It been thirty years since the monstrous demons attacked Equestria. Desperate searches to find an ultimate defense lead to the discovery of the giant weapons of the Forgotten known as mobile suits. What little the alliance between the Solar Empire and the New Lunar Republic does realize that the iron god does exist. That god, as the Forgotten refer to, is a gundam.
Rainbow Dash sped through the skies of Equestria as she enjoyed the intense breeze on her face. At first, the cyan pegasus twirled herself, causing colorful sparks to fly. She didn't even notice a falcon, who didn't notice her, at all. Just as she began to perform a loop, the pegasus and the falcon collided with each other by accident. Now the two beings started to fall down into the ground.
“Oh this is not cool,” said the now worried Rainbow Dash, “I'll end up in the hospital at this rate!”
The cyan pegasus and the falcon continued their mad descent to Everfree Forest. Not only her wing muscles froze, but the bird is out cold as well. As the worried mare's mind began to panic, Rainbow Dash and the falcon uncontrollably dove through the trees and then “Thud!”
What the cyan pegasus felt when she crashed is not soil, but instead, she felt metal. She flinched a little as she got back on her hooves, only to see a face of a giant monster, bearing a golden v-shaped fin as eyebrows and crystal clear green eyes. The size of the face was more than enough to make the cyan pegasus panic into thinking that it could eat her. She stood back in fear until a clicking noise was heard. The monster's lower chest began to open, turning her fears in curiosity. The cyan pegasus decides to take a look.
“Hello?” Dash peeked through the hole, with the interior being pitch black. “Is anypony inside?”
A falcon flying back into the skies startled Dash, causing her to fall inside. The hole above Rainbow Dash closed on her. One of the monster’s internal organs felt like leather, but with the cyan pegasus touching it, that organ was shaped like a chair. Without warning, the monster woke up, with its insides lighting up. Rainbow Dash saw what the monster saw, as well as weirdly arranged text shoved in her face along with light blue hue.
“Do you think you can let me out please?” Dash asked the monster, fearing what it could do. The hole reopened at her will, allowing her to escape. She stared at the monster’s glowing eyes, but the glow died off. Rainbow Dash wondered why the monster fell back to sleep before it could do anything else. Dash knew that she must get answers from Twilight Sparkle, and then she started to fly to Ponyville.
----------
Twilight wrote a letter to Celestia about the artifact known as a haro, which was colored dark blue, and how much it loved her and Spike. The young dragon took the letter from Twilight and breathed fire on it, turning it into green mist headed for Castle Canterlot.
“Wow! Dragon fire is awesome!” chirped the excited haro, jumping up and down. “I wonder what else it can do.”
“I guess the haro is hyper like Pinkie Pie.” Twilight giggled as levitated a table tennis ball. Then, Rainbow Dash barged in without warning.
“EEKKKKK!!!” The haro panicked, rolling itself into hiding.
“Dash! Robots have feelings.” Twilight berated the cyan pegasus for scaring the haro.
“Sorry about that,” Dash apologized. “But I ran across a giant monster, with golden eyebrows, one of it’s internal organs shaped like a chair, and…”
“Calm down, I’ll find that monster in one of my books.” Twilight started searching the library on ancient history.
Spike belched out a letter to Twilight Sparkle, but Rainbow Dash decided to read it to pass the time.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am very impressed with you finding an artifact of the Forgotten. I am also glad that the haro found a good home. It might know far more about the Forgotten than all of Equestria, so if you ask it, it’ll tell you what you want to know.
Yours sincerely, Princess Celestia
“I found it!” Twilight showed a page of a book about the Forgotten to Rainbow Dash. “That monster you ran across earlier is a gundam.”
“A gundam?” Dash asked the lavender mare, a simple answer left her with even more questions.
“A long time ago, during the age of supremacy, the Forgotten built controllable golems they refer to as mobile suits.” Twilight explained
“Go on,” the cyan pegasus said, as she was eager to learn more, “I wanted my own mobile suit.”
“One day, the Forgotten built the iron god known as the gundam.” Twilight turned the page in the book then continued teaching Dash. “The gundams fought in some of the Forgotten’s wars, either for justice or for tyrannical order. No one knew how they were made or where they rest now. But anypony that saw them are rumored to have good luck on his side.”
Before Twilight can finish, the haro peeked out and asked “Is it safe?”
“Oh, it’s okay.” The lavender mare tried to comfort the poor robot, but Dash realized what kind of robot she scared earlier.
“Hey, are you alright?” Dash asked the haro.
“I’m fine, I just wasn’t expecting you.” He looked at Dash with a friendly attitude.
“I am wondering if you can teach me how to pilot a gundam.” Dash’s question provoked the haro into printing out the instruction pamphlet for the cyan pegasus to read.
“These are the up to date instructions, enjoy!” The haro chirped as Rainbow Dash took the pamphlet.
“I think this guy needs a name.” Spike was concerned with the nameless haro. Dash and Twilight Sparkle thought about naming it.
“I got it,” Dash declared, “let’s name him Research.”
The haro liked the name so much, it made him feel like he done a good job. Twilight noticed the letter that was meant for her opened, but it wasn’t long until she found who read it. The lavender unicorn sighed as she began to read it.
“Dash, what I am going to do with you?” Twilight complained silently.
----------
“Lieutenant,” the general, with azure coat, yellow mane and tail, and violet eyes, spoke as the lieutenant he summoned entered his room, “I have been waiting for you.”
“Do you need me?” the lieutenant asked, revealing herself as Spitfire. “They will come any day now.”
“There’s something I need to show you.” The general said it as he opened up his presentation for Spitfire to see. “The science division built a mobile suit that rivals the demons, they attacked Equestria thirty years ago and we need a fighting chance to defend ourselves.”
Spitfire studied the new mobile suit shown in the presentation, knowing that demons are a threat to civilization. The general switched to the next page when the golden-yellow mare was finished with the current one. Then Luna stepped in.
“Not now your highness.” The general grumbled, as he was more concerned with the prototype mobile suit.
“I’m afraid I have you let you know General Jack,” Luna protested, she knew the message was urgent, “but the mobile suit is equipped with the psychological controller, which not only convenient, but also dangerous to use.”
Spitfire never had psycho training before, but she knew that the mythical gundams had such technology. On one hoof, she’ll be able to control a mobile suit with her mind. But on the other hoof, there’s a risk that she’ll suffer brain damage for using such technology. After the while, Spitfire made up her mind. “I will practice until I get used to that mobile suit.”
----------
Rainbow Dash and Research went to Sugarcube Corner, agreeing that the two, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike, to keep the discovery a secret. Pinkie Pie planned a party for an ancient robot Twilight discovered earlier. When the duo got inside, it was dark inside. Then the lights came on.
“Surprise!” the pink earth pony declared as she jumped out of hiding. There were balloons floating around in the room, tied to their strings. Confetti littered the floor as they fell. Food was prepared for the guests.
“I never saw a party that big before,” said the curious Research, “how did you know that we’re coming?”
“That’s easy,” said Pinkie as she smiled, “I saw you inside Twilight’s bag.”
“That’s Pinkie to you Research.” Rainbow Dash explained to the dark blue haro. He never knew anything about the new world around him. Other ponies came out of their hidings, with presents for Research.
“I made this for you,” said Rarity, who was among the guests, “it’s fun to play with.” She handed over her gift to Research. He eagerly opened his first present, revealing a plush zaku.
“Thank you!” said Research, who was happy with his first present.
“You could use something to sleep in,” said Applejack, who handed out a small crate for Research to sleep in for the night. “It’ll keep ya comfy.”
Research jumped inside the crate and felt how cozy a pile of hay is. He started to roll on it as he giggled.
“I wonder where Fluttershy is,” said Rainbow Dash, “is she taking care of the animals?”
“She had to go help a falcon that got injured,” said Pinkie Pie, “but she said she’ll be late.”
----------
“I can’t believe this,” said General Jack, “psychological control? What were they thinking?”
“I’m starting to worry about Spitfire,” said Soarin, “she’s determined to take that kind of risk.”
The two stallions started to over-hear a group of scientists arguing over how the prototype mobile suit works, so they decided to listen unnoticed.
“Please sir,” one scientist, with a khaki coat, black mane and tail, and yellow eyes, begged his co-workers to change their minds, “for the sake of safety, we have to send archeologists to find the gundam!”
“We running short on time!” another scientist, with dark orange coat, maroon mane and tail, and red eyes, argued back, “if we waste it on finding something that powerful, the demons WILL catch us OFF GUARD!!!”
The third scientist, with lime green coat, white mane and tail with light green streaks, and yellow eyes, was worried about the issue, so she decides to exploit the rumor she had heard.
“We’ll train the pilot for now,” she said, “but word is spreading that somepony found the gundam, so I'll send one of the personnel to find him.”
“Sending an employee to find said pony is like chasing a wild goose,” the second scientist protested, “we need to keep to ourselves and continue the research.”
Soarin and Jack could not believe their ears; did somepony really found a gundam? They don’t know for sure, but their best chances to find the gundam now is to find something suspicious in Ponyville since Celestia’s faithful student wrote a letter about a haro. They decided to do so anonymously.
----------
“You don’t know anything about Equestria, do you Research?” Rainbow Dash was pitiful for her haro friend. Research knew everything about the ancient history, but not today’s world.
“Any ideas where to start?” asked Research, who was wondering about what to do in Equestria, which is the new world he was unfamiliar with.
“How about the schoolhouse in Ponyville?” asked Dash, who thought it was a good idea, “Cheerilee could use some help with pre-history lessons, but she’ll teach you about the world in return.”
The dark blue haro noticed the schoolhouse, and by using his heat sensors, he saw that there’s a class going on. He started to roll himself to school.
“Hey!” said Rainbow Dash, who saw that Research is leaving her behind, “wait for me!” She began to chase the haro down.
----------
Scootaloo was reading the book called the Squire Manifesto, which explains the powerful difference between strong-willed foals and well-trained horses in wars. Diamond Tiara was talking to Silver Spoon about the rumors of a pony who found a gundam.
“Finally,” said Cheerilee as she sighed in peace, “some peace and quiet.” But that peace didn’t last long when a possessed, dark blue ball barged in.
Every single student watched as the ball stopped in the middle in the room. Rainbow Dash showed up, and then started laughing as the purple earth pony stared at the ball in awe.
“That’s a haro,” said Dash, acting as she was a happy camper, “and his name is Research.”
“Hello Research,” said the still surprised Cheerilee, “I never seen something like you before.”
“Dash told me you need help with pre-history lessons,” said the eager Research, “when can we start?”
“How about tomorrow?” asked Cheerilee, she was aware that the dark blue haro knows more than her, “it’ll help us plan better that way.”
Diamond Tiara threw a pencil at Research, believing that he is nothing but a piece of trash. But the haro did something everypony wasn’t expecting him to do. He popped his left arm out of its cover and grabbed the pencil with it.
“What the hay?” Diamond Tiara was shocked that she failed to hit Research, “That not supposed to happen!”
“Maybe you should learn how to respect antiques,” said the stubborn Cheerilee, “after all, you earned yourself a day in detention.”
Silver Spoon became interested in the dark blue haro’s abilities; he could be better than she thought. Scootaloo pulled out an enrollment paper for military school and turned her attention to the grey mare.
“Hey Silver Spoon,” the orange pegasus whispered, “still trying to become a knight for the kingdom?”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Silver Spoon answered, “how did you find out?”
“I overheard your secret two days ago,” Scootaloo replied, “and military school can teach you how to be one.”
Silver Spoon could not believe her ears. On one hoof, Scootaloo is nothing more than a blank flank. But on the other hoof, the orange pegasus is giving out the chance she could not pass up. The grey earth pony started to believe that her best friend is a complete snob.
“Thanks Scoots,” said Silver Spoon, and it was a first time she opened up to somepony else, “we should go together.”
Rainbow Dash overheard everything the two fillies said to each other. She’s glad that they got along for once, but to enroll into military school? The cyan pegasus pretended to be happy that children are enjoying their new friend, but she is shocked that Scootaloo and Silver Spoon are doing something they’ll regret later.
----------
Spitfire climbed inside of the prototype, taking deep breaths to calm down before taking any actions. She sat down in the cockpit and attached the neuron controllers to her forehead. The golden yellow mare checked for any problems before starting her training.
“Are you sure about this Madam?” asked the concerned engineer, with a green coat, silver mane and tail, and blue eyes.
“I’m more than ready,” Spitfire replied, “somepony needs to doing something about it.”
“Alright then,” said the engineer, “it’s your funeral after all.”
Spitfire activated the mobile suit, and it started to work fine. But something gave her a rude awakening. The captain of the Wonderbolts started to scream in pain, and then she started panting. The mental pressure on Spitfire is too much for her weak mind. After a half of a minute, she deactivated the mobile suit.
“I told you it’s too risky to test such thing!” complained one scientist, with lime green coat, white mane and tail with light green streaks, and yellow eyes, “Now look what happened to her!”
“We need to give her medical help now!” demanded the commander, bearing similar looks as Twilight Sparkle, but with mild, spiky mane and tail, a scar on his left eye, and a sword hanging on to olive branches for a cutie mark, “She taken a mental beating.”
It wasn’t long until the medical team arrived and got Spitfire out of the mobile suit. The pupils in her eyes were shrunken, she was shaking pretty badly, but she is in physically good shape.
The golden yellow mare couldn’t think very well for while, all is she saw in her mind is her parents and her late brother. The trauma made her believe that she is not just making her family proud, but her friends as well. Spitfire was encouraged to keep trying until she is ready. But she needs some rest first.
“Damn,” the commander sighed, “I didn’t think that she is brave enough to be a pilot.”
“I’ll report this test the head of the division,” said the engineer, “she did real good trying to help us.”
“Thanks for saving me the trouble Steel Art,” said the commander, “the next time we see each other again, the drink’s on me.”
“Anytime Star Blade,” said Steel Art, “we’re friends since boot camp after all.”
----------
Scootaloo and Silver Spoon were spending time together on filling out the papers with Spike’s help. The orange pegasus checked both her paper and the dictionary to see if she got everything right. She yawned along with her new friend, as if it was a long day.
“Did you hear about the most recent rumor?” asked Silver Spoon.
“Somepony found a gundam,” Silver Spoon informed Scootaloo, “We don’t know who, but it’ll be good if it’s true.”
Spike started to notice some loopholes in the promise, but so far so good, nopony found out about the gundam. He wondered what the worse that can happen. Scootaloo stacked the two papers, which are correctly filled in, and rolled them up. The purple dragon tied the papers together and breathed fire on them. The green mist flew out the window and headed straight for the military division.
“I guess there’s no turning back now,” said Spike, “military schools are worse than normal schools.”
“At least I get to be a knight sooner or later,” said Silver Spoon, “I’m willing to do everything I need to do.”
The two fillies began doing their homework as Spike sighed, knowing that if somepony exploits the loophole, then that pony will take the gundam for himself.
----------
Spitfire was taking deep breaths, her mind was warped and she was still shaking. Star Blade was getting worried about her. He knew Spitfire since he joined the New Lunar Republic. The lavender stallion had a feeling that he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He paced back and forth in the waiting room.
“If only Jack and Soarin was still around at this time,” Star Blade thought for himself, “Spitfire has to stay for the night and she need familiar face to keep her company.”
He sighed as he looked up the ceiling. Star Blade was also getting worried about his twin cousin, who claims that she found the haro. What if the rumors are linked to her? What if the demons found out about her findings? He is not sure, but all he can do for now is to take in two new troublemakers. Star Blade finds it rare to catch them in Ponyville, but they’re coming for unknown reasons. He looked over the paperwork again to make sure who they are. The lavender stallion got a rude awakening when he found out about the new recruits.
“They did nothing wrong in Ponyville,” Star Blade thought to himself, “but why would they go to military school anyway?”
An army truck arrived in Ponyville, alarming the citizens as it stops. Two stallions climbed out, as they were on an important business. One of them is obviously Soarin, but the other had a azure coat, yellow mane and tail, and violet eyes. Twilight saw how important it is to meet up with them, so she came up to them.
“Good evening Twilight,” said the mysterious stallion, “I hope you’re not running into problems with friendship now, aren’t you?”
“Not a problem at all,” Twilight replied, she was a bit nervous with this stranger, “are you here for the haro?”
“Don’t be silly,” the azure stallion tried to get the weight off of the lavender mare’s shoulder, “we’re only here to investigate the rumors.”
This is trouble for Twilight, what if they find out? The stallion looked very suspicious to her, almost if he was able to see through lies. She had no choice but to submit.
“Let’s have a talk in the library,” Twilight offered, “we shouldn’t let it go to public.”
“Fine by me.” Soarin agreed with Twilight. The three ponies started off to the library.
----------
Rainbow Dash went over the pamphlet again, making sure that she understands how the gundam works. The cyan pegasus looked out the window to watch the night sky. She began to wonder who overheard her and that egghead. Said egghead showed up with two stallions.
“Twilight?” asked Dash as she stuck her head out the window, “is that you?”
“It’s me of course,” Twilight Sparkle replied, “but military officials wants to talk to us.”
Dash got her head back in and went to the first floor, ready to greet the visitors. When the trio came inside, one of them looked very unfamiliar.
“Who’s that Soarin?” she asked, “I never met him before.”
“Oh, his name is Gear Jack,” Soarin replied, “but I just call him General Jack because of his rank.”
“Nice to meet you Ms. Dash,” said Jack, “I heard about you being a representative of Loyalty.”
“No problem,” Rainbow Dash replied, “now is there anything you need?”
Jack glared at the pamphlet, believing that it’s a clue to the rumor. He took a closer look at it, and then he realized it’s an instruction manual for the gundam.
“I take it you found a gundam?” Gear Jack asked.
“Well,” Rainbow Dash started, “I was flying this morning when a falcon ran me over and we crashed on a giant monster made of steel.”
“Go on,” said Jack, “I’m listening.”
“I stepped back from the face until I hit something that made its chest open,” Dash continued, “so I peeked inside, but the breeze knocked me into it. I had to touch things to know where I am, but I found out that it’s a cockpit for a gundam.”
“What did you do to it?” asked the general.
“I told it to let me out,” said Rainbow Dash, “and it did what I told it to do.”
“Interesting,” Jack commented of the cyan pegasus achievement, “but great power comes with great responsibility and we need all the firepower we can get.”
“Are you going to hire me?” asked Dash, “or are you going take the gundam?”
“We only need the gundam,” said Jack, “because the scientists invented the psychological controller.”
The two mares were shocked, they could not understand how important it is to get the gundam to Canterlot. They started to discuss the situation they’re in. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle made up their minds.
“Here’s the deal,” said the lavender unicorn, “first, you have to see the gundam in action before you can take it.”
“That’s a interesting idea,” said Gear Jack, “we don’t know what the gundam is capable of after all.”
Rainbow Dash and the azure pegasus shook their hooves, agreeing with the deal.
“Thank you for you time,” said Jack, “I’ll think of that deal as a field test.”
----------
Scootaloo and Silver Spoon waited at Ponyville’s military stop for officials to pick them up. As they watched the moon, the two fillies wondered about the rumor they heard earlier. Suddenly a cold feeling struck Scootaloo. She looked around, only to find a dark grey pegasus, with brown mane and tail and violet eyes, calmly staring at her. The orange pegasus blinked and the stranger was gone.
“What’s wrong?” asked Silver Spoon, “you acted like you saw something.”
“Must be my imagination,” Scootaloo replied, “almost if it wanted me to have a better life.”
“Well we both stuck,” said Silver Spoon, “Diamond Tiara is too spoiled anyway.”
“I supposed you’re right,” said Scootaloo, rubbing her neck with her right hoof, “she really hate blank flanks.”
It wasn’t long until two N.L.R. officials showed up. One of them approached the fillies, wondering what they did wrong. The youngsters gave their salutes to the stallions before putting their hooves back down.
“Can you tell me why you’re going to military school?” an azure pegasus, with yellow mane and tail and violet eyes, asked the two fillies.
“To show Rainbow Dash what I can do.” Scootaloo answered this question.
“To become a valiant knight of Equestria.” Silver Spoon answered as well.
The officials thought about the reasons they heard. They realized that the new recruits enrolled themselves to military school willingly. But how are they going to fit in with actual troublemakers? The stallions made up their minds.
“Well you’re in luck,” said the azure pegasus, “because we’re putting you under training with one of the best we got.”
“We got the seats ready for you,” said a familiar pegasus, “so hop in.”
The four got inside of the N.L.R. truck and it drove off to Canterlot.
----------
In the endless void above Equestria, a vastly huge, cacoon like colony floated aimlessly. Many lights shined on the surface as it was containing an extremely bright creature. As the colony spun around gently, three humanoid monsters left it, as they were on a mission. Those monsters were headed for Equestria.
----------
Star Blade sighed in his bedroom, wondering why the new recruits deserved it, even though they didn’t do anything bad. Wasn’t that booklet he wrote brainwashed them? Did they want to serve Equestria that early? The lavender stallion was not sure about the situation they’re in. Suddenly, the intercom spoke out to him.
“Commander Blade,” said the voice behind the intercom, “our satellites picked up three unidentified creatures heading to our planet.”
“Give me a visual,” Star Blade demanded, “we need to be prepared just in case.”
A video showing three strange creatures popped up in the monitor. The commander took a closer look at the video then realized what those creatures are. He had to make judgment on defenses, but it wasn’t long until the lavender unicorn noticed that Ponyville was the most vulnerable.
“Evacuate the residents of Ponyville,” Star Blade ordered, “we have to save as many ponies as possible.”
“Acknowledged,” said the voice, “beginning evacuations right now.”
“It has been thirty years,” Star Blade thought to himself, “why now? Is my twin cousin safe?”
----------
In the Carousel Boutique, Rarity was planning to make more plush zakus, believing that children would be more interested in them than dresses. Suddenly, a loud wailing noise pierced her ears. The very stylish unicorn recognized the tone of the noise, so she rushed to get Sweetie Belle.
The lovely filly was disturbed by the noise, making her cover her head with a pillow. Her sister opened the door in fear of losing her, and woke Sweetie Belle up.
“Sweet Belle,” said Rarity, who was still worried, “we have to leave Ponyville now.”
“Why Rarity?” asked Sweetie Belle, “its dark outside.”
“Because something dreadful is about to happen,” Rarity answered, “and it involves our lives.”
Sweetie Belle became so scared she cuddled herself on Rarity. Did Trixie made an ursa minor angry again? Did Spike take too many things again? She was not sure, but all she can do now is to depend on Rarity’s protection.
As they leave their home, the two white unicorns saw that other ponies evacuating Ponyville. Among those trying to escape, Fluttershy saw Rarity.
“Rarity?” Fluttershy called out, “is that you?”
“I’m glad you remembered the drill,” said Rarity, “I’m starting to think that we’re going to be invaded.”
“Did you hear the soldiers?” asked Fluttershy as she joined Rarity, “We’re being relocated to Avalon.”
“Avalon,” Rarity thought to herself, “it supposed to be a military fortress, but why are we being moved to such place?”
“Is something wrong Rarity?” asked Sweetie Belle. There was no response; the trio saw Pinkie Pie and Applejack. But Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. Where did the two go? The pink pony was starting to have bad feeling about this.
----------
The cyan pegasus and the lavender unicorn were rushing through Everfree Forest, looking for something very important. There were so many trees, which made their search more difficult. The dark blue ball started to bounce on the cyan mare.
“I know where the gundam is in the woods,” said the ball, “but we’re not having luck at all.”
“I supposed you’re right Research,” said the lavender mare, “I have been doing the hunting. Maybe Rainbow Dash has better luck.”
Dash remembered where she found the iron god, but the wailing noise she was hearing was nothing more than a ticking clock to her.
“I think I left some broken tree limbs behind,” she said, “if we follow them, we’ll find the gundam more easily.”
Research scanned the forest for any damage she was talking about, and then he found a trail of fallen tree branches in his radar.
“Follow me!” Research demanded, “I found our lead.”
The two mares began following Research, knowing that they’re one step closer to finding the gundam.
----------
“General Jack,” the voice in the radio called out, “come in General Jack.”
Gear Jack knew who was calling him, so he shifted controls over to Soarin before answering the radio. The truck almost made it to military school, which was based in Canterlot. Scootaloo and Silver Spoon saw a city like fortress standing out from the rest the country.
“This is General Jack,” he said to the radio, “I hear you loud and clear.”
“Do you have the recruits with you?” the voice asked.
“They’re with me,” Jack answered, “I can’t believe we picked them up before the alarms rang.”
“Good,” said the voice, “because the scientist realized that far younger minds can handle the pressure better than older minds.”
“Acknowledged,” said Gear Jack, “I’ll let the recruits know.”
The radio went silent as the azure pegasus took control of the truck again. The fillies still stared at the fortress, believing that it was a sight to see. They were interrupted by Gear Jack’s voice.
“Are you comfortable with piloting mobile suits?” he asked, “the nervous controller can cause mental problems.”
“Oh, don’t you mean that…” Scootaloo tried to ask, but the truck arrived at the garage. It was very spacey, allowing room for a lot of workers. The four climbed out of the truck, know that they made it. What towers over everypony is a mobile suit, complete as a minotaur.
The mobile suit is equipped with an assault rifle, which is on the back. Rotating gatling cannons for the ears. Vents that keep the pilot cool during operation. The chest are painted blue, the waist are painted red, the collar and the vents are painted yellow, and every other pieces of armor are painted white. The green colored visor protects the camera needed for the pilot to see through the mobile suit itself.
Before the group approached the mobile suit, a scientist, sporting lime green fur, white mane and tail with light green streaks, and yellow eyes, stopped them in their tracks.
“I’m not going to let you hurt innocent children!” the scientist protested.
“We don’t time to argue Lyra,” Gear Jack threaten, “the demons are coming to Equestria and they’re going to hit us hard unless we fight back!”
“And trust those fillies with our fates?” Lyra argued, “I don’t think so!”
Twilight’s male doppelganger walked in, hearing the argument against the new discovery. He saw Silver Spoon and Scootaloo, who were new recruits. He decided to break it up.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked furiously.
“My general wants to hurt foals with the psychological controller Star Blade,” Lyra complained, “and I’m trying to keep that from happening!”
“Let him do what he wants,” Star Blade protested, “there’s many ponies’ lives on the line now.”
“You win,” said Lyra, who was disgusted with the idea of surrendering to Gear Jack, “but if one filly dies, I’m holding you responsible.”
“Now the real question is,” the azure stallion sighed as he looked at Silver Spoon and Scootaloo, “which one is going to pilot it?”
The orange pegasus went over her memories of reading the Squire Manifesto. The book taught her that young minds could think more clearly than old veterans. It also taught her that courage is required to unlock such feat.
“I’ll do it,” she declared, “whatever those things you were talking about, they crossed our line.”
----------
As the last of the residents were being herded to the evacuation trailers, one of the Solar Empire soldiers spotted three objects that were going to crash into Ponyville.
“As soon as those civilians get inside,” he ordered, “punch it!”
“Roger,” one of the drivers replied, “and just in time too.”
Inside one of the trailers, Rarity and Fluttershy met up with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Sweetie Belle was shaken from the horrors of the siren, but glad to see Applebloom again.
“I don’t know why those varmints would show up,” complained Applejack, “now how am I supposed to raise apples now?”
“I am worried about what we’re going to eat,” said Rarity, “that awful noise didn’t give us enough time to pack food up.”
Suddenly, the pink pony showed up with a bag of apples. How she got those apples remains a mystery, but everypony in the trailer were glad that they got something to eat.
“Children and mares first,” Pinkie Pie declared, “the trip only last for the night!”
----------
Scootaloo was in the cockpit, wearing the neural headband. The cockpit closed with her inside. She knew that she is going to fight the invaders. The orange pegasus began to open her mind up.
“Alright, assimilation in three,” declared the engineer, “two, one!”
The mental pressure overwhelmed Scootaloo, feeling as her brain was going to implode. But then, she became one with the mobile suit. The monitors lit up, revealing what the camera is showing. As the brave filly channeled her thoughts about movement into the mobile suit, it started to walk.
“Holy cow,” Lyra was shocked that the miracle had happened, “did you see that?”
“Seems like my book has taught her well,” said Star Blade, “now our hopes is with her now.”
As the mobile suit approached the garage door, Scootaloo started to hear the radio beep. She answered it and found out that Star Blade was contacting her with the mobile suit’s frequency.
“How are you feeling now Scootaloo?” he asked, “I was getting worried for a second.”
“Felt very sick at first,” she responded, “but I’m fine now.”
“Alright, Ponyville have been evacuated,” Star Blade explained the situation to the orange filly, “but the demons will hit the surface at any moment.”
“Scootaloo,” Silver Spoon interrupted, “please don’t get yourself killed.”
“You can count on that promise,” said Scootaloo, “the mobile suit fits me like a set of clothes after all.”
Star Blade cut the transmission off of the mobile suit for now. He knew that Scootaloo did a far better job than Spitfire, but the demons have to be stopped no matter what.
“Open the garage door!” the lavender stallion declared, “we need this mobile suit dispatched ASAP!”
The workers did what Star Blade told them to do. Soon, the garage door started to open up, paving a way out for the mobile suit. The first thing Scootaloo saw were three meteor-like objects that were going to crash into Ponyville. She knew that barring the demons from attacking the civilians was her goal now.
“Longinus, Scootaloo,” she announced, “moving out!”
The mobile suit, that Scootaloo now calls Longinus, started to rush into Ponyville. Star Blade, Gear Jack, Soarin, and Silver Spoon watched as the new weapon leaves to fight the demons.
----------
During the ride, Fluttershy noticed what the objects really are and started to tremble in fear. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom realized that Scootaloo is missing, which got them worried. Thing were getting scarier by a minute. Eventually, the demons crashed into Ponyville, but it took only seconds for them to recover. The SE soldiers readied their weapons in response.
The demons were bi-pedal giants, armed with lightweight rifles that can shoot lasers. They looked like they were ferial vampires, complete with claw-like hands, two horns that pointed backwards, the eyes looked like red lines, the wings appeared skeletal. Most of their armors were colored dark grey. Their sleek appearance was intimidating to the weak-willed. What they carried on their waist were long swords.
One demon aimed its rifle at the SE gunship and fired, destroying it and killing those that occupied it. The rest the battalion struck back, only to realize that an anti-metal shielding protected the demons. But they knew that the shielding is limited in power, so they kept firing until a barrage of lasers took most of them out. Suddenly, a mysterious figure came running to Ponyville as it was on the hurry.
“Hey dog meat!” a voice yelled out, “think fast!”
The figure revealed itself as the prototype mobile suit as it jumped. It flipped backwards in the air before slamming its hoof on the head of the demon. The battle machine regained its balance before turning around. The other two demons aimed their rifles at the mobile suit, while the one got back up. It pulled the assault rifle off of its back and aimed it at one of the demons. Inside, Scootaloo looked at the demons, knowing that Longinus can do the work.
“Alright Rainbow Dash,” she said to herself, “I’m going to make you proud.”
When Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Research made it to the trail of fallen tree branches, they heard an unexpected smashing noise. The dark blue haro turned around and saw that the fight was breaking out. The lavender mare studied the four combatants and realized that three of them are demons.
“We don’t have much time,” said Twilight Sparkle, “the demons will find us more easily if we wait.”
“Don’t worry Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash, “I remember where the branches went, so we’ll find that gundam faster.”
“Dash’s right,” said Research, “we need to follow that trail.”
The trio began to go in the opposite direction Dash went earlier. Everything is stake now; Ponyville is on the verge of destruction, the prototype mobile suit is fighting alone, and most of the war machines were totaled. All of the hope that remains now is the iron god.
----------
The demons were firing at Longinus, but the mobile suit’s agility proved to be a problem for them. Scootaloo commanded the battle machine to take cover before it can fire back. She then checked how much ammunition the assault rifle has left. What the orange pegasus doesn’t realize is that one of the demons decided to outflank her. The other two kept firing to keep her busy, but the demon didn’t count on the gatling ears on Longinus’s head. It lunged at the mobile suit to take it out for good.
“Do you mind?!” Scootaloo yelled as the gatling ears lowered and fired at the attacking demon, destroying the shielding and puncturing the armor before Longinus jumped out of the way. The mobile suit, under Scootaloo’s orders, fired the assault rifle to finish off the demon that was caught off guard. What she didn’t expect is that demon exploded when it died.
“Is this some kind of way to avoid capture?” the orange pegasus questioned herself on her first kill, “Never mind that, there’s more I need to deal with.”
The remaining two demons scanned Ponyville to see if Longinus is destroyed, but they found out that their ally had perished. They readied their rifles, knowing that the mobile suit is more dangerous than they thought. Theirs horns started to glow, as they were calling for help.
The radio started beeping again as Scootaloo made out her plans. Knowing who it is, she answered it. The orange filly checked the frequency and found that it was coming from the base.
“What is it boss?” she asked as the mobile suit took cover.
“All survivors made it to Canterlot,” Gear Jack answered, “but reinforcements are coming as soon as possible.”
“I guess that’s a good thing then,” said Scootaloo, “but I wanted to ask you something.”
“I’m listening,” said Star Blade, “but keep the question brief please.”
“Why do the demons blow up when they die?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said in disappointment, “that’s what I want to learn too.”
There was silence, but more demons came out of the sky. Longinus looked up to see them, but the remains of the first wave of demons had it cornered. The mobile suit readied the assault rifle, with the pilot knowing that she had to think quickly.
“Looks like they caught on to our plan,” saidScootaloo, “because more reinforcements are coming.”
“Damn,” Star Blade was shocked to hear the bad news, “you’re alone and our reinforcements didn’t make it on time.”
“I’ll try to make some smoke,” the orange pegasus bragged, “it’ll fool them.”
Longinus aimed at the ground and fired at it, creating a huge, thick dust. The demons retaliated by firing their rifles at the dust. But when the dust cleared away, the mobile suit was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a barrage of bullets struck the first wave down within matters of seconds. The two demons exploded when they took too much damage, but Scootaloo still have more work to do.
“An old trick in the book,” Star Blade comment on her tactic, “it never failed in some places.”
“How long until the reinforcements arrives?” the orange filly asked.
“ETR five minutes,” he replied, “can you hold the demons off until then?”
Scootaloo checked the sky to see how many more demons are coming, and she found twelve of them. The second wave is even worse than the first wave. The orange pegasus checked how much ammo she had left. She realized that she won’t have enough to wipe out the second wave of demons.
“I’ll only last two minutes,” said Scootaloo, “but I can outflank them if possible.”
“Don’t push yourself Scootaloo,” said Star Blade, “the whole world is counting on you for now.”
Loud explosions were heard over the radio, startling the orange filly. She quickly organized her thoughts and checked what happened. As the camera within Longinus’s head zoomed in, it revealed a pile of destroyed gunships and tanks. The reinforcements were literally annihilated by the demons. The thought of being alone warned Scootaloo to be even more careful.
----------
“Damn it!” Soarin slammed his hoof on the table, “and they’re so close too.”
Gear Jack couldn’t help but wonder if sending a foal to battle is really a good idea. On one hoof, sending children into the battlefield is immoral and could scare them for life. But on the other hoof, Scootaloo was doing a good job at taking the demons out. He then thought about the deal he made with the two mares.
“They didn’t get ALL of the reinforcements,” he declared, “We still have that thump card waiting in Everfree Forest.”
“Face it,” Star Blade politely protested, “we can’t go investigating rumors, it like chasing a wild goose.”
“The rumors are true,” Gear Jack replied, “Rainbow Dash DID find the gundam and she’s going to wake it up.”
Silver Spoon, Lyra, and Star Blade could not believe their ears. Did the demons anger the iron god? How did Rainbow Dash find it? Only the azure stallion and Soarin knew.
“The real question is how is she going to fight using the gundam?” That was Lyra’s question. Nopony knew how one could pilot an iron god, but it’s a chance Star Blade is willing to take. Silver Spoon was worried about Scootaloo. The demons took out the reinforcements and the base can’t dispatch any more war machines. The whole military was in a vicious loophole now.
----------
Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Research ran through the trail of fallen tree branches until they ran across a familiar griffon. She approached the three, believing that her former friend had found the gundam. The dark blue haro was very scared, he stuck close to the lavender mare.
“It have been a long time Dash,” said the griffon, “are you going to worship the iron god?”
“How did you know Glida?” Dash threaten, she knew there’s only a way out of it.
“I heard your friends using clues to find it again,” said Glida, “and I’m going to make sure that your god gets a bad day.”
She pulled out a one shot pistol and aimed it at the cyan pegasus. It seemed like that the trio was done for. But Twilight had to act quickly by casting a spell on the pistol, turning it into one of the tree branches before Dash could buck her. They got away as fast they can, with Glida looking for her gun that is hidden among the tree branches.
“That was way too close,” said Research as he rode on the lavender unicorn, “if we didn’t do anything, we’ll end up becoming bird food.”
“You can say that again.” Twilight ran as she and the cyan pegasus kept looking forward. The trip was rather long, but the group knew how dangerous the demons are. When they made it, everything is the same as Rainbow Dash remembered. The gundam’s eyes were green, the static eyebrows were golden, and there’s the same slab of blue steel.
“I guess you’re not kidding about the gundam after all,” said Twilight, “but that mobile suit we saw earlier really needs help.”
Rainbow Dash judged the appearance, believing that size will tear the ground apart if it gets up. When that happens, Twilight will pummel into the crater and could get injured. The cyan pegasus decided that everypony should stay out of her way to avoid pointless damages.
“Twilight,” said Dash, “teleport yourself and Research to somewhere as far away as possible.”
“Are you sure?” asked Twilight, “I don’t know what the gundam can do.”
“I’m very sure,” the pegasus, “once I bring to life, the whole world is going to see some serious shit.”
The unicorn didn’t need to know more. Her horn began to glow, covering herself and Research with dark pink aura. Suddenly, they explode into nothing. Rainbow Dash knew what happened to them, so she went ahead and pressed the button, making the steel move before she dove inside.
“Sorry that I was scared earlier,” the cyan pegasus thought about the gundam, “but my world needs your help now.”
----------
One demon fired at Longinus, but this time, the laser beam struck the leg. The mobile suit was soon crippled. Scootaloo made a desperate attempt to fight back by firing the gatling ears. The demon taken too much damage, it exploded right before it could take cover. When the coast is clear, Longinus took cover under the orange pegasus’s will. The pilot started to log in to the base’s frequency using the radio.
“Can anypony hear me?” she asked, “I lost a leg and the demons had me outnumbered.”
“Then try not to…” before Star Blade can finish his line; a demon found Longinus and lunged at it. Scootaloo tried to act fast, but the demon struck with faster force, knocking out the power and the pilot. Soon, the orange pegasus was out cold.
The demons soon continued their rampage in Ponyville. One of the cameras looked at Longinus, as it seemed that all hope is lost. Suddenly, a slight earthquake shook the demons. A giant monster rose up from Everfree Forest, and then it started to fly towards Ponyville. One of the cameras started to look at the monster.
----------
“Is that a gundam?” asked Star Blade.
The visual showed the iron god, with blue abdomen and yellow chest. It also sported white shoulder pads with fat red trimmings. The head was dragon-like, but the face looked like as it was seen in a book about the forgotten. The waist and the soles were painted red. The backpack uses cone shaped engines, two on the sleek wings and one on the back itself, which released green sparkles as the gundam flies.
“I guess you’re not joking after all,” said the amazed Lyra, “it look like there’s still hope!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Gear Jack thought to himself, “be careful and save Scootaloo if possible.”
----------
The demons watched as the gundam approached Ponyville, and then aimed their rifles at it. The cyan pegasus noticed what’s going to happen, so she mentally commanded the gundam to land on the ground. The iron god hid itself within Sweet Apple Acres and watched as the demons began searching for it. Dash realized that the gundam itself is unarmed and wished that she had a weapon for it. Suddenly, a white colored stick sprang out of the mobile suit’s right wing. The adventurous mare became curious over the stick, making the gundam grab hold of it and pull it out. The stick suddenly released a pink, laser-based blade from the end that was near the index finger.
“That’ll do,” said Rainbow Dash, “I bet that thing can cut those freaks like butter.”
The gundam, under the cyan pegasus’s will, started to charge at the demons with the laser sword. They started to open fire on the iron god, but the lasers only left scratches on the armor. The gundam swung the sword at one demon, slicing it in half like it was nothing. The slashed demon exploded, prevoking the other demons to sheath the rifle and draw out their swords and started to charge at the iron god.
“Bring it on!” Dash taunted, “I’ll take you on any day!”
The gundam started to slash at the incoming demons, starting with the first one getting cut vertically. The second demon braced itself and tried to cut the gundam with a strong blow, but it was impaled and tossed aside. The third one got right behind the iron god and tried to stab it, but the ancient mobile suit turned around and sliced it in a horizontal strike. The fourth demon jumped and held the sword so high, it could do serious damage. Fortunately, the gundam countered by running past it and vertically cut it in half.
The last demon just stood behind Sugarcube Corner, posing in a battle ready position. Its sword suddenly glowed, making it hot enough to rival the laser sword. The two giant engaged each other in a close fight to the death. The gundam lunged at the demon first, but it dodged the laser sword fast enough to counter against it. The iron god jumped back, avoiding the molten hot blade just in time to strike back with a horizontal slash. The demon, which was sliced in half, exploded.
“That was way too close,” said Rainbow Dash, “and it’s a good thing everypony escaped.”
She looked around for any survivors and found the prototype. The cyan pegasus believed that the pilot was done for. The gundam picked up the remains and started to walk towards Canterlot, with the pilot knowing that the army needs to pick up the pace. Rainbow Dash started to cry over the horror of the attack. Ponyville was in ruins, but everypony will never forget what happened.
----------
In the shelter camp, the survivors began to listen to the radio so they can hear what happened. Pinkie Pie was worried about Twilight Sparkle. Did the demons get her? It wasn’t long until a pink bubble suddenly inflates rapidly until it popped, revealing the lavender mare and the dark blue haro. The pink mare became excited when she saw her friend in one piece.
“Oh Twilight,” said Pinkie as she hugged the unicorn, “where were you this whole time?”
“It’s a long story,” Twilight replied, “but what matters now is that we’re safe.”
A purple dragon, with an owl and a phoenix perched on his shoulders, appeared from the crowd. They were glad to see their master alive. The lavender mare was glad that her assistant and their pets are okay too. The horned owl started to fly to her side, happy that she is able to see Twilight again.
“That was really insane,” Research bounced a little, “but it was worth it.”
“But where’s Dashie?” Pinkie Pie asked. Suddenly, the trembling noise caused everypony to see what’s going on. They could not believe their eyes, so they tried to wake themselves up but no avail. What lies in front of their sights is the gundam carrying a prototype mobile suit. Even the pink mare is surprised to see an iron god.
Rainbow Dash started to stare at the refugees looking at her ride. She began to think about what she did to save Equestria. Is it really over? Are there more demons coming? Will Ponyville get reconstructed back to its former glory? She wasn’t sure. However, the cyan pegasus knew that the residents of the now ruined Ponyville needs a new home. But for now, she needs to bring the prototype mobile suit back to headquarters.
Scootaloo started to wake up as Longinus was being carried away. She took a glimpse of what holding the mobile suit only to see a face with golden v-fins and green eyes. Did she justify her conviction? Why is she being saved? The orange pegasus passed out before she could answer her own questions.
Twilight watched as the gundam passed by. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie began to watch as well. The sight was so amazing, that they were speechless. The lavender unicorn began to take notes on how the iron god moves.
“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” asked Applejack, “there’s no way that thing can work by itself.”
“Oh, she’s inside the gundam the whole time,” Twilight replied, “and she saved us from those demons.”
“What are we going to do now?” Fluttershy asked. There was silence among the survivors, almost as they were thinking about what to do with their lives. The trauma of losing their homes hasn’t left their minds. The soldiers began to think about what to do with the great fortress after the scary ordeal. Soon the gundam left their sight.
-----
Silver Spoon was still worried about her new friend. Contact with her was lost for two hours, making her think that either the prototype lost power all of a sudden or it just got badly damaged. The light grey filly yawned as she threw a balled up piece of paper at the wall over and over again. The azure stallion walked up to her, worried about Scootaloo as well.
“The gundam did a miracle,” said Gear Jack, “but we don’t know what happened to her.”
“She’s new to violence,” said Silver Spoon, “and those demons caught her off guard because of it.”
There was silence, but then something started knocking on the garage door. Star Blade was startled by the noise and asked the moderators to give him a visual. Did Scootaloo take all of the demons out in silence? Did the gundam rescue her? As the door slides open, the iron god was waiting with Longinus cradled on the arms. It walked inside and gently laid the prototype on the floor, prompting the engineering crew to check the damages.
“Looks like she’s back with us now,” said Gear Jack, “but we should get some rest.”
Silver Spoon nodded her head, agreeing with the general. The engineers managed to open Longinus’s cockpit and find Scootaloo, unconscious but still alive. The gundam began to rest on one of the mobile suit pens and its cockpit opened. The two ponies watched as the pilot began to come out of the iron god. The pilot was none other than Rainbow Dash herself.
“You managed to pull it off Dash,” declared Gear Jack, “once Avalon is ready, the drinks on me.”
“Avalon,” Rainbow Dash thought to herself, “I must be lucky that Ponyville is getting a new home.”
A pegasus filly, with orange coat and violet mane and tail, started to open her eyes. She looked around and saw a mirror, a radio, a small bookshelf, and a telephone. The filly began to look at the mirror and saw some bandages on her forehead. She then realized that she’s in the hospital instead of the prototype. The pegasus felt that she had a rough night. And then, a door started to move.
“Scootaloo,” A familiar voice called out to her, “are you alright?”
“General?” Scootaloo don’t know who’s visiting her, but she thought that it saw one of the personnel. However, she was right all along as Gear Jack walked in. Star Blade and Silver Spoon soon followed. The orange filly was glad that she got to see some friendly faces.
“You had us worried for a second,” said the lavender stallion, “we thought that the demon got rid of you, but the gundam brought you back to us.”
“Did you just say gundam?” Scootaloo was having a hard time recalling last night’s incident. All she could remember is that she fought against the demons until one of them knocked her out cold. Gear Jack grabbed her and put her down on the floor to see if she can stand, which she managed to do. Scootaloo walked up to a chair and shoved it to Star Blade, which he sat down on.
“Where’s your parents?” the unicorn asked, “They must be angry at us for letting you fight by now.”
“The only family I got is the crusaders,” Scootaloo expressed her loneliness, “I have to live without my parents.”
“I take it that she’s an orphan,” said Gear Jack, “I have no idea what her family is like until now.”
Silver Spoon was farther convinced that Diamond Tiara was nothing more than a cold hearted snob thanks to Scootaloo’s story. She showed pity to the orange pegasus by giving her enough money to take care of herself. Star Blade began to think for a moment about the filly’s life. And then, his mind was made up.
“Do you want to live with me?” he asked, “I’ll help you get a life of a family.”
Scootaloo could not believe her ears. Is he trying to adopt her? Does he want to be like her father? Those questions boggled around in her mind. She couldn’t decide for herself if she can trust an adult who is her drill instructor.
“Give her time to think about it,” Gear Jack suggested, “she’s all shaken up from last night.”
“Maybe some familiar faces can ease her burdens.” Star Blade said those words as a yellow earth filly and a white unicorn came rushing into the room. The two jumped on and hugged Scootaloo in joy.
“Where were you the whole time?” asked Applebloom, “you really made us panic.”
“It’s a long story.” That was all Scootaloo can think about when she got to see her old friends again. She hugged them back, forgetting to check her flank for a cutie mark. Silver Spoon joined in as well, knowing that she needs to get on a right path of her life. After a while, they stopped hugging each other as Gear Jack turned the radio on.
“When the demons attacked Ponyville,” said the news reporter through the radio, “they caused unspeakable damages and left many innocents homeless. During the rampage, Spitfire confronted them inside the prototype mobile suit. Things went smoothly at first, but one of the demons took her by surprise and crippled the mobile suit in the process. It wasn’t long until an artifact rose up from the ground and finished the demons off. Spitfire is now making a recovery and the survivors will move to Avalon according to military schedule.”
“Why is Spitfire taking the blame?” asked Scootaloo, “I’m the one inside that mobile suit.”
“The military administrators had to censor the truth about the incident,” said Gear Jack, “in other words, your secret is safe with us.”
The Cutie Mark Crusader looked at each other. Sweetie Belle could not believe her ears, neither does Applebloom. Did Scootaloo actually pilot a mobile suit? They thought to themselves. Star Blade began to wonder why those two fillies are confused. The yellow earth pony shook Scootaloo a little, reminding her of something they usually do when they try new talents out.
“Oh, right.” The orange pegasus began to look at her flank. Unfortunately, the cutie mark is not there. She began to sigh, knowing that she has a long way to go. Scootaloo took the bandages off and walked up to the lavender stallion.
“Can you take me home?” she asked, “I made up my mind.”
----------
In the court room of Canterlot, many of the military personnel watched as a group of guards and the administrators are having a debate whatever fillies should get involved in the defensive war against demons.
“What were you thinking?” a white unicorn with blue mane, tail, and eyes protested, “you can’t just send a filly to fight!”
“Then blame it on your cousin,” the administrator, as a silver unicorn with red mane and tail and green eyes, argued, “his booklet is what brainwashed her.”
“She nearly got killed by those demons;” the white unicorn protested again, “all I want from you is to detain her.”
There was silence; the silver unicorn became a bit angry when he heard those words. The other guards were worried if they’re going to lose the debate. The juries took notes as the two sides exchanged serious look with each other.
“Raising foal soldiers are completely immoral and cruel,” the white unicorn protested once more, “if you let it slide, that filly will end up fighting again and she won’t have another chance to live!”
“Very well,” said another administrator, as a pegasus with cobalt coat, black mane and tail, and violet eyes, “we’ll let what the jury think of it.”
The juries began to discuss the argument with each other. On one hoof, it’s wrong to send kids to the battlefront. But on the other hoof, the filly the two sides were talking about has unexplained potentials with mobile suits. As they explained what’s going on, a pink alicorn walked in without any idea what it was about. Eventually, the juries made up their minds.
“We have reached the verdict sir,” one jury declared, “the experiment should continue if we’re going to have a chance against the demons.”
“Looks like they have decided,” said the silver unicorn, “your request to expel that filly is denied. All of you are dismissed.”
The white unicorn couldn’t believe his ears. Are they really that heartless? The alicorn walked up to him as he turned around.
“What’s wrong Shining Armor?” the alicorn asked, “it looked as you were having a political fight with the administrators.”
“They just won’t budge as far as foal abuse is concerned,” said Shining Armor, “I just don’t know why they send a filly to die fighting.”
The pink alicorn started to cry over what happened. The white unicorn began to hug her and cry as well. Scary thoughts of the filly getting killed were too much for them.
“Cadence,” said Shining Armor, “I’m running out of ideas to convince them, but I’ll try to find their reason and use it as an exploit.”
The two were worried about the fate of those that aren’t grown up yet. Cadence knew that Shining Armor is desperate to set things right. The white unicorn kissed his wife goodbye before leaving.
----------
Inside a convenience store, which is packed with piles of hay fries, ready to eat sunflower pizzas, cider, milk, water, and everything else anypony needs. Scootaloo stared at some candy bars that were made in Manehattan, wondering if she has enough money. The lavender stallion pulled a bag of bread off of the shelf and noticed his new foster daughter looking at the candy.
“What kind do you want?” asked Star Blade, “I have plenty of bits to help you.”
“Is it okay if I can have a bar of Hay Ruth?” Scootaloo answered. Her adoptive father, who is still her drill instructor in reality, casted a spell on a Hay Ruth bar and put it in the basket he was carrying. The two went to the cashier and the unicorn unloaded the contents in front of him. While waiting for her new father to finish paying, Scootaloo once again noticed the same dark grey pegasus, with brown mane and tail as well as violet eyes, standing on the other side of the road. He watched her until a carriage blocked the orange filly’s sight. When the carriage is out of the way, the pegasus is long gone.
“What’s wrong?” asked Star Blade, “it looked like as you saw a ghost or something.”
“Last night, that dark grey pegasus with brown or red mane and tail stalked me,” Scootaloo answered, “and he did it again this time.”
Star Blade knew what she was talking about, but couldn’t tell Scootaloo who that pegasus is. He began to think about how she’ll react if he told her. Soon, the lavender unicorn began to look back into the past.
----------
In the four year war between the Horseshima’s communist government and the army of rebels, a young lavender unicorn, armed with a sniper rifle, watched as a dark grey pegasus, with brown mane and tail and violet eyes, load a orange baby pegasus, with violet mane and tail, into a chariot. The unicorn ran up to the pegasus, curious about what’s going on.
“Who is she?” asked the unicorn. He wondered what the pegasus is up to. The dark grey stallion turned around and saw the lavender colt. He became scared, believing that the unicorn is one of the enemy guards.
“Just an autistic filly,” the pegasus lied, “she’s none of your concerns”
“Autistic?” the unicorn wondered, “you behaved as you were hiding something. My days as a checker are over because I have grown sick of taking lives of mares and foals.”
The pegasus started to ease up, knowing that the unicorn is revolting against the government as well. He worked so hard finding a chariot that kept the filly hidden. The unicorn watched as the chariot got away from the scene.
“Actually, she’s my daughter who is born with a gift,” said the pegasus, “and the leader wants to turn her into a killing machine that ignores reason and emotions.”
The unicorn’s heart stopped. Is the leader that desperate to silence the rebels? It looked like there are more reasons why the government should be overthrown. That filly could be used as a potential weapon.
“My name is Star Blade,” said the unicorn, “and you are?”
“Genesis,” said the pegasus, “my father gave me that name.”
“Genesis, can you tell me who your daughter is?” Star Blade asked. The filly’s gift made him more curious. Almost as he was digging deeper into the truth he was looking for.
“I didn’t get a chance to name her,” Genesis answered, “but can you do me a favor?”
“What do you need me to do?” the unicorn asked, “I’ll do anything to help your family out.”
“When the war is over,” said the pegasus, “please look after my daughter for me.”
----------
“Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked Star Blade. The lavender stallion was spacing out until he snapped out of it. He looked at his foster daughter with a concerned look.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” said the unicorn, “I’m just thinking about life as of right now.”
The cashier took the money from Star Blade and gave him some change for the purchase, and then the unicorn started to levitate the groceries before walking out. Scootaloo began helping him out by putting the bags into the trunk of his motorized chariot before they got inside. He turned the ignition on and pulled the lever to reverse. The chariot backed away from the parking lot and turned left on the road. The lavender stallion pulled the lever to its first speed phase and pressed the gas pedal with one of his rear hooves. The chariot started to go forward within the speed limit.
----------
The scientists studied the gundam in the garage, looking for a way to make psychological controller safer than before. Spitfire walked in the garage, intent on trying again. Along the way, she saw her fan, Rainbow Dash, talking with Gear Jack about the prototype. The fiery pegasus decides to join in to know what happened.
“Oh Spitfire, you’re awake,” said the surprised azure pegasus, “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“It’s okay,” said Spitfire, “I just want to know what happened last night.”
“Long story short,” said the disappointed Rainbow Dash. “you just got replaced with a filly.”
“You mean one of those military school foals?” asked Spitfire.
“I’m afraid so,” said Gear Jack, “but she put up a very tough fight against the demons using the mobile suit you were trying to get used to.”
“I didn’t find out last night until I saw her,” said the cyan pegasus, “but I’m glad that she’s okay when I recovered her and the mobile suit that she calls Longinus.”
“Can I still try again?” the fiery pegasus asked.
“Go ahead,” said Gear Jack, “but we learned a lesson from that filly. You need to remain in operation until you reach full mental assimilation.”
Spitfire took this advice to her heart before climbing inside the mobile suit. She checked the cockpit before putting the neural headband on. She activated Longinus once more, and then start experiencing severe stress again. One side of her mind told her to stop, but the other side took control of her. After a minute of painful torture, she started to feel fine all of a sudden.
“Hey Spitfire,” said the repaircolt, “those demons from last night dismembered one of the legs, so you can only try the head and the arms.”
The fiery pegasus mentally tells the prototype to raise its left arm, which it does so obediently. The R&D crew watched in awe as the head starts moving. They could not believe that she done it successfully. Even Rainbow Dash was amazed, despite the fact that Longinus lost one of the legs.
“I guess she really taught us a lesson,” said Gear Jack, “it’s not a matter of safety. It’s a matter of having a strong will.”
“But still,” said the lime colored unicorn, “we still need to work on the psychological controller so it won’t torture anypony that tries to pilot a mobile suit.”
----------
On the cliff that towers over the plains of Canterlot, an orange pegasus filly and a lavender unicorn stallion watched over a patch of land made of steel. The filly took a bite of a Hay Ruth bar, wondering why she’s here. The stallion however, went back to his chariot just to check the time before returning to his adopted daughter.
“Pretty sight, don’t you think?” asked the stallion. The orange pegasus turned around to see her foster father. She grinned, knowing that finally had a family that cares about her.
“Yep,” said the filly, “I wonder what we’re waiting for.”
“It’ll show up in twenty seconds.” The unicorn said those words as they watched in anticipation. As time passed, the metal land started to erupt. The gates on it began to open, allowing the buildings hidden behind them to rise from hiding. When those buildings settled to their places, the lights turned on, making it as if the place is alive. What happened to the metal land left a great impression on the filly.
“Ponyville is finished,” said the lavender stallion, “but we got a new home now. Welcome to Avalon.”
----------
Among the streets of Avalon, Canterlot, the lavender mare and the purple dragon approached the building that looked like an apartment. The dragon was worn out from carrying a large amount of luggage, almost as he was sweating. As the two began to climb the stair, a owl, a baby phoenix, and a dark blue haro caught up to them.
“Are you okay Spike?” the haro asked, “You look terrible.”
“Tell me about it Research,” said Spike, “we have been looking all over the place for a new home.”
“Let me take it from here,” said the unicorn as she started to levitate the luggage using her magic. As they make their way to the block they intended to live in, another lavender unicorn, which is a stallion, and an orange pegasus filly crossed their path. The mare could not believe her eyes, so she began to hug her physical doppelganger.
“Star Blade,” the lavender mare began to cry, “I thought that you were dead.”
“It’s been a long time since I last saw you Twilight.” Star Blade hugged the mare back, leaving everyone else confused. As the two let each other go, the filly began to tug on the lavender stallion.
“How did you know about Twilight?” the orange filly asked, “it doesn’t make sense.”
“To tell you the truth,” said Star Blade, “she’s my twin cousin. We got along with each other until a group of stallions ponynapped me. At first, I thought I was going to die, but they trained me to be a checker. I did my job well at first, but I learned a grim fact that checkers play the role of murderers. When I was told to kill a defiant mare working for the revolts in Horseshima, I joined the rebels instead. My fight against the government lasted four years, and the rebels gained freedom and liberty. Now, here I am.”
“Whoa,” said the orange filly, “that’s a long story you just…”
Before she could finish, a sudden headache struck her out of nowhere. The group was shocked about what’s happening to her. Twilight Sparkle rushed to her side, fearing the worse.
“What’s happening to her?” said the worried unicorn, “it looks like she’s having a headache!”
“That happened to her an hour ago,” said Star Blade, who was hiding his worries over his daughter, “I don’t know why.”
The filly began to recover with seconds, with strange images melded into her mind. She shook herself as nothing really bad happened to her. Twilight sighed in relief, believing that it was a close call. Spike walked up to the orange filly and rested his claw on her back.
“Something wrong with you Scoots?” the dragon asked her, “I thought you were a goner for a sec.”
“What came to me was some sort of mobile suit carrying me as I was injured.” That was all Scootaloo can say.
“We should rest up for the night,” said Star Blade, “there’s a big day ahead of us.”
The group agreed, knowing that they were tired from the incident from Ponyville. The twins began to realize that they’re next door to each other before they grinned. Research bumped into Twilight, reminding her to call it a day. Star Blade and Scootaloo watched as the lavender mare, the purple dragon, the owl, the phoenix, and the haro enter into their room before doing the same.
----------
In the R&D factory, Spitfire watches as the second Longinus is being built. She blinked for a second, unable to believe the true story of the Ponyville incident. The fiery mare rolled her eyes as the left arm is being fitted on the mobile suit.
“Why is she fighting?” she asked herself, “what made her pilot the mobile suit in the first place?”
In the bedroom of an apartment block, Scootaloo began to relax as she fiddled with a compact music player. The headphones she was wearing made sure that music didn’t travel anywhere else in the block. The orange filly began to think about the good times she had for the night.
----------
In the dining room, a lavender stallion lays the flower pizza on the table and began serving apple juice. The orange filly eagerly watched the dinner as she drooled a little. Everything gone as the foster family has planned.
“It smells really good,” said the excited Scootaloo, “I wonder what it tastes like.”
“Let’s find out,” said Star Blade, “Your seat is ready if you’re hungry.”
The filly sat down on one of the chairs and took a pizza slice for herself. The stallion giggled before taking his own slice. He put a spell on the jukebox, causing a rather jazzy song to play. Scootaloo got done with her slice and began to take a sip of the apple juice.
“It’s like nothing I have ever eaten in my whole life,” declared the impressed filly, “it tastes really good!”
“I’m glad you like it,” said Star Blade, “what you just said make me wonder what I should serve next.”
The two burst out in laughter. The orange pegasus started to smell herself a began to realize that combat has taken a toll on her hygiene. She cringed a little over how much she stinks.
“You know,” said Scootaloo, “I should go take a bath.”
“Take your time,” Star Blade told the filly, “There’s no need to rush.”
The orange pegasus got out of her seat and proceeded to the bathroom. As she opened the door, three parasprites, one light blue, one light green, and one pink, came bursting out of the room. The filly panicked and ran for Star Blade with the parasprites beating her to him.
“Is this place infested with parasprites?” asked the scared Scootaloo.
“Those are my pets actually,” said the lavender stallion. He lost the will to resist laughing as the paraspriteswent to their nest on the shelf,“they’re not like the ones you find in Everfree Forest.”
“That was not funny.” The orange filly was a bit upset about the scare. Suddenly, the bad odor she came to her nose. “Oh, right…”
She left for the bathroom once again and turned the water on. The tub began to fill up, which is not unusual. The pegasus turned the water off and climbed into the tub.
----------
“I wonder if I should say sorry to them.” Scootaloo asked herself as she rubbed her head on the pillow. The filly sighed, but a sudden headache struck her again. Only this time, it dug deeper to her lost memories. She couldn’t resist the headache at all as she started to see herself inside a mobile suit.
----------
The orange filly started to regain her consciousness and saw that the camera was buzzing a little. As she peered through the random pixels, she witnessed a v-finned monster carrying Longinus with her inside of the prototype.
“Is that a gundam?” she asked herself before she passed out again.
----------
The headache stopped, making the filly feel fine again. She began to wonder who woke up the iron god. Everything was unclear to her at first, but thoughts of finding the answer was glued to her mind.
“Maybe some sleep can make me feel easy.” Scootaloo thought to herself before she closed her eyes. She felt tired from the day, knowing that she needs to leave her life at Ponyville behind. It wasn’t long until she began to snore.
----------
Within the morning of Avalon, a bunch of foals approached a school building. The sign on it said “Jinzo Elementary Academy”, but the first word on it was easy to pronounce. Among the foals were a yellow earth pony and a small white unicorn.
“I wonder what takin Scoots this long.” Applebloom complained, knowing that her lucky friend is not being herself somehow. Sweetie Belle looked over the fillies and saw the orange filly riding on her new, motorized scooter. Most of the foals got out of her way, fearing that they’ll get hurt. She stopped in front of the crusaders.
“What da hay was that?” yelled Applebloom. She was surprised that Scootaloo caught up to her. But she was shocked that the orange filly was riding something that was powered by electricity.
“Oh, my drill instructor gave it to me,” said Scootaloo, “he said that it’s imported from Trotkyo.”
Sweetie began to wonder how many things the crusaders can do for their cutie marks. The trio began to walk inside the school, knowing that Avalon was going to be a adventure of their lives.
----------
In Twilight’s apartment block, which has a similar layout as her old home in Ponyville, the two lavender unicorns discussed plans for a family reunion party. Normally, it up to the pink mare, but the plan needs a draft first. The stallion was reading a book about the Forgotten while the mare looked at the picture of her brother.
“Maybe a mixture of Horseshima and Canterlot’s culture can remind everypony of who made the rebellion successful.” Star Blade blinked his eyes before turning a page. “If I’m not involved, then what would happen?”
“Well, you’re making a point,” said Twilight, “it could bring morale up for survivors of Ponyville’s incident.”
Research watched and listened as the discussion went on. The unicorn stallion turned to a new page, only to find a topic about some kind of medical condition. He silently informed everyone in the room to take a look at the page. Twilight could not believe her eyes; the topic was so barefaced she took a closer look at it.
“Evoker?” she asked herself, “what does it do?”
“According to that page,” Star Blade starts reading the book out loud, “the evoker allows the host to look back into the past that got lost, but it also causes the host to zero in on their target during a fight.”
The dark blue haro jumped on to Star Blade and read the page. To him, it’s accurate, but he remembered seeing the orange filly having a headache. He began to think that he should check her out for anything unusual.
----------
“I got some great news,” Lyra declared, “due to successful research on the gundam, the Longinus mobile suit is going to be modified and mass produced!”
Gear Jack felt that what he just heard is nothing more than pleasing music to his ears. The real question was how many mobile suits each country can have to defend themselves from demons. It was a rather important matter. The cyan pegasus yawned as she stared at her iron god. Suddenly, a distress signal started ringing on the console.
“Answer the signal,” Gear Jack demanded, “I want to know what’s going on.”
“Right away sir,” said the voice in the intercom, “I’m answering the signal now.”
The ringing suddenly turned into a message from Manehattan.
“We need help now! We’re being attacked by demons,” yelled the panicking mayor, “the soldiers are being outmatched and we’re running out of options.”
The audio stopped; prompting the azure pegasus to think about Ponyville’s incident. He then decided that Manehattan shouldn’t suffer the same fate.
“Dash, Spitfire,” he called out, “you are to get inside of your mobile suits and take out the demons in Manehattan.”
Rainbow Dash started to fly up to the cockpit and got inside, activating the gundam. This time was different. The mysterious operating system began to run, making the row of words “Generated User Neuron Digital Automation Machine” appear on the right of her heads up display for a few seconds before the pop up disappeared. Spitfire got inside the now repaired prototype Longinus and activated it. The two mobile suits waited for the garage door to fully open before leaving for Manehattan, with each one armed with an assault rifle.
----------
At Jinzo Elementary Academy, Scootaloo walked out to the playground. It was complete with a slide, swings, a playhouse, and a sandbox. The foals there were having fun. Suddenly, Diamond Tiara confronted the orange filly.
“I hope you’re happy,” the pink unicorn growled at the pegasus, “you somehow managed to trick a noble into doing something dirty as joining the military.”
“I could tell that your ex-friend is sick of your spoiled behavior,” Scootaloo protested, “so I had to help her fulfill her dreams.”
Those words got the noble filly boiling mad. She decided that the orange pegasus had gone too far before she tries to buck her. Scootaloo, who is in danger of getting hit in the face, suddenly notices that most of the world around her started shattering like glass when it not happening in reality. The only thing she focused on in this state was Diamond Tiara herself. As the pink unicorn thrusted her rear legs, the orange filly quickly dodged. The rear hooves struck the door, angering the teachers behind it. In the pegasus’s mind, the world begins to rebuild itself to its original state.
“That was way too close,” she said to herself, “but I how did I do it?”
Cheerilee stormed out the door and stared at Diamond Tiara, almost as she looked as if she had a bad day. The foals stopped what they’re doing and watched. The pink unicorn began to sweat a little.
“Are you trying to hurt somepony?” Cheerilee asked, “I can put you in detention.”
Scootaloo stood back, relieved that she had been saved by the teacher. Silver Spoon noticed what’s happening and walked up to her. She feared any injury her new friend had suffered.
“Are you okay Scootaloo?” the grey filly asked. “I had gotten very worried for a moment.”
“I’m fine,” the orange pegasus replied, “but in my mind, the whole world almost broke apart and I focused on Diamond. I took it as a warning and jumped out of the way.”
Silver Spoon was surprised. She didn’t understand what Scootaloo was talking about, but it left a concerned look on her face. The foals still watched as Cheerilee drags Diamond Tiara inside before they resumed their activities.
“Maybe we can visit your apartment,” the grey filly offered, “that way; your new father can help us understand what happened to you.”
The two shook their heads, agreeing to visit Star Blade after school.
-----
A tank that was roaming in the streets of Manehattan suddenly stopped when the driver saw a demon shooting at the combat helicopters. The gunner aimed the cannon at it, hoping for a headshot. The cannon fired, launching a large bullet that struck the demon’s abdomen, leaving a pothole shaped dent on it. It turned around and saw the tank itself. As the demon aims the laser rifle at the tank, it became riddled with a storm of bullets before it exploded. Suddenly, Longinus and the gundam came out of nowhere.
“Hey,” the gunner yelled out, “thanks for saving us!”
“Not a problem,” said Spitfire as she spoke through the mobile suit’s intercom, “tell your comrades to fall back. We’ll take care of the demons.”
The tank crew began to taddle on the mobile suits before they retreated. The rest of the defense force got the word about it and started to retreat as well. Longinus looked around and found a total of eight demons.
“Looks like we got a lot of work to do,” said Spitfire as she began to focus, “I have to admit that they did some damage to this city.”
“Let’s see how they like it when I have something in my left hoof.” Rainbow Dash bragged as the laser sword’s hilt flipped out of the left wing of the gundam. The iron god grabbed the hilt and it emitted a same pink blade as last time. Now it was holding the assault rifle on the right hand and the laser sword on the left. The gundam aimed the rifle at one of the demons and opened fire on it. The evil giant turned around before its head got torn into pieces. In a rather odd event, the demon didn’t explode.
“The demon died in the unusual way,” said Gear Jack through the radio installed inside the gundam, “what is going on?”
“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash sighed, “but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to study the demon’s weapons.”
“Then leave it intact,” the azure stallion ordered, “we’re going to need a bigger variety of weapons to improve our defenses.”
Longinus jumped up to the rooftop of a building, aiming the rifle at a demon. Spitfire took a closer look at the crosshair just to ensure that she doesn’t miss. The mobile suit opened fire on it, tearing it to a point where it explodes. Another demon fired the laser rifle at Longinus’s firearm, destroying it effectively. The mobile suit jumped down and took cover.
“I have been disarmed,” Spitfire complained, “what should I do?”
“See the dead demon that didn’t explode?” asked Rainbow Dash. She commanded the gundam to slash at a demon that tried to take it out with a longsword. The laser blade vertically went through it like butter, causing the demon to explode. Longinus noticed the intact demon lying on the street inactive.
“So?” Spitfire doesn’t know what to do with it.
“Steal its weapons and use them to your advantage.” Rainbow Dash ordered. The iron god fired its assault rifle at the demon, leaving too much damage for it to handle. The demon then explodes.
“All right, I’ll do it.” Spitfire made up her mind and mentally ordered Longinus to approach the demon. The mobile suit grabbed the laser rifle and the longsword, causing strange varibles to pop up in the ammo section of the heads up display. The same demon that attacked Longinus aimed its firearm at the mobile suit, but Spitfire told Longinus to turn around and fire at said demon. The laser beam tore a big hole on the demon, causing it to explode.
“I did it somehow,” the fiery mare was amazed at herself, “but why aren’t they cursed?”
Two more demons showed up in front of Longinus, armed with their longswords. The mobile fired two shots, one that struck the demon while the other simply destroyed a decommissioned building. The damaged demon exploded while the other one charged at Longinus. What it didn’t see coming is a pink beam impaling it from behind. The gundam pulled the laser sword out of it and kicked it to the ground.
“And you’re out!” Rainbow Dash declared as the demon explodes.
“We got seven demons so far,” said Spitfire, “but where’s the eighth one?”
The demon showed up in front of the two mobile suits, but it appeared differently from the rest. It bore the dark purple paint job with red lining and yellow eyes. The arms looked bulky with pistons used to cause pressured damage. The legs were bulky as well, to keep balance with weight. The eerie wings were replaced with shoulder mounted bazookas that doubled as jetpacks. The head had three horns instead of two.
“Now what we’re going to do now?” asked Rainbow Dash, “it’s different from the one we took out.”
Before Spitfire could respond, the demon punched the gundam and its pistons slammed the heat into the fist. The blow caused the iron god to fall down to its back. The gunam left arm was badly damaged while the right arm aimed the assault rifle and fired at the demon. Despite the violent storm of bullets, its armor deflected most of them.
“What if…” Spitfire took a chance and commanded Longinus to fire the laser rifle at the demon. However, the beam tore a hole on the demon before it exploded. The famous wonderbolt sighed in relief, knowing that it’s now possible to fight fire with fire. The mobile suit approached the iron god, put the longsword on the back and stuck out its hand. The gundam dropped the assault rifle and grabbed the hand. It then got back up on its feet.
“Are you okay?” asked Spitfire, “that demon really meant business.”
“If only we know how to fix the damage done to my ride,” said Rainbow Dash, “I don’t know how old it is. I bet Daring Doo is ashamed of me for being reckless.”
“It’s alright,” said the fiery Pegasus, “not everypony is perfect.”
The two mobile suits began to leave Manehattan to get back to base.
----------
In Scootaloo’s apartment block, Silver Spoon watched as the three parasprites play with a ball. The lavender stallion studied the page on the book once more, comparing it to what happened to the orange filly. It wasn’t long until he reached the verdict.
“Scootaloo,” the unicorn called out, “I need to tell you something.”
As the Pegasus walked into the living room, the parasprites stopped and listened to the two discussing thing with each other. The grey filly decided to listen as well. The unicorn looked at the orange filly with a serious look on his face.
“I did some research on what happened at school,” he said so quietly, “and it turns out that the evoker is what causing the headache from earlier.”
“I’m sorry for not knowing,” said Scootaloo, “but what’s a evoker?”
“It’s a medical condition that allows the host to see the memories he or she have overlooked,” Star Blade explained, “the real use of it is that it also allows you to see enemy attacks coming and predict their defenses.”
“Really?” the orange pegasus got even more curious, “what’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch,” said the lavender stallion, “instead, there’s a limit of how long you can use it depending on your mental strength. I bet my cousin is jealous of you having the evoker.”
Silver Spoon suddenly looked at the clock and decided to leave.
“I have to go back to my home,” she declared, “I need some beauty sleep.”
“Good night Spoon!” the winged filly waved good-bye as the grey filly left. Star Blade suddenly started to have ideas on what to do with her. The orange filly began to wonder what to do with her newfound power.
“Tell you what,” the lavender unicorn offered, “I’ll put you and Silver Spoon against two random pilots. Don’t you think it’s a great opportunity to practice?”
“You know,” said Scootaloo, “it’s a good idea, but I need my rest first.”
“I suppose you’re right,” said Star Blade as he looked at the clock, “tomorrow is a weekend, so let’s get to bed. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
“Good night to you too dad,” said Scootaloo as the two went to her bedrooms. This was the first time she treated her drill instructor like a father in the first couple days.
As the motorized chariot escaped Avalon, the lavender mare looked out and watched the clouds, wondering what her twin cousin was up to. The orange pegasus had headphones on and was listening to the songs that was coming from her music player. The grey earth filly began to polish her glasses, knowing how dirty they were.
“Can you remind me why we’re going the military base?” the lavender unicorn asked. She thought that those fillies could play around there without regard for their safety.
“Scootaloo got homework to do there,” the lavender stallion replied, “she has all the time she needs because it’s the weekend.”
“What did you say?” she asked as her heart dropped. The unicorn began to fear the worst that can happen. What if Scootaloo gets hurt? Such questions began to torment her mind until an old, but familiar pick-up truck got next to the chariot.
“Mornin, sugarcube,” the driver yelled out, it was Applejack herself, “why are you feelin down?”
“Scootaloo got homework to do at the military base,” the lavender mare answered, “I’m starting to get worried about what it is.”
“That’s alright,” said the farm mare, “I’m pretty sure that she’ll listen.”
The two vehicles suddenly stopped in front of the garage, and then two NLR soldiers checked them out. They began to realize that one of them belonged to the lavender stallion while the other was just here to deliver the food.
“Let them in!” One of the soldiers ordered. The garage door began to open a little, allowing room for the vehicles to get inside. They drove into the garage, and their drivers saw four mobile suits in line on the wall. The lavender mare began to tremble, knowing that she had bad feelings about it. Suddenly, the azure pegasus appeared right next to the lavender stallion.
“Haven’t seen you in a while Star Blade,” the pegasus greeted, “how’s the first days as a father?”
“It was very pleasant,” the unicorn replied, “are you ready for today’s training?”
The pegasus turned to the two fillies and taunted them into getting out of the chariot. Scootaloo took her headphones off and opened the back door. As she gets out, the orange filly witnessed a familiar captain of the royal guard speaking with a colt, who is about three years older than her and had very spiky blue mane and tail, a weaken white coat, green eyes and is a unicorn. Silver Spoon got out and caught up to her.
“I take it that this is your first time piloting a mobile suit, isn’t it?” asked the azure pegasus, “they pretty big, don’t you think?”
The grey mare nodded, knowing how big Longinus is and this is the first time she gets to pilot it. Every time Scootaloo encountered a soldier as she went to her assigned mobile suit, the orange filly gave them a salute. It went on until she reached her Longinus, but the mare in front her was Rainbow Dash.
“What are you doing here Scoots?” asked the cyan pegasus, “shouldn’t you be with your friends back at Avalon?”
“I’m here to practice,” Scootaloo replied, “and thanks for saving me back at Ponyville by the way.”
“Heh, you must be nuts trying to drive the demons away using a mobile suit,” Rainbow Dash bragged, “anyways, you and Silver Spoon are up against Spitfire, which is an honor to duel against her, and somepony I don’t want to mention.”
The colt appeared behind the cyan pegasus and stared at Scootaloo. It’s clear to him that she’s too young to fight in a mobile suit and the guard told him to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget. Dash sighed, knowing that it isn’t going to end well.
“So you must be that rook my master was talking about, aren’t you?” asked the colt, “Whoever inflated that brain of yours must be insane.”
“Hey! Don’t you know who you’re messing with?” Scootaloo protested. Before the heated greeting boils up into an argument, Spitfire flew up and landed in front of her Longinus before she said “Enough games Jousting Lance, we got an half hour until training starts.”
“Fine, you win this time.” The unicorn sighed as he got inside his mobile suit. He begins to hope that the virtual reality training he got from a disabled zaku will pay off. Scootaloo entered the cockpit and put the neural headband on before activating her Longinus. Apparently, she noticed a difference between the last time the orange filly piloted a mobile suit and now. The mental pressure on her was a lot milder and the headband was even more responsive to her mind.
“How are you feeling now?” asked Star Blade through the radio. Scootaloo knew that the R&D team was doing a great job. She replied by saying “Feeling much better actually.”
When the pilots got inside of their assigned mobile suits, the garage door opened wider. Twilight Sparkle watched as the Longinuses walk up to the armory and equipped themselves with water guns before leaving, fearing that there’s nothing she can do about it now. The guard trotted up to her and put his hoof on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry Twilight,” he said, “my apprentice will make her think twice.”
Everypony else began to gather around the monitor, with some gambling against each other while the rest were excited.
-----
Near Canterlot was a forest, with widespread trees, beautiful lakes, tranquil flowers, and peaceful animals. The wild parasprites played tag with each other, the deer were looking for grass to eat, the swans floated as they were filled with air, and the bears were enjoying some berries they had found. Suddenly, the lively silence was shattered by stepping noises, scaring the animals away. Then four mobile suits arrived at a very large field of grass.
“It’s a pretty place, isn’t it?” asked Spitfire, who was piloting one of the Longinuses.
“Yes, it is,” Silver Spoon replied as she spoke through the radio, the grey filly breathed slowly, making sure that she was prepared, “but it is also a shame we might ruin it during practice.”
“Oh well,” the golden yellow mare sighed, “this is war and some things ends up destroyed while we’re at it.”
“Time’s running out boss,” Jousting Lance warned, he checked the ammunition on the heads up display to make sure he had plenty, “so look alive!”
Silver Spoon’s Longinus walked up to the one Scootaloo was piloting. However, the orange filly tried to figure out how to start using the evoker, but no luck at all.
“The evoker is very useful,” said the grey filly, “but the information your father gave us is very lacking.”
“I suppose you’re right,” the orange pegasus replied, “I have no clue how to activate it either.”
As the two teams settled on opposite sides of the field, Jousting Lance activated the damage scanner and set it to training mode. The rest of the pilots did the same, hoping that it’ll gather combat data.
“Alright gang,” Spitfire declared, “training starts right now!”
Silver Spoon commanded her Longinus to aim the water gun at the wonderbolt’s while Jousting Lance’s Longinus charged at Scootaloo’s before it jumped. The orange filly mentally targeted the mobile suit that was just above hers and the two started firing at each other. The pegasus missed badly while the unicorn struck his target four times before his Longinus landed. The shoulders and leg area on the heads up display began to turn red as Scootaloo regained her balance.
“See those red spots?” Jousting Lance taunted, “Those prove that you suck!”
The orange pegasus’s mobile suit retaliated by turning around and fired the water gun at the colt’s Longinus, only for it the dodge very quickly. She tried hard to predict his next move. But no matter what, Jousting Lance’s mobile suit avoided every last bullet before he fired back, hitting the filly’s Longinus’s chest. That part began to turn red on the heads up display.
“Is he really good?” Scootaloo asked herself, “What am I supposed to do about it?”
“And here’s a big finale!” Jousting Lance yelled. Before his mobile suit can pull the trigger, the whole world in the orange filly’s mind began to collapse like shattering glass. She knew that her thump card was being played on its own. The pegasus zeroed in on her practice enemy and Longinus dodged a ball of water.
“What the hell?” the surprised unicorn complained. Before he could act, two balls of water struck his mobile suit, one in the arm and the other on the head. Those parts began to turn red on his heads up display.
“You’re mine!” said the confident Scootaloo. Her Longinus began to roll forward and then stopped to aim. It fired at Jousting Lance’s mobile suit, hitting the chest once, twice in the leg, and four times in the belly. Those areas turned red on the unicorn’s heads up display. As his mobile suit suffers the torment of water balls, Jousting Lance began to notice something dangerous hiding behind the trees before his Longinus tackled his opponent into the woods just as real bullets began to fly.
“What are you doing?” Scootaloo complained, “We can’t just shove…”
“Quiet!” the unicorn protested, “There’s a reason why I did it to you.”
The orange filly’s Longinus adjusted its head to see what was going on. Its pilot could not believe her eyes, there were foreign mobile suits hidden in the woods. Not only she was upset that the white colt cheated, but Scootaloo was also glad that he saved her life.
“Break it up both of you,” Jousting Lance silently ordered, “we’re being ambushed.”
Spitfire and Silver Spoon stopped fighting each other when they heard his warning. Their Longinuses ran to the trees and hid themselves within the woods. The guerrilla mobile suits watched for anything out in the open.
“I can’t believe they got out of our sight!” the female griffon complained, “First, I had to look for my gun in Everfree Forest and now this?”
“Calm down Glida.” said the werewolf, who sports grey fur, blonde spiky hair, and light blue eyes. He was wearing a navy blue cargo pants, black vest with a left shoulder pad bearing a symbol of a griffon holding a spear wrapped in olive branches. “They’ll come out of the woods sooner or later.”
“That snob never learned from her mistakes,” said the black dragon with green eyes, “children shouldn’t be used as soldiers.”
“You made your point alright Belmont,” said the werewolf as he checked the radar, “but our first priority for now is to destroy one of the mobile suits as a warning to her.”
Somewhere else in the woods, two Longnuses watched the enemies without making any moves. The pilots were worried about what to do now. Scootaloo noticed that the evoker within her had become dormant, rendering her vulnerable against the guerrillas.
“You go warn the base,” Jousting Lance ordered, “I’ll keep them busy.”
“What about you?” the orange filly asked, “the water gun can’t hurt them.”
“That’s the point,” the unicorn insisted, “I’ll use it to draw their attention long enough for backup to stop them.”
Scootaloo got to the point Jousting Lance was talking about and nodded before her Longinus began to retreat. The foolhardy colt set the damage scanner to combat mode, turning the red spots into green. He then checked how much ammunition he had left in his water gun. Just enough to keep the guerrillas distracted.
“I just can’t believe I’m going to this mess,” Jousting Lance thought to himself, “I hope the other two are okay.”
The guerrilla mobile suits waited quietly, making sure where their targets went to. They kept scanning the field every five seconds.
“I don’t know what they’re up to,” said the werewolf, “but I got a bad feeling about this.”
“If you’re talking about the gundam,” said Glida, “then I’ll make that pegasus pay for that encounter in Everfree Forest.”
-----
In the base of Canterlot, the soldiers watching the monitor were shocked that some stray bullets broke the fight up. Some complained that the fight was getting to the good part while others were worried about the pilots. Twilight began to tremble in fear, believing that the fillies could get killed. Star Blade on the other hand, became scared that if either Scootaloo or Silver Spoon dies, the perfect defense he had planned as well as his new family life could fall apart. Suddenly, the radio started beeping.
“Commander,” said Soarin, “it’s coming from a Longinus.”
“Patch it through,” the lavender stallion ordered, “I want to know if those fillies are okay.”
The radio stopped beeping and began to connect to the Longinus. The commander expected some bad news, knowing how dangerous the situation is. He started to hear a familiar tone of voice.
“Is anypony getting this?” asked the pilot, “the training team got ambushed and we need backup!”
“I hear you Scootaloo,” said Star Blade, “but the factory is not working fast enough to keep building more Longinuses, so I’m giving you newly developed weapons instead.”
Twilight began to ease up a little, knowing that Scootaloo made it out alive. But she wasn’t sure about Silver Spoon’s survival.
-----
As the Longinus waited for a while, the ground erupted, exposing a cabinet holding an assault rifle, a sub-machine gun, a sniper rifle, and a sword. The mobile suit put the sword and the sniper rifle on its back, and then it grabbed the sub-machine gun with its left hand while picking up the assault rifle with its right. The cabinet began to sink back into the ground.
“Thanks for the new weapons dad,” said Scootaloo, “I’ll make sure that the gang makes out alive.”
“Be careful,” Star Blade warned through the radio, “I don’t know how powerful those guerrillas are.”
The Longinus began to turn back, carrying the four weapons into the woods.
-----
Hiding in the woods, the Longinus fired the water gun at the guerrillas as they fired back at it. Jousting Lance was mentally overwhelmed with safety concerns with Spitfire and Silver Spoon as well as how strong the opposing mobile suits are. The Longinus fired three more shots, only this time, the water balls struck an enemy mobile suit.
“Ha! You’re armed with a water gun?” Glida taunted, “You can do better than that!”
A barrage of bullets started to tear the trees apart as Longinus hid behind them. The mobile suits thought that they had pinned their enemy down, so they exposed themselves. Each one had sleek looking arms, slightly bulky legs, streamlined torso and skirt, and a fighter-plane themed head. They were armed with assault rifles.
“What’s taking her so long?” Jousting Lance asked himself, “I’m running low on ammo and everything.”
Just as all hope for him is lost, a second barrage of bullets came in an opposite direction, damaging the enemy mobile suits. They were forced to take cover in the woods. It wasn’t long until a Longinus armed with an assault rifle, a submachine gun, a sniper rifle and a sword, showed up right next to the defenseless mobile suit.
“Took you long enough,” said Jousting Lance, “where’s backup?”
“Backup is just right in your hooves now.” Scootaloo made a witty, but calm remark as her Longinus handed over the sub-machine gun to Jousting Lance’s.
“Is that it?” the white colt asked, “I was expecting that gundam to show up. Oh well, better make do with what we got now.”
“I’ll give the rest to the last two,” said the orange filly, “so give those guerrillas some good old spanking.”
The unicorn admired the filly’s attitude, hence it reminded him of the old times he had. His Longinus dropped the water gun and went right out to the open and fired the sub-machine gun at where the mobile suits were hiding.
“This is very bad,” said the werewolf, “anymore and we’re finished.”
“Are you recommending retreat?” asked Belmont, “they’ll come back stronger than before.”
“No, we’ll have to break up and take them out from all sides,” the werewolf ordered, “They won’t what hit them.”
“I heard you Strife,” said Glida, “it’ll only make things easier for us.”
The three guerrilla mobile suits began to separate from each other, but the Longinus continued to shoot one of them down with the sub-machine gun until it became overheated.
“Just my luck,” Jousting Lance groaned in disappointment, “now I have to wait until it cools off.”
Somewhere else in the woods, the two Longinuses waited until the coast is clear. Spitfire was expecting the worse from the situation, knowing that the enemies had isolated themselves from each other. Suddenly, a third Longinus came out of hiding, equipped with an assault rifle, a sniper rifle and a sword.
“Did you miss me?” asked Scootaloo. The golden yellow mare and Silver Spoon was surprised. They didn’t even believed that the orange filly would carry weapons using a mobile suit. Spitfire eagerly commanded her Longinus to take the assault rifle while the grey earth pony’s mobile suit took the sword, leaving the young pegasus with a sniper rifle.
“All right,” Spitfire declared, “let’s give those intruders some hell!”
The orange filly’s Longinus pulled the sniper rifle off of its back and aimed it at the trees, with the pilot hoping that one of the guerrillas would come out. The other two Longinuses began to search the woods, one armed with the assault rifle while the other was armed with a sword. At the field, the fourth Longinus kept firing at the guerrillas until one of them charged in from behind.
“Die you knave!” Belmont screamed as his mobile suit rushed in for a kill while holding a knife. Before it could stab a Longinus with the knife, the mobile suit got caught by another Longinus. The minotaur-like mobile vertically sliced the guerrilla in half. Screams of relentless pain echoed until the mobile suit exploded.
“This is not good,” said Strife, “we should retreat!”
“But what about that dragon?” Glida asked. The situation was getting worse for the guerrillas. Their enemies had caught them off guard in matter of seconds.
“Belmont’s done for,” said the remorseful werewolf, “and there’s nothing we can do about.”
“Alright alright, we’re falling back now.” Glida was both sad and disappointed. Not only she lost her rival to the enemy, but the Strife’s squad were defeated no thanks to the gundam. The remaining two guerrillas fled deeper into the woods.
“Thanks for your help Spoon,” said Jousting Lance, “if you didn’t get in his way, I’ll be dead in seconds.”
“And thank you for warning all of us about the ambush,” Silver Spoon replied, “I used to believe that you were a snob until you told us to hide from our attackers.”
Among the three Longinuses, one of them just stared at the debris that was a mobile suit until it got sliced in half. While studying the wreckage, it spotted an emblem on a dismembered arm. The Spitfire, who was piloting the curious Longinus, decided to take a closer look at the emblem. Upon farther inspection, the emblem portrays a griffon holding a spear that was wrapped with olive branches.
“Do those guerrillas belong to the Hunger Alliance?” The fiery pegasus asked herself.