//------------------------------// // Slatemaw // Story: Equestrian Rim // by Visharo //------------------------------// "WHAT THE HAY! RARA, AH THOUGHT AH SAID AH WAS OUT! AH AIN'T DOIN' NO MORE PILOTING!" Applejack's face was bright red, almost as bright as a gala apple, and Apple Bloom said so. "Hush AB, ah'm talkin' with Rarara here." The two ponies stared at each other, one angry and one concerned. Seven Cadets were watching with wide eyes, with the exception of Peach Fuzz, who was watching with a disinterested look. "What's wrong AJ? We need to help these ponies! That Kaiju is almost at Van Hoover! Please AJ, they don't have any other Jaeger pilots right now, if we don't do anything, all those innocent ponies will die! It might even reach the Shatterdome, endangering the Cadets." Coloratura sighed when she saw Applejack's stubborn look, then gasped when the orange pony started galloping away in silence. "Warning! Kaiju, category III. Rangers Applejack and Coloratura, you are needed on deck. Warning! Kaiju..." "RANGERS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET UP IN YOUR JAEGER. THERE ARE KAIJU THAT NEED TO BE SLAIN!" Pay Check's voice yelled through the intercom. Applejack paid no heed and continued her gallop with Coloratura close behind. Applejack halted once she saw the Jaeger looming beneath her. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Coloratura trotted up next to her with a small smile. "Eeyup, Honest Riot." Applejack temporarily forgot about their arguement. The two trotted forwards to their awaiting suits. Dark blue armor padding with ivory straps between every padding. Applejack's mane was tied back into a bun while Coloratura's was braided so their manes wouldn't get caught on something and rip off. It happened once a long time ago, and now it's standard procedure. The two stepped into the conn-pod and the machine hooked them up to the Jaeger. Applejack on the right and Coloratura on the left. Once they were settled, Pay Check's voice crackled over the speakers, "alright Rangers, Slatemaw will approximately reach the shore line in 20 minutes, so get your BUCKING FLANKS MOVING! The Kaiju's primary weapon is its massive jaw, it is recommended to attack from behind. Good luck!" "Activating Drift...Right hemisphere stable...Left hemisphere stable...Neural bridge stable." "My name is Countess Coloratura!" "Soup's on, everypony!" "Hoofsies!" "Wait an apple-pickin' minute!" "Time to buck flank!" Applejack and Coloratura took a step forward with determined expressions. *** Four helicopters held Honest Riot suspended over the evacuated city of Van Hoover. The Jaeger itself was sleeker than your typical Earth Pony Jaeger. The four legs were reinforced with multiple alloys, with the back legs containing more than the front. The head of the Jaeger had a bright orange visor shaped like sunglasses, two mechanical ears sticking upwards on the side as per Coloratura's request. The entire thing was painted navy blue, with orange around the joints, breaking up the monotone color. The helicopters released the Jaeger, Applejack and Coloratura bracing for impact. They landed with quite a thud, the pavement cracking. The two of them stood, facing the oncoming Kaiju; their shared memories flickered to the last time they did this. A younger Applejack and Coloratura reared backwards, bringing their back hooves up for a buck. The Kaiju's chest cracked when the hooves hit, Riot shook, and both titans fell over. Both ponies yelled in shock, as wires all over the conn-pod started sparking. The Kaiju got up faster and lunged... Back in the present, Applejack and Coloratura took a battle stance. Front hooves bent so their heads leaned forwards, while the back legs stood apart, allowing for the Jaeger to jolt in any direction if needed. "Slatemaw incoming in five, four, three, two..." The Kaiju, a large behemoth on six stubby legs. Its red and green hide shone under the setting sun. A huge tail whipped back and forth, causing wreckage every time it hit. A tree uprooted, a chariot crushed, metal buildings creaking, crystal walls shattering, wooden structures completely annihilated. Spikes lined Slatemaw's spine, but it was its face that held the most power. Four beady red eyes on a pale gray face, underneath the eyes and nostrils lay a huge set of jaws. Easily ten meters across with teeth the size of small trees and sharper than spears. Blue veins crisscrossed everywhere, giving the Kaiju a foreboding feeling. Applejack and Coloratura leaped to the right at the very last moment, metal joints creaking as the Jaeger crashed into a building, but otherwise not causing any damage. The Kaiju however, flew past its target and tackled a building head-on. Shattered glass filled the city, if only for a second. "Ya 'member our old move?" Applejack shifted Riot out of the hole that they made in the building. "How could I forget?" Coloratura moved in sync and lifted her front left hoof. "Activate Arc Whip!" They slid under the Kaiju's belly, deftly dodging its attack. They rolled to their side, preparing to get up, but instead were met by a tail. Honest Riot was flung over several buildings before coming to a stop near a beach. The duo yelled out in frustration and got up. Applejack and Coloratura galloped forwards, passing broken buildings and shredded tarmac. Each hoofstep made debris bounce around. The Kaiju whipped around and charged... A large snake-like metal rope unlooped from Honest Riot's front left hoof. Slatemaw shook itself from its daze, wheeled around, and stared at us, murder in its eyes. The whip activated, magical electricity danced along the whole thing. Applejack and Coloratura swung it around once, as if to test it out after all these years. Loud buzzing noises filled the air as the whip whooshed around, then they stopped waving it around and faced the Kaiju. The titans stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. "Ah don't like this Rara. Should we attack?" Applejack spoke after a while of inaction. Despite talking her to Coloratura, she didn't move her eyes off of Slatemaw. "I don't know. All the other Kaiju have never done this before. Maybe they're learning?" Coloratura visibly shuddered, "oh Celestia, I hope not." "What if it is?" Instead of sliding under as the Kaiju most surely was expecting, Applejack pushed the Jaeger to the right while Coloratura raised her left hoof and activated the Arc Whip. The duo went onto their belly and twisted to the right so Coloratura could slash at the Kaiju's belly. Riot kept on sliding, but Coloratura's aim was true and wrapped around the Kaiju. Applejack heaved upwards, twisted, and landed the Jaeger on its four hooves again. Coloratura yelled and whipped back her front left hoof, the whip flying back to its holster, half of the Kaiju coming with it... "Ah say we just attack it. Do we have anythin' else in our arsenal?" Applejack asked, her gaze steeling as if searching for any movement from Slatemaw. Coloratura unsynced their movements for just a bit and scrolled through the Jaegers capabilities. She stopped on 'Anti-Kaiju Missiles,' "This good?" Applejack broke contact and looked at the schematics and nodded briefly before turning back, then gasped. "RARA! GET BACK IN SY..." Her frantic yell was cut off, but the sudden gravity shift inside the conn-pod. Honest Riot flipped over twice before stopping. The pilots barely had time to get up before they were tossed upwards again. Applejack grunted while Coloratura yelled. "Warning! Multiple fractures in the midsection hull. Warning! Multiple..." The second time they were lifted in the air, but Applejack and Coloratura were prepared and twisted so they could land on their hooves instead of their side. On instinct, the duo leapt upwards, dodging a powerful bite from Slatemaw, and whipped their Arc Whip around and attached it onto its tail. Before the Kaiju could react, Riot's front hooves slammed downwards, causing it to buckle. Applejack and Coloratura stood up on their back legs and waved their front left hoof around. Riot copied every movement, causing Slatemaw to whirl around. The duo made sure that the Kaiju hit every building before releasing him to fly past a large building. "Time to finish him!" Applejack activated the Anti-Kaiju missiles and prepared to aim. A great roar distracted her for a bit, and before she could realign the missiles, Slatemaw charged out from the destroyed building, murder intent in its four eyes. "Applejack..." Coloratura's voice sounded strained, she was stuck standing in the same position because if she did something, the missiles would most likely miss their target. "When are you going to fire...Applejack! APPLEJACK!" Applejack let loose the missiles mounted on the back of the Jaeger. Six rockets, easily the length of two ponies, flew straight past the conn-pod and exploded in the Kaiju's face. Unfortunately, Applejack was a bit late in her firing and Honest Riot was launched backwards. "Warning! Conn-pod sustained damage. Wa..." Flashing lights, warnings from the computer, and sparks sizzling everywhere annoyed Applejack to no end. She growled angrily, and pushed upwards, Coloratura copying her movements. Their Jaeger looked worse for wear, but still combat ready. The duo took up their fighting stance again, this time waiting for the Kaiju to attack. And attack, Slatemaw did. The Kaiju planted its six feet in a wide stance and stood still. Applejack and Coloratura strained their necks and saw what it was doing, which got them really perplexed. The spines on Slatemaw's back started splitting open and glowing blue. The duo shifted to a better defense position; blue with Kaiju always means bad news. It has strange properties with whatever it touches, it disintegrates. Then the unexpected happened, out of the split spines grew leathery wings. The wings themselves were large and thin, the same color as its hide, and blue veins zagged everywhere. "What the hay?" Applejack and Coloratura shared a scared glance before reequipping the Arc Whip. Before they could activate it, however, the Kaiju leaped forwards and held onto Honest Riot. The duo tried to fend it off, but instead got a nasty bite. Half of the conn-pod ripped open and the Kaiju started beating its wings and slowly got traction. Inches turned to meters, and soon, Van Hoover turned into a tiny speck. "We got to do something! Activate the Arc Whip! ACTIVATE, CELESTIA DAMN IT!" Coloratura yelled at the computer while simultaneously trying to hit the Kaiju with a non-activated whip. Blood shone visibly as it dripped down her muzzle. "Rara, the computer's gone. Slatemaw somehow ripped it out, but the Jaeger still works. We can beat it to pulp using our trusty hooves!" Applejack smiled with grim determination and thrusted upwards with all four hooves. Honest Riot followed suit impacting Slatemaw in the belly. The Kaiju let go with a growl before tucking its wings and started chasing the falling Jaeger. Applejack and Coloratura, in sync, twisted so they faced the incoming Kaiju. Wind whistled through the hole in the conn-pod, making it hard to think, but that didn't matter. Within seconds, Slatemaw reached Riot and tried to get a grip again. The duo however, saw it coming and twisted out of the way before the Kaiju could get a grip and wrapped the whip around its neck. Using the whip and the momentum of falling, Applejack and Coloratura swung onto Slatemaw's back and rode it down back to Equus. Applejack and Coloratura stood in front of a wide audience with blushes on their cheeks. Aw shucks and thank yous were given that night before the duo could retire to their shared room. "Quite the audience." "Not as much as yer concerts, ah bet." "They're just happy to be protected." "Ah suppose. Well it's been a long day, gonna turn in. G'night Rarara!" "Good night!" *** "Now yer in the med-bay!" A filly's voice floated into Applejack's subconscious. It took a while for the words to process before she gasped and got up. "Woah, easy now. You got multiple fractured ribs and your left back leg is broken. Should heal in a few weeks." Doctor Pura Vida came into Applejack's vision, her magenta eyes filled with concern and care. "...R-Rara?" Applejack spluttered out, her throat burning from something she didn't even want to know from. "Miss Coloratura is resting in the cot next to you. Don't turn your head, your neck is swollen, it'll make it worse. She's doing well..." Pura's voice shifted just a bit. Being the Bearer of Honesty, she knew when ponies were lying, and she stared at the doctor with a vicious glare, sparing her voice. "Umm, soo..." Pura's ears wilted as the stare continued. "She hurt her head severely and won't be able to walk due to a really bad fracture in her front left leg!" She said breathlessly, before turning away in shame.