Scootaloo braced herself in Megas' pilot's seat as lights came on in the arena and Magnanimous began an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Galactic Combat Championship Federation Bash-Fest! In the blue corner, making his G.C.C.S. debut, weighing in at 48 protos of destruction, the Eradicator from Equestria, the Ponies Pummeler, the Children's Charger...mmmmmmMEGAS!" Light shone down on Megas as the audience proceeded to boo...until the cameras zoomed in on Scootaloo in the pilot's seat grinning ear to ear as she revved the engine. Then the audience daw'ed.
"And in the red corner..." Magnanimous continued as heavy music began to play and the spotlight shone down elsewhere. "The Cancer from the Crab Nebula...the Breaker of Black Holes...the Red Dwarf of Devastation...SuperrrrrNOVA!"
Another mech was revealed in the spotlight, this one roughly humanoid in shape with yellow and black limbs, a head shaped like a viking war helm, a massive battle axe as one hand, and a red cape on its back. It thrust its arms into the air as pyrotechnics kicked off around it. The audience cheered excitedly...though there were a few surprising calls of, "Don't you dare hurt that little pony!" that made Magnanimous chuckle even as Scootaloo pouted at being underestimated.
"And it looks like the audience has found a darling, if not a favorite," the host joked as he gazed down at the match waiting to happen. As two 'show-mechs' - mechs that looked like showgirls - pulled Supernova's cape off, Magnanimous continued his introduction. "Alright, you two, I want a nice, clean fight. And by clean, I mean I want to see total chaos and destruction!"
"Oh, so our Cutie Mark attempts," Scootaloo mused to herself, not realizing Magnanimous - if not the audience - was picking up the chatter inside the mechs. "At least it's familiar territory."
"Don't let yer guard down!" Apple Bloom warned her from where she was watching over Megas' power core. "And be careful o' usin' the magic systems. We ain't never used 'em without Sweetie, and this doesn't seem like the best time for a field test."
"Got it!" Scootaloo confirmed as she gripped the controls tighter.
"Are you ready for the robot ruckus?!" Magnanimous called out, and the crowd cheered.
"You going down!" Supernova declared intensely, gesturing to Megas as his mouth grill glowed with his words.
Megas glanced away disdainfully, lifting one hand to make 'blah, blah, blah' motions, causing the crowd to erupt with laughter.
"Don' ya think that was a mite overconfident?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.
"M-Maybe?" Scootaloo allowed...not really wanting to admit that she hadn't worked the controls to do it, even if she had seen them do so.
As Supernova growled angrily, Magnanimous laughed over the speakers. "Someone's confident!" he declared as a virtual landscape took shape around the two mechs, shaping jungle trees and foliage.
"Ah need ta get ahold o' whatever they use to do that..." Apple Bloom murmured in awe as she stared out through a viewscreen.
Supernova charged in for a punch. Scootaloo jerked the controls, and Megas caught the incoming punch in one hand, twisted side-on, flipped Supernova over its knee in a classic judo throw, and pulled the ax out of his hand-slot even as he tumbled to the ground, twirling it in both hands before stepping back into a combat stance. "Uh...olé!" she called out as the audience cheered.
"And Megas is off to an amazing start, having countered Supernova's charge and disarmed him!" Magnanimous announced as Supernova got back to its feet. "Who could have seen that coming, folks? But Supernova's never been one to let things like that keep him down!"
Supernova snarled as a new ax generated from the slot before turning to expel a jet of flames at Megas from the tip of the ax. Scootaloo kept the ax spinning, creating a wind barrier that deflected the flames.
"Looks like Megas is ready to blow away the competition, folks!" Magnanimous called out. "But can it continue to take the heat? That fur coat can not be comfortable right now!"
Scootaloo frowned, shaking her head to clear away sweat. Magnanimous was right, it was getting hot in the cockpit. It was time to take a gamble. Spinning the ax a little faster, she gave herself some breathing room before hurling the ax forward. It spun through the air and flames to embed itself in Supernova's arm, causing the fuel tank for the flamethrower to explode from the unexpected breach. What was left of Supernova scattered around the field.
"Talk about an explosive finish!" Magnanimous declared excitedly as the audience cheered or booed as was their wont. "And against all odds, the first pony to fight in the G.C.C.F. wins her debut bout, and sets a new time record!" The announcer's box floated over to Megas as Scootaloo lowered the roof so she could cheer and take pictures. "Who'd have believed it folks?"
Kiva and Sweetie Belle glanced over everything that was for sale as they wandered through the stands. "Well, there's...quite a selection," Kiva observed as she kept Sweetie Belle close by. Privately, she was glad none of the food-stuffs appealed to Sweetie at all. She did not want to see what these fillies were like hopped up on exotic chemicals. Sugar had been bad enough.
"So, uh...how am I going to know if Scoot's won a match?" Sweetie asked curiously. "If I let it all ride, how am I going to have spending money?" At that moment, her receipt blinked. Glancing down at it, she gasped in pleased surprise. "Oh wow! Looks like they won! That's a big payout...oh! I'll just keep this much for immediate expenditures, and let the rest ride." She marked the adjustments on the receipt, and a floating eye robot came over with a bag of credits. "Time to go shopping!"
Kiva rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement before following along as Sweetie began her shopping, seeking out the various things on her list. One thing was for sure, keeping an eye on these fillies would certainly never be dull.