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Clockwork

by That 1 Guy

Chapter 7: Free For All

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9 weeks. 6 days.

30 recruits left.

"Alright maggots. This is IT!"

Clockwork did not flinch at Brass Hoof's insults anymore. Nor did he react to his sudden increases in volume. It sure as hay wasn't normal for a pony to talk like that, but the one winged pegasus had gotten used to it.

He, Charger, and the remaining twenty eight bunkmates stood at the entrance into "hell's forest", the large, fenced off section of forest that Camp Currahoof used for combat simulation. Clockwork knew this place well, and he hated it with a passion.

As the pegasus tuned out his Drill Sergeant's yelling, he realized that there were a few differences. There were no practice rifles, no red or blue tags to indicate the wearer's allegiance, and no familiar warning labels on the ammunition crates. The stallion looked back towards his Superior Officer.

"Free for all! That's right, assholes, ya'll are going to be shooting everyone you meet! That's an ORDER!"

Clockwork's brow raised with confusion. Shooting former allies? No team work? What was this simulation supposed to test?

As if by telepathy, Brass Hoof answered Clockwork's unspoken question. "This simulation will be the last one you good for nothing shits take part in! The purpose of it is to test two major factors. Specifically, it will test your survival skills as well as your resolve. There may come a day when you are forced to fire on former friends. You must be able to end the lives of formerly trusted personnel without so much as a second thought!"

Clockwork felt a chill run up his spine. He prayed that day would never come.

"There's a few things different about this last simulation. I've found that you bastards are getting a little too cozy with your E-1's, so I've gone and procured some specially designed E-17 revolvers! Do NOT make me regret my actions! These little suckers fire stun rounds alright, but these rounds contain seventy fucking five percent of a real bullet's speed and strength. If you get SHOT, it will HURT. The only risk of getting hurt so bad that you actually have to go to a medical tent is what you bring upon yourselves! Get your gear and get to your gates! It's showtime!"

Without a word, the soldiers-to-be broke formation and gathered what they believed necessary to succeed. Clockwork took a revolver, three reloads, a flashlight, and a few flares. He began to make his way to his gate, but stopped when he found Charger already standing at hers.

The mare stood as straight as an arrow, her forehooves fitting snugly into her gloves. Tiny arcs of blue light jumped over her garments and tail. She only relaxed her stance when she realized her best friend was at her side. "Hello, Clockwork."

The pegasus gulped. Ten weeks of near-torture did little to ruin her being. Her body was still as lithe as ever, but evenly toned muscles were clearly visible. Her voice was still as smooth as silk.

"Is everything alright?"

The pegasus looked up. He had been staring again. He wondered if she ever noticed, or if she cared. "Oh, uhh. . . Ahem. I just wanted to say good luck." he held out a forehoof and smiled.

Charger returned the hoofshake. Even though her smile was less noticeable than her friend's it was still beautiful. "The same to you."

With only a nod, Clockwork turned and continued on his way. He looked over his shoulder to find the earth pony had returned to her previous stance.

The pegasus groaned. Ten whole weeks he had been with the mare of his dreams and he had yet to express his feelings!

What the buck? he mentally chided himself. She's right there! Just tell her how you feel before some admiral takes her away forever!

But she deserves an admiral! She's the most amazing mare ever! Why the buck would she want a cripple?

Because you're smart, healthy, not bad looking-

You’ve also been acting like a creeper for a while. Not to mention that you lie to yourself a lot. What about that promise you made to Moppet? How many friends have you made in ten weeks?

Something snapped in the pegasus, causing him to focus solely on the gate in front of him. He hated fighting, he hated the fear of war, he hated failure. He had to succeed, show the military that he was still an equal to everyone else here.

A shrill alarm went off in the distance, and the chain-linked gate swung open. Clockwork darted inside, his plan already forming.


Clockwork's eyes fluttered open as he felt something tickle his nose. A monarch butterfly had landed on him. The pegasus smiled, perfectly happy with escaping from reality for a moment.

"Hey there," he addressed the insect. He wondered if it could understand him; a lot of the creatures of Equestria seemed like they could. "What're your thoughts on all of this? The fear of war, the worry, the disharmony?"

The butterfly flew over to and landed on a nearby branch.

Clockwork sat up. "Yeah, I don't like it either. You best be on your way. Stun rounds do just that to ponies, but I get the sense they'll do a lot worse to you. I won't give away your position, honest."

The monarch took off and soon disappeared from sight. Clockwork laughed as he looked to the horizon. Maybe Moppet would consider butterflies as friends.

The pegasus was situated in the higher branches of one of the forest's many trees. It was from here that he had the best field of view, and it also gave him an excellent view of the sunset.

Clockwork sighed. This simulation had lasted far longer than any he had been previously involved in. He had only stunned one of his bunkmates and had narrowly avoided several others. He didn't care if he got thrown out of Basic Training before the night was out, he wasn't going to fire on his friends. Unfortunately, he had to find a way to defend himself from those that would. So, he had set up a little bait and hook of sorts.

The stallion looked down at the small pile of paralyzed ponies some distance below him. The flares he had acquired at the start of the exercise lasted for up to two hours each, or three given "ideal conditions."

As Clockwork readied his last flare, he realized just how much his plan depended on luck. It was up to his "prey" to find the flare. If they remembered anything from their training, it was the ability to recognize an easily defendable position. A bunkmate would take up the spot and wait. Eventually, another bunkmate would cross the previous one's path. If Clockwork was lucky, they would down each other.

Clockwork dropped the flare a little ways away from the bodies. His plan got difficult as the hours dragged on. The stallion he had stunned himself, the one smart enough to look up, had been the last recruit to stop by in two hours. In all that time, he hadn't seen Charger, not like he wanted to shoot her anyway.

The pegasus stretched his limbs, checked his equipment, and jumped from the tree. Any other species of pony might have acquired broken a leg from that high of a jump, but pegasi were gifted with enhanced. . . it seemed like almost everything, really. Clockwork unfurled his wing, slowing his descent, and landed with a soft thud.

He didn't want to risk somepony possibly shining their flashlight upwards and finding him, he had to get moving. The stallion ditched his flashlight the second the full moon came over the horizon. Luna's orb provided more than enough light to see. Clockwork groaned, concealment would be relatively difficult.

As Clockwork made his way through the nighttime forest, he concentrated his senses solely on sight and hearing. A passing shadow here, wind blowing through the leaves there, it was enough to keep him alert.

SNAP!

"GAH!" Clockwork immediately covered his mouth as he spun around towards the source of the snapping branch. His revolver was set to fire, but he held back when he realized who he was aiming at.

It was Charger, and it was clear that she wasn't sure who she was aiming at. It didn't matter though, and Clockwork ducked just before she fired.

The pegasus flattened himself to the ground and stayed absolutely still, praying that Luna's moonlight and the forest's loose foliage would be enough to hide his body. Charger wasn't like Smokestack, she fired only when she had a clear target.

There was no movement for a full minute. No shots, no chirping of night birds or croaks of frogs, not even the soft crunch of trampled leaves. Charger was stealthier than most of her bunkmates, perhaps she had left? Maybe Clockwork's desperate attempt at camouflage had actually worked?

Or maybe it hadn't. Maybe she still had her revolver trained on the area directly above the pegasus. Clockwork wasn't going to take chances, nor was he going to shoot his best friend.

Sparing a glance upward, the pegasus noticed that Charger had her back to him. He quickly grabbed a few rocks and threw them toward a nearby tree. As expected, the mare snapped towards the sound and fired. He threw a few more farther away to simulate a retreat and the earth pony's response was similar with each successive rock.

The mare must have scavenged ammunition from her downed opponents. She fired a full six rounds into the tree the pegasus had thrown his last rock at. It was only now that Clockwork realized that he and she were probably the only two "survivors" left. The ruckus hadn't attracted any curious trainees.

The pegasus readied himself for a dead sprint away from the mare, but paused when she called him out.

"Running away from a fight is the last thing a Federation soldier will do when in battle! You have countless offensive possibilities to utilize, and you run like the coward you are! You're a disgrace to the uniform!"

Clockwork felt a chill run up his spine. Charger had never said anything like that before tonight. Would she have said it had she known it was him? He shrugged, choosing to risk it rather than play it safe. "There's a big difference between cowardice and trying to make peace! The latter is extremely difficult when you're being shot at!"

The stun rounds stopped coming. "Clockwork?"

"The one and only!"

There was a long period of quiet. No hoofsteps, no wind, only the faintest buzzing of electricity. The pegasus gulped, then rose from his position, revolver primed. He felt a bullet graze his ear.

"What the hay was that?! I thought we were friends!"

Charger did not lower her weapon. "We are."

"Friends don't aim for their each other's heads!"

"My actions are in accordance with the exercise," she responded as calmly as she always had.

"The exercise is bullshit!" Clockwork holstered his revolver. "We'll never have to fight one another because there won't be a war! This simulation's justifications are a fallacy!"

Charger's aim dropped, revolver now pointing at the center of mass. "Explain."

Clockwork hesitated for a moment. Even in the moonlight, the earth pony’s eyes still outshone the purest of sapphires. "This simulation is supposed to test our devotion to one another, to determine if we are willing to kill those we've trusted for so long! In my opinion, every recruit who has stunned another has failed!"

There was another bout of silence as Charger thought over her friend's theory. Her eyes glimmered with regret. She holstered her pistol a few seconds later. "Your logic is sound, Clockwork. I'm sorry that I-"

As the bugle call for lights out echoed in the distance, Clockwork looked to the mare he still loved and smiled. He knew what was about to happen. "Good game?"

Charger nodded. "Great game."

The sound of electricity filled Clockwork's ears. Both ponies suddenly went stiff as wooden boards. The moonlight faded, the simulation was finally over.


Clockwork’s eyes shot open as he sat upright in his chair. Looking to his right, he found Charger in her dress blues, the same as everyone else on the platform, a gloved forehoof pressed into his side. She had jolted him awake, again.

Then again, how could anypony successfully sit through the flank-kissing speech to the supporters of the camp masked as thank-yous and long lists of quasi-noteworthy accomplishments? Without dozing off? Sheesh, why not just read the dictionary from start to finish?

The pegasus looked around for a moment and found everyone exactly where they had been before his dream began. Every chair in the audience was filled with relatives, wives and husbands, and even a few of the higher-ranking officers. All of them looked as sleepy eyed as him. There were far too many recruits to graduate one at a time, listing their honors and such. Instead, they went by bunks, and while there was a bit of personality lost to mass-ceremonies like this, it certainly was convenient.

Clockwork’s eyes became trained on the horizon as he heard Smokestack shout to stand at attention. A certain Drill Sergeant made his way to the microphone, a small pile of papers under his prosthetic leg. The olive green workhorse cleared his throat, made sure everything was in order, then threw the papers aside. “I never liked pre-prepared speeches anyway, sound’s like I’m a twenty something corporate executive in a board meeting,” he muttered, receiving a laugh from everypony around him. “Instead, I’m just gonna speak my heart, as cheesy as it sounds.”

“Ten weeks ago, I walked into Bunk 2217 and found before me the most sorry bunch of recruits I had ever seen in my entire time in the military. Now, I know I say that about every group of recruits I get, but I was serious about these guys. I could’ve done better with a herd of deaf-mute sheep. No offence to the people of Fleece, of course, wonderful hummus all around.”

Even if he was sounding a bit lighthearted, all of this sounded customary of the Sergeant, and then he said something that nopony could have ever expected. “I was wrong.”

“The mares and stallions directly behind me went from inexperienced civilians to well-trained infantry in ten weeks flat. While not all of them have completed the necessary requirements to move on to their individual professions, they’ll have more than enough time here to work on that. Anyway, I want to keep this short so I’ll just give my final points.” the stallion actually looked a little sad. “I’m damned proud of each and every one of them. I’d gladly die if it meant the survival of one of these guys. Tartarus, I’d suffer if it meant the survival of all of them. I doubt I’ll ever get another group as good as them.” he paused again, but after a few moments simply shrugged. “Eh, that’s all I’ve got. See y’all at the punch table.”

The workhorse stayed not a moment longer, garnering a cheer from the crowd and a salute from his trainees. Clockwork didn’t know that Brass Hoof had functioning tear ducts. He assumed that he had sealed them with molten lead at birth.

The rest of the ceremony felt a bit more uplifting after that, and it was only a few more minutes before the trainees were ordered to stand and raise their right forehoof. Time to take the oath.

I, as a citizen of Equestria, swear to protect the kingdom through all reasonable means within my power until my final breath.

There was a short bout of applause before everypony was dismissed. They still had twelve more bunks to enlist. Clockwork soon found himself at the snack table, scanning for something to bring back to his-

“There you are, kiddo!” Clockwork felt his body lift upwards as his father gave him a massive bear hug. “Lemme tell ya, you look great in uniform! Almost didn’t recognize ya!”

“Very sharp, too,” Quick Fix added, sounding like she had eaten something sour recently. “That stallion up there had an interesting speech. I expected a member of the military to be more prepared when it came to speaking. And that language.”

Clockwork checked to make sure none of his ribs were broken before turning to see his parents for the first time in what felt like years. Much to his shock, their eyes were filled with more fear and sorrow than happiness. A small handkerchief magically hung near his mother’s eye. “Is something wrong?”

“We’re happy for you, Clockwork. We really are.” Gearbox looked away for a moment. “It’s just that I doubt either of us thought you would make it as far as you did. I’m both glad and horrified that we were wrong.”

Clockwork sighed, knowing what was to come. “I’m not going to get dragged into a war. I’m going to create devices that will benefit every inhabitant of Equestria and then some, including the both of you.” he pointed to his parents. “That’s a promise.”

“But can ye keep that promise, laddy?” Clockwork froze as he heard a very familiar voice nearby.

Moppet appeared from behind the pegasus’ parents, looking like he had been put through the most intensive spa treatment in recorded history. If Clockwork didn’t know better, he would have thought that one of his parents was a crystal pony. “How goes yer quest to make friends? How many have ye made so far?” an eager smile crossed his muzzle.

“Umm. . .” Clockwork pulled his collar a bit to get some air. He ran through the list of recruits he had met over the past several days. Stoneback, Glimmerhorn, Sea Breeze, Thankless Task. . . “How well do I have to know them?” Clockwork asked through gritted teeth twisted into a smile.

“You there, yes you!”

Clockwork looked to over Moppet’s shoulder and noticed a certain tan pegasus approaching. He seemed even more out of place than before, not seemingly here for the party or even comprehending that it was going on around him. Long Shot was nowhere to be found.

“Something the matter, sir?” the stallion saluted.

“You are Clockwork, correct?”

He nodded.

“Your presence is requested in Canterlot immediately. We require all ponies with good marks regarding mechanical expertise to assist in a pressing matter.”

Clockwork’s brow furrowed, his head tilted to one side. “Is there an emergency?” he asked, not sure if he heard correctly.

“I cannot speak with you regarding the situation in a public area such as this. All I am authorized to do is emphasize the importance of your presence.”

“When do I have to leave?”

“As stated before, as soon as possible. In the Commander’s words: ‘preferably yesterday’.”

“What about my five weeks of specialized training?” Clockwork asked weakly, eager to get out of this new issue as quickly as he could.

“Those at Research and Development have been studying your progress at this Camp attentively. They believe that you do not need to complete the necessary five weeks.”

Clockwork sighed. “Could I at least say goodbye to those I care about first?”

The pegasus nodded. “Of course, personal attachments are necessary for a mind of any type to remain healthy. I shall wait nearby.”

As soon as the strange pony had left, Clockwork turned back to his friend and family. They all had mixed looks of confusion, sadness, and anger at the interruption. “I’m really sorry, guys. Duty calls, I guess?” he shrugged.

Moppet suddenly enveloped Clockwork in a warm hug. “Just make sure to make at least one friend by the next time I see ye. Got it?”

Clockwork looked the mule dead in the eyes. “Or die trying.” he made his way over to his father and gave him a firm hoofshake. “I’ll try to come home as often as I can. I’ll help you finish up any projects you might get stuck on. If it’s really bad, just send me a letter or two and I’ll do my best to help. Okay?”

“Sounds like an excellent plan, son. Just be careful though, alright?”

With a nod, the pegasus turned his attention to his mother. He wiped away one of her tears with his real wing. “Hey mom. I’m gonna be safe where I’m working. We have protocols in place so that there’s no way anypony can get burned, cut, or crushed.”

Quick Fix sniffled. “What about pinches?”

Clockwork hugged his mother for what would be the last time in a long while. “Especially pinches.”

Clockwork withdrew, said his final goodbyes, and began to make his way towards where the tan pegasus was standing far outside of the crowd. However, he changed course when he caught a glimpse of the most beautiful mare he had ever seen.

Charger was out of earshot, speaking to a stallion that bore a striking resemblance to herself. The mare turned, noticed her friend, and likely ended her conversation with the older stallion with her customary “pardon me for a moment.”

The mare didn't even wait for Clockwork to finish walking before she asked her first question. “You are sad. What’s wrong?”

“Gotta go. Some sort of secret thing I can’t be told about.”

“I see.”

“What about you?”

“I still have my five weeks to complete in order to become a fully qualified Commanding Officer.”

“Alright.” Clockwork hung his head for a moment. “Try to keep in touch?”

“I’ll send letters whenever I can.”

The pegasus nodded before pulling his best friend into a hug. There was no hesitation this time around; for all he knew, this probably would be the last time he ever saw the mare the way she currently was. “Ditto.”

Charger pulled away and locked eyes with her best friend. There was no sorrow, no fear, no regret in those blue orbs Clockwork had fallen for at first sight. There was only a very familiar fire composed of equal parts determination, courage, and friendship. “I look forward to our next meeting.”

Clockwork only nodded again as he rubbed the water from his eyes. Dammit, he couldn’t cry in front of these people! He chuckled, turned, and made his way over to the tan pegasus from before. He only muttered a single word and they were off. “Ready.”

There was a small airship waiting nearby, most likely a heavy frigate, with a few dozen other ponies either boarding or waiting outside. He could make out the words Even Odds stenciled in white on its side. As he prepared to board the dirigible bound for Canterlot, he heard a familiar saying off in the distance.

‘Live life for the moment, everythin’ else is uncertain!”

Clockwork waved goodbye to his friends and family the entire time they were in sight. A chill ran up his spine when they finally disappeared from view and he took his seat. It was only now that he realized something.

He had just left behind everyone and everything he had known for the majority of his life, and he had just done so without another thought.

Next Chapter: Friends, Old & New Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 19 Minutes
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