//------------------------------// // Team Terran vs One Pesky Ling // Story: Ponies Versus Starcraft // by ambion //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash and Applejack were butting heads, reaching over one another, shoving, tripping, and grumbling all manners of impoliteness at one another. The consequences of their squabble were easy to see, as each grab and push drove the entire Orbital Command they controlled this way and that. An Orbital Command flying willy-nilly is quite the sight, rest assured. It even did a barrell roll, presumeably caused when a particularily forceful shove sent Applejack careening into a lever. She shouted angrily. “Damnit Apple Blo- I mean Rainbow Dash! We already agreed that I fly the damn base!” “But-” “You just want to overload the engines and yell movie references!” “And you’re so boring with it! You don’t even try. How am I supposed to let you just waste it all? Besides, you won’t let me play Dawn of War on the communications screen, because it ‘looks bad thematically to be doin’ that sort of thing.’ So not cool.” The earth pony looked her in the eyes, both mares staring hard. Applejack sighed. “Fine.” She slowed the Orbital and dropped a gear into neutral. “Just one reference.” Rainbow Dash beamed. “That’s how it starts.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Don’t push it.” “Okay, okay. Right.” The pegasus took a deep breath, relishing the moment. “Punch it, Chewy!” she suddenly yelled. “Do the noises!” she hissed. Applejack groaned. The things she did for friendship...she kicked it up into first and, to her secretive, shameful pride, did a quality impression. She was saved from any more by a sudden beaping. “Oh hey, look at that. Minerals.” Dash crawled over her and peered at the glowing screen. “Sweet.” Applejack heaved the pegasus aside and retook the wheel. “There’s a plateau and everything. We can get some mining- oh, wait.” “What now?” “There’s...a zergling.” Applejack poked the screen, just in case it was actually an iota of dust on the screen. “Yep. Definetly one of the critters.” “What’s it doing?” “Just sitting there, far as I can tell.” Dash leant back in a plush chair. “That effects us, how?” “It’s right in the landing zone. Dead centre. Computer won’t let us land ‘til it’s clear.” Applejack sighed. “Probably exactly why it’s camping there to begin with.” Rainbow’s brow crinkled with thought and agitation. She rolled down a window. “Get out of the way!” It hissed back, presumably cussin’ at her. “Oh, that’s it!” Dash yelled, “you butt!” she roared inanenly down to the now break dancing zergling. The pegasus mashed the ‘land’ button. “I told ya, the computer won’t-” Dash grunted and tore several wires at random from the base of the computer. The next time she hit the button, the engines simply cut out. “Oh shi-” Applejack managed, then gravity, ever conscious of imminent bad language, caught hold. The thunder and quakes of impact gave way to reverberations and groaning, and the occasional sparks and shearing metal as the orbital command settled into place in its crash/landing site. Dash fished a roll of duct tape from the random bits and bobs strewn about the command deck. She tossed this to Applejack. “You repair, I mine?” “Works fine by me.” She ran a quick scan; the critter had survived, narrowly, and was trapped under the orbital. “But was that really necessary? I reckon a zergling never learned to burrow so quick as that one just did. Dash huffed as she tried to calm herself. “I just really don’t like being rock-blocked,” she said in the severest of tones. “Fair ‘nuff. Let’s get to work.” They were still going to have to deal with that one pesky ling at some point though.