"Oh Rarity, you should've come to us sooner." Twilight chastised her friend while trotting around the Jaeger that the white unicorn somehow built. Despite its beauty, it was not functional at all. The magical fusion core was barely working, one of the legs looked like it could barely lift a small dragon, much less buck a Kaiju. After checking the systems installed, Twilight concluded that Rarity had not thought of actually fighting with a Jaeger.
"I know I should have, but darling, I was so ashamed!" Rarity put a hoof on her forehead. "Revenge, no matter how just, does no wonders to the soul. Speaking of, I must thank you for the spa treatment yesterday! It was absolutely divine!"
"Thank Fluttershy, she thought it was the best way to help you." Twilight motioned a hoof at the still quivering pegasus in the corner.
"Oh, the poor dear. Still having problems with the Jaeger-Kaiju war?" Rarity mused sympathetically. Something in her voice sounded a bit off, something that resonated deeply in Twilight, so deep that it forced her to look up from her work and squint at her friend.
"Well, you know as much as we do, that Fluttershy lived a very sheltered life up in the clouds. Not to mention that Ponyville is nowhere near the coast." The Princess reminded her friend. Instead of looking back at what she was doing earlier, she peered closer at the unicorn's features. Her patience was rewarded with something that looked like a slight grimace before quickly switching to a bright smile.
"Quite right, darling. Now if you'll excuse me, I must thank her for such thoughtfulness." Rarity trotted down the maintenance stairs that led out of the connpod. Her coat and mane no longer dirty and unkept, and the dark bags under her eyes had all but vanished in the three days that they'd been here. Twilight watched her for a bit longer, then went back to checking the weapons.
***
"Whatcha got there?" Pinkie's voice suddenly intruded Twilight's thoughts, giving such a scare that it made her drop her pencil.
"Pinkie! You scared me!" Twilight clutched a hoof over her chest. After a few moments, she sparked her horn again and picked up the fallen pencil.
"Oh sorry Twi, just really booooored." To emphasize her point, she pulled out a wooden board out of nowhere and inexplicably stretched it like rubber. "Is there something I can do?"
"Wait, weren't you in charge of changing the weak leg?" Twilight looked up from her notes, confusion written everywhere.
"Yeppers, but I finished that." Pinkie grinned widely and threw the elongated board behind her. "And to make sure I didn't get anything wrong, I replaced the other legs too! So, you know, they're similar."
"Huba...wha...how?" Twilight just stared at her friend in utter bewilderment. A single leg alone should've taken a couple of weeks alone, but all four legs! "Show me."
"Aye aye, miss Sparkle! If you'll follow me." Pinkie giggled and started to hop out the connpod, a conductor hat placed upon her poofy mane. The duo made their way around the Jaeger; Twilight's jaw fell further and further the closer she got to the legs. The details, wiring, and plating were impeccably done. Joints and tendons were implemented with such precision, it looked like a quilt. Magical allows were also infused correctly, leaving no blemishes or dents, and still had room for weapons.
"Pinkie, how in Celestia's name have you done this!?" Twilight's screech drew everypony's attention, but once they saw who she was talking to, they went back to work.
"But I said three chapters ago that I've built Jaegers before! Silly filly, you should pay more attention to what ponies are saying around you!" Pinkie booped the alicorn on the nose before scampering off.
"Wait!" Twilight's call stopped the pink mare from disappearing altogether. "Which ones?"
"Which ones I've built?" Twilight nodded and Pinkie replied by putting a hoof on her chin like she was thinking. "Well, I built Obsidian Fury with my sister, Maud. That was really fun! Especially the part where she almost destroyed the Shatterdome we were stationed at the time!"
"She did what!" Twilight interrupted, and her panting increased. "Do you know how expensive those are!? The Jaeger program is draining millions of bits by the week! After Celestia and Luna retired, i haven't had enough time to manage the treasury!"
"Hold your horses Twi! It all worked out in the end!" Pinkie made a dismissive gesture with a hoof. "Now where was I? Oh yeah! Prince Rutherford had me build Broken Table! That one was really challenging because the yaks tested their strength on the metal. The amount of enchanted metal I used was craaazy! Almost as crazy as me! Now, isn't that crazy?"
"Pinkie, please don't tell me that was when we had to cancel three other Jaegers because the enchanted metal supply was low."
"Okay! I won't!" Pinkie did a merry little hop. "Then I did Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon for...eep, sorry. Private. And then after that..!"
"WHAT!"
"Oh, would you look at the time! Limestone is waiting for me, bye Twilight!" Before Twilight could do anything, Pinkie was already out the door, a dust trial in her wake.
***
"Hey Rainbow Dash, what are you doing with that?" Twilight looked at a particularly heavy cloud that Rainbow was pushing.
"Oh nothing." Rainbow's grin said otherwise.
"Rainboow..." Twilight let her voice drop a few octaves, letting her disapproval sparkle.
"Alright, fine! Jeez Twi, can't let a mare do whatever?" Rainbow Dash stopped pushing and hovered a bit closer to her friend. "I heard that Winged Glory uses clouds to help fight against Kaiju. I was thinking I could test it out!"
"Winged Glory, that's Spitfire and Soarin's Jaeger, right?" Rainbow nodded and Twilight mused. "Alright, be careful though!"
"Thanks Twi!" With a single beat of her wings, she dashed back to the cloud and proceeded to push, slowly moving across the sky.
"Oh...um, I don't think that's a good idea." A small voice whispered next to Twilight, but the sudden appearance of the voice made the alicorn jump in the air. "Oh dear, I'm sorry Twilight. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good 'Shy." Twilight pulled herself up with a small smile. "Why do you say that, about the cloud I mean."
"Oh, it's just that this particular metal conducts electricity really well." Fluttershy cast her gaze downwards and shuffled her forehooves a bit. "Winged Glory is made out of a cloudmetal that pegasi can only make."
"Oh right, Nimbus Metallum." Twilight's gaze floated up and watched as Rainbow finally pushed the cloud into the Jaeger. She opened her mouth to call out a warning, but then a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, how do you know so much?"
"Oh...um, it's just a side project of mine." The yellow pegasus blushed fiercely and tried to cover her face with her wings. But before her plumage could hide everything, Twilight gently eased it away with magic. A meep escaped Fluttershy's lips when she saw her friend's gaze. "Oh dear, well...um, so I just graduated from Jaeger academy. I was based in the Dragon Lands Shatterdome."
"...But you said it was a family trip!" Twilight was having trouble believing what she just heard. Fluttershy, the sweetest and kindest pony around, training to become a Jaeger Pilot. "Why...?
"Um, oh dear." Fluttershy's voice faded. It took a few moments for the pegasus to collect herself, and she opened her mouth to respond, but then a bright flash interrupted her. What came after was truly horrifying.
"RAINBOW!"