Chaos, that was the only word to describe it. Tents set up in no clear manner, ponies running around everywhere, and no organization. Looking down at the paper in his hoof, Mecha glanced at the sign that said, 444th scouting division set-up. He was in fact in the right place...
“Mecha? Is that you?” he heard a familiar voice say. Glancing to the side, Mecha grinned. “It is you!” came his friend Brick, running straight for him. “Man, what are you doing here? Your training rotation wasn't set to end for another two weeks!”
Laughing, Mecha replied, “I was dismissed early for the safety of the town and myself. You'd be surprised how many mares have access to either high explosives or explosive magic.”
Wincing, Brick said, “Probably not as many that have access to sharp knives,” gesturing to the jagged slash across his chest.
Snorting, Mecha replied, “Better than having an assassin try and kill you. Not to mention the guards let him through! Thought it'd be a great training exercise for counter-espionage!”
Chuckling, Brick said, “Which noble did you piss off this time?”
“That's the thing,” Mecha replied, “I don't know!”
Raising an eyebrow, Brick asked, “How could you not know? I thought you kept a list.”
Shaking his head, Mecha reached into his saddlebag, and pulled out a piece of paper. “I do keep a list,” he said, showing it to his friend. “But the problem is I don't know which one would've sent the assassin! I mean, I've pissed at least three off enough that they might've sent the assassin!”
Lightly shaking his head, Brick replied, “Only you Mecha. Anyways, you got time? I've met this cool guy named Sure Shot, you'd love him! Cocky, funny, and talkative. Perfect rival material!”
Laughing, Mecha replied, “I'm sure we'd hate each other, but I've got to report to...” glancing at the orders he'd been given, he read out, “Major Lieutenant Lieutenant. Huh, what next, a Lieutenant Major Major?”
At this point, a yellow pegasus popped out, and said, “Someone say my name?”
Blinking, Mecha replied, “I kinda did... but I didn't mean to. You wouldn't happen to know where Major Lieutenant Lieutenant is, would you?”
Shrugging, Lieutenant Major Major replied, “Sure, right this way,” before walking off.
Giving a wave to Brick, Mecha quickly followed.
LINEBREAKER
Mecha was at attention, facing Major Lieutenant Lieutenant. The blue pegasus was reading through the orders he'd handed him, and Mecha was now waiting for him to speak. Eyebrow raised at the end of the paper, Major Lieutenant Lieutenant stared at Mecha, before saying, “At ease.”
Relaxing, Mecha waited for further orders, prompting the superior officer to say, “You know, normally when a pony is dismissed from basic training early, it's because they pass the exam early. Not because they pissed of some nobles and mares.”
Wincing, Mecha replied, “To be fair sir, it was the fact that I always managed to pick out how to tick off the nobles, as well as figure out how to pick up the mares for dates despite my reputation for horrible first dates.”
Snorting, the officer replied, “No, that's just the official reason. The actual reason was they were tired of having to deal with the damage your misadventures caused to the town, and were yelled at for the assassin incident. I don't actually care either way, we're scouts not soldiers. Look at the camp for Celestia's sake! If we were army, this would be a disgrace! Granted, normally we don't operate in a division.”
Nodding his head, Mecha asked, “Permission to speak?”
Glancing at Mecha, Major Lieutenant Lieutenant replied, “Granted.”
Taking a deep breath, Mecha asked, “Why is the entire 444th division here sir? Last I checked, we normally only operate as squads.”
Nodding his head, the pegasus replied, “Because we're most likely going to be required for a code Yellow level 5.”
Mecha blinked, before shaking his head. Code Yellow level 5... possible Diamond Dog nation. That actually made sense, as Diamond Dog nations could extend for up to thousands of miles underground, which would require another division if they confirmed it. “May I ask for my squad then?” Mecha said after thinking it over.
Nodding his head, the officer went over to his desk, before grabbing some papers. Shuffling through them quickly, he looked up and told Mecha, “You'll be in squad 13, currently set up by the only tree in the area. Can't miss it.”
Giving a quick salute, Mecha walked back out, only to be surprised when he saw everypony is sight silent as a grave. After a quick glance, he noticed why, and rolled his eyes. Walking up to the Zebra everypony was eyeing, Mecha said, “Name's Mecha, nice to meet you.”
The Zebra smiled, before replying, “Harbuu is my name, I am glad to have met you. Are you not afraid?*”
Laughing, Mecha replied, “Not really. A family friend happens to be a Zebra, and she visits fairly often. So, Harbuu was it? What squad do you happen to be in?”
Harbuu smiled, before she replied, “I'm in squad thirteen, although it is unlucky, I am quite happy.”
Mecha laughed, before replying, “Same here. Tell you what, why don't we head over to our set-up and see who else is in our squad?”
Harbuu gave him a smile, before motioning for him to lead the way.
LINEBREAKER
When Mecha and Harbuu reached the only tree in the camp, a giant oak, he burst into laughter. “Don't- don't tell me...” he started, clutching his sides, “You're in squad thirteen...”
Brick just nodded dumbly, while the tan Earth Pony next to him raised an eyebrow. “What are the odds?” Brick asked, as Mecha continued to laugh.
Getting a grip of himself, Mecha replied, “I dunno. Probably something along the lines of a percent of a percent of a percent**.”
Shaking his head, Brick grabbed a camera from his bag, before passing it to Harbuu, asking, her, “You mind taking a pic of this?”
Shaking her head, Harbuu grabbed the camera, as the three ponies lined up. After getting themselves sorted out, she pressed down on the camera, and with a 'click', they were done. Smiling, Brick grabbed the camera, and said, “Thanks!” before turning back to Mecha. “Anyways, this is the guy I wanted you to meet. Mecha, met Sure Shot. Sure Shot, Mecha.”
Mecha shook hooves with the tan pony, noticing the bulls-eye Cutie Mark. Smirking, Mecha asked, “Archery, right?”
Grinning, Sure Shot replied, “Best there is. And, on a side note, I'm also the best fiddle player around.”
'Brick was right,' Mecha thought to himself. 'I like this guy, and hate him at the same time.' Reaching into his bag, Mecha pulled out his fiddle, and replied, “Is that so?”
“Are you two about to compete over who's the better fiddler?” came a sleepy sounding voice from the tree.
Looking up, Mecha spotted a light blue unicorn, who's eyes seemed to be slowly falling asleep. Her Cutie Mark matched in that it appeared to be three daisies falling asleep, snuggled right next to each other.
“If you don't mind,” Mecha replied, “as I don't wish to get on my squad mate's bad side...”
“Not at all,” the mare replied, jumping down from the tree. “I happen to enjoy the fiddle quite a bit, and we don't have anything else to do tonight as we don't official start our mission until tomorrow...”
“Great!” Sure Shot replied, whipping out his own fiddle. “Now then, what as I whoop this guy's flank miss...” he suddenly stopped, before blushing. “Um, I didn't catch your name...” he said, lightly kicking the ground.
With a light smile, the mare replied, “It's Somnium.”
Grinning once more, Sure Shot said, “Well then Somnium, prepare yourself for the best fiddle playing you've ever heard!”
Chuckling to himself, Mecha knew that he was going to enjoy his time in Squad 13 of Scouting Division 444.
*I have decided that Zebra's all speak in some form of poetry. For Harbuu, it's haikus.
**Actual odds: .000039%, or 39 percent of a percent of a percent
