//------------------------------// // A Sequence of Rescues // Story: Mobile Equestria Girls Gundam 00 // by Scipio Smith //------------------------------// A Sequence of Rescues “Now, class, we have a new student joining us today, so I want you all to make her feel welcome,” Cheerilee said. “Everyone, this is Scootaloo.” Cheerilee waved Scootaloo in from outside the classroom, so Scootaloo opened the door and walked in with a catlike grace, her eyes darting in all directions as she analysed threat levels, escape routes, and searched for her target. She found her, sitting on the second row, her red hair tied back in a large bow: Apple Bloom. Scootaloo stopped walking, turned to face the class, and bowed. “Hello.” Cheerilee smiled slightly. “So, Scootaloo, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?” Scootaloo’s booted foot slammed into the floor as she sprang to attention. “My name is Scootaloo. My hobbies are flying and maintaining engines. Thank you.” She bowed again. The rest of the class stared at her. Nobody said anything. Scootaloo waited for something to happen. Should I bow again? “Thank you, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee said. “Now, why don’t you sit at the free space next to Apple Bloom? There’s no need to be nervous.” Nervous? Scootaloo thought. Why would I be nervous? She had been shot at, she had fought in mobile suit combat, she had once suffered damage to her ejection system and been trapped in a crippled helion while a battle raged around her. Compared with that, why should high school hold any terrors for her? Scootaloo walked between the desks and students and sat down at the seat indicated, to the left of her target. Her orders were simple: gain Apple Bloom’s trust and discover exactly what she knew about Celestial Being. As missions went, it was one of the easier objectives she had ever been assigned. Not so simple as the time she had been ordered to take out a drone squadron, simpler than the time she and Sunset had had to destroy a fuel depot together. Surely she, a spy and soldier, would have no difficulty gaining the trust of an ordinary high school girl. “Hi there,” Apple Bloom said cheerfully. “My name’s Apple Bloom, and this is my friend Sweetie Belle.” “Hi,” said a white girl with lilac and pink hair as she waved at him. “Hello,” Scootaloo said. She opened her mouth to say something else… but nothing came out as Scootaloo hit the snag that instantly made this mission a whole lot harder than blowing up fuel dumps or ambushing aid convoys: having been raised from a young age in a camp full of mercenaries, she had absolutely no idea what to say to high schools who did not, presumably, care about weapons, mobile suits, battle tactics or the minutia of engine, vehicle or weapon maintenance. Fortunately, Apple Bloom came to her rescue. “So when you said you liked flying, what did you mean?” “Are your parents really rich and have their own plane?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Quiet now, class is starting,” Cheerilee declared, giving Scootaloo time to think of an answer that did not involve explaining that she usually flew her custom red helion with go-faster stripes. The class was history. Scootaloo found it interesting enough, mainly because she didn’t know any of it – education hadn’t been a top priority for her amongst the Nightmare Company – but tried very hard not to get called upon to answer in class. Unfortunately, no one seemed to want to be called on in class, making it completely random who would get picked, and so Scootaloo was once called upon to express her ignorance of the history of the Pony Reform League. While in class, Scootaloo also noticed a body paying close attention to Apple Bloom. His skin was grey and his hair was black, and he kept on shooting glances in Apple Bloom’s direction. Scootaloo wondered if he might be Apple Bloom’s boyfriend, but then how to explain the dirty looks that he kept getting in turn from a pink-skinned young lady with a crown set among her grey-and-white locks. Besides, pre-mission intelligence had not mentioned a boyfriend. Was he a threat then? Perhaps, but Scootaloo could handle a high school boy, she had been trained in hand to hand combat by Nightmare Moon herself. Unless he was a plant just like she was, for the Reform League government or another mercenary company that had put two and two together like Nightmare had. Or had could be a bodyguard for Apple Bloom, assigned by Celestial Being to protect her. Assuming that Nightmare Moon was correct, and Apple Bloom had valuable intel. Scootaloo leaned in. “Who’s that guy?” Apple Bloom followed the line of Scootaloo’s gaze. “Who, Rumble? What about him?” “He keeps looking at you,” Scootaloo said, and as she spoke Rumble snatched another furtive gaze in Apple Bloom’s direction. “Maybe he likes you,” Sweetie Belle whispered. “Nah,” Apple Bloom said, shaking her head. “We would have heard somethin’ if he’d broken up with Diamond Tiara.” “She doesn’t look too happy about him right now,” Sweetie said. “Ahem,” Cheerilee said sternly. “Would you girls like to pay attention or will I keep you in after class?” “Sorry Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said solemnly. “Sorry,” Scootaloo murmured, feeling no better off now than she had been before. Rumble was not, it appeared, Apple Bloom’s boyfriend; mission intel had been accurate. But that did not mean that he wasn’t a threat, except that he was not, as she was, a new transfer student: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle knew him and his relationships. Unless someone was playing a long game and had inserted Rumble into the school some time ago. But Celestial Being had only been public knowledge recently. Unless someone knew that this was all coming a long time before Celestial Being’s activities began. No, that was hardly possible. Nobody stood to gain by Celestial Being’s activities, so if anyone had known about them they would have put a stop to the campaign before it started. Wouldn’t they? Class finished, and everybody went to lunch. Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle from a discreet distance. She noticed that Rumble was doing the same, not seeming to pay much attention to that other girl, Diamond Tiara, for all that she was talking his ear off. Scootaloo got her lunch, and then approached the table that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were sharing. “Can I sit here?” she asked. The two girls looked at one another. “Sure, I guess,” Apple Bloom said. “Thank you,” Scootaloo said, as she sat down. “You don’t smile very much, do you?” Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo blinked. “Smile. Why would I smile?” “Why? Ain’t you happy?” Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo shrugged. “I don’t know. How would I know if I was happy?” The two girls exchanged another glance. “You’re kind of weird, aren’t you?” Sweetie said. “Like…why don’t you eat something?” Scootaloo put a couple of chips in her mouth. “Do you like it?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo nodded. “Then you should show it on your face,” Sweetie Belle said. “Hey, girls,” Rumble said, providing another much-needed rescue for Scootaloo. His voice trembled a little as he said, “So, what are you doing? Is this seat taken? Can I sit here?” Apple Bloom looked at him, “Uh-“ “Rumble!” snapped Diamond Tiara, slamming her tray down on another table. “What are you doing?” “I’m sitting down for lunch?” Rumble ventured. “I can see that you dummy!” Diamond yelled. “What I want to know is why you’re sitting with those losers when you’re supposed to be eating with me?” “I can’t sit where I like?” “Of course not!” Diamond shouted. “Not if you still want to be going out with the most popular girl in school.” Rumble’s eyes widened with panic. “Diamond Tiara, now wait a minute! Don’t do anything to hasty!” Unfortunately for him, Diamond Tiara had already turned on her heel and started walking away. Rumble dashed after her, babbling apologies. “She really doesn’t like us, does she?” Sweetie said. “She’s never liked us,” Apple Bloom replied. “More importantly, what’s with Rumble all of a sudden?” That’s a good question, Scootaloo thought. What is with Rumble? Rainbow Dash sipped on a mug of cider while she waited for the other meisters to arrive. She was stood at a little table in the lounge of the civilian departure bay for the PRL Orbital Elevator. In the docking bay just beyond, shuttles were continually running up the elevator into space, before descending back down again. Here, in the white, almost sterile lounge, devoid of colour save for a few couches of dark leather, there was just a hubbub of people waiting to board their designated shuttle. Rainbow watched them idly, trying to spot her fellow meisters through the press. “Come on, what’s taking all you guys so long?” “I hate to criticise, Rainbow dear, but don’t you think it’s a little early for that sort of thing?” Rarity asked, indicating the cider as she walked up to her table, clad in a not especially inconspicuous civilian ensemble that included a white jacket with a fur trim, a short black skirt and high boots and a purple scarf draped fetchingly around her neck. Rainbow replied, “Well, if you guys would have got here sooner then I wouldn’t have gotten bored, would I?” “Well excuse me for wanting to say goodbye to my sister,” Rarity said, a touch of asperity creeping into her voice. Rainbow’s eye was drawn to a large gathering of teenagers, and to the harassed looking teacher attempting to marshal them into some semblance of order. She sort of recognised Rarity’s little sister, and soon spotted Applejack talking to her little sister. As Rainbow watched the two hugged briefly, then Applejack wandered over to join Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Standing not too far away from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle was an orange-skinned girl with purple hair in a spiky style. She was unusual for the girls of Canterlot High in that she was the first student Rainbow Dash had seen – not that she made a habit of paying attention to the school that Applejack and Rarity’s sisters went to, but after being shown enough photographs it was hard not to notice – who wasn’t wearing a short skirt and high boots combo. Instead, she was wearing a pair of slacks and trainers, with a dark hoodie on top. The sheer drabness of the ensemble made her stand out in the array of bright colours represented by her classmates, and that was, at the very least, interesting. The girl seemed to realise that she was being stared at, because she suddenly looked straight at Rainbow Dash, who was surprised at what she saw in those purple eyes: an undeserved experience that she recognised every time she looked in the mirror. That girl had seen more than her years warranted. Rainbow Dash looked away, while still keeping an eye on that girl. “Hey, Rarity, Applejack, who’s that over there with your sisters.” “Hmm?” Rarity looked over. Sweetie Belle, who assumed that Rarity was looking at her, waved, and Rarity waved back as she kept on talking. “That’s Scootaloo. She’s a new transfer student, I think.” “She sits next to Apple Bloom,” Applejack added. “My sister says she’s a little bit weird, but I don’t reckon there’s any harm in her.” Rainbow frowned. “Weird like how.” Applejack shrugged. “She’s a little bit like Maud, I think, she doesn’t like to wear her heart on her sleeve.” Rainbow risked a glance back at Scootaloo, who was still staring at her, and then looked away. “Aren’t they a little old for a class trip?” Rainbow asked. “It ain’t just a trip,” Applejack said. “How many people get to go up the orbital elevators?” “Not as many as want to, I bet,” Rainbow conceded. “Still, what if someone recognises you two and wonders what you’re going up into space for?” “That’s why we’re taking the shuttle after them, and getting off at a lower station,” Rarity said. “As far as anyone knows we’re just here to say goodbye to our little sister’s.” Rainbow nodded. She felt someone coming up behind her and whirled around, only to come face to face with the impassive countenance of Maud Pie. “Hello,” she murmured. Rainbow sighed. “Do you have to startle me like that every time?” “I suppose not,” Maid said, which was not an indication that she wouldn’t do it again. “I’ve come to give you your assignments.” “Shouldn’t that wait until the others arrive?” Rarity asked. “Luna and Celestia decided to stagger the return to the Harmony,” Maud explained. “You three will be going up first. Transport for the gundams has been arranged via the Chaos Corporation. From the low orbit station, you will proceed to the Harmony to recharge. The Magic and Kindness gundams will follow you tomorrow.” “What about Laughter?” Rainbow asked. “What about Pinkie Pie?” “Pinkie has been assigned a mission by Celestia,” Maid said tonelessly. “Why weren’t we informed about this change of plans?” Applejack said. “You’re being informed now,” Maud said, although her lack of emotion kept her words from stinging too badly. “I should go now, before we’re noticed. Good luck.” For the way she said it she might as well have been commenting on how hot or cold her coffee was. She turned away from the three meisters, and walked away into the crowd. “What’s with her?” Rainbow said to the other two. “And how can Pinkie’s sister be so unlike her?” “I love Sweetie Belle, but she and I don’t have that much in common,” Rarity said. “Oh look, there they go.” Rainbow looked to see the schoolkids being shepherded into the departure lounge, and until the doors shut to separate the two areas, Scootaloo did not take her eyes away from Rainbow Dash, not for a second. Why am I surrounded by weird people? Rainbow asked herself. Because you joined an army led by a creepy cultist when you were ten, fought until your country was destroyed then joined a private military devoted to creating world peace by destroying the armed forces of every major power in the world, Rainbow’s brain supplied the answer. Smartass But there had been more to Scootaloo than just Maud-esque oddity. There had been a kinship there, a spark of recognition. Rainbow felt uncomfortably that the two of them were alike, and that one day they would face each other across a deadlier place than this. “Rainbow Dash? Is everything okay?” Applejack said. Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, everything’s fine. So how long until we leave?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle settled themselves into one of the cabins on the shuttle that would take them up to the lower levels of the orbital elevator. The door opened with a whooshing sound as Scootaloo walked in. “Hey, girls, do you mind if I share your compartment?” “No, I guess not,” Apple Bloom murmured as Scootaloo sat down and buckled herself in. She kept an eye on Scootaloo, a little warily. It was not that she begrudged the new girl the effort to make friends at a new school, but there was something off about her. Maybe it was the way she only seemed to want to hang out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle who were, not that they would ever admit this, not high on the ladder of social status at Canterlot High. In the few weeks she had been at school Scootaloo had established herself as an incredible athlete – she could beat any member of the track team without any visible effort whatsoever – a gifted student and she was pretty cute too. There were any number of cliques that would have welcomed her with open arms, her unusual dress sense – she was the only girl in the whole school who didn’t wear a short skirt and high boots, instead wearing slacks and sneakers under a dark green hoodie – notwithstanding. So why did she want to hang out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? Why did she want to associate with the losers, and only with the losers? It didn’t make a lot of sense, to Apple Bloom’s way of thinking, and that bothered her a little bit. She would have talked to Applejack about it, but she didn’t want to bother big sis with her little problems when her older sister was out saving the world and all. The door opened again. “Oh, look, Diamond, there are spare seats in this compartment.” “These losers again, are you kidding me?” Of course, the mystery of Scootaloo was as nothing compared to the inexplicable behaviour of Rumble. “It’s just a coincidence Diamond-“ “Don’t you dare tell me that this just a coincidence!” It was weird. Apple Bloom was pretty well convinced that Rumble did not, in fact, like either Sweetie or herself; it seemed clear to her that he still liked Diamond Tiara. And yet he was acting like a boy who wanted to get himself dumped, the way he kept trying to force his company on other girls, and other girls his girlfriend hated what was more. Diamond Tiara folded her arms. “I don’t care what you’re up to, Rumble, but I’m not sharing a compartment with these losers.” The PA system kicked in. “The shuttle will be launching in thirty seconds. For safety reasons all passengers must be seated and secured until further announcement.” “Come on, we have to sit somewhere,” Rumble said, sitting down next to Sweetie Belle and buckling himself in. Diamond Tiara was balked in her efforts to sit opposite him – that seat was taken by Scootaloo – so she sat next to him, glaring at Apple Bloom as she did so. “I don’t care what ideas you three have about stealing my boyfriend,” she said with a snarl, grabbing Rumble’s arm possessively. “But you can just forget about it. He’s mine!” Rumble stammered something, while Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at Diamond Tiara’s melodrama and pointedly looked away. Not long after the shuttle began to move, following the magnetic tracks up the interior of the orbital elevator column. The force of the assent pushed Apple Bloom backwards into her seat, pressing against her chest with the force of a bodybuilding, while opposite her she could see Sweetie Belle nearly falling out of her seat, held in only by the brown strap of her seatbelt. The force lessened the higher they rose, replaced by the weightless sensation that accompanied the weakening of earth’s gravity. Rumble put on the educational film about the orbital elevator, but was swiftly distracted by Diamond Tiara floating out of her seat and into his lap, giggling and making goo-goo eyes at him while she ate chips provocatively. Her determination to fight for her man would have been admirable if she had not been so completely mistaken about the battle. Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, had floated up to the ceiling of their compartment and was doing barrel rolls. “Come on, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo. This is really fun.” Apple Bloom unbuckled her seat and pushed herself off into the air. As she turned round, she noticed that not only was Scootaloo making no move to follow, but she was also gripping her seat so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, and her face was pinched with nervousness. “Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom murmured. “Are you okay?” Scootaloo let out a pinched breath. “I don’t like space that much.” “Have you been into space before?” Sweetie Belle asked. “When? What was it like?” “A couple of times with my mom, for work,” Scootaloo said slowly. “It was… I didn’t like it very much.” “Why not?” Apple Bloom asked. “Because I could do everything right, make the smart choice at every turn, and still die because of things I can’t control,” Scootaloo muttered. “I can’t hardly stand it. People aren’t meant to live out here.” On a higher level of the orbital elevator, Colonel Cranky D Donkey stood side by side with Lieutenant Derpy Hooves, looking through a large window at the MS hangar bay beyond. Outside, technicians in space suits were servicing dark blue Tierens outfitted for use in space and high atmosphere. One machine in particular, however, was the focus of the two officers attention, distinguished by its light pink paint job. “The Tieren Taotse,” a voice announced over the intercom. “A brand new prototype for the next generation of Tierens. We have high hopes that, together with Lieutenant Hooves’ piloting, this will become our ace in the hole against the gundams.” “Sounds really cool, doesn’t it boss?” Derpy asked, her eyes widening. Cranky eyed her out of the side of his eyes. You are much too young for this, he thought, not for the first time and probably not for the last. He wasn’t an idealist or a fool, he knew that war inevitably involved old men sending young men out to die on their behalf, but there was something about putting all their hopes to stop Celestial Being on a girl younger than his son that stuck in his craw, wonder weapon or no. “Even if it is everything you hope it is, it’s still just one mobile suit,” he said. “Celestial Being has four.” “It’s better than nothing, sir,” Derpy said. “And I promise, no I swear, that I won’t let you down.” She tried to turn on her heel to face him, snap off a salute and slam her other foot down onto the deck, but ended up bringing down her boot upon her other foot instead. “Ow!” Cranky kept his face expressionless. Maybe I think you’re too young for this because you’re such a klutz. It was hard to imagine someone who tripped over their won feet as a hotshot pilot, supersoldier programme or no. Of course, if this was the level of results that they were getting maybe that’s why they shut the programme down. Cranky dismissed that thought, it was ungenerous towards an officer who was, at the very least, keen to do her part. And she wouldn’t be the first awkward and uncoordinated teenager to shine in the cockpit of a mobile suit. “Well, we won’t know what this machine is capable of from staring at in the hangar,” he said. “Suit up, lieutenant, we’ll take this Taotse out for a test-drive.” Pinkie Pie stood on one of the outer promenades of the orbital elevator, staring out of the window at the stars beyond. Unlike some of her fellow gundam meisters, Pinkie didn't particularly relish returning to the cold depths of space. She couldn't enjoy the stars the way that Twilight did. They were too sterile, too cold, too lifeless. The ground, for all its faults, was full of life and full of possibilities. People could have fun down there, they could only survive up here. Speaking of fun, this mission was proving anything but. Staring out of a window waiting for a glimpse of the PRLs new mobile suit, was this it? She would have much rather gone found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and organised a party, and the only reason she didn't was because she knew that Applejack and Rarity wouldn't like it if she put the girls in danger. Not that she wanted anything to happen to them anyway, the whole reason she'd become a Gundam meister was for the children. They might not think much of her right now, but when they could play in the sun all day without any worries at all thanks to the world peace created by Celestial Being, they'd think of her actions with more fondness. It was all worthwhile, because it was for the children. The whispering and pointing of people around her alerted Pinkie to the fact that something was going on outside the window. Paying attention, she saw movement: mobile suits. Space-type Tierens, one the standard purple paint job, the other a light pink, just like Pinkie herself. "What a coinci-" Pinkie began to murmur, before the pink mobile suit flew too close and Pinkie began to scream. Her head felt as though it was getting shot through with needles. She felt as though her eyes were going to pop out of her head. She felt as though she was going to wear out her voice with screaming. Pinkie collapsed onto the deck of the promenade, clutching at the sides of her head, screaming as her poofy hair deflated, covering one eye, and a voice inside her head crowed triumphantly I'm free! Free at last Oh no, Pinkie thought. Oh, please, not you. That's right! Pinkamena's here, baby! "Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!" "Lieutenant!" Cranky yelled as the Tieren Taotse spun out of control, pirouetting like some crazed ballerina through space, coming dangerously close to colliding with the elevator at least twice as it weaved erratically. "Lieutenant Hooves, what's going on?" "Make it stop! Make it stop!" "Dammit!" Cranky scowled as he contacted control. "Control, are you getting any readings from Lieutenant Hooves?" "Her vitals are spiking, brain activity is off the scale." "Cause?" "Unknown." "Make it stop! Make it stop!" Derpy screamed as the Taotse continued to spin wildly. Cranky watched as the pink mobile suit raised its laser rifle. "Lieutenant, what are you doing?" Cranky demanded. "Holster your weapon, now! That's an order!" "I have to make it stop!" Derpy yelled as she began to fire blindly in all directions, light red bolts shooting out of the barrel of her rifle and out amongst the stars. Unfortunately, not all of them were so harmless directed. Cranky's eyes widened in horror as a quartet of shots struck the orbital elevator, bracketing a trio of habitat blocks on one of the lower rings. "Lieutenant!" Cranky shouted. "Control, can't you disable her machine remotely?" "Negative, sir." "Dammit," Cranky cursed again, drawing his blade. "Please don't damage the Taotse, sir." "Never mind the machine, lives are at stake," Cranky said, firing the thrusters on his Tieren to carry him swiftly towards Lieutenant Hooves machine. "Make it stop!" "It will stop soon, lieutenant, trust me," Cranky muttered. In one smooth stroke he severed the Taotse's gun arm, the shattered fragments sparking as the hand fell away from the arm, and with his other hand he grabbed hold of the Taotse's 'face', pinning the machine in place and preventing Lieutenant Hooves from doing anything else that was just as stupid, if that was even possible. On the comm, he heard Lieutenant Hooves give one last, loud, echoing shriek, and then there was only silence. "Lieutenant?" Cranky said. "Lieutenant?" "Looks like she's unconscious, sir," control said. "We'll dispatch a recovery unit." "Sun and moon above," Cranky murmured, not because of the imminent dispatch of a recovery unit but because of what he could see happening below him. The low wheel orbiting the central axel of the elevator, the wheel that had been struck by Lieutenant Hooves fire, had cracked along its diameter in the points weakened by the Taotse's laser blasts. Three habitat sections had broken free from the elevator, and were drifting into the pull of Equestria's gravity. Cranky could see bodies spilling out into space from the corridors which now lay exposed to the deadly vacuum. Far too few of them were wearing space suits. "Sunlight's mercy," Cranky whispered. "Airlocks are sealing now in all affected areas," control said. "Rescue units are being despatched to the free-floating habitat blocks." "What's their ETA?" Cranky demanded. "Twelve minutes." "Twelve minutes!" Cranky shouted. "They'll be pulled into the atmosphere in twelve minutes. Mark Lieutenant Hooves position, make sure that she's retrieved." He let go of the pink prototype MS, holstered his blade, and began his descent. "What are you doing, Colonel?" "Whatever I can," Cranky said, diving down towards the habitat blocks. They were moving quickly, too quickly for rescue teams to get there while there was still anyone left to rescue. Already he could see the flames of the atmosphere licking against the bottom of the blocks. Cranky fed more power into the engines, fighting for however many seconds he could get out of his mobile suit. He threw himself in front of the free-floating habitat blocks, threw out of the arms of his tieren, and began to push back on them with all the strength that PRL engineering could grant him. "Colonel, you know a Tieren doesn't have anything like the power necessary to counter the pull of gravity. You should withdraw immediately." "I'm not abandoning the people trapped inside these blocks." "Colonel Donkey, if you do not withdraw then you will be incinerated in the atmosphere." "Then I guess my eulogy will include the word stupid," Cranky said. Pinkamena Diane Pie threw back her head and laughed at the spectacle unfolding before her out the window. Three habitat blocks, the shape and colour of ice cubes floating in the cola of space, had been blasted free from their moorings by that dumbass pilot in the PRL prototype. Pinkamena but had been liberated by the brief jolt of pain, set free from her mental prison, but it looked like the pilot of the now rather immobile mobile suit had been crippled by it. Weakling. Of course it was always possible that blowing those habitat blocks free had been intentional - that sort of thing was certainly Pinkamena's idea of fun, except of course that with Pinkamena driving she would have just destroyed the blocks and watched them explode like fairy dust - except that the pilot had let his arm get cut off, and now the mobile suit was just hanging there like the pilot was sleeping or just slacking off. Where was the fun in that, when there was so much more mischief to be had? Like killing the pilot of that other mobile suit that was trying to stop the habitat blocks from falling into the atmosphere. He was a sitting duck out there, trying to be all noble. Or maybe hearing his screams as the atmosphere roasted him alive would be more fun than that. I think Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are on one of those habitat blocks. Pinkie Pie said, from where Pinkamena had shoved her into the back of her mind. She sound tremulous, but at the same time angry. "So what?" Pinkamena said dismissively. "Why should I care?" Because Applejack and Rarity- "Are your friends not mine," Pinkamena snapped. "They can go space themselves for all I care. Screw them, and screw Celestial Being too. I'll take that sweet mobile suit and I'll have some fun with it." She saw some people staring at her, and growled at them. "And screw all of you, too, unless you want me to have some fun with you first." You can't just let them die, Pinkamena! Pinkamena scoffed. "People die every day, Pinkie. Are you going to save all of them?" As many as I can Pinkamena roared with laughter. "That is so you, isn't it: naive and stupid! Don't forget we've put a few people in the ground ourselves, you and me. What's the harm in watching a few more get there without any help at all?" Pinkamena yowled with pain as she felt a sharp stabbing behind the eyes. I won't let you stand by and do nothing! Pinkie screamed as she launched a full-throated assault on Pinkamena for control of their shared body. I won't let you watch while people die! I won't let you ignore the children! "No," Pinkamena growled. "I'm not going back into that box, dammit. I'm free now, and I'm staying that way." "No, you're not!" Pinkie yelled as her hair returned to its natural poofiness. "Ah, that's better." Her eyes widened. "No it isn't!" Ignoring the fact that people were starting to point at her now, Pinkie took off at a run for the hangar where she had stored the Laughter. She had to save the children. Inside the cockpit of Cranky's Tieren, an alarm was sounding to warn him of the buildup of excessively high temperatures. Cranky was doing his best to ignore it. He wasn't having much effect - he couldn't tell if he was having any effect at all - of the progress of the habitat blocks, but if he had to die pointlessly it was still better than living with having done nothing. "Woohoo! Mister mobile suit pilot!" a young girl's voice came over the comm system. "Celestial Being is here to save the day!" "Celestial Being...?" Cranky checked his instruments, there was an unknown mobile suit inbound to his position. Is she really one of them? She sounds so young. "Now everyone needs to get into the centre habitat block," the young pilot announced. "Once you do, I'm going to shoot out the joins on the three blocks, so that we only have the one block to push. Then with the two of us working together we should be able to get it out of harms way." "If you think you can pull that off, be my guest," Cranky said. "Of course I can pull it off," the pilot declared. "Celestial Being is only here to help the world, after all." "Where's Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked anxiously. "Has anyone seen Sweetie Belle?" Everyone was crowding into the central block of the three rogue habitat blocks, an area that was under more normal circumstances a shopping promenade. The power was out, save for the dim orange emergency lighting, but Scootaloo could just about make out the store fronts and the fast food stalls surrounding the crowds frantically changing into space suits. "Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom yelled. "Sweetie, where are you?" "Where did you see her last?" Scootaloo said. "I thought you were together." "I went to the bathroom while Sweetie Belle went to buy a souvenir from..." Apple Bloom's yellow face blanched. "She went to that tacky store in section H." Rumble's eyes widened. "But that's one of the sections that's going to be abandoned. If she's still there-" "Why would she still be there?" Diamond Tiara demanded. "Everyone's been told to get into the central block, even I don't think she's that stupid." "But she could be hurt or something," Apple Bloom said. "What if she needs our help?" "And what are you going to do if she does? Go into second H while the bulkheads close?" "I, I don't," Apple Bloom murmured, seeming to shrink and tremble with fear. She wants to go, but she's too afraid, Scootaloo observed dispassionately. On the one hand, Apple Bloom's grief for her best friend might make it easier for Scootaloo to fill that position, and thus fulfil her mission of getting close to Apple Bloom and learning her secret. On the other hand... On the other hand Scootaloo didn't like to let a comrade die. "I'll go check it out," she said. "If Sweetie Belle's still in H I'll get her back here before the doors close." "All on your own?" Diamond Tiara said. "That's crazy." "Anyone else would just slow me down," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom sagged with relief to hear it. "But it's much too dangerous. They're about to separate the compartments," Rumble said. "There's no such thing as too dangerous," Scootaloo replied, quoting one of Nightmare Moon's favourite aphorisms. "There's only challenging circumstances." And with that she began to run. She pushed through the crowds, bouncing along the floor in her cumbersome spacesuit, her footfalls echoing across the plastic tiles as she bulled her way through the frightened masses packing section I, out into the interlinking corridor and down the passage leading to section H. "Bulkheads will be closing imminently, please move to section I for your own safety." There was a red light flashing above the soon to close bulkhead, and a klaxon sounding too. Scootaloo ignored both, the same way she would have ignored the bullets flying over the head of a wounded man: not because she was unconscious of the danger, but because she had a job to do and the danger wasn't going to stop her. "Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo shouted as she bounded into section H. "Sweetie Belle can you hear me?" The only answer was the crackle of fried electrics. This section had taken heavy damage from the attack, with blown out walls, small fires, and debris littering the area. "Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo yelled as she bounded deeper into the damaged section. She heard a groan by way of reply. Sweetie Belle was lying in front of a blown out store front, her body covered in broken glass and - more seriously - by the beam that had fallen on her. Scootaloo knelt beside her, checking her pulse. She was alive. Scootaloo wasn't sure that moving her was the best idea, but burning up in the atmosphere would be even worse than anything that might happen as a result of Scootaloo's interference, so she braced her herself and hauled the beam off the frail, white body. Sweetie Belle was bleeding from an injury to the head. She wasn't conscious. "Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo said calmly. "Sweetie Belle, can you wake up for me?" The answer, it appeared was no. Scootaloo took a deep breath and picked her up, slinging Sweetie over her shoulder and carrying her towards the bulkhead archway. As she went - her progress noticeably slower coming the other way, thanks to Sweetie's weight, Scootaloo opened up her space suit, in case she needed to take it off. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but- A wall panel exploded to Scootaloo's left. Scootaloo twisted, shielding Sweetie from the blast, but she couldn't do the same to shield her face from the piece of debris that came flying towards it. There was a crash, a sound of glass cracking, and then everything went black. "Bulkheads will be closing imminently, please move to section I for your own safety." Scootaloo came too again, and surmised that she had not been out long. For one thing, they still hadn't sealed off the bulkhead yet. Not that she was ungrateful for that. Sweetie Belle lay beside her, still unconscious. There wasn't much time, but there wasn't enough time to assume that Scootaloo could get her out of here. So Scootaloo took off her space suit and stuffed Sweetie Belle inside it - not bothering to fit the arms or legs properly, it only took moments - so that she would have an air supply for a while if things went wrong. If they did, then Scootaloo would throw Sweetie out the nearest airlock and hope that the recovery craft found her. There was the problem that the helmet glass was cracked, but it didn't seem to be compromised yet. It would hold, probably. And the alternative was certain death, so why worry about the glass. Something red fell into Scootaloo's eye, clouding her vision. Blood. She had a head injury of her own now. Oh, well. Minor. Treatable. Not important at this stage. Scootaloo picked up Sweetie Belle again and began to run. The klaxon stopped, although the red light stayed on, as the bulkhead began to descend. "No, no!" Scootaloo yelled as she tried to pick up the pace, but although she was strong for her age she still wasn't strong enough to make the kind of flat out sprint that she needed while carrying Sweetie Belle. The cold equation was that the two of them together couldn't move fast enough to cover the amount of distance required in the time that they had. But maybe one of them could. Sprinting and shouting, Scootaloo raised her voice to its highest as she hurled Sweetie Belle bodily towards the closing bulkhead. Cocooned in her spacesuit, looking a bit like a fat white caterpillar, Sweetie floated in the decreased gravity of the habitat, hit the floor, bounced upwards, and passed beneath the bulkhead and into section I and safety. "Yes!" Scootaloo yelled as she kept on running, the thrill of a mission successfully completed flooding her system with adrenaline to speed her on ever faster. Now, with only herself to carry, she was already closing the distance. She was going to make it, she only had a few feet left to go. She would- Another wall panel exploded, hitting Scootaloo in the chest and bearing her backwards into the opposite wall. She could hear something cracking, and was afraid it was her ribs. Is this is? Scootaloo thought, as her vision began to darken, even the pain she felt receding. All she could see was the bulkhead, slamming down upon her. Is this how it ends? I'm sorry, commander Nightmare. As her vision failed, Scootaloo thought she could hear footsteps running towards her, but that was just ridiculous.