//------------------------------// // Downtime: Alcohol and Accusations // Story: Ace Combat: Shattered Friendships // by Draconis187 //------------------------------// Ace Combat: Shattered Friendships Downtime: Alcohol and Accusations Author: Draconis187 Chrysalis was in her true form in a large, dark, smelly underground tunnel. The blue-green glow of the bioluminescent plant life made the scene look creepier than the situation dictated. Amongst the familiar surroundings Chrysalis was nervous, scared even as she looked around and found many empty caverns. She walked through the winding tunnels, calling for her subjects, calling for anything that would end the lonely scene she found herself in. “Your Majesty.” A cold, slow voice called out from the one room she had yet to investigate. She cautiously pushed against the door with a forehoof, opening it slowly and just enough to peek through. The door creaked as she looked through the small opening, looking around the room as much as she could for any signs of an ambush. Sighing deeply with relief, she pushed the door further and walked into the room, her hoofsteps echoing through the room. A U-shaped table stood before her, the arms surrounding her as she gazed at the raised platform at the centre. She gulped as she realised what the room was: the meeting hall of the Five Hives. “Queen Chrysalis Regalian Thorax the III.” The same voice that called out before spoke once more, sending shivers down the Changeling’s spine. “You have been summoned here by the Leaders of the Five Hives to inform us of what exactly transpired in Canterlot that caused such devastation upon your subjects.” Chrysalis was unsure of what to say but her mouth began to speak as if she no longer had control of it. “The invasion was a success initially, but thanks to Twilight Sparkle, her brother snapped out of my spell and out of my control. He and the Crystal Princess combined their magic and performed a spell that literally pushed us out of Canterlot. We landed somewhere near Hive 101, near Dodge Junction but we were barely able to move thanks to the injuries we sustained from the fall.” Chrysalis began to feel tears fall down her face as she continued. “The locals soon found us before most of us could recover and executed us one by one. I was too weak… too weak to stop them from killing my subjects before my eyes. No Queen or King of any Hive should witness the slaughter of their subjects.” The voice listened as the former Queen spoke. “And how did you escape the scene if you were all being hunted down?” “I landed furthest away from the massacre and managed to recover enough to flee by the time they reached me.” She stopped as she remembered looking back on the scene as helpless Changelings were mercilessly slaughtered. “Of the five hundred Changelings that participated in the assault… only twenty-five - including me - managed to reach the safety of my family’s Hive.” “I see. Your incompetence all but destroyed the hive that seven generations strived to build.” The voice said, its voice beginning to grow in volume. “Queen Chrysalis Regalian Thorax the III, for your gross incompetence and sole party responsible for the subsequent near annihilation of the Thoraxion Hive, you are hereby banished and stripped of your title. You are to never return to any of the Five Hives or their subsidiaries else you shall be killed on sight.” “No! Give me another chance, please!” Chrysalis begged as the room began to rumble, the ceiling had begun to collapse around her. “The Five Hives are disappointed in you… I am disappointed in you.” The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows. She looked a lot like Chrysalis except her coat was a lighter shade and her chitin had a yellow/green hue. Chrysalis looked at the figure’s sad expression with disbelief. “Mother?!” **** **** **** **** Chrysalis fell out of bed with a thud. “Mother!” She sighed as the familiar surroundings that made up her room made her feel more at ease. “Just a nightmare, thank the Hive.” She got up and made sure she hadn’t hurt herself from the fall. Donning her flight suit and helmet, she peeked outside and saw that nopony heard her falling off her bed. In fact, there was nopony else in the barracks at all which was odd since Solace was usually banging on her door to try and catch her with her helmet off by now. Vampir 1 insisted to have his squadron take up residence in Cipher’s barracks despite the Changeling’s protests. Maybe if she did more than vigorous shaking of her head, she may not be putting up with him right now. **** **** **** **** “Pinkie, I've just been named Spitfire’s successor!” Dash said to Pinkie Pie with a huge grin that looked out of place for the cyan mare. Pinkie smiled meekly, her mane still in the flattened state it became a year ago. “I’m happy for you.” Dash’s smile faltered as she gave Pinkie a hug. “Come on, where’s that Pinkie Pie cheer?! How about a party? That always cheers you up.” Pinkie shook her head as her smile left her face. “No thanks. I’ll pass.” “Why not Pinks?” Dash asked, growing concerned for her friend. “It wouldn’t be the same without her.” Pinkie replied as she walked back into Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes smiled warmly at her and she returned their smile with a meek smile. ‘A year, to the day.’ Pinkie thought as she looked out into the horizon, the sun setting in the distance. ‘Rarity is leaving for Canterlot to open up a boutique with Fancy Pants’ financial backing while Applejack has her hooves full with the farm since she managed to secure more land to expand it. We are losing each other with each passing day. Maybe… maybe it’s time I found something new as well.’ She went to the room she rented from the Cakes and peered inside it with a neutral expression on her face. The many bright colours greeted the mare every day she woke and every time she entered the room. Gummy looked at her, making the dull pink mare stop for a second as she packed up her things. “Sorry Gummy but you aren’t coming with. Be good to the Cakes for me, okay?” Pinkie petted Gummy as he didn’t move and continued to give her a blank expression. “You're making this harder than it has to be Gummy. I'm sorry but I need to go.” Making sure she had all the necessities, Pinkie walked down the steps and went to the door. As she was about to exit the bakery, the Cakes saw her and called out to her. “Pinkie dear, where are you going?” Mrs Cake asked with a worried expression on her face. “All of my friends have moved on Mrs Cake. There isn’t a reason for me to stay in Ponyville any longer. I think it is best that I moved on as well and I shall no longer go by Pinkie.” She turned to the open door as the amber sky gave way to the moon. “I'm going by the name my parents gave me: my name is Pinkamena Diane Pie.” **** **** **** **** Pinkamena stirred from her bed, her head feeling like the aftermath of a precision bombing run. She clambered out of bed, falling as her limbs were sore from the previous day’s operation. After getting ready, she saw Cipher heading to the mess hall and joined her. The scene that greeted her once she entered the mess hall made her smirk devilishly. “Lightweights, can’t handle your alcohol can you?” She half-laughed vindictively as she saw that Snake and Techno Watt eventually decided to join their contest when Cipher declined for the tenth time and went to her barracks so they’d stop. They were all fast asleep, making odd twitches as some of them snored loudly. “Looks like they enjoyed themselves.” Twilight smirked as she entered and grabbed some toast. “Who won the contest though?” Pinkamena got herself some coffee and sat down in a corner. “I did. The last one to fall was Solace. He can really drink. We must have finished about five bottles of vodka alone.” “I hope you all don’t get alcohol poisoning.” Twilight said fearfully. “We can’t afford to lose anypony before the next operation begins.” Pinkamena scoffed. “Please, like that will ever happen to me.” Twilight looked around and noticed Cipher had vanished. “Where’d Cipher go?” “She doesn’t eat with us. She never eats in here at all, I guess it’s because she’ll have to remove her helmet. She just gets what she wants and vanishes. I would guess she went back to her barracks.” Pinkamena explained as she took a sip of her coffee. **** **** **** **** Cipher had teleported herself back to her room like Pinkamena said, carrying a bowl of muesli. She removed her clothing and proceeded to lay down on her bed in her true form, munching on the breakfast before her with a spoon. “I may not be a Queen anymore but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t watch my figure.” She muttered under her breath, between mouthfuls of the healthy breakfast. Interestingly Changelings can eat food to survive but require love for functions above sustenance. They need it in order to create new hatchlings and reproduce. It also acts as a magic enhancer to fully grown Changelings, which is the reason why Chrysalis was so powerful back in Canterlot years ago. The amount of love undeveloped Changelings receive before hatching determines their power and status in the Hive. Needless to say, future Queens and Kings receive more than the others. If they cannot get love directly by impersonating a loved one, they can physically drain it with their fangs, but the practise died out a century ago due to growing suspicions among the local populations and now the fangs only remain to serve as a weapon in close quarters combat. As Chrysalis rested her spoon on the empty bowl, a loud series of knocks made her give a small shout before tumbling on the floor. Cursing whomever disturbed her while she was at peace with every fibre of her being, she got dressed again and unlocked her door. Solace was stood there with a big grin on his face. ‘May the Hive give me strength to not tear him limb from limb.’ She thought as he continued to smile. “Good morning Cipher, oh.” He looked and saw the shattered remains of the bowl she had used to eat from strewn across the floor. “I was going to ask if you wanted to get breakfast but I guess that’s out of the question.” Cipher shook her head slowly which made Solace beam, making her heart sink with fear. “Not a problem? Alright!” Before Cipher could protest, she was being dragged across the base by her tail, held in Solace’s mouth. He was blissfully unaware of Cipher’s cursing as the guards and maintenance staff looked on with confused expressions. Cipher watched the mess hall doors open before looking at her suit and praising whoever made it. From burning fires that could incinerate you to ponies that don’t know when to give in, this suit was durable enough to survive anything. “Come on, take that helmet off and let us gaze upon you!” Solace beamed. The Wonderbolts that had not participated in the drink-off stared at Cipher, as did the rest of Vampir and Pinkamena. She was wondering if Cipher would finally give in to the stallion’s demands. Cipher looked around the room before turning around and leaving without a word. Pinkamena grinned as Solace shrugged it off saying he thought she would do that anyway. Pinkamena had to admire his perseverance though… or was that stubbornness? The line between the two was blurred as far as she knew when it came to that particular stallion. “Pinkie-” Twilight said but Pinkamena cut her off by giving her a nasty glare. “Pinkamena, what do you plan on doing after this war is over?” “Find the next one of course.” She replied. “A mercenary goes where the money is and there is money to be made in war.” “But war is wrong, even if you earn a living from it.” Twilight protested. Pinkamena just gave an unsettling chuckle. “The world is full of conflict, some greater than others and eventually they escalate to war. It’s in our nature to disagree with what goes against our beliefs or way of life.” Pinkamena explained. “We can’t fight it, we can only go with it and make a living out of it. In the end, it’s just another job for me.” With that she got up and left Twilight on her own to think about what Pinkamena said. Looking on at the form of her friend as she vanished out the door, a tear fell from her face. “Is all this because I didn’t keep one promise?” “Because you didn’t keep a Pinkie Promise Twi.” Rainbow Dash had finally gotten up and made her way to Twilight, giving her a fright. “Ahh! Rainbow, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Twilight shouted, causing the mare to flatten her ears and clasp her hooves against them. “Not so loud! I’ve got a headache the size of Celestia’s backside trying to kill me.” The cyan mare complained. “Sorry.” Twilight replied, embarrassed. “What does all of this have to do with a Pinkie Promise?” “I haven’t seen her for six years Twi, she’s not the same mare we used to be friends with anymore.” Rainbow said with a frown as Spitfire joined, carrying a mug of coffee for her and Rainbow. “Thanks. Twilight, you Pinkie Promised to attend the party she was going to throw for you to celebrate you becoming a princess. When you didn’t show, it hurt her… badly.” “But I only missed one party.” Twilight tried to reason but Rainbow shook her head. “It’s not the same thing when it comes to Pinkie Pie. You seem to have forgotten how serious she takes those promises.” Rainbow said as she took a sip of the coffee. “Ah, just what the doctor ordered.” “I’m going to get Soarin back to the barracks. He doesn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon.” Spitfire said to Dash as she downed her coffee. “After that, I’m going to do some drills with the rest of the team.” “Okay, I’ll try to finish here and meet you in the training area.” Dash replied as Spitfire jumped off her seat and – with the help of the other Wonderbolts – picked up the still sleeping Soarin. Dash turned her attention back to Twilight. “Now look, I’m not saying that being a princess isn't hard but you have to remember: we were your friends. We saved Equestria several times over together for Celestia’s sake!” “’Were friends’?” Twilight asked, looking down at her hooves. “Afraid so. We split up once Pinkie left. I left the Ponyville Weather Team and fully dedicated my time to the Wonderbolts since Spitfire named me her successor. Rarity moved to Canterlot just after Pinkie left. I heard she’s quite successful now. Applejack’s farm has almost doubled in size and as a result her cousin Braeburn and a few other Apples came to Ponyville to help out, but even then she doesn’t have a lot of free time. Then there’s Fluttershy.” Rainbow failed to look Twilight in the eyes at the mention of the yellow mare. “What happened to her?” Twilight asked, afraid of what the answer could be. “She left Equestria… as in entirely. She hasn’t made contact with any of us since. I don’t want to think what might have happened to her.” Rainbow looked down at her near empty mug. “Our friendship fell apart without you. This has nothing to do with you being a princess and you know it. Celestia used to find time to visit you like that day with her phoenix. She used to make time for her favourite student. But you failed to so much as even speak to us since that day. We felt that we didn’t mean anything to you anymore and that is what tore us apart.” Dash didn’t give Twilight a chance to respond as she flew out the mess hall, leaving her still not empty mug on the table. A tear fell down Twilight’s face as the mess hall emptied, leaving her alone. “So, it’s all my fault. Pinkie lost her cheerful demeanour because I didn’t fulfil my promise. I failed my friends and everything went to Tartarus for them… all because of me.” She said as she degraded into sobs. **** **** **** **** Pinkamena saw the Wonderbolts flying around the perimeter of the airbase in formation. Even without their planes, their aerial capabilities are the envy of flight teams across the world. ‘Precision, Dedication, Teamwork.’ These three words make up the Wonderbolts’ motto and for good reason. Precision: every manoeuvre whether in or out their aircraft must be done perfectly. Any error – however small – can prove to be fatal or embarrassing. Dedication: just being part of the group is never enough, they work hard to become a part of the team and stay there. Teamwork: the old saying ‘there is no I in team’ is taken literal. They don’t just trust their own abilities but also the abilities of their wingponies. If one slacks or needs assistance, the others need to be prepared to make up the difference. They flew in a wedge formation with Rainbow at the head. To her left were Spitfire, Lightning Dust, Misty Fly and Blaze. Soarin had appeared to have decided against going back to sleep as he was next to Rainbow on her right with Fire Streak and Surprise. Pinkamena shook her thoughts as she parried Jack Hammer’s right hook. “Keep your thoughts focused missy.” He grinned as he countered Pinkamena’s left jab by wrapping his right forehoof around her left forehoof and kicking her in the side with his right hind leg. “An unfocused fighter is easier to beat, no matter how much better he or she may be.” “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Pinkamena smirked as she and Jack took a break. She rubbed her side where Jack had kicked her. “That’s a mean kick you got.” “I used to be in construction before the war. We needed to be in some form of physical shape and being round was not one of them.” Jack Hammer laughed as he gave Pinkamena a small nudge. **** **** **** **** Cipher was inside the hangar for her F-15, repairing the holes her plane received from the dogfight with Indigo. Looking at the hole in her canopy she gave a small chuckle. If the bullet was at least an inch more to the left it would have killed her. She was lucky to be alive and she was essentially laughing it off. “Hiya.” Cipher turned her head around to see Techno Watt looking at her and her plane. “Nice plane, mind if I take a gander at her?” Cipher thought for a moment before shaking her head. Techno looked around the plane, giving a low whistle as he went. “She sure took a beatin’ didn’t she?” Cipher merely nodded. “I guess they're right, you don’t like to talk much and that’s fine with me really. The holes can be easily patched up no problem but I think if you tweak the fans’ revs and change the mixing agent, you may get maybe 12% more thrust. Just my opinion.” Cipher looked at Techno as he just turned around and left without a word. Cipher rubbed her head in confusion at this weird pony but carried on repairing the damage to her plane. **** **** **** **** As the evening began to set in, Cipher had finished repairing the damage and made the changes to the engines that Techno recommended. She just hoped it didn’t mean her plane would blow up in mid-flight. If it did, she’d kill him. The squadrons had met up in the mess hall, getting their evening meals and chatting the night away. The Wonderbolts’ wings were sore and they were exhausted from doing drills the whole day. Jack Hammer was chatting to Pinkamena as she just nodded her head when it seemed necessary but she was paying attention. Twilight was sat on her own, still feeling sorry for herself as she saw Dash laughing at a joke Soarin made. It got him a glare from Spitfire but they all laughed anyway. Twilight looked and saw Pinkamena had a small discernable smirk on her face. At first it she thought it was a Pinkie Pie smile but the way the rest of her face looked said otherwise, it was more like a cruel, sadistic smile. As Twilight looked around, she saw that Cipher was not in the room again. She grabbed some rations and left to the barracks once more. The Changeling looked at her plate, disgusted by the quality of the meal before her. Military rations weren’t exactly a five-star course but she was not in a position to complain. As she dug into her food, there was a knock at her door. She made sure her helmet’s voice distortion device was working properly as she donned the aforementioned helmet. “Who is it?” She asked, her voice properly distorted as she addressed the guest. “Cipher? It’s me, Twilight. Can I come in, please?” Cipher unlocked and opened her door, revealing the purple Alicorn. “Sorry for barging in like this, I just needed somepony to talk to.” Cipher cocked her head at the mare. “Wouldn’t Rainbow Dash or Solo Wing be better options? They are your friends after all.” Twilight rubbed her left foreleg with her right nervously. “Well, we aren’t exactly on good terms right now.” Cipher didn’t make a move. “What is it you wish to speak about?” “Basically everything. I just need somepony who could maybe point me in the right direction.” Twilight replied as she sat in front of Cipher. Cipher merely nodded her head and listened to Twilight tell her about what Dash told her earlier and how she feels that it’s her fault that Pinkamena became a mercenary. After Twilight finished, Cipher rubbed her chin with her hoof before responding. “So because of a promise you failed to keep, your friends essentially disbanded and went their separate ways?” Twilight nodded. “Have you made any attempts to apologise?” “Not really. I’ve tried but something keeps coming up.” Twilight replied. “Then I suggest you start there. I can’t help you any further without you at least trying properly to apologise to your friend.” Cipher said, nudging Twilight towards the door with a magical push. “You’re right, thanks Cipher. You're a good friend, you know that?” Twilight said with a small grin as she teleported to the mess hall. “Friend? Yeah right.” Cipher said with a frown as she took her helmet off and continued eating.