Altered Equestria

Goddess everything hurt; not only that he was insanely tired. Tired and hurt, never a good combination… also what in Tartarus was making that beeping noise? Forcing his eyes open the stallion grunted, closing them again as he found the light bothering him. "O~w." Black grumbled as he squinted, finally adjusting to the light and looked around. "Where?"

"Well I'll be, your awake." A voice to his left caught the stallion's attention as he turned to see a pale white earthpony with a short raven colored mane sitting next to him. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Oh.. hi." Black muttered before closing his eyes and made to pass back out. Barely a second later though the pony's eyes snapped open and he leapt out the bed. "Ah! what happened- where am I?" He flinched a moment later as he gripped his head and leaned back down. "Ow ow ow ow ow!"

"Don't do that." The stallion grumbled as he brought his hooves to the ponies head and started to massage it to alleviate the ponies headache. "Never make sudden movements after just waking up understood; especially when you've been out for as long as you have."

"R-right." The Black took a breath, trying his best to will the headache away as felt the stallion rub his skull. A moment later he looked at his bandaged wings. " What happened to me? How long have I been out?"

"You went through a glass screen and took a bullet to the head. You've been out for roughly a month."The stallion admits. "Lady Red's wanted to make sure you pulled through though, so she had me be your doctor." The stallion admitted before turning his attention to his bracer and started typing something away. "Speaking of which… she'll want to know your finally awake."

"Lady Red… thats the CEO of Epona right?" Black muttered as he looked at the stallion. "Why would she-"

"Do you not know how bad her company image would look if one of her Interns died?" The stallion said without a bit of humor.

"Oh…"

"Though I gotta say, you dying seems a bit unlikely." He chuckled as he ended his message and smiled. "Especially since you have such a strong life-force. You were still alive despite having a bullet lodged in your skull for… what five hours?

"I… what?"

"Oh yes, most ponies would have died on the spot, but your will to live is astounding." The pony stated as he looked at the stallion. "Still I'm curious as to how though. Regardless of your life-force that glass should have shredded your insides, but they didn't get anywhere close to damaging your insides."

"A dermal mesh of nanofibers woven throughout the skin." Black muttered in pain. "Over subdermal plates, over a fortified skeletal structure." Black groaned as he stared off into space.

"Defensive cyberware huh, that would explain a few things." The stallion muttered as he frowned for a moment. "And yet… I checked your insides, you don't have any cyberware."

"Techmage." Black said simply as his head started to hurt. Techmages had three "classes" Two main and one advanced. The first involved using magic to augment control, and modify technology. The second involved using tech to empower, harness and manipulate magic." The third and Advanced form involved spontaneously generating cybernetic augmentations. Though made of pure mana they functioned as perfectly as their real counterparts. There were a number of issues though; to start every pseudo-augment required at least a minute of uninterrupted focus to create. Second they required continuous concentration to maintain. Third, they needed "maintenance" daily. Fourth; they "broke" and disappeared when exposed to excessive trauma or anti-magic.

Still despite it's hindrances, it was a useful skill.

Ah I see. Most Impressive." The stallion admitted as black looked at him.

"So who are you?" The stallion's visible eye widened.

"Oh I'm so sorry. My manners seem to have escaped me for the time being." The stallion admits as he scratches his head with a hoof. "You can call me Stables, everyone does. What about you, do you remember your name?"

"It's Black… Black Ashtrail." Introducing himself Black watched Stables one visible eye lights up.

"Ashtrail… I think I've heard of that name. I can't seem to recall at the moment… but I'm sure it will return to me in time." Stables mutters before returning his attention to him. "Still now that you're awake, do you want to try walking? It's alright if you don't feel up for it at the moment."

"I've technically been in bed for a month." Black responds by rolling over slightly, placing his hooves on the hospital floor and force his body to stand. No complaints, bodies willing to listen. At least for a moment anyway. Next moment he's seconds away from kissing the floor. The world blurs for a minute and Black loses his ability to focus, his body goes numb and he's stuck hearing some ringing in his head. Stables holds him up though, helps him balance out.

"I guess it's still a bit to early for you to be moving after all…"

"No I'm fine, just lost my footing for a moment." Black muttered as best he could. "I can do this, just got to find my balance, put one foot in front of the other." Take a breath, take it slow. Legs are like lead, feels like he hasn't used them in years. They walk together for a moment and afterwards Black breaks away so he can move on his own. Making pretty good progress too.

"Well look at you go." A mare's voice called out as Black looked at her. "Like a duck to water, you walk like you haven't been bedbound for the past month." The mare states as she looks at Stables and smiles. "Nice work Stables."

"He deserves the credit, not me." Stables stated as he looked at Black with a hint of affection. "You should never underestimate one's will to live and he's the one telling his body to move."

"True." The mare stated as she looked back at Black for a moment. She was… pretty to say the least, lithe as well. Taller than he was, with scarlet eyes, a mane of velvet and a coat of peach. Her suit was well maintained and she had a bag resting on her back. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, little Ashtrail."

"Uh… hi." The stallion muttered as he looked at the mare. 'Wow… I didn't know they really made mares like her…' Stables just looked at his counterpart before shaking his head.

"Black this is Lady Red, the CEO of Epona." Black looked at him for a moment surprise on his face as he stood up straighter.

"At ease little Ashtrail, we're neither at the office nor is it working hours." The mare just smiled beautifully as she stepped forward. "That said Stables, how is he looking?"

"We just got him walking, but he's the epitome of health." Stables states.

"Please don't exaggerate." Black groans.

"I'll be sure not to."

"Anyway…" Black looked around for a moment as he finally took in his surroundings. "Where… where are we, this doesn't look like a hospital room. Well it does, but not public."

"You'd be right." Lady Red stated as she settled down in a chair. "This is a private medical wing located in Epona, normally only staff get a chance of coming in here." She muttered before looking elsewhere for a second. "Consider yourself lucky."

"Oh…" The stallion looked in the direction that the mare was looking and found nothing staring back at him. "Thank you, both of you."

"I was just doing my job." Stable admitted.

"I was protecting my company image." Red admitted as she looked at Stables who frowned at her. She just shrugged as the room fell silent. Lady Red took a moment to stare at the dark stallion's wounds. "You're lucky." The mare stated as she stared at the bandages around his head. "You're lucky that head wound wasn't fatal, or reduced you to a vegetable. I can't really say the same for a great many that took one like that." She paused for a moment. "Can honestly say the same about all the glass the doctors had to pull out of your wings. I'm impressed that we're not going to have to do a full cybernetic wing replacement on you Ashtrail." Red muttered as she made a noise. "You got a guardian angel watching over you."

"I guess~." Black shrugged as he turned away from the mare's gaze. There was something… strange about it. Not exactly concern or "knowing" there was just… something strange about it. "So um…" He paused for a moment as an image washed over him for a moment and he bit his lips. "Where is she?"

"She?" Lady Red began as Stables twitched.

"Ms. Sparkle, where is she? I saw her when I went through the glass and…" Stables turned his head to the side as his ears drooped

"Black…"

"She's not with us anymore." Red stated as she sighed. Stables just gave the mare a look as she narrowed her eyes. "She's gone, I'm afraid." Black fell silent as his eyes widened.

"She… she's gone?"

"Black…" Stables repeated the name as he rested a hoof on his counterparts back.

"Damn it…"

"There was nothing you could have done Black." Lady Red muttered as Black shook his head.

"I could have done something. I was there - I was right there! I was in the same damn room as her and…" The stallion cursed for a moment as he and the others fell silent.

"You're still with us… that's all that's important right now." Stables whispered as he removed his hoof from the taller stallion's back.

"Hm…" Black wasn't all that convinced. Though that did raise a question to him. "Before I was shot… I was fighting one of the intruders with an ESF operative. What happened to them?"

"They're alive, thankfully, pissed off to hell but they're alive." Lady Red crossed her front hooves as she looked at the stallion for a moment. "But that's besides the point. I'm not here to talk to an intern about stuff like that."

"Then what are you here for?"

"Well I think you already have an idea; given what happened at Epona a month and how long it's going to take to undergo repairs, I'm afraid we'll have to suspend your internship with us this summer."

"Oh… yeah I guess that makes sense." Black fell silent as he looked at his boss… former boss and Doctor for a moment as they just nodded. 'Guess that means I don't really have a reason to stay in Manehatten any longer.' He raised his hooves to his head, stopped and started looking around the room.

"What is it?" Red Blade asked.

"Where's my glasses?"

"Oh right." Stables muttered as he reached for the nearby table and grabbed the desired item. "They got kind of damaged in E.I." The stallion admitted as he passed them to the taller pony. "Sorry." Black didn't say anything for a moment as he looked them over. Both lens were cracked, and the frame was destroyed on one side. He wouldn't be wearing these again.

"It's ok. They weren't prescribed anyway." Black sighed as he returned to the bed and sat down. "I just… liked these."

"If it makes you feel better you look better without the glasses." Red Blade admitted.

"Really handsome." Black rolled his eyes, giving Stables and Lady Red a light smile.

"You guys sound just like my mom." The stallion stated before thinking about the older mare. She must have been worried sick since he hadn't called in during an entire month, and if he's right she knew about the attack by now. "I need to call my mom… let her know I'm ok."

"That doesn't sound like a horrible idea." Stables admitted as he sighed. "Let her know your come early."

"What about the others?" Black asked suddenly as he looked to Lady Red.

"You mean the other interns? Well thankfully they weren't on the premises when things went down, so they're fine. I told them a month ago when I let them go."

"So they're back home too?"

"Or wandering around Manehattan." Red Blade stated with a shrug. "Give or take they live in the city or not."

"If they're in the city I should probably say hi before I leave." Black muttered as Stables nodded his head.

"About that~" Lady Red began as she adopted a loose smile. "Before you get to that I have some questions for you little Ashtrail."

"Lady Red…" Stables voice gave a warning, one that the mare seemed to ignore for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Black asked as Lady Red brought up her bracer as she messed with it, bringing up a screen and watched the footage of last months attack.

"Tell me, where'd you learn to shoot like this?" Watching the footage Black just stayed silent for a moment as he thought back.

"… my mom." He admitted finally.

"Your mom taught you to shoot?" Red Blade asked.

"She taught me ever since I was little, it helped that we had a firing range in our basement."

"Why would you have a firing range in your basement?" Stables raised an eyebrow as Black looked at him and shrugged.

"We kept it for those that wanted to field test our wares. Mom and I just used it more often. She figured it wasn't enough to just build our wares, but best to know how to use them as well."

"Your wares?"

"Ashtrail Industries, It's a gunshop in Reins- well it was until we added my cybernetics lab."

"Ah… that makes sense." Lady Red stated as she continued looking at the footage for a moment. "You're a good shot, but you're actual fighting skill kinda sucks."

"I… I don't usually pick fights." Black muttered as he scratched his head. "Is there a point to this?"

"I wish there wasn't…" Stables got a confused look as he just looked down.

"I'll keep this simple Ashtrail. I want to hire you." Red Bade stated as Black looked back to her.

"Hire me; but you just said my internship-"

"I don't want you as an intern." The mare stated as she shut down her bracer. "I want you full time."

"Excuse me?"

"You build well, you shoot well. I like that, I want that. Will you let me have you is the question."

"Uh… your offering me a job but… I have one. I work at my mom's shop."

"I'm aware." Red stated as she stepped forward and caused the shorter pony to backpedal a few steps. Was it just him or did she just get bigger? "I don't care though, little Ashtrail. I like you, I want you."

" Uh… you might want to rephrase that."

"You're skilled little Ashtrail, you have a gift. I could use somepony like you." Her voice dropped from seductive and commanding to almost motherly as she raised a hoof to his cheek. "If you wish to return to Reins, return to your mothers shop that's fine, but know this, the world is bigger than your arcology and your shop and if you return, you'll wonder of the 'what ifs'. What if you took a chance - took a leap towards the unknown? What if you stayed, what if you worked for us?" The mare stated. "You'd wonder how'd you grow, you wonder what you'd learn, what you'd experience?" She stared at the stallion for a moment before her bracer went off to alert her about something. Withdrawing the hoof she looked at it before her expression changed. "I have to step out for a moment, if you two will excuse me." The mare lowered her head before stepping out as the two watched her leave.

"She's interesting isn't she?" Stables muttered as Black colored slightly.

"Yeah…"

"She is right though." The stallion muttered before looking at his counterpart. "It's always the 'what ifs'- the choices that get to us at one point in life. In your case; what if you go home, what if you stay. Either one you chose will lead you to question how things would be if you took the other path and every choice you make after will affect how your story turns out." Stables whispered. "That's how life works." The two fell silent as Stables adopted a far off look.

"Are you… are you happy with the choices you made?" Black asked.

"Not all of them, I've made bad choices in my life, but my choices led me here, lead me to you." Stables smiled. "And I'm happy about that."

"… what?" Stables released a chuckle as Black colored slightly.

"Don't worry about it. Just know this. My story now intertwines with yours, as does Epona's. Whether it be as a line, a page, or even a chapter, that depends on the choice you make now; will you return home, will you stay and see how things turn out?" The stallion admitted before taking a breath.

"Right…" Black muttered as he scratched his hoof for a moment. "But I don't know what I want right now."

"Take your time Black. You don't have to make that choice now, we can't force you to make it when you aren't ready." Stables stated as he reached up and patted his counterparts head. "Take as much time as you need, search your feelings, search your heart, and then you'll get your answer." Stables backed away as he looked at his P.I.E. for a moment. "I need to go, I have other patients to see."

"Right." Watching the stallion leave Black stayed quiet for a moment before touching his head. "Stables?" Stopping at the door the pale stallion looked back at him before giving him a curious look. "I've… never been good at making choices… but I've always been curious… I want to understand things and…" The stallion paused as seemed to stumble over his words. "I want to know why Epona was attacked."

"As does everypony." Stables admitted. "You have the chance to be a part of figuring that out though." The stallion stated with a smile. "And whether it be because of your innate curiosity or not, I think you've made your choice."

"Yeah."

Manehattan Police Station

"Captain. Captain wake up."

"Huh?" The white stallion muttered something incoherent as he sat up, his junior officer setting a cup of coffee on the table as they let their wing brush against the cup's edge. "Ugh… what happened?"

"You were a few seconds from passing out again. You sure you don't want to head home to get some sleep?" His junior asked in concern.

"I'm too far from home to do that, Flash."

"You know what I mean." Shining Armor just waved a hoof dismissively as he levitated the cup to his lips and took a drink. Sweet nectar. Just what he needed to stay awake. "You've been up for days now, You could really use a rest."

"I'm fine." Shining Armor stated as he leaned forward and looked at his police reports. He swiped his hoof, the screens changing as he looked through them. "Anything new on the Epona case?"

"Not much. All we really got is that the weapons they used were customized Atlesian models and the armor was standard kevlar, could pick em up anywhere." Shining just gave Flash a nod as he took another drink.

"Did you check to see if any companies that might have sold their armor en masse?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yeah we didn't get much I'm afraid. We checked their buyers records to and couldn't get a lead. I'm thinking they were picked up off the black market."

"What about the bodies in the morgue, find anything?"

"Nothing yet, no known gang or company affiliation." Flash admitted. "Whomever these guys are; whomever hit Epona - they're ghosts."

"Great…" Shining Armor muttered as he ran a hoof on his temples. "Ghosts, just what we need." The stallion sighed as he stared at his coffee for a moment. "What about the ones still alive?"

"Dead." Shining gave Flash a look. "We found traces of a cortex bomb in each of their heads. They took themselves out shortly after we caught them." The younger stallion shook his head. "These guys… whomever they are, they are not making this easy for us." Flash muttered as Shining grumbled something under his breath. "Not how you expected to spend your time in Manehattan huh?"

"I originally came to take some time off just to visit my sister and then I find out her company was attacked." The stallion muttered. "That's everything a big brother wants to hear."

"Hey, we'll find her."

"I know. I just wish it wasn't taking this damn long." Shining grumbled as he returned to his coffee. He wasn't normally like this when a case was brought up, but this time; well it was personal. His little sister, his blood was involved. 'This is why they don't like us getting attached during cases…' The stallion thought with a sigh. 'But this is what happens when our families get involved.' Shining took a breath before he looked at his cup only to find it empty. He picked himself up with a grunt, pulling himself away from his chair as he made his way towards the coffee machine. While he waited for it to pour the stallion opened up his bracer and looked at the image on it. "Twily…"

Epona

CEO Office

"So you'll stay." Lady Red muttered as she looked at the dark pegasi as he scratched his head. "Are you sure about this?"

"Honestly no." Black stated as he shuffled slightly. "But I wanna know what happened a month ago, and I'm not going to figure that out by going home."

"No, I guess you won't." The mare admitted as she leaned back in her chair and made a noise. "The curse of curiosity. Just remember what happened to the cat." The mare stated as a screen popped up before her and she glanced at it. "Either case welcome aboard."

"Yeah thanks… so is there like paperwork or something I need sign?"

"Normally, but we'll get to that later, right now though, can you fly?" Black looked at his wings for a moment as he moved them for a moment before winching in pain. "I'll take that as a no. Well give it time. I wanna get you prepped before we officially start working together anyway."

"Right… so what do you want me to do anyway? I build pretty well but I still have a ways to go in that department."

"You build, you shoot; I want you to do both." The mare stated as she looked at her newest employee.

"What do you mean?"

"I want you on Epona Security detail." The mare stated as the stallion blinked in confusion, his eyes widened a moment later as he looked at the mare

"You want me to be ESF?" The stallion asked as he looked at the mare. "Seriously?"

"There's more to being ESF than just shooting ponies, they have other skills, other talents." The mare stated before staring through the stallion. "During your time with them you'll learn that." The mare muttered before addressing her intercom. "How is she?"

"Pissed to high hell."

"Sounds about right." The mare stated as she pulled herself from her chair and stepped forward. "Follow me Black, there's somepony I'd like you to meet." She reached for her office elevator as she typed in a code. "Come on." Black obeyed as he followed the mare into the elevator as she hit a button. "While you're with us we'll have to put you through your paces and have you fitted for gear. Also we'll be moving you into one of our apartment complexes to live at. No doubt your hotel room is taken by now. Do you have any problems with that?"

"No, I guess not." The stallion muttered before watching the older mare turn to him. "Anything else I need to know?" The elevator hit their designated floor as the mare lead him off.

"You'll be working with a group during major operations, but most of your time you'll be paired off with one of our senior staff. They'll be the one in charge of your training, but also, you'll be their caretaker for a while."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a cybernetics expert right, well, we're pairing you off with an operative that's recently undergone heavy augmentation." The mare stated. "She'll need somepony to look after her till she can get back in the field. So you'll be her hooves and wings until she can do things on her own again, not only that if she gets banged up, it'll be your job to fix her." Red walked up to a room as she fed it her card key. "Good to see you're up Calista, I have somepony here to see you."

"Red…" Calista. Calista was a pure white unicorn bound in a wheelchair; with hair like raven feathers and eyes of emerald. Though said eyes did seem to flash crimson as she looked at her employer. The mare took a calming breath as she stared at her counterpart. "What did. You. Do?" The mare growled as she watched the mare step closer. "What in Tartarus. Did. You. Do?"

"I made a choice." The mare stated as she looked at her latest intern. "Black this is Calista, she's the ESF that'll be paired with you."

"Uh… hi."

"We've met." Calista didn't take her eyes off Lady Red.

"We have?" Black asked.

"The attack one month ago. I put a gun to your back." The mare admitted without looking away from Lady Red.

"Oh…" Black muttered. "Well it's good to see you again."

"Mh." The mare just kept looking at Lady Red as the mare made a noise.

"Black could you give us a minute?" Red asked as Black just looked at her for a moment.

"Um, ok…" The stallion muttered as he backpedaled out of the room and watched it close. He took a breath before leaning back against a wall. "What the hell did I get myself into?"

"I don't really think you want that answer."

Black looked up confusion and surprise on his face as he turned his head. "Who said that?"