Chapter 16 - Shifting Into Gear
Canterlot Central Train Station
Canterlot, Equestria
September 25th, AD 3070/1023 RC
Metal squealed upon metal as the train known as “the Friendship Express” braked its momentum and ground to a stop. Fortunately, the train was already moving slowly as it had entered Canterlot a short while ago, moving through the small alleys set aside for the railroad's use. Normally the windows on either side of the passenger cars gave a rather charming preview of Equestria's capitol city. Today, however, the vision outside showed a surreal mix of untouched houses, blasted buildings, and larges groups of ponies moving about with an air of unease and paranoia, casting glances to the sky or around corners.
Applejack sighed as she saw this behavior. Ah never liked these big city ponies much, she thought, as the train finally halted. But Ah'd never want ta have 'em like this. Nopony deserves this.
“Penny fer yer thoughts, cuz?” a familiar voice asked, and Applejack turned to see her cousin Braeburn giving her a sad smile from the seat next to her. “Ya seem mighty worried.”
Applejack shook her head a bit. “That's 'cuz Ah am worried,” she replied, as the car started to fill with noise as the various passengers—guards from Equestria's borderlands, mainly, and volunteers for the new army—started to stand and gather their personal affects. “This ain't th' Canterlot Ah've seen before, all purty and shiny with fancy ponies struttin' about,” the orange mare added, and then sighed as she looked out the windows again. “Everypony looks like th' sky's gonna fall down on 'em, and from how them buildings look Ah think that ain't an exaggeration.”
“Yeah,” Braeburn morosely agreed. “Well, the princess wouldn't be callin' you and yer friends in if it wasn't a big problem,” he added, with an encouraging grin. “Not that y'all can't handle it.”
Despite her worries, Applejack found herself grinning back. “Ah suppose,” she said, with a chuckle. It was short-lived, however, as Braeburn's words bade her to look several rows down, to where four other mares were sitting and chatting quietly as the passenger car started to empty. “Poor Twilight, though; Ah wish she didn't have ta come with her brother still in th' hospital.”
“I'm sure she'll be fine,” Braeburn offered. “Y'all are th' strongest ponies I ever seen, and I don't mean th' train-pullin' kind o' strength,” he added, with another grin. “Even Appleloosa's heard of what y'all did to that Discord feller. If ya can stand up to him, then I don't think y'all gotta worry 'bout some overgrown apes.”
Applejack gave her cousin a look of disbelief. “Ya won't be sayin' that once ya meet 'em,” she said, as she slid off the bench seat and quickly got to all fours in the aisle. “And ya will, if what Ah heard Twilight talkin' 'bout with 'em.”
“Well, we'll see,” Braeburn replied, as he followed Applejack into the aisle after slinging his saddlebags over his back. “Now, if'n you would be so kind?” he asked, and then gestured forward with a forehoof.
Applejack just shook her head as she led her relative to where her Ponyville friends were standing up after gathering their bags. “Y'all ready?” she asked, as they turned to face her.
“As we'll ever be,” Twilight replied, somewhat flatly. Her friends all gave the unicorn looks at that, and so she forced a wan smile onto her muzzle. “Come on, let's go meet the escort Luna promised us,” she added, and then turned and headed for one of the exits.
The five ponies behind her shared a series of worried expressions, but nevertheless put their concerns aside as they followed Twilight Sparkle out of the train and onto the crowded platform. Ponies milled about, moving in various directions as guards and volunteers headed for armored ponies calling them to muster, and many civilians, especially the young and old, shuffled forward to take their place on the train and evacuate the city.
As crowded as it was, however, none could miss the towering figure of a human in battle armor, even if ponies weren't doing their best to give the imposing shape a wide berth. As it was, the clear space around the armored human was rather conspicuous, more so with the single armored guardspony calmly standing next to the alien.
“Is—is that one o' them humans?” Braeburn asked.
“Eeyup,” Applejack replied, letting a bit of smugness enter her voice upon hearing her cousin's halting words. “Prob'ly our escort, too.”
“I'd say so,” Twilight Sparkle added, as she led the group towards the two waiting soldiers. “Hello, miss Lewis,” she said to the human, as they drew close.
“Miss Sparkle,” the armored figure said, her voice a bit flat after being processed through the speakers. “Nice to see you again, despite the circumstances.”
“Likewise,” Twilight replied, her voice tight. Then she turned to the armored pegasus. “Good day, corporal,” she said, after reading his rank insigne.
“Miss Sparkle,” the stallion replied, with a nod of his head. “My name is Trade Wind. Princess Luna sent me to escort you to the humans' ship, where she will join you all for a planning session with the Dark Horse.”
“And I'm along because the commander is feeling paranoid,” Lewis added, somewhat offhandedly.
“I think he has a right to be,” Trade Wind countered, with a glance up to the human's head. “In any case, may I presume the stallion is with your group, as well?” he asked as he looked back to Twilight.
“Oh, sorta,” the unicorn replied, somewhat unsure.
Applejack took a step forward at that. “Mah cousin Braeburn was jus' comin' along so he could volunteer fer the army,” she explained, with a hoof gesture to the yellow stallion.
“Eeyup,” Braeburn managed to say, despite feeling intimidated by the large, bipedal figure nearby. “I don't suppose you could point me in the right direction?”
“Of course,” Trade Wind replied, and then winced as something on his side shifted. “Oh, right,” he said, and then folded the bandaged stump back before he extended his remaining wing. “Off that way, towards the palace, you'll find the barracks; recruitment ponies are waiting outside. After all that's happened there's a line, though, so you'll want to go right away.”
Braeburn and the Ponyville mares all had looks of shock and mild revulsion on their faces upon having gotten a clear look at the corporal's injuries. “Wow, that—” Braeburn began, with a slight stutter. “That happened in the battle?”
“Aye,” Trade Wind replied, grumpily, as he folded his lone wing back to his side. “Get used to seeing that sort of injury in the infantry; the griffons like to de-wing pegasi before killing them, the jealous, sick bastards.”
The mares blanched at the harsh words, but Braeburn only had a look of determination grow on his face. “That's a downright vile thing ta do,” he said, his tone low.
“Agreed,” Lewis chimed in again, with a nod of her head. “It's one thing to kill someone in battle, it's another thing entirely to torment them first.”
Braeburn nodded back, and a light of appreciation lit in his eyes as he looked up at the small visor in the human's helmet. “Glad ta know y'all ain't that bad,” he observed.
Lewis shrugged. “We've got our own problems, but most of us know not to be completely evil,” she replied.
Braeburn couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he used the old Apple family standby: “eeyup,” he said, and then turned to face his cousin. “I guess I should get goin', then,” he added.
“Now, you take care o' yerself,” Applejack said, as she turned to give her cousin a hug.
“I will,” Braeburn replied as he returned the hug. “And you take care o' yerself too, AJ,” he added, as they parted. Then he gave a smile to the others in the group. “That goes for y'all, as well.” A small chorus of gratitude answered him, and the Appleloosan stallion smiled once more before he picked up his bags and then turned to trot off.
“Well, I do hate to sound impatient,” Trade Wind interjected, after waiting a bit in the brief silence that followed Braeburn's departure. “But we should be going.”
“Of course,” Twilight said, as the others mares nodded. “Please lead on, corporal.”
“Actually, let me,” Lewis interjected, her tone suddenly lower and more tense than it was before. The ponies all looked up to her, and they saw that her head had frozen during one of her idle scans of the crowd. Her gaze seemed to be off towards the rear of the train, though before long she casually shifted her head back around. “And try to act natural,” she added, before she turned to almost lazily walk off.
Confused, the six ponies took a moment to regain their bearings before they trotted off to rejoin the human at a slow walk. “So I'm enjoying seeing this city of yours,” Lewis said as they caught up, before anypony could ask about her odd behavior. “It's absolutely beautiful, or at least the parts that weren't shot up.”
The casual, almost gregarious way the human said that last sentence made the ponies in the group look up at her with confused expressions yet again. And again, before any one of them could speak up, the trooper continued. “Reminds me of back home. I grew up on Atreus, you know?” she asked, with a glance behind her to the ponies following. Twilight Sparkle, however, noted that the glance seemed to halt a bit over a small group of ponies they were approaching. “Well, I'm sure you have no idea what the planet is, but it's the capitol of the Free Worlds League, and—”
She didn't finish that statement, as by then they were passing the group of ponies that had caught her interest. Suddenly, and with speed that was surprising for one so heavily armored, Lewis abruptly spun on a heel and nearly dashed two steps up to a rather bland-looking pony with a dull yellow coat. Before anyone there could even think, she grabbed him by his throat with her left hand and then lifted the pony to slam his body against the side of the train so that his eyes were the same level as hers. Her right hand was busy as well, as Lewis used it to retrieve her personal sidearm from its holster at her hip, and then pressed the barrel into the face of the hapless figure she held. “H–help!” the earth pony shouted, his voice strangled by the death grip on his throat.
“Miss Lewis!” Trade Wind barked out, as he was the first to recover from his shock. “What are you doing to that pony?”
“This is no pony,” Lewis growled out, her voice low, as she thumbed the safety on her slug-thrower to the 'off' position. “I don't know what it is, but it's not a pony.”
“You're mad!” the figure protested, as he raised his hooves up to try and pry the hand from his throat. “Guard! I demand you arrest this thing!”
“April, what's this about?” Twilight Sparkle finally spoke up, even as a murmur rose from the watching crowd around them.
“My suit is equipped with an active probe system,” Lewis said, flatly. “Which means not only do I have a metric assload of sensors, but also a heuristic analysis computer to run them. And right now, my suit's HUD is showing me a composite image it pieced from little errors in this thing's disguise,” she explained, and then pressed the barrel of her pistol right up to the pony's nose. “Now are you going to show yourself, or do I have to start breaking your limbs and find out what's inside, you freaky little insect?”
A moment of confusion and revulsion washed over the area. Once again, though, Twilight Sparkle recovered quickly, and she widened her eyes and gasped as the human's words snapped into place. The lavender pony quickly charged up a spell she had learned after her brother's wedding, and her horn glowed as it sent a beam of purple energy to wash over the body Lewis held in her hand. Green flames erupted everywhere the beam touched on the pony in question, and soon it was revealed to be “...a Changeling!”
“A what?” Lewis asked, though she didn't move her eyes from the black creature she held.
“Enemies of Equestria,” Trade Wind explained, with a growl, as he walked up to stand next to the human soldier and shot a hateful glance to the insectoid. “Shapeshifters. They attempted an invasion last year.”
The creature in Lewis' grasp hissed, exposing its fangs. “Release me, or you will suffer!” it commanded, as its horn started to glow with a sick, green light.
Twilight charged up her mana, fully intending to counter any spell the changeling could use, but as usual Lewis acted first. The pistol in her hand shifted upwards until its barrel pressed right up to the base of the creature's horn. A loud report ripped through the crowded boarding platform a scarce half-second later, followed quickly by the wailing of pain.
Various ponies gasped as they saw the jagged horn fall to the ground, its base shattered. Even more were shocked when they saw the changeling writhing and yelling in pain, but both groups could only redouble their reactions as Lewis tightened her hand over the creature's soft throat, cutting off its cries, as well as its air supply. “Lesson one when dealing with the human race, bug boy,” Lewis said, coldly, as she lowered the smoking barrel of her pistol from the ruined stump of the changeling's horn to press it right between pupil-less eyes. “Don't ever threaten someone who has a gun pointed at you; it's monumentally stupid. Be glad that I figured you need to be questioned, because otherwise I would have rather sent that bullet through your brainpan, or whatever it is you have in that ugly head of yours.”
A slight rustle and commotion came from the crowd just then, as a squad of pegasus guards descended from above. “What's going on here?” the sergeant in the lead demanded.
“Sir,” Trade Wind said, as he turned to offer a foreleg salute to the senior NCO. “A changeling has been caught attempting to infiltrate Canterlot.”
“So I see,” the sergeant said, as he took in the scene. “Excellent work, corporal.”
“Actually, sir, it was the human's effort,” Trade Wind replied, evenly. “Their technology let her see right through its disguise.” He shot a quick look up to the armored human at this, and she nodded in response to the silent question.
“Astounding,” the pegasus sergeant said, and then flapped his wings to assume the same eye level as Lewis. “I thank you, miss...?”
“April Lewis,” the human replied, as she let her grip on the creature in her hand loosen; it was about ready to pass out from asphyxiation, it seemed, and she wasn't willing to let it die just yet.
“Thank you, miss Lewis,” the sergeant said, and then turned to motion to his squad. “We will take care of this from here, but I sincerely appreciate your diligence.”
“Just doing my job,” Lewis replied, as she slowly released the whimpering, half-conscious form to a pair of pegasus ponies who flew up to take the changeling in their hooves. She kept her pistol aimed at it, however, until two more pegasi floated over and slapped rune-carved irons over all four of the creature's legs.
The sergeant grunted at that. “If only the unicorns working the scanning stations had done theirs, as well,” he grumbled. “Alright, let's get this thing to the dungeons and report this to Customs,” he said, in a louder and more controlled tone, and then turned to lead his squad and their prisoner off into the air. “Those punks need to step up their game.”
A moment of silence passed as the crowd watched the guards fly away. Soon enough, however, it was broken as a single pony somewhere started to clop his hooves on the floor. The rest of the crowd joined in after only a moment, and cheers were added in as well. The entire platform shook with the force of pony applause, and soon enough Trade Wind stepped forward and pushed a hoof to his mouth and whistled to gain the denizens' attention. “Alright, this is a busy train station,” he said, as loud as he could without shouting in order to be heard over the last traces of applause. “Thank you for your enthusiasm, but now's the time to move along and go about your business.”
The ponies around them slowly returned to their various tasks, and soon the station was back to normal, albeit with a faint undercurrent of tension at the violent display and what it implied. The group that included the element bearers, however, took a long moment to regain their composure. It was Rarity who spoke next. “Miss Lewis,” she began, slowly. “Although I cannot find myself entirely in agreement with your methods, I nevertheless must thank you for your diligence.”
“It's nothing,” April replied, with a wave of an armored hand. “Anyway, we should be going, shouldn't we?”
“Indeed,” Trade Wind interjected. “This is going to be a long enough day as it is, and the paperwork for catching a spy is going to make it longer,” he said, and then sighed before he turned to lead the group off. “So please, let us be off to that ship.”
The mares from Ponyville shared a look, then turned their attention to Lewis. The human shrugged, and then started off after Trade Wind. “C'mon, you heard the corporal,” she said, and then lowered her voice a bit as the others caught up. “Besides... I'm kind of eager to have my sensors scan every pony along our route, now, just to be sure.”
“It wouldn't hurt to alert your commander to the fact that Changelings are apparently now involved,” Trade Wind offered.
“That goes without saying, now doesn't it?” Lewis replied.
* * * *
DropShip Heart of Steel
Grounded next to Canterlot
“That is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.”
Melissa covered her mouth with a hand to help stifle the chuckle that threatened to erupt. “Come on, Franz,” she said, in a muted tone. “You sound as if you've never found a pony sleeping in your bed before.”
The other mechwarrior snorted at that, and then slowly moved towards the locker that held his personal effects. He was careful to move quietly, as his passage took him next to the bed where a cyan pegasus with a wild, multi-hued mane was splayed out on her back. Each one of the pony's limbs was skewed in different direction, and even her wings were spread out underneath the mare, pressed into the mattress by her weight. “I've seen some interesting things in my beds before,” Franz Mendoza allowed, as he opened the locker and retrieved a single item. “But I must say, this takes the cake.”
“Yeah,” Melissa agreed, and then blinked as she saw Mendoza bring the device up to his face. “Is that a camera?”
“Yup,” Mendoza replied, as he turned the device on.
“Flat or tridee?”
“Tridee,” Mendoza replied, and then briefly fell silent as the 3D camera made noises that indicated it was working. “There is no way I'm not recording this for posterity.”
Melissa shook her head, but the smile on her face showed that she agreed with the unit's Commando pilot. “Just try to avoid certain angles,” she said, and then waited for the older human to give her a questioning look. “She's not exactly dressed,” she explained.
“Ah, gotcha,” Mendoza replied, with a slight blush. “Definitely don't want to be put into that group,” he added with a sheepish grin, as he shifted his position a bit and captured some more images. “So, how much do you think these pictures are going to be worth?” he asked, as he moved to take another set.
“Enough to buy you an Atlas,” Melissa replied, with a smile. “And that's just from everyone on this ship wanting a copy. You'll probably be able to buy a squadron of JumpShips when we get back home.”
“If we get back home,” Mendoza muttered. Both humans fell silent and still at that for a few moments, though they were soon brought out of their morose pause as Rainbow Dash shifted around on the bed.
Melissa tensed as she feared the worst; Rainbow waking up to see two strange people ogling her. Not ogling, observing! ...okay, that sounded weak even to me, Melissa darkly mused. She didn't have to worry about it, however, as the pegasus never really woke up, merely shifted her position so that she was now lying on her belly. Both of her right legs were now dangling over the side of the bed, her wings were draped along her sides like forgotten blankets, and her muzzle had been pressed into a pillow while her tail was spread across the sheets.
“Okay, that right there?” Mendoza interjected. “That would kill about fifty percent of people over sixty-five.”
“Just take a few more pictures,” Melissa replied, with a slight chuckle she couldn't quite suppress. “Before she wakes up and smashes that camera to bits. I damn well want a set for my personal 'cute things' folder.”
Mendoza chuckled back, and then took a few more pictures of Dash in her new position before he finally shut the camera off and then returned it to his locker. “I'll let you wake her up yourself, then,” he said, as he moved to the entrance of the small cabin.
“Oh yes, because that's so easy to do,” Melissa wryly observed, with a roll of her eyes. “I don't think I've ever seen someone sleep so deeply.”
“Not even your father?” Mendoza asked, as he paused in the doorway. “I mean, I heard a story that he once slept through a jump.”
“Yeah, he did,” Melissa said, with a smirk. “Mom loves telling that story, and dad never disputes it, so I'm sure it's canon. But Dashie here,” she added, and then turned to look at the unsuspecting pony. “She takes the cake, that's for sure.” Melissa paused, and then smiled evilly as she glanced back at Mendoza. “This is gonna be fun.”
Mendoza grimaced at that. “Am I gonna have to wash my bedsheets after this?” he asked.
“Hopefully not,” Melissa replied. “Now, who on the ship has an air horn?”
* * * *
The sun was warm, the sky was clear, and Rainbow Dash had not a single care in the world as she flew over Ponyville. The wind stung her eyes as she pushed herself to the limit of her abilities, swinging wildly through the air as she performed ever more daring maneuvers. This is the life, the pegasus thought as she hurtled through a double loop and then dove for the ground. Time for my personal favorite: a sonic rainboo—
Noise more terrible than anything she knew blasted through her head. The skies above Ponyville dissolved to pitch blackness, which didn't abate even when Dash snapped her eyes open. “Augh!” she shouted, as she flopped around in the darkness atop an unfamiliar bed.
“Quiet!” a voice said near her, and Dash blanched as she felt a human hand placed on her shoulder. “You'll let it know where we are.”
“Huh? Melissa?” Dash asked, her voice low to match the other sapient. “What is it? What's going on?”
“A snipe snuck onboard,” Melissa whispered, in a fearful tone. “We have to be quiet, otherwise it'll eat us.”
“Wh–what?” the mare stuttered, frightened by the thought of humans being afraid of some animal. “What's a snipe?”
“It's an animal the size of a human, half-bird, half-reptile,” Melissa whispered, and Rainbow flinched a bit as she realized the human was speaking right into one of her ears. “It has huge eyes that glow, and when it finds you it lets out a terrible roar just before it pounces to gobble you up.”
Rainbow Dash gulped at that. “Can we call the guard?” she asked, in a whisper so low it would make Fluttershy sound like a bullhorn.
“We tried, but—” Melissa began, but was interrupted when a pair of brilliant circular lights flashed on and then focused on Dash. “THERE IT IS! RUN!”
The last sentence was practically screamed into Rainbow's ear, and it was followed by the same terrible noise that had awakened her from slumber. Combined with the bright lights shining on her face, and the fearful shout in her ear, Dash only had one reaction: flight.
Unfortunately, the berthing rooms on board a DropShip are not known for their spaciousness, and almost as soon as Dash leapt into the air she collided head-first into the ceiling with a resounding 'clang' before she fell back down to the bed. Dazed and stunned, Rainbow felt terror wash over her as the lights focused on her once again. Then suddenly, the lights went out, and instead of a terrible roar the mare heard laughing. “Wh–ow,” she muttered, as the pain of her impact mixed in with confusion.
The lights to the room suddenly snapped on, which made Dash close her eyes briefly in pain. Her confusion only deepened as she heard distinctly electronic tones nearby, as well. “Got it!” an unfamiliar voice announced.
“Speaking of 'got',” Melissa cheerfully said, from where she sat on the floor next to the bunk Dash was lying upon. “How'd you like our little prank?” she asked, directing the question to the mare in the room.
“Prank?” Dash asked back, as her eyes snapped open to reveal an angry stare. “That was a prank?” she demanded, as she stared hard at the human pilot beside her.
Melissa just continued to smile. “Yup,” she replied, evenly.
A moment of silent staring met her monosyllabic response. Soon enough, however, the edges of Dash's mouth curled up, and she ruefully chuckled. “Okay, you got me good there,” she admitted, and then winced and briefly rubbed the top of her head with a hoof. “A bit too good,” she muttered.
“Aw, did you hurt yourself?” Melissa cooed, and then reached out with a hand to rob over the spot Dash had worked at.
“Stop that,” Dash protested—weakly, as she only made a half-hearted attempt to push the human's arm away with a foreleg. “Or at least, move your hand a bit to the right,” she added, and then sighed and relaxed as Melissa complied with the request.
Another electronic tone sounded, and Dash looked over to see a man holding a rather large device. She squinted at it, and then frowned when she saw what looked like a set of lenses on the front. “Is that a camera?” she growled.
“That depends,” the male replied. “What would you do if it was?”
Rainbow didn't audibly reply to that, but instead started to stand up on the bed. She snorted and then folded her ears back in an expression of anger.
“Run, Frank!” Melissa called out. “Save the evidence!”
Mendoza didn't need any more encouragement, and he quickly spun about and ran out of the door before disappearing down the corridor. Rainbow jumped off the bed and then raced after him, her hooves clattering on the steel floors as she entered the corridor and gave chase.
* * * *
James McKenna grumbled as he walked into the Heart of Steel's mess, having just awakened and finished his morning ablutions and getting dressed. As painful as that was, he silently grumbled as he moved through the crowded room, nodding to the other members of the Dark Horse and the Steel's crew as they sat and ate around the cramped table. I hate, hate, hate trying to shower and dress with a bandaged arm, he further groused, as he moved to sit down at one end of the rectangular table.
His mood was lifted quickly enough, however, as as plate with food upon it was set in front of him and was soon joined by a filled glass and flatware. James broke himself out of his self-pity at that, and then gave a warm smile up at the person who'd brought him the meal. “I knew there was a reason I keep you around,” he jokingly said to his wife.
Rebecca McKenna gave a playful slap to James' good arm and then sat down next to him with her own dishes. “Don't get too excited,” she replied. “It's still only powder-mix pancakes and reconstituted orange juice, after all.”
“Ah, but there's always the bacon,” James happily pointed out, as he quickly moved to grab a piece of said food and then took a bite out of it.
“True, there is that,” Rebecca admitted, as she took up her flatware and began to dig into her pancakes. The married couple then fell into a polite silence as they ate, and listened to the conversations going on around the table.
Muted conversations, James noted, and then stifled a sigh. Today was the day they started their march out to meet O'Connell's forces, and it was entirely likely that the next day would bring with it terror, pain, and death. Never good for morale to reflect on the prospect of that sort of thing, the commander darkly mused.
Any further thoughts on such matters, however, were put aside as a shout was heard through the open hatch leading to the Steel's access corridors. Everyone around the table froze and tensed up at the noise, and hands twitched down to where several crew wore their holsters. The tension lifted a moment later, however, as a second shout in a distinctive voice was heard: “Get back here you damn dirty ape!”
“Make me!” the now-recognizable voice of Franz Mendoza was heard, just as the thrumming of footsteps echoed into the mess. A second later the mechwarrior hopped through the hatch and then looked around frantically at the group of curious, annoyed, and indifferent faces. “David!” Mendoza said, as he spied his fellow Lyran. “Keep away!” he added, and then tossed the object he held.
For his part, David Silva reacted quickly and easily caught the rather hefty 3D camera. His mind was equally quick, and he promptly shoved it under the table, where it sat in his lap and out of sight of any casual viewer.
Scarcely had this occurred when Rainbow Dash caught up to Mendoza and then barreled into him, sending both man and mare to the deck, the latter landing atop the human's back. “Gotcha!” she declared, pridefully. “Now gimme that camera!”
“Ow,” Mendoza groaned. “Sweet mother of pi, how can you weigh that much and still fly?” he asked, as he turned his head to glance at the rainbow-maned head of his pursuer.
“None of your business!” Dash countered. “Now pony up the camera.”
“Ahem,” a voice cleared itself. Both man and mare turned their heads to look up to see that James had stood up from his seat, and was now giving them both a hard, menacing look. “I want to know what's going on,” he said, slowly. “Before I decide to strap you both to a missile and send you into the backside of a Kodiak.”
It was a testament to the dark malice of McKenna's tone that neither Mendoza nor Dash responded immediately. The former, however, was more used to his commander's moods, and so spoke first. “Oh, just a little bit of roughhousing,” he said, nonchalant. “Maybe a bit of entrepreneurship.”
Rainbow snapped out at this, and she frowned down at the human still under her hooves. “You were gonna sell those pictures?” she asked, dumbfounded.
“What pictures?” asked Rebecca, as she stood and affixed the arguing pair with her own, legendarily harsh gaze.
“Uhm,” Mendoza uttered, as he shifted and started to push himself up. Despite her anger, Dash took the hint and climbed off of the human so he could get to his feet. “Nothing much, just mementos.”
“I didn't say you could take my picture,” Dash shot out.
“You didn't ask to sleep in my bed,” Mendoza countered.
“You didn't complain when you came in from your watch,” a new voice added, and everyone in the room turned their heads to see Melissa McKenna standing in the hatchway.
“Like I was going to force the unbearably cute pony to climb out of bed?” Mendoza replied, and then smirked at the woman. “That was your job, if I recall correctly. Along with petting ponies, it seems.”
Both Melissa and Dash blushed at this—the latter rather profusely so—but before either of them could say anything, one of the men sitting at the mess table spoke up. “Wait, wait,” Dorian Carmine said, as he raised a hand to help interject himself into the conversation. “Can we pet the ponies now? Because I totally want in on that.”
“I call second,” said Alexis Shepard, the diminutive pilot of the company's Grand Dragon. “I've had enough of you guys hogging the pony contact while I'm been on patrol.”
The blush on Dash's face deepened considerably when the fact she'd been petted has been revealed, and now she could feel her cheeks practically burning as she heard the other members of the Dark Horse and the Steel's crew chime in with their desire to bestow that sort of physical affection upon, if not her, then at least some pony. Rainbow then turned her head to look at Melissa. “Are all of you completely crazy?” she quietly asked,
“I'd say so,” Melissa replied, and then chuckled as she watched a good-natured argument break out over the mess table about who would get first dibs on whichever of the more commonly seen ponies. Even more amusing was the fact that her father was covering his face with his good hand, while her mother seemed torn between stern disapproval and her own amusement at the scene. “I think it's a survival adaptation, being crazier than other animals, because it lets us do things other species wouldn't even think of trying.”
“With good reason,” Mendoza chimed in.
Rainbow Dash sighed at that, and then sat down on her haunches. “I'm never gonna live this down, am I?” she asked of no one in particular. “I'll be known as 'that one pony who likes apes treating her like a dog.'”
Melissa frowned at that, and then turned to look over the crowd in the mess. Quickly, she brought up a hand to her mouth and then whistled loudly. The room was filled with the high-pitched noise, and then fell silent as everyone quieted and turned to the young pilot. “Hey, cut it out,” Melissa said, sternly. “You're mortifying poor Dash over here,” she added, with a hand gesture to the embarrassed pegasus. “Honestly, the way you all are going on it's like you aren't even paying attention to the actual feelings of the ponies you're talking about.”
Silence met her statement, though from the looks on most of the faces it was more due to each person's chagrin at getting carried away. Melissa's parents, however, simply looked relieved, and after a moment James cleared his throat again. “Alright, enough of this,” he stated. “Franz, just delete the pictures.”
“Doesn't matter now,” Rainbow Dash muttered, albeit loud enough to garner everyone's attention. “You all know, and even if you try to keep it secret it'll still get out,” she added, and then sighed. “These things always do.”
Another moment of silence welcomed that statement, albeit briefly. “C'mon,” Melissa said, as she lightly patted Rainbow's withers. “Let's just eat some breakfast, and then after that we can delete those pictures and then pummel Franz until he lets us paint the Commando hot pink.”
“Hey!” Mendoza exclaimed, as most of the beings in the room chuckled. “Don't make this personal, now.”
Melissa gave him a raspberry in reply, and at this even Dash had to chuckle. “Breakfast does sound good,” the mare admitted. Then a thought entered her head, and her eyes widened. “You have bacon, right?” she hopefully asked.
A round of laughter met that question. “Of course we have bacon for breakfast!” Carmine replied. “C'mon over and let's eat,” he added with a wave.
Rainbow's mood lightened at that, as did the general feeling around the room as breakfast resumed, albeit now with an undercurrent of amusement. James and Rebecca sat back down, while Mendoza and Melissa went over to take the last two empty seats available. Rainbow Dash, for her part, walked over to the end of the long table and sat down upon her haunches on the bare floor, and then waited patiently while Melissa called out to the single Heart of Steel crewwoman taking her turn at running the ship's tiny galley. “Three more plates please, Betty.”
“I heard, I heard,” the thirtysomething crew member replied, as she walked out with two plates already made. “Here's the first two, I'll get to work on the third right now,” she added, as she placed the two meals in front of Melissa and Rainbow.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Mendoza asked, with a tone of false irritation.
“No, you're an asshole,” Betty replied, as she turned to head back to the galley amidst a round of chuckles at her comment. “And that means you can wait your turn.”
Mendoza grumbled at that, but he otherwise remained silent. Meanwhile, both Melissa and Rainbow Dash turned to their respective meals, and while the human used the usual flatware, Dash simply leaned in and delicately picked up one of the strips of crispy meat with her mouth, and then slowly started to chew. The savory flavor filled her mouth, and the pegasus closed her eyes and she concentrated on making the morsel last. It was all too soon, however, when she had ground the flesh to mush and swallowed it. Pigs, why are you so tasty? Dash asked herself, as she opened her eyes.
...Only to see several of the humans abruptly snap their eyes away from her. “What?” Rainbow asked, confused. “You guys aren't still weirded out about me eating meat, are you?” she added, and then froze as another idea entered her mind. Dash sighed, and then lightly face-hoofed. “You're still thinking about petting me,” she stated.
“Just a bit,” Carmine replied, with a grin. “It's only human nature to be curious about something we've heard about, but haven't tried yet.”
Dash was unamused. “So you guys are going to keep thinking about it until you get to try it?” she asked, and then waited as several humans nodded at her. She rolled her eyes at that, and then shook her head. As she did, however, an idea entered the pegasus' mind, and Rainbow suddenly smirked a bit. “Okay, let's make a deal, then.”
“A deal?” Carmine asked, as he and most of the others gave their full attention to the mare.
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied. “I'll... let you guys pet me,” she said, as she blushed a bit. “Let you get it out of your systems and stuff, but only if you don't bug me about it ever again. Also, it'll cost you a piece of bacon each.” She smiled as she added the second part of her toll. “I've gotta keep my energy up, after all.”
Another round of hearty chuckles sounded. “Fair enough,” Carmine said, and then quickly moved a hand to leave his offering on Dash's plate. “I'll wait until after you're done eating, though,” he added, and then glanced to the mechwarrior still waiting on his own meal. “I may be an asshole, but I'm not a Lyran asshole.”
“Better Lyran than a noob from some jerkwater planet no one's even heard of before,” Mendoza countered. He also added in a specific finger gesture for good measure.
“We're in the deep, Deep Periphery,” Carmine replied, somewhat airily. “Besides, we've had our own problems and wars over the past few hundred years to keep us busy, and that was even before E-day gave everyone the royal screwjob.”
Mendoza scoffed. “You and your alien stories,” he groused.
“Yeah yeah,” Carmine replied, with a wave of his hand. “No one believes me, I know. Still doesn't mean it didn't happen.”
“You know,” the familiar, deep voice of James McKenna cut in from all the way at the other end of the table. “If you guys fought as well as you bitched, we'd have conquered half o' the Inner Sphere by now,” he added, and then smirked as several chuckles were had at the expense of Mendoza and Carmine. “Now, let's all get back to breakfast; we've gotta get this place ready for our visitors, after all.”
* * * *
Twilight Sparkle felt her spirits lift a bit as she and her friends were led out through the main gate. Partly this was due to the fact that they left the wounded Canterlot behind, and all the depressing implications of seeing the capitol of Equestria in such a state. Mainly, however, it was due to the dual facts that the Heart of Steel stood a moderate distance away, and waiting patiently near it was princess Luna and several guardsponies. I'm so glad she's safe, Twilight thought, as she had spent the Second Battle of Canterlot trying to keep her brother from dying, and so had not been present upon its conclusion. The fact that the Griffons had deliberately targeted both princesses had sent the unicorn into a state of near-panic for a while, and Twilight found her anxiety fading to see that Luna was in one piece.
The sentiment seemed to be mutual, as the night princess smiled warmly at the approaching group. “Greetings to thee, mine friends,” she said, as Lewis and Trade Wind brought their charges to a halt in front of the diarch. “And to thee as well, corporal, miss Lewis” she added, with a nod to each of the aforementioned soldiers.
“Thank you, your highness,” Twilight replied, as she and the other ponies bowed.
Lewis did not, they noticed, though Luna apparently ignored the perceived lack of respect as she saw the human looking around keenly, her hands gripping the Thunderstroke Gauss rifle she used as her main weapon. “Is something the matter, miss Lewis?” the princess asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“Just scanning, your highness,” Lewis replied. “Had a bit of an issue at the station, and I'm feeling paranoid.”
“An issue?” Luna asked, perturbed. “Speak of it.”
“Miss Lewis detected and apprehended a Changeling infiltrator, your grace,” Trade Wind interjected. His statement garnered a small set of gasps from his fellow guardsponies waiting with the princess. “Somehow it got past one of the scanning stations, but apparently the humans' technology lets them see through the Changelings' disguise.”
“Verily?” Luna asked, in a surprised tone, and then turned to the armored human. “Pray tell, miss Lewis, how is this accomplished without magic?”
“My suit is equipped with what we call a 'Beagle Active Probe' system,” Lewis replied. “I admit I'm not up on all the technical specifics, but to put it simply, it's a suite of advanced sensors tied into a highly advanced learning computer that constantly compares incoming information with previous datafiles. Any discrepancy is measured and analyzed and then compared to other disguise and camouflage attempts on record, and the computer makes a new set of observations and scans to detect whether the discrepancy is merely coincidence or an attempt to hide something by building a composite picture.” The human paused at that, and then shrugged her shoulders. “I'm not sure what my computer saw that made it focus in on that thing, but it painted a fuzzy outline of something ugly over a pony and called my attention to it. I decided to get close, and the closer I got the more the whole thing cleared up.” Lewis paused at that, and then shuddered enough for her suit to match the movement. “Also, the damn thing gave me the willies something awful, even before miss Sparkle neutralized its disguise.”
The ponies around her gave Lewis a long, confused look before Applejack spoke up. “That was th' 'simple' version?” she asked.
“The complex version has a lot of math,” Lewis replied. “Also, it's boring.”
“Fascinating,” Twilight Sparkle said, as her mind caught up. “So the computer actually learns and gains experience?”
“In a way,” Lewis replied, with a nod. “It's limited to only what it's programmed to look for, and the version built into my suit can't 'see' as far as a vehicle or 'mech version since it lacks the raw scanning power and larger computer matrix to make use of sketchier data. Hermes has a longer-range BAP loaded into his Firestarter, though; that's how we knew you guys were coming when we met in that forest.”
“Astounding,” Luna interjected. “Mayhaps it is possible to replicate such an article?” she asked, hopefully. “Changelings art clever creatures, and their infiltration attempts can go unnoticed if the unicorn scanning for them doth not have the sheer magical strength to pierce their shroud.”
“Uh, probably not here,” Lewis replied, evenly. “The tech is really advanced, so much so that we lost the ability to build them for a couple of centuries 'til the Helm Memory Core was discovered. And even when we couldn't build them, our tech was still a heckuva lot higher than what you've got here.”
“I see,” Luna said, her voice dropping a bit in disappointment. She thought for a moment, and then sighed. “Well, we could spend this day 'til the morrow discussing this, but I believe we are late for breakfast.”
“Indeed you are,” a new voice sounded from the direction of the human ship. The group turned as one and saw Johannes Schneider standing at the base of one of the Steel's access ramps; the only one lowered at the moment. “What's this about our scanner technology?” he asked, as the various ponies—and Lewis—moved forward to join him.
“I'll tell you when I tell the commander,” Lewis replied. “ASAP.”
Schneider raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked, doubtfully.
“It's important, Hermes,” Lewis replied, somewhat forcefully, but still with respect to her superior. “This place just lost some of its pretty luster.”
“Alright,” Schneider replied, with a nod. “We're going to see the commander in the mess, anyway, so come along,” he said, and then turned to bow towards princess Luna. “Also, my apologies for not greeting you properly, your majesty.”
Luna waved a hoof. “Accepted, mister Schneider,” she evenly replied. “Miss Lewis is right to impress upon you the urgency of the matter. I wouldst like to be with you all myself when the issue is discussed, so we may share information about an old enemy of the principality.”
Schneider sighed at that. “Great, more things trying to kill us,” he muttered, and then shook his head. “Ah, well, let's get going to the mess before miss Dash eats all the bacon,” he added, as he waved the pony entourage to follow him up the ramp.
Luna frowned at that. “Bacon?” she asked, confused. “Pray tell, what be this 'bacon' you speak of?”
“Oh I'm sure it's nothing,” Twilight Sparkle interjected, with her tone and expression both nervous. “By the way, princess, have you seen inside the ship yet?” she asked as the party moved up the curved embarkation ramp.
Luna gave Twilight a sidelong, flummoxed look, but decided to let the odd interruption drop. “Nay, I hath not yet had time,” she replied, evenly. “The attack yesterday took much attention... to...” her voice trailed off as the party entered the main 'mech bay, and then halted when Luna stopped to look around. Unlike when the Steel was grounded outside of Ponyville, the 'mech bays on the lower level were all full, all of them having been recalled in the night so their pilots could get some rest.
The princess had, of course, seen the various war machines outside the palace, both moving and still, but the strain of the battle, followed by the cleanup and organization efforts afterward had distracted her, and made the sight of such grand machines almost unreal. Now, however, these same machines were dwarfed and ensconced by the various gantries and other support infrastructure, and seeing them thus drove home the sheer scale of not only the bipedal machines, but also of the effort it took to build, maintain, and repair them. And to build a ship such as this, to move them across the stars, Luna thought, as she looked around at the various accoutrements of 31st century technology. “I am impressed,” the alicorn finally said, as she turned her head to look at Schneider. “'Tis a wonder I stand in, I feel.”
Schneider gave her a polite smile. “Believe it or not, the Heart of Steel isn't that special,” he said, as he waved the group to follow him again. “She's a Union-class dropship, and about six thousand of those have been built in the Inner Sphere over the last three-hundred seventy years since the design was introduced.”
“Truly?” Luna asked, in surprise. “Thousands of these ships, moving in the space between worlds?”
“Yes, and not just this class,” Schneider replied. “There are hundreds of other designs in common and even rare use, some older than even the Steel herself.”
“This particular ship is over three-hundred years old, your highness,” Twilight Sparkle interjected. “It's a piece of history, still moving on its own power despite the centuries.”
“Astounding,” was all Luna could say, as the large group came to the lift.
* * * *
Rainbow Dash sighed contentedly, as she lay on a blanket someone had retrieved for her to lie upon as she rested on the floor. “Okay,” she admitted, and then closed her eyes as she felt fingers rubbing through her mane and along the base of her ears. “I could get used to this.”
Alexis Shepard laughed lightly at that, as she sat cross-legged on the floor next to the mare. “You sure about that?” she asked, as she moved her hands down to rub the pegasus' neck. “You seemed rather adverse to the idea earlier.”
“That's 'cuz the only times I ever got petted by Melissa was when I was feeling bad,” Dash replied, as shifted her head a bit on the blanket. “I didn't realize it's so much better when you're not worried about monsters and being shot or eaten.”
Shepard chuckled, as she returned her hands to Dash's ears. “So you're no longer worried about being treated like a dog?” she asked.
“If dogs get treated like this, then they've got it better than anypony ever realized,” Rainbow replied. Then she let out a pleased little groan as Shepard rubbed the top of her head. “Oh yeah, right there.”
“I feel like I should be recording this for a gentleman's holovid,” the snarky voice of Carmine came from one of the seats. “I can see the box blurb now: 'hot and heavy petting action!'” he said, as he held up his hands and fingers to make an imaginary frame.
“Up yours, Dorian,” Shepard retorted. “Besides, you've had your turn; shouldn't you have something better to do now?”
“What, and miss the adorable?” Carmine replied, the usual grin plastering his face as Dash blushed. “Sitting here is doing wonders for my cold, black heart.”
“As if you still had one,” a new voice intruded, and heads turned to see Silva standing in the doorway. “And also, I think it's my turn by now, isn't it?” he asked, with a hopeful grin.
Shepard sighed. “Yeah, yeah,” she said, as she promptly stood. “I should really check out my ride, anyway; as much as I trust the techs, I don't like it when they mess with my weapon settings.” She paused to stretch a bit at that, and then waved to Rainbow. “Take care, miss Dash.”
“You too,” Rainbow replied, as the human female smiled and then turned to leave the room.
In her place walked Silva, albeit he moved a bit more cautiously. “So, uh,” he said, sounding nervous. “Bad time?”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at him, but soon gave him a smile. “Nah,” she said, and then turned to stretch out over the blanket she lied upon. “I've got nothing to do 'til somepony comes along and tells me what to do, anyway,” she said, and then stretched her wings out. “So just sit down and do whatever.”
Silva glanced to Carmine at that. “Not a word from you, Dorian,” the former said.
“Can't a guy be a pervert these days without being called out on it?” Carmine replied, and then chuckled. “In any case, I'm just here to absorb the ambiance of adorable. And to hand off lady Dash's ill-gotten gains,” he added, as he took a piece of bacon off of Rainbow's plate and then lowered it to the pegasus' head.
“You paid fair and square and you know it,” Dash countered, though she immediately snapped the piece out of the human's hand. She then hummed to herself as she chewed on the morsel, and closed her eyes to further savor it.
“Now's a good time to get started,” Carmine said, directing his words to Silva. “Both Alexis and Earl found it easier while she's distracted at first.”
“'M not dat distac'ted,” Rainbow muttered through a full mouth. She then swallowed her food and glanced up at Silva. “Seriously, just start with the ears. Everyone else seems to like it.”
“And you don't?” Carmine asked, even as Silva moved to sit down next to Dash.
“I never said I didn't,” Rainbow protested, and then smirked. “I'm just saying—ooohh,” she muttered, as Silva began his ministrations around the base of her ears. “Wow, now that's different,” Dash added, as she felt the human move each of his fingers independently of one another.
Silva couldn't help but chuckle. “Glad you like it,” he said, even as he moved one hand to pet it down the length of Rainbow's eponymous mane. “Any places that are off-limits? Besides the obvious, I mean.”
“Nothing over my back legs,” Dash replied, almost absentmindedly as she closed her eyes again in pleasure. “That's... private.”
“Oh?” Silva asked, even as he used one hand to rub the pegasus' neck. Then he thought about it, and his hands froze for a moment. “Ooohh,” he added, in understanding.
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied, with a blush as she opened her eyes to look at the mechwarrior sitting at her side. “Dorian here kinda didn't know that.”
“Hey, I stopped when you told me to,” Carmine replied, this time with all seriousness. “I know you're not a dog or anything, but they tend to like the spot over their tails getting rubbed.”
“Probably a reason for that, if you think about it,” Rainbow replied, as she lowered her head to rest it on her crossed forelegs. “Anyway, David, just don't go too far past the wings and you'll be good.”
“Oh?” Silva asked, even as he moved his hands and then pressed them down over the part of Rainbow's back between her wings and then began to rub. “Even here?”
“Oooohh, thaaaat's just fiiiine,” Dash replied, as she abruptly brought her head back up and then let her jaw hang open. “Use your nails, I loved it when Alexis did that.”
“Mayhaps this is a bad time to speak with thee, Rainbow Dash?”
The cool, musical tones of the questioner's voice washed over the room, and the regal nature in which the question was asked gave pause to all three of the rooms inhabitants, though this was broken a split-second later as Dash's wings snapped out in panic mode and slapped Silva in the face. “Ow!” the human grunted, as he rubbed his face.
Dash ignored his protest, however, as she jumped to her hooves, turned around and then knelt down towards the doorway, where princess Luna stood, while Schneider and several of the pegasus' friends were seen in the hallway beyond. “Er, no, your highness!”
“Art thou sure?” Luna asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Ye seemed to be rather... busy,” she added, with an unsure look.
“Oh, uh,” Dash said, as she rose, a profound blush overtaking her features. “I was, uh, I mean—”
“Miss Dash was helping us with some relaxation techniques,” Carmine interjected, as he stood, and then bowed to the princess. He then gave Silva, who was still sitting on the floor, a swift kick, which prompted the younger man to stand and follow the Periphery native's lead. “Big day, you know, all sorts of nerves wracking us from one end to the other.”
“Indeed,” Luna said, flatly. “And pray tell, how does administering... whatever that was, to miss Dash helpful towards thyself?”
Carmine grinned at that; a look that instantly drove fear into the hearts of all who knew him. “Well, it's rather simple,” he explained. “Humans find it very relaxing and stress-relieving to pet and show affection towards furry quadrupeds.”
Rainbow face-hoofed at that and groaned. Silva looked embarrassed, and Luna blinked as a tinge of red appeared on her cheeks. “'Pet'?” she asked. When Carmine and Silva nodded, and Dash refused to uncover her face, the princess looked back and to the side. “Is this true, mister Schneider?”
“Uhm, yes, actually,” Schneider replied, a blush tinging his own face as well. “While humans are the only animals in our reality to achieve sapience—that we know of—we domesticated a significant number of other species that proved instrumental to the conquest of our homeworld. As a result, a genetic predisposition towards treating non-sapient helper animals with care was selected for in our evolution.”
“What he means to say,” Carmine interjected. “Is that people who took care of their animals tended to live longer and better, so they had more kids, yadda yadda yadda,” he added, with a wave of his hand. “So we humans tend to look out after our animals and keep them healthy and groomed and such.”
“Ah,” Luna said, with a look of understanding on her face. “A symbiotic relationship, then? You take care of your animal assistants, and in turn they are more fit and able to provide you with the help you require of them?”
“Yes, your highness,” Schneider replied, instantly garnering the princess' attention. “Although we wield control and power over the species we've domesticated, the responsible ones of us recognize that we in turn owe it to them to protect and care for them and continue their species. Thus humans and non-sapient animals often form strong bonds that can only be exceeded by true friendship and the like.”
“Fascinating,” Luna said, and then turned her head to look over the room's occupants again. “But, if it is with thine animals thou feels a bond, why wouldst thou find a similar response in... grooming... a pony?” she asked, carefully, as she tried not to tread too hard on Rainbow's tattered ego.
“Because although you're not animals, you look a lot like horses from back home,” Carmine answered. “Horses were one of our greatest assets and helpers for most of our pre-spaceflight history, and until we developed industrialization and mechanized vehicles they were the primary means of transportation of both persons and goods across the land.”
“That's... true,” Schneider added, a bit of surprise in his voice at how articulate Carmine had been. He then shook his head and continued with a more controlled tone. “What Dorian says is right: your people are in the same general shape and share many attributes with such creatures back home, and so we're all predisposed to wanting to behave towards you as if you were them.
“However, you're also talking, sapient beings,” Schneider hastened to add. “Which brings into the account the usual feelings we have towards others, so we tend to view you as 'human' as well.”
“And then add in the fact that you're just plain adorable, well, that makes us just want to be all kinds of friendly towards you,” Carmine said, with a grin.
A silence fell over the scene at those words. It lasted for a few, awkward moments before Luna cleared her throat. “I... see,” she said, and then slowly backed out of the room. “Well, I believe I hath learned much here...” Perhaps too much, she thought. “Miss Dash, if thou would join our group, we should get the briefing room for the meeting with commander McKenna.
“Yes your highness,” Dash said, as she finally lowered her foreleg and then made a small bow to the princess. “I'll be right along behind you.”
“Very good,” Luna said, and then turned her head to Schneider. “Please, lead on.”
“With great pleasure, your ladyship,” Schneider replied, and then turned to lead the group off.
Not all followed the princess, however; while Twilight Sparkle simply paused to face-hoof, and then moved along, the other four ponies of their close circle all stood at the door, staring at Rainbow Dash. “What?” the cyan pegasus finally asked.
“Petted? Seriously?” Applejack asked, with a smirk. “Y'all won't let th' spa girls touch yer hooves, but you'll let humans pet ya like a dog?”
Rainbow's blush returned at that, though now it was joined by an irritated look. After a moment, however, a smile crept over her muzzle, and she shook her head to toss her mane back. “Hey, don't buck it 'til you've tried it,” she retorted, and then glanced to Silva. “I'm sure David here wouldn't mind giving you a bit of attention.”
Silva blinked, and then grinned as he caught a sidelong look from Dash. “Oh, indeed” he said, and then cracked his knuckles. “I've got all sorts of tricks just waiting to be used.”
The smug look on Applejack's face died at that, and she took a step back from the hatchway. “Er, no, that's okay, sugarcube,” she said, somewhat nervously. “Ah reckon Ah'm good.”
“Oooh! What about me?” Pinkie Pie asked, as she bounced up behind the other ponies and waved one of her forelegs in the air. “I wanna feel what it's like!”
“Uhm, excuse me,” the soft voice of Fluttershy interjected. Despite her lack of volume, the clear, beautiful tone of her voice managed to garner everyone's attention. “I wouldn't mind, uh, you know, to see what it's like,” she said, and then shuffled her hooves a bit and then ducked her head so that her mane covered some of her face. “That is, if you don't mind.”
“Well, that sounds all fine and dandy,” Carmine spoke up, with a genuine smile on his face. It faded a bit, though, as he shook his head. “But I don't think we have any time for that now.”
“Quite,” Rarity agreed. “While I'm curious about how such treatment might compare to a proper hoof massage at the spa, it would behoove us to rejoin the princess.”
“Hmm,” Carmine said, as an idea entered his head. Silva and Dash both shared a look of worry as the Periphery native spoke. “I've just had an idea.”
“Oh God, we're all gonna die,” Silva deadpanned.
“Don't be such a sissy,” Carmine retorted, and then grinned. “Just listen...”
* * * *
James Ian McKenna VII sighed as he covered his face with his good hand. “I can't take you people anywhere, can I?” he rhetorically asked, as he let the hand drop so he could look over the small briefing room.
It looked very much like crew's mess, only it lacked access to the closet-sized galley and had a dedicated holoprojector built into the table. Also unlike the mess, the walls were not painted a warm, friendly color, but instead were covered in a hue that was universally known as “battleship gray.” None of this was what was causing the commander grief, however, but rather it was the positions of several persons around the room. Specifically, several ponies with their back ends on one seat, and their front ends draped over the lap of one of the Dark Horse's mechwarriors. More specifically, it was Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash laying over Franz Mendoza, Tania Griffin, Dorian Carmine, and David Silva, respectively.
And they're petting the ponies, James thought. I don't know whether to feel mortified, or jealous. A look over the other seats at the table showed that the other ponies, at least, all looked as uncomfortable as he felt, save for princess Luna, who simply looked flummoxed. At least I'm not alone.
“You're just jealous you don't get a pony,” Carmine replied, addressing the commander's exasperated question, even as he roughly rubbed Pinkie's neck. The pink mare apparently appreciated the treatment, as she simply lay there and let her tongue hang out of her muzzle.
James sighed, and then turned towards Luna. “You have my deepest apologies for this ridiculous scene, your majesty,” he said, sincerely. “Had I known all of my troopers had taken leave of their senses, I would've had them served plain grits for breakfast.”
A round of groans came from the humans. “You're an evil, evil man for even suggesting that,” Earl Delacroix protested.
“It sounds fair to me,” Rebecca McKenna countered.
“Please, I think we should move on to our discussion,” Luna said, evenly. “As... odd as this is, it is not harming my subjects, and so I can overlook this... peculiar pastime.”
James sighed at that. “Very well,” he said, and then glanced over to Schneider. “Hermes, let's get this going before I decide to just walk my 'mech into the woods and put the reactor into overload.”
Schneider chuckled lightly at that, and then quickly went to work on the holoprojector controls. A map of the land between Canterlot and Manehattan popped into being, and icons of units were soon overlaid. “Alright, this is our latest map we've pieced together from pegasus scout reports,” Schneider said, and then paused. “You know, I would have never thought I'd say a line like that as little as a month ago.”
“Hermes,” James growled.
“Right,” Schneider said, and then shook himself a bit. “Okay, from what we've been told O'Connell has a force of griffons acting as a scout ring and skirmishing line, allowing him to keep his light 'mechs concentrated and make the best of their firepower.” Schneider punched a few buttons then, and a small cloud of red dots appeared over the units representing the Desperadoes. “In addition they're providing an umbrella of coverage to prevent any dive-bombing by pegasus guards.
“We also believe they have a small group of unicorns with them,” Schneider added, and then paused again to shake his head. “Why that is we can only guess, but I'd bet money some of them have either training from the royal guards or have some kind of talent that might come in handy on the battlefield.”
“I see,” Luna said, as she studied the map. Then she turned her head to regard James evenly. “Do you have a plan to deal with this?”
“We do, ma'am,” James replied. “But first, may I ask you something?”
Luna blinked at the sudden change, but soon nodded. “Of course, commander,” she replied. “I may not be able to answer, but I shall endeavor to try.”
James nodded back. “There is something that's been bugging me,” he began, and then shifted in his seat as he looked over the mares from Ponyville. “Captain Starbuck and miss Twilight Sparkle have told us a bit about the items you call the 'Elements of Harmony',” he said, and then returned his attention to the princess. “From what we hear, they have the potential to be a great weapon against any foe who threatens your nation. And I must ask, why you refrained from using it so far?”
The various ponies around the table all took on bemused looks at that. Soon enough, however, Luna recovered and nodded sagely to James. “A good question, but somewhat mislead,” she said, evenly. “The Elements of Harmony art powerful magical artifacts, not weapons. Their purpose is to restore a state of harmony, of balance and peace to something—or someone—who has lost it. While their effect may be construed as a weapon against a mortal foe, the Elements themselves tend to avoid using violence of any kind.
“As to why they have not been used on O'Connell and his forces, there are two reasons,” Luna continued. “The first is that being from outside our reality, we were unsure of how the Elements would react to you... if they did anything at all.” The night princess hesitated, and then gave an apologetic glance towards Fluttershy. “Secondly, and less important, one of the bearers was unable to serve her role until recently.”
Fluttershy blushed at that and ducked her head down into Griffin's lap. “S–sorry,” she whispered.
“'Tis nothing to be sorry for, lady Fluttershy,” Luna replied, earnestly. “Nopony blames you for being shocked beyond sense at seeing the horrors of war.”
“Your princess is right,” Griffin softly added, as she gently stroked the pegasus' mane behind her ears. “There's no shame in being afraid, especially now that you're past the worst of it.”
Fluttershy raised her head up at that, a blush over her features. “Th–thank you,” she said, with a glance between Luna and Griffin.
“Yes, well,” Schneider said, as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Good reasons as those are, I think the reason the commander is asking is that, while we're sure we've got a decent plan and we'll definitely give it our all... well, the plain fact is that we're still outnumbered four-to-one in terms of 'mechs,” he said, his voice lowering in tone. “None of us want to sound defeatist, but it would be prudent, perhaps, to prepare a backup plan.”
“I see,” Luna replied, and then paused for a moment. “That is certainly a wise precaution, and I have no intention of depending on you achieving a victory,” she said, and then looked up at James. “No offense.”
“None taken,” the elder McKenna replied, with a nod. “As Hermes said, prudent is prudent.”
“Indeed,” Luna agreed, and then sighed. “But now there is another reason that we may not employ the Elements, save as an absolute last resort.”
James frowned at that, which threatened to turn into a scowl as he saw a wave of surprise wash over the other ponies in the room. “What? Why?” Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “I mean, princess, why wouldn't we use the Elements immediately?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “In fact, why don't we go out and use them right now?”
Another moment of silence fell as Luna contemplated her answer. It dragged on longer than the last as the alicorn bit her lower lip, and then slowly shook her head. “As I said, the Elements restore harmony, whether to an individual, or a countryside, or to all of Equestria,” she began, slowly. “It is in their nature to remove disruptive components, and return the subject of their use to a harmonious state.”
“Wait,” Schneider interrupted, as he held up a hand to garner everyone's attention. “Are you saying what I think you're saying?”
Luna frowned, and then sighed again. “There is a chance that the Elements will remove all disruptive, alien factors... all of them,” she said, and then let those words hang in the air.
An oppressive silence fell over the room, and the temperature seemed to drop by several degrees. That's someone walking over my grave, alright, James thought. He took a long, slow look over the various beings seated around the table, and saw in their faces a mix of disbelief, horror, and shock. All save Luna, however, who simply looked sad and mournful. “You're saying... they might kill us?” James asked, slowly and quietly.
“By erasing you from the fabric of reality itself,” Luna confirmed. She then closed her eyes and lowered her head. “If it were just O'Connell and his soldiers, I would consider it... but having met you all, seen what you've done for my subjects, I find the idea distasteful in the extreme.” She returned her head to its normal position at that, and then looked James straight in the eyes. “I will not condemn an innocent to death just for a little security. At least, not yet,” she added, and then glanced to the side.
“But if we're about to lose everything anyway,” James continued for her. “You'll use those 'Elements' and save your people?” he asked.
“Aye,” Luna replied, as she returned her sad gaze to the commander.
James thought of this for a second, but soon found he already had an opinion. “Good,” he said, quietly, much to the surprise of the ponies in the room. The humans, however, simply took on grim countenances, and their features hardened as McKenna continued. “We're soldiers, your majesty: we don't want to die, but we will if it means protecting innocents,” he calmly explained. “Dying is part of the job, and we take our risks against it on every drop. I can't speak for the others here, but I can say that if I die in the service of what I consider sacred, then I'll be perfectly happy to meet my maker.” James leaned back in his seat at that, with only a bare wince as his injured arm protested the movement. “And what I value is the principles I was raised on, that my ancestors fought and died for, and that still have a purpose even today. That there is such a thing as right and wrong, good and evil, and that to oppose wrong and evil and fight the darkness they spread is a good and proper thing to do.
“So if you need to kill us to save your people from conquest, your majesty, please do so.” James paused at that, and then managed a lopsided grin. “Just... make sure it's actually a hopeless situation first; it would suck to die if all I had to do was fire one more shot.”
A round of muted chuckles sounded in the room as the gallows humor did its work and broke up the tension. Even Luna managed a weak smile, and she nodded to the human commander. “Thou art truly a knight,” she said, evenly.
James smiled back, and then shook his head. “As the song says, I 'ain't no splendid knight',” he replied. “I'm just doing the right thing.”
“As will we all,” Rebecca chimed in at his side, and a chorus of agreements rolled through the room from the other humans in response. “We can't promise victory. But we can promise we'll fight tooth and nail 'til the end.”
“So I see,” Luna said, quietly. She blinked her eyes a few times, and then bowed her head towards the two elder McKennas. “You honor us.”
“When you do the right thing, honor will always follow,” James replied.
“Verily,” Luna replied, as she brought her head back up. “Now, let us not speak of such dire measures unless they come to pass,” she added. “And let us hear your final plan, for time grows short.”
“Yes ma'am.”
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holy sheeeeet! I thought christmas was over :3
Nice to see you and your story are alive and kicking!
Wooo hooo! New Years present! Rokas Rokas Rokas!
He should live, because I hate death of good guys, but if his death is integral to the story, I will be ok with it. I just hate it when people kill off characters for no real reason.
Also, excellent taste in music. I am more of a Sabaton kind of person, but Iron Savior is pretty good too.
Exposition? Boring?
Hah! Not if it's executed well. And yours definitely is. I enjoy character development every bit as much as a good action sequence. Carry on doing what you're doing, Rokas. You're doing just fine so far.
Wonderful as always keep it up.
hmmm....good thing I played Battlefield prior, it made this chapter more papable...wait, thats not it...oh well, Im waiting for next chap!
Hands are why all the animals put up with us. Petting a pony would put me firmly into "squeeee" territory.
I got the update alert and said to myself, "Eeeeh-xcellent...." while maniacally tapping my fingers together.... What, I'm completely sane, what are you guys talking about...
Anyway, I really must applaud the music you've woven in. I know most people will caution against it, but You, sir, have not only made it work, but also made it shine. When Two Steps from Hell is concerned, there is very little that won't become awesome. And when you throw in their awesomeness with something that is already as epic as Falling Stars, the result cannot be adequately described with mere words. Although, I'm sure a wordsmith like Rokas could pull it off if he tried.
Once again, a very satisfying chapter, even without a ridiculous battle with ponies and mechs kicking the snot out of the bad guys. Trust me, you pump out enough Lol's and D'awwww's to keep us readers happy. And when you finally make that grand finale of awesomeness, we'll be all the happier.
As for your little poll, I vote Carmine lives. All the characters you've created are so authentic I don't really want any of them to die. Especially Carver and Seabreeze. I don't care that Carver's on O'Connel's team and they haven't had that much screen time, that one little blurb with those two was a truly touching moment. If either one of them dies, I guarantee you that I will cry. But do as you must, for war inevitably creates casualties. Just don't kill any more good guys than absolutely necessary. I like them. A lot.
Edit: I cannot give enough praise to your music choice. I just listened to that song again, and despite being cooped up in my heated house on a cozy couch wrapped in a fluffy blanket, those damned feel-induced goosebumps just would not leave me alone!
Ah, hell.
Flip a coin, dude. I'm too torn to vote.
MFW i saw the update.
blog.thoughtomatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/f-14-waterski.jpg
Humans must pet all the ponies! Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Braeburn, etc need petting STAT!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
I'd rather just prefer if all the good guys live, actually. So live it is.
I vote live
>de-winging: vile, despicable
>shoot horn off: applause
Oh the irony.
Good interaction, but that bit just felt off.
1883959
Ponies: People.
Changelings: Vile, soul-sucking parasites that eat that which makes us unique and special in the universe.
Conclusion: **** Changelings.
1883968
Depends on headcanon, I suppose.
1884019
And currently show canon. All we've seen from the Changelings is hissing and aggression, with only Chrysalis showing any personality or individuality. Also, THEY CONSUME LOVE. Seriously, man, that's just... just so wrong. Have you read the myths the MLP Changelings were taken from? It's some seriously dark sh*t there, so I don't care what you wanna say, because as far as I'm concerned they can all die in a fire.
So very worth the wait. Thank you Rokas.
I'd love to see if any other ponies besides Dash start eating meat. Fish don't appear to be sapient; perhaps Equestria could start consuming sushi.
And, I wonder how much of a transfer fee McKenna had to pay when he bought David Silva from Valencia's militia.
Ehem.
I shall properly enunciate how I feel about this poll.
LIIIIVE! LIIIIIIVE! LIVE I SAY, LIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVEEE!!!!!!
Eheh. . . yeah.
Bloody brilliant chapter as always, still surprised this hasn't gotten all that many thumbs given the sheer quality this fic radiates.
~With regards, the Current Student of the Second True Magic.
1884900
Also, I don't portray humans as all evil creatures and ponies as all saints (excluding specific protagonists/antagonists) but rather as a full spectrum of different individuals that run the gamut on both sides. Hmm, what else gets this fandoms kickers to drop? Oh yeah, no alicorn Twilight, magic is not greater than science, just different, Changelings are scum to be wiped off the face of the planet, and no vampires.
Probably because I don't have the ponies all lesbian-ing all over the place.
Sorry, just a bit bitter that I pour myself into this and I get less attention than another damned Halo crossover or vampire story. Oh, and of course, the clop, can't even begin to approach the levels of interest clop garners.
Thanks for your comment, though. I do appreciate the few readers who actually do read and like (and comment on) this story.
It's the little things like that which keep me writing.
Woo! new chapter!
well, that update came unexpected
nice to know your story still alive :)
1884038 Hey now thats not completely fair, we don't get to choose what we consume as food.
Another option would be to convert the "Chaos" into "Order" thus turning the humans into natives of equestria. While i don't see this happening (nor particularly want it to happen) It would be hilarious to read O'Connell's reaction. 
And like you said there are full spectrum's of personality out there... unless of course the only one with any real intelligence is chrysalis then i guess they have that 1 hivemind thing going on.
1883270 Even if discord was worse and i don't see how he could be much worse than indiscriminate slaughter and slavery. He was sadistic but it was all for his personal amusement. He's also originally from their universe. The elements may see the only way of restoring harmony to be removing the "foreign elements" since they're not even supposed to be there in the first place.
Great chapter btw. Always happy to see such a well written fic updated.
Also I along with all other comments i've read agree that the answer should be Live.
Hark, an update! Woot! Keep up the good work.
1886483
It does depend on what the Changelings are actually like. My favorites here, for instance, include several Changeling stories that I like, but mainly because they have interesting characters and take a certain direction with how to handle Changelings. Myself, however, I treat them as the show treats them: like the legends that inspired them, i.e. soul-sucking parasites that must die in a fire. Until the show shows otherwise, I'll stick with "KILL IT WITH FIRE."
1886538
Task Force Serpent! Woo! \m/
carmine lives, obviously
but, for god's sake, WE NEED MOAR IVAN
More Changelings in the near future? I hope so.
And save Carmine. Or at least make his death suitably epic. Or comical.
1890285
I blame you for this. That and a severe sleep problem:
"Welcome to SCV. For Fusion Cutter, press 5, for tools, press 6, if you know the minerals you want to harvest, press 7."
Carmine: "What the? Someone screwed around with my cockpit! Okay, what's this one do?" *Beep*
"Self-destruct initiated. 5, 4, 3..."
Carmine: "...Ah, fu—"
*EXPLOSION*
Let him live, let him live! For the love of God let him live!
Other than that, great chapter. Plenty of humour and a lovely little Gears of War reference
Great work as always. The addition of changelings to the mix is very interesting because they represent a third faction which does not like either of the others, so if they are getting involved they could be something of a wildcard.
Also, this chapter was just full of adorable. Rainbow is always cute when she lets her guard down, and the mass petting at the end was just fantastic. I am really wondering where things are going to go from here on that one because there is no way it will remain a secret any more so the humans may soon find themselves flooded with attention. Bonus points if they get Celestia.
As for Carmine, I am inclined to let him live because he is a fun character, but you do need to have a fairly high body count to make things believable with the way the odds are stacked up. That said, ejection seats are wonderful things and could let you scrap a lot of 'Mechs without killing off too many characters which helps a lot with this issue.
1892538
Ah, thank you sir. Yes, Dashie can be adorable when she's not being arrogant, and she's kinda had some of that arrogance burned right out of her in the crucible of battle.
As for Celestia...
Well, she's gotta recover, first. 
I'm inclined to let Carmine live, too, but I wanted to give it as an option to fit in more with his brothers. If Clayton hadn't survived GoW3 I wouldn't have even asked, but I figured I'd give people a chance to vote whether the Carmine brothers curse was in effect or not. Seems he's gotten most people to like him, so there's that.
Everyone else's life, however, is up for grabs.
Hopefully my enthusiasm for chapter 17—just started today and already up 2000 words—will have it out soon enough to answer such questions. 
1892805 No problem, and that crack about Celestia was mostly because Luna's reaction to that would be absolutely hilarious (Twilight's too now that I think about it).
Hm, now that I think about it, we might just have found a use for the rest of the raiders after they are beaten. Lock them up and use them as massage therapists.
1893441
Twilight Sparkle: *Deadpan* "If we can keep Rainbow from eating them."
Rainbow Dash: "Hey!"
1894715 Oh god yes, there is going to be a lot of comedy spreading around that one as well. Actually, now that I think about it, it seems surprising that no one else has found out about the new additions to Rainbow's diet. Hm, maybe she will get indigestion from eating all that bacon at breakfast and Luna will learn the truth on that.
Let them live! Let them all live!
That said, yay new chapter! The changeling was a nice surprise. But now I'm waiting impatiently for Celestia to return in her secretly being built super pony 'mech. Cause I know you're having one made after that scientist figured out the hard light stuff earlier in the story. I love how Pinkie Pie didn't even need to think about getting pet by the humans. She's still my favorite pony, even if Rainbow Dash, as my number 2 pony, is far more adorable in this chapter.
BTW, you do a great Pinkie Pie. Just the right mix of wtf just happened with hyperactivity and adorableness all mixed together.
1897137
"Oh, stop complaining, and put a smile on!"
"Too late, I'm already imprinted on your memory engrams."
I should do a great Pinkie Pie, considering she's in my head.
GET HER OUT! GET! HER! OUT!
AUGH!
-Transmission Terminated at Source-
You are my hero Rokas!
1901353
i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq201/Rokas_FL/Images%20For%20Internet%20Linking/rdhappy.png
This is the…best…story…EVAH!!!
Awesome chapter. I love "moments before the final battle", so I've got nothing to complain, also petting RD... so much HNNNGGGGG!
Your taste in music is splendid! Thanks for introducing me to "Iron Savior". Also great choice with TSFH on last scene, manly tears was shed.
As for Carmine, let him live.
PS. As for O'Connell's end, I think that Royal Palace Gardens would benefit from new statue.
This whole story is great! I love it, This is the very best thing from having discovered the Eridani Light Pony.
1992481
Always happy to spread the word of awesome metal. \m/
1996451
ELP is best merc corps.
1996520 Buck yeah! \m/
Also, when we can expect next chapter? I presume it will be around 20-30k words, so 2-3 more weeks?
It could just be me, but I'm getting more and more worried about what will happen if Celestia wakes up and runs into a Dark Horse merc before Luna or somepony else is able to explain the situation to her. Considering that her first encounter with humans involved seeing several of her subjects being gunned down just to make a point, I shudder to think of what she might do, especially since she could likely look out over all of Canterlot from her bedchambers and see that a large portion of the city has been recently reduced to rubble.
Your taking too long with the next chapter -_-
Reread ALL the chapters!!!!!
2079339
I agree with your first one, but the second one, i think, is fine
mechs get shining armor style shields. activate pew pew pews. dark horse goes onward into legend, and makes a fortune off of pone videos
Bacon, pony petting, Carmine and oh my! There was so much fun in this chapter I do believe it DOUBLED my already good mood! Definitely one of the better crossovers I've read as of late. Not bad at all!
Here, take this upvote and favoriting and wear them with pride.