The pilots’ lounges in all of the Zoid Battle Commission’s offices were universally well-appointed, with a multitude of tables, large televisions displaying the Commission’s television network at all times, and food counters operated by any number of restaurant chains. They were, by design, a place for Commission pilots to congregate. New pilots typically came to these lounges immediately after registration, making them fertile ground for teams on the lookout for new members.
In the Manehatten lounge, Octavia Melody paused to idly watch a screen as a pair of A-rank pilots in Command Wolves dueled in a ruined city. One was a common and well-respected AC variant, while the other was a custom job sporting a rotary cannon. She had already lined up a new pilot for the Metal Thrashing Madwomen -one Amethyst Star, a rookie who would no doubt make good use of the team’s remaining Pteras Bomber- and now stood alone, looking for another recruit.
Suddenly, Octavia felt a hand on her left shoulder. Most people would have been startled to have someone come so close unnoticed, but Octavia calmly turned her head to see Vinyl Scratch looking at one of the tables. Octavia followed her leader’s gaze -despite the ever-present shades- and laid eyes on a pilot sitting by herself, staring at a soda and occasionally sniffling. She looked familiar, but Octavia couldn’t place her. She tilted her head slightly towards Vinyl, who leaned in to whisper near-silently in her ear.
“Are you sure? Her?” Octavia asked, looking at her friend.
Vinyl slid her glasses down her nose, her magenta eyes staring into Octavia’s blue. Anyone else would have been baffled, but Octavia understood her meaning perfectly.
“All right, I’ll try,” Octavia replied. Vinyl smiled, pushed her shades back into place, and walked away. Octavia looked back at the unhappy pilot, wondering if Vinyl remembered her better. Whatever the case, Octavia had learned to trust her friend’s often-inscrutable thought processes. She made her way to the chosen recruit and sat opposite her.
“I don’t mean to intrude, but it looks like you’re having a bad day,” Octavia began. This wasn’t the first time she’d picked up a sensitive new registrant who’d spent hours fruitlessly looking for a team.
“It’s my dumb teammates!” The pilot whined, and Octavia immediately recognized her -she’d always been better at voices than faces.
“Sonata Dusk, of the Dazzlings, yes?”
“Who even knows?” Sonata moaned piteously. “They’re still mad at me for losing to Emp… Empy… That one team!”
“Why are they mad at you?” Octavia asked, confused. “I saw that match, it was-”
“Because they blame me for everything! Adagio yells and Aria calls me names and they both act like I’m dumb enough to think we’re all such good friends!”
Octavia was genuinely taken aback. She hadn’t expected Sonata to be so forthcoming.
“Like it’s my fault Aria got stupid mad and used her Megalo Max!” Sonata veered from misery to fury as she apparently started talking to herself, staring intently at her drink. “Adagio never should’ve sold the Redlers, at least with those Aria couldn’t get us in trouble.”
“This may be an… indelicate question,” Octavia said. “But why don’t you leave?”
“Because I don’t have anywhere to go!” Sonata was back to misery. "My stupid, terrible friends are the only friends I have!" Octavia raised an eyebrow.
“Would you like to join my team?” Octavia briefly pondered whether she was recruiting a new pilot or helping someone out of a horrible job. Both, she concluded.
Sonata stared at her, open-mouthed. “But… They’ll be really, really mad…”
“But you won’t have to deal with them any more.”
“… You’ve got a point…”
“We also have quite a large Zoid stable, including a number of fire support Zoids.”
“You know what? I’m in. I’ve had enough of, well, everything, so what do I have to lose?”
“Excellent! Well then, allow me to welcome you to the Metal Thrashing Madwomen.”
“Okay, that name’s awesome.”
“It was our leader’s idea. Oh, I never properly introduced myself, did I? I am Octavia Melody, logistics expert.”
“Glad to meet you!” Sonata, now gleeful, shook Octavia’s hand.
“Let's file the paperwork to make your transfer official, then I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.”
"Aw yeah! Oh hey, another match just started! Thunderstruck versus The Illusions?! Six Command Wolves, Octavia! Six of them!"
"Ah, yes, quite right."
"Six Command Wolves, Sunset!" Pinkie exclaimed from her seat in Empyrean Team's lounge. "Six of them!"
Sunset, sitting nearby, tried not to roll her eyes. "I noticed, Pinkie."
"And they're all customized, too!"
"They sure are."
"Aw, you gotta lighten up a little, Sunny-Shimmy!"
"I told you never to call me that!" Sunset hissed, the look on her face offering distressing implications regarding Pinkie's Secret Candy Stash.
"Oh yeah! Sorry!" Pinkie apologized hastily, making a mental note to verify the security of her Double Secret Candy Stash. The Secret Candy Stash was for Rainbow Dash to sneak candy from and think Pinkie didn't notice, so it was expendable, but the Double Secret Candy Stash was for Pinkie to dip into when Rarity or Fluttershy (or anyone else on the team, but most frequently them) needed cheering up. It had the good imported stuff, and its integrity was paramount.
"So, uh, super serious sad stuff for a minute, how's Luna doing finding a new Zoid for Rarity?" Pinkie asked.
"Apparently she's going to spend a third day going through that ruin, the place is packed with loot. Hopefully she can get something good."
"Sweet!"
"Wait, is Mystery Mint using flak ammo to saturate the Illusions' smoke clouds?"
"That's either super rad or kinda bonkers."
"Don't let me forget that she did that, if Luna comes back with a smoke-emitting Zoid I'm gonna need to figure out a response to shenanigans like that."
"It's totally awesome that you just said 'shenanigans,' but I'm jealous because she seems to be able to score flak ammo. Straight talk: Not once have we had flak shells for the Pinkamena D. Bison."
"Sweet burning Tartarus, you're right! We've got to get Luna on that. Once she comes back, that is."
Fluttershy, oblivious to the battle, and for that matter the time of day, had once again worn herself out in the hangar, maintaining and generally fiddling with the team's Zoids. As was her wont, Fluttershy had curled up in the, for lack of a better word, nest she'd made for herself by piling mats and blankets on a square of four shipping pallets. She slept here at least as often as in her bedroom, and resisted all efforts by her teammates to replace it with a proper bed.
A quiet beeping sound woke Fluttershy from her slumber. Unable to remember which jumpsuit pocket she'd put her phone in -though Rarity would be relieved she'd remembered to change into her jumpsuit before starting on the Zoids this time- it took Fluttershy a minute to find her cell. She glanced at the caller ID before gently opening the phone.
"Um, hello Luna," Fluttershy greeted sleepily.
"Fluttershy, were you asleep? In the middle of the day? Nice!" Luna said. "I knew you had a rebellious side to you!"
"Oh, no. Um, I mean, I was up late last night. Working"
"Close enough. How up are you on fox-type Zoids?"
"Like Shadow Foxes?"
"And variants thereof, yes."
"Well, I never worked on one before, but when I was interning in my senior year I spent a lot of time working on Command Wolves. Most of the canid Zoids have a similar design base, I should be able to figure out the details. Why do you ask?"
"I think I found Rarity's new Zoid, but, well, it's a bit of a fixer-upper."
"You found a Shadow Fox?"
"A variant thereof. Look, don't tell Rarity yet, I want you to look at it before we make any promises, okay?"
"Um, well, I'll do my best."
"Please do. Well, I should get back to it. Talk to you later,"
"Uh-huh." Fluttershy closed and pocketed her phone, then gazed up at the inert Zoids around her. "'Nother hour or so," she said with a yawn. Fluttershy curled back up in her nest and drifted back to sleep.