Mobile Suit Gundam: Alicorn - Volume 2

by Alines Reinhard

Chapter 2

The red haired pilot was shocked when she saw Flash standing on the hatch.

“Bran… Brandon?” she mumbled.

She has to blink for a few seconds until she can finally believe the blue-haired guy in the Strike Zeta was indeed Brandon Cultrich. She was ensured when she saw the Strike Zeta Gundam and a Jesta Commander engage right at her previously. After that, when she saw the blue-haired pilot once again after her squad lost him at Antarctica, she was confused.

“Wh… What, how can he be here?” she mumbled “And the Strike Zeta is with him all along?”

…

“Wait, so you said that she is one of your comrades back in Antarctica?” Haystack asked when they followed Era, being escorted to the custody room.

“Yes. We both serve in the Antarctica Corps at the… well… Antarctica base!” Flash replied. “We’re not exactly as close as you and me, but I could say that she is on the same MS team as mine.”

“So… what’s your MS team name back in Antarctica?”

“Company J, Sir!”

“Ah… nice name, but I don’t get why y’all have that name?”

“Our commander is a Lieutenant named John, so he named his company after his first letter.”

“What a narcissist he is, eh?”

The duo was allowed to get to the ‘custody cabin’, which is actually Captain Celaeno’s personal resting place. The red haired pilot sometimes stared at Flash on the way when her back view was not entirely blocked by the huge silhouette of Ensign Boyle escorting her to the place.

The custody is where Flash learned Celaeno and her crew were used to be pirates: the Captain’s portrait that hung beside her own bed was held in a gold-casted frame, placed along with some sort of treasure chest with coins, gold bars and jewels.

“Well… even pirates like me did love to beautify myself with them, just like you!” Celaeno said as she looked at the chest “Those things are rewarded for our hard work! By the way, don't be afraid of us: we’re just as human as you, only don’t have a human look…”

“I have been alongside ponies before, Captain!” Era replied “I’m okay with all of you!”

To Flash, Era was unsurprisingly calm even when she was escorted by bi-pedal parrots that are one head taller than her. She was one of the courageous pilots back when both were still serving at the Antarctica Corps. He even recalled that one time she struck down a man near the changing room when attempted to harass her…

“So… why do you guys after us?” the white parrot started “What is the order that you receive?”

“We’re being asked to go after you guys after there are reports saying your ship carries mobile suits. As we have known, this ship was carrying stolen suits that were intended to belong to us and the ponies.”

Some of the parrots in the room began to show hatred towards her, grinding the teeth as well as restraining their punch at the hands. Captain Celaeno however, secretly ordered her crew to relax while continuing the talk.

“But why are you guys firing at us?”

“That’s one way to find out whether you carried a mobile suit or not, as well as ordering you to stop. You obviously fall for our trick and force us to deploy our suits. Too bad your pilot’s excellent skill made them stop and capture me.”

“Are you the commander of that squad?”

“No. That role belong to Lieutenant Miara in one of the two GMIII you take down!”

“I see… One more question: do you know the location of the Cloudsdale?”

That is the moment when things start to gain their tension. Era unfortunately knows where that white light cruiser is at that moment. She obviously don’t want to betrayed her side, so she replied with shrug:

“I have no idea. But even if I know, I’ll never tell you!”

“Listen carefully, Era. Your faction has caused pointless wars here in Equus and caused innocent people to die all because of your pointless wars!” the captain growled “Do you understand why Black Wine requested you guys to come to this world and conduct those operations?”

“He said that you guys are a threat to his kingdom and that he wanted to make sure it was safe… I don’t know anymore, I just follow my superior’s order…”

At that moment, the crew realized that she is just clueless and motivate-less. It seems like the only faction that she obeys to are actually the Earth Federation itself.

“I just wanted to make sure my comrades on the Cloudsdale and the Blueberry to be safe. That’s why I don’t want to tell you where they are!”

Then, she turned to Flash, who was watching the interrogation along with some of his crewmates.

“But… Why is he here?” Era pointed at Flash.

“Well… he was sort of saved by us and joined us. Wait… you know him?”

“Well… he is actually from our world… We even served alongside each other. I can hardly call him a friend, but I guess he is now… Is that right, Brandon?”

Every creature in the cabin seems to be shocked at her recognition. Boyle seems to be the most surprised.

…

It was a hot summer night, when Flash and one of his classmates, Blueberry Shake, traveled across the street. It was a time when both of them are still in their primary school ages, and the duo usually hang out along with some other colts. He escorted her back to her house.

“That apple cake was so delicious, Flash!” she complimented as she licked her own lips “Will you hang out with us again?”

“Sure is, Blueberry!” the young colt said in excitement “You really love that restaurant, don’t ya?”

“Yep, I am! Hey, how about trying the strawberry cake next time?”

But there were no answers, as both of them were shocked when a group of teenage ponies blocked their way home.

“Look what we got here: the prince of the Sentries and the princess of the Shakes!” a pony with a spiked mane said excitedly “Going out without supervision, sadly…”

“Yeah, and look at that blue mane!” another pony with his mane blocking his right eye looked at Flash “Seems like you have a lot of money in it!”

It’s them, it’s the rocky pony duo that going across the cities to terrorized ponies and stealing their belongings. Flash knew that he almost had no chance against them, because they are some of the most shredded ponies he ever saw.

“Well, if you see us, you know it! Give us all of your money and you’ll be alone!” one of them groaned.

“No way, we have used up all of our money!” Flash barked back.

“Believe him, he just speaks the truth!” Blueberry Shake followed. Her parents only give them enough money to have one apple pie and two cups of juice.

“Liar! Who in Equestria can calculate that accurately. Both of you come from some of Crystal Empire’s most wealthy families, which means y’all must have a lot of unused bits in your pocket. Give us or get beaten!”

The alley way that they got into was unfortunately small, enough for two big stallions to completely block their way.

“Run…” whispered Blueberry, which the duo really did. However, the spiked mane pony is fast enough to block their back.

“No way to run, eh?” he said “Give me the bits, now!”

Then deciding to not play around anymore, Flash punches right into his face as an answer.

“Here are your bits!” he barked. His hooves punch right into the pony's nose and make him lose balance.

However, all of his actions are in vain: the bullies duo are so furious at Flash’s action that they eventually kick him hard. However, Blueberry was fast enough to escape the fight and seek for help, which made a nearby crowd respond. Although the young blue pony is safe and the bullies were caught soon after, she can’t stand to see her friend having bruises all over his body.

“So… that’s how you come to the conclusion that you should join the Royal Guard?”

Flash was somewhat surprised to see his ‘friends’ standing right next to him, witnessing the entirety of his memory.

“Wh… When did you guys come here?” the blue mane Pegasus asked.

“Well… I guess that this curse can allow us to come into your dreams?” Luster Dawn replied. “So… what's going to happen next?”

He was then escorted home by some other grown up ponies. There, he told his parents about the fight that left those bruises on him. Although he could buy the time for his friend to escape, he still regrets that he can’t really beat them due to his small size and lack of strength. His mother eventually complimented him for his brave action:

“You are the most courageous pony I’ve ever known, Flashie!” his mom nudges “One day you will become a powerful stallion and protect your own princess! You’ll be her prince charming!”

“My own princess? Prince charming?”

“I don’t know… But you’ll have to protect innocent ponies eventually… But I would assure you that you will be the most trusted Royal Guard ever?”

“Really?” the young colt jumped in excitement.

His mom nodded her head in response. Her curly mane moves up and down like it is happy for the young Flash Sentry.

But instead of bringing joy to his family, joining the Royal Guard plus his mother's disease have brought their happiness away. Knowing how corrupt and useless the Royal Guard is, especially after two consecutive failures of saving Equestria from failures, his dad has decided to abandon him and completely ignore Flash, as if he never had a son. And then, there’s that one time he stole Princess Twilight crowns.

“Turns out… I never properly protect any pony. Not only that, I did more harm than good to the Royal Guard. I’m neither courageous nor charming…” Flash sighed in sadness “Hey, honestly… If you can, try to find another pony better than me, okay?”

However, Luster shook her head in response, along with a weird smile on her face.

“Why?” Flash asked, “There are tons of ponies better than me!”

“There’s no way we can find a pony like you again, Flash.” She said “When we eventually give up and escape that Cloudsdale ship, can you calculate the probability of some creature finding us in the bottom of the ocean far from land and brave enough to touch the cockpit. Not to mention when we cast that… curse upon them, do you guarantee they will have enough patience and mental stability to find out who we are and agree to go on an adventure with S.M.I.L.E to free us out! Oh, and the fighting too. You have enough knowledge and skills to those MS which make you still survive today. I would assure you that none of those creatures can stand a chance against another MS, not to mention facing Black Wine at least twice like you and still survive!”

“You… have you prepared for all of this before?” Flash asked in confusion.

“Nope, she’s just smart!” Butter Burger comes in.

“She has a point, she really does have a point, Flash!” Spring Garden added “At least at the moment you are the only one that can fulfill your role right now. Oh, and you can protect your… princess as much as you want!”

The kirin pointed her hooves to herself.

“Yes I know that. You are a legitimate princess of the kirin!” Flash replied.

“You get the idea, Flash! Now, will you be our… Arrgh! I can’t believe I have to say this!” Luster growling grumpily “Let just say you’re gonna be playing a role as a ‘prince charming’ in this, okay?”

“Ooh, I like that idea!” said Yolinda with some little excitement “Kinda like a role playing game, but more dangerous… But, I believe you can do it!”

“I’ve seen your pilot skill, Flash! Agile, fast reaction, and punch em’ hard enough for a swift victory!” Grisela added “At that Strike Zeta looks super cool, just like this Alicorn Gundam!”

“Thanks… thank you!”

…

The next thing he knew is that he decided to talk to them under a familiar tree at the Sweet Apple Acres, about how he met Era again.

“So you told me she is your friend back when you’re still at Earthsphere and she came here to fight you and you meet her again!” Butter Burger said with a constant pace and no pause. “This is so cool!”

“Well, guess truth is stranger than fiction sometimes!” Luster Dawn added “So… What unit does she serve in?”

“I don’t know, I only heard she’s currently serving on a battleship called the Blueberry. Yeah, I know it has the same name as my old friend.”

“That’s a good name for a vessel, honestly!” Yolinda said “Though I admit that vessel should not be a warship…”

“It’s literally a WARSHIP, Yolinda!” Grisela said with the word “warship’ emphasize.

“Yes, but what I wanted to say is that a warship should also have a nice name…” Yolinda replied “Okay?”

“Yeah, just forget it… those two sometimes have some sort of… rivalry…” Luster said with a smile “Oh… and how about retrieving us? Do you have any plans for that?”

“Let just say that we will try to take down the Cloudsdale down and we will take y’all out of it’s wreckage.” Flash answered, but he soon had to scratch his head in uncertainty “We do have a plan that if one of the airships spotted the enemy, it will call the rest to join, but we really don’t have a detailed plan of how to properly take that down…”

“Or you can sneak into the ship and open the Alicorn’s cockpit!” Spring Garden said with a wink “Don’t worry, we’ll let you in!”

“Wait… how about the Strike Zeta?” the blue mane pegasus asked in confusion “Should I just leave it or…”

“Well… maybe another one will take care of it for you… It could be Era! She’s kinda promising to me at least!” Luster Dawn said “The Nemo that she is piloting currently has its backpack damaged, so I think that she would shift to the Strike Zeta when things are done with our Alicorn Gundam!”

“Seems legit…” Flash said.

Then, suddenly something came to his mind. The moment he saw the lanterns mourning the missing princess is the very thing that changed his mind about the friends in the Alicorn Gundam. However, he feels that it might make them worried about their family and friends that they have left forcefully. He is not the kind of pony that knows how to handle well when seeing others crying.

The thinking makes Flash just look at the team for a few seconds without saying anything, causing them to look at him back suspiciously.

“Uh… Flash, do you have anything to say?” Luster asked with her eyes slightly closed, indicating that she is doubting Flash on something.

“Oh… Oh. Right! Never mind that. I just think wild!” he replied.

“Oh c’mon! You think you can hide your mind from us?” Grisela said with a doubtful voice, hovering herself right in front of Flash and touching her beak on to his nose. “Are you thinking about those lanterns?”

“Wait… You know it?”

“Well… this is a lucid dream so you can talk with us like this, which means that if you have some imagination in your head, we should have seen it!” the light cerise unicorn said “So… what are those lanterns?”

“Well… you guys all know that Spring Garden is a princess, right?” he started “So the thing is… they are mourning you guys!”

“What?” the whole group exclaimed in disbelief.

“Mom…” Spring Garden started to have some tears in her eyes “Every kirin…”

“Yeah…” Flash sighed “They have been doing it for six years now. I guess you guys are extremely loved here in Equestria…”

And with that, Flash has to witness his new friend crying. He knew they are here, far away from their beloved and the only one they can talk to are each other. He saw each of them mumbling their friends and family, crying, sobbing as if they have lost every one they loved. At that moment, he really understood why they needed him so much.

“Hav… Have you met any of my friends and relatives?” Luster said “My mom, my dad… They worked at the School of Friendship…”

“Honestly, I haven’t even seen that school, let alone seen your parents. And… I know this was hard to say but… At this moment, we can’t have access to Ponyville yet: Up until this moment, we’re still mostly operating outside of Equestria… I’m sorry if that means they are in trouble…”

“How about Griffonstone, Yakyakistan…” the young brown yak came and shook him while still heavily sobbing “Are they still safe?”

“They are relatively safe for this moment. But I don’t know how they will protect themselves when the war reaches those kingdoms.”

“War? What do you mean?” Yolinda was confused.

“Well… there is this alliance that was called ‘The Harmony Alliance’…” Luster Dawn read it out from her notebook and while taken out a red glass “This Alliance was established to fight in a possible war with Black Wine’s Equestria after the event of the Blue Rock Mine as well as the assassination on the Council of Friendship…”

“Wait, how can you know all of that?” Flash asked in confusion.

“We can hear creatures on that ship talking while we are still trapped in that cage!” the light cerise unicorn explained casually “Don’t underestimate our ‘magic’, Flash! Oh and I love to wear this glass sometimes. Look cute, eh?”

“Yeah… cute… So do you know anything about where you are now? Like… What is your location?”

“Sadly… we don’t know…” Spring Garden said “We can only hear what they are saying and that’s it!”

Luster then looked at her with an un-amused face “Spring Garden! That’s not how our ‘magic’ works!”

“C’mon it’s the truth, Lustie. Be honest!” Grisela said “Or you want to have some flexing?”

“Flexing? No way!” Luster Dawn said with the notebook covering half her face and her eyes looking to the ground, which made her seem like she was hiding her blush. The scene overall makes the group so adorable that it makes Flash chuckle.

A few second later, Luster Dawn regain her confidence and continue her own report:

“We also heard that Black Wine is also trying to steal more mines in other kingdoms as well! I don’t have the details on that, but I could assure you that they are all in territories of Alliance of Harmony’s members. This also means that our kingdom was safe!”

“Few!” the rest of the group sighed.

…

The next day, Flash finds out that right after the Canterlot arrived at the Hall of Friendship, Lady Rainbow Dash immediately held a conference that established the Alliance of Harmony, which is a multinational military alliance. The kingdoms that agree to join are: Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, Farasi, Orthinia, Abyssinia, Kirin’s Groove and Everfree. The goal is to protect each other from a potential Equestrian attack by Black Wine’s Army.

“He will trigger an all-out war against him if he decides to attack just one of these kingdoms!” a Griffonstone senator said in a newspaper Flash found in the ship’s library.

“Hey, what are you doing there bud?” Haystack suddenly came and asked “Lix has such a good taste for breakfast, though!”

That morning, the ship was served with some of the most Orthinian like food they were ever have: some walnut soup, fruit jam, bread and a special delicacy that was called “Veggie Roll”

“That ‘Veggie Roll’ thing is basically vegetables rolled with some fruit and hot rice inside! I like how that kind of rice was used exclusively for the dish!”

“You have some good taste, Lieutenant!” Flash chuckled “You used to be a cook, right?”

“Not really. However my parents used to occasionally bring me to five star restaurants in Canterlot. They usually left a lot of aftertaste. So yeah! I could say I’m somewhat an amateur food reviewer!”

Both of them laughed, causing their sound to echo along the alley way of the ship. This gives Angie a clue of where they are and she shortly finds the duo talking in the library.

“Sorry pilots, but the captain wants you to present at the mobile suit hanger as soon as possible!” she said “We are refueling!”

“Ah, the refueling process is an interesting sight to see, right?” Haystack said “Well then let’s go!”

…

Seeing two giant airships docked side by side in the middle of the air is such a sight to behold. Flash was breathtaking to see wires and pipes connecting each other outside of the window, hanging over the sea of clouds. Although the silhouette of the refueling airship itself, the Remember Me, blocked the sunlight away, Flash could still see wooden color paint on it’s hull and the number 25 painted near the nose.

“Get into your cockpit pilots!” Celaeno ordered “Reports from the bridge said the Cloudsdale is just a few kilometers from here. We initially lowered the altitude so the cloud can hide both of us easier, but the crew at Remember Me said we can’t do that while refueling. That’s why we need both of you in your place!”

According to what Flash knows, the fuel they are getting is helium 3, which is extremely essential for a mobile suit to operate properly. One of the reasons why AE are willing to come all the way to another world is because they want the helium 3, which can be taken easily because of a pre-existing mining facility in Equestria as well as in other kingdoms. The Remember Me’s helium 3 source is from one such mine. Combined with other resources such as titanium, cobalt and other kinds of hard alloy, Equus is a piece of cake that AE and the Earth Federation don’t want to let go too easily.”

“So… you mean that we are fully exposed out in the open?” the Lieutenant asked with surprise.

“Yeah… sadly!”

A few seconds later, after seeing Seashell Blue waving at him near the Strike Zeta, Flash ran straight to where he stood.

“Hey Brad, I got something interesting!” the blue hippogriff said excitedly “Check this out!”

He then pulled out some magazines from his wings. Their cover making Flash blushes with ponies and even hippogriffs making some suggestive poses.

“What the… ‘Play pony’?” the blue haired pilot exclaimed.

“Bro, keep your voice down! These things are from that ship’s library, I stole it!”

The “Play Pony” magazines made Flash go off guard for a while. He doesn't know there can be such a thing right in the middle of a war like them.

“Yeah, I know you are human and all. Just show ya some of these for ‘cultural exchange’. Do you have them in your world?”

“Of course there are. I once saw a human version of this called ‘Playboy’ in a book store right in the Antarctica base. I actually don’t have interest in those.”

“So sad man, but these obviously weren’t for you anyway… But the ponies and hippogriffs are both beautiful, eh?”

“Yeah, beautiful… But Play Pony also has a hippogriff version too?”

“Yup, and there are versions for…”

“Hey you two!” Haystack suddenly yelled at them, causing Seashell to rapidly put the magazines back in his wings and adjust his pose. Flash also startled at the Lieutenant’s shout, causing him to straighten his standing position.

“I thought you should be in your cockpit right now?” the brown earth pony then came to them “What are you discussing?”

“I… I just recommended some good food to eat, Sir!” Seashell Blue said with his teeth grinding in fear “Do you want to go to a restaurant in Everfree, it was called…”

“No explanation. I want both of you back into position, now!”

Flash then jumped into his cockpit and started his suit up. After seeing his panoramic screen fully up, he could see his hippogriff friend smiling at him playfully with a wink before running up to the combat bridge.

“Bastard…” Flash chuckled.

Only a few minutes later, the siren went up inside the hangar, forcing the refueling process to cut short. From his monitor in the cockpit, Flash could see wires and pipes detaching from his airship and retracted back to the Remember Me. Both airships were ordered to stay separate in a distance that both don’t affect each other when one of the ships being shot down or heavily damaged while the Parrot Strength can still cover fire power for both.

Looked down to the hangar, Flash could see they had already opened the hatches. The mobile suit that was captured by the pilot duo was being lowered down so it could clear the path for deployment.

“Sorry bro, Era didn't want to fight her friends so she refused to come out!” Seashell Blue said to Flash “You must fire up your engines first before we can detach you from the cage. Got it?”

“Got it SB!” Flash answered with a thumb up, looking as his engineer talking through the camera. “I’ll make sure I do it properly! By the way, where do you get all of those Play Pony?”

“Let just say I take it with ‘special permission’!” the blue hippogriff with a mischievous grin before whispered “I stole them. “Don't tell Haystack!”

Lowering MS cages is a procedure that was rarely used, since that is the first time the Parrot Strength ever had a captured mobile suit. Even though the suit is lying face up, Flash could still see Nemo have its backpack covered, indicating the ship’s mechanics are working on fixing the suit. Apart from that, there seems to be little change to it and the holding cloth.

Finally, when both are at optimal heights, Flash does exactly as Seashell Blue told him. The flames from his engines slowly turned from orange to blue, finally giving him enough power for a rapid launching process.

“Okay, 3…2…1, detaching!”

The sounds of metal contacting each other echoed into Flash’s microphone. The suit only falls down slightly, barely touches the cockpit hatch of the Nemo before firing itself out of the cage and right into the air. The Strike Zeta Gundam was ordered to maintain its MS mode and hover itself near the mothership.

“Wait… where is Haystack?” Flash was confused to not see his commander out with him.

“Hey Brad! I think you should fight alone this time!” the Lieutenant later spoke up “My MS still doesn't have enough fuel!”

“Sorry Sir!”

“I said I don’t have enough fuel! I’ll hang myself from the cage and covering fire for ya, okay?”

Flash glanced towards the aft hangar and saw the cage is lowering itself with the Commander type Jesta still sticking into it. Some parts of the cage are open to let the arms move freely.

“Enemy mobile suit approaching at 2 o’clock, preparing for combat!” Captain Celaeno commands directly to both pilots.

At the horizon, the silhouette of the Cloudsdale appeared right at the sun, blocking parts of the sunset light from it. From there, there are three black dots deployed from it and slowly approaching both airships. Flash zoomed his camera towards and saw three base jabbers, each with 2 mobile suits on it.

“The Cloudsdale appeared to have some sort of extension on its hangar. That’s why it can carry so much!” Angie said through the com link.

Flash decided to transform himself to Wave Rider mode and engaged. He could see one of the enemy suits open fire towards him. The white mobile suit immediately avoids the purple beam shot and returns fire.

…

“That’s the airship that followed us last time!” Nikita said “And attack that Mattia’s class suits too! How can we deal with this, commander?”

“Me and Mark will take care of Strike Zeta! You and the rest of the squad will take down those airships. I don’t want them to hide in the clouds!” Joseph commanded, “You should do it fast ,Nikita!”

The Strike Zeta fired its beam rifle from the large shield on its nose, slightly passing through his suit’s shield before hitting the air. Mark returned fire with his beam rifle, but the shot once again missed the white MS.

John looked at his new comrades charging towards their enemies. Two base jabber, one with a Jesta and a GMIII, and another one with 2 additional GMIIIs riding on it. The three new pilots are young Federation’s cadet that were assigned to the ship just a week before that. The rapid preparation for all three of them made them tired, which Joseph noticed. One of the pilots named Mary, proposed to the officers to have a small karaoke party with the ponies for cultural exchange, and surprisingly, the officers, which included Joseph himself, agreed.

The ship is on route back to Canterlot base from the patrol at Storm Island when they heard reports of the Parrot Strength being reported to have some refueling above Kludgetown. The captain decided to slightly divert the ship to the enemy, knowing that the airship that followed them above the Southern Equestrian Sea is certainly the Parrot Strength.

Above the dark clouds that was literally called “Sea of Clouds”,, the first missile salvo from the GMIII targeted the Parrot Strength and the Remember Me. Unfortunately for Joseph, all of them were stopped by the airships's defense system, the thing that even a Federation’s officer like him was shocked to know. Not only that, the slightly larger resupply airship seems to have some CIWS and missiles as well.

“Lieutenant, that… that Gundam!” Mark yelled through the com link.

The scene he experienced next caused both pilots off guard: the Strike Zeta quickly changed the course right after the first missile salvo and faced its thruster to the duo, firing itself back to the mothership. From that position, it opened fire on Nikita’s squad.

“Darn it! Come back here you bastard!” screamed Joseph.