//------------------------------// // Chaos For Harmony // Story: Equestrian Rim : Elements of Destruction // by MerlosTheMad //------------------------------// Luna, Princess of Equestria. The pony stared back at herself in the tall stand mirror, blank faced. I am Luna, The Princess of Equestria. Somehow, the words failed to resound within her with anything but the simple, literal truth of them. They held no power to her, they inspired no majesty, nothing. I am Luna. A knock came at her chamber's door; it would be one of her aides, or secretaries, or somepony else that had something desperately important that needed seeing to. Is it wrong that I don't really want to help anypony right now, that I just want a moment of peace? She stood up and strode to the door, allowing the knocking to continue rather than call out and put an end to it. "Hello? Princess Luna, are you awake-? Oh, sorry if I awoke you Princess." The smartly dressed pegasus secretary blinked in surprise from the suddenness with which the door opened. She ruffled her cream colored wings and cleared her throat. "You did nothing of the sort, Noisette. It's quite alright." Luna forced a smile onto her muzzle and opened the door wider. "Is there something..." She hated asking this, but it had become habit over the last decade. "Is there something the matter?" If it was serious there would have been alarms, or a phone call, or guards with Noisette. Luckily, it was just Noisette. "No, nothing like bad news, none good either though, Princess." The pegasus maintained her poise and straightened the glasses resting on her short muzzle. "Twilight Sparkle is here to see you, though she wouldn't say why. It may be good news I suppose, but she seemed distraught if anything." "Twilight?" Luna inclined her head more at hearing the name. That's odd, she thought plaintively. Usually she phones me beforehoof. She couldn't remember the last time Twilight had shown up unannounced, or simply come up rather than use magic letter or call from her laboratories. "Very well, please show her to my council room Noisette, I'll be there shortly." The pegasus nodded and bowed out of the room. Luna closed the door after her going. Luna heaved a sigh as she usually did after regaining solitude. No matter the circumstances or length of time she spent in somepony else's company, she always felt thankful to be alone again afterwards. Her eyes drifted over to her regalia, sitting on their mantle quietly. The ornamental pieces floated up at her bidding and laid themselves over her neck, the sollerets slipping onto her hooves. Finally, the tiara she had once abandoned, then retaken, came to rest on her brow. After another moment's respite in the calm of her private room, Luna again opened her door, this time to meet Twilight. It was quiet there as well, sunlight streaming in from the tall windows at the either end of the long hallway to sparkle on the pristine marble floors and ceiling. Across the hall from Luna's bedroom, Twin golden doors bathed in the warm glow; her sister's doors. Luna stared through the few motes of dust, picturing the never waking alicorn laying in her bed on the other side. Hesitantly, she turned away and left. Her hooves rang on the ancient marble as she moved through her capitol's interior to meet her sister's old pupil. She thought of the word briefly. Old. Technically, she was old, over a thousand years now, but she had life experience that barely outshone that of Twilight. Being trapped for most of your immortal life in the moon would do that. Still, she was for all intents and purposes the leader of Earth right then, when before it had always looked to the guidance of Princess Celestia. The only difference between Luna and Twilight age wise, was that she did not look it. Twilight has aged. One of the wide council room doors cracked open, a guardspony wearing the traditional royal armor pushing it ajar. The Princess of the Night stepped in, and spotted a purple unicorn seated at one end of the comfortable room. "Princess." Twilight smiled broadly and stood up, bowing low before her. "There's no need for that, Twilight." Luna swept the unicorn up in a hug, happy to see her friend. "It is good of you to come; I am glad to see thee." She gave the unicorn time to hug her back weakly, then dropped her down to the floor with a clatter of hooves. Twilight's smile had an embarrassed quality to it when she looked up, grinning sheepishly. "It is? Oh, of course, it's really good to see you too, Princess." She laughed, then inhaled a breath and looked to the table. "Would you care for a seat?" Luna followed her gaze to the plush chairs, wondering what this was about if it wasn't mere pleasantries as she was detecting. "Yes, a seat, let's sit." Twilight poked her hooves together in a nervous fashion, then dashed back towards her seat and plopped into its cushioned confines. Luna watched the flighty unicorn go, and more calmly took her chair at the head of the table beside them both. "Twilight," she began quickly while sitting, "Is something the matter? You're acting rather... out of sorts, I believe." Twilight looked up from the table; this close, the princess could see clearly the half healed bags under the Element of Magic's eyes. "Well," Twilight started slowly. "Nothing immediate, just the usual, really. Kaiju and world wide destruction, ponies displaced from homes, untold millions dead..." She heaved a breath, flaring her nostrils briefly, then shook her head and looked back down to the table. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to say all that quite so bleakly, it's just what has been on my mind lately. I could barely work this last month." Luna nodded in understanding, I should have known this visit would be of a dark nature. "You are worried over the battle that took place near the Gryphon kingdoms recently I presume?" She leaned back some in her chair, resting her head on one hoof. Twilight was considered personal company, and the princess relished opportunities to abandon normal poise and etiquette. "Yes," Twilight answered back slowly. "The two Kaiju that made it inland ravaged half a dozen towns, Princess." She shook her head wearily from the disbelief which returned to her from the incident report. "We have never seen three Kaiju at once, and then of the four Jaegers dispatched to deal with them, only one survived." The room was quiet, until she added, "We can't keep this up forever." Luna nodded solemnly in return, "You are very right, Twilight..." As bleak and defeatist as it was to admit, there was no evidence that they could hold back the Kaiju indefinitely, even with the constant improvements they made on their machines of war. It seemed that for every weapon or refinement in their tactics they made, the Kaiju did the same, somehow. "Are you here to discuss another plan? Perhaps a new concept I can give to the other researchers? I think we have a few that are still free since your last was completed." Twilight blinked at the table, then smirked and wore an expression of recognition. "Oh Celestia, that failure... That was such a waste of our time, and it seemed so promising. If I hadn't spent so much of our efforts and resources trying to-" Luna reached out a hoof and turned up Twilight's chin towards her. She kept her gaze still before speaking, making sure her regal expression had the unicorn's full attention. "Twilight, nothing you do is a waste. Nopony would be alive now if it weren't for you, you understand? Nopony." Relaxing, she fell back in her chair again, maintaining the serious look before smiling warmly. Celestia had left big horseshoes to fill, but Luna did her best. "The Manehattan project was not a total waste, Twilight; if nothing else we have acquired a new weapon. Even if it didn't force the rift closed as you'd hoped it would, there is that at least." Luna kept talking, despite Twilight trying twice to interrupt, before stopping and waiting. "But, Princess, I... You're right," Twilight conceded, sighing. "The pollution that horrible device causes isn't worth it being used as a weapon, though. Nuclear anything is just too dangerous. I digress, Princess. I did come here with a few more thoughts on what we should do. I wanted to bring up some rising concerns I have, as well." Princess Luna's ears poked up at hearing this. "Truly?" When the other pony nodded, she continued. "Is it anything to do with the orbital cannon program that you so vehemently said was a waste of time? I can summon the... other..." Twilight's furious shaking of her head made Luna turn her own head questioningly. "No, it has nothing to do with that. I would like to talk this over with you first, it's pretty crazy. Even crazier than making something that's the equivalent of one hundred million tons of TNT..." Her hooves steepled in front of her on the table, while she took to staring across its top at the wall. Luna waited for her to continue. Twilight's horn lit up as a briefcase from beside the table floated up and spilled its contents over the varnished surface. "We'll need you and Rainbow Dash to make it happen, and some really good pilots." Twilight's eyes flickered across the table at the princess, both of the twinkling orbs holding a seriousness unlike any Luna had seen before in a pony's eyes. Pinkie Pie squealed with delight as the powerful pneumatics all around her whirred to sudden life. Lights from various, meticulously assembled consoles and walls illuminated meters upon meters of her hard work. Her eyes swept across it all, the blue, green and best of all, pink shaded halogen bulbs sparkling in her eyes. "Eureka," she said quietly, an ear to ear grin appearing on her face as if by magic. Without another second lost she spun in place, once again giggling, and slid down a random cable hanging from a nearby gantry all the way to the floor of the hanger. The gloves Pinkie wore over her hooves steamed and smoked from the sudden abuse, but delivered her safely to the ground. From overhead an angry, Australian accented voice yelled over the intercom at her. "OI! Pink one, I told yah if yah ever do that again then I'll buck you from 'ere and back across the Pacific to the monarchy you come from!" Pinkie paused in her mad sprint to stop on her back hooves and wave up cheerfully at the over-watch station, then resumed her galloping. The blast doors began to rumble shut behind her. She spun around mid-slide into the elevator just in time to see her pride and joy one last time from a distance before it would be activated for its first test run. The Party Cannon positively shined with mechanical magnificence in the glow of the spot lights encircling her. Every pneumatic joint, every mana-well, every rivet and every multi-layered magic tempered alloy metal plate was a thing of pure perfection. Pinkie had overseen all of its construction. Out of the seven Jaegers she had designed over the years, The Party Cannon was by far her favorite. Although, Gummy would always hold a special place in her heart, along with the real Gummy. The blast doors to the enormous Jaeger hanger crashed shut, and the lift Pinkie had entered began to climb up the rails slowly. "EEEeeee, I'm so excited, are you excited? I've never been so excited! Except for that time that I went, HAAH, but I mean really, who can top that? WHOO!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down on her hooves, the hard clanging echoing in the small space continuously. "Please stop, you're scaring me." A bulky stallion with a nervous expression was leaning as far from Pinkie Pie as he could into the corner of the elevator. "Aah, you don't have to be scared of little old me!" Pinkie grinned widely at the guy. "After all if you think about it, next to a Kaiju, I'm positively harmless!" She giggled more, sliding next to the stallion and grappling his chest in a lung crushing hug. "And now that my new Jaeger is all done, they might as well be harmless too!" Squealing, she shook him from side to side. The stallion heaved air out of his lungs from the otherworldly force being exerted on him by the manic mechanic mare. "Please. I don't. Deserve this." Gasping for air, he fell onto the floor with a thud the moment the pink pony let him go. Pinkie pulled the poor guy back up to standing with one hoof and patted him on the back friendlily. "Aw, don't sell yourself so short buddy! Everypony deserves some lovin' from the one and only Pinkie Pie now and again!" The elevator banged to a stop, the doors opening to the wide hall. At the other end was the door to the over-watch station. "Whup, this is my stop, stranger. Have a funnerifically fantastic day now!" Hopping on all fours Pinkie proceeded to leap like a pogo stick two strides at a time out into the hallway. The elevator doors closed again behind her, the stallion wide eyed, shaking, and pressed back fearfully into the corner of the small dead end. The next series of doors opened up, and a friendly, tom-coltish voice called out. "Pinkie Piiiie, mah main mare, way to go! That has to be a new record for fixing a catastrophic mainframe failure." Pinkie Pie's grin got even wider—somehow—at hearing her name said in such a congratulatory way. She returned the favor, shouting, "Lyra Heartstriiiings! My—! uh..." "Best drinking buddy?" Lyra offered to the pink mare. Smiling, she trotted away from the window and put on a thoughtful look for her pink friend's conundrum. "Works for me!" Pinkie renewed her cheerfulness to full again and hoof bumped Lyra... then locked elbows, waggled ears, tail swirled and jumped apart, landing precisely one stride from one another. "Yeeeeah," both ponies traded the greeting skillfully between one another, carrying the final part to it like a song note. A series of angry mutters, annoyed grunts and two shouts for quiet came from all around them in the control room. "Would you bloody mares pipe the hell down? This is delicate work these ponies are doing and your stupidity has no place in here." A stallion that was more mane and uniform than anything else trotted down the outlook's concrete steps towards Pinkie and Lyra. "I can actually hear you both over those magi-tech engines revving up, and that means we have a problem. Am I really going to have to talk about this again? Another, strawberry maned mare wearing a headset stood up angrily, leaned out of her work-stationed, and sshhhed at the military pony as loudly and fiercely as she could. Then she realized who it was and went fish mouthed. Luckily for her, before the sand colored colonel could turn on her for the insubordinance, accident or not, Pinkie spoke up again. "Hi Colonel Wallaby!" Pinkie received a hoof stuck in her mouth and a dark glare from the Australian brass. "Do not. Call me. Wallaby. Do I make myself clear, Pinkie?" Colonel Dustcoat growled the words at her through clenched teeth. "Mmff fmm mph!" Pinkie mumbled out, gesturing wildly with her front hooves. The Colonel narrowed his eyes further, then hesitantly removed his hoof from Pinkie. "What?" "I said, okie-dokie-lokie Colonel Sandypants!" Pinkie giggled and dodged a swipe from one of the stallion's legs, galloping across the floor. "How are you the best engineering mind that Equestria has to offer, eh!?" Colonel Dustcoat stamped his hoof, glaring after the pony that was about as serious as a filly of six. Scratch that, my daughter of six is more mature than this blasted mare! He turned his spiteful gaze to look at the other mare, who was grinning ear to ear and watching the show contentedly. And how is she one of our best pilots!? Snorting, he turned from the mint green Jaeger pilot and focused on the preliminary tests of the new MK. VI Jaeger that was nearly ready for duty. Hehe, Doody. Pinkie Pie slid to stop at the other end of the room, stifling her giggling and walking towards the wide windows looking out onto the Jaeger gantries. Her side bumped up against the cream colored mare standing there, doing what seemed to be staring out into space. "Hey Nob Nob, what's shakin', bacon?" She looked back briefly to wave Lyra over, though the other mare was already moving towards her. Bon Bon blinked in surprise, then looked over at the other pony that had done a good job of making a scene. "Oh, Pinkie..." she said placidly, and then warningly added, "Please say my name right, and for that matter, calm down around here. I know you're just excited to finally be done with your big project, but everypony else that works in the facility gets worried when you act so crazy." The swirled blue and pink mane above her head swayed as she sighed and shook her head in disapproval. Pinkie rolled her eyes, then looked back at the plethora of smiling faces and snickering ponies at their work stations. "I beg to differ my dear assistant, these ponies are deprived of smiles and laughter, which is just what Pinkie Pie happens to specialiiize in." She pumped a hoof and grinned over at the other mare, winking for good measure. Bon Bon let out an exasperated breath again and rolled her eyes right back. "Whatever you say Pinkie, and I'm nopony's assistant." The ex-candy maker's expression softened and returned to its flat state. Her eyes began to restudy the Jaeger she was assigned to pilot with Lyra. "Right now I don't want smiles though, I just want to get into Party Cannon and take her for a spin." She flexed her legs against the floor, anxious to test the newly made Australian masterpiece. Beside Bon Bon, Pinkie Pie exploded into laughter loud enough to momentarily cut off the mild, work oriented chatter in the room. "That's-" She took a gasp, breathing deep to regain enough composure to speak. "What she said, HAH!" Bon Bon and the arriving Lyra stared at the rolling Pinkie incredulously. Well, Bon Bon did, Lyra began asking frantically what was so funny. The Colonel's voice managed to rise above Pinkie's laughter though. "SHUT UP! All of you, before I throw you lot in the damn brig and get the damned janitor to pilot that damned thing!" The janitor looked up from gathering trash and left over lunch from a far corner then shook his head and quickly trotted out of the room. Nopenopenope. "Sir?" A secretary that had just walked into the bustling office had been the one to address the Colonel. "WHAT!?" Colonel Dustcoat rounded on the stallion, shouting hard enough to send spittle flying across the pony's face. The stallion flinched back. "I-I-Is Pinkamena P-Pie here, sir!?" He stood straight at attention and saluted despite himself. "T-There's a phone call for her, sir!" Dustcoat whirled around again. "PINKIE, GET OVER HERE AND OUT OF MY CONTROL ROOM!" He turned back and regarded the stallion more calmly. "Stop saluting indoors, private. You know bloody well better than that." The pink mare nearby looked up disappointingly. Aw, but my creation isn't alive yet. She looked over at the monumentous Jaeger, her single multi-core plasma cannon gleaming at her side. The entire mech was a boring steel grey, but it was still hers and beautiful as far as she was concerned. "P-Pinkamena?" A stallion's voice asked shakily from nearby. Pinkie turned and looked up at the fellow standing over her. "Oh, are you here for me!?" She turned her head and happily regarded the fellow without getting up. "Uh, y-yes, that is, sort of, there's a phone call from a Twilight Sparkle fo-" The stallion was cut off as a gale of rushing wind overtook the poor guy. Pinkie was already blazing towards the hallway and the elevator. ... Bon Bon looked to Lyra and Lyra looked back at Bon Bon, slight expressions of confusion on both their faces. They also both ignored the shouting from the Colonel, who was going on about military decorum or some such thing. Rainbow rolled over in her bed, her efforts to get comfortable were all for not. Her muscles ached; they had all gone for months with little use whatsoever. She just...just couldn't work up the will to go out and do anything. Sometimes she could. Once, she'd flown for weeks nearly nonstop from ocean to ocean, just flying, just bettering herself. The view of so many wrecked cities and lives had stopped that adventure though, landing her in Appleloosa where she'd stayed. That had been two years ago; something had snapped. It went back together though, eventually, and that's where she was now; a half-broken, motivation-less mess. The bare board ceiling in her one room personal Tartarus hole stared back down at her, the television with two stations buzzed with static and white noise against the far wall. The kitchenette bore every dish that she had, dirty of course, and smelled of uncleanliness. If it weren't for the open window and the breeze that had begun blowing in, it would have been downright unbearable in there for any living thing. Rainbow Dash blinked at the ceiling, unmoving, as she did most of the day. Wait a second, I didn't leave the window open- Then, she glanced up again from her pillow in time to come muzzle to muzzle with Pinkie Pie. "Hi! It didn't smell that great in here Dashie, so I opened your window for you." Pinkie's calm smiled spread out into a massive grin. Rainbow Dash stared in pure stark panic a moment longer, then rocketed out of her bed and up at the ceiling. The reaction was so delayed Pinkie had time to grab her tail and hang on. "Wheee! Again, Dashie!" Pinkie hung from the rainbowed tail hair, swinging like a pendulum. A moment later and Rainbow let out another cry, and the two crashed towards the ground hard enough to smash the bed to smithereens. The four legs at each corner all buckled inward, the weight from the two mares crashing into it proving to be too much. Rainbow Dash grabbed her blanket and cowered away from her old friend. "P-pinkie Pie? How did you get in here?" Pinkie smiled and answered nonchalantly, "I have a key to your house!" The pegasus' mouth worked as she tried to formulate a proper response or question to that. Rarity poked her head into the room then, drawing both of the other mare's attentions. "Rainbow Dash, are you here? Oh, I see Pinkie found you after all, how are you, darling?" "Hiya Rarity, come on in, she's here alright!" Pinkie sat down on Rainbow's barrel, trapping her. The second that the pegasus tried to wriggle free, Pinkie turned to face her, a dangerous, scary gleam in her eye. Rainbow gulped, and began thinking over just what her options were. "Hello Rainbow..." Fluttershy stepped in carefully next, followed closely by Twilight. "Is it alright if I come insi-?" The yellow protector of animals was interrupted by a ghastly gasp from near the kitchenette. "Rainbow! Honestly, how can you live in such detritus and filth? Why, this is simply horrifying, dear. You haven't been taking care of yourself at all!" Rarity grimaced every which way around herself, getting a good look at just how bad things were. Her eyes settled on what appeared to be... Is that a puddle of uncleaned-!? "Rainbow," She started again, whirling to face the secured pegasus. "How could you do this to yourself? It isn't right, darling. Why haven't you come to us for help?" Twilight interrupted while trotting towards the destroyed bed. "Rarity, not now, we'll get to that stuff. Rainbow, we need your help. You're an Element of Harmony and we need to use their power once again if we're to have any hope of saving our world. Now I know what you're thinking..." Twilight sat and began speaking to the floor, now in her zone, and cleared her throat before going onward. "We used them several times to no effect against the Kaiju, even on the portal. There was zero impact, but, I've discovered some spells that are very... well, some spells over the last few years in my free time that-" Meanwhile, Fluttershy had walked towards her old flight school friend, sad faced and on the verge of tears. Her words were a whisper next to Twilight's spirited over-brief. "R-Rainbow, you look terrible. Have you been alright? Did you mismanage your finances? Oh, don't tell me you were mugged by somepony. I know that the world is kind of... bad, right now, but don't hate them. They probably just lost a lot and are feeling very desperate. Are you hungry? You look-" "EEENOUGH! STOP, just stop it... guys..." Rainbow had sat up, shoving Pinkie off and onto her side at the end of the bed. She began panting furiously, the stress that was being dumped on her from the other four ponies was proving to be too much. I don't WANT to see you guys. Wasn't me disappearing proof of that? "I'm fine, and I don't care what it is that you need me for, guys. I don't want anything to do with it- Dangit, Pinkieee, let me go! HRG!" Pinkie Pie had wrapped Rainbow Dash up in a hug. "Dashie, you're not fine! Please just talk to us?" She hugged her consolingly, not a Pinkie Pie hug, just in a normal, comforting hug of friendship. Strong enough to keep her from escaping though, of course. Rainbow struggled, trying desperately to ignore the puppy dog eyes Pinkie was giving her. I told you, just leave me alone, please... "Rainbow..." All three of the other mares intoned as one. Twilight moved the closest and spoke again. "Rainbow, we..." She looked away, unable to say what she needed to, but she did anyway. Her head swiveled up and looked at the cyan pegasus with a hard glare. "You can't keep feeling sorry for yourself. It wasn't your fault, you know it wasn't, and we all grieved, we all went through that together." Rarity settled her hooves on the bed, taking a deep breath and smoothing the fur on Dash's shoulder. "We need to be together again now, Rainbow Dash, we need you to come back. It's not just because you're hurting yourself by living like this..." The alabaster mare swept the room with her dour look again. "It's because we legitimately need your skills again, as well as the fact you're an Element of Harmony." "I don't want to, I don't care, if... Look, thank you all for coming out here, but get somepony else to do it." Rainbow jerked her head back, trying to get the jump on Pinkie's grip. She succeeded in pulling a few muscles in various places instead. Buck, I'm so out of shape. Her eyes closed in dismal defeat. "Rainbow we can't do that." Twilight shook her head from side to side. "Only you can be the Element of Loyalty, you were the one to sync with us when we first used them. Nopony else will ever be able to do that again. Unless-" The purple mare bit her lip to pause, "well, never mind, just trust me. It's what I based the Jaeger's ability to sync off of, it works the same way, you know that! You were there." Rainbow shook quietly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, but refusing to spring into existence. Nonono... Her face hid itself slightly in Pinkie's mane. Twilight heaved a sigh, watching her friend hurt. She turned and began levitating various articles around the room, tidying in order to distract herself. "We need you Rainbow. Look, we've already found somepony to sync with as a replacement for Apple-" "NO!" There was a loud popping noise and Rainbow got out of Pinkie's grasp. "Leave. Me. Alone!" Then she was off like a shot out of the open window, the room bursting from the sudden vacuum and the boom of wind and air that came with it.