and half the room dedicated to ammo.

"Bout time," Chains said, giving me an impatient look. "Where have you been?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," I said, walking in the room and magically closing the door behind me.

"We've been doing mercenary work," Fire Light said, putting on a necklace with a zebra's enchanted bullet hanging around her neck. It had fake fire coming off of it.

"Is that where you got that?" I said, looking her over.

"and all the ammo." Chains said, walking I'm front of me, cutting off my view of the beautiful mare.

"Do you know how to use that yet?" Chains looked at my horn.

"Kinda. All I know is levitation, and I can't exactly pick up a crate yet."

"Well, then we're staying here until you can use it. Spells too."

"But right now," Recon stepped up. "We should get some rest. We have another contract in the morning. Spark, you won't be going until you can lift a box car."

They left my room one at a time. Recon first, then about a minute later, Fire Light. Chains didn't leave until the morning.

"When do you think you'll be able to pick yourself up?" Chains said, closing the door behind Fire Light.

"In about a week," I walked over to a coffee maker and started it, readying for the long night. "Why?"

"We have a special mission, you and me." Chains pulled out a cigaret pack and put one in his mouth.

"Who for?" I hovered my lighter to him.

"The EMC" he excepted my lighter, and lit his cigaret. Then turned off the lights.

I was shocked. "I thought the military was disbanded after the Manehattan bomb was confirmed."

"Everypony did," Chains walked to the window, watching the radiated animals patrol the desert wasteland that was once a lush green landscape. "But the community has been wrong before."

"What's the mission?" I drank a cup of semi-warm coffee.

"We're taking back Canterlot." Chains closed the window and pulled down the blinds.

"Taking back?" I set down my coffee.

"We lost it a few days ago."

"How? Didn't Luna stop them?"

"She's dead."

What? Luna dead? Considering the amount of guards and military camps there, I was amazed that someone took down the princess of the night.

"How?"

"Sniper." Chains blew smoke out his nose.

"But didn't-"

"Spark, we don't have time to discuss this. You have to be briefed for the mission or it'll never happen. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I do."

"Then let's get to work."

********

The rest of the night was spent outside practicing for the mission, or going over what I was to do.

"And the mission is when?" Chains started his 4th cigaret.

"2 months," I answered, reaching for a coffee cup, half filled.

"You sleep every other day." chains trotted to the building.

"Oh," Chains stopped and turned. "Get some muscle in that magic of yours."

He trotted in and disappeared behind the door.

I lifted and threw things for about an hour until Stethoscope came outside.

"Good morning, doctor." I greeted him as he walked towards me.

he noticed the cardboard box I was lifting. "You should be better than that by now."

I let the box down to reveal its contents.

An engine, 2 tool boxes (filled, mind you), a medium ammo box, and scattered weapon attachments.

"I think I've improved rather well, actually." I said, arrogantly.

"Let's learn a few spells, shall we?"

"Let's"

He lead me further into the yard of disposed items.

When we got to the biggest pile, he opened up an old washing machine and pulled out a book. The book cover was too ruined to read, but clearly this was the book of spells.

"We will start with a simple one. How about animation?" the doctor then read a paragraph then used the spell on the bones and remains of a dog in the yard.

It stood up, walked to a box, and peed on the side. Then walked off.

"Are you sure this is and easy spell?" I said, taking the book from him.

"Just don't think of the logic of it. Because there isn't any. Just read the first paragraph and do what it asks for." the doctor pulled a grape from a bag around his waist and plopped it in his mouth.

I read the paragraph and did what it told me to. Then, right in front of me, a dead bird stood up, saw me, and took off.

"I did it!" I exclaimed into the wasteland.

"but was that what you tried to reanimate?" Stethoscope said.

"Well, no. I tried to get that box to dance. Why didn't it work?"

"If it wasn't alive before the spell won't work. It will work on robots and electronics though."

"Oh. It's kinda still cool."

For the next hour I practiced raising and killing things with my horn.

"I think that's enough of that for now," Stethoscope said. "I think you're ready for a new spell. It's an illusion spell. You make something to lure somepony. It can't attack though, the decoy."

He explained how to do the spell with great detail so I wouldn't mess it up. He explained the consequences if I didn't. He explained the plus sides, the advantages, everything, such as, they can't produce sound in any way.

I conjured a green dragon with the magic. "Hey doc?" I said.

"What is it?" he responded while making his own dragon.

"Why don't you help us fight?"

"Have you ever heard of the ministries?" the doctor started, turning his dragon into a griffin.

"Yea," I turned mine into an eagle. "The ministries of arcane magic, technology, image, morale, and awesome."

"You missed one," he said, turning his griffin into pink butterflies "The ministry of peace. The ministry of peace was directed by a Pegasus known as fluttershy. She and her followers were medics. They'd heal and patch up fallen ponies to get them back into the fight. But, about halfway through the war or more, she ordered her heal even the zebras. She didn't care who's side any pony was on. She hated death and destruction."

"Kinda Ironic," I said. "She helped the people who, in the end, killed her for what she did. But what does that have todo with you not fighting?"

"I was one of her followers. I'll honor her by not fighting. Sorry Spark, I wish I could help."

"Help by training me," I lifted a bunch of heavy things. "I've been practicing."

"Okay, see that train car? Pick it up. Then we'll talk about training you."

I looked at the train car. It was big. Probably filled to the rim with garbage. I closed my eyes and thought only of lifting that hunk of metal embedded into the ground. I could here the ground's loose dirt bouncing around on the surface all around the red-orange storage train car. I heard the dirt around the edges of the car roll into a newly made trench.

A foreleg flew into my cheek, dropping my concentration along with the train car.

It fell with a mighty sound, throwing dust and sand everywhere.

"Come with me," a soothing (And yet familiar) voice whirled into my ear.

I turned to see a pony's shadow run through the sand storm. I chased after it, wanting to know who this pony was and why they wanted me.

I came to a solid wall, having no recollection as to where my 'friend' had went.

A storm cellar door flew open just a few feet away from me.

Less flying open. More kicked open.

I went into the cellar, closing the doors behind me.
I was in a small room held up by four big wooden poles. Potions on the left wall. Books on the right. Swords displayed behind me. Rifles and pistols displayed facing me. A table in the middle.

No pony. Anywhere.

I walked to the middle of the room and looked on the table. A map of Equestria Lay on the table with an X on most of the cities and towns.

CRASH

I looked up to see broken glass and a missing rifle. I pulled up my always on me pistol.

I grabbed the map and backed up towards the entrance, watching everything for any movement.

I noticed something on the ceiling. I shot 3 bullets in the spot.

A rifle fell from the almost pitch black ceiling. Then a zebra with a bloody hand.

She hit the ground hard and on her stomach.

She looked up to see me standing over her.

"Please don't shoot!"