A pegasus filly, with orange coat and violet mane and tail, started to open her eyes. She looked around and saw a mirror, a radio, a small bookshelf, and a telephone. The filly began to look at the mirror and saw some bandages on her forehead. She then realized that she’s in the hospital instead of the prototype. The pegasus felt that she had a rough night. And then, a door started to move.
“Scootaloo,” A familiar voice called out to her, “are you alright?”
“General?” Scootaloo don’t know who’s visiting her, but she thought that it saw one of the personnel. However, she was right all along as Gear Jack walked in. Star Blade and Silver Spoon soon followed. The orange filly was glad that she got to see some friendly faces.
“You had us worried for a second,” said the lavender stallion, “we thought that the demon got rid of you, but the gundam brought you back to us.”
“Did you just say gundam?” Scootaloo was having a hard time recalling last night’s incident. All she could remember is that she fought against the demons until one of them knocked her out cold. Gear Jack grabbed her and put her down on the floor to see if she can stand, which she managed to do. Scootaloo walked up to a chair and shoved it to Star Blade, which he sat down on.
“Where’s your parents?” the unicorn asked, “They must be angry at us for letting you fight by now.”
“The only family I got is the crusaders,” Scootaloo expressed her loneliness, “I have to live without my parents.”
“I take it that she’s an orphan,” said Gear Jack, “I have no idea what her family is like until now.”
Silver Spoon was farther convinced that Diamond Tiara was nothing more than a cold hearted snob thanks to Scootaloo’s story. She showed pity to the orange pegasus by giving her enough money to take care of herself. Star Blade began to think for a moment about the filly’s life. And then, his mind was made up.
“Do you want to live with me?” he asked, “I’ll help you get a life of a family.”
Scootaloo could not believe her ears. Is he trying to adopt her? Does he want to be like her father? Those questions boggled around in her mind. She couldn’t decide for herself if she can trust an adult who is her drill instructor.
“Give her time to think about it,” Gear Jack suggested, “she’s all shaken up from last night.”
“Maybe some familiar faces can ease her burdens.” Star Blade said those words as a yellow earth filly and a white unicorn came rushing into the room. The two jumped on and hugged Scootaloo in joy.
“Where were you the whole time?” asked Applebloom, “you really made us panic.”
“It’s a long story.” That was all Scootaloo can think about when she got to see her old friends again. She hugged them back, forgetting to check her flank for a cutie mark. Silver Spoon joined in as well, knowing that she needs to get on a right path of her life. After a while, they stopped hugging each other as Gear Jack turned the radio on.
“When the demons attacked Ponyville,” said the news reporter through the radio, “they caused unspeakable damages and left many innocents homeless. During the rampage, Spitfire confronted them inside the prototype mobile suit. Things went smoothly at first, but one of the demons took her by surprise and crippled the mobile suit in the process. It wasn’t long until an artifact rose up from the ground and finished the demons off. Spitfire is now making a recovery and the survivors will move to Avalon according to military schedule.”
“Why is Spitfire taking the blame?” asked Scootaloo, “I’m the one inside that mobile suit.”
“The military administrators had to censor the truth about the incident,” said Gear Jack, “in other words, your secret is safe with us.”
The Cutie Mark Crusader looked at each other. Sweetie Belle could not believe her ears, neither does Applebloom. Did Scootaloo actually pilot a mobile suit? They thought to themselves. Star Blade began to wonder why those two fillies are confused. The yellow earth pony shook Scootaloo a little, reminding her of something they usually do when they try new talents out.
“Oh, right.” The orange pegasus began to look at her flank. Unfortunately, the cutie mark is not there. She began to sigh, knowing that she has a long way to go. Scootaloo took the bandages off and walked up to the lavender stallion.
“Can you take me home?” she asked, “I made up my mind.”
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In the court room of Canterlot, many of the military personnel watched as a group of guards and the administrators are having a debate whatever fillies should get involved in the defensive war against demons.
“What were you thinking?” a white unicorn with blue mane, tail, and eyes protested, “you can’t just send a filly to fight!”
“Then blame it on your cousin,” the administrator, as a silver unicorn with red mane and tail and green eyes, argued, “his booklet is what brainwashed her.”
“She nearly got killed by those demons;” the white unicorn protested again, “all I want from you is to detain her.”
There was silence; the silver unicorn became a bit angry when he heard those words. The other guards were worried if they’re going to lose the debate. The juries took notes as the two sides exchanged serious look with each other.
“Raising foal soldiers are completely immoral and cruel,” the white unicorn protested once more, “if you let it slide, that filly will end up fighting again and she won’t have another chance to live!”
“Very well,” said another administrator, as a pegasus with cobalt coat, black mane and tail, and violet eyes, “we’ll let what the jury think of it.”
The juries began to discuss the argument with each other. On one hoof, it’s wrong to send kids to the battlefront. But on the other hoof, the filly the two sides were talking about has unexplained potentials with mobile suits. As they explained what’s going on, a pink alicorn walked in without any idea what it was about. Eventually, the juries made up their minds.
“We have reached the verdict sir,” one jury declared, “the experiment should continue if we’re going to have a chance against the demons.”
“Looks like they have decided,” said the silver unicorn, “your request to expel that filly is denied. All of you are dismissed.”
The white unicorn couldn’t believe his ears. Are they really that heartless? The alicorn walked up to him as he turned around.
“What’s wrong Shining Armor?” the alicorn asked, “it looked as you were having a political fight with the administrators.”
“They just won’t budge as far as foal abuse is concerned,” said Shining Armor, “I just don’t know why they send a filly to die fighting.”
The pink alicorn started to cry over what happened. The white unicorn began to hug her and cry as well. Scary thoughts of the filly getting killed were too much for them.
“Cadence,” said Shining Armor, “I’m running out of ideas to convince them, but I’ll try to find their reason and use it as an exploit.”
The two were worried about the fate of those that aren’t grown up yet. Cadence knew that Shining Armor is desperate to set things right. The white unicorn kissed his wife goodbye before leaving.
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Inside a convenience store, which is packed with piles of hay fries, ready to eat sunflower pizzas, cider, milk, water, and everything else anypony needs. Scootaloo stared at some candy bars that were made in Manehattan, wondering if she has enough money. The lavender stallion pulled a bag of bread off of the shelf and noticed his new foster daughter looking at the candy.
“What kind do you want?” asked Star Blade, “I have plenty of bits to help you.”
“Is it okay if I can have a bar of Hay Ruth?” Scootaloo answered. Her adoptive father, who is still her drill instructor in reality, casted a spell on a Hay Ruth bar and put it in the basket he was carrying. The two went to the cashier and the unicorn unloaded the contents in front of him. While waiting for her new father to finish paying, Scootaloo once again noticed the same dark grey pegasus, with brown mane and tail as well as violet eyes, standing on the other side of the road. He watched her until a carriage blocked the orange filly’s sight. When the carriage is out of the way, the pegasus is long gone.
“What’s wrong?” asked Star Blade, “it looked like as you saw a ghost or something.”
“Last night, that dark grey pegasus with brown or red mane and tail stalked me,” Scootaloo answered, “and he did it again this time.”
Star Blade knew what she was talking about, but couldn’t tell Scootaloo who that pegasus is. He began to think about how she’ll react if he told her. Soon, the lavender unicorn began to look back into the past.
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In the four year war between the Horseshima’s communist government and the army of rebels, a young lavender unicorn, armed with a sniper rifle, watched as a dark grey pegasus, with brown mane and tail and violet eyes, load a orange baby pegasus, with violet mane and tail, into a chariot. The unicorn ran up to the pegasus, curious about what’s going on.
“Who is she?” asked the unicorn. He wondered what the pegasus is up to. The dark grey stallion turned around and saw the lavender colt. He became scared, believing that the unicorn is one of the enemy guards.
“Just an autistic filly,” the pegasus lied, “she’s none of your concerns”
“Autistic?” the unicorn wondered, “you behaved as you were hiding something. My days as a checker are over because I have grown sick of taking lives of mares and foals.”
The pegasus started to ease up, knowing that the unicorn is revolting against the government as well. He worked so hard finding a chariot that kept the filly hidden. The unicorn watched as the chariot got away from the scene.
“Actually, she’s my daughter who is born with a gift,” said the pegasus, “and the leader wants to turn her into a killing machine that ignores reason and emotions.”
The unicorn’s heart stopped. Is the leader that desperate to silence the rebels? It looked like there are more reasons why the government should be overthrown. That filly could be used as a potential weapon.
“My name is Star Blade,” said the unicorn, “and you are?”
“Genesis,” said the pegasus, “my father gave me that name.”
“Genesis, can you tell me who your daughter is?” Star Blade asked. The filly’s gift made him more curious. Almost as he was digging deeper into the truth he was looking for.
“I didn’t get a chance to name her,” Genesis answered, “but can you do me a favor?”
“What do you need me to do?” the unicorn asked, “I’ll do anything to help your family out.”
“When the war is over,” said the pegasus, “please look after my daughter for me.”
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“Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked Star Blade. The lavender stallion was spacing out until he snapped out of it. He looked at his foster daughter with a concerned look.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” said the unicorn, “I’m just thinking about life as of right now.”
The cashier took the money from Star Blade and gave him some change for the purchase, and then the unicorn started to levitate the groceries before walking out. Scootaloo began helping him out by putting the bags into the trunk of his motorized chariot before they got inside. He turned the ignition on and pulled the lever to reverse. The chariot backed away from the parking lot and turned left on the road. The lavender stallion pulled the lever to its first speed phase and pressed the gas pedal with one of his rear hooves. The chariot started to go forward within the speed limit.
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The scientists studied the gundam in the garage, looking for a way to make psychological controller safer than before. Spitfire walked in the garage, intent on trying again. Along the way, she saw her fan, Rainbow Dash, talking with Gear Jack about the prototype. The fiery pegasus decides to join in to know what happened.
“Oh Spitfire, you’re awake,” said the surprised azure pegasus, “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“It’s okay,” said Spitfire, “I just want to know what happened last night.”
“Long story short,” said the disappointed Rainbow Dash. “you just got replaced with a filly.”
“You mean one of those military school foals?” asked Spitfire.
“I’m afraid so,” said Gear Jack, “but she put up a very tough fight against the demons using the mobile suit you were trying to get used to.”
“I didn’t find out last night until I saw her,” said the cyan pegasus, “but I’m glad that she’s okay when I recovered her and the mobile suit that she calls Longinus.”
“Can I still try again?” the fiery pegasus asked.
“Go ahead,” said Gear Jack, “but we learned a lesson from that filly. You need to remain in operation until you reach full mental assimilation.”
Spitfire took this advice to her heart before climbing inside the mobile suit. She checked the cockpit before putting the neural headband on. She activated Longinus once more, and then start experiencing severe stress again. One side of her mind told her to stop, but the other side took control of her. After a minute of painful torture, she started to feel fine all of a sudden.
“Hey Spitfire,” said the repaircolt, “those demons from last night dismembered one of the legs, so you can only try the head and the arms.”
The fiery pegasus mentally tells the prototype to raise its left arm, which it does so obediently. The R&D crew watched in awe as the head starts moving. They could not believe that she done it successfully. Even Rainbow Dash was amazed, despite the fact that Longinus lost one of the legs.
“I guess she really taught us a lesson,” said Gear Jack, “it’s not a matter of safety. It’s a matter of having a strong will.”
“But still,” said the lime colored unicorn, “we still need to work on the psychological controller so it won’t torture anypony that tries to pilot a mobile suit.”
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On the cliff that towers over the plains of Canterlot, an orange pegasus filly and a lavender unicorn stallion watched over a patch of land made of steel. The filly took a bite of a Hay Ruth bar, wondering why she’s here. The stallion however, went back to his chariot just to check the time before returning to his adopted daughter.
“Pretty sight, don’t you think?” asked the stallion. The orange pegasus turned around to see her foster father. She grinned, knowing that finally had a family that cares about her.
“Yep,” said the filly, “I wonder what we’re waiting for.”
“It’ll show up in twenty seconds.” The unicorn said those words as they watched in anticipation. As time passed, the metal land started to erupt. The gates on it began to open, allowing the buildings hidden behind them to rise from hiding. When those buildings settled to their places, the lights turned on, making it as if the place is alive. What happened to the metal land left a great impression on the filly.
“Ponyville is finished,” said the lavender stallion, “but we got a new home now. Welcome to Avalon.”
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Among the streets of Avalon, Canterlot, the lavender mare and the purple dragon approached the building that looked like an apartment. The dragon was worn out from carrying a large amount of luggage, almost as he was sweating. As the two began to climb the stair, a owl, a baby phoenix, and a dark blue haro caught up to them.
“Are you okay Spike?” the haro asked, “You look terrible.”
“Tell me about it Research,” said Spike, “we have been looking all over the place for a new home.”
“Let me take it from here,” said the unicorn as she started to levitate the luggage using her magic. As they make their way to the block they intended to live in, another lavender unicorn, which is a stallion, and an orange pegasus filly crossed their path. The mare could not believe her eyes, so she began to hug her physical doppelganger.
“Star Blade,” the lavender mare began to cry, “I thought that you were dead.”
“It’s been a long time since I last saw you Twilight.” Star Blade hugged the mare back, leaving everyone else confused. As the two let each other go, the filly began to tug on the lavender stallion.
“How did you know about Twilight?” the orange filly asked, “it doesn’t make sense.”
“To tell you the truth,” said Star Blade, “she’s my twin cousin. We got along with each other until a group of stallions ponynapped me. At first, I thought I was going to die, but they trained me to be a checker. I did my job well at first, but I learned a grim fact that checkers play the role of murderers. When I was told to kill a defiant mare working for the revolts in Horseshima, I joined the rebels instead. My fight against the government lasted four years, and the rebels gained freedom and liberty. Now, here I am.”
“Whoa,” said the orange filly, “that’s a long story you just…”
Before she could finish, a sudden headache struck her out of nowhere. The group was shocked about what’s happening to her. Twilight Sparkle rushed to her side, fearing the worse.
“What’s happening to her?” said the worried unicorn, “it looks like she’s having a headache!”
“That happened to her an hour ago,” said Star Blade, who was hiding his worries over his daughter, “I don’t know why.”
The filly began to recover with seconds, with strange images melded into her mind. She shook herself as nothing really bad happened to her. Twilight sighed in relief, believing that it was a close call. Spike walked up to the orange filly and rested his claw on her back.
“Something wrong with you Scoots?” the dragon asked her, “I thought you were a goner for a sec.”
“What came to me was some sort of mobile suit carrying me as I was injured.” That was all Scootaloo can say.
“We should rest up for the night,” said Star Blade, “there’s a big day ahead of us.”
The group agreed, knowing that they were tired from the incident from Ponyville. The twins began to realize that they’re next door to each other before they grinned. Research bumped into Twilight, reminding her to call it a day. Star Blade and Scootaloo watched as the lavender mare, the purple dragon, the owl, the phoenix, and the haro enter into their room before doing the same.
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In the R&D factory, Spitfire watches as the second Longinus is being built. She blinked for a second, unable to believe the true story of the Ponyville incident. The fiery mare rolled her eyes as the left arm is being fitted on the mobile suit.
“Why is she fighting?” she asked herself, “what made her pilot the mobile suit in the first place?”