Chapter 14
The Intrigue
An alarm ringing quietly next to Applejack’s head made her open an eye sleepily. It sounded familiar somehow, like something she’d heard countless times in training before.
Before she could fully process the thought she felt a hoof on her shoulder.
“AJ, get up. We’ve got trouble.” Big Mac said softly.
“What, what is it?” Applejack moaned, wishing her ribs didn’t feel like a hive of bees had taken up residence in them. It had been nearly a week since her dramatic fight with Misty, several days of awkwardly avoiding the pegasus in the halls and focusing on getting herself back into prime condition. Misty, much to Applejack’s surprise, had dropped the assault charges against her, making Applejack wonder if the pegasus was going to start playing nice. It seemed distinctly unlikely though as the first time she’d bumped into a still bandaged Misty, the pegasus had wasted no time in telling her how useless she was like she usually did. The attack had seemed less hostile than usual though, the usual edge and sneer of condescension missing from her voice. Applejack made an internal sigh of frustration, there was no telling what the cocky pilot thought of her.
“Kaiju alarm.” Big Mac explained, snapping Applejack back to the present. The tiny alarm suddenly seemed much louder, blaring urgently in her ears as some alien beast descended upon them intent on their destruction.
“We’re being deployed?’ Applejack asked, suddenly wide awake.
“Everypony is.” Big Mac said back. “Come on, we need to get moving.”
Applejack wasted no more time with talk, slipping out of bed and matting down the worst of her mane before setting off after Big Mac at a brisk pace. The older stallion led them up to the shatterdome’s LOCCENT, the unnervingly empty hallways echoing loudly with their hoofsteps.
“What time is it?’ Applejack asked, realising that they were the only ponies out.
“‘Bout four in the morning.” Big Mac said, stifling a yawn. “Too early to be working the farm even.”
Applejack made a quiet grunt in assent and focused on walking straight. The pain that had flared up in her ribs had faded to a dull throb that wormed its way persistently into her conscience, making her wonder if she’d be able to pilot Frontier Justice fine. She didn’t have time to voice these concerns to Big Macintosh though, as they rounded a corner and suddenly found themselves in a very busy command centre. Soarin and Wave Chill were already roosted up near the command terminal, fully suited up in their piloting equipment. Misty Fly and Lightning Streak sat just behind them, conspicuously bare compared to their two compatriots.
‘Right, Castle Bravo ain’t ready to drop yet.’ Applejack remembered, wondering how Misty and her brother would be feeling about that… probably pretty put out knowing them.
“Alright people, listen up.” A voice that could only belong to Shane barked out. Applejack spun around as the room fell silent, surprised to see the human also wearing a suit of armour. Unlike theirs, his was as pattern of brilliant white on black, standing out against the dull colours of the control room vividly. Michael followed behind him silently, also bedecked in a similar suit of interlocked plates. “We have a single confirmed breach, just a small Kaiju but we’re deploying everyone… not going to take any chances here though. A clear, flawless victory is what we want, understood?”
A chorus of affirmatives rang out around the room.
The LOCCENT chief came forward, looking slightly nervous. “We had a breach at urh…, around 0200. Dilation indicates a Category one class Kaiju.” He fiddled with a few controls and a rough silhouette appeared on one of the large screens overhead. He pointed at the series of large bumps which ran along what looked like the back of the creature. “Name is Quillback.”
“Luckily, he appears to be aiming for somewhere close by, outer district of Manehatten Island called Brookwater, if I were to guess right.”
Michael stepped forward again. “As Shane said, it’ll be a three team drop. Soarin, Wave Chill, you’ll be front-lining with us, standard patrol pattern.” He turned to look at Applejack and big Mac. “You guys will be holding the end-zone, stick along the shoreline. I know you want to be up front but you’re still injured.”
“Ah’m fine, sir.” Applejack protested.
“We still need someone up back in case this bastard somehow slips past anyway, your Jaeger is too slow to engage in a protracted pursuit.”
Applejack couldn’t argue with the logic behind his argument so bowed her head and offered no further protest.
He turned to Misty and Lightning Streak. “Sorry guys, you’re going to sit this one out.”
“Figured as much.” Misty said grouchily.
Michael gave her a fake smile. “Still, you can take this opportunity to maybe get some C&C experience.”
Misty shared a bored look with her brother. “Brilliant.”
Michael nodded contently. “Good, we all clear then?”
“Like good aquavit.” Soarin answered from the back of the room.
“Pardon?”
Soarin blinked, noticing that no one else had understood him. “Aquavit. It’s clear, sir.”
“Learn something new every day.” Michael said, his voice betraying his eagerness to get back into his Jaeger proper. “Right, let’s move!”
***
The next few hours were a frenzied rush of checks, preparations and pre-launch jitters which pushed the ground crew to the test. It wasn’t until well after sunrise that the first Jaeger was ready to roll down the ramp atop a new crawler on loan from the Equestrian Air Force. The mighty machine had arrived the day before last and everyone in the shatterdome was especially thankful for it now, the old Crawler Oh-Seven finally being condemned to the scrap-heap for the time being.
After filing out of the LOCCENT, Big Mac and Applejack were quickly fitted with their tight form-fitting drivesuits. They were heavier than the ones the duo was used to wearing, the thick plates and studier interface ports of the real suits much more noticeable than the ones fitted to the practice suits. The Jaeger bay was a short trip away from the suiting rooms, Frontier Justice being stored next to Castle Bravo near the head of the long bay. They brushed past a pair of technicians from Wild Mustang as they passed the catwalk leading out to the Jaeger’s conpod, the veteran Jaeger was already rolling out on the deck of a crawler.
Much to their surprise though were the two ponies waiting patiently at Frontier Justice’s docking berth. Leaning up against the wall with a bored expression was Misty Fly and behind her, a slightly more cheery Lightning Streak.
Applejack decided to ignore them, figuring they had just seen Soarin and Wave Chill off. It was a bit of a surprise then when Misty turned to her and spoke quietly.
“Hey.”
Applejack tossed her a sidelong glance, an expression mirrored somewhat more sternly by Big Mac. Despite his almost entirely phlegmatic outlook on life, he hadn’t taken kindly to Misty’s brawl with Applejack. The farmer was sure if he’d had the chance, he would’ve had a few things to say with his hooves to the pegasus.
Misty took their uncomfortable silence as a prompt to continue. “Look, I know we’ve never really…uh, seen… eye to, um. Eye.” She seemed to be really struggling with words, was it really that hard for her to admit her own fault?
”I just thought I’d, say, uh… Good luck.” Misty said, her eyes fixed on a small patch of flaking wall a metre to the right of Applejack’s head. She hardly seemed like she meant it but at least she was trying…
“Yeah, watch yourself out there AJ, I’d quite like you to come back in one piece.” Lighting Streak piped up.
Applejack suppressed a twitch. “Uh, Thanks.” She mumbled, fumbling with her drivesuit’s helmet awkwardly. She flashed a look at Big Mac, wondering if he’d say something so they could escape the increasingly awkward situation.
Misty looked around awkwardly, one of her forelegs idly swinging around slightly as the pegasus tried to figure out how she could leave without it feeling awkward. ‘Too late, it’s already awkward.’ Applejack thought stupidly.
“Well this is… uh, different?’ Misty struggled, looking at her brother for support but finding nothing other than a similarly blank expression.
Applejack looked at Big Mac, resisting the urge to laugh at the lack of basic social skills the normally proud and cocky pegasus was displaying. “Well, uh, this is our Jaeger I guess.” She said, happy to find a reason to get away from the other team. Misty’s behaviour was making her want to cringe and Lighting Streak… well, she wasn’t born yesterday; it was easy to see that he’d grown fond of her despite what Misty might’ve thought to the contrary. Make no mistake, he was a good pony, standing up for the two of them when things didn’t seem to be working out. Simply put though, she just didn’t feel that way about him.
The door leading out to the Jaeger bay swung open, allowing a technician to poke her head through the opening. “We’re ready to roll.” She announced, thankfully sparing any further awkwardness between the two Jaeger crews. She waved Applejack and Big Mac though and then quickly shut the door behind her.
As soon as the door had slammed shut Misty snapped around to look at her brother, a scornful look on her face. “You were an embarrassment.” She said flatly.
“And you weren’t, of course.” He said flatly.
Misty stuck her nose up slightly. “I think I handled myself just fine, thank you very much.”
He rolled his eyes dramatically. “Oh right, I’m sure your wonderful ‘speech’ would’ve made anypony applaud if they hadn’t been forced to remove their brains with a spoon to spare themselves the torment of listening to you.”
“And your fretful goodbye to your ‘gal’ was any better? I swear I felt my ears start to bleed.” Misty jeered.
Lighting Streak snapped his mouth shut and looked away. “Yeah, yeah.” He muttered through his teeth. His affection for Applejack was well known by his sister, a fact she remorselessly taunted him about at every opportunity she could. He’d hoped that with Misty’s opinion of Applejack (forcibly) improving, that she might give him a moment of respite but that seemed to not be the case.
“Don’t leave me Applejack, I don’t know what to do without you.” Misty cried with a remarkably good impersonation of his voice. She chuckled quietly, hoping that Applejack could still hear her through the thick steel door.
“Shut your face.” Lighting Streak growled back, trotting off before Misty could poke any more fun at him.
Misty made an amused sound in the back of her throat, completely unimpressed with her brother’s comeback.
***
The interior of Frontier Justice’s conpod was a welcome change to the interior of the Jaeger bay. The quiet, sealed environment was pleasantly cool, a stark contrast from the hot, steam filled Jaeger which echoed with clangs and shouts as the Jaegers were moved around. Besides the low purr of the Jaeger’s environmental systems and occasional beep from one of the control banks, the Jaeger was silent. The reactor buried deep in its chest was ticking over slowly, any slower and it’d shut down. The two pilots approached the centre of the cockpit, the floor neatly sliding away to allow the two ponies to clip themselves into the Jaeger’s systems.
“Those two seem… different.” Big Mac said quietly.
“You don’t need to tell me.” Applejack groaned, stifling a yawn and clipping herself into the Jaeger’s drivetrain.
“You know, Ah think that’s the first time she’s said anything nice to either of us.” Big Mac continued, happily accepting the two supporting cradles and snapping his control unit into place.
“Swell.” Applejack muttered, mimicking her brother’s actions a little more slowly.
“AJ?” Big Mac questioned. He’d have thought that Applejack would’ve been thrilled that their rival had at least started acting somewhat reasonably.
“Ah’m worried about a bit more than them at the moment.” Applejack admitted. She looked back at the locked conpod door nervously.
“Ah get it.” Big Mac said quietly. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
Applejack managed a weak smile. It was easy to tell that Big Mac was just as terrified as she was but he at least was making a good show of trying to keep it hidden. They were potentially about to face their first Kaiju and they hadn’t even taken a real step in a Jaeger yet.
‘Initialising pilot-to-pilot interface.’ The computer rumbled quietly, its voice whispering in through the back of the drivesuit’s helmet. Unlike the tinny sounds of the simulator It possessed a deep gravely quality, like two boulders being ground together in a deep quarry. ‘Initialisation complete, power-up sequence engaged.’
The conpod rumbled and creaked like a dog stretching itself after a nap, a few new lights dancing up on the control surfaces as the reactor quickly spun to life. The Jaeger jerked forward as its crawler’s tracks ground inexorably towards the wide doors yawning open at the end of the hall. Applejack felt a moment of vertigo, a brief flash if tumbling to the ground again before she returned to her senses; they were perfectly safe.
‘Pilot-to-pilot connection engaged, standby for Drift sequence.’ The Jaeger growled again.
Applejack barely had time to blink before what felt like a blue bucket of water was poured over her head. A rush of memories and feelings whirred past, a warmth from a fire in winter, the cold pang of despair as she tended to a failed crop, the sharp squeak of her sister’s voice as she munched on an apple messily… all condensed and rammed into the space of a microsecond. She instinctively wanted to shut it out but instead forced her mind open to accept a million unfamiliar memories, sights and smells that weren’t her own. As quickly as it had appeared, the icy water was scooped up and the world returned to normal, a new selection of lights and images appearing over their displays as the siblings fell into sync.
‘Neural interface achieved. Activating primary systems, bringing the Jaeger online.’ The computer thundered, its mechanical tone now considerably louder. With a creak of metal, Frontier Justice rolled forward, the top of the gaping metal doors passing scant metres above crest of the Jaeger’s conpod and then out into the warm early morning.
It must’ve been a shock to the local residents seeing not one, but three Jaegers roll down the shatterdome’s wide ramp in the morning. First had been Midsummer Night, the venerable Jaeger sporting its newly calibrated arm salvaged from Brawler Yukon and a wide box of missiles in place of its destroyed railgun.
Wild Mustang had rolled down next, the Jaeger stepping forward from the crawler eagerly as soon as it had reached the bottom of the ramp. It loosed a blast from its horn at the already departing Midsummer Night before plotting a course through the bay towards its patrol zone.
And last but not least came Frontier Justice, the sun gleaming from its fresh tan paint job and making it glow with an almost heavenly aura. This was a new Jaeger, one the public hadn’t seen yet and the brave (or stupid) ponies who had stayed out in the streets after the alert had been sounded stopped and stared at this new giant rolling down the ramp to protect them from an alien menace.
“Baby steps, AJ.” Big Mac said as the crawler slid to a halt and the crawler boss cleared them to step off. The two ponies looked down nervously, and after their last outing they were understandably nervous about the prospect of leaving the relative safety of the crawler’s deck.
“Like dunking for apples in a barrel.” Applejack said back nervously, taking a cautious step down. The weight of the Jaeger pitched forward slightly, then settled, as the Jaeger’s massive foot slammed down into the silty bottom of the bay. Applejack could feel the mud sucking at her hooves and the icy chill of water lapping at her knees. The feeling seemed so real she had to resist the urge to look down to check for water in the conpod.
A blip appeared on their tactical display, a large icon sitting out in the bay with shifting numbers underneath it, a marker for them to follow to their first mark of their patrol pattern. A rash of similar markers appeared one by one as either Michael or Shane uploaded a series of waypoints for them to follow.
Applejack shifted the Jaeger again, feeling a brief moment of resistance as the motors in the leg strained against the mud before pulling free. Frontier Justice lurched into a low, unhurried stride, pounding along the route marked out for them, an almost organic quality in their movements. Applejack let herself drift further into the shared consciousness, feeling the steady beat of Big Macintosh’s heart in her head and the panting of his breath as if it were her own. She could feel something else as well besides her brother, a low growl that snarled and lurked at the edge of her mind. She examined it, surprised to find it withdraw at her probe. It reminded her of a Timberwolf stalking its prey; it seemed to dart away when she focused on it and returned cautiously when she ignored it. She was tempted to bring the strange feeling to Big Mac’s attention but he seemed to have already noticed it as well, their shared thoughts giving him a front-row seat into her explorations of the drift.
‘Any idea what that is?’ Applejack asked mentally.
‘Nope.’ Big Mac replied truthfully.
Applejack frowned and pushed the feeling to the back of her mind, only for it to start scrabbling at the base of her skull like a persistent itch.
Applejack gritted her teeth together and tried to ignore it, instead focusing on the third waypoint. It almost seemed a little insulting, so much weight and power to throw around and here they were sitting back like a scolded child. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, it wasn’t normal her to be so… aggravated, impetuous even... she tossed a questioning look at Big Mac and he nodded slowly, evidently he could feel it as well.
She frowned. If it wasn’t him, what was causing it then?
Applejack was forced to dismiss the thought, the radio crackled to life as Soarin and Wave Chill reported in.
“We’re at the Mark, starting our sweep.” The pegasus said coolly. “I seriously can’t even see more than twenty metres ahead down here.” They were already out in deeper water, slowly patrolling several kilometres to their front. Midsummer Night was further south, guarding the southern inlet into the harbour. Frontier Justice itself was holding the harbour front, loudly marching a little over a hundred metres from the shoreline like a burly fullback protecting the backfield.
Applejack forced herself to relax, waiting for the calm to blow over was almost unbearable. It was unlikely she’d see combat but she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something big was about to happen.
“Contact… no, wait… it’s gone again. Strange…” Soarin piped up, his voice slightly distorted over the radio. Applejack heard a faint curse over the open link before the pegasus switched it off.
“LOCCENT, anything?” Shane barked, a faint pounding coming through the speakers as Midsummer Night pounded along the seabed somewhere to their south.
“Negative scopes are clear, actually… wait one-.”
Whatever the LOCCENT chief was going to say was cut off as Wave Chill cut across his transmission. “Got it again! At our 7 o’clock.” He yelled fearfully. The channel hissed with static and a yelp of pain and surprise for an agonisingly long moment before Wave Chill’s voice returned. “It blew right past us, couldn’t see a thing until it was right on top of us. We’re pursuing but it took a parting gift out of our leg. Damn that thing is fast!” He said, his voice warbling with interference.
“Oh hell.” Michael muttered. “Applejack, Big Mac. Looks like you’re up. Just hold it off for a few minutes, we’re on our way back in.”
‘Great’ Applejack thought. A few minutes may as well have been a few hours, most of the fights in the simulator were over in a matter of moments, the Jaeger either pounding the Kaiju into submission or being torn apart before a second engine could get involved.
She felt a quiet snarl of pleasure claw at the back of her mind but pushed it away, they had to focus now. She scanned the water closely, the harbour was probably too shallow for a Kaiju to swim past so the beast would be fairly obvious by the time it reached their position.
“There.” Big Mac said simply, marking out what looked like a large wave in the water on the tactical display. It was only a matter of moments away now, drawing closer and closer with worrying speed, an immense bow wave which swamped the few boats moored out in the harbour and dashed itself against the seawall with a mighty crash.
With a roar, the wave finally broke and a monster, a beast of unimaginable size and power spawned in a place that was the stuff of nightmares, rose from the bay. Water rushed in rivers down its thick, slimy hide, gleamed off its bony plates of armour and trickled down its long claws. Thin swirls of blue covered its forearms and its spiny back, a similar glow pouring from its mouth as it bellowed another alien screech. It looked like a grotesque hybrid between a Diamond Dog and a primeval lizard, an unnatural mix of smooth dark skin, chitinous plates and alien malice. An alien eye fully as big as Applejack locked onto them, a long and narrow pupil of the darkest black staring straight at the Jaeger. The creature howled again, slamming its meaty claws against the bed of the harbour in challenge. It loosed another intimidating roar which despite the circumstances, amused Applejack slightly; even if the creature had bothered to stand upright, it would’ve barely reached past the top of their shoulder socket. The difference in size didn’t seem to visibly faze it though, the beast howling and pounding away like a child throwing a tantrum.
“You know what Miss Pie always did for newcomers?” Big Mac drawled slowly.
“Threw ‘em a party.” Applejack responded automatically.
Big Mac looked at Quillback, his face lacking any emotion. “Ah think this fella needs cheering up.”
Applejack couldn’t help but smile, the creature did seem to be acting like a demanding child, even its baleful look seemed bang on. She moved her hoof down to the control panel and pressed a button.
Like a wrathful god, Frontier Justice’s fog horn rang out, the air between the two giants shaking as the giant bellowed out a single sustained note. The sound drowned out everything, the Kaiju’s roar seemed to die in its throat and turn to a pitiful whimper in comparison. The Jaeger growled, widening its stance and digging its feet into the thick mud. With another echoing boom from its horn, Frontier Justice smashed its two fists together eagerly, inviting the Kaiju to do something stupid, like charge it.
Instead, Quillback made an alarmed warble and took a step back. The desire to fight seemed drained from the Kaiju’s eyes, replaced by a sort of loathing fear. It took another step back before turning on a heel and running.
“Hey, get back here!” Applejack yelled, immediately breaking the Jaeger free from the sucking mud and giving chase. The Kaiju was breaking away though, bounding away on all fours like a frightened dog, yelping and howling as it finally realised it had picked the wrong mountainous metal monstrosity to pick a fight with.
“He’s getting away.” Big Mac said, pointing out the glaringly obvious with a sort of calm demeanour that he would’ve been more at place in their apple orchard.
“Ah can see that.” Applejack barked sternly. It occurred to her that the Jaeger had a harpoon and tow cable fitted for such a situation and she powered it on, wondering why she hadn’t thought of it sooner. A pair of orange circles projected itself over the view screen, zeroing in on the Kaiju.
‘Harpoon online, ready to fire.’ The computer growled, an insistent beeping coming from the drivesuit’s helmet speakers as the circles crossed over the Kaiju and tightened.
They didn’t need any more encouragement, the two harpoons whipping out from the Jaeger’s hips with a loud hiss like a pair of metal vipers. One smacked into the Kaiju’s back, ricocheting off its heavy armour harmlessly with a screech but the other found its way into the back of the Kaiju’s unarmoured knee, burrowing all the way through the joint and out the other side. With a howl of pain the Kaiju buckled, its knee completely destroyed by the nine metre long harpoon jutting through it. The heavy cable securing it to the Jaeger snapped taut for a moment, arresting the Kaiju’s forward momentum and leaving it writhing like a floundering fish in the middle of the bay.
“That was my one.” Big Mac said proudly, slowly reeling the line in.
“Lucky shot.” Applejack grumbled back, digging her feet into the mud again as the Kaiju tried hauling itself upright. Frontier Justice tilted forward as the Kaiju tried scrambling away but Quillback’s shattered knee, coupled with the sheer weight of the Jaeger at the other end of the line prevented it from getting more than a few metres. Frontier Justice closed to fifty metres, cautiously approaching the flailing Kaiju as the cable slowly reeled itself in. Quillback’s head whipped around and roared again, surging to its feet in an impressive display of tenacity. It charged at the Jaeger, loping forward awkwardly on all fours, screeching like a maddened Banshee. Big Mac warded its first frenzied blow away with a casual flick of the Jaeger’s wrist, leaving the roaring Kaiju open to the Jaeger’s other fist. Applejack didn’t waste a moment, slamming the other arm into the creature’s bony breastplate as hard as she could.
With a crack that left their ears ringing even through the conpod’s thick walls, the plate cracked into fragments, thin trails of blood and another vicious substance leaking out between the wild fissures that snaked along the armour plate. A few drops leaked into the bay and onto Frontier Justice’s fist, making the paint blacken and peel away. Quillback squealed in pain but leapt at the Jaeger again, adrenaline now fuelling its panicky motions. Applejack hadn’t expected it recover quite so quickly and barely caught its arm, one of its razor-sharp talons mere metres away from the conpod’s viewport.
With a mechanical whir Frontier Justice’s dexterous fingers wrapped around Quillback’s other gangly forearm and swung the suspended Kaiju at the ground like it would a sledgehammer. Quillback yowled in surprise, its claws tearing helplessly for purchase as it was yanked through the air with the grace of a whale piloting a blimp. It had a moment to enjoy the view of Manehatten before the unyielding ground rushed up again to meet it.
Tough as a Kaiju is, massive blunt trauma is no small thing. Bones cracked and blood vessels tore free as the Kaiju was slammed over and over again into the ground like an overly enthusiastic child with a toy. Its internal organs turned to paste, the consent pounding dashing them over and over again against its tough skeleton. It was only when Quillback’s unnatural eyes rolled up into its head and a faint whimper passed through its shattered maw did the Apple siblings finally dropped the beast, tossing it aside like a discarded lolly wrapper.
Applejack let out a sigh, panting heavily. Her ribs was starting to flare up again but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind. Big Mac gave the limp creature a cautious prod with one of their feet and let out a quiet chuckle. “All partied out.”
***
Needless to say, the atmosphere back in the Shatterdome could only be described as euphoric. No sooner than Applejack and Big Mac had stepped forth from Frontier Justice’s conpod they were swarmed by dozens of ponies, each more than eager to congratulate them, slap them on the back and cheer loudly. The LOCCENT chief was slightly less impressed, he was busy organising cleanup crews which were attending to the already decaying Kaiju’s carcass. A whole swathe of Manehatten’s waterfront was cordoned off and evacuated, Frontier Justice’s treatment of the Kaiju had done little to keep the beast intact.
“I had a date.” Torque complained dejectedly over the radio.
The mood sunk a little when Wild Mustang limped back into the shatterdome. The Jaeger had an ugly chunk torn out of its upper leg, sparks fizzing from shorted circuits and hunks of torn metal replacing the proud paint scheme the Jaeger had displayed. It would take at least a month or two to fabricate a new thigh and refit the Jaeger back to working order, leaving Soarin and Wave Chill slightly more sullen than anypony else.
The most dramatic change was in Misty Fly’s attitude though. when she congratulated Applejack and Big Mac, she didn’t look like she was addressing luggage. Applejack wouldn't have called her tone warm, but it was at least starting to sound somewhere near the realm of approachable.
It was almost midday before the shatterdome’s three operational Jaegers were stored, powered down and cleaned down of any Kaiju contamination, just in time for the chefs in the kitchens to roll out a massive feast to celebrate the pilot’s first victory. Plates of food stacked high were carted out, roast vegetables, pies, both savoury and sweet, sandwiches and other food besides prepared in such such quantity to feed the shatterdomes’s staff, a population that would have rivaled a large village.
Despite the good mood and mostly pleasant company, Applejack found herself unable to properly enjoy the festivities though, her thoughts continually going back to the itching snarl which had plagued the back of her head during the drift. She’d asked Shane and Michael but the two humans couldn’t provide any concrete information, leaving the farmer with more questions than she did answers.
***
Rainbow Dash yawned quietly, a ray of afternoon sun creeping between her eyelids and rousing her to wakefulness. She tried ignoring the sun for a few moments before remembering she was supposed to be working, maybe it was working checking if anything had happened while she’d been napping. She stretched herself out over her cloud, feeling her toned muscles strain themselves a few joints pop as she forced the rest of her body to wake up. Feeling that was at least awake enough to handle something resembling social interaction, she rose up on her haunches and looked over at the pony she shared the cloud with.
“Miss anything?” Rainbow yawned widely.
“Nope.” Thunderlane said back simply, lazing back against the soft Cumulus with his head against his fore hooves. He barely spared a glance in her direction, his entire attention focused on a small grey tuft which sped around the sky in a fashion that seemed decidedly unnatural for clouds.
“Rumble?” Rainbow asked with a tone that betrayed no sign of concern for the phenomenon.
“Yup.” Thunderlane answered.
“Figured.” Rainbow yawned again. “That kid has hardly left a cloud since I showed him how to make it rain on ponies.” She regarded the cloud with another idle glance. “Your brother’s a sadist.”
Thunderlane shrugged. Rumble wouldn’t ever hurt anypony, he just took after Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash well; he liked playing jokes on others.
Rainbow hid a quick smirk, at least Thunderlane had one redeeming quality. “What’s the time?”
“Around two, still a few hours till knock-off time.” Thunderlane answered wearily. “You know, I’m trapped on a cloud with the most beautiful mare in Ponyville for most of the day, you could at least try and make it fun for me.” He complained.
Rainbow Dash tossed him a silent look of disapproval. Thunderlane’s idea of ‘fun’ didn’t quite mesh with hers… just like a one metre wide square peg didn’t fit into a one centimetre wide octagonal hole.
Thunderlane took the look with a quiet snort of amusement. “Don’t know why I bother anymore.” He said with evident faux cheer.
Rainbow continued staring at him silently, the unamused expression never leaving her face.
A proverbial lightning bolt struck Thunderlane. “That reminds me, I’m taking next week off. Thought I’d get that out of the way now that I know for certain that you’ve said no for today.”
“Just like I do every day.” Rainbow shot back dryly. She dropped the nasty look she held and looked at Thunderlane curiously. “What do you need a week off for?”
“Wow, you really aren’t that bright. I took a week off last year at the same time, and the year before that, and the year before that…” Thunderlane jeered.
“Oh right, Brayford…” Rainbow muttered, allowing herself to feel a little foolish. The city of Brayford was host to a large festival around this time of year, Thunderlane seemed to always attend for some reason. Rainbow Dash couldn’t remember, but couldn’t be bothered asking about again.
“I’m taking Rumble this year, he loves the city. Mum and Dad took him a few times, but never to the actual festival. Said he wasn’t old enough.”
“He’s still just a kid.” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Would your mum and dad like you taking him?”
Thunderlane squirmed uncomfortably. “They’re not really in a position to complain.” He said lowly. The stallion brooded for a moment, his expression darkening for a moment. “Still, it’s a family tradition and I think he’d enjoy it.”
“Fair enough.” Rainbow shrugged. She didn’t really care what Thunderlane’s reasons were, if he was gone for a week though it simply meant having a week that she might actually enjoy.
“You could come.” Thunderlane suggested. “Well, next year at least. Good luck finding a place unless you wanna share a be-.”
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.” Rainbow warned.
Thunderlane smirked. “I’m thinking about it so hard. And you can’t stop me.”
Rainbow rolled over to look at him. “You are playing a very dangerous game, Thunderlane.”
Thunderlane smiled. “I don’t see you doing anything about it.”
A shrill scream and a torrent of childish laughter split the air but either of the pegasi paid it any heed. Rainbow’s glare narrowed as Thunderlane’s grin spread.
“Rainbow Dash!” A voice that Rainbow was all too familiar with shrieked.
Rainbow ignored it, she wasn’t done with Thunderlane yet.
“Rainbow Dash get down here now you- you-!” The voice called again, a mixture of highly unladylike language drifting as words failed the owner.
With a sigh of frustration, Rainbow Dash scurried forward on her belly and peered down at the street below, unable to ignore the mixture of anger and anguish which drifted up to where she and Thunderlane were roosted. Rainbow dash was completely unsurprised to see Rarity standing in the middle of the deserted street, her coat and mane dripping with water. She made a mental note to deal with Thunderlane later… a note she’d probably forget about anyway. He wasn’t worth her time, and she frankly had better things to do.
Like taking another nap.
“Oh, hey Rarity.” She said like she was completely surprised to see the unicorn. The sudden scream she’d heard before now made sense, the cloud Rumble had been ‘playing’ with had obviously found a target. Rumble himself though was nowhere to be seen, the cheeky colt having obviously fled the scene before anypony could properly hold him to account for his actions.
“You … you-!” Rarity spluttered, words failing her again as streams of freezing water trickled down her body. Although Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell which from her distance, it looked like Rarity was either shivering or shaking in rage… Rainbow sincerely hoped it was the first, Rarity was a downright pain when she got angry.
“Me?” Rainbow asked with a strategically hidden look of amusement. She waved Thunderlane forward, their animosity forgotten at the chance to have a good laugh at Rarity’s expense.
Rarity finally seemed to overcome the shock of having a cloud’s worth of water dumped on her head. “You know, Rumble used to be the most charming little colt before he started spending time with you!”
Rainbow shrugged her wings and stifled a laugh. “Lighten up, I’m just teaching to kid to have some fun.”
“That’s not my definition of fun.” Thunderlane snickered, receiving a solid kick to the flank for his trouble.
Rarity’s look of outrage panned over to Thunderlane, expecting the stallion to back her up. Her glare burned into the burly pegasus for a few seconds before he realised her scathing look had landed on him like a crosshair.
“Uhh...” He said noncommittally, unsure of which of the two mares he would rather stay in the good books of. Rainbow Dash thankfully saved him the trouble by leaning over the edge of the cloud and looking down at Rarity.
“What’da want Rarity? We’re kinda busy.” She asked pointedly.
“Yes, so busy keeping the sky clear that you can laze on a cloud for hours on end.” Rarity said scathingly.
“Sky’s clear, isn’t it?” Rainbow questioned.
Rarity didn’t want to admit this point so instead concentrated on restoring her mane to its previous state, wringing great fountains of water out of her hair with her magic. “Pinkie got a rather interesting parcel from Twilight and Applejack. It’s for all of us so I-.” She was cut off mid-sentence as Rainbow Dash shot upright, suddenly very interested.
“What is it?” Rainbow interrupted, nearly bounding up and down on the fluffy cloud excitedly.
Rarity let out a quiet huff of irritation. “I don’t know, we were all going to open it together.”
Rainbow Dash looked back at the cloud and then back at Rarity. It was tempting to curl up again, take another nap and then use Thunderlane as a punching bag but the prospect of something from Twilight and Applejack was too good to pass up. Maybe it would be some part of one of the mighty machines her friend piloted, or maybe a tooth from the creature Applejack and Big Macintosh had crushed not long ago.
“I’m going to go check this out, keep an eye on things Thunderlane.” Rainbow ordered, floating down to the ground with a single leisurely flap of her wings.
“Alright.” The stallion said dully. He gestured to the almost cloudless sky at large. “Looks like it’ll be a tough one, I can tell I’m going to have my hooves full.” He added dryly.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, just enjoy your cloud.”
“I’ll enjoy it faster once you’re gone.” Thunderlane jeered back.
Rarity snickered quietly, poorly hiding a small smile behind her hoof.
“Don’t encourage him.” Rainbow complained, moving away from the low hanging cloud as fast as she could without leaving Rarity behind. The unicorn had cunningly not told her where they were meeting, presumably so she would at least have somepony to talk to while she walked there rather than simply being left behind in a trail of rainbows and clouds of dust.
Rarity smiled thinly and continued cleaning her mane, making it look like a respectable mess, rather than the complete mess the wave of water had turned it into. She let Rainbow stew for a few moments, despite being part of the same group of friends it was fairly easy to say that Rainbow Dash and Rarity were the most distant; they rarely talked and even when they did the conversations usually ended up fairly one-sided.
“So you and Thunderlane..?” Rarity asked, prompting Rainbow’s face to screw up with disgust.
“Y’know, I think you make a point of bring that up at least once a week.” Rainbow butted in crossly. “And for what’s hopefully the last time, it’s nothing like that. I’m stuck with Thunderlane like Winona is stuck with fleas.”
“Then why are you always spending time with him?” Rarity pointed out.
“Because he’s my partner on the weather team. I’d much rather be stuck with him than have somepony like Flitter around all day, all she talks about is boys and doing her mane. Like you.” Rainbow shot back.
“And I suppose all you talk about is flying fast and going to the gym.” Rarity said flatly.
“One; I also talk about racing which is completely different to flying fast and two, I don’t go to the gym, I workout at home.” Rainbow corrected.
Rarity let out a quiet snort of amusement. “Fascinating.”
“Hardly.” Rainbow muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
Rarity made another quiet sound in the back of her throat and fell silent, unwilling to attempt a conversation again.
“So do have any idea what this thing is?”
“Other than a box, no. Spike wasn’t very clear.” Rarity responded idly.
“Spike eh, that means it’s at the library right?” Rainbow Dash asked, spreading her wings hopefully.
“I didn’t say tha- no, no, no- wait..!” Rarity exclaimed, too late as Rainbow took to the sky in a flurry of feathers and what felt like a miniature storm of swirling dust and leaves.
“Thanks Rarity!” the pegasus cried distantly.
Rarity sighed dejectedly. “You’re welcome…”
***
Much to Rainbow Dash’s surprise, Fluttershy and Pinkie were already at the Golden Oaks library when she arrived, the yellow pegasus sitting quietly in the corner with a book that could’ve been used to crush a small dog set in front of her. Pinkie on the other hand was bouncing around as she was usually prone to doing, occasionally knocking a book free with a careless swipe of her tail or mane. Spike padded along behind her with an annoyed expression, replacing any of the books that Pinkie knocked down as she bounded around like a destructive monster.
“Oh, hey.” Spike said flatly as he noticed the door swing shut. The young drake had been in charge of the library in Twilight’s absence, a task Rainbow would’ve found rather onerous at the best of times… still, there was no one else to do it and Spike didn’t seem to mind it that much. “Where’s Rarity?”
“Uh… she had to do her mane.” Rainbow Dash improvised quickly, looking around the library for the package Applejack and Twilight had sent them. Her eyes immediately fell on the small, beaten parcel sitting on the table in the centre of the library, the official looking stamps and large red ‘FRAGILE’ sticker instantly catching her eye. “This it?”
“Yup.” Spike answered, placing yet another book back on the shelf. “Pinkie, would you mind?”
“Sorry, I’m just so excited, I mean we haven’t heard from Applejack and Twilight for such a long time so this is really special!” The obnoxiously pink pony replied, stopping mid bounce and rooting herself to the hard wooden floor.
“Special.” Rainbow echoed, shaking the box cautiously. It certainly didn’t sound like anything interesting.
The door swung open and shut again as a slightly flustered Rarity swept into the library, her eyes immediately locking onto the back of Rainbow Dash’s head furiously.
“Oh hey Rarity.” Rainbow dash said cheerily. “Guess we can open this up now.”
The words had barely left Rainbow’s mouth before Pinkie tore into the package like a chainsaw into the trunk of a tree, strips of cardboard, tape and packing foam flying everywhere like pieces of shrapnel. Fluttershy dived behind her book, only poking her head out again once the dust had settled.
“A tape?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “That’s it?!” She swooped down into the debris of what had been the box, searching for something else amid the torn packaging.
“I think it’s… uh, splendid.” Rarity hazarded, levitating the large reel of tape up to eye level. She read it for a moment before turning to Spike. “Spike dear, be a darling and fetch the projector would you?”
Spike bowed lowly and scurried off to find the library’s projector, a cantankerous old machine that was well and truly past its prime but still used frequently enough to warrant it not being thrown into the trash.
“Found a letter.” Rainbow dash announced, pulling a miraculously undamaged letter from the pile of shredded packing material. She flipped it over, the front was covered in curly script that she’d come to associate with Twilight’s writing and the back was sealed with an official looking wax seal. Without waiting for anypony else she cracked the seal open and tugged the folded letter out from the envelope, he eyes quickly moving from side to side as she read down the page.
“Apparently this tape is a copy of some footage from when Applejack went out in her machine last.” Rainbow dash explained, her voice growing a little excited. She’d been following the Jaeger program closely and it was no surprise to her that her friend had done well against her first Kaiju.
“Anything else?” Rarity enquired.
“The usual. Miss you all, blah blah… come on, I want to see AJ kick some flank!” Rainbow Dash insisted, passing the letter off to Rarity.
“Oh, I don’t think fighting is really my sort of thing.” Fluttershy said, looking down at her still open book awkwardly. She seemed set to retreat to the edge of the library but Rainbow Dash caught her before she managed to flee.
“Come on Fluttershy, it’ll be fun.” She insisted, plopping Fluttershy down in the middle of the library. “Provided that Spike ever finds that projector.”
As if hearing her, Spike reappeared from the library’s store room, the dusty projector laden on a dubious looking trolley. He struggled with it for a few moments, shoving it so that it would shine onto a large projection screen Pinkie had been thoughtful enough to set up. It took Spike only a few more moments to set the old machine working, he was well acquainted with the correct procedures, and wasn’t prone to, say, putting the tape in upside down as many ponies seemed to be.
A slightly grainy image flickered into view and the four ponies fell silent as the picture resolved itself into a recording from one of Frontier Justice’s shoulder mounted cameras. There was a brief stutter and the image suddenly panned over a massive beast standing a little over knee-deep in the water. It howled at the Jaeger, although silent in the picture, its intent was well understood by its audience. The camera shook violently and the Kaiju paused, evidently the Jaeger had done something to intimidate it. The Kaiju took a faltering step backwards before turning tail and loping off.
“Yeah, run it down!” Rainbow Dash cheered, subconsciously rising half a metre of the ground in excitement. As if hearing her, the Jaeger started ponderously pursuing after its quarry, its slow pace being easily outstripped by the nimble Kaiju. She was worried that it was about to get away when a pair of metal barbs shot from the Jaeger’s hip, burrowed through the creature and tripped it over. The beast snarled silently again, leaping at the Jaeger like a coiled up jack-in-the-box. Their vision was obscured for a moment as a massive claw blocked half of the camera, scrabbling helplessly at the Jaeger’s heavy armour. The obstruction only lasted for a second, the massive Kaiju being hauled skyward and being swung around like a primitive club. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie cheered again, not noticing Fluttershy wince each time to the monster slammed into the unyielding earth. The Jaeger’s relentless assault continued until the creature finally lay limp, a shattered mess that was discarded with a casual ease.
“Yeah, Applejack! You rock that meanie!” Pinkie cheered as the film petered out with a clatter of flapping tape.
“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow Dash laughed. She looked around, noting that only Pinkie seemed anywhere near as enthusiastic as she was. Rarity had a flat look plastered over her face, sheer indifference and perhaps a trace of disgust pouring from her eyes. Fluttershy on the other hand looked like she was going to be sick.
“That was horrible,” she choked, “That poor creature… It was so scared.”
“Fluttershy, you’ve seen what these things do for yourself.” Rainbow said flatly, “Don’t tell me you’re starting to sympathise with them.”
“Well, maybe they’re not all like that.” Fluttershy rebutted. “Maybe it was just scared and lonely?”
“Yeah, sure. Lonely and hungry more like it.” Rainbow Dash said back flatly.
“Well, I think you’re wrong.” Fluttershy said with uncharacteristic conviction. She gave Rainbow Dash a dirty look, snapped her thick book shut and stormed out of the library.
“What’s her problem?” Rainbow Dash commented, as usual displaying her great insight into the minds of other ponies.
Rarity pulled an awkward smile. “Your social skills are an inspiration, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity said dryly, “I suppose somepony should talk to her before she does something rash…”
Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked at her blankly.
“I suppose that pony is going to be me, isn’t it?” Rarity continued, her voice so flat it made a salt plain look rugged.
“Shotgun!” Pinkie called out, bouncing up and down next to Rarity with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked, wondering belatedly if it was really a smart idea to question Pinkie’s thoughts.
The pink pony shrugged. “I call shotgun,” She said succinctly.
“Right.” Rainbow Dash said slowly, deciding that it was better to not inquire further. “Well, I don’t know about you two, but I really want to get in on this Jaeger thing.”
Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash like she thought she should be in an institution. “You want to be a pilot?”
“Yeah. Being a pilot is really hard, not many ponies can do it.” Rainbow Dash stated proudly.
“And you think you’ve got the stuff I suppose.” Rarity said, an eyebrow arched gracefully over one eye.
“Think so? I know so.” Rainbow said back proudly.
“And what about your dream of joining the Wonderbolts?” Rarity asked.
“Well, like half of the Wonderbolts are already in the Jaeger program. All the good ones anyway.” Rainbow said with a dismissive wave.
“Well that’s good for you Dashie, maybe we can pilot one together?” Pinkie exclaimed, standing up on her hind legs with well-practised ease and making a range of mechanical noises with her mouth. She took a step forward, wobbled precariously for a moment before tumbling over and landing in a pile.
“Might still to work on that a bit, Pinkie.” Spike said, carefully reshelving a few books which had toppled down along with the bubbly pink pony.
“Yeah… besides, I’m not really sure if we’d match up too well Pinkie.” Rainbow said cautiously.
“What do you mean? We’re like two peas in a snuggly wuggly pod.” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling Rainbow Dash into a rib-breaking hug any grandma would be proud of.
“Uh… right.” Rainbow wheezed, struggling to free herself before Pinkie crushed something vital.
“I think what Rainbow dash is trying to say is that you might not be looking at it from quite the same point of view.” Rarity explained gently, wondering if she needed to find a crowbar to lever Rainbow Dash out of Pinkie’s hug.
“Whaddya mean?” Pinkie asked, deflating slightly but keeping her iron-strong grip on Rainbow Dash
Rarity searched for the right words for a few moments “I think Rainbow here might be taking it a little more seriously than you are.”
“Pinkie you can let go of me now...” Rainbow coughed.
“But I am being serious about it.” Pinkie protested.
“Can’t breathe…”
“Pinkie, please don’t be offended when I say this… but she wants to do her best, show the world what she’s made of. You on the other hand just seem like you go in and have a laugh, make an adventure out of it.” Rarity explained insightfully.
Pinkie looked down at the Rainbow maned pegasus she still had her forelegs wrapped around. “Oh, ok.” She tilted her head to the side like a curious dog and smiled at Rarity. “That makes sense I guess, no offence taken.”
“Brilliant, now I think you should let Rainbow go before you choke her, her face is turning blue.”
“Her face was already blue.” Pinkie pointed out.
“Bluer than normal.” Rarity stressed.
“Oh, so it is.” Pinkie said like she’d found a stray Bit behind the couch and released Rainbow Dash from her hold. The pegasus immediately took to air, gliding through the library and landing up in the loft with a relieved groan.
“Rarity’s pretty much right.” She said, peering over the edge of the raised reading area suspiciously.
Pinkie sighed wistfully. “I just wish I could go with one of my best friends.” She said, wasting no time in shifting her hopeful look to Rarity.
“I don’t think it’s really my sort of thing, dear.” Rarity said as if she was warding off a persistent vacuum cleaner salesman.
Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, it was worth a shot.”
“What about Maud?” Rainbow asked helpfully.
Pinkie perk up a bit, as if the thought had somehow escaped her mind. “That’s a great idea, I’m sure Maud would be thrilled at the idea!”
Rainbow wanted to point out that the words ‘Thrilled’ and ‘Maud’ probably weren’t quite the right combination but enough common sense to keep her mouth shut and let Pinkie ramble on a little longer.
“What bout you Dashie? Who’d you partner up with?” Pinkie asked, her head tilted to the side like a curious dog.
Rainbow stammered awkwardly for a few moments, the thought hadn’t really crossed her mind at all. She was so convinced she had the guts to pilot a Jaeger but had completely neglected the fact that unless she wanted her brain to start running out her nose, she needed somepony else to do it with. “I dunno.” She managed, loathe to admit that she hadn’t thought of it at all.
“Something to think about then, eh?’ Pinkie suggested.
“It’s not quite as easy as it sounds Pinkie.” Rainbow shot back. “My co-pilot would have to be able to keep up with me, not an easy task, I can assure you.”
“Oh yes, their ego would have to be even more grating than your own, I’m sure that’ll be easy to find.” Rarity interjected. “If only you could clone yourself, you’d feel right at home.”
“Don’t be ridiculous..” Rainbow scoffed, oblivious to the sheepish grin Pinkie wore.
“Well then, my dear, tell me whom you would go with go with?” Rarity persisted. “I can’t think of anypony that suits your very demanding requirements.”
Rainbow Dash racked her mind. Nopony around town that would suit her sprang to mind. Besides her friends she didn’t have many ponies she was close to… and she wouldn’t trust some random stranger inside her head.
“How about Thunderlane?” Rarity teased, enjoying the frustrated look that spread across Rainbow Dash’s face as she tried to think of somepony else.
“Ugh, you’re making it hard to think.” Rainbow Dash complained, shuddering at the thought of piloting a Jaeger with Thunderlane. She needed somepony more serious, somepony who was both rock hard and sufficiently awesome. She struggled for a few more moments, trying to not look at the obnoxiously cheery look Rarity still had plastered over her face when a thought suddenly came over her. She smiled thinly. Yes, that’d do quite nicely…
She turned to Rarity, a confident smirk on her face. “I got an idea.”
***
The bridge of the REN Apocalypse was uncharacteristically quiet, a rather uneventful evening that seemed remarkably out of place in the warship’s usually bustling command centre. A mere light frigate in the Royal Navy, the Apocalypse’s only noteworthy feature was its name, a title inherited from a destroyer which had originally served with distinction in the Griffon-Equestrian war dozens of years ago. The frigate was sailing off the coast, en route to a rendezvous with a resupply vessel before finally returning to its homeport in Fillydelphia, still almost another week distant The Apocalypse had been out for several weeks already, laying and conducting maintenance on a series of sensor-buoys moored in deep water off the coastline. They’d been lucky enough to miss the Kaiju attack on Manehatten, the creature skirting far north of their operational area. That was almost two weeks ago, though, and now was old news, even if the crew still continually talked about the crushing victory the Jaeger Corp had enjoyed over the monstrous alien.
A light breeze was blowing in from the south, making the thick cloud cover which heralded a distant storm race across the sky like shadowy streaks. A few rays of moonlight peeked through the thick cloud cover but the ocean was mostly a massive black shifting mass, creating a light swell which made the frigate rock back and forth in a hypnotic manner. The ship’s crew were tired, the change of watch was near and many of the 124 strong crew still on duty were wistfully dreaming of their bunks below decks.
The commander of the ship, an old earth pony named Pastel found himself slouching in his chair, his eyes lazily focused on the young officer manning the con. He’d commanded the Apocalypse for nearly fifteen years, fifteen years of feeling the faint rumble of engines below deck and hearing the now familiar squeaks and groans that the old ship had acquired over its long service.
“Sir?”
Pastel ignored the quiet voice, his mind lost in a swirl of memories and fatigue.
“Sir?” The voice said again.
Pastel finally snapped from his stupor, turning his head to see his XO standing behind him, his face bearing an inkling of concern. “The watch is changing.”
“Ah yes, of course.” Pastel said, finding himself loathe to leave the bridge. He’d been dreaming of the lead up to the Kaiju attack in Bolton. He had been absent when that order had come through and since it seemed that when anything bad happened, it happened when he was off duty. An electrical fire in the engineering spaces last week? He’d been asleep in his quarters. Two crew falling overboard? He’d been eating lunch in the wardroom. What was next in store when he left his post? He shuddered, a wave of paranoia washing over him. He was tempted to stay on the bridge for a while longer but he’d already pulled a triple watch, his underlying paranoia driving him to the edge of exhaustion.
He needed to sleep though, and the next four hours had promised to be uneventful, the weather was forecast to pick up in the late morning, but for now even the wettest of sailors could have navigated the waters they were sailing through. The majority of the crew was below decks, sleeping away or attending to other duties and for what felt like the first time since the voyage had started, Pastel felt like he could leave his paranoia at the door and actually have a reasonable night’s sleep. He gratefully surrendered the commander’s chair to the XO, slinking out of the bridge along with a few other crew who were fortunate enough to be relieved. Pastel found himself smiling as he clambered down a steep staircase. It was almost funny how worried he’d been about something bad happening, completely unjustified! What was he doing losing sleep over it? There was nothing wrong.
Nothing wrong at all.
The entire frigate suddenly shook from end to end, a grating sound of metal shearing and bending tearing at Pastel’s ears. The deck suddenly bucked sideways, slamming Pastel against the bulkhead. The world seemed to spin around as the boat slewed hard to starboard. It didn’t take a genius to figure something bad had happened.
Picking himself off the wall which had temporarily become the floor, Pastel galloped back to the command bridge, dodging a few other injured crew who had had just finished their watch and were heading back to their bunks. An alarm was howling now, the ship had already gone to general quarters.
“What the heck just happened?!” He barked as soon as he entered the bridge, his exhaustion very much forgotten in the wave of adrenaline that now pumped through his veins.
“There was another ship! Came right out of the night and nearly ran us over, sir!” The executive officer explained, helping another pony to her hooves. “We spotted it at the last moment, and got out of the way. Barely.”
Pastel’s mind spun into overdrive, how had his crew missed another ship so easily? “Damage?” He asked automatically.
His XO shook his head unsteadily. “Still trying to figure that out.” He winced and raised a wing, a few streaks of blood running down his flank and wing from where fragments of the shattered bridge windows had torn through him.
“Get down to the medical bay.” Pastel snapped, snatching up a pair of magnifiers that had tumbled against the wall. He dashed out to the lookout post of the starboard side, searching the waters for the rogue craft which had nearly totalled his frigate.
“There, sir. Bearing… uh, 081.” His XO pointed out, stubbornly staying on deck despite his injury.
Pastel glared through the magnifiers, easily making out the tail of a retreating freighter. It was a massive ship, easily twice the size of his own. It was a miracle it hadn’t torn them in half.
“Get after it. Prepare a boarding party and get me a casualty and damage report on the double.” Pastel growled.
“Sir, what about the wound-.”
Pastel’s eyes shot fire at his executive officer. “That bastard just rammed us! Get us underway now, I want her captain’s head on a platter!”
The officer baulked. “Yes sir.”
Pastel felt perhaps a little guilty for being so stern with the pony, but who could blame him? He stared after the freighter again, noticing that its running lights were off and the ship didn’t appear to have even noticed that it nearly crushed the frigate beneath its bow. The deck shifted again as the frigate came about, the water behind them churning and frothing as the propellers noisily spun up to speed and started slicing through the water. They quickly gained on the lumbering freighter, the light frigate cutting through the light ocean swell with the ease of a knife through butter. The bow was bent at a slight angle from the collision but the Apocalypse carried on unfazed, eagerly churning after the ship which had so nearly sent it to the bottom.
“Got a name off the stern. RV Intrigue. It’s an Equestrian registered trading vessel, sir.” The officer of the watch piped up.
“What’s it doing so far out of the trade lanes?” Pastel mused.
“Not a clue.” The watch officer said after an uneasy moment, scanning the lifeless ship with another pair of magnifiers.
The frigate drew up alongside the massive freighter, the lack of any sign of the ship’s crew starting to concern Pastel. Certainly they’d be able to see the frigate now, the dozens of lights along the forecastle alone made it fairly hard to miss. Heck, how had they missed them in the first place?
“She’s not responding to our hail, sir.”
“Is the boarding party ready?” Pastel asked, the familiar sense of paranoia making his hooves itch slightly.
“Waiting for the word.”
Pastel let out a frustrated sigh. “Send them in then.”
***
Breeze checked and then double checked his harness, wearily shaking the sleep out of his eyes. He could barely follow the barked orders of his team leader, never mind play with the fiddly straps which held the flexible device together. He yawned quietly, wishing he could just go back to his bunk and go back to sleep. He had just pulled a double watch, now he had to board a vessel which had apparently come out of nowhere, and nearly turned them all into a big soup can.
Not exactly his idea of a fun time.
Breeze’s thoughts were broken by a loud yell. “We are a go, everypony out on deck!” His team leader, a rough pegasus that everyone simply called Boss, barked. Breeze stifled another yawn and trooped out, the sea spray and cool breeze which blew in from the south instantly snapping him from his drowsy trance.
“Team one, we’re securing the tower. Team two will provide security from the fore deck and sweep the holds.” Boss barked, spreading his wings and snapping the heavy illuminator on the crest of his helmet on. A moment later the rest of the team followed suite, following their leader into the remarkably pleasant flight conditions. A few loud cracks indicated that the unicorns of team two had teleported across the gap between the two ships, no small feat considering the distance and the unsteady nature of both vessels.
Boss looked down on the dark ship, already pointing out the obvious signs of trouble. “No crew on deck. No lights either. Ship looks like it’s in a bad way.” The pegasus pointed out a series of deep lacerations in the flanks of the ship, like a monster had clawed its way out of the water and onto the deck. Breeze immediately thought of the Kaiju, massive alien beasts which everypony was all too familiar with. They had fought at Bolton and watched with horror as the invading monster had waded through their fleet’s shell storm like it was a barrage of eggs.
“Think it was one of them Kaiju, sir?” Breeze asked nervously.
“I think if a Kaiju attacked, we wouldn’t be searching a boat.” Boss said back gruffly. “Looks more like pirates.”
Breeze frowned. Pirates? They were basically unheard of these days, real ones anyway. Besides, why would pirates raid a ship and then leave the cargo untouched? From up high, he had a perfect vantage point of the containers on deck and as far as he could tell, they seemed to be in fairly good condition, bar a few which looked like little more than twisted and buckled metal sheets. He pointed this out to Boss.
“Beats me.” The veteran grunted back, angling down towards the raised crew area at the back of the ship. They clattered down with a soft thud, the eight pegasi making up the first team instantly splitting up expertly into pairs to secure key sections of the ship.
“Breeze, on me. We’re clearing the bridge.” Boss whispered, starting up the narrow flight of steps that ran along the side of the ship’s tower.
They cautiously advanced up the stairs, the only noise the distant rumble of the ship’s engine and the occasional gust of wind which whistled eerily between the rails. The ship was completely dark, the only illumination coming from Breeze and Boss’ headlight, and the faint moonlight that occasionally broke through the cloud cover. Shadows leapt out at the two pegasi as they climbed higher, unnatural, impossible shapes and figures that only retreated into more familiar and friendly forms as soon as one of their headlights swept across it.
“Where is everypony? Ship like this should have at least a few dozen crew.” Boss muttered, wincing as one of the steps creaked unnervingly underhoof.
A sudden crash made them both spin around in alarm. They relaxed slightly, realising it was just the wind blowing through an unsecured shutter. Breeze shuddered, unable to shake the sensation they were being watched. He approached the edge and stared over the side, staring impassively into the black water. Breeze swore he saw a small shape shift beneath the surf but dismissed it as a trick of the light and his growing sense of paranoia.
“This place gives me the creeps.” Boss said quietly, fastening the shutter shut so it wouldn’t startle them again.
“Yeah, creepy.” Breeze agreed, quickly trotting away from the edge and up the last stairwell to the bridge. He could see the Apocalypse powering alongside some two hundred metres away, the ship’s lights bouncing and bobbing erratically in the light swell. Breeze caught himself staring at his home, wishing for nothing more than to be off the derelict and back in his warm cabin with his shipmates.
They reached the top of the staircase, silently creeping onto the ship’s port lockout post. Like the rest of the ship it bore extensive damage, the deck ripped and buckled as if it’d been torn up by a plough. He frowned, the damage here looked different to the scars further down, almost as if something completely different had torn the deck apart. It looked unnervingly like a set of claws had done the deed, a disconcerting fact considering that each mark was nearly half as wide as Breeze’s leg.
“This door looks like it was forced open.” Boss noted, pointing out the broken hinges and slightly twisted frame that lead to the bridge. That was enough to cause concern, the door was no light affair and whatever had forced it open seemed to have done it with an almost casual ease. The two pegasi hesitated, neither wanting to enter the pitch-black interior of the Intrigue’s bridge.
“You first, Boss?” Breeze suggested with an uneasy laugh.
“Not a chance kiddo. Get in there, I’ll be right behind you.” He grunted, giving Breeze a gentle push forward.
‘Just had to open your mouth didn’t you?’ Breeze thought sourly, taking a cautious step over the threshold and sweeping his headlight slowly around the deserted room. Nothing leapt out to attack him from the shadows so he took another step in, careful not to trip over the slightly raised doorframe.
The bridge was a complete wreck, controls were shattered and broken, several chairs were scattered across the deck in pieces. Most concerning though was the apparent lack of crew, dead or living. It reminded Breeze of an abandoned schoolyard, an area that should’ve been bustling with activity but instead was as still as a tomb.
“Looks clear, boss.” Breeze whispered, taking another cautious step forward. He swept his headlight over the exposed girders on the roof, flinching at every shadow that jumped out at him.
“Check the logs, I’ll see if I can’t get us some more light.” Boss ordered, stooping down over the shattered consoles that controlled the ship’s lighting.
Breeze nodded and searched through all the bridge’s cabinets for something, anything that could give him an inkling to what had happened to the ship and the crew. Frustratingly though, everything was empty, even a half-eaten stapler he found was missing its staples.
‘Wait, half-eaten?’ He thought, backtracking slightly and examining the small device curiously. Sure enough one edge looked like it had been chomped at viciously, or more accurately melted away. “Boss, what do you make of that?” He said, throwing the stapler to the pegasus with a casual flick.
“Who the heck eats a stapler?” Boss mussed, giving the small contraption a curious glance before tossing it away with a surprisingly loud crash.
“Something that doesn’t know better.” Breeze guessed, spinning around as the sound of hooves on the stairs outside suddenly rang in his ears. He and Boss pressed themselves against the wall, only relaxing when a member of Team Two stuck her head around the door.
“Sir, we swept the lower decks. No sign of anypony. All the documents are missing as well, manifests, logs, navigation charts... you name it, we don’t have it.”
Boss let out a breath he had been holding. “Maybe the crew abandoned ship? Place looks pretty beat up.”
The unicorn shook her head. “Lifeboats are still on board. If they jumped ship, they certainly didn’t use them.”
Boss frowned, it was starting to sound more and more like a pirate raid to him. “What about the cargo?”
“Everything seems to be in order down below, sir. Nothing suspicious onboard either.”
“I don’t think it was pirates.” Breeze chimed in. “They wouldn’t raid the ship’s logs and unless they were incredibly well trained, they couldn’t take the boat without a distress signal being sent out. And the crew, there’s no sign of them at all… and I’m fairly sure any pirate would’ve demanded a ransom for anypony they captured by now.”
“By now?” Boss queried.
Breeze pointed out a small clock that was smashed on the main console. “That thing reckons its three days ago.”
Boss examined the small analogue calendar set just below the clock. “Good eye.” He turned to look at Breeze with a look that crossed somewhere between amusement and condescension. “Alright then detective, what happened?”
“My nephew knows more about the tooth fairy than I do about this.” Breeze muttered, both pleased and terrified that Boss was at least willing to entertain to his ideas. “I haven’t got a clue, sir.”
“Well then until you can come up with a better idea, we’re operating under the premise that this was a pirate attack.” Boss said pragmatically. His tone suggested that he didn’t believe it though, there hadn’t been a pirate raid in living memory around these parts for starters, nor did it explain the heavy damage the ship had suffered or the mysterious disappearance of the Intrigue’s crew and every document on board.
“In the meantime, sweep the vessel again and try and get this hulk under control.” He pointed to the other pony. “You, get some ponies down to the engine room and see if you can’t turn them off.” Boss turned to Breeze. “You, get back to the Apocalypse and report what we’ve found to the Captain.”
Breeze nodded, thankful to be leaving the ship for now. “Yes sir.”
“Whatever happened here, he’s is not going to like it.”