//------------------------------// // Chapter 34 // Story: Mobile Suit Gundam: Alicorn - Volume 2 // by Alines Reinhard //------------------------------// “How’s the feeling to control the most powerful weapon in the entire universe, dear?” he said “Being able to handle worlds-ending power in the palm of your hand?” “For Celestia’s shake they are not weapons!’ Flash grinned his teeth “They are guardians of our world! You are putting the entire Equus exposed to darkness!” "Yah! But you are the darkness, Black Wine!” Rainbow Dash scolded. “What? Haven’t you seen how powerful both of our mobile suits are in the mock battles?” he barked “This weapon is a deterrent to those evil forces!” “They can do that in flesh and bones enough to deter them!” Flash said, followed with a kick into the Alicorn torso, the first time he ever done it to Black Wine. It did make the white machine fly back a few hundred meters, but thanks to Black Wine piloting ability, he can stabilize it. The white suit then lighten up its psycho frame and starts attacking using the rainbow magic within it. “Do not abuse the Magic of Friendship!” Twilight scream. The Psycho MkII decided to also lighten up it’s psycho frame with rainbow magic, but only for protection. A bright magical ball quickly swallowed it whole, stopping any attack from harming the dark blue mobile suit causing them to bounce in horrifying speed. All the Alicorn’s strike was deflected, destroying anything in their way. … “Era, deploy! You will use the Wave Rider mode of the Strike Zeta to chase Cancer around!” screamed Lieutenant Haystack. The ship’s AA guns have all but landed a fatal shot on to the giant flying crab. The Canterlot has several 30 millimeters AA gun mounts on its hull. One of them is where Queen Katherina angrily growled when seeing one of the rare hit by her guns was deflected from the Cancer’s armor: “Darn it! Why don’t you die!” She then take the internal comlink and directed: “Ìf y’all can hear me, aim for the head!” Several AA guns continued to cough their bullets out in anger, suggesting they have undergone very little maintenance after countless battles. However, the sight of them lightening up an entire starboard side of the ship is still a spectacle to behold for any creatures down the ground. Most of the time they just bounced off the armor, but yet they are numerous enough to annoy its pilot. “Chancellor, I need these guns to go silent!” Bright Kindness screamed. That is when Katherina’s tactics really come into effect: there are so many bullets hitting its camera that there’s enough brightness to make Bright blinded for a while. But that’s only the beginning of her downfall. The crew on board suddenly heard Flash’s voice, after nearly a week since the ship have ever heard any news from him from the battle of Kludgetown: “Canterlot, I want y’all to get out of this battle!” his distorted voice pierce through the tense atmosphere of the bridge. “What the… Brandon?” Discord happily surprised. “Where the heck have you been?” “Long story, Sir! But I still need you to get out of this place!” he said urgently “I will plan to shot it down with Black Wine’s beam rifle. Please retreat for your own safety!” “Brandon, is that you?” Haystack squeezed happily. “Brandon, Screlite here! Make sure you know where to hit!” the yellow changeling said “Keep the area of strike out of the base!” “Roger that!” Flash and the Council are racked with determination. They soon draw their plan to steal the beam rifle from Black Wine’s hand. Their plan: use it. “Luster, creatures! Try to harass Black Wine!” Twilight ordering “We’ll gonna steal that rifle!” “No worry, Princess Twilight! We can do that ourselves!” Luster Dawn said. Her chance came when the Chancellor, after nearly the entire battle not using it, pulled it out again to fight Flash and the MkII. “Creatures! Now’s our chance!” the light cerise unicorn screamed. Black Wine aimed the long black metal barrel towards his target, grinding his teeth trying to get the MkII’s chest right in the middle of the crosshair. Then, he pressed the trigger. It just stuck there. “Hey you creatures! Shoot!” he screamed “I’ve given you the order!” The white mobile suit just stood still, for several seconds. Then, realizing what’s really happening, Black Wine screamed with a slur, and squished his right joystick as hard as he could, trying to fight the machine’s urge of throwing the beam rifle to the MkII. “You un-obedient creatures!” he screamed.  Then, the machine he was piloting suddenly went berserk, and it happened violently. He could feel every part of it vibrating, shaking every time he tried to reign it with his joystick. From his cockpit, Flash can see the Alicorn twisting itself in a scary way. The scene in front of him reminds him of the old horror movies he used to watch, where an evil-possess character is going through exorcism. To make the scene extra creepy for the one who didn’t understand the context, the phenomenon creates multiple loud metal creaking noises, to the point they can feel the whole thing can break itself. “Arrrrghhh!” Yolinda, the physically strongest member of the group before they got sucked into the Alicorn, squealed “This guy is stronger than I thought!” “Keep... going... creatures!!!” screamed Butter Burger “We... can... all... made... it!” Seeing her daughter and her friends struggling with fighting Black Wine, Startlight can not help but feel her heart ache. Sure she has gotten into the same situation as her, but that is the exact thing that makes her cry: she has just gone through the imprisonment for just a few weeks, yet her daughter has gone through it for years. With that in mind, she said to the blue haired pilot. “Flash, can you help her with me?” she made an act of an imaginary shake to him. “Sorry Mrs Glimmer?” “We can steal the rifle from Black Wine when he is distracted! Luster is doing us a huge favor!” she pointed her hoof to the white mobile suit. “How about… hmm…” Pinkie Pie tilted her head and made a cute pout, something she routinely did when she’s concentrating her mind, trying to figure something out. Suddenly, a light bulb appeared on her head, coupled with a happy expression. Flash swear he could heard the word “Eureka!” yelled gleefully in hís head. “How about teleportation!” Twilight gasped in happiness “Great idea, Pinkie!” “Wait, you can do it i-” His sentence was cut short when a flash seemingly brought him to the realm of light, causing his sight to get temporarily blinded. When he is back, he is right behind the Alicorn, still struggling to point its beam rifle to nowhere. “Flash, now’s the chance!” ordered Starlight. Understanding what she meant, Flash immediately grabbed the beam rifle. Black Wine was caught in total surprise. He tried to take the thing back, but it was worthless. Besides, the Alicorn suddenly stopped the grabbing hand midway and punched itself. “Take this, Black Wine!” said Griselda. Flash pointed the rifle towards his intended target. When the whole thing was done, he realized the Cancer was extremely near them since its pilot was rushing to save her Chancellor.  This allows Flash to shoot her in point blank range. He pulled the trigger and the bright hot beam pierced right into the cockpit. Bright Kindness only gets to see the Psycho MkII and the beam rifle it just steals when it’s already too late. Before getting herself being vaporized, her vision suddenly turns into a movie, where every single moment that she could remember flashes before her eyes. It is filled with good memories: from her friends, her mentor, and especially… Black Wine himself. It goes back to the very beginning of their relationship, all the way through everytime they hang out together after school. It reminds her of everytime Black Wine jokes, and every single one of them was clever jokes, a present of him being a skilled politician. And, of course, the movie ended with the Chancellor himself given his hoof out for her. “Father…” she mumbled “...thank you for your presence…” The beam sends her into a realm of light, caressing every part of her pony body. It’s so hot that she can not feel anything.  Soon, her entire body was already vaporized. “NOOOO!!!” screamed Black Wine in agony. His most talented and promising pilot just die right before his eyes.  Their history together is not very well known, but it is worthy to tell the least. … Black Wine still remembers the moment he met the young filly playing with her friends somewhere near the School for Gifted Unicorns. He was shocked to see the young white unicorn demonstrating the ability to fly - “quite fast”, as he described - and shooting beams that can melt metals in seconds. Although Anaheim Electronics’ program to deploy their mobile suits and mobile armors to test them in Equus was still in its infancy, the need for talented pilots are undeniably crucial. Black Wine knows this, and on occasion he can stroll around Canterlot to search for such future pilots. She presented herself as Bright Kindness, a pony from the town of Ponyville. She is an orphan in that town, and she was hoof picked by Princess Twilight herself. In short, the Princess allowed him to take her to his home after the two had hung out long enough for them to gain a friendship. To him, Bright Kindness is truly her daughter, and he could feel the mutuality in their relationship. They spend them together a lot, as if they are father and child. Ponies have said that they particularly love strawberry ice cream, and he frequently took her to one of the best ice cream shops in Equestria, “Dazzling Cone”. “They laughed so hard that the entire shop could hear their jokes.” a writer said in Black Wine’s biography, published a few years after the war ended “Their favorite bowl is Bright Kindness eventually did have a big interest in piloting mobile suits and mobile armors, with a strong belief that magic and technology can work well. She graduated from the School for Gifted Unicorns with a thesis based on that belief, and it gave her maximum grades. Can’t say enough how Black Wine proud of them, after more than 6 years they are together as dad and daughter. She was exposed to mobile suits from a quite young age, starting from an occasion when he took her to a military base to see some of them in a training session. The sight of human trainers and pony cadets, working in harmony in order to get those gigantic humanoid machines come to life and fighting as if they are ready to fight against any enemy of Equestria was where the love for mobile suits came within Bright Kindness. She has persuaded her adoptive father to allow her to pilot one, and he agreed to that. Throughout the years, her skills shot up like a rocket. Her magical ability has made her a fearsome pilot. Compared to the earth ponies, pegasi and even some of her fellow unicorn comrades, she exhibits superior maneuvering skills. She even implemented her magical maneuverability to her piloting, and that sometimes is too much for the mobile suits themselves, a machine built with Luna Titanium, one of the strongest materials ever built by humans. Then, Anaheim Electronics introduce the mobile armors, with their first prototype being none other than the Cancer. That’s when Black Wine thought of the idea of given her the role of a mobile armor pilot. Her magic is strong enough to maneuver the 250 metric tonnes red crab-like machine at an unreal speed for its size, making her a fearsome combatant. “The G-force is too much! I recommend you to fly at a slower speed!” is what her instructor told her after one time she broke one of the MA’s claws. Then, the war broke out without her MA training being finished. Since it is a one-of-a-kind weapon, it takes a lot of time and effort for her to properly understand the machine that she possesses, forcing her to sit out in the majority of the war. Plus, due to the fact that Cancer itself is a highly valuable asset, Black Wine did not allow her to come into the fights until very late into the war. When she did, she was a menace: not many of her enemies were alive to tell the stories. Although until meeting Flash and the MkII near the Everfree forest, she only gets to take down simple targets such as ships and armored vehicles, needless to say the MA under her helm did not let its target escape or survive. That is, until now. … “You… you… just kill my daughter!” Black Wine screams in absolute agony. His rage and sadness transcend the psycho frames of both suits. They can all feel it. The five creatures that are in the Luster gang are particularly hit the hardest since it is Black Wine who is at the helm of the Alicorn. They get to feel the magic get dragged out of their body, one by one. “Hold... your... ground... creatures!” screamed Yolinda from the top of her lungs “Don’t... let... him... got... you... again!” “His rage can do that?” Twilight was surprised “This whole ‘imprisonment’ has so much insane stuff!” She clear her throat and directed her scolding voice to the raging dark blue unicorn: “Black Wine... It is you who have brought her to this madness...” Surprised by the echoing voice of the ruler of Equestria, his attack slowed down a bit. However, he still growling in anger, nearly sound like a cornered animal trying to fight it’s way out: “You killed my daughter!” his animalistic voice screams through the com-link “It’s her dream to fight for the Equestrian glory!” “Shit this guy lost his mind!” Flash said while diverting himself, trying to avoid the magic. “It is you who have done this to her, Black Wine…” Twilight said calmly, “…You have indoctrinated her with nothing but hatred for others.” Twilight, being a teacher in the School of Gifted Unicorns, personally knows Bright Kindness. Her friends love her a lot thanks to the same thing in her name, kindness. She often helps her fellow unicorn in need, frequently offers her talents to help other ponies overcome hard assignments. As much as she remembers, she even tutored some of her classmates! Every time she sees her, she always appears with a bright smile, melting any grown ups who have a chance to catch its appearance during play dates with her friends and school’s festival. She trusted him so much to take her home. It is a shocker to see her piloting a massive, destructive mobile armor. The Vulcan gun on his head firing tirelessly in every direction possible, all the way until the magazines have run out, and all of them are directed towards the head of the MkII. This mag dump in anger did blinded Flash a bit, giving Black Wine enough time to perform a powerful punch and send the dark blue mobile suit to the ground. It was that place where they had a wrestle: Black Wine for his dear Bright Kindness and Flash for his own life. But then again, they are not alone. The Alicorn suddenly launches itself up into the air, saving the dark blue mobile suit from a life and death situation. “Wait… what happened to Black Wine? Why is he suddenly flying like that?” The white machine then does some extremely weird flight pattern. Then, it resorts to making scary creaking noises again. “Looks like they master their control skill again!” Twilight squealed in happiness. “Is... does this mean the battle is over?” Flash exclaimed. ... “Black Wine... Black Wine! Listen up!” the friends inside the Alicorn trying to communicate with him. “No... NO! Get out of my head!” he screamed “Don’t touch me! You have killed my daughter!” “You have to get back to your senses, now!” said Griselda with determination “Remember… you still have a war to continue!” “Shut up you filthy creatures! I don’t need your malicious advice!” Black Wine growled. “No, you REALLY need advice!” Luster Dawn flies right into his face to say, making the angry yet frightened Black Wine startled “Bright Kindness, I know her! She IS a really kind and gentle pony!” “Wait… you know her? How?” the dark blue unicorn opened his eyes. “We used to be classmates!” she said sheepishly despite being way older than an elementary-level pony “We play buck balls together, we go to the same ice cream stores where she and you always love to eat…” “No… don’t you dare mention my dear Bright Kindness! You have poisoned her soul right? RIGHT?” At this point, Luster found no point in reasoning with him. Yes, he IS really kind to her and her friends before when Bright Kindness shows him the group of creatures she has been friends with, in that time when she and Luster come back to the School of Gifted Unicorns to pay a visit to their own old professors. But after showing his true color by ordering his troops to chase Luster and her friends, as well as this conversation, it is safe to say the dark blue unicorn has reached her limit! “Chancellor, we have to come back to the ship!” Red Velvet said through the com-link “We have to regroup! Their reinforcements have arrived!” “What the... isn’t we have the upperhoof?” “They... their ship... their ships have human technology now!" "What the heck!" Black Wine growled "Did those Anaheim Electronics jerk deceive us?"