Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis

by Jasper77W

Chapter 47: Pick Up

"We're over Ponyville right now. Won't be long till we reach the team." Thunderlane reported, the gunship roaring through the clouds above the small town beneath. There'll only be another few minutes or so.

Suddenly the missile warning started beeping, red flashing throughout the cockpit.

"Shuck! Are we under attack again?" Asty cursed, stumbling into the cockpit.

"I don't know- just a missile lock on!" Thunderlane replied, checking on the missile's signature. "It's a freakin continental demolition missile!"

Demolition missiles aren't used in combat because of their nature- but one of this size would be enough to plow a hole through the gunship anyway even if it weren't a high fragmentation explosive.

"Then bucking avoid it or just shoot it down!" Inkie yelled from back in the cabin.

"We can't risk using power on the prism gun! The current state of the power circuit can only sustain flight- or it might short out and we'd be out of the air!" Thunderlane replied.

"Wha...?" Lightning Dust muttered, yawning and getting up.

"Stay down, your injuries aren't fully healed yet." Thyme warned, but she dismissed her.

"Then try shake it off!" Inkie yelled.

"I can't! THIS IS A BUCKING FIFTEEN TON FLYING FORTRESS!!" Thunderlane yelled back.

"What's going on?" Lightning Dust rubbed her eyes, hearing the shouting.

"We're getting tracked by a bucking continental missile with a lock on!" Thunderlane growled, trying to figure something out in his head. Nothing came to mind- the gunship didn't have any flares, since it wasn't intended for aerial combat in the first place anyways.

"Well can't you just avoid it?" Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"FOR BUCK'S SAKE-" Thunderlane roared, frustration taking the better of him. "THIS IS WHY PONIES GET CO-PILOTS!!"

"ETA fifteen seconds." Lightning Dust pointed out, watching the display on the gunship's control console.

"I KNOW!" Thunderlane yelled.

"Better figure something out soon."

"SHUT UP!"

"Warning, missile ETA ten seconds." The gunship's HUD said.

"And yet I was the one to get thrown out of flight camp..." Lightning Dust muttered, running into the cockpit.

She shoved Thunderlane out of the pilot's seat and got in herself, grabbing onto the controls and pulling them back.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!??" Thunderlane just got up, but then the tilt in gravity threw him down again.

"Hold on everypony!" Lightning Dust yelled. Then she saw Thyme tumbling down to the other side of the plane out the corner of her eye. "Maybe that was a bit late of a warning..." She muttered, twisting the controls violently to the right.

The gunship's nose suddenly started tilting towards the sky, pulling into a steep climb- but it didn't stop there. It continued going, until the entire gunship began tilting backwards.

Upside down and facing the missile, Lightning Dust could now tell where it was going to hit. Perfect.

She yanked the controls to one side, the entire fifteen ton gunship started turning on its side, now flying on its right side and at a ninety degree angle.

"By Celestia's beard-" Asty cursed, grabbing onto the doorframe to the cockpit to prevent herself from falling down to the far side. "You're gonna get us killed!"

"I've heard that line before." Lightning Dust muttered, making some final adjustments. Then she let go of the controls, hoping that her depth perception isn't too bad.

The missile continued flying towards them, and they flew towards the missile.

"Impact imminent. Five..." The HUD started. "Four.... Three..."

On three Lightning Dust latched onto the controls again, and yanked them back.

The gunship's four huge engines suddenly tilted back again, until they were vertical against sea level- the rings directly aimed at the incoming missile.

The missile was immediately sucked into one of the anti-gravity engines as it approached, suddenly not in its own control anymore. But that wasn't the end of it- the first engines flung it directly through the ring of the second which was lined up behind it, both engines amplifying the force applied to the missile.

Since the gunship was fifteen tons, each of the four engines had to be able to produce about four tons of thrust to be able to keep the flying fortress afloat, including all its passengers, cargo and ammunition.

And that meant eight tons of force had just been applied to a seventy kilogram missile in a unified direction.

The missile, much lighter in comparison; was immediately thrown off into the horizon. Not even its own engines could stop the force of the slingshot effect, which was sending it kilometers away from the gunship.

Lightning Dust turned the controls, bringing the gunship down to normal elevation.

"Holy crap..." Rig gasped, finally able to let go of a part of the inside framing to prevent himself from falling earlier. He slumped down onto the ground, gasping for air.

"And that's how we do it in Cloudsdale." Lightning Dust said, slowly turning the gunship back around to get back in their original course.

"Reckless." Was all Thunderlane had to say as he stole back the controls.

"How come everypony I meet tells me that?" Lightning Dust muttered.

"Mainly because you probably just took out Cloudsdale." Inkie said, looking out the side window. The missile was a mere yellow dot on the horizon now- but it was heading directly to a large patch of clouds.

Lightning Dust squinted at those clouds- then her eyes widened as she recognized the buildings. She took some time since it looked nothing like what it was in the other reality. It didn't even have rainbows.

"Buck." She muttered as the missile slammed side-on into Cloudsdale's dimensional anchor, completely tearing it away from the dimension it was hidden in and revealing it for the first time in centuries. Suddenly a huge metal chain appeared out of thin air below Cloudsdale following a bright blue flash as the spell faded. The weight of the chain, no longer supported by the spell; tore a hole through Cloudsdale where it was mounted. Then the missile went off, blowing a good chunk out of the city as it started falling towards the ground.

"Population was at zero anyway." Rig said, turning away from the window.

"Alright... Rainbow Dash, do you read?" Thunderlane spoke into the mic.

*

"Copy... I'm presuming this is the gunship?" Rainbow yawned.

"Confirm." Thunderlane replied, then there was a loud shuffling noise as something happened on the other end. Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Raaaaaaaiiinnnboooowwwwwww!!" She heard a familiar voice yell through the comms.

"Oh god." She muttered as Lightning Dust shoved Thunderlane away from the mic.

"Hey there WONDERBOLT, haven't heard from you in a while."

Rainbow sighed, shaking her head. She looked to Octavia for advice, in which none was received.

She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"What up, Dusty." She said instead.

"Nothing much. Just saved our arses and blew up Cloudsdale." Lightning Dust replied.

"Well of course..." Rainbow face-hoofed.

"Too bad you missed my sweet move though." Lightning shrugged. "Ah well. We're coming round for pick up... But I don't think we can carry your car."

"Objection." EDI replied.

"It's just that we don't have enough energy left in the gunship- wait, what?"

"Yeah. Our car can talk." Rainbow said.

"Still can't get her on board." Lightning Dust said.

"Copy. We'll figure something out." Rainbow said, and turned to EDI. "You can drive yourself. Why don't you just meet us at Haven?"

"Why don't I just open all the doors and flush everyone out?" EDI replied.

"Because that serves no purpose?"

"Point taken." EDI said. "Standby gunship. Stopping for passengers to board. Come round for landing, over."

*

"Katana!" Applebloom called across one of the many hallways in Haven's CMC tower, otherwise known as HQ for everyone else. "Wait up!"

Katana stopped and turned around to face the leader of Haven. She was a good head taller and quite a few years older than Applebloom, but none the less she was of a slightly lower rank. She really was just an officer meant to keep an eye on Scootaloo just in case she injures herself, which has happened quite a few times already in this new reality.

She had never known any of these ponies in the old timeline, where she was actually just a university graduate with a mild interest in the samurai ponies of the east. Now she had become one of those ponies.

She stood unnaturally still as Applebloom approached.

"Oh come on, loosen up. Just because I founded Haven doesn't mean everyone has to pay me that random forced level of respect, especially my friends." She said, groaning.

"It's hard to control sometimes..." Katana shrugged. "Well then. What's up?"

"I've got the Tunnels all set up, the last bit of construction work just got finished. The design should work, but I need some final touches incase of an emergency."

"...I'm guessing you want me to help set up then." Katana said.

"Yup." Applebloom nodded. "First off, the demolition mines need to be placed down." She waved a hoof in the air, notifying a nearby sensor and conjuring up a holographic map of the Tunnels.

The Tunnels was a project started quite a long time ago, consisting of a large complex of underground tunnels that span out even beyond the city of Haven. Some tunnels are large so mass numbers or heavy armor can pass through, others simply for ground soldiers. They link every single building of Haven itself together as one big maze, and since it was constructed by Haven's citizens themselves- they all were required to know the vast maze off by heart. The entrances to the underground tunnels include wells, hidden compartments under stoves in homes and various other concealed places.

The Tunnels would act as an emergency underground city, with enough stored food and water for the population to survive for over a week. Of course, if enemy forces found out and tried to follow them in- there were escape paths leading far out and away from Haven city, but those were the last resort.

There were various supplies, even weapons and ammo; stored in specifically marked places in the walls of the Tunnels. Traps were laid out, and some special mines are about to be placed down. When remotely activated, these would seal the area completely.

"I already have Scootaloo and a few teams setting them up. We just need to put down the rest of them, and set an activation code word for detonation."

*

"Some ponies believe in destiny..." Val said, twirling the can of spray paint between her fingers, watching it intently. "...I find them stupid. Destiny is just something for someone who's too lazy to build his or her own path. They choose to believe in something that isn't fixed, believing that it is. They rely on something non-existent to forge a path for them to walk upon, instead of making one themselves. I don't believe in destiny, and I have my reasons." She said, setting the can down. "And I'm sure you know them."

"I do." Blithy nodded. She didn't believe in destiny or fate either- like Val said, they were stupid. She looked down at her cutie mark- her 'destiny'- she was meant to be a spray paint artist, or something- but now she'll never know. Spray painting was what she was good at- but it wasn't the path she took- and neither was it Val's.

"Our cutie marks merely signify what we're naturally good at. The best, at. But our destinies change, because we can choose to change them." Val said. "And because we are the puppeteers, not the puppets."

"The puppets that choose to follow 'fate' will only fall down as there is no one to pull their strings. Will they assume control and start walking on their own? Or will they lay in a crumpled heap, waiting for something to happen..." Blithy chuckled. "Yeah, fate really is a stupid idea isn't it."

"Perhaps so. But it's tempting isn't it... I can see why some believe it. It's so easy to just put your life in something else's hands, and see where it'll take you. But that's what I call irresponsible behavior." Val laughed. "Giving your life to someone else just to see where you'll go? No thanks, I rather make something I can be sure of than gamble."

"You don't gamble?" Blithy raised an eyebrow. "I beg to differ."

"There's a difference between 'calculated risk-taking' and 'gambling'." Val folded her arms, unimpressed.

"Says the one who revived Neon who turned out to be an enemy."

"Says the one who attacked her improved self and has remained a prisoner ever since because of her failure." Val retorted.

"Good point." Blithy muttered, however stubbornly.

*

Rainbow sighed. She was in the Albatross gunship now, along with her team and the other group of ponies. EDI could have been loaded on board, but due to power restrictions of the damaged third engine they were forced to leave her behind. She could drive though, even through the snow- just not very efficiently.

"What's with the sighing LEAD PONY?" Lightning Dust asked.

"Still mad about that huh..." Rainbow chuckled.

"Hey, you got me kicked out of flight school. I'm never gonna forget that. Although I'm not mad." Lightning replied. "Anymore, anyway."

Rainbow laughed. "Oh, that seems like so long ago... You know what? I can't wait to get a proper bath when I get to Haven. They better have a room reserved for me."

"Yeah, same here. Might need a medical bath first though." Lightning Dust turned around, showing Rainbow the bandaged remains of her wings.

"Holy crap!" Rainbow jumped back at the demented shapes. They looked worse than Silver's. "The hay happened?"

"If I told you, you would only reply one word. So I would use that word to explain myself. 'Reckless'. That clear enough?"

"Yup."

"We'll be over the Arctic soon." Thunderlane reported. "We might have to make an emergency landing if these engines don't hold up. Everyone, we've got adaptable suits and compact light weight speeders in the back. Get those set up and make sure your suits are tuned to the cold weather settings! This could be rough."

"Copy." Rig said. "Come on ponies! Let's see what we have at the back. Get geared up! Let's go!" He yelled, jogging towards the gunship's storage room.

The suits were packed tightly in metal boxes, which were designed to unfold onto a scanned image of the pony who would be wearing it. When it becomes fully deployed, then specific tweaks could be done manually for height, size, or just variations in power distribution across the suit.

The cold weather setting often referred to shutting off all cooling elements and turning them to heating elements, also turning on the heat preservation setting. The heaters help keep the suit's motorized joints running as well as keep the user warm.

"Well then..." Rig cracked his hooves, and shrugged his combat armor off.

Lightning Dust took one of the rectangular boxes and placed it down on the ground. She placed a back hoof on it, activating a holographic scanner which swept across her body.

Then once the suit acknowledged her body size and general weight, it began calibrating itself and started deploying.

Metal sheets and motorized joints started sliding along Lightning Dust's body, clicking into place and transporting other portions of the armor towards other areas. Then finally her chest piece clicked into place and her helmet closed around her head, and she shrugged; the motorized joint whining.

"Magic enhanced alloys and performance. Bet you haven't seen these." She winked at Rainbow, who nodded with a 'not bad' expression.

Following what Lightning did, Rainbow also put on her suit. It was an odd experience- she never did that before. She kept expecting a malfunction, and that a sheet of metal would slide into her ribs or something. But eventually it closed fully around her black coat(she stored her hat in a pocket), and her helmet sprung over her head. She was startled at the sudden brightness from the built-in HUD, but then the suit automatically dimmed the brightness to a normal degree.

"This certainly is very interesting." Rainbow said, looking down at her metal covered arms.
"Aren't you two going to get in suits? Oh wait... You know what, never mind." Asty started, but shook her head as the two Wardens looked at each other and shrugged.

Suddenly the plane lurched, and everyone fell silent.

"Just some turbulence, I hope..." Thunderlane raised an eyebrow, but he could feel the gunship shaking.

Suddenly the control console sparked, a wave of electricity sweeping across the panels as a power surge occurred. Lights flickered and went out, switches blown out of sockets with violent explosions of sparks. The electrical wave continued from the cockpit and passed all the way down towards the end of the gunship. The damaged energy generators' whines slowly died down, and the gunship became silent.

"Guess not." Thunderlane muttered.

Then there was a loud click, and the whirring of back-up generators filled the air inside the ship. Parts of the control consoles came back online along with critical functions of the ship- but these won't last long.

"What happened?" Asty walked into the cockpit.

"Our primary generators just went offline, so we're running on reserve energy and back-up generators. Energy is draining pretty fast- we'll only have a few seconds left in the air. Tell everyone to get ready for an emergency landing." Thunderlane said, flicking a few switches and checking the panels.

Engines were still online... Good. He flicked a switch and set the ship to 'glide', which preserves fuel but also means the gunship will slowly lose altitude. It was a reasonable decision, as if they could glide onto the Artic glaciers.... It would be a lot smoother than just crashing right down into it.

The roaring from the engines dimmed down, using minimal energy from the generators and reserves.

"Get those speeders started up!" He yelled behind them. "In the opposing storage room!"

"Copy." Rig called back, walking over to the other storage area. "We've got six compact speeders! Gotta quickly devise a sharing plan guys!"

"Well buck. We've got like twenty ponies here!" Rainbow yelled.

"Alright then. How about this- each speeder carries about two ponies, right? So six of us take the speeders, along with six injured. The rest of us can survive the snow- get the injured back to Haven first." Octavia said.

"We're losing altitude and energy! I can see the bloody glaciers now!" Thunderlane yelled behind him. "Whatever you're doing back there, do it quick!"

"Alright. Lightning Dust! You're still in relatively good condition. Take the first speeder with Derpy over there! Blinkie, take your sister with you on the second! Daring, take the Doctor on the third!" Rainbow yelled.

"We don't have long!" Thunderlane hummed as the crystal mountains below grew clearer and clearer. "We're gonna have to bail SOON!"

"You two! You don't look that old- take the third speeder!" Octavia yelled at Rig and Asty, who nodded. "Terra and Babs, you two take the fourth just as some security for the rest of them in case something happens! You two meds take the fifth!" She looked around, still dividing the ponies in her mind. "Thyme! Take the last one with Magnum. She's been bloody knocked out."

"...Magnum?" Zealo's ear twitched as he heard the name. He hadn't been paying much attention to who boarded the ship- he didn't know anyone anyway. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that Magnum was also in this reality.

He wasn't sure whether he wanted to cry or to laugh- the whole thing couldn't be arranged better. But she was knocked out- and that didn't exactly promise a reunion.

"Magnum? Where is she-" he made his way through the small group- and there she was, sleeping slumped against the gunship's walls.

"You know this mare in this reality?" Rainbow asked, curious.

"In both." Zealo replied, unwilling to take his eyes off her and look at Rainbow as he was afraid she might just disappear again.

"Odd. She never mentioned a stallion before." Rainbow said, frowning.

"She has reason not to." Zealo replied, the visor of his suit hiding his face. After all these years... He never even expected to see Magnum in a physically existing form again after the incident.

"About fifty seconds left! If you have to divide DO IT NOW!" Thunderlane yelled, jumping out from the pilot's seat, his helmet folding over his head.

"Alright. Get her to Haven. Just make sure she's safe." Zealo said, jaws clenched for a reason even he didn't quite understand himself.

You better be there waiting for me when I get there.... He thought as Thyme put the unconscious Magnum in the backseat.

"Get those speeders started up! Lowering the gates NOW!" Thunderlane slammed a lever down on the gunship's wall, and the backside of the gunship lowered to form a ramp. The howling winds came busting in, and for it not their cold weather suits the ponies would've been knocked back by the cold. But despite the armor, they still flinched at the high winds.

Snowflakes were blown all over the place and into the gunship, a micro blizzard inside the ship.

"Ah crap." Thunderlane muttered as a red light flashed throughout the gunship, followed by a siren which was barely audible over the howling winds. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!!"

Author's Note:

Ooh there's gonna be some dead space 3 sh*t going on soon