(Story Extract)

D-dont move! I heard a new voice stammer, my face still buried in the snow. I stood up, shaking the dirty snow off of my body, only to be facing a unicorn, levitating an AER9 standard issue laser rifle between us both. The navy blue pony was shaking slightly, the tips of his orange mane being blown by the small breeze that blew in from the hole in the roof. He flicked the laser rifle upwards a bit, indicating for us to relinquish our weapons. His eyes flicked back and forth between Twintails and myself, or more specifically, my horn and leg. W-whatre you doing here? Were you the ones that set off the explosion? I levitated out my plasma rifle, but I didnt drop it. I may be willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, but theres no way Im leaving myself unarmed.

We may have. There are a lot of ponies around here, and a testing facility like this one isnt exactly unfamiliar with explosions… I said. The pony just kept pointing his rifle at us. I scanned the ponys body, fixating on his armor. I froze, my heart picking up No way thats I squealed, leaning in for a closer look, completely disregarding the trigger happy wearer. OhmyCelestiathatsaT-51BPowerArmorsuitwhereinEquestriadidyougetthat? I was grinning giddily. Power Armor had to be the best thing behind plasma; theres no way a bullets getting through that thing!

The pony looked at me, his nervousness changing to a bit of surprise and confusion. As I inspected his armor he traded glances with Twintails, who only shrugged. Ooh what I wouldnt do for a set of that armor. Itd definitely mean less concussion induced naps. Well, barring an Electromagnetic Pulse of course. The pony still looked a little confused, but holstered his rifle (I suppose I could do with one of those too), figuring we wouldve fired by now if we were going to shoot him.

So what do you guys know about what happened? He asked. He shifted his weight a little, his suit releasing air to lower pressure and allow him to lean. That hiss of air probably got me a little more excited than I should have been. Twintails raised an eyebrow at me as I stood myself straight up again, before turning back to face the power-armored unicorn.