“How long has it been, Twilight?” Pinkie asked as she and Twilight neared the Equestrian Ponyville in the core lander. “Since we set out from the colony for this thing I mean?”
“A month or so,” Twilight replied as she stopped the core lander at the entrance to the town and got out, followed swiftly by Pinkie. “Give or take a few days.”
“Really? It seems like it's been a lot longer than that.” Pinkie looked deeply at the awaiting town. “Do you really think there's gonna be an event in my honor? I mean, do you think things have really changed at the colony and they don't see me solely as a traitor's daughter?”
“Pinkie, you had nothing to do with the events that happened,” Twilight said as she placed a reassuring hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “I'm sure that the colony ponies have finally realized that and that's probably one of the reasons behind whatever's going on here with this event thing.”
“I hope so,” Pinkie said. “Anyways, so where is this big event thing being held?
“At a place you should know very well, Pinkie.”
“Do you mean what I think you mean?”
“If you think I mean that it's being held at Ponyville's bakery, Sugarcube Corner, then you're correct.”
“Oh that is exactly what I thought you meant!” Pinkie shouted as she hopped around Twilight in glee. “Oh I haven't been there in five years now. Oh I wonder how the cakes are doing.” Pinkie continued to hop as she made her way into the town. She stopped and gazed back to where Twilight was still standing. “You coming?”
“Oh I have something to take care of,” Twilight said. “Nothing big or anything. Go on ahead, I'll meet you there.”
“Okie Dokie!” Pinkie turned back around and continued to hop into Ponyville while she hummed a happy tune on her way to Sugarcube Corner.
Twilight watched as her friend merrily made her way into town and vanished into the crowds of ponies before she moved. She entered the town and swiftly turned down a side street. From here she made her way through the familiar streets of the town until she came to the Ponyville library, an impressive looking building built out of a large living tree. She pulled a key free of her bags with her magic and unlocked the door and as she entered, she took in the deep, rich smell of books.
“Oh, how I have missed you all,” she said as she meandered past the shelves of books, idly pulling one free with her magic and reading a page or two before replacing it only to repeat the process with another. She had not had the time to read since she was assigned to help Pinkie with the Shining Pony nor did she have the space to carry more than a few books with her in the core lander. Eventually, Twilight made it over to the staircase set along the back wall of the library heading up to the second story. She ascended quickly and made her way to an old wooden desk set in a small alcove set between two bookshelves. Her horn glowed softly, shedding a soft light over the desk. The thing was coated in a fine layer of dust marking that it had not been touched or used in awhile. Twilight reached underneath the desk and pressed a hidden switch. The top of the desk split open and a computer terminal rose up. Twilight thanked the stars that nopony had gotten it into their head to go snooping around a closed library as having hidden computers and the like lying around would have been rather difficult to explain to the ponies of Ponyville. Her horn glowed again as a communications headset rose from the terminal and set itself on her head. Twilight raised a hoof and pressed a button on the computer, turning it on. A few moments later, the screen flashed on with the words “Please wait while your transmission is connected,” before the face of an older tan earth pony with a gray mane and a pair of glasses appeared.
“Prime Minister Mare,” Twilight said into the headset. “This is Twilight Sparkle reporting in as per your orders.”
“Ah, Twilight,” the Prime Minister said. “So good to hear from you again. You know, we were so glad that you accepted this job from us; giving up your position as an investigator for the tournament regulations committee.”
“Don't think anything of it, Prime Minister. Pinkie's been a friend of mine for a good long time. I just saw this as a way to catch back up with her after the years she was gone.”
“Yes. By the way we have received the reports you sent on the status of Pinkie Pie's physical and mental conditions. We were troubled at first with some of the more recent ones, but it seems that she managed to pull through that. But unfortunately, because of those reports, there has been a case made that Pinkie is not the best pony to be the representative of the colony. Thusly, Pinkie needs to be brought back to the colony for some testing. And before you say anything in opposition to it, the plan has already been set into motion. She will be sent on her way back to the colony.” Twilight stared, her mouth agape, at the Prime Minister over what she had just said. The whole situation had turned out to be a large trap set by the colony. “Your presence is also required, Twilight Sparkle. There is another ship that is ready to head to the colony. You will be on that ship. We hope to see you soon.”
The terminal feed shut off, leaving the screen a blank gray and Twilight staring at it. How could she have let this happen? she thought as she pressed the switch beneath the desk, returning it to its normal look. She took a moment to wipe away the remaining dust from the desk before she hurried off to the town's space port.
Pinkie eventually wound up milling about outside of Sugarcube Corner. The building still looked as it had all those years ago. It still had the roof that looked like it was made of cookies coated in frosting and that large pink cupcake up on top. She stared at the familiar building while she muttered under her breath whether or not she should just go up to the door and knock and wait for someone to answer or if she should just barge on in like he always did. She hoped that the Cakes hadn't changed their opinions on her since she left. Pinkie finally managed to work up her nerves and approached the door.
“Hello, is anypony here?” Pinkie said as she slowly opened the door to the bakery, seeking the middle ground between her choices of entrance. In response, she was knocked off her hooves and back out onto the street by a flying mass of brown where she landed on her back. After her eyes stopped spinning from the hit, she looked at what had hit her and saw that it was a light tan pegasus colt with a mane and tail of dark brown.
“You're here! Pinkie's here!” the young pegasus shouted in glee. “She's back! She's back! She's back!”
“Aw, I'm happy to see you too, Pound Cake,” Pinkie said as she plucked the excited pegasus from herself and got back to her hooves. “You've gotten so much bigger since the last time I saw you. Are your parents home?”
“Yeah,” Pound Cake said as he jumped into the air a hovered a few feet off the ground. “And so is Pumpkin. We missed you Pinkie.”
“And I missed you all too.” Pinkie placed a hoof on Pound Cake's head and ruffled his mane. “Now, there is something that I need to talk to your parents about, do you think that you could go and get them for me?”
“No need to ask for that, Pinkie,” an older yellow earth pony stallion with a short orange mane and tail, an extremely pronounced jaw, and a cutie mark of a trio of carrot cakes wearing a simple white apron, a short white and red baker's toque, and a red and white striped bow tie said from the open door to Sugarcube Corner.
“Oh, Mr. Cake. How have you been?”
“Just fine, Pinkie. Now Pound, as Pinkie said, she has something that she needs to talk to me and your mother about. How about you go out and play with your friends for awhile.”
“But Dad,” Pound Cake said.
“Don't worry,” Mr. Cake said.” You'll have time enough later to catch up with Pinkie. Now, go and get your sister and take her with you. She's been cooped up in her room for too long practicing magic and needs to get out and play with her friends.”
“Aye aye pops!” Pound Cake raised a hoof to his forehead in salute before he flew into the bakery and up the stairs along the back wall to the Cake's rooms. A moment later, there was a loud cry from upstairs as Pound Cake reappeared, dragging his sister along by her tail.
“But I don't want to go outside and play,” Pumpkin Cake, a light yellow unicorn filly with an orange mane and tail, whined.
“Too bad, dad said,” he brother replied through a mouthful of tail as he continued to drag his sister across the bakery store front towards the door.
“Bye you two,” Pinkie said as the two passed by her and her father and headed out into the streets of Ponyville.
“Oh hi, Pinkie,” Pumpkin Cake said once she saw Pinkie as she was dragged along. “When we get back I wanna show you how far I've gotten with my magic, it's awesome. Bye bye!”
Pinkie waved as the two of them went off before she turned back to Mr. Cake. “Things seem to be going well for your family.”
“Yeah, and it is in part thanks to you,” Mr. Cake said as he entered the bakery. Mr. Cake removed his apron and hat and placed them on a set of hooks by the door and motioned for Pinkie to follow him. “Come now, we have much catching up to do. And Cup Cake has made something especially for you.”
“Was that Pinkie I heard earlier, Carrot?” a voice called from the bakery kitchen.
“Yes dear, she's here.” Mr. Cake walked up next to Pinkie and extended a foreleg in the direction of a side room just off the bakery's store front. Pinkie walked over and saw that the room was furnished with several comfy looking chairs and a low wooden table. “Make yourself at home,” Mr. Cake said as he left Pinkie to go and fetch his wife from the kitchen. Pinkie lowered herself into one of the chairs and waited for the Cakes to come. A few minutes later, Mr. Cake entered carrying a tray of tea cups in his mouth. Following closely was his wife, Mrs. Cake; a light blue earth pony mare with a curly mane and tail of two shades of red, one lighter than the other, and a cutie mark of three pink frosted cupcakes carrying a tray with a single pink frosted cupcake with a decorative candy representation of Pinkie and the words “Welcome Back” topping it.
“Oh, Pinkie, it's so nice to see you again,” Mrs. Cake said as she set the tray with the cupcake down in front of Pinkie while Mr. Cake set the tray of tea cups down and set them out before the three of them. “We heard about what happened to your family. We're sorry you had to go through so much without someone to comfort you.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie said as she took a drink from her tea and pulled free the picture of her and her sisters. “But I've managed to turn that event into the driving force behind me. But enough about me and my problems, you two seem to be doing fine. And Pumpkin and Pound look like they're growing up healthy and well. And this tea is absolutely delicious, is it a new blend?”
“Why yes it is, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake replied. “As is the cupcake there.”
“You did have an influence on us, and in more than just baking,” Mr. Cake said. “The kids have been waiting for you to come back for years. They really missed you.”
“I'll make sure to visit more often once the tournament if done and over with. Now, I heard that there was supposed to be some big event thing being hosted here for me.”
“Oh, that's not for a couple more days,” Mrs. Cake said as Pinkie finished off her tea and took a large bite out of her cupcake. Pinkie smiled with delight at the delightful taste. “We're still preparing for it.”
“Oh, so we arrived early,” Pinkie said as she finished off her cupcake and licked her hoof. “That's good; we'll have more time to catch up on things.”
“By the way, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake said. “What's with that picture you pulled out?”
“Oh this, it's a picture of me and my sisters from back before I left the colony for the first time...” Pinkie's vision suddenly began to spin and she lost her balance, sending her off her chair and onto the floor as her picture softly drifted down next to her. “What's going on?”
“We're very sorry, Pinkie, but we had no choice in this. We hope that you'll forgive us for this someday.” Pinkie's consciousness faded away as she listened to Mr. and Mrs. Cakes apologies.
A familiar hoof reached down and picked up the fallen picture. “Greetings and salutations, everypony,” MR said as the familiar spotlight shone down the suited pony sitting on his stool as he looked at the picture. “It seems that today we shall finally unravel the mystery behind this picture. And why someone so trusted to Pinkie Pie would betray her in such a fashion. For today's opponent is none other than the ultimate pony suit ever created, the devilish Dark Pony.”
MR quickly stood from his stool and pulled free his suit and eye patch, revealing his bright pink shirt and bow tie and his perfectly normal working right eye. “Now, let's get this thing started! Pony fight all set. Ready, go!
Mobile Fighter G-Pony Episode 6
Shadows of the Past
“General Blueblood, you are sure that the tournament committee won't find out that we broke the regulations and brought our pilot back to the colony?” the Neo-Ponyville Prime Minister said to her traveling companion who was steering the vehicle they were in along a cliff-side road, a large white unicorn stallion with a well-kept blond mane and tail wearing a black suit covering his chest and forelegs leaving his cutie mark, an eight-pointed compass rose. The unicorn turned to the prime Minister, showing off the bright metal mask that covered half of his face, from his horn to the top of his mouth and back to the ear on the right side of his face.
“Don't worry, Prime Minister,” General Blueblood said reassuringly. “I've taken all measures to make sure that they won't find out.”
“So you keep telling me. But is this really necessary, General?”
“Quite so, this will have serious repercussions if it fails. We'll have to scrap everything we've done so far. ” The General turned his gaze to the surrounding landscape just outside the window of the vehicle. There was a large lake just at the bottom of the cliffs they were driving on that spread out into the distance where it met a large open field. “They must have really worked their flanks off to restore this place back to the way it looked after what happened,” Blueblood said as he turned his eyes back to the road. “Was it really just half a year ago that it happened?”
“Yes,” the Prime Minister replied. “That was a dark day for the colony. That monster of a suit rampaged about the countryside destroying everything in its path. We had no idea that it would be as strong as it was, if we did, we would have thought of some better way to deal with it. How's the wound by the way, if you don't mind me asking.”
“Still hurts like the very fires of Tartarus itself,” Blueblood replied as he raised a hoof to the mask on his face. “But I guess I was one of the lucky ones that day. We lost a lot of brave mares and stallions when that suit overpowered our lines. I just got this when my suit was destroyed. And in the end it was in vain. That thing managed to escape to Equestria.”
“We tried,” the Prime Minister said as General Blueblood started to slow the vehicle down as a pair of unassuming cottages just off the side of the road came into view.
“And here we are, Prime Minister,” he said as he stopped the vehicle and got out. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for the Prime Minister. As she stepped out, the door to one of the cottages opened and a light blue unicorn stallion with a messy dark blue mane and tail wearing a white lab coat quickly strode out to greet them.
“Prime Minister, General,” The unicorn said as he offered each a hoof in greeting.
“Prime Minister,” Blueblood said as he took the unicorn's greeting. “You remember Professor Midnight Shine. He was Professor Pie's assistant back before everything happened.”
“Yes, Professor Midnight; I remember,” the Prime Minister said as she also took the professor's hoof in greeting. “You're Twilight Sparkle's father if I'm not mistaken.”
“You are correct,” he responded as he turned back to the cottage he had come out of and quickly made his way to its front door. “Come now, it is almost time to begin.” Professor Midnight opened the door and disappeared inside.
“General, you are sure that this is absolutely necessary, correct?”
“Yes,” Blueblood replied. “I believe that Ms. Pinkie Pie is the best candidate that we have, not only for this task but also for the tournament itself. And if I have to prove it to the other colony bigwigs who want to change that, then so be it.” General Blueblood walked up to the cottage door and turned back to the Prime Minister. “Now, come on, the professor will explain everything inside.”
Prime Minister Mare followed behind as the General entered the cottage. Just past the door was a long hallway devoid of any kind of decorations or other doors save for one at the far end. The two governmental ponies made their way quickly to this door and upon opening, entered into a large circular room. Half the room was taken over by a myriad of electronic equipment; computers, video monitors, graphs monitoring various things. Professor Midnight stood over by the equipment as he fiddled with some switches and dials.
On the other half of the room, around a large circular table, sat three large couches and three ponies sitting on them. There were two earth pony stallions, one a light brown and the other a light green, and a light yellow earth pony mare.
Professor Midnight turned to face the three ponies sitting and the two new additions to the group. “Ah, and it appears that we are all here and accounted for. Now I believe that some introductions are in order just to make with the pleasantries,” the professor said as he motioned for the Prime Minister and the General to take a seat. “I'll start. My name is Professor Midnight Shine of the Neo-Ponyville colony Pony Suit research and development lab.”
“I guess I'll go next then. I am the head of the colony economics,” the brown earth pony stallion said. His expertly tailored dark green suit with a tie that had a dollar sign on it, large bushy black eyebrows, slicked back black mane, and well-kept black tail defined him as a pony who knew how to handle money even without looking at his cutie mark of three bags of money. “My name is Filthy Rich, but please, just call me Rich.”
“Well then, it's my turn now. Hello there, I'm Motor Mouth,” the light green stallion happily said. He, like Mr. Rich, was wearing a well-tailored suit, but in his case it was lacking the tie and of a deep red that almost matched the color of his curly mane and tail and left his cutie mark, a megaphone, clearly viable. “Ambassador Liaison.”
“I'm sure that everyone here knows who I am,” the light yellow mare said. She, like the two stallions was dressed for business, in a dark gray pinstriped suit and skirt, which covered her cutie mark, which complimented her lighter gray mane and tail. “I am the head of the Ponyville colony, Mrs. Aurora Streak. Now that concludes the introductions.” The Prime Minister began to speak up on this before she was cut off. “We know who the two of you are, Ms. Mare. You are the Prime Minister for the colony and the stallion you walked in with is General Blueblood of the colony military force. Now, would you be so kind as to explain to the rest of the group why we are here, General.”
“Of course, Mrs. Streak,” General Blueblood said and stood as Professor Midnight rolled a large monitor which had a video feed of a room similar to the one they were currently in aside from the lack of electronics towards the table the governmental ponies sat at. “I know that there has been several extreme reservations over the fact that the pony we have on the task of chasing after Professor Clyde Pie's last creation is none other than one of his daughters, Ms. Pinkie Pie. And I know that there have also been reservations about having Ms. Pie be the representative for our colony in the Pony Fight tournament. I know this by the sheer amount of paperwork that has filtered through the military's secretaries on looking for a replacement pilot. And yes, before any of you say anything, I am in fact aware that this is mostly due to some of the recent reports on the well-being of our pilot written by Professor Midnight's daughter, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Don't forget her fighting record, General,” Motor Mouth said. “Currently she has won only one fight in the time the tournament has been active, despite facing off against, at this time a grand total of four challengers. That means that there were three instances of no contest for Ms. Pie. You assured us that she was the best of the best that we could find; that is not what is shown here. We need a pilot that has both the strength and determination, not only for the task at hand, but also for the tournament as well.”
“And have you seen the expenses that she has managed to incur?” Filthy Rich chimed in. “She has taken too many risks in her fighting and has caused an unacceptable amount of repairs needed for the Shining Pony suit. Repairs cost money, General.”
“Mr. Motor Mouth, Mr. Rich, I can assure you that your thoughts are misguided. I can assure you that Ms. Pie is, in fact, the best we have for a pilot and that she would have had a good reason for taking such damage to her suit.”
“And what reason would ever be a good reason to damage such an expensive piece of equipment as a pony suit General?”
“Mr. Rich, I am sure you are aware that as a colony representative, pilots are privy to a myriad of details concerning the security of the cities, both those on the colonies as well as the ones on Equestria itself. And as such, of those easily approachable by another pilot, they would be the best place to ask for any information concerning the whereabouts of Professor Pie's creation. In fact, that is just what Ms. Pie has been doing, traveling from city to city following the leads given to her by the other pilots.” Blueblood turned and approached the monitor. “Now, we have set up a simulation for Ms. Pie in the other cabin through the combined efforts of Professor Midnight and his daughter. It is of what we know of what happened the day the two other Pie sisters turned on the colony. This will show you of the commitment and willingness that Ms. Pie has for this.” He turned his head to the professor and gave a short nod. “Professor, start the simulation; it's time for our guest to wake.”
Pinkie laid on a comfortable couch as she dozed soundly before her sleep was disturbed by the soft sound of a set of bells ringing in the distance and by the sound of a door softly opening and closing. Pinkie slowly opened her eyes as she stretched out her legs to remove the traces of sleep from her system. As her eyes finally adjusted to the light of where she had slept, two familiar faces came into focus right in front of her face. They were the faces of two earth pony mares about the same age as Pinkie if not a little bit older, one was light gray with a darker gray mane and the other was a light purple with a mane the color of the other’s coat.
“Hey look,” the purple mare said as she nudged the other’s shoulder. “I think she’s awake. Sleep nice, Pinkie?”
“Blinkie?” Pinkie said as recognition slowly crept across her mind.
“And not just her, Pinks,” the gray mare said as she thumped Pinkie hardily on the back. “Don’t forget about me.”
“Inkie? Oh it’s so great to see you two again.” Pinkie leapt up from the couch she was on and pulled both of her sisters into a big hug. “But why are you here?”
“Pinks, like we wouldn’t be here to see you after we heard that you got back,” Inkie said as she pulled herself free of Pinkie’s hug. “It’s been how long since we’ve seen you?”
“Five years, six months, and twelve days,” Blinkie replied. Her sisters gave her strange looks at her extremely specific number. “What, I missed you, Pinkie.”
“We both did, Pinks,” Inkie said as she grabbed Blinkie about the shoulders. “And so did mom and dad. They should be here anytime now.” A distant sound of jingling bells and an opening door signaled the arrival of somepony. “And that should be them right there.”
Two earth ponies walked into the room, a stallion and a mare, both wearing lab coats as if they had just come from a laboratory or something of the like. The stallion was a brownish-orange color with a gray mane with huge sideburns, a gray tail, and a large black wide-brimmed hat; the mare was of a very light gray color with a mane of a grayish green pulled up into a tight bun and a tail of the same color and wore a pair of glasses.
“Mom! Dad!” Pinkie shouted as she ran to her parents and gave both a big hug. “Oh, I missed all of you since I’ve been gone. But how did you all know that I was back in the colony? I don’t remember sending a message to the colony saying that I would be back and to have it sent to you saying that I was back.”
“That was me, Pinkie.” A door opened on the other side of the room and Twilight walked out over to Pinkie and pulled her into a hug. “Do you remember the last time we talked? You said that you might be stopping back at the colony for awhile to catch up with your family.”
“Oh yeah, but that was a few months ago. I didn’t think you would remember that.”
“Well I did. And when I heard that you had boarded a shuttle for the colony, I contacted your family and told them you were on your way back.”
“And when we got the message,” Pinkie’s father began as her mother produced a large basket filled with food, “we thought that we might surprise you with an old fashioned family dinner complete with all your favorite foods while you tell us of your travels over these past years.”
“Oh you know I can’t say no to a home cooked meal after I’ve been away from home for so long,” Pinkie said as she grabbed the basket from her mother and helped her family set out the food.
“So, we heard that you fell into the martial arts since you left,” Blinkie said as the Pie family finished setting the food out.
“Yeah, how'd ya manage that?” Inkie chimed in. “Last news we heard of ya was when ya left the Cake's bakery to wander around Equestria.”
“Well that's a grand tale to tell,” Pinkie said as she motioned for her family to sit. “I was out of Ponyville for about a week, wandering about the lands of Equestria looking for myself. I was traveling through an area of rocky fields when I was set upon by bandits. Bandits of all things, must have been that old cloak I was wearing. Maybe they thought I had something valuable on me. So anyways, I tried to defend myself, but I was outnumbered and eventually overpowered. Then, just as I thought that this was the end for me, a voice rang out over the entire area.” Pinkie leapt up onto a vacant chair and struck a dynamic pose, she held out a fore leg pointing straight up in the air and the other pointing downward while she balanced on her hind legs.
“'Vile wretches of the land! How dare you pray on those weaker than you! Prepare to face the wrath of the school of the undefeated of Equestria!' Standing there on top of one the large stones of the field, overlooking the area stood one of the largest ponies I had ever seen. She was a dark blue unicorn, like the color of the night sky dark, with a pale blue mane and tail that seemed to be made of moonlight. She wore a dark brown cloak over a pair of purple pants and a purple shirt held by a long white sash that covered her cutie mark, something that to this day I have yet to see.”
“Anyways, she had an air of authority about her that drew the gaze of everypony up to her at her shout. She jumped down from the rock and landed gracefully before the group of bandits. “Pinkie jumped off her chair in imitation. “Then, the bandits decided to attack the large unicorn, which I'm sure in hindsight they realized how very stupid that plan was. As the bandits closed in on her, she reached down to her waist and pulled off her sash with her mouth and whipped it at one of the bandits which wrapped itself around one of the bandit's legs and with a mighty heave, she sent the bandit flying into another, sending both flying into one of the rocks scattered about. Following that, she did it again, but after she tossed away the second unfortunate bandit, the rest of the group finally realized what was going on entirely and attacked her as an entire group.”
“They had her surrounded and slowly backed her up against one of the big rocks.” Pinkie backed her way up to one of the walls of the room. “Then she struck out with a hoof and hit a bandit square in the face and as the bandit was dazed, she followed that hit with half a dozen more. Soon, she was just a blur of movement as she struck one after another, sending bandits flying from her.” Pinkie imitated this, throwing punches and kicks with her hooves at a blistering speed. “Then as the last bandit fell, she approached me and asked me if I was ok. I told her I was fine and asked for her name. She smiled and told me to try and guess her name. I said either Hokey Smokes or Black Snooty. She laughed at those names and told me that I could call her Master Everfree. She then invited me to travel with her so that I wouldn't end up in another situation like this. Then one thing led to another and then I was her apprentice, learning her fighting style.”
“She said I was a natural, but then after four years of training with her, she told me that I needed to go off on my own to hone my skills and that the next time we met, she would have have something important to give to me. It's been a year since then and I still haven't found Master again.”
As Pinkie regaled her family with the tales of her journeys, Twilight quietly slipped away, moving out into the hallway leading to the front door of the cottage they were in. She stopped and gazed back into the main room, it was empty, save for Pinkie and the shimmering outlines of the magical marionettes that she had provided for this ruse. Twilight was furious at herself, how could she have taken part in this farce set up by her father. Twilight fought back tears as she chided herself. How could she have done such a thing to friend. How could she have allowed them to place Pinkie into a state where she couldn't realize what was and what wasn't real. As she heard Pinkie laugh, Twilight turned away back towards the door, tears now freely flowed down her cheeks.
Caught up in the simulated reality, Pinkie did not hear the cottage door slam closed.
“General,” Mrs. Streak stated as the simulation unfolded before the group of government ponies on the video screen. “ What does any part of this simulation have to do with the situation at hand?”
General Blueblood stood at the question from her and walked around to stand in front of the video screen at the head of the table. “I am glad that you asked that question Mrs. Streak,” he replied. “And I am sure that the rest of you here have the same question as to why the simulation we have starts with a joyful family reunion.”
“Yes General,” Motor Mouth said. “I, for one, want to know why.”
“Same here,” Filthy Rich stated.
“Well, the reason is rather simple. This particular part of the simulation is to show you all just how Ms. Pie held her relations with her family. As you all saw, she holds them to be important to her even after she was gone for a time period of six years. This is part of what justifies why I believe that she is the one we need to personally find her sisters and her father's creation.”
“So what you are saying, General,” Ms. Streak stated. “Is that you set her out on this because of her love for her family? I do hope that you realize how stupid that plans sounds. What if Ms. Pie decides to join in on whatever her sisters' plan are when she finds them?”
“For that answer, we have to move forward onto the next part of the simulation. I'm sure that the next part will be familiar to you all as it is contains the infamous event that shook the colony half a year ago.” Blueblood turned to face Professor Midnight, who had been standing over by a control panel on the other side of the room. “Professor, if you will.” Professor Midnight gave a short nod to the General as he flipped a few switches, causing the video on the screen to switch to one of a large pony suit hanger.
“So what was this thing that you wanted to show me?” Pinkie asked as she was led into a large hanger in the research and development wing of the colony's pony suit development lab.
“Just wait and see dear,” her mother said as she turned her head towards Pinkie. “Soon you'll be able to see the product of all the years your father, sisters, and I worked. Our greatest achievement.”
“I'm sorry that I couldn't help you at all with it.”
“Don't you worry, Pinks,” Inkie said as she turned towards Pinkie and placed a hoof over her shoulders, stopping the both of them. “Not everypony is cut out to be an egghead like us.”
“Inkie, really,” Blinkie chided as she also stopped and faced her two sisters. “We are not eggheads. We are scientists of the highest caliber and we should be referred to as such.”
“Oh you know I know that, Blinks. But what's the fun in a job if you can't go and make jabs at yourself about it?” Inkie finished this statement by breaking out into a loud laugh that Pinkie shared. After a moment, Blinkie too found herself pulled into the joke and began to laugh with her sisters.
“Girls, come on,” their father said from the edge of the hanger, where the hanger dropped down several stories to accommodate the pony suits just past a sturdy metal railing.
“Yes, dad,” the three Pie sisters said in unison and broke out in a chorus of laughter again as they made their way to where their parents stood at edge of the hanger. As they approached, Pinkie stopped abruptly as she saw what stood just beyond the edge of the hanger; it was the largest pony suit that she had ever seen.
“What is that?” she asked as she stared at the suit. She had seen a few of the standard model pony suits that were used by the colony's military and the police force as well as for construction and excavation purposes, yet this suit was far beyond those.
“What is that?” she asked as she stared at the suit. She had seen a few of the standard model pony suits that were used by the colony's military and the police force as well as for construction and excavation purposes, yet this suit was far beyond those. It was somewhere on the line of being four to five times larger than the standard pony suit and from what she could see, it had two very distinct sections to it. The upper part of the suit looked similar to some of the other races suit designs. It had a large chest where the cockpit looked like it was situated with a pair of arms attached to it by large spherical shoulders. These arms ended in large claws more akin to those found on a griffon's or a diamond dog's suit. Yet the head unit of this was decidedly pony in shape, with a pair of golden fins adorning its forehead. And attached to the back of this upper section was a pair of wings similar to those found on the pegasus model of pony suits, yet these looked like they were for an entirely ascetic purpose.
The lower section of the suit was even stranger then the upper one to Pinkie. The upper section of the suit was attached to a small section at its front by a section of flexible material allowing for it to move somewhat independently from the lower section. Just behind this stretched the main body of the suit. It was large, with four pairs of short, strong looking legs that each ended in a large, stout metal hoof that looked like it could allow the suit to traverse over any type of terrain. All along the back of this section were many exhaust ports of various sizes as well as many more ports that contained who knows what. And rounding out the suit, was a short, stubby powerful looking tail.
“This, Pinkie,” her father began as he turned from the suit to face her, “is the Ultimate Pony. We developed it with the express purpose of being able to restore the damage that the pony fight tournament brings to the land of Equestria. That being so, we have equipped it with a powerful new artificial intelligence and nano-machine production that have been designed with three great principles: Self-regeneration, self-replication, and self-evolution.”
As Pinkie stared at the marvel of technology that her family had created, a loud ruckus came from the doorway to the hanger. As the Pie family drew their attention to the doors, they were thrown wide open, hitting the walls behind them with a loud crash, as a dozen armed unicorn guards wearing heavy riot armor stormed into the hanger.
“Men, surround them,” another unicorn said, this one in a fancy looking uniform and hat that placed him as a chief of the colony police force. The guards followed the police chief's orders and slowly made their way into a wide semicircle extending from the railing of the hanger around the Pie family. The police chief slowly approached as well, and when he was closer, his horn glowed faintly as a piece of paper floated from a pocket of his uniform to in front of his face. “Professor Pie,” he said, addressing Pinkie's father. “We are placing you, your wife, and your daughters under arrest on suspicions of high treason against the Ponyville colony. We have reliable sources that have led us to believe that your family intends to turn against us through the use of that pony suit behind you that you developed.”
“What‽” Pinkie's father exclaimed at the police chief's charges. “Why would anypony think that I would turn against the colony? Or any of my family for that matter? I've lived my entire life here. My family has lived their entire lives here. We've spent countless years working to make this a better place to live. Why would any of us want to ruin all that?”
“Looks like we've been found out,” Blinkie said as she sighed. “I do so wonder what it was that managed to tip off the colony heads though.”
“Blinkie, what are you talking about?” her father asked.
“Oh I'm terribly sorry about this father, but it seems that our plan must be moved forward.”
“What plan?” her mother asked. “What is this whole thing about? Is what they're saying true?”
Off to the side of the Pie family, there was the sound of a gunshot followed by a loud scream as one of the guard ponies was kicked over the hanger railing before it was suddenly cut off. Standing there, holding the guards dropped firearm in her mouth with another guard at her feet, bleeding from a bullet wound to the gut, was Inkie.
“Sorry, pops, mom. But we're taking the suit,” she said from behind clenched teeth.
“What are you all doing‽” the police chief yelled at his remaining guards. “Get them!” The guards were shook into action by their chief's words. Their horns flared as magic surged through them and they brought their guns to arms and aimed at the two Pie sisters. As she saw this happening, Inkie reached down to the fallen guard at her hooves and knocked loose a smoke grenade and kicked it over towards the other guards. As the guards finished lining up their sights, the grenade went off, throwing their aim off and sending their shots wide, missing their intended targets.
“Wait!” Pinkie cried out to her sisters. “What's going on? Why are you doing this?”
“Don't worry, Pinks,” Inkie said as she appeared out of the smoke next to Pinkie and pulled her into a hug. “You'll understand soon enough what our plan is. And I'm sure that once you do, you'll join us.”
Pinkie pulled herself away from her sister's embrace, a look of shock in her eyes. “What are you talking about? This is wrong. How could I go along with any plans that end up with ponies hurt, or worse, dead!”
“Inkie, hurry up already,” Blinkie cried to her sister from the back of the Ultimate Pony. She was just finishing attaching a length of rope from the hanger railing to one of the exhaust ports on the back of the Ultimate Pony. “Get over here before all the smoke dissipates and they're able to see you again!”
“I hear ya, Blinks. See ya, Pinks.” Inkie turned and grabbed onto the rope and slid down to the the back of the Ultimate pony.
“Confound this smoke!” the voice of the police chief shouted through the smoke. “Men, I see movement off to the left. Trail all firearms that direction and fire!”
“No, their not on the hanger anymore!” Pinkie's cry was drowned out by the sound of gunfire. There was a cry of pain and in the silence following the gunfire, a thud was heard as a body fell heavily to the floor.
“Looks like we got one of them,” the police chief said. Then there was a loud crash as the Ultimate Pony slowly rose on its legs, tearing through all the support walkways that were strung around it for the purpose of construction. “What‽”
The arms of the Ultimate Pony swung forward as it reached its full height and gripped into the side of the hanger, with a mighty wrench, it tore open a large hole in the hanger and began to move out into the colony proper. “Quick, send word to the military suit hanger. We have a rouge suit rampaging about the colony!” The remaining guards and the police chief quickly made their way out of the hanger and headed off to deal with the Ultimate Pony suit.
The rush of air that accompanied that tearing of the hanger wall blew away the remaining smoke. There, in the area where the guards had unloaded their firearms, lay Pinkie's mother, blood staining her white lab coat red. “Mom!” Pinkie cried out as she rushed to her mother's side. Her father had reached her first and was holding her in his arms.
“Pinkie, honey,” her mother said through ragged breaths. “I’m so glad that I was able to see you after you were gone for so long.” She gave one more ragged breath before she died in the arms of her husband.
“No!” Pinkie cried as she fell to the ground and slammed a hoof against it. “Why! Inkie, Blinkie, I will find you. And when I do, you will answer for what you’ve done!”
“You said that Ms. Pie was not at the colony when the event happened?” Motor Mouth asked as the screen faded to black. “Where was she when this was happening?”
“Ah, yes,” Prime Minister Mare said. “Pinkie was on the mainlands at the time. Wandering the lands, improving her skills as she told us herself. Though, she returned immediately once she heard of what happened. It was not a good time for her as you can probably imagine. Her mother was dead, her father was in custody, and her sisters were out and about as fugitives. She was ostracized and shunned by the majority of the colony. Yet, when she was approached with the chance to do something about it, she jumped on it.”
“Yes, yes, we saw her drive through that simulation that was shown to us,” Mrs. Streak said as she turned to face Blueblood. “You are certain that what happened in that simulation is what happened that day?”
“Unfortunately not, Mrs. Streak,” General Blueblood said. “We are not entirely sure of the events that took place in that hangar on that day leading up to the event. The team of guards that were sent there to apprehend the Pie family were part of the first wave of the attack against the Nightmare Pony, which is what we have labeled the suit that Dr. Pie created. Sadly they did not survive the confrontation.”
“Yes, and we know the rest of the story of that day,” Filthy Rich said. “The Nightmare Pony rampaged about the colony, destroying the landscape while our forces tried to do something against it. We eventually forces it from the colony and it crash landed on Equestria. All reports pointed to the Nightmare Pony being destroyed upon reentry.”
“Professor, I believe that this is where you come in,'' Blueblood said, motioning to Professor Midnight.
“Yes, General,” Professor Midnight said. “While you are not entire wrong, Mr. Rich, in your assumptions of the destruction of the Nightmare Pony, after the event, Professor Pie's research notes were passed onto his assistant, who at the time was me.” A folder of research notes floated over to the table as the Professor's horn glowed with magic. “Within these notes are detailed the amazing abilities of the suit that Professor Pie created. It was a new type of suit that was powered mainly through the use of nano-machines. It was these nano-machines that allow for the suits powers; self-regeneration, self-replication, and self-evolution. This means that unless the central engine is destroyed, the Nightmare Pony will be able to come back from mostly any damage it receives, including damage taken via reentry without added protection.”
“And this is why you sent Ms. Pie on the task of hunting down her sisters correct?” Mrs. Streak asked. “But if the suit is as powerful as you say it is, how can you be certain that she will be able to defeat the Nightmare Pony?”
“It is as I have said before, Mrs. Streak,” General Blueblood stated. “It is because of her drive to chase after her sisters and her piloting skills.”
“Yes yes, as you have said.” She turned and nodded to Motor Mouth and Filthy Rich. The two pulled communicators from their suits while she produced a controller of some sort. “Then you would not be adverse to a test of said skills and drive, now would you?”
“What are you getting at, Mrs. Streak?”
“You'll see, General. Is everything up and ready?”
“Yes, Mrs. Streak, everything awaits your activation,” Filthy Rich said.
“Ready when you are,” Motor Mouth replied.
“Ok then.” Mr. Streak pointed the controller at the video screen and it changed to show Pinkie in the Shining Pony, sitting on a bluff overlooking one of the major cities of the colony. Off in the distance, rapidly approaching, was what looked to be the Nightmare Pony. “You'll have to excuse, but I've been waiting for a to use the radio controlled pony suit since it was developed. When I said that I wanted to test Ms. Pie's skills, what better way then to have her go up against something that holds the very image of that which she chases after. I do thank you for your little application to Ms. Pie, without it we would have had to actually create another Nightmare Pony suit.”
“You can't do this!” General Blueblood shouted as he struck the table with one hoof.
“I can't, General? And since when has a General been able to tell the head of the colony what she can and can not do? I can assure you right this instant, Blueblood, that if you do not sit down, I will strip you of your rank and banish you from the colony.”
Blueblood gave her a long hard look, then sat down and stared at the screen in silence.
“That's better. Now, let's get this underway.”
Pinkie sat in the Shining Pony as an alarm was raised in the colony. It was the alarm that declared that there was a danger to the colony and for everypony to seek shelter in the designated areas. From her position overlooking the city, Pinkie could see all the ponies as they ran about seeking shelter. Then, off in the distance, there was a glint of light as the sun reflected off something metal. Pinkie turned her eyes towards it, and saw a very familiar sight, it was the suit that her father had created, the ultimate pony suit, the Nightmare Pony.
“So, you've finally come back,” Pinkie said to herself as she stood, causing the Shining Pony to follow her movements to it hooves as well. “Inkie, Blinkie, today is the day that I shall find out why you did what you did. Why you betrayed the colony and your family. Let's go, Shining Pony!”
The Shining Pony reared up onto its hind legs and launched itself off the bluff down towards the large empty fields at its base. It landed solidly on the ground as Pinkie raised her eyes to the sky to see where the Nightmare Pony was. It was still some ways off, but she was certain that it was heading right for her as she watched its flight jets increase their output, propelling it forward faster. As Pinkie watched, a port on the side of the Nightmare Pony's back opened and a cannon of some sort popped out and swiveled to face her. Then came a sensation that never meant anything good, her left knee became all pinchy. The Shining Pony jumped to the side just as a bright flash of light emanated from the Nightmare Pony's cannon and a laser scorched the ground where it had been standing black.
“Wait!” Pinkie cried out through the outboard speakers of the Shining Pony. “Inkie, Blinkie! It's me, Pinkie!”
As she stared up at the incoming suit for some kind of response, Pinkie once again felt a pinching in her knee, though this time it was much worse. As she watched the Nightmare Pony close in, she saw that several more ports on its back opened and more cannons appeared and began to fire on her and the Shining Pony. “Wait! Why are you doing this!” Pinkie cried out again, trying to get some kind of response that was not a laser as she dodged the barrage from the Nightmare Pony. But there was no other response. The barrage of laser attacks continued and increased in speed and accuracy to the point where Pinkie and the Shining Pony were just barely able to dodge them.
“Stop it!” Pinkie shouted as the Shining Pony was once again nearly hit by lasers. At that shout, the Nightmare Pony cut off its attack and dropped down to the colony ground not far from the Shining Pony. Pinkie stared at the suit, it was still as large as she remembered, completely dwarfing her own suit. “So, are we ready to talk?” Pinkie felt another pinch in her knee as she finished her question and jumped away from the Nightmare Pony, but she was just a bit too slow. The Nightmare Pony launched itself forward with alarming speed and swung a mighty arm into the Shining Pony, sending it flying into the bluff at the edge of the fields. The Shining Pony slammed into the rock face and slumped down to the ground.
A slow rumble of laughter sounded from the Nightmare Pony as more and more ports on its back opened revealing many more cannons that all swung around and aimed towards the prone Shining Pony. At the sound of the laughter, Pinkie raised her head and saw her sisters, standing on the shoulders of the Nightmare Pony, laughing at her as its cannons were all aimed at her. At that sight, Pinkie let out a loud cry and the Shining Pony jumped high into the air as the Nightmare Pony fired its laser barrage.
“Fine then!” Pinkie shouted, her voice noticeably shaking. “If... if that's how it's going to be, then fine. Vulcans... fire!” The pair of guns attached to the head of the Shining Pony began to fire down at the Nightmare Pony as it began to fall back down to the colony's ground. The Nightmare Pony nimbly dodged the attack and launched into the air and sped off away from the Pinkie and the Shining Pony while it fired a single cannon shot in their direction as if daring them to follow it.
Pinkie heard the fleeting laughter of her sisters as she sped off after the Nightmare Pony, following it as it flew over the cities and landscape of the colony off towards the edge of the colony, eventually passing through the colonies magical atmospheric shielding. The Nightmare Pony stopped some ways away from the colony and turned back to face the Shining Pony; Pinkie halted her suit well away from her opponent.
“Deploy... the Pinkie Cannon.” Pinkie's voice still shook as the order went through the suit and the Pinkie cannon emerged from the side of the Shining Pony. “I don't want to do this! Please, can't we just talk first?” In response, the ports along the back of the Nightmare pony all opened and every single cannon it possessed aimed towards the Shining Pony. “So be it.” Pinkie drew in a ragged breath as she prepared herself to once again face the attacks of the Nightmare Pony and fire upon her sisters.
“Pinkie, wait!” Twilight's voice shouted over a communications channel, snapping Pinkie's focus from the Nightmare Pony.
“Twilight?”
“Don't worry, Pinkie. I won't let them mess with your head anymore!” A spaceship zipped past the Shining Pony and flew directly towards the Nightmare Pony. Just before collision, a small escape ship detached itself and hastily retreated back towards the Shining Pony. The ship slammed into the Nightmare Pony and exploded; for a moment, the Nightmare Pony shimmered and faded away, revealing a group of five pony suits before the illusion reformed back into the Nightmare Pony.
“What was that?” Pinkie asked as the small ship drew close.
“It's an illusion,” Twilight replied through the communications line. “None of it's real. Nothing you've seen on the colony today has been. It's all just been a ploy set up by the heads of the colony to see if you had what it took to be the pilot of that suit.”
“Everything's been a lie” Pinkie said to herself as anger rose inside her. “Everything? They gave me the chance to see my family again, then showed me their darkest day and then set me up against a bunch of fakes posing as my sisters. All to see if I was worthy to pilot this suit!” At the same time, a change began to take place on the Shining Pony itself; parts of its armor plating began to rearrange itself, revealing a golden frame. The flared shoulders rose up, panels along all four legs popped open to reveal extra exhaust vents, and armor rearranged itself along the hooves of the forelegs to form a gripping device.
“I am ending this farce once and for all!” Pinkie shouted as the Shining Pony began to glow the same bright gold coloring as the frame beneath its armor. “Pinkie cannon, detach!” The Pinkie cannon detached itself from the side of the suit and the Shining Pony reached out and grabbed it with its front hooves and brought it about to face towards the Nightmare Pony.
“Never again will I allow myself to fall for such lies and illusions! These hooves of mine glow with boundless power, their loud roar tells me to defeat you! Now take this! My love! My anger! And all of my sorrow!” The hooves of the Shining Pony began to glow the familiar bright green of its shining hoof attack as the same glow began to appear deep within the Pinkie cannon. “Take this! SHINING HOOF CANNON! FIRE!” The cannon began to glow the same bright green as the hooves as a large blast of energy fired from it, speeding off towards the fake Nightmare Pony. As it struck, it tore away the illusion and destroyed the suits behind it.
As the small fleet of radio controlled pony suits were destroyed by the Shining Pony's final attack, the controller that sat before Aurora Streak exploded, startling everypony around the table but General Blueblood.
He turned to face the colony head with a smug grin on his face. “I told you that she was skilled enough for the task Mrs. Streak.”
“Blueblood,” Ms. Mare said as the shock of everything wore off. “What just happened?”
“Yes, General,” Mrs. Streak said as she glared at Blueblood. “I think the Prime Minister speaks for all of us. What just happened? What was that?”
Blueblood looked over towards Professor Midnight who gave him a short nod. “What you just witnessed was the hidden power of the Shining Pony suit, the Shining Pony super mode. It is a state in which the capabilities of the suit are pushed beyond their limits by the sheer willpower and drive of the pilot. When I said that Ms. Pie was our best choice for a pilot, this is one of the reasons why.”
“Hey!” Pinkie's voice came in through a speaker in the room as the video screen showed a close up of her face. “I know you can hear me in there. Let me tell you something, all of you. You try anything like this again and I will quit the tournament and force a loss, and I know how much you all want me to win this tournament so you can have sway over all of Equestria. Well, have a nice day. Come on, Twilight, let's head back to Equestria.”
The five government ponies all looked at each other as the screen faded to black. “Maybe we should leave her be from now on?” Motor Mouth said to the agreement of the rest.