//------------------------------// // Explosively Good Times // Story: Returning Survivor // by Itchy //------------------------------// Mecha was walking through town, Sugary Spice next to him, chatting about her day. “And then Apple Bloom tripped over the board, causing the pie to fly straight into Diamond Tiara!” she told him, laughing as she recalled the spoiled brat's face. Chuckling, Mecha came to a stop at the entrance to the town, saying, “Serves her right for trying to steal it earlier!” Nodding her head, Sugary Spice asked, “What are we doing here?” “Waiting for your uncle Shine Sight to show up,” he told her, taking a look around. “He should be here any second now...” A flash of light right in front of Mecha signaled his brother's arrival, while blinding Mecha at the same time. “MY EYES!” he hollered, running around wildly. “MY EYES!” Blinking, Shine Sight watched as his brother ran around like a manic, before looking down at the filly pulling his leg. “Hello there young one,” he spoke, smiling at her. “What's your name?” Smiling, Sugary Spice replied, “I'm Sugary Spice! Would you happen to be uncle Shine Sight?” Caught off guard, Shine Sight raised an eyebrow, before grabbing his panicking brother by the neck, forcing him to stop. Giving him two quick slaps across the face, Shine Sight asked, “Better?” Blinking twice, Mecha relaxed, saying, “Much.” “Good then,” Shine Sight said, giving his brother an eerie smile. "THEN YOU CAN TELL ME WHEN IN CELESTIA'S NAME YOU HAD A KID!!!” Shaking his head in an attempt to regain his hearing, Mecha replied, “Never. Adopted SS here after I found her.” Blushing, Shine Sight shrunk into himself, saying, “Oh.” LINEBREAKER The two brothers were all sitting in the park, listening to Synge as she entertained the young fillies and colts in the park. “Sorry about earlier,” Shine Sight said to Mecha, “It's just that I've had a stressful week, and you suddenly having a kid with you pushed me over the edge.” Chuckling, Mecha replied, “Not a problem. Had a rough week myself, between attacks from the Nightmare Clan and Astrum putting that bounty back up...” Eyebrow raised, Shine Sight asked, “You're the pony he put the bounty up on? Dang, no wonder he hated me.” It was now Mecha's turn to be confused, as he looked at his brother and asked, “When did you meet him?” “When he was invited to the military display,” Shine Sight replied. “I had to go to check if any of the air force was retiring or quitting, and if so I had to see if any of them were Wonderbolt material. I ran into Astrum before the event, and as you said, he was a jerk. Although, he seemed a lot more timid after the battle mage demonstration...” Much to Shine Sight's confusion, Mecha burst into laughter. Seeing his brother's confused looks after five minutes of laughter, Mecha explained to him, “I was wondering how Celestia and Luna convinced Astrum to drop the bounty, and now I have my answer. Who knew they were capable of such a bold display of force?” Shine Sight stared at Mecha, before shaking his head, saying, “Of course they did this for you... granted, they'd probably done it for anypony, but still. So what was that about the Nightmare clan?” Sighing, Mecha said, “They've put a hit out on my head. Currently, they're trying to kill me themselves, but I've got the feeling that they'll try Astrum's route soon. Thankfully we've got Solaris working with us, and with luck they'll manage to catch all of them at the next meeting.” Shine Sight let out a long whistle, before saying, “Make sure mom doesn't here about this, she'd have you in lock-down in thirteen seconds flat.” Chuckling, Mecha replied, “That's if she finds out while the hit is out. I don't plan to tell her any of this until it's all taken care of. Or at least Hearth's Warming Eve the year that it's taken care of, good spirit and all that. Shaking his head, Shine Sight asked Mecha, “So where's Rainbow Dash? I've been waiting for this visit so I could finally get her to stop sending me mail about how cool she is and why she should be in the Wonderbolts.” Laughing at Rainbow Dash's antics involving his brother, Mecha told him, “She told me that she'd meet you around fiveish at the library. She's doing something involving a pet until then, which is odd since she doesn't have one.” “Maybe she's looking for one?” Shine Sight suggested. “Would make sense,” Mecha replied. “Probably a hawk or eagle.” “From the sounds of it, that would fit her perfectly,” Shine Sight said. “Although, considering the fact that you have Wolfgang, I'd say that there's an even chance she ends up with something like an imp or Caladrius.*” Nodding his head, Mecha said, “Yeah, that is totally possible.” LINEBREAKER Mecha found himself staring as Rainbow Dash performed for his brother. At her new pet. Her new pet Tank. Her new pet Tank the turtle- “Tortoise,” Fluttershy interrupted, somehow knowing his thoughts. But still, Rainbow Dash's new pet Tank the tortoise. He did not see that coming. A loud boom knocked Mecha out of his thoughts, turning to see Rainbow Dash flying towards the ground with a rainbow behind her. Turning to his brother, Mecha smirked when he saw a glint in Shine Sight's eyes. Saying nothing, he watched as Rainbow Dash landed in front of them, panting lightly. “Well?” she asked, nodding towards Shine Sight, “Is that good enough for the Wonderbolts?” “It was downright amazing!” Shine Sight told her, smiling wide. “I haven't seen such talent since Spitfire! You have my approval Rainbow Dash!” Smiling, Rainbow Dash jumped up, and started to dance, singing, “I'm in the Wonderbolts! I'm in the Wonderbolts! Happy day, happy day! First I get a great pet, and now I'm in the Wonderbolts!” Laughing, Shine Sight said, “You're not in yet, but you're one step closer.” Coming to a complete stop, Rainbow Dash replied with, “Say what now?” Shaking his head, Shine Sight told her, “You've got my approval, which may carry a lot of weight in the long run, but means squat right now.” Jaw dropping, Rainbow Dash asked, “What do you mean it means squat right now?” Shrugging his shoulders, Shine Sight told her, “Just that. As of right now, it means nothing. However, once I file the paperwork to get you a folder in the possibilities pile, it will mean quite a bit, as the other scouts trust my judgment, meaning that they'll be coming from all over to meet you. Once you get five out of seven approvals, you're in.” “Five out of seven?” Rainbow Dash asked. “My bro here is one of seven of the Wonderbolts talent scouts,” Mecha said, finally entering the conversation. “You have to audition in front of all seven, even if you get an approved from the first five. Furthermore, you have to give an audition in front of the team, and then they'll decide in a meeting after that.” “Really?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking downtrodden. “I have to go through all of that to get into the Wonderbolts?” Sighing, Shine Sight said, “Yeah, you do. It may seem like a long process, but it shouldn't take you too long. As I said, my approval holds great weight in the process, so at most it should take a year. You should consider yourself blessed, as the last applicant took four years to get in.” Rainbow Dash's reply was cut off when an explosion rang out through town, followed by, “It wasn't my fault this time!” from Doctor Whooves. Eye twitching, Mecha asked, “It was my house, wasn't it?” Flying up to get a better look at the town, Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “Blue flames,” she told him, confused due to the color of the flames. “At least Sugary Spice was out with Wolfgang and the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Mecha said, eye twitch getting worse. “Especially since they're not here...” Raising an eyebrow, Twilight Sparkle asked, “And why is that?” “Because,” Mecha started, “I don't want to explain what I'm about to say to them.” Everypony was confused as Mecha stood there, taking deep breaths, eye twitching so fast and hard that it had to hurt. Finally he snapped, and yelled out, “DAMN THOSE WRATH FORSAKEN NIGHTMARE CLAN BASTARDS TO THE DEEPEST CORNERS OF HELL!!!” before taking in several more deep breaths. Walking towards the smoking remains of his home, he asked, “Fluttershy, could you take care of Sugary Spice and Wolfgang for a while?” Caught off guard, Fluttershy replied, “Um... uh... sure I can... that is, if they don't mind...” Nodding his head, Mecha said, “I need you to send a letter to the princesses Twilight, something along the lines of me hunting down the nightmare clan, and the further delay of the statue they ordered.” Blinking, Twilight Sparkle said, “Okay... but what are you planning?” Stopping in his tracks, Mecha turned to face the ponies, and told them, “I'm going to hunt down every last one of those Wrath forsaken maniacs and beat them with their Sloth forsaken doors until their Pride forsaken reflections wince in pain as their Lust forsaken bodies are laying unconscious on their LUCIFER FORSAKEN FLOOR!” LINEBREAKER Mecha slowly made his way towards the window of the complex currently housing the leaders of the Nightmare clan. Reaching the window, he opened it just enough to listen in, just as the meeting started. “All right,” spoke a deep voice, “it is time to begin. First order of business, did that bomb kill our target?” A high voice replied, saying, “No. In our attempt to avoid killing the filly living with our target, he was able to avoid the bomb.” “Bah!” came an angry, scratchy voice. “Who cares if we kill that filly? After all, if we manage to kill our only obstacle, isn't it worth it?” A sigh came from the deep voice, as the high voice replied, “It's not worth it if we cause an investigation into our actions! While Mecha may be our only obstacle, it means nothing if we're found and arrested before we can initiate the plan!” There was no response to this at first, until the scratchy voice said, “Wouldn't a bomb start an investigation anyways?” “Not if it looked like an accident involving that hydra powder he uses,” came the deep voice. “But we're getting off topic, with the failure of the bomb, we'll have to resort to assassins. Yes, I realize it goes against our ways, but due to the fact that he's already survived one attack, we must make sure that he doesn't hunt us down.” Sighing, the high voice said, “That's all well and good, but what about our leak? Somepony is handing out intel, and we need to stop it before it's too late!” “I still say it's that Solaris fellow,” the scratchy voice bellowed. “Never trusted him, too... shifty eyed.” “Yes yes, you've made yourself clear,” came the deep voice, “but you know the rules. Spies are to be accused and tried in front of the whole clan. We'll bring this up next week at the full clan meeting, but until then you are to leave Solaris alone, got it?” Sighing, the scratchy voice replied, “I've got it...” “Good,” the deep voice replied. “Then we'll meet up at the clan meeting in the normal place.” “The warehouse by the docks?” asked the high voice. “The orange one right?” asked the scratchy voice. Sighing, the deep voice replied, “Yes, that one. By Nightmare Moon how you two became head councilors I'll never know...” Mecha smirked as he slowly backed away from the window. After all, he knew the time and place of the next meeting, and a week was all he needed to prep for it, as well as for the royal palace guards to arrive. LINEBREAKER Mecha stood in the shadows of the large orange warehouse, waiting for the royal guards to arrive. Tapping his foot impatiently, Mecha looked around, trying to spot them, relaxing when he spotted Shining Armor and Solaris. Signaling for them to meet up with him, Mecha asked, “Where have you been? Actually, forget that, here's the plan. I've rigged up several grenades to our entry points, all connected to this ridiculously quick fuse.” Blinking, Shining Armor asked, “Isn't that illegal after somepony blew up a fireworks factory with it?” Coughing and blushing, Mecha replied, “Doesn't matter, we're using it anyways to get a near simultaneous entrance. At that point, everypony charges in and starts arresting or fighting the Nightmare clan. Oh, and Solaris, they're onto you.” Sighing, Solaris said, “Which mean that this was meant to be a meeting to judge me... great, just great. On the bright side, I can finally put my insane clan in jail.” Shaking his head, Mecha held up the ridiculously quick fuse end up in his mechanical hoof, before lighting it, causing it to near instantly disappear. Half a second later, there was a series of explosions, prompting everypony to charge into the warehouse, catching the stunned clan off guard. The only way things could've been better would've been if the three figures on stage weren't running towards Mecha, Shining Armor, and Solaris with their weapons drawn. Pulling out his swords, Mecha blocked the middle figure's mace, whilst the figure on the right yelled out in a scratchy voice, “I knew you were a spy!” as he tried to decapitate him with an ax. “You're kinda cute...” came a high voice to his left, as the pony fought Shining Armor. Grimacing, Shining Armor replied, “I have a marefriend,” as he ducked under a strike from her whip. Mecha looked towards his own opponent, and sighed. “Don't suppose you'd be willing to come in peacefully?” he asked, side-stepping a blow meant for his head. “No way in Hell!” spoke the figure in his deep voice, raising his mace to stop one of Mecha's blades. “Funny,” Mecha replied, “I've been there. Not something you should take lightly.” Bending back to avoid the swinging ball of metal, Mecha lashed out with a cross strike, nicking his opponent's chest. Growling in fury, the figure pressed a button on his mace, causing the head to pop off with a chain connecting it to the handle. “Wrath's bow strung with Lust's panties,” Mecha yelled, ducking under a wild swing. “A flail?! Do you even know how to use that thing?” before he jumped back to dodge another attack. “You know what, screw it!” Mecha yelled, channeling his magic into his blades, before he started to swing rapidly, launching dozens of magical waves at his opponent. Had Mecha been able to see his target's eyes, he'd have noticed them widening in shock, before he danced around the deadly waves of magic, slowly making his way closer. His advance was brought to a halt though, as one of the waves caught him in the side, leaving a giant bloody gash. After that, his flail caught a wave, causing him to spin and throw the weapon, before collapsing due to blood loss. Mecha, having not seen the flail fly from the figure's hands, stopped sending wave after wave of magic, right in time for the pointed flail to smack him right in the chest, breaking several ribs from the sounds of it. On the bright side, he was alive, and the battle won from the looks of it. Shining Armor had his opponent wrapped in her own whip, eye twitching as she continued to flirt with him, and Solaris was simply staring at the wall his opponent was lodged in, apparently having run into it in a fit of rage. Coughing up a bit of blood, Mecha asked, “Are all of them here?” Blinking, Solaris stared at Mecha, before replying, “Yeah, they are. ...do you need to visit the hospital?” Shaking his head, Mecha stared straight at the ceiling, before saying, “Nah, I should be fine. Or at least good enough to make it back to Ponyville. * Caladrius- a mythical bird that is suppose to take any illness or injury from a hospital patient, before flying off and healing itself, resulting in the treatment of both patient and bird.