“Is that… is that what I think it is?” Rainbow asked, staring up at the newest Zoid in Empyrean Team’s hanger. “That’s a Storm Sworder! A real Storm Sworder!”
“You bet it is,” Luna said, grinning. “Only grown a month ago, too.”
“If memory serves, this is quite the Zoid, is it not?” Rarity said inquisitively.
“Rarity. This. Is. The fastest Zoid.” Rainbow replied, struggling to contain her delight. “I mean there is literally no Zoid with a higher maximum speed than a Storm Sworder!”
“Its Magnessor wings are highly adjustable, too,” Sunset added, “and it carries a Limited Organoid System to manage those adjustments automatically. The Storm Sworder isn’t just fast, it’s also extremely maneuverable.”
Luna folded her arms and nodded knowingly. “Storm Sworders were created by the Helic Republic as the final word in air superiority, and they ruled the skies for generations. This, girls, is our air-to-air Zoid.”
“I- I’m so happy I might cry!” Rainbow said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I wanted a flying Zoid, and you got me the ultimate flying Zoid! I… I don’t know what to say!”
“Just promise me you’ll take care of it,” Luna said, patting the Zoid’s leg, “Storm Sworders are real hangar queens, and they’re not easy to repair, so try to avoid making Fluttershy’s job more difficult than it needs to be.”
“You got it!”
The Storm Sworder rocketed through the sky as Rainbow Dash put it through every aerial maneuver she could think of, including a few she made up on the spot. The rest of the team watched from the hangar’s roof. This had been a daily occurrence for over a week now, as Rainbow steadily became more accustomed to the Storm Sworder’s capabilities.
“Well, Sunset Shimmer, what do you think?” Luna asked.
“I think we won’t be losing to Pteras Bombers any more,” Sunset replied with a wide smile, “in fact, I don’t think we’ll be losing to anything airborne, unless the Commission makes it legal for Whale Kings to fight. And even then I like our odds. I’ll tell you what, I’m glad you’re on our team, it can’t have been easy to find one of those Zoids.”
“Well now, don’t forget this team was my idea to begin with,” Luna said with a laugh. “Besides, finding a Storm Sworder is as easy as shopping at the right store. The big question is, will Rainbow be ready to pilot it for our next battle?”
“Our match with the Dazzlings? I think Rainbow’s got a handle on it. It comes down to how well she does avoiding ranged attacks while she closes in.”
“Sounds like you've got our strategy worked out already.”
“The Dazzlings are about the opposite of the Metal Thrashing Madwomen. They use the same Zoids and the same strategy every time. Granted, it works for them pretty consistently, but I think we've got this.”
Sunset Shimmer found herself in her usual seat in the Hover Cargo’s control room, her teammates all waiting expectantly for her to detail their strategy for the upcoming match. Rainbow Dash looked especially eager, knowing that this would be her first real Zoid battle.
“All right ladies, our opponents this time are the Dazzlings, a C-Rank team.” Sunset said. “They have a pretty bad reputation, apparently their leader is an even bigger jerk than I am.” Sunset considered this self-deprecating joke a throw-away gag rather than anything particularly amusing, but nevertheless paused to allow Pinkie to try, and fail, to suppress a giggle. “But they’re still in C-Rank, which means they’re on a whole other level compared to what we've fought so far,” Sunset continued. “If that match with Photo Finish’s team had gone as scheduled, we’d at least have an idea of the kind of skill level we’re facing, but there’s not a lot we can do about that. Anyway, the Dazzlings. Adagio Dazzle is the leader, and she currently pilots a Command Wolf AC.” She brought up an image of the Zoid. “Command Wolves are fast and agile, and carry dischargers that can release thick clouds of smoke that’ll make it impossible to see them except at very close ranges. You’ll need quick reflexes to react in time to her attacks if the smoke is out. Adagio has also upgraded her Wolf with a pretty respectable sensor suite. Firing by radar only isn't as accurate as having line of sight, but Adagio is a good enough blind-shooter that you can’t count on her being hindered by her own smoke. You see a black cloud on the battlefield, take cover.”
“I take it them huge cannons on its back are its main weapons?” Applejack asked.
“You’d better believe it. That’s a pair of 250-millimeter beam cannons.” Sunset confirmed, “they pack one heck of a punch, enough to floor any of our Zoids with concentrated fire. Don’t let her hit you with those if you can possibly help it. Applejack, Rarity, your job is to deal with Adagio’s Command Wolf. Rarity, hit her fast and don’t give her a chance to line up a shot. The Zaber Fang was built to fight Command Wolves and other light Zoids, but the AC variant was designed to take out targets heavier than it, and Zaber Fangs specifically. It’ll all come down to how well you avoid her shots. Applejack, you’re Rarity’s backup. Suppressing fire with the beam Gatling should limit Adagio’s mobility, and give her a taste of your other guns if you can catch her with them.”
“Two of us just to defeat one opponent?” Rarity asked, “Adagio Dazzle must be quite the pilot.”
“She’s got some skill, and more experience than us. On top of that, the Command Wolf is an extremely reliable Zoid. At the height of their military power, the Helic Republic had more than two million Command Wolves in active service, and more of those were ACs than any other variant. Never before nor since have so many of a Zoid been deployed, and they continued to serve on the front lines decades after newer designs were declared obsolete and retired. That should give you an idea of what we’re up against.”
“Pretty impressive,” Applejack admitted. “What about the other Dazzlin's?”
“Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk,” Sunset replied, switching the image to another Zoid. “They both pilot these Redler Interceptors. Redlers are mid-range flying Zoids that are also capable of moving freely on the ground. Their four claws are dangerous, but their primary melee weapon is the blade recessed into their tail, which folds out and adjusts its angle based on the target’s relative location to ensure the deepest possible cut without compromising the Redler's flight.”
“Those tail blades have got to be pretty hard to use with those cannons,” Rainbow pointed out.
“True enough. You may recognize the flexible booster units, Salem Team mounted them as well.” Sunset said. “While Helcats can only carry one, a Redler can mount a pair of flexible boosters, which is how they were originally designed to be used. Redler Interceptors carry twin flexible boosters and upgraded targeting software so they can aim the beam cannons accurately. Aria and Sonata normally use them to provide mobile fire support for Adagio, but that, Rainbow Dash, is where you come in.”
“Aw, yeah!” Rainbow said, pumping her fist. “Me and my Storm Sworder are gonna take those two down!”
“That’s the plan.” Sunset agreed, “Redler Interceptors are very mobile, but the Storm Sworder has them beat on both maneuverability and maximum speed. Even with the boosters, they can’t out-fly the Sworder. The hard part for you is avoiding their cannon fire. Your lasers can cause some damage, but not as much as their booster cannons. Let them fight at range and they’ll shoot you down. On the other hand, if you can get in close, your blades can deal with them with one slice each. Take them out as fast as you can, then Applejack and Rarity can concentrate on Adagio without having to worry about laser beams raining from the sky. You’re our keystone, Rainbow Dash. You've got a two-on-one fight that you absolutely have to win, so you’d better be careful.”
“It's my first real battle!” Rainbow said, “no way I’m letting my team down!”
“We'll be countin' on ya out there,” Applejack said.
“Take a look,” Sunset highlighted a small area of the battlefield map, “Aria and Sonata normally fly to the center of the battlefield and then split up to attack on Adagio's command, but at cruising speed, you’ll be able to intercept them in this area. And here-” Another zone lit up, this one to the northwest of the first area, “-is about where Rarity and Applejack will be. If you think you can take both of them on at once, you can intercept them and have roughly three minutes to take the Redlers down before Rarity and Applejack are in their firing range. Otherwise, they’ll break north and west when they reach the center point, so if you’d rather divide and conquer, head for one of these areas.” Two more regions were highlighted. “In that case, Rarity, Applejack, take cover among the stone outcroppings in that second zone until Rainbow brings down both Redlers. They’ll protect you -at least to an extent- from whichever Redler Rainbow doesn't catch first.”
“Forget that noise!” Rainbow said, “I’ll hit ‘em while they’re still together!”
“If you think you can handle two C-Rank pilots, go for it.” Sunset replied. “I figured that was how you wanted to do things, but the alternative is there.”
“Aw, you worry too much.” Rainbow leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head. “Like I said, I’m not gonna let my team down."
“I always like to have a backup plan.” Sunset replied. “Although I can't fault your confidence. All right girls, get ready to fight!”
“Area scanned! Battlefield, set up!” The Judge declared. Because most flying Zoids could not remain stationary in mid-air, Rainbow Dash had been allowed to cruise in the general area above her team’s starting position. For the time being, she kept the Storm Sworder at low speed, circling lazily above Applejack and Rarity. “Battle Mode Zero-Nine-Eight-Three! Empyrean Team versus the Dazzlings! Ready… Fight!” Rainbow slammed the Storm Sworder’s throttle forward and blasted towards the battlefield’s southeastern corner, where the Dazzlings had been deployed. When she reached the designated interception point, however, Rainbow noticed something amiss.
“Uh, Sunset Shimmer? Shouldn’t those Redlers be around here?” Rainbow asked.
“You should have had a visual on them a minute and a half ago, give or take a few seconds. Why?” Sunset replied, her face appearing on Rainbow’s HUD.
“Because I don’t have a visual on them.” Rainbow explained.
“What? Aria and Sonata have flown to the center point and split up in literally every battle they’ve been in, that’s why I planned this out the way I did. They open the same way every time.”
“Well, every time but this one, apparently,” Rainbow grumbled. She was about to turn her Storm Sworder to go looking for the pair when something on the ground caught her eye. “Hey, I think I see smoke.”
“Adagio might have kicked off her smoke dischargers early, but I can’t imagine why,” Sunset said nervously. Rainbow was surprised at how discomfited her friend and strategist seemed to be. “Unless she’s trying to hide from you, but she has to know how limited your air-to-surface capabilities are. Normally she’d rely on her Command Wolf’s agility to dodge your lasers until she got into shooting range of Applejack and Pinkie. Check it out, but stay high. Don’t give her an opportunity to shoot you down.”
“On it!” Dash said, pulling up and towards the smoke. Within moments, she had reached the black cloud, which on closer inspection was very clearly Command Wolf smoke. The cloud was growing towards one end and fading at the opposite, giving the impression that it was moving to the northwest. Rainbow surmised that the Command Wolf was probably near the center of it, smoke emitters working constantly as it ran. She relayed this assumption to Sunset Shimmer.
“That sounds about right, but she’ll run out of smoke soon if she keeps that up,” Sunset said, “Command Wolves can only generate so much of the stuff, after all. Applejack, Rarity, what’s your status?”
“We’re in cover, like you said,” Applejack answered. “Dunno where them Redlers are, but we’re gonna sit tight ‘til someone figures out why they ain't in the air.”
“In the air… wait...” Sunset said slowly, realization dawning. “That’s it! Redlers are fully ground-movement capable! They knew they couldn't take you in the sky, Rainbow, so they’re hiding in the smoke! Pull out of there!” Just as Rainbow Dash pulled away, four laser beams lanced out from the smoke, narrowly missing the Storm Sworder.
“Whoa! How can they see me through that mess?!”
“Adagio must be calling their shots!” Sunset said, “she’s using her radar to tell the others where to aim!”
“She must've run out of smoke, the cloud’s not growing any more!” Rainbow said, turning to face the smoke again.
“Even so, it’ll linger for a good long time.” Sunset said, “Applejack, your sensors are good enough that you could try blind-firing, but I don’t much like the idea of a three-on-one gunfight.”
“I could lay down some suppressin' fire with the ol' laser Gatling,” Applejack suggested, “that’d take some of the heat off Rainbow n’ Rarity, but they cain't do much with that smoke.”
“Wait, maybe Rainbow can,” Sunset said, “Applejack, find yourself a safe firing position. Rarity, get to a spot where you can jump over those rocks and into shooting range. Rainbow, get some distance from the Dazzlings and get ready to fire up your afterburners. I’ve just had either a stroke of genius or a flash of sheer idiocy, we’ll find out which in a couple minutes.”
Applejack’s Dark Horn lumbered to the edge of the cluster of boulders and outcroppings, giving her a clear line of fire on the smoke cloud. With an almost relaxed air, she spun her laser Gatling up to speed and began sweeping it left and right, firing a stream of laser beams into the smoke, her aim informed only by her Dark Horn’s sensor suite. It gave Applejack a rough idea of her targets' locations in the smoke, but it wasn't nearly as precise as normal line-of-sight shooting. Retaliatory fire emerged from the cloud, but the shots went wide, striking the large rocks to either side of Applejack’s Zoid. “Okay, Rainbow, they’re good an’ suppressed,” Applejack said smoothly, continuing to fire.
“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m coming in fast and low!” She did exactly this, bringing the Storm Sworder dangerously close to the ground and firing the Zoid’s afterburners, pushing the Sworder to speeds in excess of Mach 3. Applejack was so focused on her suppressing fire that she barely registered the gray blur as the flying Zoid rocketed overhead.
On the other hand, Applejack definitely noticed the sonic boom. The sudden change in air pressure created a thunderous noise and, more importantly, blew the Command Wolf’s smoke in every direction, dispersing the cloud into thin wisps. The Redler Interceptors were clearly visible, flanking Adagio Dazzle’s Command Wolf.
“Perfect!” Sunset jumped to her feet. “Okay girls, you've got three big sitting ducks to mow down!” One of the Redlers continued to fire on Applejack, but the other activated its Magnessor wings and rose into the air, turning to pursue Rainbow Dash.
“Yer gonna have company in a minute, Rainbow!” Applejack called out, mowing down the grounded Redler with her Gatling and linear cannon. Rarity’s Zaber Fang vaulted a huge boulder, landing near the Command Wolf. Adagio fired on Rarity, but her panicked shots missed completely.
“Have at you!” Rarity cried, opening fire with her Zaber Fang’s entire weapons payload. The Command Wolf crumpled under the onslaught, its armor no match for such withering firepower. “Well, that’s that. Rainbow Dash, darling, how are you faring?”
“Ha! I’m just watching what’s-her-name try to catch up!” Rainbow replied. “I’d better finish her off before she lines up a shot, though.”
“That would be lovely, dear.”
Rainbow Dash pulled her Storm Sworder into a quick chandelle turn, then cut its afterburners, bleeding speed to buy herself a few seconds to plan out how to deal with the oncoming Redler. She didn’t know whether it was Sonata Dusk or Aria Blaze piloting the Zoid, but it didn’t matter much tactically. Rainbow would have liked to know who she was facing, but she decided she could always find out later. What was important now was evading the beam cannon shots currently approaching her. A canopy roll addressed the issue, followed by a few potshots from the Storm Sworder’s pulse lasers. Rainbow didn’t expect these shots to cause much damage, or even hit, but they had the desired effect of convincing the Redler pilot to bank to the side. Rainbow reactivated her afterburners and gave chase, closing the distance at extreme speed.
The Redler’s boosters activated as it spiraled through the air in an attempt to evade Rainbow’s attacks. Rainbow extended the Sworder’s wing blades as she pursued, cutting her afterburners to avoid overshooting. The two Zoids began to barrel roll around each other in a rolling scissors maneuver, prompting Rainbow Dash to grin maniacally. Under normal circumstances, a rolling scissors was a terrible situation for both Zoids, as each pilot tried to make the other overshoot before their constantly-lowering altitude brought both machines slamming to the ground. Under normal circumstances, neither Zoid carried energized blades as its primary weapons. Rainbow curved towards the Redler, narrowing the spiral until her right wing’s blade sliced through the Redler’s left wing. The Redler dropped, unable to remain stable on one wing, and plowed into the ground in a semi-controlled crash, losing a leg in the process.
“The battle is over! The battle is over!” The Judge announced. “The winner is… Empyrean Team!”
“Yes! Well done, girls!” Sunset cheered. “Excellent fighting, all of you!”
“Aw, yeah!” Rainbow Dash said gleefully, performing a few vertical loops just because she could. “Come back when you learn to fly, Dazzlings!”
Adagio Dazzle sat in a Canterlot fast-food restaurant, fuming. With her were Aria Blaze, also fuming; and Sonata Dusk, who understood the concept of fuming just well enough to wish her friends would stop doing it.
“We never would’ve lost if we’d gone with my plan,” Aria complained suddenly.
“Oh, yes, of course. Your plan,” Adagio growled. “Wasn’t your plan to just fly right at that Storm Sworder and hope for the best? Complete and utter genius, Aria. What ever would we do without you?”
“Why wouldn’t it work? It’s worked for every flying Zoid we’ve ever fought before!” Aria shot back.
“Because it was a Storm Sworder!” Adagio replied, nearly shouting, “they’re faster and more powerful than anything any of the other teams we’ve faced ever had! Our only chance was to take it by surprise!”
“And your stupid plan only gave us one chance at that! Which Sonata totally blew when she missed that dumb Zoid by like ten miles!”
“Hey! You missed worse than I did!” Sonata retorted. Simulation results said she wasn’t exactly the best shot in the Zoid Battle Commission, but Sonata wouldn’t have her accuracy impugned by Aria Blaze, who consistently scored fewer hits on the battlefield.
“If either of you had even the slightest functional competence, at least one of you would’ve hit, and that Sworder would have been done for!” Adagio pointed out. Sonata didn’t have a response to this, and she did have to put up with Adagio impugning her accuracy. After all, Adagio was in charge.
“Hang on, I think I see the Dazzlings in Burger Monarch,” Sunset Shimmer said, looking across the street. “Looks like they’re arguing, too.”
“Yup. Maybe the three of us oughta stay outta there today,” Applejack said. "I think we can all guess what they're worked up about, and I suspect us walkin' in the door wouldn't help any."
“Geez it’s been like three days, how are they still mad?” Pinkie asked rhetorically. The Dazzlings were, at least by reputation, always mad. “Should we go to the pizza place down the street?”
“Lucky Stars’ Pizza? Don’t see why not,” Applejack said with a shrug. "What about you, Sunset?"
"You had me at 'pizza place'," Sunset Shimmer replied. "I'm in."
"I shoulda figured that," Applejack said with a grin. "Will you ever get tired of pizza?"
"I sure hope not. I think I'd have some kind of existential crisis."
“Don’t worry about that!” Pinkie said gleefully. “I’d just snuggle the existentialism right out of you!” With that declaration, Pinkie dashed off down the sidewalk.
“Sometimes I think Pinkie genuinely believes that hugging is the solution to all of life’s problems,” Sunset told Applejack.
“I dunno about all problems,” Applejack said. “Though ya never can tell with Pinkie. Anyway, we’d better catch up t’ her before she orders us a weird-dang pizza with like twelve different things on it.”
“That’s exactly the kind of thing she’d do, isn’t it?” Sunset broke into a run without waiting for an answer.