Mega Mare

by DrakeyC

Dash With It

Mega Mare

Chapter 6 – Dash With It

The enormous whale-shaped airship floated towards the Cloudsdale docks, anti-gravity generators mounted under the fins pulsing in a steady rhythm of orange light. Looking out the windows of the passenger deck, Twilight watched long steel platforms move past her point of view as the ship slid into place. The door outside clicked, the light above flashing from red to green, and Twilight slid it open and stepped out on the Cloudsdale docks. She immediately cast the cloud-walking spell. Many of the streets in Cloudsdale were steel and neoplast platforms wrapped in clouds for aesthetic appeal, but others were just pure cloud constructs and she wasn't about to find out which were which the hard way.

During the technological revolution anti-gravity devices and advances in weather magic had once threatened pegasus prosperity, governors reasoning "why rely on pegasi for our weather and airship maintenance docks when we can build floating cities and robotic drones that do the job just as well?" Then the pegasi unveiled their weather-producing Multitools and saddles with on-board schematics of every airship model in production. This was shortly followed by a public demonstration where a team of pegasi engineers outperformed the government-issue drones on both fronts. That had ended the discussions and the pegasi retained their dominance of Equestria's skies. As Cloudsdale was the home of the main weather factory of Equestria and the site of the first airship plant, it had become the center of their culture in the years after.

"I don’t have a map ready but I can scan things as we move forward. Hang on," Spike said. Twilight waited and called up her display. A wealth of data about the clouds and air that only a weather pony could appreciate scrolled over her eyes while a map of Cloudsdale traced itself out, filling in with structures and pathways. A red arrow on the map pointed her towards Rainbow Dash, Spike’s scanners unable to penetrate the interference to relay her position directly. The rogue pegasus was deep into the city. Taking a breath, Twilight dismissed her map, ran her Multitool through the four weapons she had acquired to double-check their function, and set off at a slow trot up the stairs into the city.

Cloudsdale's hybrid of technological and pegasi architecture had the best of both worlds. Finely polished neoplast archways sprouted up from cloud streets, gleaming silver steel paths ran between cloud houses, steel catwalks floated in the air supported by glowing orange anti-gravity generators. A cloud bank on one side held a dock of personal transports, small hovering platforms with railings for non-pegasi to move about the city in. Though the pegasi had enacted renovations to accommodate the earth ponies and unicorns, it was still unquestionably their city. In many places pockets of cloud gave way to open holes in the ground, or there were gaps where two clouds didn't line up perfectly and a pony could trip and have their hoof go through. Twilight was also noticing a distinct lack of barriers, fences, railings, or any sort of safety features to keep a pony from running off the path. She kept to the middle of the path; she didn't need a reminder of how high up she was and how quickly and easily she could meet her end.

"Spike, any pegasi around?" Twilight asked, looking around the street. It was quiet, reminding her very much of Ponyville, a comparison she was not pleased to make. It was even worse in some regards. She could hear and feel the wind whistling through the city making her shiver, and with the wide-open spaces it was even easier than Ponyville to see the city was empty.

"Not yet," Spike replied, "but given that they can fly they could pop up from pretty much anywhere." Twilight made a face. That wasn't a very comforting thought. Pushing it aside she continued down the cloud streets, her hooves bouncing off the clouds with each step. After a few moments her map lit up with two red dots. "Incoming!" Twilight braced herself as two pegasi swooped down from behind a steel control tower on the horizon. Both had pale blue-grey coats with bright blue and white manes, and both of them had Multitools on their front hooves and saddles on their backs, their wings emerging from slots in the sides.

Twilight stood her ground and fired three magic blasts at the pair. They broke apart as the bolts shot past their flanks and came at Twilight from either side. The first pegasus raised her hoof, vents sliding opening in the side of it with a small hiss and internal fans whirring to life. She snapped her hoof down and a blast of icy air shot down at Twilight. Twilight cried out as small ice crystals bombarded her, frigid cold shaking her body and shocking her senses. The other pegasus meanwhile activated her own hoof, the end glowing orange and steel plates sliding down to elongate it. A gust of scorching wind consumed Twilight and she almost instantly broke into a sweat. The air around her heated like a blistering summer’s day, her coat now damp from the melting frost caked over it.

Shaking her head to gather her senses from the climatic attacks, Twilight looked up as the pegasus with the heated Multitool flew past her and fired. Her shots clanged off the pony’s saddle and she shuddered, streaming down through the air and bouncing along a mass of clouds to lay still. The first pegasus turned in the air and held out her hoof to send another gust of chilling wind down at Twilight. She endured the cold and fired up as the pegasus swooped overhead, disabling her and leaving her to fall to the street. Twilight lowered her head and shook herself vigorously, frost flying through the air. She sneezed and sniffed, the cold still clinging to the air around her.

"Nice going," Spike said. "Be careful around pegasi, they have specialized Multitools for working the weather teams. Snow, heat, rain, lightning, wind, mist. All in their arsenals."

"You could have warned me a few minutes earlier." Twilight's teeth chattered slightly as she spoke.

"I did, it was in the data feed when we got here." Twilight's display appeared and scrolled to that section about pegasus life, the text lightning up yellow. She dismissed it with a huff.

"Well next time emphasize it more, please." Spike gave her the mental impression of an eye roll and Twilight returned it. Warming up a bit, she sniffed back another sneeze and continued on. The steel infrastructure was becoming less common now. Judging from her map Twilight guessed she was entering Cloudsdale's central hub, the original city as it had been before it expanded during the technological revolution.

Two more pegasi attacked her as she reached an intersection, coming up through the street itself leaving holes in the clouds. One of them had a rain-generating Multitool and blasted her with what was practically a miniature rainstorm, leaving Twilight soaked and her mane and tail slicked to her body. Fortunately the pegasus was a slow flyer and she was able to bring it down as it passed over her after firing. The second pegasi had another hot air Multitool, along with armored wings with anti-gravity engines. It was faster than the first three and Twilight let it get off a shot, relishing the drying heat before shooting the pegasus's generators and sending it crashing to the clouds.

Twilight reached an open plaza in the clouds and called up her map. To her right was the weather factory, ahead was the flying camp for athletes, and to her left was the civilian district. She'd just emerged from the industrial district and according to her map Rainbow Dash was in the athlete camp. "Heads up, Twilight, got incoming." Twilight stopped in her tracks as Spike's warning came in her head. "And there’s something off about it." She looked back at her map. A red dot was coming at her from over the buildings and she looked up, her map vanishing. A winged form swooped down and landed opposite her. The being had a body covered in light brown feathers, save for her head where the feathers turned white. She had an eagle’s beak, a pair of powerful paws for hind legs, and her front legs extended into shining silver steel talons. The creature’s eyes were glowing a familiar red.

"A griffon!" Twilight gasped. The griffon kingdom lay across the eastern ocean. They lived a more predatory and nomadic lifestyle and had few major dealings with Equestria besides political debates for the two to remain neutral to the other. The griffons had only embraced technology so far as it intensified the hunt for them. As a result griffon-model Multitools were illegal for ponies to own and griffon visitors and immigrants needed registration forms to use them. Twilight didn't care to think what type of features those metal talons could have, but judging from the red glow in the griffon's eyes she was going to find out.

The griffon flapped its wings and flew at her, talons extended. Twilight dropped to the ground, the talons raking the air above her. Looking up, the griffon screeched at her and turned. With a loud clank and a hiss, the talons flew down on Twilight on long black cables. She dodged them, the talons shooting through the clouds beneath her hooves. The griffon descended, the cables retracting into her legs and the talons snapping back into place. Twilight looked up as the griffon flew over her head and fired several blasts. The griffon took them in the flank and cawed in anger, swooping down to come back.

"Alright, time for some heavy artillery." Twilight rose on her hind hooves and reconfigured her Multitool, the end widening and growing thicker. The griffon came towards her, talons launching through the air. Twilight dove aside, the talons whistling past her eyes, and fired the Pinkie Cannon. The griffon took the blast in the side as she passed, a shockwave shaking the clouds and pink streamers and confetti bursting through the air in her way. She squawked loudly and flapped to gain altitude, her talons retracting. She swooped back down and Twilight raised her Multitool as a shield. The griffon's talons shot out to slam into it and catapulted Twilight backwards. Twilight had the wind knocked out of her from the landing, thanking the pegasus architects for the sturdy cloud cover that held with her impact. The griffon circled around, bringing up its talons to fire them, and Twilight fired the Pinkie Cannon into its chest. The griffon’s momentum cancelled and it was knocked back through the air, dropping to the clouds and bouncing down a flight of cloud-formed steps to lay still at the bottom. She was unconscious before she hit the first time, her metal talons slicing into the clouds rising around her.

"Good work," Spike said. "Sorry I didn't have much to tell you there, my databanks don't have much info on griffons. I'm surprised we found one around here, they tend to settle on the coastline cities."

"It's fine, Spike." Twilight approached the griffon and knelt, lifting one of its talons in her magic. With the owner unconscious the cable was slack and the prosthetic rose into the air freely, its cable danging beneath it. "It seems the Master can infect other creatures, not just ponies." This changed everything. Berserk ponies was one thing, but if anything with cybernetics was vulnerable there was no telling what else the Master could have waiting to unleash on her. Twilight's thesis to get into the School for Gifted Unicorns had been on the history of cybernetics and magic. Celestia had only begun to revoke the prohibitions of usage of cybernetics a few centuries, but they had been in development long before then. Every nation and species in the civilized world had access to the technology, even some wild animals were subject to the process for various experiments or for certain ecological impacts. Now apparently any of them could fall victim to the Master’s control. Robots like the Silver Wolves and the Windigos were one thing, this was another.

"I can still scan your thoughts," Spike reminded.

Twilight stood from the griffon. "Well, you tell me then. What should I make of this?"

"I think you’re right, it’s hard to say what could be next now." Spike paused before continuing. "But it’s not a big deal. Dragons don’t use cybernetics and I doubt anything else the Master could control would be much of a threat. Griffons and zebras are surprising but they don't have anything really dangerous, and if there were military combat robots mobilizing they wouldn't be getting out without a public scare going up."

"I guess you're right." Twilight spoke the words but still wasn't sure. She hadn't even thought of the idea of the Master infiltrating military compounds. Equestria was a peaceful nation and kept combat drones in storage mostly for caution, if a neighboring nation became hostile. But even locked down in bunkers they were kept combat ready. If they got infected...

"I said relax." Spike cut in. "Once we secure Rainbow Dash our mission for the Princess is over and she can send out the army to bring in the Master. And she'd definitely tell us if military hardware was loose. You're worrying too much."

"Yeah... you're right, she would." Twilight nodded. "Alright, let's keep going and finish up." She had become so used to tracking down Celestia’s aides she forgot for a moment that there was only one left to go. While she had enjoyed the adventure somewhat, being able to explore Equestria and visit locations she had only read about, having to fight crazed ponies was not part of the experience she was going to relish. Now she was looking forward to when she could go back to her normal life as a student and adviser. Twilight looked down at the Pinkie Cannon on her hoof and reconfigured it back to its normal form. The featureless stainless steel looked a little odd to her now after seeing so many weapon configurations emerging from her hoof. She should look at getting these weapons programs deleted from her databanks too. They were proving invaluable for this assignment but she was turning into a walking arsenal.

"One thing at a time, Twilight." She finished her thoughts aloud and put her thoughts of rest and normalcy aside before continuing on. The path to her destination began to climb, flights of stairs leading her past homes and businesses constructed of clouds. Two more pegasi attacked her, Twilight swiftly disabling them. Finding a larger, longer staircase, she took them slowly. She crested the top to find the Cloudsdale athletics plaza stretching before her. Cloud-carved running tracks dotted the clouds underhoof and through the air were various floating rods and flags forming obstacle courses. Steel spheres hovered via anti-gravity generators, shooting out puffs of smoke or rays of light over the tracks. Cloud banks hovered in the air carved into seating for spectators and covered areas for teammates lay against the far side of the plaza in front of a larger building for administration.

"She's around here somewhere," Spike whispered in her head as Twilight walked into the plaza. The wind whipped her mane out to the side, she looked around but saw nothing. Calling up her map, she confirmed that this was where Spike had detected their target. Suddenly he spoke up again. "Duck!"

Twilight saw a red dot shoot across her display faster than anything she'd ever seen and obeyed, dropping to the ground. A blue blur shot past her, a streak of rainbow light trailing in the air behind it. She looked up to see the blur back around and come at her again, and hugged the ground as the blur swooped past her head. She looked over her shoulder as the blue streak shot up into the air and stopped suddenly. The cause was a cyan pegasus mare with a multi-hued mane, hovering in the air glaring down at her and slowly descending to the ground. The mare wore a mechanical saddle with openings for her wings in the side and had a Multitool on her right hoof, the bottom consisting of a propeller covered by a steel grating. It was different from the others she had seen the pegasi using, with two reinforcement rings around the bottom and thicker plating.

"You must be Rainbow Dash." Twilight stood up to take a few steps towards her. Rainbow Dash’s wings stopped flapping as she dropped to the clouds and fell on all fours.

"Yeah, that’s me," she muttered. Her eyes flashed red and Twilight stopped her approach. Rainbow twitched and tilted her head, the glowing subsiding. "And you’re Twilight Sparkle."

"If you know my name then you must know why I’m here," Twilight replied. She took a breath. "There’s only one way this can end. I have to take you back to Princess Celestia. If you fight or not is up to you, but that virus that’s corrupting you won't be there much longer either way." She was hoping Rainbow would listen to reason but she didn't put much stock in the idea. The Master’s sway was obviously hanging over Cloudsdale and negotiating had never worked out yet.

"Please. You think I don’t know about this virus?" Rainbow Dash snorted and stood up to cross her front hooves over her chest. Her eyes flashed red again and she flinched, gritting her teeth. "Trust me, I've been fighting my hardest to keep it back. Can't say the same for Cloudsdale though, they're all getting infected and running off. Guess I'm just awesome this way."

"She's right. I'm reading the same corruption as before but it hasn't infected her system core yet," Spike said.

"I didn't know anypony could resist it!" Twilight grew hopeful. If Rainbow Dash still had her own mind, then that meant there was some sort of secret to staying that way. "Come back with me! The Princess can fix you, I’m sure she can! Maybe we can find out how you're resisting it and help the others!"

Twilight began to come closer. Rainbow Dash scowled and swung her hoof out to point her Multitool at her. Twilight stopped in her tracks, confused. "I don’t think so! Yeah, I was fighting it for a while. Then I got word from the Master about you." Rainbow’s eyes glowed red again. "Word about how you were busy down there thrashing my friends!" Twilight gasped.

"I had to free them, they had the same corruption as you!" She gave Rainbow Dash a pleading look. "If I didn’t have to fight them I wouldn’t have."

"Aw, so you never had a choice in this?" Rainbow Dash snapped. "Like you didn’t have any number of chances to run off and let Celestia send someone else?"

"I…" Twilight stopped herself, unable to refute the accusation. It was true. She had been given plenty of chances to turn back and ask Celestia to send someone else. But there had been that sense in the back of her head telling her this was her responsibility; even if Celestia hadn't sent her she would have been out here trying to save them. Every time she had met one of her mentor’s aides she had felt a connection she couldn't explain, the need to do something to help them. In spite of her fears and hesitations it had kept her going to rescue them. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and now Rainbow Dash. They needed rescuing, and she had gone along with Celestia's assertion that it was her responsibility.

"I felt like I had to do it." Twilight struggled to explain to her own thoughts. "For… for a friend. To save them." As she said the word she noted it made no sense. She didn’t know any of these ponies outside their berserk virus-induced aggression, though she served Celestia as an adviser she had never met her aides before and only heard fleeting talk of them from her. But saying the word brought a strange sparkling in her chest. Across the plaza Rainbow Dash sneered at her.

"Good. Then you’ll appreciate that I feel like I gotta do something for my friends!" The saddle on her body hummed to life. Retractable steel plates snapped out over her wings, sliding down and clicking together to cover them in gleaming silver steel. "I’m feeling like I should send you back to Ponyville the hard way!" Rainbow Dash stood up, crossed her wings and front hooves over her chest, then snapped them back and held out her Multitool. The propeller spun to life, vents snapped open, and the device began to hum loudly. Twilight braced herself.

Rainbow Dash's Multitool fired a massive funnel of wind through the air. Twilight was flung backwards, the storm rumbling in her ears and spinning her around. She bounced along the clouds, switching her hoof to the Apple Whip and sinking it into a cloud. The chain unfurled to its full length and went taut to stop her as the winds kept pummeling her. Looking back, Twilight saw the edge of the cloud platform just a few hooves behind her and climbed to her hooves as the wind subsided.

"I’m not going anywhere!" She retracted the Apple Whip and assumed a more ready battle stance.

"Wanna bet?" Rainbow Dash lifted into the air and flew forward, a streak of rainbow color trailing behind her. Twilight ducked down to avoid her and turned her head, firing off her energy blasts. Rainbow flew too fast to pin down though and her shots fired harmlessly up into the air, violet bursts of light vanishing into the vast sea of blue and white overhead. Rainbow curved around and Twilight stood her ground firing as she came back down at her. Twilight realized she was diving right for her and leapt away as Rainbow Dash swooped down, vanishing through the clouds leaving them to reform in her wake.

"Spike, stay on her!"

"No need, she’s right ahead of you!" Twilight looked up to see Rainbow already emerging back above the clouds and turning vertically to dive at her again. Twilight barely got to her hooves and jumped away before she streaked past, leaving another temporary gap in the cloud lining. Twilight pushed herself up and looked around for Rainbow’s second emergence. She didn’t have to look long, Rainbow burst up from the clouds and Twilight opened fire. Once again though the pegasus proved unable to pin down easily and evaded her attacks as she turned into another dive bomb. Twilight barely had time to fire a shot in a desperate attempt to land just one, then she was rolling aside to avoid being tackled through the clouds again.

"She’s too fast!" Twilight's eyes darted around the cloud barrier waiting for the next attack. Rainbow Dash was comparatively more hooves-off than her other foes so far, but they were fighting in Cloudsdale, her territory. She didn’t need to attack with weapons, a blast of wind or a tackle through the cloud barrier would let gravity do the work for her. Twilight pushed away the mental image of what would happen when those dive bombs found their target and ran through her arsenal of weapons. The Apple Whip would be much too slow if her concussive blasts couldn't land a target, the Pinkie Cannon was strong but easily avoided with Rainbow Dash’s speed, and she wasn't using projectile weapons so the Rare Shield wouldn't be any help.

"So we only have one choice," Spike said, coming to the same unspoken conclusion she had. Twilight gulped and saw Rainbow Dash coming up.

"You’re sure this won’t be too much?" She didn’t want to have to resort to this, not after what Fluttershy and the Master did to her. But she had to rein Rainbow in, and she couldn't just dodge her forever.

"It’ll just confuse and disorient her for a second. Since she’s a pegasi she’ll hit off the cloud barrier and be fine," Spike replied. Twilight took a breath as Rainbow turned to come at her, the electronics that powered the lights on her saddle whirring into action.

With a calculated series of bright white flashes from the lights on Twilight's saddle, the Flutter Stare blared into the air. It only lasted a split second but the results were self-evident. Rainbow Dash blinked rapidly, cried out in surprise, and suddenly drooped in the air, narrowly missing Twilight and landing in a tangled heap on the clouds behind her. Twilight didn’t squander her opening, lowering her horn and firing several energy bolts at Rainbow’s saddle and wings. Rainbow came to her senses after a moment and jumped away, hovering in the air and scowling down at her.

"That’s Fluttershy’s skill!" Her rose eyes flashed red. Rainbow drew her arms over her chest and the metal coverings over her wings began to beat, the hum of mechanics growing louder. From casual flapping they rose to a blur of motion in seconds. A powerful gust of wind kicked up, slowly pushing Twilight’s hooves back over the clouds. She strained to stay standing, tempted to try to step forward but afraid to lift even one of her hooves. Fortunately Rainbow Dash realized it wasn't working well and dropped to the clouds, her wings slowing. Twilight didn’t have time to enjoy the relief before Rainbow raised her hoof and blasted another tornado at her from her Multitool. Twilight was flung back, landing on her back and rolling. Stopping, she saw the edge of the cloud cover not far away and scrambled away.

"We gotta stop this before she blows me away, literally." She looked back to see Rainbow in the air again.

"I'm running through every option we have. Other than keep running and avoiding her, I've got nothing," Spike said. The concern in his voice did little to soothe Twilight's nerves. She dodged Rainbow's tackle and ran back to the center of the plaza. Rainbow Dash shot through the clouds from below and banked into a downward angle. The Flutter Stare flashed again, but this time Rainbow only wobbled in the air and stayed airborne. Twilight realized she must have closed her eyes before taking the full brunt of it. Still she slowed for a few moments, and Twilight took the chance to get in a few shots before Rainbow turned and blasted another tornado at her from her hoof. The flung Twilight back again, shaking her head to get her bearings when she stopped.

Rainbow emerged from the clouds again, but instead of flying up to dive again she stopped in the air and turned towards Twilight, wings flapping furiously to send another windstorm at her. Twilight ducked down to her stomach to endure the gale, her mane and tail fluttering behind her. Rainbow’s wings stopped and she dove below the clouds once more. Twilight whirled her head around to watch for where she came back. She didn’t have to wait long. Rainbow Dash dove down, holding out her hoof. Twilight didn't wait for the attack, the Flutter Stare lit up the air and Rainbow Dash dropped to the clouds once more. Twilight fired upon her saddle and wings, Rainbow getting up and turning to Twilight, Multitool raised. A tornado blasted Twilight backwards over the clouds.

"I’m ending this!" The rage-filled shriek made Twilight turn her head as she stopped rolling. Rainbow Dash was coming straight towards her holding her hoof out. Twilight steeled her nerves and galloped towards her foe, her horn lighting up. As she ran she sent the command, her hoof reconfiguring.

With only a few hooves between them, Rainbow fired her tornado and Twilight leapt forward, holding her hoof out and firing the Apple Whip. The force of the launch overrode the wind power, Rainbow flying into the claw as it latched on her wings. When the tornado knocked Twilight through the air Rainbow Dash was pulled along with her, flailing her hooves and crying out in surprise. Twilight landed on her hooves, Rainbow impacting in front of her. She stood up and snapped the Apple Whip over her head, jerking Rainbow Dash towards her and loosening the claw to retract it. Rainbow flew over Twilight's head, the unicorn aiming carefully. The silver saddle on Rainbow's back lit up in violet light as Twilight's blasts bombarded her, the force driving her further through the air. Rainbow Dash landed and spun across the clouds, limbs sprayed out around her. Her head dropped heavily and she was still.

Twilight blinked rapidly, breathing heavily. "Did we… get her?"

"We got her," Spike replied.

Twilight gave it to her body's demands and fell to her side on the clouds. "Good… good." Twilight closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. The adrenaline rush of the fight had worn off and now she felt so dizzy about the constant rolling and being blown through the air she thought she might pass out. "Gimme a moment… gotta stop spinning… Spike, make it stop spinning..."

"I'll get right on it." Spike dismissed her tired babbling and scanned Rainbow Dash’s systems. Twilight slowly cracked open her eyes to watch and make sure she wasn't getting up. She didn't think she had it in her to keep going with a fight like that. Spike spoke up with his findings as she rested. "Rainbow Dash is head of Ponyville’s weather team when she’s not doing work for Celestia, so she has a more advanced model of Multitool with a lot more power and options. That’s how she was able to create those directed tornadoes. The schematics for it are pretty simple, it vacuums in air through the vents on the sides and blasts them out the main port at high speeds. Your own Multitool can create it just fine, it’s just a matter of legal authorization to use them. Under the circumstances I think Celestia will understand."

"Great…" Twilight’s breathing had evened out and her heart had stopped racing. She felt the familiar whirs and clicks of her hoof as Spike arranged the parts of her Multitool and looked at her hoof. Three air vents opened on the sides with small propellers behind them, the plates on the bottom of the hoof parting and sliding back to reveal a larger propeller. The construct letting out a low hiss as the components finalized their position. "We’ll try it out later," she said, waving her other hoof in the air. "We’re done now, right? No more?"

"Yup. With Rainbow Dash subdued, the mission’s done," Spike said.

Twilight slowly climbed to her hooves. "Good, because after that I’m ready for a rest. Dial up the Princess and let’s call it a day." Twilight waited as Spike carried out the command, sitting down and waiting for the familiar smiling visage of her mentor to fill her field of view. After several seconds she noticed it wasn't happening. "Uh, Spike?"

"Something’s weird is going on." Spike sounded confused. "I’m sending the transmission to the princess’s console but she’s not responding."

"That’s strange." Twilight thought for a moment. "She may just be away for a minute. Call up the teleporter room, they can handle it."

"Roger." Spike went to work, and a few moments later Twilight’s horn projected the blue hologram of a unicorn stallion wearing a pair of orange-tinted goggles.

"Eh? Who’s this ‘ere?" The stallion raised a hoof into the view of the hologram to push his goggles up and glared. "I ain’t got time for this now, hurry it up!"

"Quantum Drive, this is Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "I've been out helping Princess Celestia today, remember?"

The suspicious look vanished as the engineer recognized her. "Oooh, the little missy who’s been sending us back unconscious ponies. You’d better be getting that rump back here, missy, we've got a problem!"

"What? What’s going on?" Twilight exclaimed. Quantum Drive was usually calm and collected, he only ever became frazzled like this when there was an emergency.

"I’ll explain when you get back ‘ere, dialing you in."

"Don’t forget Rainbow Dash!" Spike shouted. Quantum Drive didn’t reply but must have heard him, because Twilight saw the familiar sparkles of teleportation engulf her and Rainbow Dash at the same time. The two mares vanished, Canterlot’s teleporter systems racing them back to the capital at the speed of light.

LEVEL COMPLETE

WEAPON ACQUIRED – RAINBOW TORNADO

Comments

[Shazam 25]

Rainbow Tornado huh? That will work. Now all is left is the master and I got a feeling it going to be three stages like the Mega Man games but that your choice. I wait for more.

[Phazon]

IT'S STORM EAGLE!!!!!!

Uh, sorry. I'm a fan of BrainScratch Comms, and I couldn't resist.

"You could have warned me a few minutes earlier." Twilight's teeth chattered slightly as she spoke.

"I did, it was in the data feed when we got here." Twilight's display appeared and scrolled to that section about pegasus life, the text lightning up yellow. She dismissed it with a huff.

"Well next time emphasize it more, please."

Kind of a half-assed study, aren't you, Twilight? I'm tempted to think that canon Twilight would've read the whole thing diligently rather than let the information go to waste.

She was hoping Rainbow would listen to read but she didn't put much stock in the idea. The Master’s sway was obviously hanging over Cloudsdale and negotiating had never worked out yet.

That should be 'reason', I'm guessing.

"Wanna bet?" Rainbow Dash lifted into the air and flew forward, a streak of rainbow color trailing behind her Twilight ducked down to avoid her and turned her head, firing off her energy blasts.

Should be a period there.

So yeah, I noticed those. The first note is more of a curiosity than a critique. As for the other two, consider it praise. I only ever point out typos on stories that interest me. You got me interested. On that note, I know it's a bit early, but you don't include a boss rush toward the end of the story, do you? It's a Mega Man staple, but I'd understand if you skipped it. Also, I'm hoping Twilight tries the Flutter Stare on each of the Master's three generals in the next few chapters, only for it to not work at all. You know, the same way that the time stopping/enemy freezing weapons Mega Man picks up only ever work on the one Robot Master "weak" to it.

[son_of_heaven176]

Uh, are you sure that she isn't corrupted there, Spike? What kind of logic is this?
"You saved my friends, so because I care about them, I gotta thrash you"?
You're welcome, Rainbow Dash.