Equestrian Rim

by Visharo

Equestrian Rim (Finale Part 1)

Apple Bloom fell. She didn't remember falling, but she fell nonetheless. It was disorienting, falling without knowing you were falling. Perhaps she wasn't falling at all, perhaps she was drowning. Yes, that does seem to be the better word. Drowning in all the woes and worries of everypony, herself included. Sink or swim, that was the old adage, wasn't it? She decided, then and there, that she would thrash with all her might, on account of never really having to swim before.

"Bloom, ya in here?" Before the young Cadet could answer, her sister walked in wearing a worried expression. "AB, yer friends told me what's been happenin' with ya. Ah completely understand, but it ain't healthy pushin' yer friends away like this and bein' stubborn ain't helpin' nopony."

The tenderness from Applejack caught Apple Bloom but she recovered easily enough. She hardened her expression and turned to face her sister. "How'd ya do it? How are ya keepin' yer sanity?"

There was a pause. Then, without warning, the orange Ranger burst out laughing. Apple Bloom stared in shock and confusion and watched as her sister's laughter went an octave higher. It took a solid minute before Applejack recovered enough to wipe the tears out of her eyes. She took several breaths, chuckled one, twice, and then turned back with a small smile.

"Sanity, ya say. Oh, that's rich. Bloom, ah haven't been sane since mah first ride. That was an experience ah'll never forget. The trick, AB, is to be with friends and family. Now git before ah have to pull rank." Applejack was still chuckling when Apple Bloom left the room. She was immediately tackled by several ponies.

"Apple Bloom! You're alive!"

"Drat, I was sure AJ was gonna chew you out."

"Good to have ya back, cuz."

Apple Bloom giggled despite herself and pushed her attackers off of her. "Girls, ah'm sorry. Ah was bein' selfish and that ain't fair to ya'll."

"Don't sweat it, AB." Scootaloo chuckled while simultaneously discreetly giving a smug Sweetie Belle a bag that jingled slightly. It wasn't very discreet. She raised and eyebrow and what she got back in return was a desperate shake of the head. Apple Bloom decided to drop it.

"Alrighty cuz, let's find ourselves a Jaeger!" Babs grinned like made and ushered the other Crusaders forwards to the hanger.

"A Jaeger?" Sweetie asked, voicing exactly what Apple Bloom was thinking.

"Yes'm! Ah got the Marshalls to get us Jaegers! After all, it's all hooves on deck. That means the Cadets too." Babs Seed didn't wait for an answer and strutted forward like she owned the place. The other Cadets followed with a slight hesitancy. Apple Bloom even casted a look backwards, wondering if Applejack knew of this.

"Hold on a minute Babs, Are ya sayin' that we all are getting Jaegers? The other Cadets too?"

"Of course!"

***

The eight Cadets stood in front of the National Jaeger Museum in Manehatten. Ranger Pay Check brought them by train back to the Manehatten Shatterdome. They barely had any time before he forced them to go on a brisk trot to the museum. Halfway there, Candy Pop asked why they were going to the museum.

"Cadets, how long does it take to build a fully functional Jaeger?" It was his famous pop quiz voice.

"Four to five months," came the chorus. A second of silence was followed by a realization.

"Yes, we don't have enough time to build you your Jaegers, so we're going to get the old ones. Shatterdomes all over Equestria and beyond will be doing the same. Decommissioned Jaegers and retired Pilots, they all are coming back. Fixing and upgrading the old war machines to last several punches is all anycreature could hope for. Your job is to be backup."

"What do you mean by that?" Mellow Marsh asked this time.

"You back up the more experienced Rangers. If, let's say, Ranger Soarin and Ranger Spitfire were grappling with a Kaiju and then there was another Kaiju behind them, you would help defeat the first Kaiju so the veterans would have tim to immediately turn and the new one. Never, EVER go attack a Kaiju by yourself, that is an easy way to get yourself killed. Trust me, I know."

The mood was solemn after that. Nopony spoke until they finally arrived at the museum. There were some excited glances that were thrown around, but apprehensive and scared looks too. Apple Bloom was certain she was ready when she walked out the door, but now, now she was terrified. She didn't want to do this! She wanted to have friends, Crusading around, helping buck the apple trees, have fun with Granny Smith. But she was here now, and only cowards would back down.

Together, the eight of them trotted in. They all split off into groups, the ones that they were going to Pilot with. In Apple Bloom's case it was Babs. The two cousins tried to reassure themselves with smiles and half-hearted jokes. None of them worked, but it seemed to be enough just by making them. The two made their way to the Earth Pony Jaeger hallway in hope of finding the perfect one.

"Onyx Titan, Iron Giant, Fresh Grass, Mobile Suit, Chocolate Rain, ah'm not feelin' any of these. How 'bout you, cuz?" Babs looked back with an eyebrow raised in question, but the yellow mare wasn't looking at her. She was looking at a Jaeger, one she knew very well. She took a step forward and then another. Distantly, she heard Babs wondering out loud what was happening, then her voice stalled.

"No..."

"Yes." The Jaeger Apple Bloom stopped at was a Mark I Earth Pony Jaeger. Not the original, that one was destroyed, but the replica was functional enough. It was the sleekest of the Mark I's, but still boxy. The legs were thick enough to put Canterlot towers to shame, the entire plating of the hull and connpod were reinforced with so many spells and enchanted metals and crystals, you could buck it with all your might and there wouldn't be a scratch. Right in the middle of the barrel was an old megaspell reactor but perfectly functional. Apple Bloom could even see several weapons attached to the forelegs and shoulders. "It's Gipsy Danger, Ma and Pa's Jaeger."

***

There was a single day left before the Kaiju Uprising, as the veterans started calling it, and everycreature was getting anxious. Alarms and warnings have been activated throughout the coastal regions telling the citizens to evacuate inland, get to bunkers and be safe. In the days until now, Pilots and Jaegers have been coming to the Shatterdomes and in the Manehatten one, where there were originally four Jaegers, there were nine of them now, five of which were retired ones.

The Jaeger teams have been hard at work with engineers and architects to upgrade and fortify their Jaegers in order to survive the oncoming slaughter. No creature was under the delusion that there was a high chance of survival, but all Pilots were determined to hold out long enough for the payloads to get to the Kaiju openings and drop the bombs. That was the plan, the only plan. If they failed, civilization as they knew it, would be over.

Apple Bloom chuckled nervously. In less than 24 hours, they were going to war. It was almost surreal. She and Babs were leaning against the new and improved Gipsy Avenger, outfitted with state of the art weaponry and armor plating. Unicorns, zebra runecasters, kirins, and so many other magically inclined races were generating enough power to light up the entire face of the planet for several seconds. It all went into storage for the Jaegers.

"Babs?"

"Mmm?"

"Do ya think we'll be able to survive this?" Apple Bloom felt herself shaking. Babs noticed it, of course she did. The brown mare with scissors for a cutie mark trotted over and gave the biggest hug in earth pony history.

"Of course we will, AB." Her voice was muffled through Apple Bloom's fur, but neither didn't care. "We'll look out for each other, ain't that right, Scoots and Sweetie? After all, Crusaders stick together." There was a chorus of affirmation and Apple Bloom recovered enough to peel herself off her cousin and turned around to see that her closest friends were there, unshed tears and small smiles. It was almost enough to break Apple Bloom's heart, but she was an Apple. Apple's don't break that easily.

***

It was midday when the sirens started. There was no time for chatter, for pleasantries, or bathroom breaks. Every single Pilot quickly and quietly, with all the solemnity in the world, got to their Jaegers.

Apple Bloom met Babs halfway to Gipsy and they barely acknowledged each other's presence. There was no need. They would be in each other's heads soon and together they would be wading out into the ocean and standing guard with all the other Jaegers. This was the final stand of Equus and it all rested on them and their little shoulders. This all ran through Apple Bloom's head as she trotted up the stairs. It ran through her head as she strapped herself in and initiated the drift.

"Activating Drift...Right hemisphere stable...Left hemisphere stable...Neural bridge stable."

It ran through their heads.

"See ya later, Cutie Mark Crybabies!"
"YOU TOUCH IT, YOU BUY IT! We take cash or credit."
"What am I, gonna miss out on spendin' time with my favorite cousin? Forget about it!"
"Maybe we'll get our cutie marks in stupidest ideas of all time."

The Shatterdome doors opened and the nine Jaegers that were inside filed outside. There was a radio crackle announcing that the Manehatten Jaegers were connected through the intercom. There was a deep breath, then another, and then another.

"Rangers. This is Ranger Pay Check. Jaegers will be pouring out of that hole in an hour an we are to hold the line. We shall fight on the beaches so everycreature behind us will survive to see another day. This isn't about us, it's about them, so this is where we stand. This is where we fight! WHAT ARE WE DOING!?"

"WE FIGHT!" Came the thundering roar. Then came the silence, the dreadful silence. Pay Check probably caught onto this as the radio clicked on again.

"Check in. It will better understand who we are fighting with. Our brothers and sisters, siblings of the battlefield." The Ranger's voice faded. There was a few seconds of silence then somebody spoke up.

"Rangers Pharynx and Thorax of Brawling Carol." Apple Bloom took note that it looked even sleeker and more powerful after it's destruction. They did a good job at repairing it.

"Soarin and Spitfire of Winged Glory." The former captain of the Wonderbolts sounded incredibly weary and Apple Bloom could only sympathize.

"Leroy and Ingville of Broken Table. YAK SMASH!" There was a loud stomp for emphasis. There was some brief chuckles, but there was no warmth in them.

"Galena and Gigi, Pilots of Enlightened Protector." It was the sleek griffon Mark V. Apple Bloom looked in awe at the finished design. There were no rough edges what so ever, the feathers from the wings were razor sharp as well as the beak, the claws looked like humongous butcher knives ready to slice and dice, and the fusionspell reactor in Protector's chest looked really intimidating.

"Marshall Rack and Ranger Curd with the Mystical Annihilator." From what Apple Bloom had heard, Curd was the son of Whey, Rack's old partner. She wasn't sure why they had paired together, perhaps it was an old promise.

"Peach Fuzz and Candy Pop with the Onyx Titan." The black and red Jaeger didn't match the pilots at all, but nocreature complained.

"Mallow Marsh and Sweetie Belle of the Sparkle Pie." Rumor has it Mallow held Sweetie captive and was going to keep her there if she didn't agree to use that Jaeger. Apple Bloom chuckled when she recalled the horrified expression her friend wore when the Jaeger was rolled into the Shatterdome. She couldn't blame her, it was bright pink and yellow.

"Scootaloo and Wind Sprint here, Piloting the Fluttering Chicken." Despite the name and Scootaloo's obvious reluctance, the Chicken was a war machine by all rights. A beast of a Mark II with bulky armor and heavy weaponry fit for the most agile of Pegasi.

"Babs Seed and Apple Bloom of Gipsy Avenger." The cadets' hearts were pounding. Just a few more minutes and then the Kaiju will come. Those few minutes felt like hours.

"Hey cuz?" Apple Bloom knew the question was coming, they were in each others heads, but it still caught her off guard.

"Yeah?"

"We will make it out, ah promise ya." The steel that was in Babs' face slightly eased her worries, but it wasn't enough. They both knew it. After that, they distracted themselves by making sure the equipment and magical hologram was working just fine. Scrolling through their weaponry, she saw 'Anti-Kaiju Missiles,' 'Gravity Sling,' and 'Chain Sword.'

Outside, the other Jaegers positioned themselves so they were in a line, protecting the shoreline and by extension Manehatten. Through the magically enhanced vision of the connpod, Apple Bloom and Babs saw a similar lineup of Jaegers by Fillydelphia. Further down, there would be more Jaegers standing in front of Baltimare. In front of them, past the ocean, Trottingham, the Griffish Isles, Griffonstone, and Dragon's Lair all had their own defenders. Far behind them, on the other side of Equestria, the Jaegers of Van Hoover, Tall Tale, Los Pegasus, and Yakyakistan were preparing for their own battles. The sheer amount of creatures willing to lay down their lives for creaturekind to thrive was heartwarming to the cousins, and in that moment, they knew, they were going to beat back the Kaiju and save the day.

Then the sea erupted and the bellowing started.

***

The veterans rushed out, leaving Protector with the Cadets. The ocean churned with heavy and sudden movement as titans, both natural and not, clashed. The first Kaiju, a category IV, that came out looked like a scaly turtle with heavy shielding on its back and had a small sharp head. It wasted no time and charged forwards. Winged Glory was the first Jaeger to reach the Kaiju, which the Manehatten Shatterdome had already nicknamed 'Pointhead,' and slammed their wing razors down into its back. Pointhead released a pained roar and thrashed, sending high waves to the shore, but Glory wasn't to be deterred.

Brawling Carol sent a heavy hoof slam against the Kaiju's head, sending it reeling. Before any Jaeger could do anything, the ocean erupted once again and an even larger Kaiju charged in. Before it could collide with a helpless Carol, Broken Table slammed into it, forcing it back. Mystical Annihilator was close behind and followed up Table's attack with a buck of their own. The two Kaiju were swarmed by the four Jaegers, working in tandem and beating them to near submission.

Then something erupted from the second Kaiju, a Category V, nicknamed Cindereye for its glowing orange eyes. Annihilator was thrown back and Table skidded a few hundred meters. Carol and Glory were too far away for the blast to do anything, but even they felt a little force. Before a recovery could happen, a second Category IV Kaiju erupted. Bonecrest, after the large protrusion out of its head crest. There was no time to react before the same protrusion pierced through Table.

The Pilots of Enlightened Protector screeched a war cry and flew straight towards Bonecrest. While that was happening, Carol had heaved Pointhead above them and threw it towards Glory who made quick work of its soft underbelly. The two Jaegers dropped the carcass and came as quickly as they could to Bonecrest and Cindereye.

Annihilator was up and running, charging directly for Cindereye, determined to get it at least crippled. Before they could collide, Protector sliced through Bonecrest's thick hide with their sharpened razor wings and let the blood pour out. The Kaiju screamed and threw Broken Table off of its protrusion towards Annihilator, who managed to dodge just in time, and even had enough time to tackle Cindereye. Carol and Glory nearly made it to the other Kaiju before the water spat out another Kaiju. Shiv, a category V and had large shivs instead of legs.

The new Kaiju bolted towards Annihilator and stabbed through their back, twin screams of pain were heard over the radio. Chicken took a step forwards but Pie shook their head. Carol rammed their newly acquired horn into Shiv while Glory slammed into Cindereye. Protector was slashing again and again, making horrible looking cuts on Bonecrest's hide. Table came back into the fray with a vengeance, headbutting Cindereye.

By the time the 6th Kaiju had arrived, Bonecrest was shredded into paste and Cindereye looked injured enough to not be a nuisance. Then it displayed that it was still dangerous with another shockwave, sending the Jaegers back. While they struggled to rise back onto their hooves, Shiv darted forward and made another jab at Annihilator but was sliced at by Glory. The new Kaiju, Reckoner, a category IV, charged, followed by Cindereye. Glory deflected and sliced, all the while keeping them at bay while the other Pilots recovered.

They weren't fast enough as Glory was pierced by Skiv before Table managed to ram into Reckoner. Carol and Protector were next, slamming and whacking. Annihilator heaved upwards and bucked Cindereye, crumpling its face. There was a whirlwind of metal and tough skin and water for several minutes, Apple Bloom barely could keep track of every hit, and then there was another surge.

A large serpent like Kaiju whipped its tail which caught Glory and sent the Jaeger flying over into the city. Weaver, as it was nicknamed, whirled around in the water like it was born there and slithered up Annihilator and squeezed. The other Jaegers were occupied with the other Kaiju, Cindereye proving to be tougher than anycreature thought. Chicken took another step and this time they didn't wait. That step turned into another and soon, they were charging into the fray.

Before Fluttering Chicken could deploy their missiles, another Kaiju crawled out and then to everycreature's horror, a second Kaiju came out after the first one. Named Pisces and Gemini, the two Kaiju looked virtually the same, but they both were categories III. Table's Pilots roared and smashed their way past Shiv and slammed with all the might of a Yak into Pisces, sending it sailing over the water.

Carol was hacking away at Cindereye and Weaver simultaneously while Annihilator struggled to get out, the metal creaking. Protector was grappling with Shiv and was trying to burn it with a giant torch built into their claws. Chicken snapped out of their shock and released their payload, most of them exploding against Gemini's hide. This was incentive enough for Gipsy to start moving.

Apple Bloom and Babs moved as one, their steps echoing their heart beats as they got closer and closer. Thinking together and quickly, they activated their Chain Sword and plunged it right into Cindereye, being the closest Kaiju. Carol saluted and focused on their efforts of getting Weaver off of Annihilator.

There was a large shadow as Glory sailed over, their hull badly damaged and leaking out some sort of liquid, before dropping directly onto Shiv's back, sending the beast down to its knees. Table pivoted violently and slammed their backhooves into Gemini's side, screeching in agony after receiving two deadly blows. Protector ducked underneath a slash of Shiv and rammed their shoulder into its chest, sending the Kaiju backwards, letting Glory full access to its belly.

The whole battle lasted around an hour and soon the nine Kaiju sent to demolish Manehatten were defeated but not without casualties. Glory was barely standing and Annihilator's hull was completely crumpled and deformed, but all in all, it was a miracle all of them escaped the grips of death.

The radio crackled on. "Marshall Rack is collapsing, his eyes are streaming blood!" Curd's panicked voice shocked the backup Cadets into action. Pie and Titan grabbed onto Annihilator and heaved the battered Jaeger back to shore where Bleeding Heart waited with her team. The other Jaegers trudged back to the shore for emergency repairs and restocking and got back into line.

"The BUCK was that!" Pharynx yelled, his voice sounded strained. Apple Bloom was sitting down, breathing heavily. Babs wasn't looking to great either.

"Yeah! There wasn't supposed to be that many!" Thorax chorused, sounding just as weary.

Leroy's gruff voice spoke out. "Yak smash Kaiju. Leroy happy, but too many Kaiju, Yak not happy."

"Leroy's right, the Kaiju are learning, the precursors or whatever know about us." Spitfire sighed, there was a heavy clang followed by a curse. The radio crackled out and Winged Glory slumped downward indicating the power cut.

"Winds," Galena cursed, "I'll go deal with that." From the head of Enlightened Protector came a small form. Apple Bloom watched as the griffon landed on Glory and went inside. She turned off the radio and her cousin raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sorry Babs, just couldn't listen no more."

"S'okay, ah understand."

The two Apple cousins sat in the corner, their backs resting against the wall, as they took little catnaps, trying to regain their energy, despite them not doing much in the fight. As the second hour passed, Apple Bloom decided to do something. Rolling over so she could face her cousin, she asked, "Applejack's plan was to bomb the entrances using a dead Kaiju, right? So who's doing the bombing?"

"Prince Rutherford and whoever his copilot is is taking the west portal and uh..." Babs paused and glanced guiltily to Apple Bloom.

"What? What are ya not tellin' me?" There was a pause and the longer the yellow mare stared, the more guilty the brown one looked. "...no. NO!"

"Ah'm sorry, AB! She told me not to tell ya!"

"We're gonna save her. Where is she!?" Apple Bloom launched herself at Babs and put her hooves on her chest. "Which Shatterdome is she located at?"

"Ah ain't sayin'. Don't do this, this was exactly why she didn't want ya to know!" Her cousin looked frantically into her eyes, hoping and pleading. Apple Bloom raised a hoof, fully intending to strike Babs, but before the hoof connected, there was a loud crash. Immediately, Kaiju warning sirens went off. The radio sparked back on and there was shouting.

"RANGERS, GET BACK TO YOUR POSTS. THEY'RE BACK!"

Their fight forgotten, the Cadets ran to their walking struts and strapped themselves in. Hurrying to make sure everything was in place and then activated the spell hologram. What it depicted made the two cousins blanch at the sheer size of the army.

The Manehatten Shatterdome reported to the Pilots that there were eight of them total, one of which was a category VI. After that bombshell was released, they also reported that Honest Riot was up and running towards the portal. All Eastern Shatterdomes are to send half of their battalion to clear a path for Applejack and Coloratura.

Apple Bloom's gaze hardened.

Author's Note:

I apologize whole heartedly for the massive delay. So much IRL stuff and my lack of will. It really is a problem, but here I am! I'm back with another chapter! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great rest of your day (if there is any).
The map if you need it, geography can be a bit annoying.

Pronouns:
Kaiju: It
Jaegers: They/Them

KUDOS to all you have read this story, I really appreciate it. Can't believe I almost made it, two more full length chapters, I can't wait. I'm really sorry for the wait.