• Published 4th Jul 2018
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Gundam Build Fighters: EGs - PoisonClaw



Sunset and her friends are introduced to the world of Gundam Models, or "Gunpla".

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Build 05

Gunpla Training Camp, Begins!

Vice-Principal Luna was noticeably tense as she stood at the front of the club room. She had called an emergency meeting of the Gunpla Battle Club just minutes before, waiting patiently as everyone arrived. The atmosphere in the room was equally as tense as everyone waited for Luna to explain the reason for such a sudden meeting.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming so suddenly. The reason I’ve called you here is that I’ve recently been informed by Principal Celestia that we have been issued a challenge.”

“A challenge?” Rainbow repeated, asking the question everyone was thinking. “Against who?”

“Crystal’s Prep’s own Gunpla Club.”

This was met with a round of booing from most of the members of the club. Cloudkicker blew a raspberry as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Can’t those Crystal Preppers let it go, already? Especially after that stunt they pulled at the Friendship Games like a bunch of sore losers?”

At the mere mention of the Friendship Games, Twilight slumped dejectedly in her seat at the memory of her own part in the disastrous finale to the event, a noticeable sour mood hovering over her.

A swift elbow to the ribs from Applejack made Cloudkicker realize what she’d unknowingly done, scrambling to add, “Which wasn’t in any way Twilight’s fault at all! And even if it was, which, again, it was not, it doesn't matter because we’ve already forgiven her!” Several other members voiced up with similar sentiments, which helped to lead the misery cloud away from above Twilight.

“Indeed, what happened at the Friendship Games is in the past and you’ve all become better people since then, as have the students of Crystal Prep.” Murmurs of admittance came from the group as they remembered the good times they had spent with the students of Crystal Prep while cleaning up after the Friendship Games. “However, from the information I’ve received, this challenge was not issued on behalf of the students, but came instead from Crystal Prep’s principal, Abacus Cinch.”

This announcement was met with even louder booing than before. “Not her!” Sandalwood grumbled from the back. “Even her own students backed us up that she was mostly at fault! What is the principal thinking agreeing to this?”

Sandalwood was silenced by a fierce glare from Vice-Principal Luna. “I would appreciate it if you refrained from blaming Principal Celestia for this. Despite her misgivings, it was clear that Cinch would not be willing to take no for answer on this matter, and the principal did what she could to prevent Cinch from pulling any more tricks like before. For example, Cinch was adamant that we would be using Damage Level A throughout, but Celestia was able to negotiate it down to Level B to keep anyone’s Gunpla from being irreplaceable destroyed.”

Wheeling over a whiteboard, Luna grabbed a marker as she began to draw up a quick tournament roster bracket. “As for the challenge itself, Cinch has proposed a single elimination tournament consisting of eight students from Canterlot High and eight students from Crystal Prep, for a total roster of sixteen fighters. As I have already said, the Damage Level will be set to B for this event, so while your Gunpla will remain in one piece, it will still be capable of suffering damage, something I ask you be prepared for.

“In addition, Crystal Prep will be supplying several brand new GB Projectors for this event, all of which will undergo regular checks prior to and during the tournament to catch any potential sabotage or fault,” Luna was quick to explain, causing more than a ready to be asked concerns to vanish from the group. “The event itself will be held exactly one week from now, and Celestia has already arranged several class-free days for students to attend and cheer us on throughout.” As Luna finished her explanation, she pointed at Rarity as the girl raised her hand. “Yes, Rarity?”

“As much as I would love to overstate our chances, I must ask… do you think we can win? Many of us are still new to this, and knowing Crystal Prep they’ll only choose their most experienced members to compete.”

Luna sighed, closing her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. “To be honest... it won’t be easy. Crystal Prep has proven their building experience by winning more than a few Builders Contests, and I don’t doubt their battling experience is just as high level. This will be an uphill battle for us, that much is certain. However!” Luna’s expression shifted to a much more confident one as a cloud of disparity struggled to form over the heads of the club members. “I am proud to say that all of you have improved greatly since you all joined this club, both as Gunpla builders and as Gunpla fighters. No matter how difficult it might seem, I have no doubt that all of you will be able to rise to the occasion and show Crystal Prep that we aren’t to be underestimated! Who’s with me?”

A roar of cheering filled the club room as everyone joined together in reinforcing Luna’s praise of them. Luna smiled warmly, waiting for everyone to quiet down before she continued. “To both reward you for all your hard work, I have already contacted the directors at Camp Everfree and asked if they would be able to accommodate us for the upcoming weekend to hold a training camp of sorts, to which they so graciously agreed to. There, we will be able to hone your skills further in preparation for the tournament, as well as enjoy ourselves at the same time.”

“Way to go, Vice-Principal Luna!” Flash shouted, soon joined by others announcing their own thanks for such a sweet reward.

Grinning devilishly, Sunset inched closer to Twilight and nudged her in the side, whispering in her ear, “Looks like you’ll get a chance to hang out with your boyfriend, Twilight.”

Twilight squeaked as she buried her blushing face in her hands.

***

After notifying their parents about the upcoming trip, the Gunpla Battle Club arrived at Canterlot High that Saturday morning before being quickly ushered onto a bus. An hour-long drive later, the freshly painted banner for Camp Everfree finally came into view.

“We’re here,” Luna announced as the bus rattled to a stop. “Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion and collect your belongings.” As she was supervising the gathering of students as they stepped off the bus and grabbed their things, she noticed a figure approaching her out of the corner of her eye. Turning to face them, she smiled as she recognized the figure. “Gloriosa! So glad to see you again so soon!”

“Likewise,” Gloriosa Daisy said with a smile as she stepped forward for a brief moment to hug the Vice-Principal before stepping back and watching the group of students. “My, looks like we have a busy weekend ahead of us. I’m going to have to tell Timber to get the barbeques set up early if we’re going to have enough food for tonight.”

“Thanks so much again for agreeing to accommodate us for the weekend. I know it was pretty last minute…”

Gloriosa snorted. “Oh, please, it was no trouble at all. This is the dry season anyway, so we’ve been pretty bored around here as of late. Besides, I own you and your students the world for ensuring we’ll be able to keep Camp Everfree running for years to come. Compared to that, giving you all a place to stay while you do your ‘training camp’ is the least I could do.” Turning around, she began to head back to the main cabin. “Well, I’ll let you all get settled while I finish setting up lunch in the main hall. Hope you all brought your appetite!”

“For growing teenagers, all the food in the world isn’t enough,” Luna remarked with a chuckle.

Back at the bus, Twilight was unprepared for a pair of hands to suddenly cover her eyes, gasping in fright before a familiar voice whispered, “Guess who?” into her ear.

“Timber!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly, whirling around and hugging Timber Spruce. “It’s so nice to see you again!”

“Funny, I was just about to say the same thing,” Timber Spruce chuckled as he extracted himself from Twilight’s embrace. “Hope you’re ready for a fun weekend ahead.”

“Of course! Only in my wildest dreams could I imagine getting to attend a camp entirely devoted to Gunpla! It’s like something straight out an anime!” After a moment, Twilight blinked as she looked over at Timber Spruce. “Of course, getting to spend it with you makes it even better.”

“You really know how to make a guy feel loved, don’t you?” Timber teased. “Well, if you’re not too busy later, I could really use some help—”

“Timber!” Gloriosa hollered across the field from the main hall. “I need your help in here!”

“Whoops, duty calls.” Chancing a quick peck to Twilight’s cheek, Timber Spruce raced off to help his sister, waving behind him briefly at the blushing girl left behind.

Twilight giggled, sighing wistfully as she touched the spot on her cheek Timber had kissed. The sound of light snickering from behind her immediately caught her attention, her blush changing to one of embarrassment as she turned to find all her friends standing several feet away, every single one of them snickering. “S-stop laughing!” Twilight sputtered.

“Aww, but you two make such an adorable couple!” Rarity cooed, which did little to help the others contain their building laughter.

“Attention, everyone!” Luna called out, garnering the club’s attention and saving Twilight from further teasing as all eyes turned towards the Vice-Principal. “Before we get started, I just want to say one thing. While our purpose here might be to prepare ourselves for the upcoming fight against Crystal Prep’s Gunpla Club, never forget to also have fun while you’re here. At its core, Gunpla Battle is all about getting to enjoy it with those around you, so the most important thing is to always remember to have fun. Does everyone understand?”

Luna’s words were met with a wave of cheers from the gathered club members, echoing Luna’s sentiments.

“Well, with that out of the way, let the Gunpla Training Camp commence!”

***

After a hearty lunch to satiate the starving pack of students, the training camp began in earnest, the students jumping to action without a moment to spare. Just outside the main cabin, multiple tablecloth covered picnic tables had been set up in two rows as designated building stations to not only improve your building skills but actively assist others by swapping technique, tips and other helpful tricks that could be used to improve the performance of one’s Gunpla significantly.

As luck would have it, Gloriosa had seen fit to order several GB Projectors some weeks ago after hearing about the new craze of “Gunpla Battle” and hoping to include a new means of entertainment for future campers alongside their regular activities. Thus, several projectors had been set up in the main hall for club members to practice against one another, as well as get a feel for battling at Damage Level B in preparation for the tournament. Many were left unprepared and somewhat heartbroken at seeing their beloved Gunpla suffer such serious damage, having only battled within the safety of Damage Level C up until then.

At one of the projectors, Rarity was currently facing off against a customized Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex in a space field, a formidable machine upgraded with the backpack from a Destiny Gundam to enhance its already dangerous speed as it charged at her with a large buster sword in its grip and tried to squish her Gunpla like a bug. Not to be taken lightly, however, Rarity was flying circles around the Gunpla using her own newly constructed Destiny Gundam, the Gunpla evading the beastly Gundam at every turn as it swung its sword around like a club.

Leaving a trail of light in her wake, wings of violet light burst from the Destiny’s back as it extended one of the packs on its back, the weapon folding out to form an anti-ship blade with a solid frame and a beam blade. Like a shooting star, Rarity shot across the battlefield and swooped under the Rex’s club as it swung at her, swinging her sword and bisecting the Gunpla at the waist, the area around the cut reduced to molten slag as the machine violently exploded.

[Battle Ended! Winner, Destiny Gundam!]

“So sorry, Polished Blade,” Rarity said to her fellow club member. “I could help you repair it if you'd like.”

Shaking his head, Polished Blade picked up his damaged Gunpla and set off for the building station to repair it back to fighting form. With her battle finished, Rarity deactivated the hologram around her and glanced over at Sunset, who was currently engaged against a bulky militaristic Gunpla with only a single eye camera called a Gouf. Rarity scoffed at the opposing Gunpla. “Really? Black and red? Who would ever choose such a garish color combination?”

Raising her shield to block an incoming barrage of laser fire, Sunset revved her thrusters as she charged the Gouf, shoulder checking the Gunpla before knocking his beam rifle from his hand and taking it for herself. Now armed with twice the firepower, Sunset pointed the rifles at the Gouf, her finger itching to pull the trigger as its single golden eye stared down the barrel of the weapon.

“Your move, buddy.”

The opposing Gunpla raised its arms in surrender, sending out the forfeit signal a moment later. As the battlefield dissipated, Sunset glanced at her Gunpla, the image in her head clearing up a tiny bit more. With every new experience, Sunset could almost feel the image calling out to her more and more, now close enough that she could almost reach her hand out and grab it. Just a little bit more…

Well, well! Someone’s looking a bit cheerier than they have been lately.” Rarity remarked.

“Huh? What are you—”

“Oh, don’t try to deny it, Sunset,” Rarity said with a cow smile. “I know the look of artist’s block when I see it, having suffered through my own lengths were ideas refuse to come my way.”

“It’s not that I can’t come up with any ideas…” Sunset was quick to clarify, leaning up against the GB Projector. “It’s just there’s this image in my head I can’t quite reach just yet, and with each battle, I seem to get one small step closer to finally realizing it.”

“Ah, I know the feeling, darling. Oh, the hours I’ve whittled away staring at a blank canvas as I’ve tried again and again to make the image in my head a reality. Right now I’ve hit a wall on how best to customize my Astray for our upcoming fight, so I thought trying out a Gunpla I was unfamiliar with might help spark my muse.”

Picking up the Destiny Gundam, Rarity scrutinized the machine. “This one… has piqued my interest. While rough, I can still see a glimmer of potential within. With the right pilot, I could foresee great things from it, but sadly I am not that pilot. Still, it is not without its good ideas.” Humming in thought, Rarity met Sunset’s eyes. “Say, you said that each battle has brought you closer and closer towards the image in your mind, is that correct?” When Sunset nodded in confirmation, Rarity smiled. “Then perhaps we could stand to help each other. Care to battle me?”

Sunset grinned. “You’re on.”

[Gunpla Battle, Combat Mode, Startup…]

***

At the same time, Twilight was sitting at one of the picnic tables tuning up her Star Nexus, making sure every piece was as smooth and polished as she could make it in order to improve its overall performance. Even something as insignificant as a tiny nub on one of the Dragoons could drastically alter its trajectory and stability, which could mean the difference between victory or defeat.

“Got a minute to talk?” Timber Spruce asked as he sat opposite Twilight, who was still focused intently on her work.

“Just a second…” After spending a moment longer wiping down the Star Nexus’s right arm with a cloth, Twilight carefully reconnected it before setting her Gunpla aside. “So… what was it you wanted to talk about?”

“Oh, just stuff. Honestly, this is the first break I’ve had in the last few hours, so I thought, ‘What better way to spend it than with my favorite person?’”

Twilight blushed, fiddling with her hair.

“So...,” Timber continued, “a little birdy told me you were the person who started this whole Gunpla Battle Club. Pretty impressive, I’d say.”

“Oh, it was nothing like that. My friends and Vice-Principal Luna did most of the work, all I really did was fill out a stack of forms and submit them for approval.”

“And there you go selling yourself short again. I’m all for being humble, but you deserve to take some credit for your accomplishments every once in a while, especially given all of… this.” Timber gestured to the group of students around them, several groups engaging in idle conversation or helping with the build process of one or more Gunpla nearby.

“Yeah, I suppose it is kind of cool. So many people enjoying Gunpla… it’s like a dream come true.” Smiling, Twilight looked over an adjoining table where a group of friends sat together, the two in front laughing as they played with their Gunpla, like the toys they were, waving them around to fly and making laser sounds with their mouths as they played out an imaginary battle. The one member, a boy with orange hair and green eyes was using a recolored silver and white Destiny Gundam, while the other boy possessing a pale complexion and short brown hair was using a Gundam Delta Kai was a blue camo design. Nearby, another member put the finishing touches on a canine looking Gunpla with three heads, one as the main head and one attached to each shoulder.

“For the longest time… I was ashamed of this hobby, thinking that others would instantly laugh at me for liking something so silly. But seeing everyone in the Gunpla Battle Club enjoying themselves so earnestly because of my ‘silly little hobby’... it makes me so happy that I started this club in the first place.”

“Now there’s a face I like to see,” Timber remarked, grinning. “Anyway, there was something else I wanted to ask you if you have the time.” Reaching into a pouch at his hip, Timber pulled out a Gunpla and set it on the table. “Think you could help me a little with this?”

Timber’s Gunpla was a slender machine with broad shoulder pads and light armor paneling, possessing a pair of claw-type weapons on each arm and with four wing-like flaps lying flat against its back. Other than the claws, the Gunpla didn’t have any other noticeable weapons of any kind. Along with the blue coloring of the chest, forearm and skirt armor, the machine was mostly standard white with a fresh paint of forest green lining the shoulders and lower half of the chest.

“A Burning Gundam, huh?” Looking the Gunpla over for a moment, Twilight gestured at Timber. “May I?” After receiving a nod, Twilight gently picked the machine up, turning it over in her hands as she tested its joints and articulation. “Shoulder joints are a touch stiff, which isn’t a good thing for a close-range Mobile Suit like the Burning. Bend at the waist and knees are good though, so it’s still pretty mobile overall. Does it have a name, by any chance?”

“I was thinking of calling it the ‘Wild Burning Gundam’. What do you think, pretty snazzy name, huh?”

“Somehow it suits you,” Twilight replied, giggling as Timber pouted her way. “Oh, don’t look at me like that! It was a compliment!” Twilight snorted as she tried to hold back her laughter.

***

Night had fallen over Camp Everfree, and the members of the Gunpla Battle club were all asleep in their cabins. For Sunset Shimmer, however, her sleep was anything but peaceful as she tossed and turned in bed, grunting as her face contorted in her sleep into a look of discomfort.

Sunset was running. She didn’t know where to or why, all she knew was that she couldn’t stop. Her lungs were on fire as she struggled to draw breath, and her legs felt like they were just about ready to snap like toothpicks, and yet she just kept on running. Running on and on, until…

In a blink, the land beneath her feet disappeared, fresh screams ripped from her throat as she plummeted into the abyss, tumbling end over end through nothingness as she continued to fall. After what felt like an eternity tumbling through the void, Sunset slammed into something solid, the breath knocked from her chest as she faceplanted against solid ground. Grunting as she picked herself up, Sunset managed to claw her way up onto her knees, staring up into the endless black surrounding her.

Then, a single ray of blinding light cut through the darkness like a beacon, forcing Sunset to hold an arm over her face as she staggered to her feet and steadily began to head towards the light. With each step forward, Sunset felt herself getting closer and closer to the source, the light guiding her along. Then, in a flash, the ray seemed to collapse in on itself for a brief second before expanding outward, the light too much for Sunset as she clamped her eyes shut to keep from going blind.

When she opened them again, she gasped at what she saw. Sunset was floating freely in open space now, staring at a massive star as it burned brightly before her, a corona of light forming a barrier around the star to hold back the darkness.

Floating closer, Sunset could feel a steady warmth being giving off by the star, though never enough that it was never unwelcome or uncomfortable. As she got closer and closer, she could just make out the silhouette of a figure floating in the heart of the star, a figure with a single spiral horn and a pair of glowing green eyes.

“You… You’re…” Reaching out her hand, the figure did the same, the pair gradually inching closer and closer together. As they came within arms reach of the other, their outstretched hands finally met, a warm light emanating outward from the contact between them.

Sunset snapped awake, panting for breath as she stared up at the ceiling of her bunk. Sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair as she tried to sort through her thought. “That… that dream… it felt so real…” Glancing down at her hand, she slowly curled her fingers into a fist as the memories of her dream remained fresh in her mind. However, burning even brighter in Sunset’s mind was a single image, an image that Sunset had struggled to grasp yet now was as clear as day.

“I can finally see it… The image of my own unique Gunpla!” Leaping out of bed, Sunset grabbed a notebook from her bag and ran over to the desk in the corner of the room, switching the desk lamp on before pulling out the chair and sitting down. Yanking the pencil from the binding, she snapped the notebook open to a blank page and hurriedly began to draw while the image was still fresh in her mind.

***

As the sun rose over Camp Everfree the next morning and the animals began to stir from their hidey holes, so too did Twilight Sparkle, yawning loudly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Grabbing her glasses from beside her and popping them on her face, Twilight fought back another yawn as she climbed out of bed and stretched her arms over her head.

“Morning, Sunset.” Looking at the bed across from her, she was surprised to find it empty, the covers messy as if thrown off in a haste. “Sunset?” The smallest tinge of worry gnawed at Twilight’s heart as she looked around the room for any sign of the redhead, sighing in relief when she quickly discovered Sunset slumped against the desk, fast asleep.

Smiling, Twilight grabbed the covers off Sunset’s bed and walked up behind the sleeping girl, laying the covers over her shoulders to keep her warm. As she did so, she noticed Sunset was using her notebook as a makeshift pillow, the image of something freshly drawn on the page. Her curiosity piqued, Twilight carefully extracted the notebook as to not wake Sunset, her eyes widening as she took in the images on it.

“This is…” Twilight could tell that the image was of the Unicorn Gundam, but only just, as Sunset had radically redesigned large sections of the machine from the ground up, incorporating new armor, weapons and listing possible options to consider. Twilight squinted as she picked up on writing in the margins, adjusting her glasses slightly as she tried to make it out. Several lines had been crossed out, but one, in particular, had not only been circled but underlined twice.

“Gundam Unicorn Nova...”

Next Time: Unicorn Nova, Soar!

Author's Note:

Rarity - ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam from Gundam Seed/Destiny
Timber Spruce - GF13-017NJII G/Burning Gundam from G Gundam

Cameo Gunpla
In order of appearance:
Azurelong - Polished Blade and Gundam Draconis, based on the Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex from Iron-Blooded Orphans.
Gundamdragon - Ace Moon and Dark Moon Gundam, based on the Gouf Flight Type from The 08 MS Team.
FangDriver8 - Dawn Snow and the FDMF-X8 Destiny Gundam Valkyrie, based on the Destiny Gundam as well.
Magthere - Trail Blazer and Gundam Delta Kai Camo, based on the Gundam Delta Kai from Gundam Unicorn.
Night_Moon60606 - Hellhound Cerberus, a kitbash between the Gaia Gundam and the Kerberus BuCUE, both from Gundam Seed/Destiny.

Thanks so much to everyone who submitted OC ideas!