Chromeponies

Chapter One

To Basics

(Author's note: Mareskoj sounds like mare-skoy)

"We lack power, but we still need to defend our freedom. If we sacrifice nothing, we can defend nothing. I have no intention of living that way, if that makes me evil, then so be it..."

Twilight, Spike and her friends waited patiently as the train chugged along towards Canterlot. She had received a letter from the Princess two days ago requesting her and her friend's presence for something important. The letter did not specify what important matter the Princess needed them for, but one does not question Celestia when she needs you.

Twilight was reading a book on proper bookshelf maintenance, with Spike beside her watching Pinkie jump around the train car. Rainbow Dash was asleep with her head against the window, snoring loudly, Fluttershy and Rarity were talking about the Canterlot spa, and Applejack was asleep as well with her hat covering her face.

"What do you think the Princess needs us for Twilight?" Pinkie asked as she bounced around the car.

"For the twelfth time Pinkie, I don't know! She only said she needed the seven of us in Canterlot two days after she sent the letter, which didn't say why."

Pinkie stopped bouncing and walked to where Rainbow Dash was sleeping, and shook her to wake her up.

"Waah! What? Huh?" The pegasus looked around, then at Pinkie Pie, "What is it Pinkie? I was sleeping!"

"What do you think the Princess wants Dashie?" she asked her sky blue friend.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "I dunno Pinkie, but whatever it is, it's important. But there's one thing I don't get."

Pinkie tilted her head to the side and said, "What's that Dashie?"

"Why did the Princess specifically ask for Spike? She should have figured we'd bring him anyway."

"Maybe I'll get my own element of harmony!" Spike said excited, "Maybe I'll get the element of loyalty!"

"Yeah! That could totally happen!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Rainbow Dash chuckled and said, "Sorry, that jobs taken Spike."

"Oh, right. Well it was worth a try." he said sadly.

Rarity noticed Spike's change in tone and said, "Oh don't worry Spikey wikey! I'm sure the Princess has a very important job for you!"

Spike blushed, "Gee, thanks Rarity!"

Soon after, Canterlot Station came into sight and they had reached their destination. They departed from the train and headed straight for the castle. Upon arrival a pair of Royal Guards quickly directed them to the throne room.

"Twilight Sparkle and friends," said the brilliantly white Princess Celestia as she smiled, "I'm glad you all are here. Come with me, Luna is getting everything prepared downstairs.

"Downstairs?" Fluttershy asked timidly, "Is it, dark? And creepy?"

"Of course not Fluttershy, but it is very far down below the castle", the princess replied, "Now follow me everypony."

Celestia turned and walked out of the throne room down a hallway, then into a stairway and began the long descent.

"Princess Celestia?" asked Pinkie Pie, "Why did you call all of us here? Is there gonna be a party? With candy?"

"No Pinkie Pie", the princess replied, "What I have called you here for is far more important than any kind of party."

"Even a birthday party?" the pink pony asked.

"Yes."

"So what is it?"

"I can't explain it," Celestia said as she continued the descent, "You'll just have to see when we get downstairs."

Pinkie Pie sighed and flattened her ears, annoyed that the princess wouldn't tell her, but wisely kept quiet the rest of the way.

Several flights of stairs later, the group came to a halt outside an oak door.

"Now everypony, you are about to see the greatest piece of technology Equestria has ever produced. Behind this door lies the very tools that will keep the peace all over the world. Behind this door lies the Chromepony hangar."

"Chrome-pony, yer Majesty?" Applejack asked.

"Yes Applejack, they are...", the princess stopped for a moment and then said, "You know what? Why don't you all see for yourselves?"

The princess's horn glowed a yellow light as she opened the door to the hangar. Inside lay seven massive machines, each one with a different chassis, some with legs, and others with treads or wheels. On top of the chassis' lay pods that could fit a pony inside, or one's case, a baby dragon.

"These, my little ponies, are the Chromeponies. The next generation of fighting vehicles, made to outclass the ACV's currently in use. Also just known as PONYs, these machines are capable of withstanding great punishment and dishing out the same. Luna!" the princess shouted, "Where are you sister?"

"Over here!" came Luna's voice from behind the treaded mech, "This thing's still got some bugs. I'd say test it last until I figure out what to do about it."

"Come over here Luna, Twilight and her friends have arrived."

Luna popped her head from behind the mech and saw the group standing by the door. She jumped around the mech and trotted over to greet Twilight and her friends.

She was wearing blue overalls that were covered in grease, along with goggles resting just below her horn, and she had her flowing mane and tail tied back into a bun. She had bags under her eyes, which told that she had spent many late nights down here.

"Luna, why are you dressed like this? You were only supposed to supervise the mechanics!" Celestia told her sister.

"I was. I am! I'm supervising their work and helping them with it!" Luna replied, "I'm being told I'm quite the 'grease monkey', which I'm also told is a compliment."

Luna then turned her attention to Twilight and her friends.

"Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike and friends, it is good to see you all again!" she said cheerfully, "What do you think of my little PONYs?"

"Wow princess, these sure are huge!" Applejack commented.

"And dangerous looking," Fluttershy added.

"Of course they are! We ponies lack in numbers, so we'll have to make up for it with size when we deploy you and others to the Neighroimus region."

"WHAT?!" the seven friends cried out.

"Why are we going there? There's all kinds of bad stuff going on there!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Indeed," Rarity agreed with her pegasus friend, "civil war, regular war, terrorism, famine, disease and death. Why in Equestria are we being sent there?"

"To defend our ally, Mareskoj, in the soon to be coming war." Luna answered.

"Wait," Spike interrupted, "What's the Neighroimus region and what's Mareskoj?"

A hush came over the group as the ponies looked at Spike, surprised he that didn't know.

"Twi, how does he not know?" Applejack asked her lavender friend.

Twilight sighed and said, "I suppose it's my fault, I hid the newspapers from him so he wouldn't get scared about the violence over there."

"So what's happening over there?" Spike asked, eager to hear what Twilight had been hiding from him.

"Basically Spike, after some great alliances fell apart years ago, these countries were born and have been struggling to maintain their independence from each other and their old masters. Mareskoj was once a part of the U.S.P.R., the United Socialist Pony Republic, and is now our the Republic of Mareskoj and our ally. Sal Colt was once zebra lands, but tore away from the zebras and became the Kingdom of Sal Colt, where a pony AND a zebra both rule. Then there's the Democratic Republic of Tarakia, a former U.P.R., United Pony Republic, state. There's been reports of terrorist activity and each country hiring mercenaries from all over to bolster their armies." Twilight explained.

"That sounds bad," Spike replied.

"Wrong Spike," Celestia said, "It's perfect."

"Perfect, your majesty?" Spike asked, "All this talk about terrorism and mercenaries sounds just awful."

"Yes Spike, it is perfect, with the other countries hiring mercenaries, this allows us to send troops to aid Mareskoj without officially getting involved and being targeted by the other nations. That's where you all come in. You'll be part of the best squad we send to Mareskoj, after some basic training of course." Celestia explained to the young dragon.

"What sort of training? Will we have to get all sweaty?" Rarity asked.

"Hopefully not too much, it will mostly be evaluation of your skills, then piloting instruction. Then of course weapons training," Luna assured her.

"W-weapons training? We'll have to hurt other ponies?" Fluttershy asked Luna.

Luna's ears drooped and she frowned. "Well yes Fluttershy, it has become unavoidable at this point. The whole Neighroimus region will soon be engulfed in war, and Equestria must help it's friends." the princess explained to the frightened mare.

"Well, I dunno..."

"Please Fluttershy, we're going to need you." Twilight pleaded with her friend.

Flutteshy just squeaked and nodded reluctantly.

"Excellent Fluttershy!" Luna cheered, "Now everypony, come with me, we're going to go over the basics of operating your PONY."

"I will take my leave now sister, I must maintain my throne room presence." Celestia said as she walked out of the hangar, "Good luck everypony, I will see you before you ship out."

"Goodbye sister." She turned to the others, "Okay, now follow me!"

Luna led the group to a door on the side of the hangar, and opened it to reveal a small classroom. Eight desks arranged in two rows of four in the middle of the room. A large chalkboard took up most of the front wall, with notes on something called 'RTs' already written on it.

"Everypony take a seat. Before we do any sort of training, you'll take the RT test." Luna explained as the friends filled in.

"RT?" Twilight asked as she and her friends took their seats.

"Roletypes Twilight, your PONY's configuration will reflect your skills and based on that, your PONY will fall into one of six roletypes," Luna explained and pointed at the chalkboard with her hoof as she went over the RTs, "First off is the Soldier, combat specialist. Usually leads the offensive and is in the thick of the combat the most. Next is the Sniper, a long-range specialist. Excels in long-range combat and usually supports the Soldier. Up next is the Scout, the mobility specialist. Fast and agile, the Scout helps maintain communications by capturing COMBAS towers and determines where enemy facilities are located. Now we come to the Defender, defensive combat specialist. Excels at close and medium range, the Defender is tasked with defending the Commander, Heavy Gunner, the base, or anything that needs to be defended. Can also be used as a reserve unit. Next we have the Heavy Gunner, artillery specialist. The Heavy Gunner uses howitzers and cannons at long range to decimate enemy forces and facilities. Lastly, we come to the Commander, information specialist. It is equipped with a Network Area, or NA, maker. Can see the enemy within the NA and issues orders to the others. Anypony have any other questions? Preferably ones without long answers?"

Nopony spoke up.

"Great!" Luna said cheerfully, "Now under the desks you'll find your test and pencils. The questions of this test have no wrong answers and will help determine which RT you are best suited for. It's mostly just psychological tests and a few other surprises. You have as much time as needed, if you need me, I'll be fixing that blasted tread chassis..."

Luna walked out of the room and left the seven to their work.

After only twenty minutes, Twilight had finished, followed shortly by Spike and Pinkie. Next was Rainbow Dash, then Rarity, then Fluttershy, and lastly was Applejack.

Not long after the ponies were finished, Luna came in to check on them.

"Everypony finished?" Luna asked as she walked through the doorway.

"I think we're all finished Luna," Twilight answered.

"Alright then, I'll just take these and figure out what role types you'll all be doing..." Luna said as she levitated the tests off of the desks, floated them in front of her so she could read them and began to read the results.

"Twilight. You're ability to multitask and organize has put you into the commanding position of, well, Commander. You'll give directions to your squad as it comes to you either from your squad mates, or what you see over your tactical map."

"Oh, that sounds important!" Twilight exclaimed.

"It is! You're the strategic master of the battlefield, coming up with strategies to outsmart your enemy and seize victory. Now," Luna looked at Applejack, "Applejack, your stubbornness and strength has picked you out as the perfect Defender. You'll guard your squad, base or any location your Commander gives you."

"Well alright, Ah guess that sounds like me," Applejack replied, pleased with her new role.

"Rarity, you're attention to detail has made you perfect for the role of the Heavy Gunner. Precise calculations and large caliber weapons will become everyday for you. You will be able to rapidly decimate enemy forces and structures, and be able to turn the tide of battle in a manner of seconds."

"Me? The, what was it you called it? Artillery specialist?", the white unicorn replied, worried about her new role.

"That's right, don't worry though", Luna assured Rarity, "The Heavy Gunner is usually far off from combat, sometimes accompanied by the Defender PONY or a team of ACVs."

"Oh, well I guess that would be fine...", Rarity replied, her worries slightly diminished.

"Oh oh oh! Me next! Me next!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she jumped out of her seat and began bouncing around the room.

"Okay Pinkie, the test says you're unpredictability and quick thinking make you perfect for the role of Soldier. You'll be on the front lines, supported by the Sniper and Scout. You'll engage you're enemies with hard hitting weaponry in close quarters and have to deal out damage quickly to dispatch your opponent."

"Ooooooh, I think I can do that!" Pinkie said cheerfully.

"Next, Rainbow Dash," Luna said as she looked over the results, "Well Rainbow Dash, the test says your speed and agility make you a perfect operator for the Scout type. You'll be in charge of gathering information quickly from different parts of the battlefield and relaying it back to your Commander. You'll also be in charge of capturing COMBAS towers."

"A what tower?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"A COMBAS tower. It expands the NA on the Commander's NA maker, and lets you communicate if you're within range. They're scattered all over the Neighroimus region and each nation " Luna explained.

"Oh okay."

"Now Fluttershy. You're quietness and patience have picked you out as the squad's Sniper. You'll engage enemies from a long way off with your sniper rifles and cannons to support the Soldier and Scout."

"Umm, I dunno...that sounds..."

"Me next! Me next!" Spike interrupted.

Luna ignored Spike for the moment and looked at Fluttershy. "Don't worry Fluttershy, you'll do just fine." She then turned to Spike. "Spike, you got a pretty low score in all categories except Defender. My guess is that your loyalty and devotion to Twilight had something to do with the result."

"So I'll be a Defender like AJ?" Spike asked.

"Exactly Spike." Luna put the tests down on a desk and smiled at the seven friends. "Well, the only thing left to do is pick a name for this new squad. Anypony have any ideas?" Luna asked as she looked around the room.

"How about the Rainbow Bolts?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"No sugarcube, we need something that represents us." Applejack replied.

"How about the Elementals?" Fluttershy asked.

"No, that won't work Fluttershy," Twilight said to the yellow pegasus, "Spike doesn't have an Element."

"How about the Dragon's Wing?" Spike asked.

"The Equestria Seven?" Rarity offered.

"The Apple Guns?" Applejack asked.

"Oh! I know! The Ponyville Regiment!" Pinkie shouted out.

"I like it, how about you guys?" Twilight asked.

"Ah like it!" Applejack agreed.

"Works for me", Rainbow Dash said.

The others simply nodded in approval of the name.

"Excellent!" Luna exclaimed, "The first squad Hoofzakael shall train will be the Ponyville Regiment! Now everypony, let's get to work."

Headlines:

Hoofzakael founded.

Terrorist group destroyed on Tarakia-Mareskoj border, both countries have stepped up border patrols.

Next generation PONY frame developed in Equestria.