Equestria Girls /0

by Bitt_Player

Chapter Twelve - Those Wonderful Toys

"Isn't it a little stereotypical for an Octoling to be running with an Octobrush?" Rainbow Splash asked.

"Hey, if you don't want me using your squiddy knockoffs of my peoples' ancestral weapons, stop making them better than the originals." Sunfish Swimmer hefted her new weapon with a smile. "I see you're still splatting around with that Tri-Slosher of yours."

"Straight up!" Splash patted her weaponized bucket. "This baby's never let me down!"

"Fair enough. So, you squidkids want to help me test this puppy out?"

"Well, I didn't come to the Square just t' lug my Splatling around lookin' purty," Cephalojack said. "Let's round up a fourth ink-slinger and git in on a Turf War."

"I think I saw Sepie Pod over at Headspace," Sunfish said.

"Think she'll be up for a fight?" Cephalojack asked, getting to her feet and picking up her Heavy Splatling.

"Have you ever known Sepia Decaforme Pod to turn down a match?" Sunfish said.

"Fair enough."

---

Sunset Shimmer hauled herself out of her small bed in what had been the officer's quarters in the long-forgotten era when the Hover Cargo was a military transport, noting that she had at least managed to get her pajamas on this time. Admittedly she had put her jacket on over them, which must have seemed like a good idea at some point. As was usual in these situations, Sunset's PC displayed a strategy upon which she had meticulously worked until the wee hours of the morning. Oddly, at the bottom of the text, Sunset's analytical composition gave way to three sentences:

They have junk for sensors. Multisensor + Smoke + ECM. Practice maniacal laugh.

"Neat," Sunset suggested to no one in particular. Comfortingly, there was no reply.

---

"Ahahahahaha!" Sunset laughed maniacally. "Okay, okay, get this." Her teammates, assembled in the Hover Cargo's command center, prepared to get whatever Sunset had to be gotten.

Sunset pressed a button dramatically. The screen popped open a window displaying-

"Rev Raptors with sniper rifles?!" Rainbow demanded incredulously.

"Rev Raptors with sniper rifles!" Sunset confirmed. Indeed, the two Rev Raptors depicted had pairs of 20mm long-barreled rifles on their backs, replacing the curved blades of standard Rev Raptors. The rifles were mounted on what appeared to be modified versions of the supports used for the pile bunkers on the appropriately-acronymed Rev Raptor PB variant.

"Why?!"

"My first thought was the savings, but come on, Gun Snipers aren't that expensive. After doing my research, I realized they like to shoot and reposition quickly, something Gun Snipers struggle with. My current theory, and I think their win-loss ratio backs me up, is they rigged up these Rev Raptors as bargain-basement Gun Sniper-alikes and got really, really good at the snipe-and-run strategy."

"So how do we beat 'em?" Applejack asked.

"They still have stock Rev Raptor sensors. Rarity pops her smoke, you fire up your ECM and Multisensor, then the party starts!"

"Neat."

"Easy as falling out of bed." Sunset's expression darkened slightly. "Just remember that they're monster hunters. They take out larger, more powerful Zoids by precisely shooting out weak points."

"Clever pilots, are they?" Applejack asked.

"Clever and accurate. Their last match was against an Elephander pilot under Battle Mode Zero-Nine-Nine-Zero. They blew out one leg joint at a time until the Elephander collapsed under its own weight."

"I will definitely be careful of that," Rarity said. "I quite like my Zoid's legs, thank you very much."

"I'm still rebuilding the shoulder hardpoints on the Snow Fox," Fluttershy said. "You won't have your missiles."

"Don't worry about a thing, darling," Rarity reassured her friend. "The Diamond Dustfox will be all right against a pair of Rev Raptors, I'm sure."

---

"Oh, Twilight," Cadance caught the bookish, be-labcoated engineer headed for her workshop hangar at the Shadowbolts' base. "Empyrean Team is about to start a match with their new Zoid. Do you want to come watch?"

"Tempting, very tempting," Twilight said, adjusting her goggles. "Snow Foxes are extremely rare, I've never seen one in battle before. However, I must decline. You see, today is a fine day-" Twilight hefted the oversized soldering gun on her shoulder and smiled. "-For science!"

Cadance crossed her arms. "And it will still be a fine day for science after the match. Now stop making excuses to hide from your teammates, put that thing back where you found it, and come watch some Zoids fight."

"I was that transparent, huh?"

"Come on, Twilight. I used to be your babysitter, and now I'm your sister-in-law. I know when you're avoiding human interaction."

"You think I'm always avoiding human interaction."

"Aren't you?"

"Okay, okay, I guess I can take some time off. But only because there's a Snow Fox."

"As good a reason as any, I guess."

---

Applejack and Rarity moved down the center of the narrow, boulder-strewn canyon as fast as the Dark Horn could manage, its Multisensor at full power. Maxing out the Multisensor gave it additional range and sensitivity, but the signals it constantly emitted made the Dark Horn more obvious to hostile sensors -a vulnerability only partially mitigated by its ECM. Sunset had determined that this wouldn't be a problem with the Rev Raptors, given their substandard electronic warfare capabilities.

Applejack wasn't sure how comfortable she was underestimating the opposing team so much, but it was Sunset's job to know about that kind of thing, and AJ trusted her strategist. The Multisensor beeped a warning as two blips appeared, which quickly and unsurprisingly resolved into the Rev Raptors. They had split up, each Raptor on one of the raised areas adjacent to the canyon walls.

"Got our targets," Applejack called out.

"Applejack, drop to half speed," Sunset said. "Rarity, fire up those smoke machines and match speed with AJ."

"Immediately, darling." Rarity's Zoid slowed to a walk to match speed with the Dark Horn as thick white fog vented from the smoke generators in the Fox's legs. "My Diamond Dustfox will have us invisible in moments!"

Sure enough, the cloud soon enveloped both Zoids, moving with them as they continued down the canyon. The black and orange Dark Horn Applejack Special was a vague, barely-visible gray smudge within the smoke, and the Diamond Dustfox was completely invisible.

"Keep moving until they're in range," Sunset ordered. "They'll probably fall back, but they can only go so far without leaving the battlefield."

"They do outrange us, now that I think about it," Applejack commented.

"Not quite. Your railgun's range is a bit longer than their sniper rifles," Sunset corrected.

"Maximum range, not effective range," Applejack corrected right back. "It won't hit near as hard, and I can't make my usual guarantee of accuracy."

Applejack's guarantee of accuracy, when it came to her railgun, was 'one shot, one hit,' and she was very proud of it.

"They'll have the same problem," Sunset pointed out. "Even at reduced force, that railgun will probably crack their armor, but you're right about the accuracy dropoff. You can take shots of opportunity as they come up, and if needed use it to spook them. Once you have them cornered, you can both light them up."

"Sure thing," Applejack agreed. One of the Rev Raptors was retreating as Sunset predicted, but the other was standing its ground, and could now be seen clearly around the boulder it had taken cover behind.

"Why isn't that one moving?" Rarity asked. She was answered by one of the standing Raptor's sniper rifles firing. The shot blew through the smoke cloud, rippling the fog as it passed. The bullet missed both Zoids completely and plowed into the ground beside them.

"Whoa golly!" Applejack said. "I thought they couldn't see us in here!"

"A blind shot, it had to be," Sunset replied. "Rev Raptors can't accommodate the kind of sensors it takes to get through your smoke-ECM combo. He was either trying to rattle you or just hoping for a lucky hit. And now he's running. Railgun?"

"Railgun." Applejack fired. The sonic boom was enough to briefly part the smoke, and the shell hit the back of the Rev Raptor's leg, next to the hip. As Applejack had predicted, distance robbed the shot of most of its force. The hit still dented the armor severely. The Raptor staggered, but remained upright. The shot seemed to have caused some internal damage, as it continued on with a severe limp.

"And you were worried you wouldn't land the hit," Rarity chided jokingly.

"That was as much luck as it was aimin'." Applejack deflected the praise.

"Rarity, break formation and see what you can do with your pulse laser," Sunset said.

"Of course, dear," Rarity replied. Applejack ramped up her own throttle as the Diamond Dustfox surged ahead, smoke generators cutting off automatically. The cloud couldn't be maintained at full speed -it would just be thin wisps, barely large enough to hide a Zoid's pilot, to say nothing of the Zoid itself.

As the Rev Raptor turned, its pilot apparently realizing he couldn't escape, Rarity lobbed a pulse laser shot into its damaged hip. The blast bashed the hip against the Raptor's torso, knocking the Zoid over and, in Applejack's estimation, completely ruining the hip's actuators.

"That learned 'im!" Applejack called out as the Judge declared the Rev Raptor disabled. "Other one's right at the battlefield edge, too. Feller's got nowhere to run."

"Smoke out, e-war up!" Sunset said. "Second verse, same as the first!"

Applejack's Multisensor told her the other Rev Raptor was hiding behind a large boulder near the edge of the battlefield. "We just need to get into range before he has any bright ideas," she said. "Boy's runnin' out of room to hide."

"Too bad your railgun can't punch through that rock," Sunset commented.

"Heh. Railguns ain't magic, Sunset."

Suddenly, the Rev Raptor surged out from its hiding place, sprinting across the canyon. It slammed its claws into the ground, whirling to face Rarity's cloud and tearing up dirt and clay. Both railguns fired. One shot went between the Empyrean Zoids, but the other hit Applejack's Dark Horn in the shoulder.

"No damage!" Applejack reported, replying with her railgun as the Raptor started to run again. The shot came too late, the Zoid was already back to full speed, rushing for another outcropping on the other elevated section of the canyon floor. Rarity fired her pulse laser, but she missed as well.

"Such tactics aren't likely to work until I run out of smoke," Rarity said. "Which, admittedly, will be soon."

Sunset was silent for a few seconds, then spoke. "If he gets past you he's got the whole canyon to run around in," she said. "Applejack, continue straight ahead, but crank up your throttle. Rarity, cut smoke and run up top of that elevated zone, then rush him. That will cut him off, he'll have to stand and fight or abandon the match."

Applejack pushed her throttle up to full. "On my way," she reported. Rarity's smoke emitters cut off as she raced for the canyon's side. "Off I go!"

"Be ready to give us a light show, Applejack," Sunset said. "Your Zoid's slower, so I have a feeling he'll break your way."

Applejack had already moved her right hand from her Dark Horn's main control yoke to the turret control stick in front of her armrest. "Oh, I'll give y'all a show." She pulled the stick's trigger partially, hardly needing the click that indicated the halfway point. This spun the laser Gatling up to speed without firing. As the weapon spun up, Applejack turned it to face the area to the left of the outcropping, where the Rev Raptor would have to be if its pilot broke her way. As the Dark Horn moved, Applejack made adjustments to the turret's direction to keep at aimed at that spot, splitting her attention between the terrain in front of her, the turret's targeting display, and her sensor readout.

Suddenly, the Rev Raptor's blip moved. "Rarity! He's headin' your way!" Applejack warned. "You'll have him in yer sights-!"

"Firing!" Rarity interrupted. Applejack saw the pulse laser shot out of the corner of her eye, then there was an explosion, and the Rev Raptor's blip went dark.

"Hope you didn't need that leg!" Rarity taunted.

"You act all frou-frou an' whatnot, but you can be kinda mean when you wanna," Applejack commented. Her words had the intended effect, as Rarity began to sputter indignantly over the comm.

"The battle is over! The battle is over!" The Judge announced over Rarity's protestations. "The winner is... Empyrean Team!"

"Nice! Two Zoids down, hardly any damage on our side!" Sunset said. "Just that ding in the Dark Horn's armor. I'm surprised that second one decided to charge Rarity."

Applejack had been wondering about that, too. "What do you reckon? Maybe he figured, new Zoid, pilot not used to it?"

"Something like that, I imagine," Rarity said.

"Looks like you'll be able to take things easy after all, Fluttershy," Sunset said.

"I can get that dent out easily enough," Fluttershy allowed.

"That can wait, Fluttershy," Celestia said evenly. "We should really take another break."

"At least let's do a supply run," Sunset said. "There isn't a single drop of orange soda anywhere on this Hover Cargo."

"If ya wouldn't guzzle it like you were dyin'a thirst, ya wouldn't have that problem," Applejack pointed out bluntly.

"Yeah, but then why would I bring any?" Sunset countered.

"I feel like we're gettin' into a false dichotomy here."

"Did you just say 'false dichotomy'?" Pinkie asked, flabbergasted.

"I got better grades in English than you did, Pinkie."

---

"That might have gone differently if Lizard Team had let the Snow Fox's smoke run out," Twilight commented analytically, "but I don't know that they could have evaded Empyrean Team long enough."

"I think that first one was trying to be a decoy for the other," Sunny Flare said.

"He didn't do a good job," Sugarcoat pointed out.

"Well, we can't blame him for trying," Cadance said. Sugarcoat's reply was interrupted by Shining Armor's cell phone.

"Hello? That's me. Yes. Sure. When? All right." Shining Armor pocketed his phone. "We have our next match. Sour Sweet, you haven't done much with your Gojulas Mark Two lately, time to scrape the rust off. Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, and Lemon Zest will roll out as well. We're up against Thunderstruck."

Comments

[Bitt_Player]

Railguns aren't magic.
Friendship is magic.
Railguns are not friendship.

[Night_Moon60606]

8556687
though they DO have impressive penetrating power....

[Bitt_Player]

8588744
Can we therefore infer that armor penetration is neither magic nor friendship?

[Night_Moon60606]

8590686
of course its friendship...friendship through firepower...