“Ugh… my head…” I groaned as I started to gain consciousness again. I tried to put a hoof to rub my head, but I found something was holding it down. I blinked several times, my vision returning to me slowly. I found myself lying on a large metal table that was tilted up. My legs were bound to the table by metal rings, except- My eyes widened as I looked left. Where was my leg?! What happened to my leg? I wiggled my stump of a left leg in panic. Well, at least it healed over well. I tried to pull my legs free, but the bindings were too tight. My armor was missing as well, the cold metal pressed firmly to my back. I focused as I tried to call upon some magic to undo the latches. Nothing more than sparks flew. My panic grew. My horn… shit, did they take my horn too? My heart was pounding as a door in front of opened. The circular lock spun open, the door rising up into the ceiling. A teal pony with a mix of light blue and green mane walked in. She was wearing a dark blue robe and her mane was tied back in a ponytail.

She trotted up to me holding a clip-board in her hoof and a pencil in her mouth. “So, how’re you feeling?” She asked, scribbling something down onto her clipboard. I just stared at her, confused and irritated. She looked up from her clipboard, raising an eyebrow. “Well?”

“Oh, you know,” I said. “A little stiff, kind of hungry, and wondering what the hell is going on!” I almost shouted, but I tried to retain my composure. After all, if she was to get angry, I’m not exactly holding an advantage. The mare only scrawled down my response before looking back to me, as if expecting another response. “Seriously, where is my leg? Unless you’re planning on giving me an upgrade, I don’t approve of this.”

The mare grinned a little. “Your leg contained technology unfit for civilians. Section 23B, Article IV of the Codex states we are to reclaim any technology, functioning or not, deemed to pose a threat to the user, others, the wasteland, or civilization as a whole.” She said. “Your horn was also considered contraband, or at the very least worthy of study. The remaining technology is planned for removal in a few minutes.”

The bottom of my stomach fell out. They were planning on tearing open my skull? I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. “B-but… that’s fatal!” My mind went to producing images of scalpels, wire cutters, and nope, didn’t need those ideas. I struggled in my bindings, the mare wheeling in a gurney. She was followed by another pony in robes, this one a unicorn. The teal mare stood over me as the unicorn’s horn began to glow. I felt the bindings around my hooves open. Adrenaline, don’t fail me now! I quickly sat up and punched the mare in her temple. She gave a cry of pain before falling to the floor. I felt the unicorn lift me into the air, to pin me into the gurney as quickly as he could, but he didn’t bother to keep me away from his face. One swift kick in the jaw and he fell to the floor.

I stood over them, panting. Ok… ok, calm down, figure something out. Ok… one leg short, running is out of the question. I’m not going to be able to sneak around. I looked down at the stallion’s robes. Well… it might not fool everyone, but it’d better than nothing. I pulled his robes off, slipping them over me. I pulled the hood up over my head, covering the nub of my horn that hadn’t been torn off by these madmares. I looked down the hallway, various exposed pipes were running along the ceiling and under the grated floor. Thankfully it was empty… first things first, find my leg. I turned left down the hall, the claustrophobic passage not helping my nerves. I closed the door behind me, lest the obvious unconscious bodies give me away.

I came across another room, and after confirming there was no one hanging around in it, I slipped in. The room looked like an old conference room, a large, round, wooden table sat in the middle, surrounded by chairs. There was a large, tattered flag hanging on the wall. It contained a sun hovering over a moon, twin Alicorns, one white, the other a dark blue circling it. The darker one seemed oddly familiar, but my mind was quickly pulled back to reality as I heard footsteps clanging down the hallway. I slipped into the corner, praying the pony passing by wasn’t going to check on the others. As I stood in the corner, I noticed a gleaming pole leaning against an open locker. The pole itself was simply well polished hardwood, but the top was adorned with a golden head of a unicorn. Upon closer inspection, it looked similar to the unicorn from the memory orb, albeit with a ridiculous grin on its face. Well, this is better than going unarmed. I grabbed the cane, using it partially as a walking stick.

I peered down the hall again before sneaking down, hoping I could find my leg soon. I crept through, thankfully not running across anyone else. I was honestly surprised those who were planning on tearing the wires out of my brain hadn’t been alerted yet. I passed by a few rooms, one of which looked like a small library. Come on, there had to be a workshop or vault around here. As I walked through the hallways, I came across a room filled with broken tech. A few other ponies in robes were standing over a large weapon. I scanned the room, and my mood immediately lifted. In a large glass container imbedded in the wall, my leg and horn were being held. I glanced over at the ponies in robes, one reaching for a wrench. I snuck into the room, doing my best to stay hidden. I slipped over to the container, a keypad imbedded in it. Ugh… if my horn wasn’t on the opposite side of the glass I could hack this. Guess stealth isn’t an option now.

I lifted up the cane in my hoof, shifting my weight to lean against the wall so I didn’t fall over. I swung the cane into the glass, causing it to shatter and an alarm to go off. I swiped my leg and horn from the cabinet as the two scribes looked up in surprise before their eyes landed on me. I jammed my leg into the mechanical clamp, feeling it close over, the large wire plugging into the one embedded into leg. The scribes each pulled out a laser pistol. Well, I can get my horn later. I dashed out of the room, holding my horn in my teeth. I charged through the hallway, the robed ponies hot on my heels. As I ran, I saw the stallion I’d stolen the robes from walking out of the room, wheeling the gurney in front of him. Thank you, sir!

I leapt onto the cart, paddling against the floor with the scepter. I wheeled down the hall, the robed ponies firing at me, a couple ponies in power armor joining them as I sped down the passage way. I leaned to the right and let the bottom of the cane scrape along the floor, attempting to turn along with the hall. The gurney started to lean too far, and I used the staff as a vaulting pole, the gurney falling to block the hall. I galloped ahead, the ponies behind me firing and quickly moving the gurney out of the way. Ach, that was my ear! I ran through a room of computers, one old pony in red robes jumping out of the way of the parade of energy wielding ponies. As I ran through tunnels, more ponies started to follow and the lasers and plasma getting harder to dodge.

I turned into a room with two guards standing on either side of the door, an older mare sitting in the center. I skidded to a halt, the ponies behind me ceasing their fire. The mare stood up from her chair. She was wearing purple robes, but they appeared to be much more elaborate than those of the ponies in the workshop. "What is going on?" She demanded. The teal mare who I'd first seen stepped forward.

"The outsider managed to escape while we were attempting to bring him to study." She said. The purple robed mare nodded, waving a hoof to dismiss the crowd. All aside from the teal mare and the stallion from who I'd stolen the robes obeyed. The older mare sat back down behind her circular desk.

"Nova... did you follow protocol?" The mare asked. The younger mare looked away, her ears flopping down. The older mare sighed before turning to me. "Well, outsider, now that you've seen our inner workings and I doubt you have a good impression with us, why shouldn't I have the guards proceed with the operation?" She asked coldly. My already racing heart sped up, sweat starting to bead up.

"W-well," I began, spitting my horn into my hoof. "Obviously you have a fascination with my... tech." I took a breath, trying my best to calm down a bit. "But, wouldn't it be better to study a live... uh, specimin?" I asked. The mare nodded slowly as the stallion trotted over and jabbed my side.

I started to take off the robes as the mare simply said, "A fair point. Go on." I handed the robes off to the stallion, who took it roughly. He also took the staff from me before turning to leave. I shifted a little, trying to collect my thoughts.

"You don't know exactly how these work." I said, motioning to my horn. "Tearing out the wires would only give you a vague idea, and you couldn't put them to any use after studying them." The mare nodded again, and I gained a little confidence. "Suppose I allow you to run a couple tests on me and afterwards I'm let out of here. With my armor and weapons." I said.

The mare thought the idea over a little before speaking. "You have a deal, outsider, but bear in mind you will not be allowed to speak of this bunker's location beyond its walls." I nodded and the mare looked to Nova. "Take him for testing, but leave him alive." She said. Nova immediately brightened up.

"Yes mo- Elder Quazar." She started to lead me down the narrow halls of the bunker. "You have no idea how glad I am, I was worried you'd be killed for sure!" She said excitedly. I cocked my head to one side, confused.

"Wait... but you were the one who was going to take me to be killed in the first place." I said. Nova grimiced a little as we took a right down another hall. A few more ponies were trotting around in power armor and robes... I think I even spotted the one we ran into at the Megaspell testing facility.

"Well, those were orders. Believe me, if I had the ability to convince the Elder, there's no way you'd even been on that table in the first place." She said. We turned into a small room with various device lying on tables. She walked to one with a small needle protruding from one end. "Here, place your hoof next to the needle." I complied, Nova pressing a button which shot the needling quickly into and out of my hoof. "Just a DNA test, more a formality than the others." She then led me to a small machine with several wires and nodes spread out along side it.

"We normally use this one to measure brain activity to see if somepony is lying. I hope whatever you have in your head won't blow the circuitry." She giggled, starting to place nodes in various spots on my temple and forehead. I noticed she seemed a bit too... loving with the movements, for lack of a better word. As if she was worried she'd press to hard down and hurt me. "Alright... try levitating the pencil around a bit." She said, removing one from her robes and placing it beside the machine.

I focused, a little surprised my magic reserves still had some energy remaining, and an aura appeared around the pencil. The machine started to tick quietly, paper flowing from one end as several needles sketched lines on it. I made the pencil rotate, fly left, right, up, and down as Nova studied the paper. "Well... I have to say this is... interesting." She said, a light blush appearing on her face. If I just found another pony as obsessed with machinery as much as me, Cross might have a little competition!

We continued, levitating larger objects, performing more complex acts, and I demonstrated how I recharged my magic supply, Nova taking notes all the while. "Well, that looks like everything for now. Let's check the DNA information to see if there's anything you need to correct. It can be a little unreliable sometimes." She said. We walked over to the machine that had taken a sample of my blood, a new paper with digital lettering having printed itself out from the side. Nova tore off the paper, scanning it. "White... blue mane... unicorn... It all looks correct. Hang on.... there's a relative that's popped up in our databanks." She said. I raised an eyebrow. Was this the machine acting up?

Nova scanned the paper repeatedly. "No... this... but... no..." Her eyes grew wide as she scanned it again. "This says... your grandmother was Elder Quazar's mother... You... I..." She didn't need to finish the statement for me to put the pieces together, my eyes widening a bit too. She stood still for a moment, horrified. Then suddenly said loudly. "I was trying to sleep with my cousin? Ew, ew, ew, euch!" She said, dropping the paper.

I stepped back from her, both of us freaking out a bit. My cousin tried to hit on me! She didn't know but... gross! As we freaked out though, a resounding "boom" echoed through the bunker, throwing each of us off balance a bit. "What was that?" I asked, worried. Nova paused for a moment, before drawing her pistol.

"I think we're under attack! And whoever it is has large artillery!" I gulped, hoping Twintails hadn't just decided to start a one colt suicide run to get me. "Come on, let's get your stuff!" She said, running out of the room. I ran after her, power armor clad ponies rushing past us towards, presumably, the exit. We entered an armory, Nova punching in a code on a locker. It opened up, revealing my gear. I grabbed it, slipping it on as Nova ran to an intercom. "Mom? Mom, I've got Minty... the outsider... it doesn't matter how I found out his name, but we're getting his stuff, he's going to help us defend the attackers. Yes, yes I'll be careful." She paused for a moment, blushing, before whispering. "I love you too." She took her hoof off the intercom button as I finished sliding on my armor.

I was about to draw my rifle when I noticed another, large, wrapped up object in the locker. I was sure I didn't have anything on me this big when I was in the hotel... I pulled it out, letting the fabric, which seemed very similar to the robes worn by Nova, if not as elaborate, slide off. My heart practically froze. I had a full blown, Mark IV Tesla Cannon in my aura. I squeed, lifting it onto my shoulder. I buckled a bit beneath its weight, but just the feeling of its smooth glass and exposed wires running along my neck. Ooh, I think I'm in love. Along the back end was inscribed a fancy "i", and whoever it meant, I thanked them to the very heavens for this gun.

Nova looked back at me, her expression turning to one of surprise immediately. "Where did you get that?!" She asked. I only chuckled, walking with some difficulty out of the room. I followed the group of guards to the exit, itching to fire this thing off. As I stepped out into the cold air, I saw a small figure dart about. I shifted the Cannon slowly before magically pulling the trigger. I felt the electricity jump from the cannon, to me, to into the air, sending a tingle down my spine again... and almost knocking me over. I grinned. I may have missed, but I was more than willing to fire again. Just as I was about to though, my eyes landed on a familiar golden figure armed with shoulder mounted machine guns...

"Twintails?"

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