Last of Earth

Chapters

The feeling
revenge is sweet.
falling towards the sky.
Metal monster.
update
remebering
transformation
Luna minded.
Settling in
Ceremony.
I need a drink.
Wandering eyes.

The feeling

"RPG!"

I yelled to Carter. Carter and I ducked as the rocket propelled grenade spiraled past us and the rest of our squad.

We were behind a stone wall facing a hill that held a contingent of wrekers. Ever since the nuclear war that destroyed most of the world two years ago, what was left of humanity was sent into space to find planets that could support life. But some decided to stay. And that's where we came in. I was part of a small army dedicated to protecting the three main cities that were left intact on Earth. Each one had what was left of humanity on Earth. We called ourselves the "T.C.P." Tri-City's Protectors. Most people lived in the cities without complaint, but there where some that just weren't happy with city life. So they abandoned the city to live as scavengers. we called them wrekers because they tore everything apart to try to find something worth salvaging. I joined the TCP soon after my parent's were killed by some wrekers in our home. They had managed to get past the security fence around the city and went straight to the first home they saw.

I saw my dad's head brutally smashed in with a sledge hammer while trying to defend my mom. She was decapitated by a wreker wielding an old katana. I had hidden in my closet while this was happening. I was 14 and I knew how to fight. But I knew the difference between having an actual chance in a fight and complete suicide. So I hid. for two hours I stayed in my closet, not daring to exit for fear that I would end up like my mom or dad. After it had been silent for about two hours I peeked out and saw what was left of my parent's. I vomited at the sight of them. I cried for about fifteen minutes then pulled myself together. I called TCP and told them what happened. It was then that they offered to train me. A fourteen year old boy. They said they didn't care as long as I was willing to give my lfe to protect the citys. I had accepted on one condition, that I got to kill the men responsible for slaughtering my parent's. They agreed and I went with them. But not before I went into my parents bedroom and looked around for anything that might remind me of them. The bedroom had been completely torn apart. there was almost nothing left except for a piece of carpet that had been ripped up in the corner of the room. I looked under it and found a floor safe. The wrekers had tried to bash it open but to no avail. I asked one of the TCP soldiers if he could help. He followed me to the safe and looked at it. He then produced a bobby pin and a screw driver. He showed me how to unlock the safe and I peered inside. I took out the old 50. cal desert eagle that my father had inherited from his father. I also found an experimental silencer for the gigantic pistol. I knew my dad had been working on something for the pistol, I just never knew it would be that. The last thing I pulled out was a picture of my family all together. I shook my head as I returned to the real world. carter nodded towards the RPG man who was just finishing reloading. I took aim with the old M-16 I had gotten from the armory and sent a bullet through his head.

"Good shooting Jones!" Carter yelled over.

I nodded over to him and continued to fire at the wrekers. Two more went down before they started to retreat. Before we could celebrate though, one of the wreker's picked up the R.P.G. and fired the now reloaded grenade. I saw the rocket coming and tried to jump away. I was too late. The rocket struck the wall with a loud explosion. Shrapnel went flying through the air and hit me straight on. I felt white hot pain explode in my chest. I heard someone yell for a medic before passing out.

"Good, your waking up. I have to admit, you're one tough son of a bitch. Although, that could just be the Nano-mites working."

I awoke to find a somewhat large figure looking down on me.

"Nano-mites?" I pondered out loud.

"Yeah, you know. Those little robot's that help repair stuff. Anyway, we got an experimental kit from the last Mars supply drop. I still can't believe we have a colony out on that rock. Though I've heard they are aren't doing so well. Some disease has almost wiped out the entire colony. Oh, by the way, my name's Durffin. Colonel Frank Durffin. No need to salute. From this point on you have been promoted to Sergeant first class. Congratulations Jones. "

I gave a surprised look at the Colonel.

"You really mean that I'm a Sergeant?" I asked.

"Yes, as long as you decide to help in an experimental project." said the Colonel.

"I knew there was a catch." I said with a sigh.

"Yeah well, it's not all that bad." He said tossing a file at me.

I looked at the cover to the generic red block letters spelling "top secret" on the front. I opened it and pulled out the information inside.

"If you choose to accept the modification's we would do to you, you would become stronger than any other man on Earth. You would be able to destroy everything in your path. If you got shot, the bullet wouldn't even slow you down. You would have power beyond all belief. Or at least thats what I'm told."

I continued reading the information inside the file. Apparently, if I accepted and allowed them to work on me, I would be encased in a suit made almost completely of Nano-mite's. The Nano-tech would allow me to heal faster than a normal man would, as well as create anything I could think of or from a memory bank in the armor.

"I heard you liked revenge. And if you accept, I can give you the location of the men who slaughtered your parent's."

An evil smile covered my face when I heard this.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold, Colonel. Let's do this thing.

Durffin looked at me with a smile. "I knew you couldn't resist." He began to walk out the door.

"Colonel, one last thing. What happened to my squad sir?" I asked.

He turned his head in the doorway and said three letters. "KIA." And walked out.

***

Princess Celestia stood on her balcony overlooking Canterlot. She had felt something shift in the flow of magic. Almost as if the magic in Equestria was getting pulled towards something. She heard hooves behind her and turned to find her sister behind her.

"You felt it too sister?" Celestia asked.

"We did. It is not a good feeling." Luna responded.

"Yes, it is not a good feeling at all. I should write Twilight and ask her to keep an eye on things down in Ponyville. Luna, if you would be so kind as to send extra guard's to the outlying cities, I would appreciate that very much."

Luna nodded and flew off towards the barracks. Celestia sighed and prepared to raise the sun. She felt the magic flow through her. But she felt something else as well, a pull on her magic. She tugged back with all her magic and felt something snap. A great pain exploded in her head as if million's of voices suddenly cried out in pain, and then were silenced.

revenge is sweet.

I again checked my pack for the fourth time. Even though I was heading towards a secure prison facility, I liked to have a full field pack on my back. I glanced around the cargo bay of the old C-47. It was filled with armament's bound for the prison where the two men who where responsible for killing my parents were. My HUD displayed information about the weapon's and the tank at the back of the plane. Why they needed a tank at a prison baffled my mind, but it was the elder's choice. I got off of my seat, my new armor creaking as I made my way up to the cockpit. I clomped up the ramp and tapped a pilot on the shoulder.

"How long till we get there?" I asked.

"We are just now taxiing to land. I would suggest taking you're seat again, these old birds are not known for a soft landing."

I nodded and went back to my seat. I strapped myself in thinking that it would be a good idea. I was proven right about two minutes later. The wheel's bounced as they hit the ground and I was launched against my restraint's. I had to wait another five long minutes before the back of the plane finally lowered. I unstrapped myself and went outside. The prison was a monster of a complex rising nearly twenty stories above the dusty ground. I went towards a checkpoint leading into the detention area and was stopped by three armed guards.

"Are you ready to go in?" one of the guards asked.

Again I nodded and they let me through the checkpoint. I stepped through the door-way and found myself in the armory. The crates that where on the plane were just now being off-loaded. I looked around as the guards led me through the place. We arrived at a solid looking door and one of the guards knocked.

"Come in." said a gruff voice from behind it.

I opened the door and went inside. The man that the voice belonged to was sitting behind a desk smoking a cigar in one hand and sipping some sort of alcohol in the other.

"So you're the nano man that I keep hearing about." He said.

I nodded but did not reply.

"I already know why you're here. I was informed a few hours ago. Pity that those two will die, I was starting to like them. Although, if I was starting to like them then this 'execution' is probably for the best." The warden said.

"Anyway, I heard you liked sharp objects."

He said as he got up and made his way to a locked cabinet.

"We found these on them when we caught them trying to smuggle out some old military tech."

He produced from the cabinet an old looking katana. It's sheath glinted in the light. He handed it to me as he pulled out a smaller blade. This one was almost like a short sword, but was hooked onto a device. The warden handed it to me as I slung the katana over my shoulder so that it the hilt was horizontal to my right hand. On the bottom of the blade device were straps that could be bolted onto my armor. I called up some nano-mites to strap it on to my arm. The warden watched with interest as the nano-mites melded the blade into my armored gauntlets. As soon as they finished I flicked my wrist down and the blade came out the top. I retracted it and turned back to the warden.

"Now where are those two killers. I have a score to settle."

Authors note.

Hey! so I know this chapter is short, but I needed to finish this one so that I could move onto the part where Adam is transported to Canterlot. Also, I'm thinking of a callsighn for him and I need some suggestions. If all else fails, I'll give him the callsighn "meta" which is what he would introduce himself as at first to the ponies. And if anyone wants to know a little sneak peak at my next chapter, I'll say one thing: Luna get's a wake up call. *evil laugh* anyway. ideas are always welcome in the comments!

falling towards the sky.

I cracked my neck as I headed out of the interrogation room now turned brutal revenge chamber. Blood covered my gauntlets from when I had squashed in katana guys head like a grape. Hammer man faired better, receiving a bullet to all the arm and leg joints before I finally finished him by punching him into a wall. The blood stain on the wall would never come out, and I was fine with that. I walked up to the warden and thanked him for letting me "see" the prisoners. His eye's where wide and he was slightly green at what he saw. He simply nodded and informed me that a message had come through while I was taking care of my bloody work. Apparently, the jail A.I. unit was going to be replaced and since my armor was advanced enough to carry one, HQ decided to give it to me. I walked to the armory/tech lab they had and looked around. Shotguns, assault rifles, even a few Claw rocket launchers were being loaded back onto the plane that I had arrived by. I asked a loader about it and he said that HQ needed a few extra arms as well as some new solar powered ammo generator. I shrugged and asked about the A.I.

"That hunk of junk?" the tech asked. "Finally glad to see that old hag go."

"I heard that. And I am not old, I took the physical form of a 21 year old female to come off as more friendly for a reason." I turned and saw a green hologram on a pedestal. The hologram in question was, like the voice said, in the form of a female with short hair that came to about her eyebrow.

"So, you're my new host huh?" she asked as she performed a scan of my physical condition. "I never would have expected to be given to a hunk like you." she said. If A.I's could drool I bet she would have been.

I nodded and gave her my name. "My name is Adam. You can refer to me by that name if you wish, but I have heard that A.I's tend to develop name's for their hosts anyway. I'm about to yank you. get ready." I warned. I reached into the pedestal and yanked out a green glowing chip that hummed with energy. I reached onto the back of my armor and found an open slot at the base of my neck. I pushed the chip in and grunted in pain as a headache the size of a tank went tearing through my mind. My armor began pumping pain killers into me so that my headache would not affect me.

"That was rude you know. Yanking me before I could even say goodbye to this place. Anyway. I'm 00467, or sexy as everyone else calls me." said the A.I.

I grimaced at the name but accepted it. I pulled my pack onto my back and checked to make sure the jet attachment was on. Some crazy guy had the great idea of strapping rockets onto the backside of field packs to be used as a sort of jet-pack. The design didn't work till they added the extendible wings to balance the thing. I didn't even know what the rockets ran on. I walked back towards the C-37 and up the ramp. I asked the pilots if they where done checking everything and they gave me a thumbs up. We taxied back onto the runway as I felt the ground quake beneath the plane.

"C-37 we have picked up extreme seismographic activity in this area. Suggest you get to high altitude fast." came a voice over the comms. we acknowledged and took off. The comms were still on as we heard the screaming start. something about the earth being torn in half and that we were all gonna die.

"Sexy?" I called into my helmet.

"Working on it. It does appear that the world is ending though. Pity, I rather liked this world." she said.

The gravity in the plane suddenly shifted as pressure warnings started to blare.

"Whats going on?" I shouted at the pilots.

"WHATS GOING ON!? I HAVE (censored for you're protection) IDEA!" one yelled.

"WE ARE IN SPACE!" the other called. I floated over to a view port and saw that it was true. We had ascended so rapidly into the air we must have lost track of the altitude. But it seemed impossible. I watched as the outside of the view port suddenly became a blaze of color. It looked like we where going through some sort of hole in space. I floated to the rear view port and looked onto earth before it's final moments. I saw the atmosphere decompress explosively as the planet was torn in half.

"NO!" I yelled at the view port.

As if by some cruel joke the universe decided to play, I thought for sure I saw a yellow core looking thing fly past shouting "SSSSSSSSSSPPPPPPPPACCCCEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" I turned back towards the pilots and saw them both leaning towards the front of the cockpit. I looked out the cockpit and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Not like I was dying, my armor had auto-sealed itself when my brain heard the word space, but as if there was another world we were going towards.

I heard two shots and looked down to see that the pilots had shot themselves. They knew they where going to die. I didn't blame them. Bit I wasn't going to heaven so easily. I made sure everything in the cargo bay was secured before grabbing a CLAW rocket launcher. The thing was a beast. A circular drum magazine held twelve rockets while three barrels blazed away with the rockets at one rocket every 1.5 seconds. The Claw weighed at least 25 pounds. I strapped it onto the magnetic lock on my back before opening the emergency door.

"Sexy, can you dump all the fuel on this thing by remote? I don't want it going up in flames if it's my only means of survival."

"already done ground pounder." she smirked at me.

I gave the back of my head a whack and the smirk fell off her face as a burst of static went through her.

"Don't call me a ground pounder." I said as I jumped.

It was an odd feeling, falling towards the sky at breakneck speeds. I survived the area below me and spotted what looked to be a castle. I looked to my left and saw the plane screaming over head, heading west. I noted the direction and activated my jets. With small bursts I was able to direct myself towards the castle. I was still going to fast to make an actual landing though. I saw a garden area and tried my best to crash softly into the dirt. To say the least I was going to feel bad for whoever the gardener was. I closed my eye's as I hit the ground.

Celestia's POV

Luna lifted her head from me as I continued to weep over the feeling of death that surrounded me.

"Sister, du'st though hear that?" she asked.

I lifted my ears as well, stopping in my weeping to listen to the most strangest noise I had heard. "SON OF A BITCHHHHHHHH!!!!" *WHUP*. The sound of an object hitting the ground filled my ears. Luna lifted herself off of my bed and walked towards the window that looked over the garden.

"Uhhhhh... sister. Thy may wish to see this." she said with bewilderment in her voice.

I got off my plush bed and went next to her. In the middle of the garden, right below my window, was and imprint in the ground. It looked like the grass and dirt had been pushed several feet into the ground. I flung out my wings as Luna did the same and we both glided down to the hole. Royal guards where already showing up, surrounding the hole.

"Do you think whatever made this is still alive?" Luna asked.

As if to answer her question, a hoof popped out of the ground and grasped the side of the hole. Wait..... this hoof wasn't a hoof. It had smaller claws on it, like dragons or griffins, Just not as sharp looking. I heard a groan and the guards, as one raised their spears towards the whole. Another talon thing popped out and grabbed the other side of the hole. What emerged from the hole made every pony step back in surprise and alarm. Their, looming above even me, was a creature that looked as if it's entire body where made of steel. The thing took a step forward and the guards raised their spears again.

"You! creature! Stop right there." One of the guards yelled. I looked and saw captain shining armor standing with sword drawn standing behind the thing. It looked towards me four blue eyes. Each one shining on the side of its head. The eyes suddenly turned red as it stepped towards shining armor raising a claw behind its back to grasp something. I heard the distinct sound of metal being drawn away from a scabbard and gasped in horror at what I saw in the things claws. In them was held a large curved bade that shone in the moonlight. Dark red liquid slowly dripped from the things claws onto the pommel of the sword. It advanced on Shining with its sword in a ready position.

Metal monster.

I locked onto the small horse in front of me. I held my katana in a ready stance, just waiting for a moment to strike. The two larger horses behind me seemed to pose no threat. But this one, this one just might be worth my time.

"Little horse, I will give you ten seconds for you to lower you're weapon and stand aside. Otherwise, I will be forced to remove you myself." I warned the armored mini-horse.

"First off, I'm a pony. Secondly, it is you who will be lowering you're weapon. You're under arrest for disturbing the peace and threatening a captain of the royal gua..HOOOMPH!!!"

I kicked him hard in the chest.

"Times up." I said with as much venom as I could muster.

The small "pony" went down on his knee's and I picked him up by the throat with one hand. I held the katana above his jugular ready to slice it when something slammed into me hard from behind. I fell to the ground and snarled for Sexy to figure out what it was. I rolled onto my back and did a kick stand back onto my feet.

"You shall not harm any of my guards." A voice said from behind me.

I turned and saw the giant horse with wings and a horn (Which Sexy labeled as a alicorn as well as the one beside her)

with an enraged look apon her face. If this white piece of meat wanted to fight, I would give her one. I gave the captain a kick in the balls so he would stay down before I turned back to Whitey. The blue one beside her snarled and raised her horn. It started to glow and released a bolt of dark looking lightning towards me. I dodged and it hit one of the guards that surrounded me. I grabbed a spear from out of one of the guards grips and flung it towards the blue one. I saw a flare of light and the spear bounced off her armor. I rushed forward and leapt into the air. I came down with my fist aiming towards the white ones head. She moved just in time and I clipped her wing instead. I heard a scream of pain and the crunch of bones. I sunk my fist into the ground and used my momentum to do a spinning sweeping kick. I knocked the white one down and mounted her stomach. I clapped both my hands over her ears and I saw her eyes roll up into her sockets. I was once again blasted off the ground by a large force. I shook my head as I landed on my back. Almost immediately I was dog-piled by a dozen angry guards. Several had horns that glowed and wherever they touched I felt a strange numbness creep through me. Before I knew what was happening, I was handcuffed and had a ball and chain wrapped around both my legs. I snarled at my captors and attempted to break free. I was hit by another blast by a "unicorn" as Sexy labeled it. I saw several "pegisi" sweep down from the sky to help carry me away to wherever they were taking me. I knew I had been defeated and didn't struggle as the pony's carried me away. I was dragged past the blue alicorn and she gave me a look that could have killed a sand dragon. I managed to flip her the bird as I walked past. I received a shock from one of the unicorn guards for my trouble.

"Totally worth it." I thought.

As soon as we where inside the unicorn captain that I had pounded earlier came up to me and bucked me hard in the chest. I laughed as he yelped in pain.

"trying to kick pure titanium A grade armor isn't a smart idea." I goaded.

He grunted and gestured towards one of the guards.

I laughed in his face before I passed out from a flash of light behind me.

I awoke in a small barred in cell. It was so dark inside it I had to activate my night vision just to see my hands. I still had my armor on and all weapons attached to it. The fools. They thought I wouldn't have any other weapons. Course, they had probably never seen a gun before. I checked my holstered Eagle and found only one round in the clip. Perfect. That was all I needed. We had been taught in the T.C.P that if we were ever caught, we had to find a way to end it. That's how the walls around the city's where kept safe. It was also why nobody came back after being captured. I checked the bars for how strong they were. I could tear through them with ease. Before I could though, I heard voices coming towards me.

"You're sure it's hostile?" One voice asked in a high female like tone.

"Positive. Did you see shining when he got back to the room? Bandages covered his entire chest. Said he had about five broken ribs." the other voice was still female, but sounded more mature.

I slipped back into the shadows and powered down all my exterior lights. I was essentially invisible. I saw two ponies come around to the front of my cell. One was smaller with then the other with a dark purple mane with pink stripes going down it. The other was taller and was almost completely pink. She wore a crown on her head signifying royalty. I kept silent but moved closer to the ponies.

"I don't see anything, do you?" asked the tall one.

"Cadence, you know as well as I do that I cant see in the dark worth a buck."

"Such language Twilight, where did you learn that?"

"That's not important, the important thing is AHH!" the pony "Twilight" let out a small scream as I turned on all my lights to full blast. Each of the females put their hooves over their eyes, trying to see. I lowered the power enough so they could see after a moment, but yet low enough that they wouldn't see me entirely.

"Sweet Celestia." the large one trailed off as she looked me over.

"I wonder if it can speak? Or is it dumb?" asked Twilight.

"I CAN speak and I DO understand you." I said.

A look of shock passed through both of the pony's as they heard me speak.

"What are you?" Cadence asked.

"What's you're name?" Asked Twilight.

"Where do you come from?"Cadence asked again.

I could see another question brewing but I waved a hand in front of their faces. Their eyes tracked my fingers comically.

"Enough with the questions. As for what I am, I am a human. Albeit a highly modified one, but still one. For my name I will keep that to myself. For now call me Nano or Juggernaut. Jug for short if you want. As for where I come from. You are using that statement in the wrong time era. Where I CAME from was a planet called Earth."

The two stayed silent for a moment processing the data before Twilight spoke again.

"Well, Let me introduce myself. I am Twilight Sparkle, prize student of princess Celestia. And what do you mean by using a past-tense word?"

I responded without thinking. "My planet blew up." I said simply.

Looks of horror spread across their faces. I smirked and began contemplating escape. If these two where actually important, maybe I could hold them hostage? Something inside me rejected that idea. I couldn't hurt something this innocent. That captain yes, but these two no.

"You mean to say that you're entire planet exploded?" Twilight asked shocked.

"What could have done that?" Cadence asked.

I shrugged and backed into the darkness again. I began to check my weapon's systems and found them all in working order. I took a step forward into the light again, but making sure that they only saw about twenty percent of my body even with my lights on.

"You may want to stand back for a second." I said in warning.

Both of them looked confused but took a step to the side. I drew back my armored fist and aimed it towards the barred door. I swung forward with all my might and watched in pleasure when the door flew off it's hinges and bounced off the back wall. I now took a full step into the light. I heard two gasps beside me and turned to find that the two pony's starring at me in awe and fright.

"Nano. You....you're like a monster!" cried Twilight.

"I like to think myself more of a protector. But I guess you could call me a monster, a metal monster." I grinned beneath my helmet. I looked to my right and saw my pack and katana as well as the CLAW launcher. I grabbed them before turning back to Cadence and Twilight.

"Now if you two would be so kind, I would like to talk to you're leader."

update

Author: Hey everybody! sorry the new chapter isn't here yet. I've been having some trouble getting into the swing of things at school. Anyway, I am sorry to say that i may not be posting for awhile. I need to concentrate on my grades and make sure I get good ones. I will try to write and post more chapters soon, but expect them to sometimes be weeks apart. BUT! I do have a idea that I will share with you that will hopefully keep you hooked. But I'll say it in a riddle.

The galla is full of grand gayety (Old term meaning "happiness") but for what our hero sees, might bring him to his knees.

XD try and figure it out and post what you think it meens in the comments.

remebering

As we walked through the halls of the castle, I noticed not many pony's were working. We walked past a pair of guards that where sleeping with their eyes open. I had to give those guys credit, I knew from expierence that was a hard thing to master. We continued walking in silence till finally twilight broke the silence.

"Nano, I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you have a family where you came from? Earth I mean." she asked.

"No. In my line of work, the less people you know the better." I answered.

"What about you're parents?" Asked Cadence.

"Dead."

"Did they die when you're world exploded?" she asked.

I closed my eyes and stopped walking. Trying not to remember that night. The sledge hammer falling and bashing in my mothers face. The katana on my back slicing through my fathers neck. I shuddered visibly as the pain from knowing they would always be gone washed over me.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said at last.

"Can you remember them?" Twilight asked.

"The problem is that I keep on remembering them, I can't seem to forget them." I told her.

"But isn't that what you want to do? Remember them?" she kept going.

"Listen, imagine if you will, you're closest friends all dying. would you want to remember that? I didn't think so. Let's keep going and move to a different topic." I said.

We kept going till we came to a giant doorway with about twenty guards standing outside. I ducked behind a corner before they could see me though. I motioned to Twilight and Cadence to go see what was going on. They continued towards the guards and asked to see the princess.

"Sorry." said one of the guards. "The princess has ordered that we keep all everypony away while she makes a decision on the what to do about that metal monster down in the basement."

I smirked when he said metal monster.

"Its urgent though! And besides, I am a princess, therefore you must do what I say." Cadence exclaimed.

"A princess from another country, therefore you do not hold any power over us. Good night." said the guard. And with that he ceased to listen to Cadence and Twilight.

"I've had enough of this. If you won't move out of our way, I will have to call on someone I know who will have no problem moving you for us. NANO!" Twilight yelled.

I let my Nano-mite's create a weapon I knew was good on scaring things. I attached a hose from the weapon to the jet fuel section of my pack and stepped out from behind the corner.

I raised my weapon and watched as the barrel began to grow white hot. That's when I heard one of the guards mutter: "What the buck is with this guy?"

I let loose a torrent of flame as all the pony's dived out of the way. The carpet amazingly didn't catch on fire, but instead all the flame headed right towards the wooden doors. And wood and fire don't tend to agree, or at least that's what I thought. I happily torched my way forward as the guards fired crossbows at me. The bolts just bounced off me not even scratching my paint. I looked up and watched in amusement as my flames seemed to just rebound off of the door. A force field maybe? No. These pony's don't have that kind of tech. A pony saw its chance at my momentary pause and fired a bolt straight into my visor. I covered my eyes with an arm as I heard one of the guards shout.

"Aim for the head! It has a week spot!"

Crossbow bolts began slamming into my helmet. I unshielded my eyes and aimed my flamer at the leader, intending to roast him. The flames roared their way towards him and caught his mane on fire. He yelped as another guard began frantically pounding out the flames. The other guards took one look at their commander and his charred mane and threw down their weapons. Twilight and Cadence heard the battle end and stepped out from behind a pillar. I degenerated my weapon and walked towards the commander. I threw aside the pony helping him to his feet and lifted him off the ground with my left hand on his throat.

"Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go and open up the door, then stay out here and not move a foot away from the door. Got it?" I hissed.

For good measures I ejected the hidden blade on my right arm and held it to his head. He nodded and I let him go. Twilight and Cadence now on either side of me, I motioned for the commander to open the doors. He pulled them apart and waited till we had gotten inside before slamming them closed.

"My my. You do have a temper don't you." A voice said from across the room.

I looked and was immediately filled with rage as I saw the speaker. It was that white alicorn bitch.

"I only have a temper when you're pitiful guards get in my way." I answered.

The alicorn rose from what looked like a throne and trotted towards me.

"Twilight, Cadence, You may get up now." She said.

I looked to my side and saw both of them coming up from a bow. I rolled my eyes. If this bitch wanted me to bow she would have to make me.

"Now, I suggest you kneel as well creature. Or would you like to be beaten by my "pitiful guards" again?"

Let the battle of wills begin.

*Authors note.

Wow. Okay, sorry if this chapter seemed long over-do and non sensible. I have been having trouble getting time to write because of school. *rolls eyes* Anyway, you know the drill, constructive criticism and new ideas for this story in the comments. I have a few ideas already but they will happen in later chapters. (And yes I do now have an editor, so I will be posting better versions of latter chapters soon. Also, The rating change is for gory violence, language, and maybe a hint of shipping. I don't know about the last one though. Just keeping my options open. Goodnight/ Good morning everypony/person.)

transformation

This....this royal asshole was NOT making me bow. NO WAY! After all she did to me, HELL NO! just NO! My rage finally spilled over and I smacked her across the face. She looked stunned as my hand left a bright red imprint on her cheek. I cracked my knuckles and popped my neck in anticipation of the up-coming revenge session I had planned.

"That was very unnecessary." The white alicorn said.

"Screw you. That's just the beginning." I replied.

"Everypony, just calm down. Atom, I know you're upset but could you withhold beating one of our national leaders into paste for just a bit longer till we understand the situation." Cadence said.

I stepped back and growled at her. However, I kept my anger in-check after the smack. Felt pretty good hitting royalty.

"Now, I seem to be lacking the details of why you put Atom here in cell. Explain if you will auntie." Cadence asked.

After a lengthy explanation of how I got here and what not (from big white bitches point of view), I finally learned the name's of the alicorns in the room. The big white one was called 'Celestia' or some idiotic name like that, while the dark blue one who I had flipped off was called Luna. The guard that I had kicked in the chest was 'Shining armor'. I rolled my eyes at the name. geez, do these guys ever have normal names?

" If that's all, I would like to know what will happen to him now." Cadence asked.

" Since he attacked a member of the royal guard and also me and my sister, I could have him killed. But I have an offer. If Atom would go with my student Twilight and learn about the magic of friendship then I shall lay off the death penalty."

" uhhhh. what? I'm sorry, but do I even get a say in what happens?" Twilight spoke up.

" No Twilight, I'm sorry. But if he chooses to accept my offer then we may work something out to you're advantage." Celestia said. she turned back to me. " Do you accept?" she asked.

"As long as I get a roof over my head I'll be fine with whatever." I replied

"Good, now that that is settled, Twilight, I here by release Atom into you're custody. You are to learn as much as you can about him but at the same time teach him friendship. If he does something that we all regret, I will have no choice but to put him to death. You would have to report it to me first though." Celestia said.

" Uhhh, I don't mean to be rude, but if I come to ponyville with a huge armored alien walking behind me, there might be a slight case of mass hysteria." Twilight responded.

"Hmmmmm, We think we have a solution for that." A new voice broke in.

Out of the shadows stepped out Luna. Strange I didn't detect her on my motion trackers.

" I just hope it doesn't hurt our new friend to much." she said as she advanced on me with her horn glowing.

"Now hold on just a min AUGHH!" she tapped my helmet.

Instant pain wracked my body. It was if I was being formed into something else. I felt myself grow smaller, less bulky. I also felt something start poking the inside of my helmet. I tore it off with my hands....no, they were not hands anymore. They looked like hooves. The pain started to lessen and I was able to crack open my eyes. No longer was I towering above the two princesses, instead they looked down on me. I again felt something on my head and reached up with a hoof to touch whatever it was. As soon as I grazed whatever it was I felt myself shudder as a new feeling swept through me. It was ice cold but yet pleasantly warm at the same time, I didn't dwell on it much for I turned to the now smirking princesses and yelled at them.

"WHAT THE HAY HAVE YOU DONE TO ME! WAIT, WHAT THE HAY!? BUCK! I MEEN BUCK!" I continued to try and swear but was only able to come up with a few swears.

"hmmmm. Apparently, turning him into a unicorn means he can only swear the way a pony swears. Interesting." Luna whispered to herself.

"YOU TURNED ME INTO A BUCKING HORSE? AND WHERE IS MY ARMOR! " I yelled again.

"Please calm your-self. This was the only way you could go with my student without causing a panic. For you're armor, If you look down at you're right hoof, you will notice that you still retain the piece of armor that you had before. You only need to think about your-self in the armor to activate it. I would suggest having Twilight work with you on you're transformations back into what you call a 'human'." Celestia said.

I grabbed my helmet from where I had tossed it and tried to control my Nano-tech inside it. I saw shadows as my apparent 'horn' lit up. The helmet disintegrated and the Nano-tech swept back into my right hoof. Celestia made her horn glow and a mirror appeared before me. I looked at myself as a pony and decided I wasn't that bad looking. I was a coal black with silver streaks running down my mane and tail. My eye's as well where silver. And on my rump was a tattoo looking thing of a skull faced helmet in front of a shield with two swords crossed behind the skull helmet. Not a bad design. I also noticed that my side-arm was still attached to me by the magnetic holster on my belt as well as my katana and pack.

" The hay is this?" I asked pointing at the mark on my rump.

Cadence spoke up. "It's you're cutie mark. It tells you what you're special talents are. Although I have no idea what your's means." She said.

I shrugged and looked back at Celestia. "You said something about me being able to turn back into my original form? How?" I asked.

" It's not very complected. Like with you're armor, you just think about your-self being Human again and you're magic will turn you back into a Human."

I scoffed. " There's no such thing as magic." I stated.

Celestia just smiled. "Of course you believe that. Anyway. It is getting late and if you would like to see you're new home town I suggest getting onto the train before it leaves." She said.

" Of course you're highness." Twilight said with a bow. "We will leave as soon as possible."

I snorted and just turned to leave.

Twilight and Cadence followed me out the as I opened the doors. Outside I heard a few whimpers and turned to see the guards huddled in a corner. One of them noticed I didn't have my armor on anymore and started to walk towards me.

"Hey metal head, I see you aren't so tough without that armor. What's the matter? Our princess give you a whooping?" He asked in a snarky tone.

"Girls, excuse me for a moment." I said and I reached behind my shoulder's and grasped my katana in my mouth. I slowly with-drew it and held it in the light. Blood was still dried to it but it still gave off an ominous shine. I lunged forward and slashed at the guard with precise aim.

"AHHH!! PLEASE NO!!..... hey! I'm alive! you missed me!" The guard said as I slid my sword back into its case.

The guard started to laugh and I waited for a second or so before I glanced down at his breastplate. He noticed my stare and looked down as well. The breastplate fell to the ground with a thud as the guard suddenly transformed from the white pony he was, into a pink and purple stallion.

He tried to put the plate back on before his other guardsmen could notice, but the straps that held it on had been cut. I heard snickering from the corner and turned to find most of the guards turning blue from holding in laughter.

"So that's why your always wearing the armor broadsword. Because your colored like a mare!" One of the guards shouted.

At once the guards let out all their laughter at the poor stallion. He in question started to gallop down the hall. His friends laughs following him. I turned back to Cadence and Twi and found them snickering as well.

I rolled my eyes and thanked Cadence for helping me out.

"It was nothing." She said. " You two better hurry though.The train leaves in ten minutes." I again thanked her before I followed Twilight out of the castle and into the fast approaching night to where a new 'home' awaited me.

*Authors note.

okay! finally done. Sorry if this chapter feels a bit rushed, but I need to get this chapter over with before I can start writing in better stuff. xD I have big plans for chapters coming up. Anyway, constructive criticism always welcome as well as new ideas in the comments. (And for those of you who were disappointed at the lack of a Celestia beating, don't worry. I have a HUGE thing planned for that.)

Luna minded.

"So, uhhh..... could I ask a couple questions?" Twilight asked.

We had arrived at the train station to only discover the train had broken down and was under repair. The first glance I had of it one thing ran through my mind: "Da fuck is this thing? I'm not sure if it's a train or a rolling piece of cake." Needless to say, when I expressed my 'concern' over our mode of transportation, she had only smiled and explained that unless I had suddenly grown wings, this was the only way back to her hometown. I squinted my eyes at this but had replied that as long as pigeons didn't eat the thing on the way there, I was good with whatever. We had taken our seats in first class thanks to Twilight's apparent fame for being an 'Element of harmony' or some title like that. Apparently it was a big deal.

I grunted. "Fine. But as soon as this thing get's rolling, I'm taking a nap."

She squeed with joy and clapped her front hooves together. How she made a clapping noise with hooves, I will never understand.

" All right. Well, first off, explain to me what exactly you are." She said.

"At the moment, a freaking horse. Or pony, whatever you want to call it." I answered.

She face-hoofed. "No, I meen what are you when you first came here." She responded.

"Well, that's a long story." I answered. " I am a human. But not a regular one. Most humans are not seven foot six. For that fact, most humans don't get over six foot. I was enhanced to be this tall."

"Enhanced how?" Twilight questioned.

"Well, before I was able to wear my armor, me and my squad of soldiers where fighting a group of other humans we called 'wrekers'. Wrekers were the bane of our existence. They stole, tortured, and killed people for their own gain. Anyway, I was out with my squad fighting when one used a weapon similar to the one on my back. Not the sword, the big one. The weapon they used was called an RPG. 'Rocket propelled grenade'. It killed my entire squad and I barley survived. I awoke in a hospital and was asked to be experimented on. I agreed and they made me taller, stronger, faster, maybe even a bit better looking." I chuckled at the last part while Twilight stared at me in shock.

We felt the train lurch below us and we began to move out of the station. I looked out as we exited the city and found to my amazement, that it was built into the side of a mountain. I glanced around and saw that the only other passenger in the car was a brown pony sitting with a gray pegasus with a blond mane. Both where stealing glances towards me and whispering to each other. I couldn't hear what they where saying because of Twilight's rambling on about how I was going to love her town and that all the pony's where nice. I glared at the ponies up front and when the gray one turned to look at me again, I raised my right hoof. The gauntlet still contained the hidden blade and it snapped open. The ponies eyes shrunk to the size of needles as it glanced at my blade. It quickly turned it's head and began to look out the window. I again chuckled and noticed that Twilight had stopped rambling and was looking at me now.

"What?" I asked.

"why did you do that?" she asked.

"I was testing to make sure at least one of my weapons was working. I feel somewhat helpless without them." I lied.

"Well don't go showing them off. It's illegal to have a weapon like that. Only guards and trusted citizens have weapons." Twilight informed me.

I "hmphed" at this and again began to think about what was going to happen to me. I only really needed a place to stay till I could get a place of my own. I was probably going to stay here for the rest of my life.

A random thought came to me. "I wonder if I can activate my armor in this form."

As if by some magic (later on I found out it was.) a voice spoke to me inside my head.

"Yes actually you can."

I straightened up in my seat and looked at Twilight.

"did you say something?" I asked.

She looked at me quizzically. "say what?" she responded.

"She is not the one doing this. Behold It is I, Luna! Princess of the night!" the voice bellowed in my mind.

I made a slight wincing motion but told Twilight to forget my question. She suddenly had a book in her hooves and was reading furiously, completely ignoring me.

"Hmmm. I never knew Twilight snored. I will have to keep that in mind." Luna said in my head.

"Why are you in my head and how did you get in?" I asked rather grumpily.

"I thought it would be a good idea that you should have at least one pony watching you all the time. Not that we don't trust you, we, my sister and I, would just like to keep things going smoothly before your swearing in ceremony tomorrow." she explained.

"WAIT! what swearing in ceremony!?" I shouted.

"probably should have mentioned that earlier. Sorry. But if you are going to be staying in Equestria then you need citizenship. And the only way you can get it is by swearing your alligence to royalty." Luna replied.

I swore to myself.

"I never thought I would hear so many swear words in one breath before. Good job." Luna commented.

I grumbled more swears to myself.

"Well while your in my head, mind telling me why you turned me into a freakin pony when I almost beat your sister to death." I asked.

"Well, if thou would like the short story, I respect thee. Not many pony's can beat a full grown alicorn into the ground. Much less touch them in a hostile way. I find that admirable. Plus if any citizen saw you in your regular form, they would probably form a mob and attack you. Either that or run away. Plus I saw you hit my sister, something I have wanted to do for awhile." Luna told me.

"Sounds legit." I replied in my head.

"What is 'legit'?" She asked. I rolled my eyes as I began to explain slang back on my planet in my head.

Most of the rest of the train ride was spent talking to Luna. I actually kinda liked her. She respected people for their strength and thought almost like me when it came to things such as judgement. Though she still thought the death penalty was a bit much. I hated to say it, but I think I could consider Luna a friend.

The train finally started to slow down and Luna bid me a farewell from my mind. Saying that she would be there if I needed anything. I thanked her and went and nudged Twilight awake.

"errrrr.... are we there?" she asked.

"yes. We are just entering the station." I informed her.

"Good. When we get off, I guess we should go to my house first. I need to tell you what to do about the swearing in ceremony tomorrow." She said.

I nodded and helped her with her baggage. I stood on my hind legs and grabbed the trunks handle with my mouth. I felt it yanked out of my mouth as a purple glow surrounded it. I turned and saw Twilight with her horn aglow. I lost my balance at the sudden disaperience of weight and fell on my rump. Twilight giggled and I grumbled to myself. We headed toward the exit and I gave the pony's who were watching me earlier a glare. I still couldn't see their cutie marks, they had hidden them well. Twilight was already on the platform greeting some more ponies when I heard her talking.

"Actually Rarity, my trip back to Canterlot turned out to be quite rewarding. OH! that reminds me, I have somepony I want you to meet. HEY ATOM! Come and meet my friends!" Twilight yelled.

I mentally reflected back on what Luna had told me about activating my armor and decided it would be better if I tried the strong-silent type on these ponies. I imagined myself covered in my armor in my pony form. I heard what sounded like a pop and a snap and felt a sudden weight all over me. I opened my eyes and found that my armor had been successfully deployed onto me. I grabbed my helmet from my back and made sure my katana and CLAW launcher were secured. I put on the helmet and waited for it to seal. I heard a slight "ding" that indicated it was and I stepped outside into the waiting light.

(Authors note.)

Geez guys. I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. School and parents keep getting in the way. Anyway, I'm hoping on getting another chapter out this weekend but only time will tell. I have mid-terms coming up so I NEED to study for those. Also, I'm looking for another editor since my original one hasn't been heard from in weeks! So If someone would be kind enough to do that for me, I would be forever in their debt. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! (And yes, I am planning on making them longer in the future.) Good nigh/good day everypony/person!

Settling in

(Authors note. * I decided to test out a different POV this chapter. I have no idea how this is going to go, so just work with me on this.)

Twilight's POV.

Atom stepped out of the train fully encased in his armor that he wore while in his other form. He did a small jump onto the platform and spiderweb cracks appeared in the concrete. Rarity gasped while Rainbow dashes eye' widened.

"Twilight, is this yer friend you was talkin bout?" Apple jack asked.

"Indeed. Everypony, this is Atom. Atom, This is Rarity, Apple jack, Pinkie pie, Flutter shy and Rainbow dash." Twilight pointed a her hoof to each pony as she named them.

Atom snapped a salute. His hoof hit his helmet with a slight Bong noise.

"Is there an actual pony in there? Cause that's really cool if there is! Do yah think he would like a party? OH! I NEED TO THROW HIM A PARTY!" Pinkie pie zoomed off at this to go prepare something along the lines of a "Sweet Celestia how did you manage to fit a cake that size in through the door:" party.

Atom watched her zoom through the air, defying several laws of physics. He shook his head and shuffled a bit to get into a better position to watch everyone.

"Wow, Pinkie really is going to go all out. Dude, consider yourself lucky. Even I haven't seen her that worked up over getting a party set up." Rainbow dash said as she floated right in front of Atoms helmet.

"Hey. Whats this thing?" She asked as she grabbed the strange tube device off of Atoms back.

Atom yelped and made a grab for the object back but Rainbow quickly flew higher up.

"You, Rainbow Dash. You have no idea what kind of dangerous weapon you hold in your han....errr hooves. Give me my launcher back." Atom finally said. His voice sounded....mechanical. Nothing like how he sounded on the train.

"Rainbow darling, I would suggest giving his....whatever it is, back." Rarity said. "Even though it completely clashes with the armor. I mean, silver and black? So bland."

"Fine. I'll give it back." Rainbow descended with the object held backwards and handed it back over to Atom.

"Atom, what is that thing anyway? And what does it do?" I asked as curiosity took hold of me.

Atom grabbed the thing and stood up on his hind legs, leaning against the train for support. He held the device out in his front hooves.

"This is a CLAW rocket launcher. A prototype weapon used against bunkers and large groups of enemies. These barrels at the end, each one contains a 102mm rocket. The barrels spin firing a rocket at a rate of one round per second. This back part is called a magazine, it contains the ammunition used in the launcher." Atom stated.

"But why would yah need somethin like that thar launcher fer?" Asked applejack.

"To make sure my enemies don't breath another breath I wish them to take. This weapon was specifically designed to make sure it can cause destruction on a city block size scale." Atom replied.

Rarity and I both gasped at this while Fluttershy coward behind applejack.

"Why would you want to kill something though?" Rarity asked appalled.

"I don't like to kill, nopony does. I carry this with me to make sure I protect the ones I love and care about. However, I have not felt love for a very long time, so it's safe to presume that I only care about anypony these days." Atom told Rarity. He was catching on to the language pretty fast, I noted.

"Now, if you will excuse me and Twilight, I am quite tired and in need of sleep. I would however, like to invite you all to my swearing in ceremony tomorrow. I would be very pleased if you would attend." Atom asked us.

All of the girls agreed to come. Atom bid them goodnight and I pointed him towards the library telling him that Spike should let him in. He nodded and trotted off.

"Well girl's. What do you think of him?" I asked.

"I personally think he has an atrocious taste in fashion, but that he is at least somewhat respectable." Rarity said with a hint of appreciation in her voice.

"I don't right know yet." Applejack replied. "Somethin bout him just aint right."

"I'm with Applejack. I think there's more than meets the eye to this pony. And I don't know about you, but I'm going to find out." Rainbow dash said determinedly.

"I uhh..... I like him. He's a little scary though. I'm not sure if my animal friends would like him." Fluttershy said in a small voice.

I looked at them. "Well, Princess Celestia said He's my student now. So we will just have to get used to him no matter what our opinions are of him. Anyway, I should probably make sure he's found the library okay. I'll see you girls tomorrow." I trotted back towards the library only to find the two spa pony's , Aloe and Vera, standing outside talking to Atom.

"So why do you wear that clanky old armor?" Aloe asked.

"Because it's standard procedure where I come from.That's all a pair of pretty mares such as yourselves need to know." Atom replied with an almost sweet tone in his voice.

Aloe and Vera blushed as they giggled.

"Can't we at least see what you look like underneath the helmet?" Vera asked.

"Well, I guess I could do that." Atom said.

There was a loud hissing sound as a jet of steam shot out the back of his helmet. He shook his head as the helmet came off and fell to the ground. His coal black Mane stood up in spiked bangs with silvery tips the color of his armor. I found myself gazing at his face. I shook my head and continued towards them.

"Looks like some lucky stallion will have a hard time keeping the mares away." Aloe said.

Atom, for the first time, blushed. I found myself thinking that was somewhat cute. "Twilight, snap out of it! I thought to myself. "He's going to be your student! Plus he's an alien!"

Atom glanced over his shoulder and saw me trotting towards him.

"Well, looks like my new teacher is here. I thank you for showing me towards the Library. I will be sure to stop by your spa sometime in the future, it sounds quite relaxing." Atom told the girls indicating that it was time for them to leave.

They both giggled as they waved goodbye and trotted off.

"What exactly were you doing with those two?" I questioned.

"Well, I was having trouble finding the Library when those two saw me wondering around. They asked if they could help me find something and I told them about how I was supposed to head towards the town Library. They where kind enough to show me to it." He explained.

"The giant telescope sticking out if the roof didn't tip you off?" I asked

Atom looked up and saw the giant hulking structure. He faced hoofed.

I laughed at this and gestured towards the door. Once we were inside I lit the lamps that helped light the house at night. Even though it was still barely getting dark, I wanted to make sure Atom could see the Library.

"It's not much, but I call it home." I said. "SPIKE!"

"Yeah Twilight?" came the reply from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Spike, I swear to the beard of Starswirl, if you have been eating out of the cookie jar again I WILL make you the new test subject of a throwing spell I've been working on." I told him as he came walking out of the kitchen.

"Geez Twilight, good to see you back as well." He said while he hugged me.

I hugged him back and I heard Atom cough.

"Oh, Spike, this is Atom. He will be living with us for awhile as my student. So if you wouldn't mind getting the guest room all ready for him to stay in that would be great." I told him.

Spike held out a claw to Atom. Atom turned to me.

"Since I will be living here, do you think he should know about my.... form?" He asked.

I tapped a hoof to my chin. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt anything. He would just figure it out sooner or later."

"What do you mean "Form"? He asked.

"Might as well Atom." I said.

Atom nodded and closed his eyes. His horn lit up and a green light enveloped him. It became blinding to look at and me and Spike both looked away until we felt the light die down a bit. We both turned around and looked at the massive figure looming in front of us. Spike's jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of Atom in his "Human" form.

"What is that thing Twilight? A changeling?" He asked.

"Well, no Spike." Twilight answered. "Atom is a human. A sort of advanced monkey if you will. Right now I have no idea how he came here to Equestria, but the Princesses have seen it fit to make me his teacher on friendship while he is here. I'm sure we will be able to figure out how he came here soon though."

Spike nodded and stepped towards Atom again holding out a claw. Atom knelt on one knee and took the tiny claw of the dragon in his massive hands.

"Pleasure to meet you Spike." He said in a low voice.

Atom began to wobble a bit.

"Hey Twilight, You know how you said that I can have the guest room? Well, turning into the Human form of me really took it out of me. And your floor looks REALLY comfortable at the moment. So if you don't mind, I think I might just..... crash......here." Atom barely got the last few words out before he fell over to his side and was out cold.

"Huh. Well, at least I don't have to worry about getting the guest bedroom ready." Spike joked. "He looks pretty comfortable the way he is."

I went over to Atoms armor covered form and cast a quick medical spell over him to see if he was all right.

"Looks like he used to much energy in turning himself back into a Human. I should have figured as much. He still needs to learn about how to use magic properly." I said.

"But I thought he just used magic when he changed to a Human?" Spike asked.

"I'm not sure what Princess Luna did to him. But whatever it was must have been a doozy to knock him out like that." I answered. "I'm not going to worry about it tonight though. Spike, find me the oath for swearing in citizens of Equestria and put it in front of him with a note saying he needs to memorize it. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be coming to ponyville tomorrow to make his oath public. I don't want anything to go wrong."

Spike saluted and went off to grab the oath.

"And Spike, as soon as your done getting that, I think we both need to head to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day."

"Yes Twilight." Spike replied.

With that I climbed upstairs, careful not to disturb Atom who was snoring slightly from the floor, And climbed into my own bed. For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen that hadn't happened in a very long time. I shooed the feeling away and soon fell asleep.

(Authors note.)

So I had made this chapter into over a 30,000 word chapter, but I figured that I would it up into smaller ones. This does not meen that I will be posting them regularly though. So sorry for keeping you all waiting. Also, I seem to be needing a pre-reader and editor. If on of you fine folks knows somepony or is willing to help, I will be eternally grateful)

Ceremony.

I awoke to the pulsing sound of electronic music. I felt something covering my eyes and reached up to grab it. The object in question was a scroll. I grabbed it off my face and opened it up. Official pledge of allegiance of Equestria. I rolled my eyes and sat up. I heard the trotting of hooves and looked to my left to see Twilight coming through a pair of double doors that led into the kitchen.

"Oh! Good, you’re up."

"Yeah, but I wish I were still asleep." I responded.

"Oh come on. Today you start a new life! A clean slate as it were. You’re becoming a citizen of a great country." She said.

I sighed and stood up. I grabbed my helmet from the latch that it was attached to from my back and put it on.

"Great country my ass. First thing that happens to me when I get here, I get attacked by some crazy Alicorn sisters, thrown in jail, then get turned into a small horse and.....WHERE THE HAY IS THAT MUSIC COMING FROM!" I shouted in rage.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "The music is from the local DJ, Vinyl scratch. She always wakes up Ponyville like that. And besides, what would you do if a strange alien landed in the middle of your garden and then proceeded to trounce almost all the guards in the castle?" She had a point.

I nodded. I decided that I would ask that DJ to keep the music down. I liked electronic music, but just not that loud. I cracked my back and shoulders, at the sound of which Twilight flinched, and started for the door intent on getting that music turned down.

"HEY! You can't go out like that!" Twilight yelled. I turned back and noticed she had meant my human form. I sighed and concentrated my focus on me becoming a pony. Green magic flashed out of my horn and my form once again shrunk into the four legged creature I despised. I shook myself and got used to the feeling of four legs again.

"How do you do that so easily?" I heard Twilight say form behind me.

I turned to her and explained that Luna had, for some reason, made me able to just think about what I wanted to look like and I would change into it. She nodded and muttered something about Luna being too fascinated about changelings. Having nothing else to talk about, I proceeded outside and trotted toward the sound of the music, and knocked on the door. After a few moments it was opened by a grey mare with a nice black mane. She looked startled at the sight of me and I realized I hadn't deactivated my armour. That and the fact I was at least a head taller than her. She recomposed herself and greeted me.

"Hello, my name is Octavia. Might I ask why an armored pony is at my door?"

I noted she had a slight English accent. "My name is Atom. I have received some complaints about the music you are playing. Specifically, the volume." I replied.

"Ahhh. Yes. Well, you would like to talk to my roommate then. She is the one blasting the music."

"Would you mind getting her for me?" I asked.

"Of course, please feel free to come in if you would like." She said.

I shuffled in and started noting a sort of division in the house. One side was clean and tidy while another was somewhat a mess. I won't say that it was uninhabitable, but a hurricane could only dream of the destruction caused on the side. I paused and waited at the base of a set of stairs as Octavia called for Scratch.

"This is strange. I am detecting high energy readings coming from upstairs and the room to your right."

"Sexy? About time you were back on." I commented inside my sealed helmet.

"Can't stay offline for a turn-on like you. On the other hand, or hoof as it seems to be, you seem to have gained a few new looks. Care to explain?" She asked.

I heard hoof steps and the music stopped.

"Not now Sexy. I will explain everything later."

I heard an audible "Humph." come from Sexy.

A moment later. The pony that had been playing the music trotted down the stairs and stopped as soon as she saw me.

"Now that is some bad ass armour." She said.

I rolled my eyes inside my helmet and deactivated it. The helmet slid back and revealed my coal black face and muzzle. I coughed for a second as the fresh air assaulted me. I had been using my helmets filters almost all the time I had been alive and my lungs where not yet toned to the overly freshness of the air here even though I had slept in it. Guess I'm just weird like that. I recovered and went straight to the point.

"Some of the neighbors around you are complaining about the loudness of the music coming from this house. I am here to just make sure that you promise to keep it down."

"Yeah, well, I guess I can turn it down. But I need to practice for the sweet party Celestia is throwing tonight for some new citizen. I don't know who it is, but I can tell yah one thing, the music is going to be awesome tonight."

I nodded my head. I Liked this pony. "That's very good and all, but just keep the volume down okay?" I asked.

"Sure thing...uhhh... what’s your name?"

"Atom. The names Atom." I replied.

"Huh. Weird name. But whatev. I have to get a play list ready so I guess I'll see you tonight if you’re coming to the ceremony. Seeyah!" And with that she trotted upstairs.

I shook my head in annoyance. Why in the world would the princess want to throw a party for me? Again I shook my head and started to make my way out when Octavia stepped out from behind a corner.

"I hope she was not too rude to you. Vinyl can be rather blunt."

"No. I rather like her. Reminds me of a friend I once had." I guess I zoned out for a sec.

"Atom, are you all right? You look like you just saw a ghost." Octavia questioned.

I snapped out of my daze. "You can't see somepony if their dead. Just keep the music down all right." I left before she could ask questions.

I thought back to one of my squad mates, Wubs, who had died because of an ambush. She had always loved the electronic music that this "Vinyl scratch" pony played. But she was gone now. Along with the rest of my squad, my friends, hell my whole world is gone. I shook my head to try and clear some of the unsettling thoughts that where going on inside it.

I trotted back to the Library and talked to Twilight about the party. Turns out it's more like a feast then an actual party. The feast came first after the ceremony, then came the party after all the foals and parents had left for bed. I nodded and fell asleep on the couch.

"Sir, I don't like this. This cave is way to quite."

"Just keep walking Wubs. We need to get these civilians to the next town, and this is the fastest way." I replied.

"Yes sir. I'll signal the rest of the squad to be on the lookout though."

I nodded and performed another scan on the tunnel. Even though I hated to admit it, Wubs was right, this place didn't seem right. My scan was blocked by something. I held up a fist and everyone stopped. I took one step forward and was suddenly on my back from an explosion.

"AMBUSH! EVERYONE BACK NOW!" I heard Wubs scream.

The sound of a heavy machine gun blasting away ahead of me was what got me up. I heard screams as the bullets tore through civilians and my squad. I turned and saw Wubs start to fire back in the direction of the gun emplacement, only to be blown back a moment later by the guns bullets. She fell to the ground as blood pooled under her. My anger finally broke. I bellowed a war cry and dashed towards the group of Wreckers that were manning the gun. I pulled my fist back as I leaped through the air and swung downward with all my weight behind the fist. The armored fist went straight through the head of the Wrecker manning the gun. I activated my nano blades and swung them around to decapitate another Wrecker. Blood spurted out of the neck of the decapitated Wrecker. I countered a swing from a sledgehammer and broke the arm of the Wrecker. I twisted it around his back and sliced his throat with my left blade. I let him drop and turned to face the last Wrecker. I stopped as I saw the detonator in his hand.

"If I can't survive, no one will." He pressed down the trigger.

I awoke on the couch panting and sweating. "It was just a dream." I thought to myself. I shook my head and went upstairs to the bathroom Twilight had told me about me when I had gotten home before I fell asleep. There, I showered and prepared myself for what was to come.

(Four hours later)

"You ready Atom?" Twilight asked me back stage.

"Yes. The question is though, can I do it? I've never been fond of crowds." I responded.

"You'll be fine. All you have to do is answer the questions Celestia gives you, pledge your allegiance to her. And then walk off stage after she says yes. See, easy." Twilight smiled.

I narrowed my eyes. Celestia, right. Out on stage Celestia and Luna where both giving speeches on how I had come from a far off land (Which was complete bullshit) and how I might not understand some of the traditions around here.

"And now to introduce you to the stallion of the hour. Please give a warm welcome to Atom!" Celestia pointed a hoof at me as I trotted up the stage, without my armour I might add. I felt uncomfortable as all the eyes of the crowd turned to look at me. I swear, the ratio of males to females in the crowd was about one to ten. I walked up to the podium and bowed before Celestia and Luna. They bowed in return.

"Atom, you are here today to present to us your loyalty to Equestria. Do you swear to uphold all the laws set upon this nation?" Celestia asked me.

"I do."

"Do you swear to honour the authority and not cause trouble in this kingdom?"

"I do."

"And do you swear your allegiance to me, the princess of the sun and co-ruler of this land?"

Here it goes. I had thought about this for a long time and had come to a decision. I just hoped it would not get me killed.

"No."

There were shocked gasps in the crowd and Celestia looked offended.

"Explain yourself then." She said.

"Why should I swear to you when you have done nothing for me? You never apologized for having your guards attack me. You never apologized for putting me in chains and sending me to the dungeons. Therefore Celestia, I will not swear my allegiance you. I WILL however swear my allegiance to the one princess who did apologize, who did not have me thrown in prison, and has actually gotten to know me." I replied.

I walked over to Luna. "Princess Luna, You have shown forgiveness and the pursuit of friendship with me. Therefore, I swear my allegiance to you as my princess and ruler. I will gladly lay down my life for you. Will you accept my offer?" I bowed and questioned.

The crowd gasped again and whispered among themselves.

"Silence!" Luna said. The crowd stopped whispering.

"I accept your offer on ONE condition. I have seem your ability's at war, and I would like you to join my lunar guard and become captain of it. I seem to be missing my old one and I do believe it is time I got a new one."

I nodded from my bowed position.

"Then rise, Lunar stallion."

I rose and the crowd began clapping. (How the hell did they do that with hooves?)

Luna spoke again. "I hereby accept you as a citizen of Equestria and the captain of the New Lunar Guard."

I smiled and bowed again.

Celestia silenced the crowd and spoke. "And now, let us feast in honor of our new member of society!"

And with that, tables were spread out and food was whipped out of nowhere. All the ponies began to file towards the tables and I exited the stage. I noticed Twilight give me a smile before she beckoned me forward to her.

"That was quite the courageous move out there. I don't know if Celestia is angry or just shocked." She said.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Either way, it doesn't look like we will be getting along anytime soon."

She laughed and tugged me towards the food line. Together, we both made our way to the feast. Little did I know that tonight was going to get pretty interesting.

I need a drink.

I watched as Twilight levitated two plates full of food in front of her while walking back to the table that was reserved for the me and the rest of the girls. "How do you do that?" I asked.

"What? Levitate items? It's quite simple really. It's one of the first things a unicorn learns to do. All you have to do is think about something, say a plate floating towards you, and then imagine that happening. Sort of like what you do when you.....change." She said, keeping my special "talent" hidden from the prying ears of the ponies around us.

I nodded. "So, can I try it?" I asked.

"As soon as we get back to the table. Then after the party I can lend you a couple of books on what you can do with magic."

I nodded. Soon enough we came to our table where the rest of the girls were. I pulled out Twilight's chair for her and she set down her plate of food as well as mine and took a seat.

"Ahhh, Atom, so good of you to join us. I must say I was rather surprised to hear you swear yourself to Luna like that." Rarity said from across the circular table.

I grinned. "Yeah, well. Celestia might be a bit angry with me, but I think it was a good idea on my part. Besides, I'm now the captain of the New Lunar Guard. So at least I have a job now. I guess it works out perfectly."

"Yeah. Dude, you totally should have seen Rarity's face when you did that. It was priceless!" Rainbow dash laughed from beside Rarity.

"I was simply surprised that Atom would tell her highness that he refused so bluntly." Rarity responded.

"Well ah don't know ‘bout you all, but I have to say that it was a very brave thing. Not as brave as facing the king of chaos, but still pretty brave." Applejack said from beside Rainbow.

"King of chaos? Who's that?" I asked.

"His name was Discord. He was the God of chaos before we used the elements of Harmony on him and encased him in stone again." Twilight answered.

"What are the elements of Harmony?" I questioned.

"Well, the elements are six different elements of existence I guess you could say. Each one of us is an element. I'm the element of magic, Rainbow is the element of loyalty, Rarity is generosity, Fluttershy is kindness, Applejack is honesty, and Pinkie is laughter." She answered with a smile.

I simply nodded my head in understanding. Personally, I shouldn't believe what I was hearing. But after everything I had seen so far, I was willing to believe in almost anything.

"So Atom, Where exactly did you come from anyway? I mean, Twilight said you were from far away, but where exactly?" questioned Rainbow.

I glanced at Twilight and she nodded at me to go ahead. "I come from a place called Earth. Actually, it should be "came from" instead." I answered.

"What do yah mean by that?" Applejack questioned.

"Exactly what I said. I used past tense because of the fact that the place where I come from is no longer there."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" She questioned again.

I face hoofed. "I will attempt to put it into plain wording. My home, the place where I grew up and lived, is destroyed. Gone. Not in existence. Obliterated. Shattered. Any other ways to explain this?"

All the girls just stared at me. One of them, Fluttershy, moved to comfort me. She put a hoof around my shoulder and drew me into a bone crushing hug.

"That must be horrible for you. Oh, I wish I could do something for you."

"AIR!" I wheezed out.

She released me and blushed red as she apologized to me.

"It's fine. Not the worst thing to happen to me." I responded.

I began to look over the contents of my plate and noticed there was no meat anywhere in it. I frowned but thought about how horses where herbivores, not omnivores like me. I sighed and began picking at my food with a fork. I still had no idea why these hooves broke the laws of physics, but it sure was helpful. I took a bite and my mouth exploded with flavour. My eyes widened and I immediately began to wolf down the rest of the salad. Rarity looked at me in revulsion.

"Must you eat with such.....how do I put it? Alarming manners?" She asked.

"I haven't eaten in two days. And I am still lacking in several important vitamins and minerals." I responded.

Rarity looked taken aback by what I had said. I simply pushed my empty plate forward a bit and instead turned to Twilight.

"Twilight, I have something very important that I need in my bag. It's still at your place unfortunately. Is there any way that I could get my bag?"

Rainbow Dash answered for her. "I can grab it. They don't call me the fastest in Equestria for nothing. I can have it here in ten seconds flat."

"Ten seconds? I highly doubt that." I said.

"Oh yeah? Time me. Where's your bag in her house?"

"By the front door."

With that she zoomed out of her chair, startling several diners in nearby tables, and disappeared. I began counting and had just gotten to ten when she was back in her seat holding my bag out to me.

"See, Ten. Seconds. Flat." She said smugly.

I took my bag from her with an eyebrow raised. I reached inside and withdrew a first aid kit which I opened and produced a hypodermic needle filled with a green substance.

"Atom what are you do...." Twilight's trail of speech ended abruptly as I stabbed the needle into my neck and injected myself with the green substance. I winced at the pain and saw everyone's faces pale at the sight. I finished and withdrew the needle and put it back into the case. The hole the needle left in my neck was quickly healed by the nano-mites in my blood. I snapped my neck to the side and put the case back into my bag.

"Sorry you had to see that." I said apologetically.

"What did you just do to yourself?" Twilight asked.

"So many questions, can't they just NOT question me every second I do something." I thought. "To answer you, I injected myself with what I call a "Nutri shot. What it does is it gives me the proper vitamins and minerals I need to survive in a new environment. And no Rainbow Dash, there is no other way to take it."

Rainbow Dash's face looked green as did everyone else's. Applejack, wanting to change the subject I believe, asked a very important question.

"So Twilight said you were a soldier. Why exactly would yah join an army? I mean, I can understand it has good pay an all, but doesn't that mean yah have to...yah know...kill ponies?"

I sighed. I knew eventually the question would be asked. "Yes, Twilight was correct when she said I am a soldier. The pay was good along with several other benefits. But yes, I did have to kill ponies. Most of them where in defence though. They always attacked me or one of my squad-mates first."

"I'm sure that Atom joined his army for a noble deed. Most ponies’ do. Personally I admire such brave pony's willing to risk their lives for the protection of others. They are hero's that never ask for anything." Rarity said.

I laughed out loud and pounded the table with a hoof. Rarity gave me a perplexed look. "Isn't that why you joined?" She asked.

I stopped laughing and took a drink of water from my glass. "No Rarity, it is not. I joined for revenge. I had no righteous reason to join; I only joined so I could kill the bastards that took my parents’ lives away. And I did it to."

Rarity looked horrified. "You beast! How could you just kill somepony because of a personal vendetta!? You disgust me!"

I leaned across the table and looked her in the eyes. "Before you pass judgement, let me explain to you why. I was born in a wasteland. We had nothing. We lived in constant worry about where our next meal would come from. I was fourteen when two robbers busted into our house and MURDERED my parents’ right in front of me. I saw my mothers head cut off; I saw my fathers head smashed in with a sledgehammer. The blade across my pack is the blade that murdered my mom. I could do nothing! NOTHING! To save them! I hid in a closet for four hours till I had the courage to come out. The kids at school teased me about being a chicken and hiding while my parents were slaughtered. THAT'S why I joined. So I could prove that I had what it took to find and kill the bastards that took my parents." I shouted the last part loudly enough that everypony stopped. I withdrew from the front of Rarity's face and got out of my seat.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need a stronger drink." I said.

I went to the bar that had opened while we had talked, grabbed a bottle of what looked like booze, and trotted off back towards the Library. Once I had opened the door, I opened the bottle and drank. The burning and numbing effect of hard cider eased my pain as old memories tried to surface. I sighed and took another drink. I stayed like that till I passed out drunk on the couch.

Wandering eyes.

Down below the castle of Canterlot, in the Crystal caverns where nopony dared go anymore, a lone Solar guard quickly trotted into a long hallway made to replicate the hallway of Celestia's courtroom. On the very end of the hall stood two large crystals that blocked all view of the room behind them. In front of the crystals stood two heavily armed guards wearing bright red armour and had what looked to be a crossbow with an auto loading system on the sides of their huge saddles. He trotted up to the guards and quickly said the password to gain entrance into the room behind them.

"Technology is the curse and the cure." He said.

The guards nodded and stepped aside while the crystals simultaneously moved aside with them. The Solar guard stepped into the room where his leader sat, looking into his scrying glass with a large cloak draped over his form. The guard could not see anything except for his eyes; those eyes shone bright red just like the guards armour outside. He bowed.

"You have something to report my faithful spy?" his leader asked in a wheezy voice. Almost as if something where covering his face.

"Yes glorious one. I have seen the impossible happen. A pony my worship, has just been instated as the new Captain of the NLG."

"That is something I already know about. Is this all?" His leader asked.

"No. The pony in question......he has.....Technology sir. Technology that has never been seen before. An entire armor system that heals himself."

His master's eyes took on a new shape. One filled with curiosity. "Hmmmm. Armor you say. Could it have a connection between the ship we found in the Everfree?"

"I know not my Lord. Our engineers have not been able to pierce the haul of the ship yet. The metal is to strong. "

The cloaked put a hoof underneath his hood as if he where rubbing his chin. "And what has Celestia said about this?" He inquired.

The guard merely shrugged. "She has not said anything other than to make sure that you get inside that vessel."

The cloaked figure stood. The guard shuddered at the sight of where his back right leg should have been. "Well then, I propose that we hire somepony to do our work for us. Somepony strong, quick witted, and not afraid of an adventure. Get that one mare we had do the temple job and see if she would like to survey an alien ship. Then forge a letter from Celestia to this new pony saying that we would like him to accompany our mare to the ship and make sure that nothing happens. We will be able to kill two birds with one stone."

The guard nodded. "Sir, if it's the same to you. I believe that if we forged a letter from Princess Luna it would go over better. Celestia is not very high on this ponies list of respectable beings."

His master just nodded and swept a hoof for him to leave. He did so without a second thought. He had his list of things to do and he would complete his tasks to the best he could. The first thing to do was to hire that mare.

Daring Doo sat in her home looking over her new volume of her book series. She sighed and set the book down looking for something else to occupy her time. It had been a good five months since her last adventure and she was getting bored. True she had been invited to many a high class party, but those where still boring beyond belief. She needed something new, something that she would never expect to happen. She was brought out of her thinking by quick hoof beats at her front door. She trotted to the door and opened it only to find a letter on the ground with a bright red seal. She looked around, grabbed the letter in her mouth, and returned indoors to read it. She recognized the seal almost immediately once it was brought into the light. She opened it and after several minutes of reading squealed in excitement. Not only where the bits good, she could keep whatever she could carry.

"An alien ship crash landing in the Everfree? And THEY want me to go and survey it! BEST JOB EVER!" she thought to herself.

She scrambled around her house gathering things and throwing them into her suitcase. She arrived at her wardrobe and quickly threw on her adventurer outfit, grabbed her suitcase, and ran for the door. She was nearly out it when she realized her hat was missing. She reached her hoof through the closing door and grabbed it at the last second before the door closed. Daring threw the hat on and flew as fast as she could for the Canterlot train station. This was going to be the adventure of a life time.