Ripples

CHAPTER 7

Mission

        “What is this?” I asked, looking at an enormous black structure pointing outwards from the base.

        “That would be a turret. Would you like to see it fire?” Captain said with a grin.        “...fire?” I asked, skeptical to his offer. He then galloped into the chair at the back, and swerved it at a firing practice target in the distance. He slammed his hoof on the button, and the turret exploded into a loud crack of electricity, sending a blue bolt whizzing through the air. it slammed into the target and utterly disintegrated it.        “And that is why it is better to be the one behind it,” Captain said with a very mischievous grin.        Our training had progressed for a week, and I had made great progress. Captain set me up with the ‘nicest’ training coach he had. His voice is very loud, and he doesn’t match my definition of ‘nice’, but I’m apparently a fast learner, so the introductory lectures on “History of Equestria” went by fast. Doesn’t mean they weren’t kind of boring, though. Then, we went on to Basic Survival. I was taught how to properly scavenge for foods, which foods can and can’t be eaten, where to find water, how to start fires, and how to operate a firearm. One of my training partners accidentally shot our instructor in the hoof, but he was wearing armor. I almost thought it was me, but when my partner started apologizing frantically, I let out a sigh of relief.        Now, I was given some time off with Captain. He really seemed to like my company, more so than anypony else I’d met.        “You know, Loste is a really depressing name,” he observed.        “Doesn’t everypony have a depressing name?” I asked.        “Look at it this way - when a parent names their foal, the foal’s name often reflects the parents emotions. What do you see in the parents of this generation?”        “...Lots of fear. And anger.”        “And why do you think they are afraid, or why they are angry?”        “They’re having a hard time coping with the present?”        “Precisely. They’re looking so much at the past, and what has been lost. Now think of it this way. Look at the future. What could happen in the future?”        I thought for a moment. “We could make the world a better place?”        Captain smiled. “You really are a quick learner. If we focus more on the potential in the future, and not the sadness of the past, we will be happier. Happiness is a great thing. With happiness comes laughter, and with laughter comes friendship. Without friendship, the world would die.”        What did Rage (...or was it Fury?) say about friendship? Didn’t he say it died?        “So what were your parents like?” I asked, curious. Captain’s facial expression changed, turning to a look of shock. He mouthed the word ‘parents’, staring into the distance.        “Are you okay?” I asked, concerned.        “...I’m...fine,” he finally said, and shook himself.        “Anyway...so you’re saying not to be afraid or angry?” I questioned.        He looked towards Fillydelphia. “Not necessarily. You see, all emotions are natural. You do not want to completely block off an emotion. That is how you become insane. You must channel that emotion into strength to move on, to keep fighting the good fight. Don’t let those negative emotions take over your life or get too powerful, but don’t become too overconfident either. You must find balance in your emotions, through channeling them into the strength to continue fighting. And if you don’t give up, you can win, no matter how long it takes.”        “...I feel all simple now,” I said, ruining the moment. “Did you just come up with that, like, as you were saying it?”        He blushed. “Well, uh, I think I did...”        I laughed. “So, uh, anything else you want to show or tell me?”        Captain looked around. “You know, you’re such a fast learner, you could probably be done with all of your training today. How about I set you up with a schedule that will get you to all of the remaining classes, and I’ll put you on your first mission tomorrow.”        I smiled. “I’m ready!”        Captain returned a smile. “Then let’s get started!”

~ ~ ~

        I walked down the streets of Fillydelphia, and a map in my bag. I had to stop at a corner to take it out, due to the lack of a better way to hold things. I never fully realized what being a unicorn meant. I can do, like, magic and shit. I don’t know how, though. Captain never offered any training for magic...although he never mentioned any ‘last unicorn in existence’ thing, so there has to be more...don’t think I’ve seen any, though.        I followed the specific path Captain laid out for me. I approached the building which my target resided. If my instructions were correct, the building should be vacant at this hour. I walked through the front doors into the enormous office complex. Considering its age, the Fillydelphians kept it in good repair. My target was on floor 23. I was about to enter the elevator when I noticed a sign hung on it, which read “OUT OF ORDER”. Goddess damn it.        Well, walking long distances was becoming a regular thing now, but stairs were new. Climbing them was much more taxing on the legs than walking straight. By floor 12 I was exhausted. But I kept on going.        Upon reaching my destination, I looked for room 23AB. I walked past several doors. 23SB...nope. 23S...eenope. I was about to reach the end of the hallway when I found 23AB. I had been equipped with a card key to unlock the door. There was a card reader mounted on the door. I withdrew the card from the bag, and tried to work the card through the reader with my mouth. After some advanced technical fiddling, it finally read the card and the door popped open.        Inside was...strange. Along the walls were various pictures of ponies, and others featuring apples. The furniture was bland; there was a desk with a laptop on it on one end of the room and a couch on the other, with a rug in between. I approached the desk. I fiddled the laptop into the bag, being careful not to drop it. Then I opened a drawer on the desk, to find a large amount of folders. I flipped through until I found the folder I needed. “CLASSIFIED” was stamped across the folder, and the tab at the top read “CMC#5467b”. I was specifically instructed not to open it, and I placed that into the saddle pack as well.        My job was done. I trotted out the door, and went back to the stairs. I began walking down. And down. And down. Down was much better than up. Once I reached floor 7, an alarm suddenly went off, blaring loudly. What did I fuck up now?        A door slammed open at the end of the hallway I was near, and a red pony wearing very heavy armor ran out and OH SHIT IS THAT A GUN?        I galloped down the stairs at maximum speed, and just before hitting the bottom I tripped and fell into a roll. I crashed in the center of the main lobby, and looked up. I was surrounded by an army of multicolored ponies all wearing the same black armor, with a visor covering their faces. And they all had military-grade assault rifles pointed right at me!        I smiled nervously. “Look, I’d love to stay and negotiate some way to enslave me or something, but I’ve got some important matters to attend to, and if I don’t, some ponies may get upse-”        “GET OFF HIM!” sounded Captain’s voice from somewhere near the doorway, and all of the guns turned towards him. An explosion of gunfire washed over the entire room, ripping holes in both the walls and ponies.        “I’VE GOT THEM! RUN!” Captain shouted at me. It took me a moment to process what is happening, but it finally clicked and I made a mad dash for the exit. Several bullets grazed my flank once more, but in my state of panic I didn’t register the pain. I burst out the exit, and Captain’s army followed from behind. I swerved through the city, I had a general idea of where the camp was, but I didn’t know exactly. I hit several dead ends and almost lost my backup when I heard Captain’s voice, “Over here!”        I ran towards it, and he led me out of Fillydelphia as his guards fired at the trailing enemies. Holy crap, Fillydelphia is huge.        We finally got to an area where we could see the camp. More of these enemies were already fighting the main base, and they had a very formidable amount of infantry. Captain turned to the left.        “Come with me, there’s a secret entrance!” he yelled, and I followed. We followed the perimeter of the city, until we reached an opening into the sewer. It looked like it had once been a drainage pipe, but the bars had corroded away leaving the entrance open. The water was long gone.        We ran in, and the smell was horrifying. I could barely see, but I could see enough to follow Captain. We took several turns before finally stopping at some kind of glowing...pod? What?        “We have very little power for this thing, it was meant for emergencies in case I needed to escape unnoticed...luckily, it works both ways. Loste, you first, then me.” He turned towards the guards. “The rest of you, go out and try to attack them from behind.” They all nodded and ran. I stepped into the pod thing, it was cylindrical with a slidable glass door. A blue light in the top illuminated it, and it was all I could see among the blackness of the sewer. Captain closed the door, and motioned for me to press a very large and obvious red button. I reached my hoof to press it, and zap! I was gone.