//------------------------------// // Challengers Approach! // Story: Drill Through The Heavens!! // by Zaki //------------------------------// Fluttershy groaned softly, shifting slightly in her bed. As she opened her eyes, a dull ache throbbed in her head. She glanced around the room and took in her surroundings. There were shelves made from scrap metal and containing a bunch of unfamiliar tools. A few beds were here and there but the room itself seemed to be carved out of stone, similar to her old home. A few windows were allowing sunlight in, the blankets over them fluttering gently in the slight breeze. A soft snore caused her to jump and she glanced behind her. Rainbow Dash was sprawled out on the bed next to hers, the blanket wound around her back legs and her mane covering her face. Both of her wings were wrapped tightly as well as her forelegs. As the pegasus shifted, Fluttershy spied the bandages wrapped around her chest. As Fluttershy stretched her own limbs out to get rid of the last remnants of sleep, her left wing screamed with pain causing her to yelp out. Keeping the wing out was difficult as she examined it carefully, noting the loosened bandages wrapped around it. They must have come loose while she was asleep. Grimacing as she tucked the aching limb firmly against her body, Fluttershy let out the breath she was holding and examined the rest of her injuries. There were a few bruises here and there seemed to be the extent of her injuries when she noticed the bandages wrapped around her side. There was some blood on the bandages and Fluttershy remembered the shard of stone protruding from her side. As if to emphasize, pain flared in her side and she bit her lip, a soft whimper escaping her. The pain dulled after a few moments leaving nothing but a dull ache, She took a deep breath to steady herself. Dash snorted in her sleep and Fluttershy jumped, yelping in pain again. A soft thud reached her ears and she tilted her head slightly to listen carefully for another sound but nothing followed it. There was a faint whistling that was slowly growing louder and she couldn’t quite place her hoof on it. There was an explosion of sound nearby and the structure shook violently, nearly knocking her off her feet. Dash fell out of her bed with a yell, getting tangled in the blanket and struggling to free herself from its embrace. After a few moments of yelling and rolling around, Fluttershy managed to get her free as another explosion, stronger than the last, rocked the building and knocked them off their feet. As they ran through the door, Fluttershy nearly losing her footing on the rough threshold. The tremors had ceased but neither pony felt the urge to stop fleeing, the adrenaline in their bodies fighting logic. The outside of the village seemed unharmed but cobbled together out of scrap metal and carved out of the stone. There were a few ponies milling about, seemingly unworried about the explosions merely moments before. As they began to calm down, Dash pointed out towards the wall surrounding the village. Applejack stood on the wall, peering through the scope of her rifle out towards the horizon. A few ponies stood next to her, their weapons also mounted on their backs in a similar manner to AJ’s. “What the hay was that?!” Dash asked, panting at the foot of the wall. “What were those explosions?” Applejack glanced down with surprise. “Well, you two sure recovered quicker than we expected...” A smooth jump down and the earth pony tilted her hat back a bit more, revealing a young but serious face. She grinned at them before continuing. “I didn’t think two ponies who were as injured as you two would be back on their feet so quickly. Heck, we didn’t expect you to wake up till tomorrow.” “Ha! These are just scratches!” Dash laughed stretching her wings out before crying out. “Or maybe… a broken wing too…” The earth pony chuckled. “Yeah, the fall broke y’all’s wings. You’ll be stuck to the ground for a few weeks. You’re mighty lucky that’s all you got from a fall like that.” “A few weeks?!” The cyan pegasus groaned, slumping on the ground. “I need to fly! After all those years underground, I need to stretch my wings and ride the winds. Not be stuck on the ground like some common earth pony.” She looked at Applejack who was frowning. “No offense.” “Yeah, yeah.” Applejack went to turn. “Anyway, to answer your question, it’s the Solaris unit firing at us. This here is they're territory and they’ve been trying to run us out for years. I reckon with your help, we can keep them from ever coming back here again.” “Wh-what?” Fluttershy stammered, confused. A sentiment Dash obviously shared when she spoke up. “What do you think we are? Your little soldiers to fight whenever you need us?” Dash walked over and leaned into the earth pony’s face. “Just because we saved you down in our pit of a town doesn’t mean this is a thing that’ll happen every time you’re in trouble. We’re not anypony’s minions to do as we’re told. Come on, Shy. Let’s get out of here and find somewhere else to stay.” “Let me know how long you last.” Applejack replied, her eyes narrowed at the pegasus. “The next city is miles away and I’ll tell ya: chances are there are at least fifty Shades between here and there. So if you want to run away with your tail between your legs, feel free. We’ve managed without your help before, why should we even ask you?” Dash spun around, dust being kicked up in the process. “What did you say?!” “You heard me. You’re running at the first sign of danger. Again.” Applejack hid a smile at the pegasus’ anger. “You ran this morning and you’re running again.” “Now wait a minute-“ Dash started before Fluttershy interrupted, her little voice barely being heard. “Stop it!” She flinched when they both looked at her. “We all ran from that thing, Applejack. You shouldn’t taunt her for running from something we’ve never seen before. We’re in a world where the rules we know has been shattered and logic is bucked beyond everything.” “Ha, see!” Dash crowed triumphantly before Fluttershy put her head back down, mumbling quiet nothings to herself. “She’s right. If you’re so fearless, then why did you run with us? Couldn’t you have taken down Mr. Dragon Teeth all by yourself?” Applejack glared for a few moments before sighing deeply. Another thud in the distance was followed by a near immediate explosion less than fifty feet from the wall. Fluttershy flinched, a few pebbles bouncing off her goggles. Dash looked to the horizon where there was gold and blue figures coming close what she guessed were Shades approaching the settlement. “We’ll help.” Fluttershy stated firmly as AJ opened her mouth to speak again. Both Dash and the earth pony looked at her in surprise. “But… you need to explain everything to us afterwards. If-if that’s alright…” AJ looked at the two of them for a few moments before nodding. “I really do appreciate your help and I promise to tell you everything I know.” She pointed towards a building with a crude star painted on the side. “Typhoon is in there. All we need ya to do is distract them. We can take care of the rest.” Dash watched Fluttershy as she rushed off towards the building, her pink mane streaming behind her. She glanced at Applejack before following her little sister, racing to catch up. The two ponies reached the building and stepped inside just as an explosion rocked the building, but this one came from inside. Black smoke came spewing out from behind a bunch of crowded shelves along with a string of frustrated swearing. There was a crash of metal and a shelf began to topple over onto Fluttershy, who yelped and leaped out of the way just in time as sharp metal fell where she had been standing. A purple unicorn emerged from the smoke, coughing and shaking her head. Brushing soot out of her mane and removing her goggles, the mare looked at the two standing there. For a few moments, nopony moved save for the occasional flick of a tail. Then the purple pony spoke. “Name’s Twilight Sparkle.” She turned away and began levitating things back onto the shelves. “I’m guessing you two are the ones who found that little unit. Interesting design, I must say. Its smaller than other Shade units but the exterior is much stronger than the plating on its larger counterparts. The energy output is also substantially higher than I expected from something so small. If we could manage to figure out how to build these, then we’d be far better prepared for these attacks. I can understand AJ wanting to keep you two around if you ponies are the only ones capable of piloting her.” “Huh?” Dash managed, not taking in a word she said. Fluttershy had spotted Typhoon under a tarp and pulled it off with a gasp. “Dash, look what she did to it!” The moment Dash looked at it, she was speechless. They exchanged glances at it before looking at the unicorn. She grinned sheepishly, taking a step back. “I thought it looked better this way….” “Better? Better?! It’s vomit green!” Dash yelled. “Change it back! The red and black was much cooler!” Fluttershy had already climbed in and had started it up, trying to ignore the horrendous color. Twilight backed away as Dash advanced on her, her magenta eyes glaring at the purple pony through her crimson glasses. “Turn it back.” “O-ok. Sheesh, try to kill a mare because it isn’t exactly how you want it.” Twilight shook her head, her horn lighting up and washing the Typhoon in an aura of magic. For a few moments, the green glowed brighter before fading completely and leaving the old red and black tint. “Much better!” Dash turned and leapt alongside Fluttershy. “Now let’s go kick some flank!” Fluttershy gulped and nodded nervously, urging the mech out the door. Twilight watched them go, shaking her head. “Well, when they get killed, I’m turning that thing back to green.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Dash and Fluttershy were on a cliff next to Applejack. They had climbed up onto the bluffs surrounding the village in order to box the Shades in once they had passed the rocks. The rocks were burning hot, the heat causing minor burns on their legs and chest from direct contact with the stone. Fluttershy was peering through the scope that Applejack had loaned to her, examining the approaching Shade. She noticed a small sun insignia emblazoned on the shoulder of each one. “What are those signs?” The pegasus asked as she passed the scope to Dash who eagerly looked through the scope at the approaching enemy. “Is it some kind of marking?” “That marking is a sign of the Solaris extermination squad.” Applejack replied, her voice terse. “They are the ones who get sent out to demolish settlements. Pretty good too but they have yet to beat us completely.” “Solaris?” She asked as a shell came screaming by overhead before being shot down by one of the ponies on the walls. The fiery metal shards rained down into the sand, the blackened steel glittering like glass. “Apparently there’s someone in charge of them.” Applejack shrugged. “I dunno. That’s what I’ve heard. We just damage enough so that they don’t work them anymore and then we strip 'em for parts.” “Wait, damage them?” Dash asked, looking up at the two. She straightened her glasses and adjusted the sword on her back. “You mean they aren’t living?” “Nope. They’re just like y’all’s little one.” AJ looked through her scope again, taking aim at the center Shade. “We’ve never seen whatever they look like. They always run before we get to them.” “Well, why not just steal one?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, Shy has Typhoon but why not just fix them and use them yourself?” Applejack stared at Dash for a few minutes, not blinking. Fluttershy poked her in the shoulder but she didn’t respond. She closed her mouth but didn’t seem capable of speech. “You can’t tell me that nopony thought of that?” Dash asked incredulously. “How is that even possible?!!” Applejack was busy slamming her face into the rock in front of her, slowly and deliberately. Fluttershy placed a hoof on her shoulder as the earth pony hit her face particularly hard, an audible thud echoing off the rocks. “We… are… so… bucking… stupid…” Applejack spoke each word with each smack, her hat tumbling sown the rocks. “Sorry to interrupt your self-loathing, but you have four Shades thirty seconds out.” Twilight’s voice rang from the earpieces they had been given. Dash and Fluttershy flinched at the noise but took their positions. Dash stood a few feet away from Typhoon looking down at the Shades. Fluttershy could see her thoughts and plans beginning to flow. She met her sister’s eyes and recognized the look of manic passion. She flashed Fluttershy a grin and gestured towards the middle Shade. “I’m going to steal that one.” The pegasus declared. “What?!” Applejack looked up at Dash as she walked to the edge of the rocks and gazed down, tensing up as she did so. The cyan pegasus grinned at the earth pony. Fluttershy looked panicked and stood up in Typhoon, opening her mouth to protest. “Who the hay do you think I am?” With that, she jumped down towards the Shades.