P.O.V. Excalibur Prime.

Well, I finally got some time to work on the repairs of my ship. Shortly after I parked the Liset I headed back to the Corpus shuttle. I purged it of anything hazardous or dangerous. You know, weapons, robotics and the like. I took what supplies I could use, like tools, exterior panels and a few weapons. I also took what I thought I could use to repair the damaged engines, like rubber tubing, wires, and other little parts. Then I blew the thing sky high. I couldn’t allow anyone on this planet to have that equipment. After making sure there was nothing salvageable, I left it. Another good thing is the local inhabitants find the forest too scary to even enter.

I removed almost half of the metal panels on my ship. The Orokin just had to place everything in the hardest places to access. But now that I had time to inspect the damage, I learned that the right engine had a cut fuel and hydraulic lines; that was a simple remove and replace job, but the left engine was a whole ‘nother story.

It was shot, completely blown to hell.

If I turned it on I’m pretty sure it would explode. The unfortunate fact is I can’t walk down to the local store and ask ‘I need a new ship engine what do you have available?’ I can’t do it for a multitude of reasons. For one, this planet lacks any complex vehicles, so I’m up shit creek. I’m also lacking in necessary tools. Normally I’d pull the panels remove the bolts and screws and pull the engine out with a crane. Well because this is a backwoods repair, I have to rip the engine apart as it sits and have Ordis manufacture replacements, and that takes a lot of time and resources.

Anyway it’s been a week since the incident with the ship and the other frame I met. I learned that she was a Valkyr or berserker frame. No wonder I didn’t recognize the build, the Corpus really did a number on her. They manufactured new abilities for her, and augmented her armor. She kicked my sorry ass because of the augmentations. She is literally built to run head long into a fight and disregard all possible injuries she could sustain. They gave her the ability to heal herself upon every hit with her Hysteria ability. She is literally an unstoppable object!

No wonder the Orokin feared us.

She goes by the name Serenity. Apparently she went missing some time ago, and if I had known I would have gathered a team and searched for her. Well then again, she ended up here; we would have never found her, but a search would have been a good idea. She’s been unconscious since the event, which has me concerned. And as if I had enough on my mind Twilight… and her friends decided to use me as their personal puppet. Well I wasn’t too bad, but it prolonged me repairs by a week.

It’s unbelievable that the days of the week resemble the old days of earth. Twilight came trotting up as I began to remove the first few panels of my ship.

“Hey Excalibur,” she said happily.

“Hey Twilight, what are you up to?” I asked as I placed the panel on the ground.

“Well I just came from Rarity’s and she wants to see you,” she said happily.

Great the prissy diva wants to see me. Now I know she’s a good person, but I just have the uncanny feeling that this is not going to go well.

“And what does she want with me?” I asked as I kept working.

“She said it was a surprise, and she seemed really excited,” she said.

“Does she need me this minute?” I asked.

“As soon as possible would be nice. Rarity doesn’t like it when she’s forced to wait,” she said.

“Great,” I deadpanned, “alright let’s see what she wants.”

I grabbed my helmet and slipped it over my head before I looked at Twilight.

“So where am I headed?” I asked.

“Oh! Follow me!” she said happily.

Once I again I walked through the small town… and yet again I earned a lot of nervous looks. Like I care, I’m used to it. Apparently Twilight took notice though.

“I’m sorry Excalibur,” she said.

“For what?”

“The nervous and scared looks everypony is giving you,” she said.

“It’s fine Twilight… I’m kind of used to it,” I said.

Silence filled the air.

“So what was your life like as a child?” I asked trying to change the subject.

“Oh! Let me tell you!”

Not like I just asked or anything.

She told me about growing up in Canterlot. How much fun she had as a filly with her brother and foalsitter Cadence. Then how she was accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and how she earned her cutie mark.

“Your cutie mark?” I asked.

“Yeah. A cutie mark is obtained when a pony discovers his or hers unique talent,” she said.

“So I’m guessing it’s the tattoo on your rear there,” I said as I pointed to her flank.

“Yep!”

“And that goes for all of your kind?” I asked out of confusion.

“Yes. Why is that a problem?”

“Doesn’t seem very masculine for all males on this planet,” I said.

“You know… I never thought about that,” she said as she looked to the sky.

At least I finally learned what that mark is for.

“So do you have a cutie mark?” she asked as she looked back at me.

I laughed, “Hehe… *HA* no,” I said plainly.

“Really? You don’t have a special talent?” she asked.

“Humans aren’t known for have one special talent. We specialize in a variety of talents, you name it we can do it,” I said.

“Oh yeah like what?” she asked trying to find fault in my statement.

“Well I’m a soldier; I specialize in protecting people right?”

“Yeah.”

“And as you have noticed I’m repairing my ship. So I’m also a mechanic. I have to be diverse in my abilities, I can also do carpentry, welding, and a handful of other things,” I said.

I noticed that we began to approach a building that resembled a carousel from back on earth.

“Wow that’s impressive!” she said.

“Yeah well…”

“EXCALIBUR!!!” screamed Rarity as the door to the building shot open.

The surprise made Twilight jump, didn’t faze me.

“Hi Rarity, so how can I help you?” I asked.

“I need you to come inside quickly!” she said as she bolted back inside.

I gave Twilight a quick glance, she just raised a hoof and an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes, “Well this should be fun,” I said with a little frustration, “I’ll see you around Twilight.”

I was about to step inside when Twilight asked me a question.

“Excalibur, is it alright if I look at that codex of yours?”

I turned my head to look at her, “Sure, just tell Ordis.”

“Thank you!” she said happily before running off.

I smiled a little as I let out a happy huff. I turned back and stepped inside the building. As I looked around it appeared that the main room contained mirrors, what I believe were mannequins, dresses, and rooms with a curtain for a door.

‘Shit I know where this is headed,’ I thought to myself.

I couldn’t see Rarity anywhere.

“Alright Rarity I give. Where are you!?” I hollered.

“Coming!” she chimed happily.

Within a few seconds she came trotting in from another room.

“I’m glad you came!”

“Okay what’s the catch?” I decided to jump to conclusions.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You want me here for something.”

“What makes you think that?” she asked innocently.

“Rarity you are clearly not in danger. So I’m not here to rescue the damsel in distress. So I know I’m here for something.”

“What, a lady can’t have a little fun?”

“If you’re implying something my answer is no,” I said.

“Oh get your mind out of the gutter,” she said, “I just wanted to find out about the fashion habits of your planet!”

I raised an eyebrow at that, “Rarity… you are asking the least fashion forward person in the universe.”

“What do you mean darling?”

“I wore clothing that didn’t even go with itself,” I said.

“Why?”

Fuck!

“Because I didn’t care how I looked. Personally I wanted to be left alone and if wearing clothing that was outside of the norm, or that plainly pissed people off… then I’d do it.”

“Oh well… that complicates things,” she said as she looked away from me.

“*sigh* here, Rarity look at this,” I pulled out a data pad and held it in my hand.

I opened the device, causing a screen to appear. I scrolled through until I found the file that said fashion, and yes I have a file for everything. I’m not only a soldier but a data collector.

“Here you can play with this,” I held it out for her; she raised a hoof and took it, “the screen will react when you touch it; it has everything you would ever want to know about the fashion of my planet.”

“Really?”

I nodded my head in response.

“Wow,” tears began to form in her eyes, “thank you.”

She really likes her fashion.

“You’re welcome,” I said warmly, “so is there anything else you need?”

The tears disappeared as she perked up, “Well I was wondering if I could get your measurements and make you an outfit. I’ve always wanted to design an outfit for a different species and when I saw you I knew that you were perfect for it!”

Kill me.

“I think I’ll pass,” I said.

Bad idea on my part.

“WHAT!? Why not!?” she said rather surprised.

“Because I hate fashion,” I said plainly, “now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

I began to head for the door, I wanted to get out of there before something stupid or bad happened… and as luck would have it… it did.

I couldn’t move. I grunted as I tried to get my body to work.

“Okay, why can’t I move?” I asked looking for answers.

She hummed as she trotted up in front of me. Her horn was glowing light blue, “Because I have you in my grasp,” she said happily.

A little to happily to be honest… fucking magic.

“You’re not going to let me go, are you?”

“Nope!”

“You know I could arrest you for holding me hostage?” I said.

“How do you intend to do that when you can’t move?” she said with a mischievous smile.

“Damn, got me there,” I replied.

And I took my Venka off to allow me to have better access to the ships interior.

She just stood there and looked at me with a large smile.

I took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, “Fine, you win.”

“Yay! Ooowhowho we are going to have so much fun!” she said happily as she let me go.

She will. I won’t and I know it.

I followed her as we walked a few feet to a pedestal.

“Now if you’ll just strip down we can get started!”

Wait what?

“Rarity, I can’t do that.”

“Why not!?” she asked.

“My suit is literally attached to me. I need to be at my arsenal in order to have it removed,” I told her.

“Well let’s go and have you take it off,” she said as she headed for the door.

“Rarity, I’m not doing that.”

“Why not?” she said as she turned back to face me.

“Because it will take several hours to get every little piece off,” I lied.

“Oh… okay,” she said sadly.

“Here,” I walked up to her and removed my helmet, “the suit is skin tight, and is extremely thin. Just take the chest and other measurements and make them two sizes smaller.”

“Okay!” she said happily.

I walked over to the pedestal and stood there. I wasn’t too happy but I can sacrifice some time out of my day. When she started she wore these tiny red glasses, which were cute and funny at the same time. While she worked we chatted happily, told stories and jokes and had my fun. When I gave her the time she told me about her life and the stories of how she found her love for fashion.

A few hours passed. By the time I was done it was midafternoon. I said my goodbye and Rarity… much like everyone else on this planet gave me a hug. I walked back to my ship, Twilight was inside reading the codex, she was lost in her own little world so I just ignored her. I continued to remove panels until nightfall. That’s when I kicked Twilight out; I needed some time to myself. She wasn’t happy, but thankfully a stomach growl convinced her otherwise. I choked down a few nutrition and protein pills and meditated until the next morning.

It was early in the afternoon as I continued to survey the damage on my ship. After I removed a handful of other panels I began to play with the engines. I messed with the right one, after I crawled in the ship and inspected the right engine. As I said earlier I had a cut fuel and hydraulic line. I crawled out grabbed my Sheev and a couple pairs of pliers, then I crawled back in. I used the pliers to clamp the lines and used the dagger to cut the bad sections so I could remove them. As I was playing with the lines I heard someone call my name.

“Excalibur, are you here?” asked a light female voice.

“In here!” I hollered from the inside of the ship.

“Where?” replied the voice.

I sheathed the dagger in the crook of my back and grabbed something stable and began to pull myself out. Once I had the edges of the outside of the ship I pulled myself part way out. I saw Fluttershy hovering nearby. I crossed my arms as I looked at her upside down form.

“Fluttershy, how can I help you?” I asked.

“Uh… I was wondering if…” she said shyly.

I wonder if that light voice of hers could even register in a decibel test?

“Wondering what?” I asked.

“Um… if I could… um… playwithStorm?” she said quickly but quietly.

Thankfully I got a hearing boost when I became a Tenno.

“Sure,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Really!?” she said excitedly.

“Yeah, let me just get out of here,” I replied.

I grabbed the top part of the ship and pulled myself out. Then I dropped the fifteen or twenty feet to the ground, landing with no trouble. Fluttershy flew down and landed next to me. I walked inside while Fluttershy followed close behind. I walked over to the incubator and pulled Storm out of stasis. I put her in there shortly before we left Canterlot.

The metal cover shot over the pad, which caused Fluttershy to jump to the ceiling as she screamed in fear. The cover disappeared revealing the large blue animal. She stretched as she stood up and shook herself. Once she was comfortable she sat on her haunches and barked happily. Fluttershy came down from the ceiling shortly after she saw Storm.

“Storm you remember Fluttershy?” I asked.

“Rarf, Rarf,” replied Storm.

“Here, Fluttershy I’m going to grab something,” I said as I looked at the yellow pegasus.

“Okay,” she said happily as she began to pet Storm.

I walked up the ramp to the top part of the ship and searched for Storms favorite toy. Once I found it I grabbed it and walked back down to Fluttershy.

“Alright Fluttershy, lets head outside,” I said as I continued to walk.

“Okay,” she said happily.

“Storm heel!”

The massive dog ran up to my side as we walked to the bottom of the ramp of the ship and into the field. I stopped and stood there. Storm stood to my right and Fluttershy on the other side of her. I held up her toy so that Fluttershy could see it.

“This is her favorite ball, she’s had it for a few hundred years,” I said.

“So?” asked Fluttershy.

“Just don’t lose it,” I said.

Storm will, not would, or could, will, kill anyone that loses her favorite ball. I held it in front of Storm, she sniffed it for a second before I held it up and threw it. Storm started to go for it but I stopped her.

“Storm heel!” I said forcefully. She went back to sitting next to me.

Once the ball hit the ground and bounced I released her.

“Storm,” her name is her que to go.

She immediately went after the ball leaving me and Fluttershy alone.

“So Excalibur, I was wondering if… I mean if you don’t mind that is… if I could ask what type of breed she is?” asked Fluttershy nervously.

What is with this girl? She has to be afraid of her own shadow.

“Storm is what is classified as a Kubrow,” I said.

“A Kubrow?” repeated Fluttershy.

“The Orokin saw that we needed help in our fights so they created Kubrow’s,” Storm returned and I threw the ball again.

“What do you mean created?” she asked.

“They are genetically created attack dogs. Their base DNA is domesticated dog, hence her playful nature, but they do have a serious side.”

“Like when we first met you in Canterlot?”

“Yes,” I threw the ball again, “The Orokin took different kinds of DNA and this is what they came up with.”

“Like what?”

“Well, she has bear, badger, wolf, wolverine, and a few other DNA types in her,” I tossed the ball, “the Orokin thought that we needed something more in our fights. So they created Kubrow’s. Personally I hated their reasoning in making them.”

“Why?” she asked.

“They saw them as animals, but with the Tennogen virus we could communicate with them. Storm wasn’t a mindless animal, she could understand me, she cares for me,” I tossed the ball, “the Orokin saw them as meat shields or cannon fader. Just another thing to throw at the enemy while we did the hard work while they were distracted. But the Tenno saw them as something more,” I tossed the ball, “we saw them as companions, someone we could trust. They listened while we vented, and as long as we loved and cared for them they loved us back.”

Storm ran up and gave me the ball, “You wanna throw the ball for her?” I asked as I held the ball up.

“Sure!” replied Fluttershy with a smile.

I handed her the ball and she threw it for Storm.

“So these Orokin never cared for the animals they created?” she asked.

“The unfortunate fact was that we were at war. They were concentrating on finishing it quickly; they never cared about what they created. But since they were our fighting companions we fed, trained, and played with them. They bonded to us and we bonded to them,” I paused, “for the longest time Storm and Ordis were my only friends.”

“Really?” she asked as she threw the ball.

“After the war, we all fell into a terrible depression. We separated ourselves from others and went our own ways,” I said with a hint of sadness.

She looked at me, “I’m so sorry Excalibur.”

I looked at her, “It’s alright Fluttershy, that was 900 years ago. I’ve since gotten over it.”

She threw the ball and flew up to me and gave me a big hug, “Still, you should have never gone through something like that.”

I hugged her back, “That was the risk I was willing to take. I knew full well what I was walking into when I put on this suit.”

Storm ran up and looked at us. Fluttershy let go of me and landed on the ground.

“I still feel sorry for you,” she said as she picked up the ball and threw it again.

Silence filled the air as we took turns throwing Storm’s ball. After a few minutes I spoke up.

“So how are you holding up?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well it’s been a rough week with all that’s happened. Not many people could handle all that violence and stress,” I said.

“I’d say I’m doing pretty fine, I mean, I had my eyes closed for most of the major events,” she said.

Smart girl.

“Well I’d say your good then.”

We played with Storm for a few hours while we talked. She told me her life story. How she grew up and how she met Rainbow Dash at junior flight camp… sounds like a military academy for children to me. Then how she earned her cutie mark and when she moved to Ponyville. Then how she became friends with Twilight and the rest of the gang I’ve come to know.

As much as I hated not being able to repair my ship, I haven’t had this much contact with a normal “person” in a long time. It was nice to talk, but it began to bring up old memories, and ones that I forgot a long time ago. After my time in my cryo-pod, all I ever focused on was fighting. It was hard to get accustomed to this type of life.

By early to midafternoon Fluttershy left and I went back to my repairs. I finished repairing the tubes in the right engine and began to mess with the horrendous mess of the left. But with everything being so badly shredded it was impossible to work. I did my best to remove what I could until darkness fell once again.

“Yo! Excalibur you home?”

'Damn.'

I dragged myself out from the heart of the ship, “What is it Rainbow?”

“Hey! I was wondering if you could grab those metal wings of yours and do some tricks with me?” she asked.

“And what makes you think I would want to do that?” I asked.

“Because you think I’m awesome!” she said.

What kind of response is that?

“Okay…?” I said questionably.

“You know... I bet you couldn’t beat me in a race?” she said in a cocky tone.

She thinks that she can beat my archwing? Challenge accepted.

“You know Dash I think you dropped a challenge… and I just picked it up,” I said knowing full well that she couldn’t beat me.

Another downfall of the Tenno is we rarely back down from a challenge… no matter how one sided it is.

“Yes!” she brought a hoof down in victory, “hurry up! I want to see your face when I win.”

Good luck with that cocky pony.

“Alright, let me get out of here,” I said as I began to shuffle out from inside of the ship.

Once I was out I dropped to the ground and headed to the front of the Liset with Dash in tow.

“Ordis, deploy the Archwing!”

“Yes Excalibur.”

Once I reached the front I waited for the Archwing to come out from inside the ship. The metal arms grabbed my Odonata Prime and held it in place. I grabbed the closed set of metal wings and brought them down to the ground. I turned around and pulled the harness to the small of my back. I felt the harness clamp down and watched as me shields went from 740 to 1680. After some adjusting I looked at Dash.

“Let me grab my helmet and we can get ready,” I said.

“Awesome!” she replied.

I walked to the back of the ship, up both ramps and grabbed my helmet from the right hand table. I slipped it on and exited the ship. Dash stood there tapping her hoof, she looked frustrated.

“You done yet?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes, “Yes Rainbow, I’m done.”

“Good. Let’s go!” she shot off in a blur of blue and rainbow colors.

That blew my mind. She went from being in front of me to a few hundred feet in the sky within a few seconds… maybe I had my work cut out for me.

Unless she can get up to mach three?

I opened the closed wings and brought the engines to life as I lifted off the ground. I quickly flew up to her. She had a smug grin on her face.

“You ready to give up yet?” she asked.

“Oh you’ve seen nothing yet,” I said, “so where too?”

“How about the lake and back?”

“Which direction would that be?” I asked.

“Over there,” she said as she pointed across town.

I looked to see a small blue body of water on the other side of town.

“So to the lake and back to the ship?” I asked.

“Yep!”

“Alright.”

She lined up next to me and prepared herself. Once she was ready I started the count down.

“Three,” I said.

“Two,” she said.

“One,” we said in unison.

We both shot forward, my engines roared as she flapped her wings hard. I couldn’t help but screw with her… I just paced her. Within 30 seconds we were at the lake. We came to a “sliding” stop as we hovered over the lake. I gave her a slight lead as we turned around. She had a determined look on her face as I followed close behind. Another few seconds passed as we came back to the ship.

Once she passed over the ship she began to celebrate… probably a little too much, but like I care, I gave her the win.

“Awe yeah! I knew I’d beat you!” she said victoriously.

“Alright, looks like you got me,” I lied.

“Yeah I did!” she began this stupid little dance.

“Here how about we make this interesting?” I said.

Why did I do that?

“Oh yeah… how so?” she asked.

“How about a few laps around town?” I asked.

“You’re on,” she said with confidence.

She’s so screwed.

To make sure that this was fair we talked to Twilight. Who was more than willing to judge our little contest. We took an hour to prepare, Dash did some stretches while I meditated. It was amazing how fast word spreads in this town, because half the town showed up at the library. Then again the place isn’t that big. Twilight gave a little introduction… which was a little much. Then again, if I can get the town to like me then that’s a bonus… to bad Dash is going to be humiliated.

Then again she caused this.

“Now let’s get this race started!” said Twilight to the rather large crowd.

The crowd stamped the ground with excitement.

“Alright, you two you know the rules. Five laps, first one to finish the last lap wins,” she said as she looked at us, “you two ready?”

“Awe yeah! I’m gonna kick his flank!” replied Dash.

“Ready,” I said calmly.

“Then take your positions,” she said.

We both walked over to a… who the hell set up the start line?

“You two ready?” asked Twilight.

Dash began to hover off the ground. She pulled a pair of goggles over her eyes, “Ready!”

I just stood there, “Yep,” I said calmly.

She held up a flag and let the tension build.

“GO!” she said as she dropped the flag.

Dash shot off immediately. I took two steps before activating the engines. Dash flew with one hoof out as I tried to make myself as small as possible. In less than two seconds I caught up to Dash. I gave her a glance she looked me right in the eyes as a cocky grin creeped across her face. I shook my head left and right slightly.

Time to end this.

Bwoooooosh!

I activated my afterburners which flooded the engines with power. I shot ahead of her by a landslide. I banked the first corner, then the second, third and finally I crossed the start line. One lap down. As I passed over the line I could hear the crowd cheering. I looked across the town to see Dash struggling. This was over and I knew it.

I finished my last four laps in less than a few minutes; I even passed Dash a couple of times. She gave up halfway through her second lap. But I didn’t gloat or celebrate. I did the honorable and smart guy thing and kept my mouth shut. I waited as she flapped over halfheartedly. She was depressed and it was written all over her face. I felt bad.

She walked with her head hung low.

“Hey Dash?” I said.

She turned around to face me “WHAT!?” she snapped.

I kneeled down in front of her, “Look I’m sorry that you lost,” I said trying to reassure her.

“Why should you be sorry!? Shouldn’t you be celebrating!?” she said with anger.

“I could, but… I think I’d rather celebrate a good race with you,” I said.

“Rainbow are yo-“

I raised a hand to Twilight as she approached. I shook my head telling her to be quiet.

“Dash, winning isn’t everything. There will always be winners and losers, that’s life. What you should do is learn from those experiences and enjoy them,” I said, “You know... I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. If there is anything you could take away from this is the happiness you gave me.”

Boy that was a cheesy motivational speech.

“Really, I made you feel better?” she asked.

“Yep,” I took my helmet off, “why don’t I buy you a drink?” I smiled.

“Sure,” she sounded a little happier.

“How about I tell you a few war stories of mine, their pretty awesome,” I said with a smile.

“Okay!” she said.

I took Dash and Twilight out for the rest of the night. We enjoyed some drinks; well I had a rather good soda. Any who, we talked the night away as we enjoyed each other’s company. I could only imagine who would want to kidnap me tomorrow.

Author's Notes:

These are just stupid antics that the main six sucked Excalibur into in 1 week.