Crashlanded Phoenix

Object C-04 "Rex"
Hallway outside office

I noticed in the corners of my sight, that the two guards guarding the office door were glancing at me cautiously, as if to assess my intentions. I paid little attention to that and walked past them, this time without any handcuffs on me. I sat down on the ground, against the wall opposite of the office door, facing towards the two guards. It appears that their eyes followed my movements and they were now looking at me... I looked back at them, which made their gazes return to looking straight ahead.

In this moment I wondered, why would they have spear armed guards guarding an office, instead of agents with guns and uniforms? Are those guys just some sort of honour guard? Seems irresponsible to only have them around a "dangerous" prisoner... Oh well, I could ask about that once I got transported to wherever the sun Princess wanted to send me off to. With nothing better to do than to admire the walls, carpets and whatever else was in the hallway, I rest my head against the wall and closed my eyes, a short nap wouldn't hurt me after all.

Princess Celestia
Personal office

I sighed happily as my guest left the office and popped a fresh cup of tea onto my desk. This Rex individual, convincing him to stay wasn't as easy as I thought, however I believed it was going to be worth it in the end. With no way home, he might as well stay in Equestria and settle down here, though I couldn't deny how useful it might be to have such an interesting person here. I hoped that Twilight would take good care of him while he stays in Ponyville and doesn't tire him out with being herself.

Anyhow, I sipped from my cup of tea, holding the cup with magic, and opened a drawer within my desk, inside of which was a telephone and next to it was a sheet with numbers. I lifted the telephone out of the drawer and set it down on my desk, while at the same time lifting and setting down the sheet next to it with magic. I held up the receiver to my ear with my left hoof and dialed a number with my right. Seconds later I was waiting for the pony on the other side to pick up the call.

"Hello, Canterlot Castle Guard Garrison! Senior Guardsmare Onyx at the telephone! How may I help you today, Princess Celestia?" A cheery voice answered, which put a soft smile on my muzzle as I heard one of my guards in a good mood.

"Good afternoon, Onyx. I presume things are running smoothly down there?" I asked and twirled the telephone cable in my hoof.

"Of course, everything is excellent as always, Princess. Is there anything you need?" She repeated her question.

"Why yes, I wanted to ask if you have any available guards at the moment. I need them for a special assignment. I need someone transported to Ponyville and escorted to Twilight," I spoke into the receiver.

"Just a moment, I'll have to check the schedules," I heard her set down her receiver on a wooden surface, followed by sounds of shuffing papers and cabinets being opened. "Hmmhh....where did I put that...," I heard her through the receiver. I used this moment to sip from my cup of tea as I waited.

"Aha! There we go! Just a moment longer, please!" She said after presumably picking her receiver up.

"Take your time," I responded in a calm tone, neither I nor Rex were in a hurry after all.

"Today is your lucky day, I have a pair of guards and a vehicle available right now. Conveniently, they were going to head in that direction! Shall I send them to you right away?" My ears were happy to hear this response come in through the telephone.

"Splendid, of course. Do tell them that the person they have to escort is waiting by my office," I said after finishing my tea. "And tell those guards to treat him fairly, I do not wish to offend my guest,"

"Understood, right away!" She responded and hung up immediately afterwards.

I leaned back in my chair and moved the telephone back inside the desk's shelf. Soon enough, Rex would find himself in Ponyville and experience Equestrian hospitality. That sounded wonderful, didn't it? Teaching someone from an unknown world and species the magic of Friendship, it really made my heart feel warmer. However, I now had to think as to how I'd explain it to Lulu... I doubted that she'd take kindly to finding out that I chose to keep a self-described murder machine and even let him out in the open, but that was something I'd take care of later.

Object C-04 "Rex"
Hallway outside office

I yawned and woke up to the chatter of two guards who were standing guard at the Princess' door, alas I couldn't discern what they were talking about and they returned to their solemn and silent vigil. I rolled my eyes at this and got up from the floor, then began pacing back and forth along the hallway to kill some more time. I went past several doors, but found that a few of them didn't have guards in front of them anymore. Probably just gaps between shifts, shouldn't be a problem considering that there is no shortage of them in this hallway either way.

Most of those office doors had name plaques on them, though I could hardly call those names. These ponies had bizarre naming standards, I briefly remembered the name of my interrogator, "Shadow Watch". It made sense in a weird way, considering his colour and profession. I approached one of the guardless doors and examined the name plaque on it. "Golden Shine" was engraved into it, though there was no sort of title underneath the name that could tell me more. I looked around for a moment and tried to open the door out of curiosity...damn it, locked. Nobody inside.

I walked away from the door and returned to the spot where I initially waited, then leaned against the wall. "Hm..how long is it going to take..." I said out loud, somewhat expecting an answer to come from one of the guardponies, but they just...stared...ugh...I need to get myself a cloak as soon as I can... I sighed and instead directed my attention to the letter I received from the Princess. It didn't have a sender or recipient address on it, which I found quite odd. She wanted me to deliver it to someone I didn't know the name of.

I heard armoured footsteps or more likely hoofsteps come from the direction of the staircase, which prompted me to turn around to face it in anticipation of what I believed was going to be my escort. Seconds later, two unicorn guards entered the hallway and stopped once they saw me. I saw them whisper to each other, but my ears were unable to catch what they were talking about. As for other details, one of the guards was male and the other female, with the male being bigger and older, judging by...facial hair? Ponies could have beards here? I suppose it isn't too far off from a goat with a goatee...

Anyhow, they cautiously approached me after they finished their whispering exchange. It was also worth noting that they didn't carry any weapons on them, perhaps as to not antagonise me? I proceeded to also walk towards them at a decent pace and with a slight smile on my face as a means to portray that I had no ill intentions towards them. They stopped in front of me within two arm's length, my arm's length that is.

"Are you two my escort?" I took initiative and said the first words, which seemed to surprise the female guard. Hmm, I think she'd be called a mare and he a stallion.

Her surprised expression turned to one of sudden enthusiasm. "Woah! It...you talk!" Not what I expected at all, I won't complain about it though.

"Uh...yes, that does seem to be the case," I responded to her, which only made her more giddy. The stallion meanwhile wasn't bursting with emotions like her. "Now that I think about it, it's a nice coincidence that we speak the same language," I chuckled and crossed my arms.

She stared excitedly at me as I spoke and didn't respond to me until her companion shook her a little with a hoof. "Ah!- Yes yes yes...hehe..." She chuckled quietly. "I am Vigilant Aegis and this is my partner Stalwart Bulwark," The stallion nodded the moment she mentioned his name. "Today we have the honour of escorting you to Ponyville, in the name of Princess Celestia!" She said, getting all giddy again.

I must admit, she seems to be quite devoted to her work...and the Princess. "I am Object C-04 Codename "Rex"," I spoke and bowed slightly to them. "It is a pleasure to meet you two," I noticed the stallion crack a smile as I bowed.

"Woah, that's a really cool name! How did you g-mmphhh" Suddenly she was interrupted by Stalwart Bulwark who put his hoof on her mouth. She glared at him in a humorously angry way.

"I am sorry to interrupt your chatting, but we should get moving. The truck's waiting and you'll get to talk more there," He removed his hoof from her mouth and turned around, then walked away from us.

She sighed and looked back at him. "He's right, we better get going. I'll follow behind you," She did as she said and now stood behind me. I just shrugged and jogged to catch up with the stallion guard.
We walked down the stairs, with me once again being able to witness the wonderful mosaic depicting Princess Celestia and another pegacorn. It just felt me with so much warmth, being able to witness this grand display of art. This time I was able to put a hand on the smooth silver guardrail by my side. It was rather cold to the touch, but without a doubt very durable and sturdy, must be made out of quality metals.

Aegis must have noticed me admiring the artwork as I heard her speak up behind me. "They are beautiful aren't they?" I bet she had a big smile on her muzzle when saying that. "We couldn't ask for any better Princesses, ever."

"Princesses...one of them is Princess Celestia, who is the other one?" I asked and stopped in front of the mosaic window. I heard Bulwark come to a stop too.

"She's Princess Luna, Celestia's younger sibling and Moon Princess. She's probably asleep at this time," He said in a calm tone and continued to lead us down the staircase.

Aegis popped up in front of me. "I can tell you a bit more about her once we get to the truck!" She said with a big grin and fell in line behind me. This mare was just bursting with energy, wasn't she? Though I had an odd feeling that I heard her and his name before...hmmh...must be my brain playing tricks on me, I've never met ponies like these ever before in my life, despite that weird tingle in my thoughts telling me otherwise...

We arrived at the bottom of the staircase and followed behind Bulwark as he turned right, towards one of the smaller and less prominent doors that led out of the hallway. He opened it ahead of time with his magic, which was a dark blue colour, and revealed a much less exquisite corridor. Even the soft carpet we walked on had ended right at the doorstep. We walked through the door and my feet were once more walking on the castle tiles. Though this didn't last long, as we took the first turn we could to the right and went down a spiral staircase. How high up were we even that we had to walk down what could count as tower stairs? We reached the bottom two minutes later, Bulwark having once again opened the next door with magic before we went through it.

Past the door was...oh fuck...now I really miss having a cloak...
I stopped by the door, staying away from the doorway. Bulwark turned to me after he noticed that I didn't go through, while Aegis looked at me with a questioning expression.

"Is something wrong?" She asked and came a bit closer to me.

"...Is...is there no other path that we can take? Please?" I leaned and looked out through the door...ah damnit...there were even more of them now. So many eyes...I-I think someone saw us- "I'm not comfortable with...," I spoke as I withdrew from the door. "...with being out there...," My breathing got faster and some sweat dripped down from my face.

Bulwark came back inside and closed the door behind himself. "Trust me, if there was any other path, then we'd take it, but there is some paperwork we need to sort out in order to leave," He sighed at the end. "Try to keep it together until we are done,"

I felt something warm rubbing my left shoulder, only to find out that after turning that it was Aegis rubbing it using her magic... however that worked. It...did kinda help soothe my nerves if I am being honest. Eh...I need to get myself together, at least for now, I am a soldier and I cannot just break down. Surely it wouldn't take a long time...yes, just in and out, not much more. "F-fine...I'll try to...stay calm," I said reluctantly and wiped my sweat off my face with a hand.

Bulwark nodded. "Good, just follow me, not much more," He opened the door. "This shouldn't take long," And he went through it.

I swallowed the spit in my mouth and gradually moved closer and closer to it, accompanied by Aegis who did her best to soothe my nerves. Why was she doing that though? Neither Bulwark nor she know me at all, perhaps have only seen me locked up in that cell, but they were acting all nice and...caring... "Thank you," I said quietly, I wasn't sure that she heard me, but I noticed her smile.

I glanced one last time into the hallway outside. It was swarming with ponies going everywhere. There were ponies with clipboards, presumably bureaucrats, guard ponies, regular ponies whose purpose here I couldn't discern... So many of them...and I'd be out there...with no way to conceal myself... Being naked wasn't the issue...I just needed something to hide myself with, hide my body from others...I-I really hated being in public.. I took one last deep breath and followed Bulwark out.

I kept my head low, staring at the floor yet keeping Bulwark within my field of view, in an attempt to push aside the fact that we were walking through a hallway with so, so many other ponies. It was a massive difference from the other floors and it felt like we were walking for who knows how long. I heard their voices all around me...chattering...laughing...I heard clopping of hooves and tapping of pens against clipboards... My ears being much more potent didn't help at all...it made the sounds overwhelming as a result of my fear...

"We are halfway there," Bulwark's voice rung out, piercing through the heavy veil of sounds made by others...

That brought me little comfort, but it was comfort nonetheless...knowing that this struggle would soon end, but this didn't make my situation better. I felt eyes crawling all over my body, itching sensation spreading through my skin. Muscles all throughout my body tensed up, my movements became stiffer. My fingers twitched and writhed, until I clenched them tightly into fists, only for them to begin sweating cold droplets... I kept on trying to shut out those thoughts, trying to retreat into a safe corner within my mind, but nothing worked...nothing helped me soothe those thoughts... I yearned for escape...or something to hide myself with...

Suddenly, a warm sensation spread through my shoulders...it felt as if somebody was massaging me there... I felt my muscles relax and some of the stress dissipate, as a female voice spoke to me from the back, Aegis' voice. "Shh...it'll be alright, we don't have much longer left. We'll be out of here sooner than you think, just stay calm," My fists unclenched somewhat and I felt the Princess' letter being taken by her from my hold... better than me potentially ruining it... "Listen to my voice, it's just the three of us here," She continued.

Our group came to a halt and I almost bumped into Bulwark after he stopped.

"Aegis, can you wait here with him? I'll handle the paperwork this time," He said, then I heard a door open which he presumably went through.

"There's a bench here, we can sit down," Aegis spoke and guided me to a bench which stood beside the door. Where did that door lead? I didn't know, maybe some sort of administration office since paperwork was mentioned. Sweat droplets dripped from my hands onto the tiled floor below as my breaths grew deeper.

"Do you...want to talk about anything?" She asked me. Judging by her tone, she wasn't sure if I desired further interaction... Ugh... anything to distract myself from...so many others around me... I closed my eyes and nodded. A conversation would be nice indeed...

"Where...are we exactly?" I asked her with a quiet and somewhat shaken voice, then glanced towards her.

She smiled once I asked her and spoke. "This is Canterlot Castle in Canterlot!" She said excitedly. "The capital city of Equestria and all of Ponykind!" Is...is everything here a horse pun? I thought we had some weird naming standards, but...this is a whole another level. Yet, it did make me crack a slight smile as my thoughts shifted towards the conversation.

"Must be pretty big then if it's your capital," I exclaimed.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet! This is just one of the many floors here, as the castle itself is huuuuuuggeeeee!" She gestured with her hooves in an attempt to show how tall it was, though that was probably not to scale... "There are towers! Balconies! Spoooooky basements and dungeons! There are tunnels going deep into the mountain itself too!" She got all giddy when listing all those attractions...wait, mountain?

"This castle is on a mountain?" I turned my head in her direction.

She nodded. "Mhm! The castle and a lot of the city are built on a massive mountain! The looks are absolutely gorgeous! You might see some of it once we get outside!" She stared into the distance and sighed happily. "Sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous here, the skies are filled with so much colour,"

If this castle was as huge as she said...it explains why I haven't seen anything other than the sun and clouds... But to build an entire city on a mountain sounds like a monumental feat and an architectural challenge, not to forget having to keep it all supplied... So inefficient and inconvenient. What about people...ponies...who have to get into the city? I had so many questions regarding this bizarre place, to the point of those questions having pushed out my fear at least for the time being.

The door beside us opened, Bulwark having left through it with a clipboard and a pen held in the air by magic. He walked up to me and placed both items in my hands, the clipboard had a document on it titled "Release form". "Sign in the underlined spot," He said calmly, though I could see some barely visible frustration on his muzzle. I clicked the pen and signed the document, then gave both the pen and board back to him. Bulwark took them and went back inside.

I turned my gaze to the floor once more to avoid seeing the masses of ponies as much as possible to stop myself from thinking about them...less thoughts...less fear...they aren't there after all. What the eyes don't see, the heart doesn't feel, right? Or in my case hearts... I felt a shiver move up my spine, but so far it worked thanks to Aegis...

The door opened again, with Bulwark leaving that room once more. "Okay, we've been here for long enough, let's get moving," He spoke to us. Aegis pretty much jumped off the bench, while I slowly stood up. Bulwark proceeded to walk further down the hallway, with us following behind him. Occasionally I heard him grumble something unintelligible under his breath, while Aegis quietly hummed a cheery melody behind me. I of course kept my head low the whole time.

Bulwark turned to the right, then pushed open and went through a single white door with a black staircase symbol on it. I followed behind him, using my synthetic hand to hold the door open for myself and Aegis. It was smooth to the touch, probably made out of plastic. Aegis nodded with a smile as she went past me. The scenery behind the door took a drastic change. Gone were the pinkish tiles and bricks, instead replaced by cold, hard, bland concrete all around us. As expected, this was a staircase leading both up and down. I returned to my rightful spot in the middle of our small group and scratched my neck.

"Why does this look so...out of place?" I asked while we proceeded to walk down the stairs.
Bulwark glanced around and spoke up. "Recent castle addition,"

Aegis nodded. "The Princesses wanted to modernise this place a little," Aegis added on.

"Not everypony likes walking up and down towers scattered everywhere," He said with a sigh.

"You have to admit they have a certain charm to them. They remind me of goodnight fairytales," She spoke to Bulwark, to which he shrugged. Personally, I preferred these stairs, over the "towers".

The sounds of their hooves clopping against the cold concrete steps echoed throughout the staircase, accompanied by the flapping sound of my bare feet. Every now and then we passed a door leading to a different floor, each labeled with a number that didn't tell me much, I had a feeling that we were approaching our destination. Sometimes I heard those doors open far above us, making my ears twitch as they caught the echoing noise. Somebody must have chosen to use these stairs too.

"Where are we heading exactly?" I asked both of them.

"We are almost there, you'll see for yourself," Bulwark responded.

The whole journey only took a few long minutes. Soon enough we found ourselves at a door with a blue parking sign on it. At least I think that was a parking sign judging by how similar it looked to the ones from the Empire. The shades were brighter, but the design was similar. Bulwark opened the door for us and this time held it with his magic as we all went through. Behind the door was a pretty huge parking lot with various vehicles, ranging from a few delivery trucks, expensive looking cars and an occasional army vehicle. Surprisingly no police cars waiting here.

"Ah, there it is," Bulwark spoke and turned to walk towards a military transport truck. It looked rather ordinary, two wheels in the back and front and whatnot. Pretty generic though reliable, albeit rather outdated design by the Empire's standards. Noteworthy was that the cargo bed was covered with a tarp above it, I won't have to show myself off to anyone then. Quiet humming of lights spread throughout the parking accompanied us together with clopping and flopping sounds as we approached the truck.

"So...this is it?" I asked and rubbed my chin.

"Mhm, your escort vehicle. You'll have to sit in the back though," Bulwark responded.

"If you ever need anything, you'll be able to talk to us through a window in the back of driver's cabin," Aegis added onto Bulwark's words.

"Anything else I should know?" I asked while looking over the vehicle a bit more.

"There are some crates in the back, don't mind those, it's just supplies," Aegis said right as Bulwark was about to say something. "You can sit against them if you want," She continued and walked around the truck to the passenger door, while Bulwark opened the driver door and got inside.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," I made my way to the back of the truck and glanced inside. There were three sealed wooden crates on the cargo bed, partially covered with rubber tarps. There were a few miscellaneous items scattered around too. A few small boxes, a toolbox and even a couple sleeping bags were among those. I jumped and climbed onto the cargo bed, then walked to the back of it while hunched over to avoid slamming my head against the metal frame holding the tarp above it.

I noticed the aforementioned window, it had a small handle which I grabbed with my right hand and after a brief moment of trial and error, opened as I slid it to the left. During this time, they had taken their helmets off, put their seatbelts on, indicated by the very recognisable clicks. Afterwards, Bulwark started the truck's engine. I looked into the driver's cabin as the engine roared to life and I got noticed by Aegis, who smiled as she saw me.

Suddenly, a weird feeling filled my mind, as if I had been in this truck once...déjà vu... Just like when I heard their names.
I pushed those thoughts aside for now, but I'd be sure to return to those very soon. Our driver backed out of the parking spot the truck occupied, then turned towards a dark tunnel. I stared into it and if my optical augs were fully functional I'd be able to see where it leads... Bulwark seemed to catch on and spoke up. "This tunnel leads out of Canterlot, bypassing the city,"

Aegis nodded and spoke after him. "Ponies don't like seeing military trucks driving through the centre, so we carved a loooooooooong tunnel to get out quietly," Another wonder of pony engineering it seems. The truck's lights were switched on as we approached the tunnel entrance, moments before driving into its bowels...