//------------------------------//
// Thresher 
// Story: A Midsummer Night's Dream. 
// by Killbles 
//------------------------------//

	A Midsummer Night’s Dream
   Chapter 11: Thresher
 
The LOCCENT was ablaze with activity, a pair of buoys moored near the coastline had picked up something large. What worried Torque more though, was how quickly the mysterious contact had vanished again. The contact had lasted maybe twenty seconds before simply fading into nothing, like a ghostly apparition fading back into a fog bank. He reviewed the data methodically. Similar to the event some seven months ago, there’d been a large burst of unknown radiation, followed by a burst of plasma and heat which would’ve presumably lit up the otherwise pitch-black ocean floor like a fireworks display. As the firestorm subsided, the sensors had detected an upwelling of water, not exactly a massive quantity but still measurable. He briefly pondered what the spectacle would look like, a plume of white and red emerging from the deep, tongues of fire and bubbles glowing with a ghostly aura and then a beast, a monster able to level an entire city spewing forth with an unearthly screech… Torque shook his head and returned to the readouts, desperate for more data.
The terminal next to him churned out a line of numbers with a faint buzz, the second sweep had also returned with a puzzling lack of data. Torque scratched the side of his head and pondered the few numbers he had, clearly he was missing something. He briefly flashed back to his college days; trying to solve five by five matrices with nothing more than a dinged kettle and a short piece of string hadn’t exactly been fun. Pushing the thought aside, he quickly ran the dilation against the shipping records taped haphazardly to the side of his console, noting that the nearest vessel was not only a reasonable distance from the event but also a fair bit heavier.
“So what’ve we got?” Michael asked, leaning over the pony’s shoulder to read the displays for himself. His eyes glazed over slightly when he realised that he didn’t understand any of the instruments laid out in front of him.
The small pony reviewed the data with a speed that would’ve made any of Earth’s LOCCENT chiefs scoff with contempt. “Single signature, easily a 1400 ton dilation. We haven’t gotten anything in the area that matches in either size nor weight.” Torque confirmed as the computer churned out the raw data from the monitoring buoys. He scrutinised the readouts carefully, searching for something to prove to him that it wasn’t just a false alert. He squelched the alarm which was still pinging urgently on his console, the shrill beeping doing little to help his composure or his temperament.
“Anything else?”
 “That’s it.” Torque fumed. “I got a solid reading, big spike of plasma and an upsurge of water and then it’s just gone.” He replayed the event for the human’s benefit, blissfully unaware that Michael had not a clue what the monitors were actually showing.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, almost in disbelief. “What do you mean gone?” He demanded.
The console operator threw Michael a sardonic look, wondering exactly what he thought ‘gone’ meant. “Exactly that, I don’t have a signature. No silhouettes from the buoy’s sonar, no more emissions and no movement. Nothing!” Torque smacked the bank of machines in frustration. “It’s like it just vanished off the face of the planet.” Normally the prospect of something that size simply vanishing would’ve terrified him but Torque was almost more fascinated than worried.
“Where did you find it?” Skyray butted in, blinking rapidly in a fashion which showed off her scars all too well.
Torque spun around and pulled up a map on one of the control centre’s large tables, it was one of the newfangled electric ones that’d been reverse-engineered from the human Jaeger. The stallion was still getting used to it and he was sure as hell there was about a billion functions on the complicated machine he didn’t even know about. He growled with frustration as the fickle device centred on a small backwater town in the middle of nowhere before finally snapping into position where the rad spike had been located, an area where the continental shelf rose up sharply from the abyss, some eighteen hundred kilometres distant from the town. He frowned, it was some two hundred kilometres south of where he’d first detected the Bolton monster.
“Around here.” He grumbled. “South of the first recorded breach which was…” He dropped a marker on the other detection site. “Here.”
“That’s a fair distance apart.” She said slowly, stating the obvious in a fashion which made Torque want to roll his eyes. Her gaze flickered to the two humans inquisitively.
Shane raised his hands defensively. “Don’t look at me, I’ve never bothered finding out exactly where a Kaiju emerged. That’s for the K-Science guys to play around with, not me.”
“Neither have I.” Michael admitted softly, tracing a line between the two points with the tip of his finger. “I’ll review our data, see what I can discover.” He paused for a moment, deep in thought. “I was under the impression that breaches were fairly localised though, not spread over a wide area.” He tapped his fingers on his chin absently before turning on his heel and heading towards the exit.
“Uh, what do we do in the meantime? Sir?” Skyray asked, belatedly remembering the two giants were technically in charge of the shatterdome.
“Keep Wild Mustang on standby.” Shane said, following his brother out of the command centre.
“Continue monitoring, if you find anything let us know but don’t hesitate to deploy if you think you’ve got it. Time is critical here.” Michael added before striding out purposefully, Shane at his heels.
“Well they’re helpful.” Skyray remarked snarkily. She glared after the two commanders before wheeling around to face the rest of the command staff. “Alright, you heard the man. Let’s find this son of a bitch.”
 

***

 
Of course it wasn’t quite as simple as that. Harsh language and positive thinking could only get so far. Several tense hours ticked by, the entire command centre anxiously watching their sensors for something, anything, that’d give even an inkling to the mysterious Kaiju’s presence. Even the usual stream of staff leaving for recaf or snacks had vanished, nopony daring to leave their station until the night watch came on duty. If what they were experiencing was bad, the feeling Soarin and Wave Chill were going through was flat out miserable. The two pilots were still suited up in their tight drivesuits, anxiously waiting for the word to deploy. A quick inspection of Midsummer Night was undertaken but it became quickly apparent that the venerable Jaeger wouldn’t be ready for deployment for another few weeks, let alone in the few hours until the Kaiju was expected to make landfall. The initial excitement that had risen when the breach was detected turned to frustration and then into apprehension as the hours slowly ticked by. Every scanner and sensor at the shatterdome’s disposal quivered with anticipation, sending the occasional burst of code or package of data back to the monitoring board for analysis. 
“We’ve still got nothing.” Torque said, filtering the noise of a small seismic disturbance out so he could better read the sonar returns one of the technicians had collected. He scowled as the screen returned the same results, nothing but porpoise farts, an occasional shoal of fish and what sounded like a Sandcrawler high on aphrodisiacs. He was starting to think it’d been a false alarm, maybe some sort of hiccup in the computer’s new software or some natural phenomenon caused by what the humans called the Breach. The mission timer was now running on nearly eight hours without further contact and they couldn’t keep Wild Mustang on alert much longer before crew fatigue would set in.
He felt his eyelids starting to droop when one of the ponies on the communications console shot upright, her headphones pressed tightly against her ears.
“I’ve got a transmission on an emergency frequency, something about a monster!” She cried quickly.
Torque’s ears shot up. “Patch them through.” He said, wondering how in the seven rings of Tartarus the creature had slipped through their sensor nets.
The tiny speakers in the operator’s console popped into life, the quiet hissing of static audible across the entire command centre.
“Is this damn thing on? Hello? Somepony please answer!” A voice cried in panic.
“This is Chief LOCCENT Officer Torque from the Manehatten Shatterdome, how can I help you?” Torque said, hoping his voice wasn’t wavering as much as he felt.
“You gotta help us, this thing…” the pony babbled. A burst of static cut the line briefly before the terrified pony snapped back on.
“Hold on, where are you transmitting from?” Torque asked
“V-Varsity Lakes. What’s left of it…”
“Alright, good. What happened.” Torque asked, scrambling for his map. He studied it carefully, eventually spotting the small town some 140 kilometres south of Manehatten with a wince.
“It came outta nowhere! It just tore through the town like it was nothing, And then… Wait… I think it’s coming back…!” An edge of hysteria entered the pony’s voice, perfectly understandable if his report of the skyscraper sized monster appearing out of thin air was to be believed.
“Sit tight, help is on the way.” Torque said as levelly as he could, no point in showing everypony else how terrified he was. It’d take another few minutes before Wild Mustang would be out the doors and then? Well, he wasn’t sure how fast the Jaeger could run…
“We’re all dead, w-.”
Whatever the maddened pony was about to say was cut out by a smash and a terrific bang which sounded like an explosion. An ear-splitting screech roared through the speakers, unfortunately not quite blocking out a scream of pure terror which set Torque’s fur on edge. The link became an incoherent babble of screeching and crackling for half a second before it went ominously silent, the dead air leaving no doubt in anypony’s mind of what had happened to the luckless operator.
The control room fell deathly silent as everypony on duty drank it in. The stillness was broken by a pen clattering to the floor with a sound like a jackhammer pounding concrete. The sound seemed to snap Torque out of his stupor.
“Alright get Wild Mustang moving now, go go go! Get the humans up here now.” He yelled, the rest of the team snapping into action at his barked command. He gulped nervously, their first real test was now upon them.
 
Soarin shot awake as the small speaker in his helmet chimed irately. He shook his head clear of the fog which clouded his vision and snatched his bulky helmet from where he’d lain it next to his head, snapping it on as quickly as he could.
“Go ahead.” He said, stifling a yawn with some difficulty. He and Wave Chill had opted to stay in Wild Mustang’s conpod, an action he was now regretting if his cramped wings were any indication. 
“We’ve got a possible location, we’ll fill you in on the way.”
“Possible?” Soarin asked dubiously, prodding Wave Chill awake.
“I’m awake, I’m awake.” His co-pilot complained, fixing Soarin with a tired look.” What’s happening?”
“I’m finding out.” Soarin replied quickly.
“It’s the best lead we’ve got, we’re uploading information to your Jaeger now. Based from our last readings, the Kaiju is a Category I. low toxicity, low emissions. We’re still unable to pick up any contact so watch yourself out there. We’re calling this guy Thresher, because I really want to run him through one right about now. Last known location is Varsity Lakes, should be coming up on your Nav system now.”
“Varsity Lakes?” Wave Chill asked sleepily, “I dated a cheerleader from there back in college.” He slurred, clipping himself into the Jaeger’s drivetrain and dismissing the popup on the navigation console.
“Oh yeah? Was she any good?” Soarin chuckled.
Wave Chill threw a ‘Why don’t you find out for yourself’ look at Soarin and said nothing further, gladly accepting the two supporting arms which dropped down from the Jaeger’s control harness. Wild Mustang lurched forward slightly, the massive crawler which it was standing on rumbling inexorably forward towards the one hundred and ten metre high doors which were now slowly sliding back to reveal an orange streaked sky. Soarin grimaced, they’d never fought at night before and with potentially several hours between them and their target, he was under no illusion what light was left would have faded completely.
The radio squawked loudly. “We’re back on deck.” The more familiar tones of Michael announced, taking over from the LOCCENT’s chief officer.
“Copy that.” Wave Chill responded curtly. A low rumble reached his ears as the Jaeger’s reactor thrummed to life deep within the Jaeger’s chest. Dozens of spotlights scattered around the hull flickered on, illuminating the darkening sea before them in a blinding halo of light. A siren strobed near their feet as the crawler rolled down the ramp and crashed into the surf, throwing up tons of water as the Jaeger rolled into the knee deep water.
“Alright, this should be fairly simple. Head down to this place, find the bastard and smash its face in until it stops moving.” Shane instructed helpfully. “I suggest a-.”
“Yes, very insightful Shane.” Michael added, cutting his brother off before he could point out the pros and cons of a headlock compared to a right hook. He talked to one of the LOCCENT crew for a moment. “Initiating pilot to pilot protocols, starting in ten seconds.”
“Nervous?” Soarin asked quietly, checking his wrist control unit so he’d have something to do.
“Yeah a little, you?” Wave Chill answered in a glacially calm voice.
“Cacking it.” Soarin responded in what may have been the greatest understatement of all time. He’d been in combat before but the thought of fighting something that outsized and outweighed him several thousand times over was flat out terrifying, even if they had a machine to somewhat level the odds.
“Five seconds…”
Wave Chill chuckled lowly at his co-pilot, meshing his helmet’s interface with the Jaeger’s systems. The world popped into focus around him with a slightly grainy quality, the Jaeger’s cameras whirring and focusing on the brightly lit city of Manehatten. He took a deep breath as the small red timer in the top corner of his helmet’s display clicked over to zero.
“Drift sequence, initiated.”
 

***

 
Once free of the confines of the Manehatten Harbour Wild Mustang made good speed. On all fours the Jaeger was slightly faster than Midsummer Night, making a good 80 kilometres an hour along the dark coastal strip. They were wading a few hundred metres from the shoreline, close enough to be out of the major shipping lanes and still be able to keep their bearings. The searchlights silently swept the empty waters, their powerful beams smoothly following the Jaeger’s head and cutting through the dark night like pillars of light. Occasional radio chatter, presumably from the ships further out to sea, broke the constant mechanical whirring of the Jaeger’s limbs and the occasional blip or ping from their scanners.They ran on all fours, the two pilot finding the pose much more natural and comfortable than on two legs. The Jaeger even seemed to enjoy the outing, its reactor thrumming with an almost joyous tone and the many vents and ports panting air like an excited dog. It was there, in the early evening that Soarin and Wave Chill understood just how vastly different piloting a real Jaeger was to a simulator. It was like a third, almost silent, partner in their little world. A creature not of flesh and bone but of steel and fire which roared and clanked along with its pilots as they churned down the east coast of Equestria.Soarin found himself grinning stupidly despite the circumstances and made a mental note to ask Shane and Michael about it when they returned, surely the two veteran pilots could shed some light on the curious connection between them and their machine.
“Hey, Soarin, check it out.” Wave Chill said quietly, breaking Soarin out of his thoughts. He directed the older Pegasus’ view to the horizon.
Wild Mustang was barely an hour out of Manehatten but already a faint orange glow had become visible in the distance. The Jaeger slowed to a crawl, they couldn’t have gone more than eighty kilometres, an ominous sign considering their destination was still some way to go. By tacit agreement, Wave Chill and Soarin brought Wild Mustang into its bipedal stance; they hadn’t fought on all fours before and they weren’t exactly enthusiastic to start learning when they were fighting a real Kaiju. The Jaeger growled quietly as its arms dropped into their sockets, almost eager to start a fight. The servos in each of the hand’s three fingers clicked and whined, flexing in anticipation for imminent combat. Now on two legs, the Jaeger’s footfalls became noticeably heavier, the considerable mass of the new Jaeger pulverising the few rocks that littered the otherwise silty seabed.
“Command, looks like we’ve got trouble.” Soarin reported simply, his head spinning a little from the sudden shift. The ruddy glow had become a full on inferno now, the large cameras mounted in the crest of Wild Mustang’s head able to now pick out some details. A large tree here, a long tongue of fire which licked greedily into the night sky and a small water tower sitting near the edge of the blaze.
“Position check?” The radio crackled, a note of confusion sounding over the link.
Wave Chill pulsed the navigation suite, a complex system which relied on a series of shipping beacons and towers, their relative bearings, triangulation and occasional celestial navigation to pinpoint their location. Most large ships had a similar system installed, although none most lacked the automation of Wild Mustang’s system.
“According to this we’re about 3 klicks north of a small town, Prosperity Wells.”
“Yeah, we see it.” Michael muttered in response. There was moment of muttering as they presumably pulled up some sort of record on the town. “Looks like a small crude port, there looks like an oil field of some kind just to the west. Go check it out. Carefully.”  He added, particularly stressing the last word.
“On our way.” Soarin replied, clicking the radio off and focusing his attention back to driving the Jaeger forward. He’d started to get the hang of multitasking in the Jaeger but it was still a challenge to focus on more than a few things at the same time. Wave Chill seemed to have picked it up fairly quickly though, darting around the controls with the confidence of a mechanic elbow deep in an engine. Whatever pre-mission jitters the young Pegasus had displayed before had been replaced by a cool efficiency that reassured Soarin to no end.
Soarin couldn’t help but feel a little jealous though.
He quickly reined his thoughts in before anything bitter could fester over the neural link, he’d no doubt learn the skills over time. Wave Chill just seemed more naturally adept at it.
“Problem boss?” Wave Chill asked lightly, obviously feeling a pang of Soarin’s envy.
“Fine.” Soarin said quickly, mentally slapping himself for the lack of discipline. Here they were about to go into combat and he was getting worked up over nothing.
“Nothing at all?” His co-pilot insisted.
“Nothing at all” Soarin repeated.
Wave Chill kept a completely level face. “If you say so.” He muttered, returning his attention back to piloting the Jaeger, the remaining distance between them and the small town rapidly being eaten away by the Jaeger’s long strides. More details came into focus, a pile of rubble that had been a hall, a burning fire station and a small oil tanker beached on the sand like a bath toy, its deck tilted at an obscene angle that suggested it had been rolled out of the water.
“Jesus…” Michael breathed over the radio as Wild Mustang’s floodlights panned over the devastation. Something had torn through the small settlement like a hurricane, leaving deep trenches carved into the dirt and debris tossed around like toys. The Jaeger slowed to a cautious gait as they entered the town’s outskirts, skirting a large blackened crater where it looked like an underground fuel tank had been. Gouts of hazy smoke poured into the sky from a score of raging fires which burnt uncontested through the town, greedily lapping up what little the Kaiju had left behind. None of Prosperity Wells had been spared from the devastation, every block and every street thoroughly torn to shreds like it had been through a blender or blown apart by the titanic fuel explosion they’d noticed before. An occasional bright flash of colour was picked out by their searchlights, perhaps an unfortunate resident that had been too slow or too terrified to get out of the way of the oncoming doom.
“Where is everypony?” Wave Chill asked, unable to quite comprehend the magnitude of destruction wrought on the small town. The Jaeger’s head swivelled around with a metallic whir, almost like a lost hound looking for its master.
“Population is about 4500, there should be somepony around.” The radio crackled hopefully.
But nothing disturbed the rubble, leaving both pilots on edge as they surveyed the ruined township. It became quickly apparent that the Kaiju had been and was now long gone. Wild Mustang’s body swung dejectedly on its hip joint, a trace of anger building in the heart of the Jaeger.
 “LOCCENT, there’s no trace of the Kaiju.” Soarin reported unsteadily. He’d known there’d be casualties, he’d have been naïve to think otherwise… but he wasn’t prepared for this.
There was a short moment of silence, presumably as the staff on the other end discussed what to do. “Have a look around, see if you can find the path it took. We’ve still got nothing here.” Michael ordered softly. Since the introduction of the Jaeger program on Earth every Kaiju breach had been intercepted, some more successfully than others mind you, but the Jaegers had always been on hand to fight the threat. The scene that stood before them was like the destruction wrought by Trespasser on San Francisco or Hundun on Manila, just on a smaller scale.
“Acknowledged.”  Wave Chill responded coldly, crushing a pile of rubble to fine powder under the Jaeger’s foot.
“They never stood a chance.” Soarin whispered hollowly as the Jaeger stepped over a shattered warehouse which had been completely torn apart by the force of the Kaiju. He felt his frustration rise, they was supposed to be protecting these ponies and they’d failed. Not only that, but the beast was still at large somewhere, probably tearing its way through another town or village somewhere along the coast. They searched for a few minutes, only the slowly burning fires and the Jaeger’s searchlights piercing the darkness of the night. Other than the occasional slip of rubble or a building collapsing as its supports gave way, the town was deathly still.
“Found something!” Wave Chill exclaimed, highlighting an ugly brown smear that was etched into the ground like a snail trail. The scar was about fifty-five metres wide and about a third as deep, almost like a riverbed. The bottom of the excavation was littered with loose debris ranging from trees and mortar all the way up to chunks of a ship’s hull. The two ponies stared at the trail in shock, the sheer size of the trench left little doubt to what could’ve caused it.
“Looks like our Kaiju, better follow it.” The radio crackled quietly.
The pilots hardly needed any encouragement, the Jaeger already pounding along the trail at a half-run, kicking up the recently disturbed earth and smearing the fresh paint job of Wild Mustang with mud. There was something vicious brewing in the drift now, a desire for revenge, a need to see the town avenged.
They followed the trail west for a few minutes before it suddenly veered north, almost as if the Kaiju had found a new target. They unquestioningly followed the trail, eventually coming to a railway line which had hosted a long freight train. The train had been torn in half, its carriages and cargo strewn around the landscape like broken toys. Tiny metal spars, once the line which joined Manehatten to the great southern cities stuck out of the dirt like tiny toothpicks. There was no sign of its crew, either they’d died in the attack of had already fled, terrified of the monster which had so easily torn their train to shreds. From here, the trail was a little more obvious, an arrow-straight line which pointed due north. Growling with irritation, Wild Mustang followed the scar in the earth for a few hundred metres before it abruptly halted, a small rim at the end of the churned earth marking the sudden end of the trench.  A sense of unease flooded the drift, how could something the size of a skyscraper just vanish? The Jaeger’s head spun around, the massive searchlights housed there revealing nothing but open fields and an occasional copse of trees.
“Where’d it go from here?” Wave Chill asked nervously, searching for any sign the Kaiju’s trail with the Jaeger’s sensors.
“Maybe it flew?” Soarin suggested, looking around the otherwise pristine landscape for any sign of the Kaiju.
Wave Chill shuddered at the thought. “Can Kaiju fly?”
“Never seen or heard of a flying one before, wouldn’t put it past them though.” Shane replied, the radio crackling with static and background noise. There was a brief moment of murmuring before his voice snapped back on clearly. “If this map is right there should be another large town… urh…  Casino, I think it is, about 5 miles to the North West, how ‘bout you go check it out?”
“Any particular reason?” Wave Chill asked. It was a sound question, a Jaeger wasn’t well suited for urban operations, their immense size and weight meant they could easily get hemmed in the enclosed spaces and the addition of civilian infrastructure increased the likelihood of collateral damage, both to personnel and property.
“Kaiju tend to be attracted to population centres, it’s worth a shot.” Shane responded, his voice now almost lost in a sea of static. Soarin whacked the receiver a few times but couldn’t get a clearer transmission, evidently a local relay tower had been damaged and the signal was too weak to reach them clearly.
“Copy, we’re on our way.” Soarin replied, holding back a sigh of frustration. They’d followed the trail for nearly half an hour before it had vanished. It was almost like the Kaiju was playing with them, leading them astray. With a snarl, the Jaeger wheeled around, the machine seemingly as irritated as its pilots that it had been denied its quarry.
They’d barely moved though, when Soarin felt something through his metal skin. It lasted barely a second, a slight slip in ground which seemed noticeably out of time with the Jaeger’s footfalls.
 “Feel that?” He breathed, suddenly alert.
“What?” Wave Chill answered
“It’s like we’re being… followed.” Soarin answered, pivoting the Jaeger on its hips with a low groan of machinery so he could look over their shoulder. Perhaps he was just being overly paranoid, it wouldn’t have been the first time…
“Mind explaining?” Wave Chill asked, unable to divine Soarin’s meaning even through the drift.
“It’s like you’re being hunted and anytime you stop, the thing that’s following you stops as well. Sometimes though, it’s just a little too slow to respond and you can hear it, maybe even feel if you’re lucky.” Soarin recalled, vividly remembering being hunted by a pack of Timberwolves in a similar fashion when he was younger. That had been a terrifying experience, repeating it with a skyscraper sized monster wasn’t exactly an appealing prospect.
Wave Chill immediately understood, the memory flashing through his mind. It seemed impossible though, how could a Kaiju track them so easily?
“Let’s see if I’m right.” Soarin urged, taking the Jaeger forward another few steps and straining his senses. He reached out with the Jaeger’s sensors, tasting the cool night air, seeing trees jump up like ghostly apparitions, feeling the solid ground beneath their feet… but no Kaiju.
“I got nothing, maybe you’re just being a little jumpy.” Wave Chill suggested, wishing that he didn’t sound so convinced by Soarin’s idea.
“I know what I heard.” Soarin said nervously. Maybe Wave Chill was right, maybe he was just hearing things. Soarin couldn’t shake the thought, the idea that something, maybe the still at large Kaiju, was hunting them was, frankly, terrifying.
Both a little anxious and disappointed, he broke the Jaeger back into a low stride. Almost immediately he felt a faint rumble, but this time interposed with a low click-clack sound which set his nerves on edge. Initially, Soarin dismissed it as the Jaeger trudging over the broken ground but it quickly became apparent the rumbling was out of time with their machine’s footfalls.
It was then he noticed the faint waves forming in the dirt, little ripples like a diver would make when they were just under the surface of the water. He pondered this curious effect for a moment before, with a bowel clenching squeal of terror, he finally realised it for what it was.
“Go right, go right!” Soarin screamed, the thought leaving his mind and forming in Wave Chill’s before the words even left his mouth. Trusting Soarin’s instinct, the two pilots twisted Wild Mustang hard to the right, their heavy leg moving out of the way just in time.
An explosion of dirt and rock shot into the sky in the space the Jaeger had just vacated, the resulting storm ringing loudly off their armour before bouncing off into the night. It suddenly became apparent to both the pilots how to Kaiju had been evading detection as a half millipede, half cobra shape burst from the new hole. Soarin got a glimpse of a wide set of mandibles filled with far too many teeth, row upon row of long, spade like talons and a slab of interlocking chitinous plates before the beast had burrowed back under the ground with a noise that sounded like an irritated clacking.
“What the-.” Wave Chill started, his words being cut off as the Jaeger suddenly lurched sideways.
“Move, it’s underneath us!” Soarin warned as the ground surged beneath the Jaeger ominously. The two pegasi wasted no time, shifting their cumbersome Jaeger off the rapidly shifting earth before they tripped. The two pilots had barely shifted the Jaeger to the side when Thresher burst forth again, jaws wide and a bone-chilling alien shriek rising from its throat.
Soarin swore with feeling as the Kaiju burrowed again, well before they could catch it. It was impossibly fast and flexible, able to bend its body at impossible angles to snap and bite at the ponderous Jaeger. The ground buckled under them again, pre-empting another attack.
“What do we do?” Wave Chill asked, his voice almost inappropriately calm. “He’s just too fast.”
Soarin racked his mind for ideas, something incredibly hard when he was trying to dodge a creature nearly half as wide as his Jaeger was high. With another alien screech which set his fur on end, Thresher burst out of the ground again, this time clipping Wild Mustang’s hip with several of its talons and cutting through the armoured leg joints with a sickening squeal.  The Jaeger was thrown sideways, almost tumbling over from the force of the blow.
Thankful for the supporting harnesses, Soarin and Wave Chill forced the Jaeger upright, the younger pilot wincing as weight was placed on the Jaeger’s injured hip.
“I got an idea.” Soarin breathed, driving down the stab of pain which flared up along his flank.  “It’s a little crazy but you’ve got to trust me.”
“Would it really be one of your ideas without it being a little crazy?” Wave Chill joked.
“Whatever.” Soarin grunted. He remembered a trick back in training, a little ruse he’d used when playing Capture the Flag to uproot a faster, agile opponent. It was a sound tactic against a pony-sized target, perhaps a little reckless against one like Thresher.  He quickly communicated the plan with Wave Chill and spun the Jaeger’s head around slowly, nervously anticipating Thresher’s next move.
The ground tilted again and Wild Mustang shifted backwards, not sideways like Thresher had been expecting. It was too late now though, Thresher bursting out of the ground like shot from a cannon.
“Okay… now!” Soarin barked, darting his foreleg to the left around Thresher and hoping Wave Chill would follow through. The gambit worked, Thresher being yanked viciously sideways and almost tumbling into a clumsy heap with the Jaeger. It pulled itself free of the Jaeger’s clumsy one armed embrace and reared up on its manyhind legs, its upper body swinging back and forth slightly and its head set low. Screeching loudly, Thresher darted in quickly, trying to gnaw at the Jaeger’s torso but instead running headfirst into Wild Mustang’s other fist with a crunch like two tanks in a head-on collision.
Soarin could see surprise in the Kaiju’s eyes, well at least what passed for surprise in its case. It had eaten its way through at least two towns with nothing even resembling a scratch to show for it and here it was, fighting something that could hit it back. He slammed his fist into the side of the Kaiju’s mouth, the impact of the blow rippling down its body like a wave. It screeched in pain and slithered away, its flexible body twisting and looping over itself as it backed away from the Jaeger cautiously. There was something else there, fear maybe? It had come expecting an easy fight, it had not expected to be fighting something which could hurt it.
Thresher was now paying for its arrogance, Wild Mustang slamming another fist into its softly armoured underbelly and breaking three of the spade-like claws the Kaiju used to tunnel quickly. The hideous Kaiju screeched loudly and threw itself at Wild Mustang, hoping to throw the Jaeger off balance with the weight of its body. It was fast, nearly as fast as Atticon was, causing a brief moment of panic through the drift as its body slammed against the Jaeger before either pilot could raise an arm to defend themselves.
The Jaeger stumbled backwards, the leg servos whining loudly in protest as the Kaiju pressed its considerable mass down on them. A dozen talons flailed wildly, most bouncing off the Jaeger’s tough iron armour but a few puncturing or slipping between the Jaeger’s armoured plates. The Kaiju tried chomping down on their shoulder but the Jaeger’s arms finally came around, managing to push the writhing Kaiju off Wild Mustang’s abused hull. The Jaeger’s bulky fingers wrapped around the Kaiju’s midsection and lifted it off the ground with a loud squealing of gears. Neither of the pilots dared to release their grip on the struggling Kaiju as it lashed out wildly, twisting and buckling like an insane bull at a rodeo. Pinned, Thresher let out an irritated chitter and swung its head down, biting down hard on the Jaeger’s left hand. Its sharp teeth sheared through the metal but nearly causing as much damage to itself, opening a score of bright orange lines in its softer underbelly. Soarin cried out in pain as he felt one of the fingers go limp but strengthened his hold resolutely, there was no way he was going to let the Kaiju free. He gritted his teeth as another finger started going dead, his hoof felt like he’d bashed it hard against the corner of a chair and he was now finding it hard to focus through the pain.
“Now would be a good time!” He barked, struggling through the pain to hold the snapping Kaiju’s mouth back. He could feel the last of the Jaeger’s fingers being gnawed on, uncomfortable jabs of pain shooting up his foreleg as the Kaiju’s mouth snapped open and shut, shearing metal,  snapping wires and spraying the inside of Thresher’s mouth with a thin jets of oil. Feeling the pressure lift off the abused finger for a brief moment, he shoved the hand deep inside Thresher’s mouth, levering the Kaiju’s impossibly wide maw open even further. With the Jaeger’s hand jamming its mouth open, Thresher started squirming and bucking its long body desperately again, trying to dislodge Wild Mustang’s broken fingers from the inside of its maw. It screeched again, its rope-like antenna whipping around wildly and its rear talons churning the dirt into a fine sludge in irritation.
“Rock ‘em, sock ‘em rockets!” Wave Chill cried, flying sideways in his harness as one of the creature’s massive antenna slammed into the side of the conpod.
“Verbal command not recognised.” The AI canted boredly, oblivious to the peril the Jaeger was in. It reminded Wave Chill of a technical support ‘expert’ mindlessly droning to try turning it off then back on again.
“Oh for-!” Wave Chill snarled, fumbling for the rocket’s manual firing stud. He pictured the target in his mind, a gaping black spot visible at the back of the Kaiju’s wide throat.
With a loud whir the pair of rocket pods mounted on Wild Mustang’s shoulders snapped open and aligned on the target. The hatches had barely slammed down when all six rockets roared out of their launchers, shot across the small space between the wrestling giants and disappeared down the Kaiju’s gullet like balls of fire. Thresher’s eyes widened, going still as the six metre long rockets roared down its throat, the time delay fuse built into warheads preventing them from immediately exploding on impact. Without waiting to see what would happen, Soarin ripped free Wild Mustang’s chewed hand from the Kaiju’s maw, loosening several of the Kaiju’s razor sharp teeth and more of the hand’s plating with the violent motion. Thresher reeled back, gagging and coughing unnaturally, almost like it was choking on a massive chicken bone. It was almost comical, the massive armoured worm lurching and heaving, surprise and confusion evident in its bright orange eyes. It froze for a moment, the violent waves of coughing which had wracked its body stopping as the rockets forced their way further down of the Kaiju’s throat. It let out one heaving gag before a series of muffled crumps came from deep inside the Kaiju. Its underside expanded grotesquely from the sudden increase of pressure inside its innards, bubbling up like an obscene balloon at a fair. For a moment, the Kaiju’s tough hide looked set to hold the explosion back before its gut exploded outward in a blinding ball of sparks and fire.
Thresher’s head pitched down, one final keening wail of pain escaping its bleeding mouth before it collapsed with a ground shaking impact. It continued to writhe for a moment longer, the creature’s baser instincts trying to extinguish the fire that now raged both inside and over it. The Kaiju gave one more twitch before finally falling still, its beady orange eyes glazing over with a sightless stare.
Wild Mustang stood still for several minutes, the vents and hatches dotte across the hull slowly opening and closing in time with his pilot’s heavy breathing. The Jaeger’s left hand sparked and fizzed uselessly, almost completely chomped through by Thresher’s powerful jaws.
“Is it dead?” Soarin asked cautiously, feeling something suspiciously like blood run down his foreleg.
“I think so.” Wave Chill answered, taking a tentative step towards the ex-Kaiju. “I don’t think that last meal was so good for him.”
“What, with your ‘Rock ‘em, sock ‘em’ rockets?” Soarin joked, trying not to laugh despite the circumstances.
“Eh shut up.” Wave Chill grunted, placing the Jaeger’s heavy foot over Thresher’s head and giving it a careful prod for good measure. The massive beast flopped over, its mandibles splaying out limply like fish at the market. The two pegasi considered their prey for a moment, it didn’t look so scary with a crater the size of their conpod burnt into its stomach.
Wave Chill nodded appreciatively, as if examining a work of art. “Guess we better get him home.”
 
 

***

 
Like a hunter bringing in its kill, Wild Mustang slowly advanced back towards its home berth, Thresher being dragged unceremoniously behind them. The Jaeger was limping slightly, a ragged tear in its hip hampering the machine’s pace and making it yowl like an injured lynx. Its left hand was completely ruined, a tattered scrap of metal leaking oil, sparks and a clear, viscous substance which was less identifiable. Both pilots could feel the Jaeger’s wounds, grimacing with pain each time the right leg took a lurching step forward or when the left arm brushed up against the hull. They pushed on regardless, driven onwards by the prospect of hot food, a shower and a repair bay for their injured machine.
They had been unable to re-establish contact with the Manehatten shatterdome, the brutal smash from Thresher had badly damaged the Jaeger’s large communication suite built into the side of the head, disabling the already somewhat fickle device.. Thresher’s corpse was grasped firmly in their remaining hand, a constant throbbing pain from their other mangled limb a constant reminder of the Kaiju’s damage. They’d dumped the corpse outside the city limits and swung around back through the bay, bringing the Jaeger back into the shatterdome’s wide halls within five hours of their departure.
As soon as Wild Mustang’s conpod was secure against the gantry, the large armoured door hissed open, a few bright-eyed engineers staring into the interior. At the end of the gantry stood both Shane and Michael, a stern yet cheerful look on both of their faces.
“Gee, thought you guys would’ve been a bit more cheerful, first win and all.” Michael remarked as Soarin and Wave Chill emerged from the conpod, shucking their heavy helmets off with all the grace of a whale piloting a blimp.
“Oh well… you know.” Soarin muttered, “Not really sure if we won. Lost a lot of ponies tonight.” He added darkly, a sad look crossing his face for a split second before being replaced by a forced smile. “At least we avenged them.”
“It was the best you could do, don’t beat yourself up over it.” Shane said, resisting the urge to pat the little pony on the shoulder. He wouldn’t say that he was close to either of the pilots but he understood the feeling they were going through. “We’ll debrief you in fifteen minutes. Get out of your drivesuits and get something to eat or drink.” He continued. “You’ll probably be as hungry as well... uh, a horse.” He finished awkwardly, visibly wincing as he realised exactly what he’d said.
“Right.” Michael said flatly, smoothly taking over from his brother’s awkward fumble. “My office in fifteen.”
 

***

 
The office, really nothing more than a small annex with a few chairs, a desk and some curious decorations next to Michael’s spacious quarters, seemed empty, even with all four pilots crammed around the newly polished desk. For a while Soarin and Wave Chill explained the events of the night, Michael and Shane interrupting only to ask an occasional question.
“And you dragged him all the way back here.” Shane asked, a scowl appearing on his face.
Soarin nodded. “We dumped a few klicks south of the outskirts of Manehatten.”
“Yes, we’re well aware of that, there are a few hazmat teams cleaning it up now.” Michael said sourly. “You know, we thought we made it quite clear that you should keep these guys away from population centres, not bring them closer.” He added with a shake of his head.
Wave Chill and Soarin cringed.
Shane scowl deepened. “What the hell were you thinking bringing that thing back here?”
“Uh… well…” Wave Chill trailed off. “I don’t know?”
“Well you screwed up.” Shane barked.
Soarin and Wave Chill winced, not used to the fierce tone of their trainer.
“Well, you’re lucky this guy is about as toxic as potent weed killer so we don’t have a massive environmental disaster to worry about. You get off the hook this time.” Shane added, his normal tone of voice returning. “Just don’t get into the habit of dragging Kaiju home, alright? Next time you might not be quite so lucky.”
“Exactly.” Michael agreed, rising from his spot behind the desk slightly. “You were damn lucky you ran into Thresher in the first place.”
“I think it found us rather than just by chance.” Soarin said uneasily. “It appeared to be able to burrow very well, I think that’s how it was slipping past the sensor grid.”
Michael nodded thoughtfully “Makes sense, it’s looking for large creatures in the ocean, not under the seabed. Looks like we’ll need to plug that particular gap in our defences.”
Wave Chill cleared his throat. “What about more Jaegers? To fill the gaps as well? We can only be in one place at a time after all.”
“The other two are coming along just fine, that’s our job to worry about.” Michael said back firmly. “What we really need is a way to get the Jaegers from point A to B quickly so we don’t take an hour or two to reach the deployment zone. We’re lucky Thresher hit nearby and not at the ass-end of the world.” He paused for a moment to let the idea sink in. “Sadly it doesn’t look like your air force has anything with that sort of lift capacity. Well, not in large enough numbers at least.”
“Train?” Soarin suggested.
 “Limited by where the rails run.” Shane said dismissively. “Choppers would be infinitely more preferable.”
Soarin and Wave Chill exchanged a glance. “Choppers?”
Shane rolled his eyes, they hadn’t really bothered explaining aerial Jaeger drops on account of the Equestrians not having the necessary gear on hand. “Like one of your airships but much smaller and faster. Most of us use Jumphawks, the Russians and Chinese use Carryalls, I think. There was a squadron assigned for transport to each Jaeger.” He sighed wistfully. “You wouldn’t know what I’d give for a dozen of those little beauties right now.”
Michael made a thoughtful sound. “Might be worth looking into, I’d be surprised if what passes for your engineers couldn’t put a few together.” He returned his attention back to the two pegasi sitting in his office, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “You two did well today. There’s some sort of celebration happening downstairs so go enjoy it, you’ve earned it.”
“Sir..,” Soarin trailed off, remembering he had one more thing he wanted to bring up.
Michael glanced up “Yes?”
He glanced at Wave Chill for support. “Look, I bet this will sound crazy but… When you drift in the Jaeger do you ever feel..?’ He trailed off, unsure of how to explain the feeling
“Feel the Jaeger?” Michael guessed.
“I suppose so, yes.” Wave Chill and Soarin answered in perfect unison. Soarin quickly hid a smile, that was new…
Michael sighed and leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “Yes, suppose I do. When you drift you’re melding your mind through the Jaeger’s body. You and Wave Chill are forming the gestalt entity that is Wild Mustang. The Jaeger is a part of that I guess. You can feel its oil pounding like blood in your veins, the reactor churning like a heart… for all intents and purposes you are the Jaeger. Well, that’s how I see it at least.”
“You mean to say the Jaeger is alive?” Wave Chill asked dubiously.
Michael shrugged. “That depends on your point of view. Shane here doesn’t really believe it.”
Shane nodded silently in agreement. “The Jaeger’s a means to an end, a machine which we project ourselves through. They’re not alive.” He said with conviction.
“But as I said, it really comes down to what you believe. Personally I think that once you’ve drifted in a Jaeger they become something different… They get their own little quirks and nuances, just like a person. Spend some more time with your Jaeger and you’ll figure it out for yourselves.” Michael explained. “Anything else?”
Soarin shook his head slowly, an action quickly mimicked by his co-pilot.
“Good, now get out of here.” He said, gesturing to the door.
“Yes sir.” Soarin said quietly, taking that as his cue to leave. He forced himself up, surprised by how tired he was. Maybe the fight with Thresher had taken more out of him than he realised or perhaps the extended drift with Wave Chill had sapped his energy; whatever it was, Soarin just felt like crashing in his quarters. He excused himself quietly, leaving his younger co-pilot to his own devices; unlike Soarin he seemed much chirpier, still rearing for action despite their long day.
He wearily made his way back to his room, trying his hardest to avoid the few other ponies wandering the monotonous halls of the shatterdome. Slamming his door shut behind him he threw himself down on his bed, too tired to bother with the lump of sheets which sat messily at the end of the mattress. His head had barely hit the pillow and he had fallen into an uneasy sleep, his dreams plagued by soaring infernos and the cruel laughter of a cruel and shapeless alien.
 

***


 

BLOWN TO BITS – Equestria’s first Jaeger win!
-          The Equestrian Herald
 
WILD MUSTANG A HIT! – Crowds celebrate Jaeger’s first victory
-          Manehatten Courier
 
The newspapers cried for next few days after Thresher’s defeat, many dedicating several pages to the spectacle. The Manehatten Courier’s front cover even had a top to bottom picture of Wild Mustang rolling out of the shatterdome, the sun gleaming off its freshly painted hull. The fledgling Jaeger program was quite suddenly thrown into the public eye, thousands of ponies making their way to Manehatten to marvel at the tremendous shatterdome or try to catch a glimpse of Wild Mustang. The Jaeger would occasionally partake in field trials, stepping outside of the shatterdome, not only to practice a particular technique in the wide bays of Manehatten but to also allow the millions of ponies that crowded the city to catch a glimpse of the machine as it strode through the bay on two legs or more commonly, on all fours. For the first time in living memory every hotel in Manehatten was full, every hostel filled to capacity, innumerable ponies flooding to the city to see their metal guardian.
The destruction of the two towns at Thresher’s claws was news as well, although dramatically overshadowed by Wild Mustang. The public simply couldn’t get enough of him and before long it was common practice for the guards stationed outside the shatterdome to be turning around dozens of ponies everyday who kept trying to sneak in.
If Soarin or Wave Chill noticed the extra attention they made no mention of it, it seemed they were used to it already, their previous profession no doubt playing a part in that. If anything, they treated their newfound stardom with apparent indifference, phlegmatically doing dozens of interviews and appearances for local papers and radio stations. Shane was less appreciative of this, resisting the urge to throttle any pony who approached them with a large ‘Press’ tag lodged in their trilby.
Of course though, the persistent press was the least of their issues. Soarin and Wave Chill still had a lot to learn, the short training course they’d been subject to would’ve had the tutors at the Jaeger Academy frothing at the mouth. Under-trained pilots was an even smaller issue than the two half-build Jaeger hulls sitting in the giant construction bays of the shatterdome. Neither of the hulls had been named although ‘Stompy’ seemed to be a fairly popular term to describe the large brute which seemed to take up most of the construction bay.
They hadn’t even put serious thought into the nightmare that would be finding the next Jaeger pilots.
So when Twilight found herself back at the shatterdome at the request of the two pilots, she was understandably nervous, feeling somewhat like an intruder despite her involvement with the program since day one. The shatterdome seemed different, more alive perhaps that it had during her last visit. Everypony seemed to have purpose and meaning in their step, the recent victory no doubt played a part in that.
 She found them sparring in one of the Shatterdome’s combat halls along with several curious onlookers. Each was holding a long, light combat stick and based by the perspiration building on their bodies they’d been at each other for a few rounds at least. She noticed the two new Jaeger pilots sitting off to the side, watching their mentors closely as they danced across the mat, almost too fast for her eyes to follow. There was a series of rapidfire cracks as their staffs bounced off each other before a sudden silence fell over the room, both humans locked in place. After a moment of unspoken agreement they returned to the centre of the mat without an apparent victor. This process repeated itself several times before Twilight finally realised they were finishing the fights mentally rather than physically, the two brothers so well in sync they could silently figure out who would win in the next few moves. She was reminded of a chess master playing several moves ahead of their opponent, only in this case they were not only doing it at the same time they were simultaneously reaching the same conclusion as the other.
They fought two more rounds in a similar fashion before bowing to each other respectfully and stepping off the mat, placing their beaten combat sticks reverently in a cradle which held a dizzying collection of the weapons. The two humans wiped themselves down with towels and slowly meandered their way over to Twilight, chatting amicably about their most recent fight.
“Good morning, Marshalls.” Twilight said politely as they entered earshot.
“Princess.” Shane responded, a slight edge to his voice as he used her formal title.
“A pleasure as always, impressive display there.” She remarked.
“Well they certainly thought so.” Michael said, gesturing the slowly dispersing crowd which had been spread around the combat room. He nodded to Soarin and Wave Chill, prompting the two pegasi to float down from the ceiling and start sparring on the mat. Twilight watched them out of the corner of her eye, noting that they seemed to be experimenting rather than practicing their technique.
“Anyway, how can I help you?” Twilight asked, diving straight to the issue with the formalities out of the way.
Michael wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. “We find ourselves in a sticky situation. We’re desperately in need of personnel with experience to take leadership roles within the Jaeger corps but as you could reasonably understand, experience isn’t exactly common around these parts.”
“You’re offering me a job?” Twilight asked, immediately catching on to his meaning.
Michael nodded. “Yes I suppose so.”
Shane picked at one of his fingers idly, watching the fight going on behind them curiously. “Our J-Tech division is quite understaffed.”
“J-Tech?” Twilight asked. She could make a fairly reasonable guess at the meaning but just wanted to be sure.
“Jaeger tech. Weapons development, drift research, Jaeger operations. Anything to do with the ins and the outs of the Jaegers falls under their banner.” Shane said mildly. “We’re looking for a division chief, reckon you’re the best person for the job.”
“Are you sure? I don’t-.”
Michael interrupted her. “You built a pons by yourself, refurbished a Jaeger and oversaw the construction of another. Trust me, you’ll do fine.”
Twilight smiled nervously, she didn’t like it when others played up her achievements.  “I suppose so. Alright, what do you need me to do?”
“We’ve got our hands full with Soarin and Wave Chill, there’s still a bit we need to teach them before I’m happy with their standard.” Shane butted in. “In the meantime, we’ve got two Jaegers being put together outside and we’re a little preoccupied to be making sure they’re both coming along fine. There’s also the small matter of their crews, another small hassle for us.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “Where are they at now?”
Michael tossed her two fat dossiers, each one marked with a long hull number. “We didn’t commission them, this was approved by Celestia.” He said, a trace of irritation in his voice.
“Still sticking her nose in, I see.” Twilight muttered, flipping open the first dossier like an eager child and engrossing herself on the details of the first Jaeger, a heavy hitting behemoth which made Wild Mustang look like a twig.
“Hey, I’m not complaining.” Michael said defensively, “Just would’ve nice to consult us first. How is she even paying for them? Jaegers are usually a little out of the price range for royalty.”
“The Equestrian royal family holds a reasonable share in many successful businesses. That, along with the fact that Celestia and Luna have literally ruled for thousands of years and produced a large and prodigious family has allowed them to gain considerable wealth. They- I mean, we’re fairly well off, though this would’ve put a fairly large hole in their savings.” Twilight murmured without looking up. “Helps that labour is fairly cheap as well. I’m sure the government could approve three or four Jaegers now without breaking a sweat. If they wanted to...” She trailed off in way which implied there was more to the matter than she was initially letting on.
“Wanted to?” Michael asked, taking the bait like she expected him to.
Twilight swayed her head from side to side teasingly. “I’ve heard grumblings from some of the senators, that’s our elected officials, some of them are less than pleased with you two.”
Shane and Michael bristled. “Why?’ Shane asked indignantly, wondering how their mood would change if he turned up with Midsummer Night, knocked on their front doors and delivered them chunks of dissected Kaiju.
“Some of them think funding could be… better managed… better spent.” She said lamely, her nose still stuck in the first dossier.
“What a bunch of incompetent pr-.” Shane said, being cut off by a swift gesture from Michael.
“We’ll deal with that when we need to, at the moment we have three- sorry, four Jaegers in the pipe so we’ve got something at least.” He said pragmatically, indicating to Twilight that Midsummer Night would soon be fit for service again.  He turned to Twilight. “How are we looking?”
The alicorn fixed him with an irritated look, she’d only just received the dossiers on the two new Jaegers, she hadn’t had the time to look them over properly yet. “I’d guess the first hull will take another three, maybe four or so months to finish.” Twilight replied. “I’d predict another six to seven months for the second, there seems to have been a few teething issues with the reactor and the primary drivetrain.” She said briskly before returning her attention to the second dossier.
Michael blinked with surprise, he hadn’t expected them done so soon. “So we should start training now?”
“Yes, because I’m an expert.” Twilight said sarcastically without looking up.
Michael hid a smile. “Alright, alright… no need to be snippy.”
Twilight bowed her head slightly. “So how will you run this?”
“We were going to open the floor to general entries.” Shane said.
Twilight blinked silently. “Last time I checked Equestria had a population of about 350 million, any plans for dealing with that many applications at once?”
Shane paled slightly. “She’s got a point there. That might be a slight problem.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, an air of irritation emanating from her. Did she really have to think of everything by herself? The two humans were clever but sometimes, like right now, they were incredibly dense. “Set a baseline medical and psychological entry barrier, that’ll reduce your selection pool considerably. I’d err on the side of caution and set it higher rather than lower as you can bring it down if your initial candidate pool is too small much more easily than you can raise it. After that, you can screen potential candidates more thoroughly and narrow them down to a smaller pool. After that I guess it’s just a matter of selecting the best ones that are left. How many crews do you want?”
Shane tapped his foot irately, why hadn’t they thought of that? It seemed so simple now that she’d laid it out for them.
“Three or four. One for each Jaeger and an extra in reserve. We still have a way to go with Soarin and Wave chill so we’ll have our hands full with the TYPOs as well.”
“Typo?” Twilight asked.
“Slang for a fresh recruit. Stands for-.”
“Tries Your Patience Often.” Shane said, finishing his brother’s sentence with an almost psychic degree of accuracy.
“You know it’s creepy when you do that?” Twilight said with an involuntary shudder.  
“One of the perks of the job.” Michael said with a sickeningly sweet smile.
Twilight laughed quietly. “Well I can safely say it’s a job I don’t want.”
 
 

***

 
Much to the complete lack of surprise to anyone involved in the Jaeger program, the influx of applications was less like a flood than it was a tidal wave. Millions of submissions were submitted in the first week, putting the system Twilight had come up with to the test. While there were some natural bureaucratic slipups, the process seemed to work well, the stringent physical and mental requirements excluding the vast majority of hopeful applicants. Within two weeks, they had shortlisted this still considerable number down to three thousand individuals, allowing Shane and Michael to closely analyse and then select promising candidates. In between their tutoring, Soarin and Wave Chill were also roped into helping, the two humans no doubt reasoning that the extra hands would ease the process along. This process lasted another week or so, the pool being brought down again to about 200 ponies. A further round of screening, this time involving physical exams, tests and a psychological assessment dropped this down to a class of twenty-six, small enough that the final round of selections could take place. A few familiar names had cropped up on their roll but most of them were unfamiliar faces.
In the middle of all this was Big Mac and Applejack.
After Soarin and Wave Chill’s encouragement, Big Mac had gone home, hoping to find a willing candidate in the form of his sister.
Applejack though, had been slightly harder to convince, arguing relentlessly against Big Mac and trying to persuade her big brother to see sense.
“It’s downright foolish.” She’d argued. “Sweet apple Acres is our home, our life! You can’t just walk away from that on a whim.”
“Didn’t you?” Big Mac pointed out, effectively silencing his sister for the rest of the day. There’d been tension after that, the other two residents waiting for one of the sparring ponies to either give in and for life to return to normal or for it to be never the same again.
“You’re really dead set on doing this, ain’t ya?” Applejack asked quietly one night as she and Big Mac peeled their way through a bucket of apples for Granny Smith.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac answered stoically. “With or without you.”
Applejack gnashed her teeth together. “And what makes you think they’ll take you on?”
“They mightn’t. But I want to try.” Big Mac replied, putting the massive apple was peeling aside as he scraped the last of its skin away. “And ah’d like it if you’d join me.”
Applejack squirmed uncomfortably.
“Ah can’t do it alone AJ, help me. Please.”
“Alright, fine. Ah’m only doing this for you, understand?” She snapped, frustrated at her brother yet eager at the prospect of piloting one of the machines. “Can’t let you go off by yourself and get hurt.” She mumbled, glaring back down at her small pile of apples.
 
So there they were, several weeks later; somehow against all odds standing in line in the brightly lit combat room. Apparently the duo had good ‘drift compatibility’ and although they’d both scored below average on many of the entry exams, their physical scores and aforementioned compatibility had seen them through to the end. Now here they were, lined up with top athletes, what looked like half a dozen military ponies, an odd collection of blue-collar workers and two ponies who would’ve looked at home in a prison. ‘Not bad for a pair of apple farmers!’ she thought with a hint of pride.
The doors at the end of the chamber swept open, allowing a stream of morning sun and two uniformed creatures to walk in. Many of the ponies took a shallow breath of surprise, the majority of them would’ve have seen either of the aliens in the flesh yet.
“Good morning cadets.” One of them said politely, gesturing to the line of ponies. “Welcome to the shatterdome. Here we will select the best of you to become rangers.” He gestured to himself and then this counterpart. “As you may know, my name is Michael and this is Shane. You can address us either of us as ‘Marshall’ or ‘Sir’, your choice.” He paused for a moment. “Any questions?”
A chorus of replies rang out across the room. “No sir!”
“Good, then let’s get started.”
 

***

 
 
 
They first walked down the line, checking each of the ponies off their list. They did a double-take at Big Macintosh towering over the other cadets but moved on.
“Applejack?” The taller one who’d called himself Michael, a truly silly name if Applejack had ever heard one, asked.
“Here, Marshall.” She hollered.
Shane halted mid-step, staring at Applejack like she had suddenly spurted an extra pair of legs. He backtracked, a curious look on his face.
“Say ‘I’.”
“Ah?” Applejack said, looking from side to side in confusion.
Shane almost jumped with glee. “How would you address a group of peop- er, ponies?’
Applejack adopted an expression not unlike to the one Shane had just worn. “Y’all?”
“Oh this is just great, you’re southern!” Shane wheezed, adopting a faux Texan accent not dissimilar to the one the captain of the RV Equinox had used almost a year ago. “Now I’ve seen everything!”
“Shane…” Michael warned. Giving his brother a rough yank away from the two confused ponies before he could pry further.
“But they’re speaking Southern.” Shane chuckled, leaving the baffled Applejack behind him and following Michael up to a small dais at the end of the room.
“That’s nice, shut the hell up.” Michael said nonchalantly. He flicked through his short list and without thinking took the first two names off the roster, Applejack and another pony called August Fall, an earthy brown stallion who seemed like a stick compared to the brawny farmer. He called the two ponies up to the mat and explained the rules of the ring. They’d changed it up a little though, Earth Ponies weren’t able to use a staff as efficiently as either pegasi or unicorns so would wrestle instead. Armed with knowledge, the two ponies took to the centre of the mat, August Fall trembling slightly as he faced Applejack. The reason for his apprehension quickly became apparent, Michael had barely called start and Applejack had already ground him into the floor, tripping him up with one deft movement.
“She’s good.” Shane muttered, watching the orange mare remorselessly pin the older stallion to the sparring mat. The brown stallion struggled for a few moments before signalling his resignation, his face almost turning a faint shade of blue as he flopped around on the mat helplessly.
“Next one?” Michael asked, already seeing there was little chance the two ponies would line up well. The fact that Applejack had ground the hapless stallion into the dirt in under five seconds was only making that more apparent.
“Yeah I think we’re just wasting sunshine otherwise.” Shane murmured, “But who do we send in next?”
Michael drummed his fingers against his chin “She has a brother doesn’t she?” He asked, remembering the connection. Why they hadn’t started with him seemed a little counter-productive... he slapped himself mentally for making such a simple mistake.
“Yup.” Shane replied before looking down their list of cadets. He crossed off the hapless stallion and moved down the list, searching for the mare’s brother amongst the short list. “Big Macintosh?” He called, instantly spotting the stallion amongst the crowd by virtue of his height. “You’re up next.”
Applejack seemed to shoot a glare at them but otherwise remained silent, clearly she was less than pleased with the situation.
“You know the rules, first to five strikes.” Michael said, curious to see how the fight would go. From what he’d seen, Applejack was strong and fast but even she seemed to pale in comparison to her big brother, knots of tough muscle were visible under his red fur and he stood nearly half a head over any of the other ponies in the room.
“Brawn isn’t everything though.” Shane said lowly, reading his brother’s thoughts in a way most people found incredibly unsettling.
“Yeah, maybe you could learn that.” Michael shot back, focusing his attention back on the mat. The two siblings were slowly circling each other now, waiting for the other to make a move. If they were anything like Shane or Michael, they’d probably already been in enough scuffles with each other to know how they fought. Michael peeled his eyes away from the two farmers briefly, running his eyes down the list they had, there were four pairs of siblings listed, not exactly surprising as siblings seemed to usually make the best crews. He didn’t know why it was the case with scientific certainty but he could probably make a fairly good guess why it was the case…
“Damn, look at them go!” Shane muttered quietly.
Michael looked up to see the two ponies locked in a fierce wrestle, each of them throwing their weight around in an attempt to dislodge the other. Big Mac seemed more passive than his sister, reacting to her efforts rather than actively striking out. Applejack wasn’t as strong as Big Mac but she was a bit faster and agile, her smaller frame able to twist and turn more effectively than her massive brother’s. Their heads butted together roughly as the two ponies wrestled, neither seemingly able to get the advantage.
“They’re good.” Michael said quietly, pleasantly surprised by how well matched the duo seemed. There was something else there, it was like they’d done this many times.
“I’ve seen enough.” Shane responded, “The only way they could be better is if they were the same person.”
Michael nodded and whistled loudly, a shrill sound which echoed throughout the open room and made every head turn in his direction. The ponies stopped mid-wrestle, their eyes revealing an inkling of curiosity but also a trace of apprehension.
“You two, outside.” Michael ordered, pointing the two ponies to an overly large set of doors which led deeper into the shatterdome. The two siblings exchanged a worried glance before shuffling out silently.
Without pause Shane ordered the next two ponies into the centre, his mind already focused on the next two cadets.
 

***

 
Applejack wandered down one of the shatterdome’s wide halls, Big Macintosh trailing at her heels. A pair of friendly pegasi that Big Mac recognised had given them directions to a room where they were supposed to wait, something that suggested to Applejack that they’d passed whatever test the two humans had set for them. She could hardly believe it, she'd hardly expected to get so far, let alone make the final cut! What opposition she’d had to joining the Jaeger corps had washed away under her excitement and a sense of duty. If she was one of the few good enough to pilot one of the fancy machines she had better damn well do it.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice the pony that had just walked around the corner until she’d crashed face-first into her. Both ponies fell to the ground in a heap, a stack of papers the other pony had been carrying flooding the hallway.
“Oh sorry, I di-.” Applejack cut herself off mid sentence as the pony come into focus. “Twilight!”
“Applejack?” Twilight asked, refocusing her eyes on the farmer standing over her. “What are you doing here?”
“Ah could ask the same thing.” Applejack said, helping her friend back to her hoofs. Her spirits rose slightly, she hadn’t seen Twilight for some time and it was a welcome relief to know her friend was okay in the wake of the most recent attack.
A bemused expression appeared over Twilight’s face. “I work here. More to the point though, what are you and Big Mac doing here?” she asked, her mind refusing to acknowledge the fact she and Big Mac were both wearing badges that read ‘Cadet’.
“We… uh, volunteered to um... pilot the robots.” She said quickly.
Twilight looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “Come again?” She asked flatly.
Applejack repeated herself, noticing that Big Mac was slowly edging away like eh expected Twilight to explode.
“Wel- well that’s... that’s..,” Twilight stammered, the look on her face not quite matching the words she said. She seemed to be at odds with herself, unsure of how she should be taking the news.
“Lovely?” Applejack guessed hopefully.
“No it’s not!” Twilight snapped, stamping the concrete floor with her hoof angrily. She cast an angry glare at the orange mare. "What are you thinking Applejack!? Don't you realise just how much danger you and Big Mac are putting yourselves in?"  She barked.
Applejack bit her bottom lip, her ears pressing against her head as the alicorn's anger washed over her. It was clear to her that the ire in Twilight's eyes was merely a cover for concern, a feeling that was confirmed a moment later as her gaze softened, being quickly replaced by a worried frown.
 "Ah... ah do Twilight" Applejack started quietly, slowly regaining her previous confidence. "And I also know that if there was somethin’, anything, ah could do to help I’d do it in a heartbeat. I can’t let Big Mac do this alone, Twilight. Somepony has got to do it and it may as well be me.” Applejack finished stoically.
Twilight quavered slightly. “I can appreciate that, but you could get hurt… or worse! I can’t let you put yourself in harm’s way like that” She exclaimed.
“We’ll look after each other, won’t we Big Mac?” Applejack said. “Them Kai-jews will be the ones runnin’ from us.”
The stallion nodded fiercely in agreement.  
 “I’m not going to convince you to back out of this, am I?” Twilight asked defeatedly.
“No, you’re not.” Applejack said, a trace of dark smile appearing on her hard face.
“Well I guess any further argument is pointless then.” Twilight muttered, more to herself than the farmer she had been scolding. “As long as you know what you’re letting yourself in for.”
Applejack smiled thinly, she didn’t need anypony to tell her what she’d gotten herself into. She’d seen it firsthand.
“Well I guess I should offer you luck.” Twilight said, reorganising the fallen papers with an efficiency that only a skilled magic user could hope for. “You’re going to need it.”
 

 


***


 

Back in the Kwoon Room, Shane and Michael now had a somewhat familiar pair in front of them. Misty Fly and Lightning Streak, the very two ponies that had been promising candidates for Wild Mustang, were now before them, a pair of delicate wooden sticks balanced awkwardly in the forelegs. Evidently someone had told them of their potential, either that or they’d simply come along for the ride. Much to both Shane and Michael’s delight, they were performing well, darting across the mat with the ease of two people who knew each other inside and out.
They weren’t the best pair they’d ever seen and as Misty Fly rapped Lighting Streak across the back of the head with her hanbo, it became readily apparent she was the more dominant of the siblings. It wasn’t to say that Lighting Streak was a slouch, it just seemed like he was holding back, out of fear of his sister or perhaps some sort of brotherly instinct. Still, it was a buoying prospect that they’d fairly well nailed the pair down from their service records some months before.
“She seems to be enjoying herself.” Shane remarked, noticing the smirk which Misty Fly was wearing as she reset her position on the mat. The words had barely left his mouth and the two pegasi were back at it, the light crack of wood against wood ringing around the Kwoon room. Perhaps she was a little too confident, letting her guard down for just a moment to make an opportunistic strike, a move Lighting Streak took advantage off, slapping her across the cheek with his own stick.
“Ouch.” Shane muttered quietly, wincing as her head snapped back from the blow. Misty shook her vision clear, a vicious look on her face. Lighting Streak grinned, maybe he’d enjoyed that a little too much…
“Very determined.” Michael noted. “Both of them.”
“You can tell he’s a little afraid of her though, see how he keeps holding back?” Shane pointed out. “See, I would’ve smacked you in the ribs with my stick if you’d done something like that.” He said as Misty Fly sloppily parried her brother’s stick away.
“Gee, thanks.” Michael said dryly. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I do like them though, try and get Lighting Streak to open up a bit and I reckon they’d make a great pair.”
“You reckon?” Shane asked. Michael knew he wasn’t questioning his judgement more so than he was pushing him for more.
“They’ve got an incredible amount of potential. That’s too hard to just pass up. And they’ve drifted before, that’s got to count for something.”
Shane pouted. “I wouldn’t call a fizz a drift.”
Michael shrugged. “Better than anyone else here.”
Shane sat silent for a few moments. “I agree, let’s take them.”
Michael made a small note on his clipboard. “Fantastic.” He whistled loudly again, instantly gaining the attention of everyone in the room. He pointed at Misty Fly and Lighting Streak. “You two, outside now please.”
The two siblings shared a look and fluttered out, Misty Fly grinning broadly like she’d already been selected as a frontrunner pilot.
“Alright next two, up you come.” Michael called, barely looking up from his notes.
The words had barely left his mouth when a loud crack, like a gun going off in a small room, sounded next to his ear, making him jump with fright. A green halo of fire leapt into life, spitting out a pristine scroll before vanishing back into nothingness with a quiet fizz. They’d had a few scrolls delivered them in this somewhat dramatic fashion although they were no more used to it than the first time it had happened. Muttering under his breath indignantly, Michael reached for the neatly bound scroll, noting that the seal was an unfamiliar one, belonging to neither of the royal sisters they habitually received mail from. He prised it open curiously, his expression forming into a scowl as he read down the thin sheet of paper.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He muttered sourly.
“What is it?” Shane asked, not taking his eyes off the two ponies waiting patiently in the centre of the mat.
“Summons from the Senate. For both of us.” Michael said icily. “Apparently some idiot thinks we’re just faffing about enough to have called some sort of inquiry.”
“That’s bullshit.” Shane protested.
“You’re telling me.” Michael said ruefully, “They start in a fortnight.” He added, flipping over the second page bound in the scroll.
“Yeah, cause we’re not busy at all, are we?” Shane said sarcastically. “Give me a pencil, I’ll let them know what I think about their inquiry.”
“Oh jeez, this’ll be good. They might throw you in jail or something, that’d be a nice change.” Michael said dryly, fishing around for a pencil and a scrap of paper. “Nothing too inflammatory, alright?”
Shane grunted in response, already scribbling furiously. After a few moments he passed the hasty letter to Michael with a fierce scowl.
Michael suppressed a grin “Uh, Shane? We can’t send this.”
“Why not?” Shane shot back gruffly.
He chuckled lowly. ‘Well for starters, I’m pretty sure there’s a ‘k’ in ‘knucklehead’”
 

***

 
Misty Fly shifted slightly, the confident look she held sweeping around the room slowly before finally stopping on the two earth ponies sitting on the other side of the hall from them. It was odd, barely a few weeks ago she’d had no interest in the position but now she could hardly think of anythign else. She’d seen the countless news reports detailing Wild Mustang’s first victory and decided the prospect of piloting a Jaeger not only appealed to her ego immensely but also provided a new challenge, more of a challenge than routine patrols aboard Rogue Two did at least. She’d managed to convince Lightning Streak to come along fairly easily, her brother originally more open to the idea than she had been. This had pleased her immensely, at least if she had to share her innermost thoughts with somepony it would be with somepony she mostly trusted, not some random stranger they’d pukked off the street.
They hadn’t been told anything but Misty suspected this was the shortlist. Suspected was selling it a little short, as soon as they’d stepped out of the combat room a pair of familiar pegasi, Soarin and Wave Chill, had descended on them and given them directions to a room where they were told to wait. That alone had sold the idea they were destined for greater things.
She and Lighting Streak had done well, easily outperforming all of the other candidates with an ease that came only with experience. The two pegasi turned their heads slightly as the door creaked open and two more ponies, two more Earth ponies, shuffled in silently. They stared at the other two pairs before deciding that Misty Fly’s arrogant glare was enough of a disincentive to sit near her or her brother.
Lightning Streak made an almost imperceptible nicker of annoyance, a sound he seemed to constantly make whenever Misty Fly got a little big for her boots. Which is to say, all the time.
Misty Fly ignored this, she knew she was the most skilled out of the group, why shouldn’t she show it off? She didn’t bother vocalising this, knowing that her brother would either just remain silent or sarcastically ask her if she knew what humility was and where she could get some.
She clicked her tongue impatiently, how much longer were they going to have to wait? She wanted to start now, Soarin and Wave Chill already had a machine of their own and she was practically chomping on the bit to have one of her own.
Her question was quickly answered when two more ponies, this time a pegasi and an earth pony, drifted in, quickly followed by the two aliens. The two newcomers sat as far away from Misty fly as they reasonably could while the two strange aliens hovered by the door. After a moment, the taller one, Michael if she remembered correctly, cleared his throat.
“Alright, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good: You’re our shortlist. The best we could find. I’ll honest when I say that you’re good, at least by our standards, you’re pretty good.” He paused for a moment. “Bad news is we’ve only got two hulls available. So four of you will leave empty handed. We’ll keep you on board as reservists if you’d like, maybe you’ll get you chance when the next series rolls around. But for now, you won’t be mainlining.”
There were a few quiet mutters at this. Misty Fly felt the corners of her mouth rise slowly, a competition? Good, all the more reason to push herself harder.
“We’ll start next week so you have some time to get your affairs in order. Quarters will be made available for you and your passes will be made up and handed out in the next few days.” He said, standing aside and gestured out the door, a broad grin breaking out on his face. “See you in a week.”
 

***

 
Back out in the hallway the mood was somewhere near exuberant. The eight hopeful cadets chatted with each other, exchanging names and pleasantries. Soarin and Wave Chill joined them again, chatting enthusiastically with the potential new pilots that would join them.
Misty Fly however, was backed up against a wall, eying off her competition with a steely gaze, almost as if she could divine the best way to beat each of them with a simple look. Most of the other cadets avoided her, something which suited the introverted ex-Wonderbolt just fine. She was examining the second earth pony pair, apparently a duo of royal guards, when her silent ruminations were rudely interrupted.
“Howdy, names Applejack. Nice ta meet ya!”
Misty Fly instantly recognised the earth pony and the towering leviathan behind her as the first pair of earth ponies she’d first seen fight. She gave them a ‘Get your face out of my face before I rearrange it’ look but the talkative orange one seemed to miss the cue. Consigning herself to at least some social interaction she put on a level face.
“Misty Fly.” She answered boredly, wondering if she could learn anything from the blabbering yokel who had the audacity to annoy her. She flashed a look at her brother chatting animatedly with Wave Chill, silently willing for him to come distract the mare who seemed insistent to talk to her. He caught her look, a worried look instantly appearing in place of the smile he’d worn moments ago.
“Gee, you were one of them Wonderbolts weren’t you?” Applejack asked.
She rolled her eyes, would she ever say something that wasn’t already obvious? “That would be correct.” Misty answered icily. “What about you?” She asked, more so she could know her opponent rather than because of some social convention. She tossed a glance at Lighting Streak, slightly relieved to notice he was a few steps behind Applejack, perfect timing for her to slip away.
“We’re farmers, run one of the biggest apple orchards in Equestria.” Applejack said proudly.
A contemptuous look appeared over the ex-Wonderbolt’s face, all thoughts of vanishing silently going up in smoke. “Farmers?” She said disbelievingly.  “They picked farmers to watch my back?”
Applejack’s proud look fell off her face like a greased potato off a hot plate. She gnashed her teeth together, well aware that the Pegasus was now mocking her and Big Mac.
“Yeah, farmers.” She said lowly. “Got a problem with that?”
Misty scoffed quietly. “Well I’m sure glad you’ll know how to plough the fields when push comes to shove. Maybe they’re planning on using you as the chum. Farmers.” She jeered again disbelievingly.
“AJ…” Big Mac said cautiously, reflexively holding his sister back before she did something stupid. Applejack glowered at the Pegasus, resigning herself to simply glare and think angry thoughts for the time being. Misty Fly made another amused sound and trotted off without another word.
Lightning Streak glanced at her, smiling awkwardly. “Nice to meet you?” He said, desperately trying to salvage the situation before it completely crashed and burned.
“How ‘bout you just scamper off before somepony gets hurt.” Applejack snapped irritably, immediately regretting her sharp attitude. The poor pegasus was just trying to be nice, it wasn’t his fault his sister had her head so far up her arse it’d put a greedy dragon to shame.
A disappointed look crossed his face before he spun around, following Misty Fly with a slightly put-out gait. He seemed more annoyed with his sister than the Apple siblings, making Applejack wonder how often he went through what they’d experienced.
 “Something tells me she don’t like us.” Big Mac drawled.
Applejack shot a deadpan look at him but otherwise remained silent, her silence enough to get across what she thought of the Pegasus.
 

***

 
Lighting Streak was fuming. Why did his sister have to be such an arrogant, short-sighted half-troll? Any chance of an easy solution to this new problem seemed to have vanished faster than a platter of fritters at a hillbilly hoedown.
‘Okay, bad example.’ He thought sourly, wondering if there was some way he could easily patch things up between his sister and the Apple siblings. He scowled, the fallout from that little incident would probably carry over to him as well, a pity, as Applejack wasn’t exactly a mare lacking in the good looks department.
He felt his anger rise slightly, why did she have to ruin everything for him?
“Any reason why you have to be such a bitch?” Lightning Streak asked pointedly. The words were out of his mouth before he could pull them back, an accidental slip of the tongue that was bound to land him in trouble.
Misty fly snapped around like a lightning bolt, her eyes boring deep into her brother’s. “Excuse me?”
Much to his own surprise, he didn’t back down. He stood his ground, the worst she could do was beat him up. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the worst she could do but he figured now was a good a time as any to stand up to her. “Applejack and Big Macintosh, they seem like reasonable ponies. Why’d you have to go and take a metaphorical dump all over them?” He questioned. ‘And ruin any chance of me being friends with them while you’re at it…’
Misty fly bristled. “Do you really want a bunch of yokels with a few missing chromosomes watching my back? The humans might think they have potential but to me they’re just a liability.”
“And you think you’re better than them straight away, wow, that’s some superiority complex you’ve got there.” Lighting Streak shot back.
She scoffed haughtily “They’re farmers, I know I’m better than them.” She pointed out, the words flying out of her mouth with a venomous air about them. “I don’t to be coddling them when it comes to a real fight.”
Lighting Streak stared her with sudden clarity. “You think they’re competition. Don’t you? A threat to… to some perceived superiority you have over them.” He probed, receiving nothing more than a small annoyed grunt from his sister. He smiled to himself despite there being nothing remotely funny about the situation. “I know you well enough to know what you can and can’t handle; and know you can’t handle somepony that’s better than you.”
Misty brushed his words off remarkably well. “They’re nothing and they’ll never amount to anything other than being a weak link.” She said lowly, looking away before Lighting Steak could follow up. Lighting glared at her, wondering what her real stigma against the two ponies was, there was more than just her ego at work here.
“Come on, what is it? I’m your brother for Archon’s sake, you can tell me anything.” Lighting Streak said firmly. He kept his gaze level, determined to beat her at something… for once.
Misty Fly wavered slightly, she seemed to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown, something very uncommon for the usually well composed Pegasus.
“Yes, you’re my brother.” She snapped, her eyes starting to water slightly. Lighting Streak wasn’t sure if she was going to cry or yell at him, the mixture of emotions on his sister’s face an unusual combination.  She gave him a furious glare. “And that’s why I’m worried.”
He blinked in surprise. “Caring about somepony that’s not you? That’s new.”
Misty made a quiet noise that could’ve been a laugh. “Some bonds run deeper than others.” She said, before her steely attitude returned. “Besides, apparently this thing needs the two of us to work and I don’t trust anypony else, so I have to look after you.”
“Nice to know your heart hasn’t frozen solid sis.” Lighting Streak chuckled. “Look, it’s nice to know you’re looking out for me and all and I know this’ll be hard for you, but would you mind turning the bitchiness down a bit? It’s no reason to snap at them.”
“Respect is earned, not given.” Misty fired off rapidly, reverting to her usual self almost as quickly as she’d lapsed from it.
Lighting Streak groaned internally. This was going to suck.