Celestial Being

Mobile Equestria Girls Gundam 00

Chapter 1: Celestial Being

The obstacle course was littered with a mixture of targets and automated defence turrets, gatling guns controlled by computers currently raised upwards and inactive. As the blue mobile suit sped towards them the turrets dropped with a mechanical whine, and began to spit bullets towards the target as the barrels sped round and round at blurring speed.

The spindly mobile suit danced through the air, weaving in between the trails of bullets while never letting a single one touch it. As the fire slackened, the mobile suit extended its right arm. A pulse canon slotted into position with a click. Burst of blue energy shot from the muzzle of the canon, obliterating the targets before it. As each target was destroyed so one of the gatling guns fell silent. In a matter of moments there were no guns firing at all.

The mobile suit vaulted over the obstacles with an unnecessary backflip that nonetheless made the assembled dignitaries gasp in awe. With a humming of engines, the MS descended to the tarmac floor of the airfield where the demonstration was taking place.

Spitfire, hands in the pockets of her ill-fitting civilian suit, ambled down the steps of the in the middle of the display seats. She half-expected - half-hoped - that one of the assembled AUU dignitaries would stop and challenge her presence, but they were all too fixated on the demonstration in front of them to pay her any notice.

She found Crescent Moon near the front, chin resting on his knuckles. He looked up as she approached, "Do you really think that nopony's going to realise that the captain of the Federation's elite squadron is here just because you've swapped your uniform for a cheap suit."

"They won't so long as you don't keep shouting about it," Spitfire slid into the seat next to Crescent Moon. "Nopony's said anything so far."

"I still don't know how you talked the general into letting you come out here."

"I'm not doing anything wrong, my passport is in complete order," Spitfire smirked. "So, what do you think?"

"The AU's first solar powered mobile suit: ENACT," Crescent Moon said. "Work on their orbital elevator isn't going as fast as they would like, so I'm sure they'll look to save face by showing off their military capabilities."

More gatling guns rose up out of the ground to fire on the ENACT, which activated a spinning buckler on its left arm, deflecting all the bullets harmlessly. The blue and silver paintwork wasn't even scratched.

Crescent Moon sighed as he leaned back, "It's just a pity that the ENACT is nothing more than a cheap copy of the FLAG. Only the exterior design is in any way original, and even then not by much."

"Hey!" an angry voice boomed out of the ENACT's speakers. The cockpit hatch in the mobile suit's chest opened, and a blue young woman in a purple flight suit, one eye hidden behind silver-white bangs, climbed out to glare at the crowd come to watch her and her suit show off.

"The great and powerful Trixie heard that you jerk!" Trixie yelled. "Come on, who said that? The undefeated Trixie demands to know."

"Possibly the sound reception is better than I thought," Crescent Moon said. Spitfire chuckled.

***

Far up above, the gundam Loyalty descended from the heavens along the path marked by the AU's orbital elevator. In the cockpit, Rainbow Dash scanned the ground below her and soon spotted what she was looking for.

"Target confirmed: AU mobile suit demonstration," Rainbow Dash sniggered. "They'll get a demonstration all right when they see what this awesome baby can do."

"Remember, your mission is to expose AUU mobile suit forces deployed inside the elevator itself, not to show off," Princess Luna's voice responded over the comm. "We don't want to demonstrate the advanced abilities of the gundam's until absolutely necessary. So no GN Rainbooms."

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Switching to low GN emissions for the descent."

"Laughter are you in position to cover the Loyalty if necessary?" Luna asked.

"Party Cannon is set and ready to fire," Pinkie Pie sounded as happy as ever.

"I wish you wouldn't call it that," Luna moaned. "It's the GN Sniper Rifle, not a party cannon."

"But party cannon is what it says on the side," Pinkie said.

"Only because you," Luna made some sort of noise at the back of her throat. "Fine, call it what you like. Just get ready."

"I can't believe we're about to half our first real mission," Pinkie chattered. "I'm so excited I've never been so excited. Are you excited?"

"Yup," Rainbow Dash said. "Cause now I get the chance to show my moves."

***

"Ladies and gentlecolts," a sergeant AUU field uniform, rather than the dress uniform favoured by most of the officers present at the demonstration, descended the steps into the midst of the guests. "We have been advised that an unknown mobile suit is approaching this position. Immediate evacuation has been recommended."

Some of the dignitaries immediately began to scramble for the exits. Spitfire remained where she was, grabbing the binoculars off somepony in the seat in front of her, "Excuse me."

"Hey!"

"I said excuse me," Spitfire scanned the skies, sighting on the rainbow-coloured mobile suit descending towards the airstrip. "Well it isn't a Federation model that's for sure. Doesn't look like anything I've seen from the Pony Reform League either. And what kind of a military would paint a mobile suit like that?"

"We're not evacuating are we?" Crescent Moon said.

"And miss out on the fun, are you kidding?" Spitfire was grinning now, like a kid on Hearth's Warming Eve. "This display just got interesting."

One of the colonels in the front row was trying to call the ENACT, "Trixie. Come in, Trixie. Dammit, there's no response."

Spitfire frowned. The strange mobile suite was giving off some weird kind of light from the large hump on its back. What is that?

"How is it flying without a propulsion system?" Crescent Moon asked.

The mobile suit landed in front of the ENACT, and the two could not have been more different. Where the ENACT was spindly, it's limbs thin and lithe for lower weight, the intruder - Spitfire could make out the word GUNDAM on it's forehead, which seemed as good a name as any - had a more heroic build. It's arms and legs where thick and powerful, it's head was modelled on a warrior's helmet, two magenta eyes stared out of a visage intentionally designed to resemble a face, in contrast to the beetle-like head of the ENACT and it's one red, mechanical eye. A large dome-like object had been fitted to the Gundam's back, which was rotating slowly and emitting rainbow light.

"Gundam, huh?" Spitfire said. "And where do you come from, Gundam?"

The Gundam was mostly light blue, a much lighter shade than Trixie's ENACT, but with lines in every colour of the rainbow. It looked, to be perfectly honest, rather garish, though it did at least match the light given off from the Gundam's back.

As the Gundam stood there, impassive, Trixie shut the cockpit of her ENACT behind her, "The great and powerful Trixie doesn't know who you are or what you want, but you're party-crashing and you weren't invited. Trixie gives you ten seconds to leave before she throws you out!"

"What does that idiot think she's doing?" the AU colonel demanded.

"Relax, Trixie is our top ace after all," a civilian said. "When she wins it will provide a nice cap to the demonstration of the ENACT's capabilities.

The Gundam turned to face Trixie, making no move either offensively or defensively.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has given you fair warning," Trixie shouted. "Trixie is the ace pilot of the AU and she has never lost a simulated battle."

"Her personality could use some work though," Spitfire muttered.

The ENACT pulled out its Progressive Knife, which set the air all around thrumming as it began to vibrate.

"Take this!" Trixie yelled as she charged for the Gundam.

The Gundam waited until Trixie was poised to strike. Then one arm swept upwards. A blade appeared in the Gundam's hand. The ENACT's knife hand flew up into the air, severed from it's arm, and landed on the airstrip with a thud.

"Huh? That's impossible," Trixie said. "I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie-"

The Gundam cut off her gun arm before she could take a shot.

"-I've never been defeated in 2,000 mock battles-"

The Gundam cut off her left leg and kicked the ENACT to the ground.

"-I'm special!" Trixie whined as the ENACT hit the deck with a crash, laying in a creator in a dusty, broken heap.

The spectators gasped at the ruin that had been made of their prize mobile suit in a matter of seconds. Then there was silence, broken moments later by the sound of laughter coming from the Gundam.

"Bahaha! Yeah, you're really special all right! Haha! A special kind of loser! Maybe you can call yourself the Pathetic and Useless Trixie from now on. But if you guys want to see real awesome, then you came to the right place because-"

The Gundam pilot fell silent. Spitfire was surprised at how young the voice sounded.

"Hey, I was just having a little fun," the Gundam said, as if the pilot was having a conversation and had forgotten to turn the speakers off. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. Sheesh. Moving to phase two. Wait, am I still on the speakers? Ponyfeathers!" The transmission stopped. The Gundam emitted an especially large burst of rainbow light from its back as it took off.

In the base, air raid sirens were sounding, and mobile suits were scrambling to intercept the intruder.

"I really think we should go now," Crescent Moon said. "Before they decide to arrest us on the offchance the Federation had something to do with it."

"Okay," Spitfire stood up. "I have a feeling we've seen the most interesting thing we're likely to see here already."

***

The Loyalty danced among the clouds, fending off the increasing numbers of green Hellions that assailed it. The cannon on the Loyalty's arm fired off burst of magenta energy, while the physical blade on it's right wrist did good work on any mobile suit that got too close.

Still, the Hellions kept coming. As the princesses had predicted, the AU had stationed increased numbers of mobile suits inside the orbital elevator, in violation of the treaty, and those mobile suits scrambled now to fill the air around the Loyalty with tracer rounds as they sought to use their numerical superiority to surround and destroy the impudent gundam.

"Pinkie? Rare?" Rainbow Dash said. "Not that I'm having fun playing with the goons and all but, a little help please?"

"Well why didn't you say so before darling?" Rarity trilled. "I was just letting you rack up your kill count, I thought you'd appreciate it. But as you wish: Gundam Generosity, beginning armed intervention."

The white and purple form of the Generosity burst form the cover of a thick cloud back, a blue beam sabre in each hand, and began to cripple the attacking Hellions. The AU mobile suits fell back and regrouped before attacking again in even tighter formations than before. The Generosity, which had no ranged capability outside of Harmony Mode, retreated behind the Loyalty as Rainbow Dash returned fire with her pulse cannon.

"Pinkie dear," Rarity said. "Would you awfully mind getting a shot off sometime this year?"

On the ground far below, a pink Gundam was resting in a convenient canyon, concealed from view from the AU. A large rifle, along the side of which somepony had painted the words PARTY CANNON in pink letters ending with a smiley face, rested on the Gundam's shoulder.

"Don't stress so much Rarity, you'll make yourself sick and get permanent frowny face," Pinkie said. "Gundam Laughter, targeted and firing!"

A pink laser beam erupted from the mouth of the party cannon to eviscerate one of the attacking Hellions. After the third mobile suit had been crippled that way, the surviving AU forces got the message and began to retreat.

"Celestial Being's first armed intervention is complete," Pinkie Pie said. "And may I add a complete success."

"Yes!" Rainbow Dash said. "Are we awesome or are we awesome?"

"Phase two complete," Rarity said. "It's all up to Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack now."

***

In high orbit above the atmosphere, higher even that the giant orbital elevators that were the lifeblood of Equestria, the Celestial Being space vessel Harmony held its position and prepared to launch Gundams.

On the bridge, Shining Armour input the numbers for the launch trajectory into the computer, "Course laid in. Twily, are you sure you're up for this."

The face of his little sister appeared on a screen on his monitor, "Of course. I'm a Gundam meister and this is what I've trained for. Why wouldn't I be up for it?"

"I guess. But be careful, okay?" Shining Armour said. "Don't do anything stupid, it's only the first mission."

"Will do, BBBFF," Twilight's eyes closed as she smiled, then her image winked out.

"I wish I could go out there with her," Shining Armour lamented.

"Me too," Spike said from where he sat next to Shining Armour on the bridge. "Twilight, Rarity, everypony's out there today fighting, and they're going to stay that way for as long as it takes. All I do is sit here on the bridge."

"Don't get so down, Spike," Lyra said. "Without the Harmony to support the Gundam meisters, how would Celestial Being continue to operate."

"Yeah, what we do up here is just as cool and important as piloting a Gundam," Bon Bon added. "Okay, maybe not as cool, but definitely as important."

"That's enough chatter on the bridge," Luna snapped. "Everypony stay on task."

The door slid open, and Celestia glided onto the bridge and pushed herself into the captain's chair, "Relax, little sister. All preparations are complete, so it doesn't matter if we stay glued to the consoles or throw a party. It's all up to the meisters now."

"That doesn't mean we should get slack and- are you drinking?" Luna looked around from the vice-captain's seat to look at the bottle in Celestia's hand.

"Like I said, it doesn't matter what we do," Celestia laughed. "I just plan the missions, I don't take part."

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Luna huffed. "Gundam meisters, take off!"

"This is Twilight Sparkle, Gundam Magic, taking off!"

"Ah'm Applejack, Gundam Honesty, takin' off!"

"Um, this is Fluttershy, Gundam Kindness, um, taking off now, thank you."

The three gundams streaked out of the Harmony's launch bays, leaving trails of green-white GN particles behind them.

In the cockpit of the lavender-painted Gundam Magic, Twilight Sparkle analysed the data feeds from around their objective. As Princess Celestia had predicted, terrorists were attempting to attack the Pony Reform League Orbital Elevator during the tenth anniversary celebrations.

"Targets sighted," Twilight said. "Six hellions attempting to deliver a large explosive device. Two of the hellions are equipped with anti-ship missiles, probably as a secondary measure if their bomb fails. All right girls, let's do this."

"Um, Twilight," Fluttershy murmured. "I've been thinking, about how I could really use some more simulation training, and how I probably shouldn't be going out in the field already. I mean if I show everypony then Celestial Being will-"

"You're not going to show anypony up Fluttershy, you weren't made a Gundam meister for no reason. And you know we need the Kindness' gunpods in order to complete this mission." Due to her newtype abilities, Fluttershy was the only person with the spatial awareness to operate the gunpods on the Kindness. And with the Laughter deployed to support Rainbow Dash's intervention, they'd need the firepower of the Kindness in order to complete this mission.

The HUD squeaked, and lit up with more icons. Twilight took them in, "Pony Reform League Tierens have scrambled to intercept the terrorists. They'll never make it."

"More to the point they won't get in our way," Applejack said. "I don't know about you girls, but I'm just about ready for my first rodeo."

"Copy that," Twilight replied. "Celestial Being, beginning armed intervention." She kicked the GN drive into high gear and the Magic sped forwards, the emission of GN particles increasing fivefold.

In the cockpit of the Honesty, Applejack's gaze lingered on the picture she had taped to the console: herself, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Babs Seed, Granny Smith and Braeburn all standing proudly in front of the Honesty on the flight deck of the Harmony. Apple Bloom in particular stood out to her, her smile was so bright, so innocent, so untainted by the world she had been born into her.

Applejack's little sister deserved a world of peace, and if there was no such world right now well then Applejack would just have to make one for her.

"This one's for you Apple Bloom," she murmured.

She turned up the power of the GN drive, and rushed to catch up with Twilight Sparkle.

Since the Honesty had the lowest capacity for ranged combat of any of the Gundams apart from the Generosity, it wasn't so surprising that Twilight and Fluttershy had already done most of the work by the time she got there. The GN gatling mounted on the shoulder of the Magic, which should spit out fire at a greater rate than any weapon in Celestial Being's arsenal, had already chewed up three of the terrorist Hellions. Fluttershy's gunpods, small independent drones each mounting a single GN canon, had destroyed the bomb and the escorting mobile suits. Only a single enemy suit remained, breaking away from the fighting to make a suicide run on the orbital platform.

"Oh no you don't," Applejack flung the Honesty's hand outwards. "Lariat!"

A GN beam shout from the Honesty's hand to wrap around the Hellion's leg. Applejack yanked backwards, and the Hellion was pulled in the opposite direction so hard it flew over the Honesty's head and snapped in two from the strain of the force upon it.

"Whoo-ee," Applejack said. "And y'all said a laser lariat was a silly idea."

"You must admit, it sounds a little bit weird," Twilight said.

"Weird ain't the same as bad sugarcube," Applejack said.

"Um, shouldn't we get out of here, before the Pony Reform League forces arrive."

"Roger that Fluttershy," Applejack said. "Armed intervention: objective complete."

***

That night, as news reports all over the world reported on how a trio of strange mobile suits had prevented a terrorist attack on the PRL orbital elevator, a broadcast was released simultaneously across the world.

A marble-white woman sat on a chair in the middle of a richly furbished room. The crimson carpet was decorated with a crest showing two alicorns circling one another, with the sun beneath one and the moon beneath the other. The woman's eyes were purple, and her hair was a luxurious mixture of green, pink and blue. A golden circlet was set upon her brown, a golden necklace with a purple amethyst around her neck, and golden slippers peaking out from beneath her white gown.

"I represent the armed organisation Celestial Being," she announced to the leaders of the nations and the ordinary people of the world. "And I have a message for all ponykind: we will no longer tolerate the existence of war and conflict in Equestria. We represent the interests of no country, government, religion or other body; but we will intervene in any war be it caused by race, religion, economics or any other reason. We will act against any country that we consider to be a promoter of war. We will stage armed interventions as we see fit against any nation that continues to pursue policies that bring about conflict with other nations or within that nation. Without exception.
"We are Celestial Being; and we will bring about a world of peace."

"I repeat: I represent..."

"Turn that off," Thunderhooves snapped. He rose heavily to his feet and began to pace up and down, kicking stones as he went. "If I have to listen to that self-righteous drivel again I'll have to kill someone to make myself feel better."

In the camp of the Private Military Company Nightmare, the mercenaries had hooked up an old projection screen up to the battery of one of their Fantons so that that whole group could watch the broadcast.

"Maybe they can really pull it off, dad," Strongheart said. "From what it said, those mobile suits they've got are pretty sweet."

"You'd better hope they don't pull it off, or we'll be out of a job," Thunderhooves scowled. "Damn do-gooders."

"I find it rather fascinating," Nightmare Moon kept her voice mild, devoid of emotion. "They say they want to bring an end to war, yet they threaten armed intervention in conflict zones. Celestial Being: your very existence is a contradiction."

"End war my flank, it's a racket," Sunset Shimmer spat on the ground. "They saved the orbital elevator from terrorists, they'll save a few more helpless people, then they'll start demanding to get paid for their protection. That'd be a sweet ride for us if we had those mobile suits."

"Don't be so quick to ascribe your own motivations to others," Nightmare Moon unfolded herself off the ground, her expression hidden behind the mask she wore. "After all, this world is full of idealists."

"This world is full of idiots, is what it is," Thunderhooves growled.

"Oh but of course, that too," Nightmare Moon agreed, the timbre of her voice changing not a whit. "The question is, whatever Celestial Being's ultimate motives, how shall we use this to our advantage."

"Advantage?" Sunset Shimmer said.

"The three great powers will hardly welcome an outside force interfering in their affairs, still less when that intervention takes the form of preventing their military imperialism. But peace is a word that sounds nice to the voting public, and so politicians may be reluctant to openly commit their forces to a firm stand against an organisation fighting for peace. And so, sooner or later, they will come to us: the people who can do the things they can't even dream of. And when they do, we will eliminate Celestial Being for them. For a price."

"That sounds better," Thunderhooves said.

"You think we can do it?" Sunset asked. "Those mobile suits-"

"I think we should be able to find our way around their capabilities. After all we're not without tricks of our own," Nightmare Moon placed a hand upon the shoulder of Nightmare's youngest soldier, who had not looked up from strip-cleaning her rifle. "Isn't that right, Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo looked up into Nightmare Moon's face and smiled, "That's right. I won't fail you, ma'am."

And cue the music

The Beginnings of Love?

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Chapter 2: The Beginnings of Love?

The Harmony drifted above the surface of the earth, holding a low orbit just below the giant solar arrays that provided the energy for all the great powers of Equestria. The Harmony was a long, narrow craft, white with blue trim in a few places. The bridge was set at the back of the vessel, on a tall conning tower set above the rest of the ship. The Harmony had been designed on a modular basis, it had been built in sections and assembled in space secretly by sympathisers with the aims of Celestial being. The bridge sat above the square, blockish central section of the ship, with two massive engine blocks shaped like white and blue arrowheads attached to the sides. Bolted on to the front of the ship where the two knife-like forward modules, which gave the ship the appearance of having two crocodile jaws above the mouth that was the hanger doors.

It was towards that mouth that the Honesty, Magic and Kindness Gundams now sped after the conclusion of their mission.

"Well girls, I don't know about y'all but I think we can call that a job well done," Applejack said over the comm. "Celestial Being has made its mark. And we couldn't have done it without you Fluttershy." she added pointedly.

Fluttershy smiled tremulously, it was so nice of her friends to try and buck up her confidence when they didn't have to, "That's very kind of you, but I'm sure that you and Twilight could have─"

"Could nothing," Twilight said firmly. "You took out the bomb faster than any of us could have." Twilight's face appeared on Fluttershy's HUD, smiling encouragingly, "You did good, Fluttershy."

"And we're all glad to have you watchin' our backs, sugarcube," Applejack added.

Twilight hailed their ship, "Harmony, this is Twilight Sparkle. Gundams Magic, Honesty and Kindness returning home."

"Roger that Magic, welcome back," Lyra replied. "Hangar doors opening now."

Celestia's voice came over the comm, "Well done, Twilight Sparkle. Well done all of you. Celestial Being's first intervention has been a complete success."

"Great job, Twily!"

"Yeah, Twilight you were awesome," Spike said. "You too, Applejack and Fluttershy. But you really should have seen Rarity when she swooped out of the clouds to save Rainbow Dash's plot─"

"Save the flattery for the girl who might appreciate it, Romeo," Applejack drawled.

"It's such a pity that Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie are stuck on the surface," Fluttershy said. "We could have all celebrated the success of our first mission together."

"Don't you worry 'bout that Fluttershy, I'm sure Pinkie will be throwin' a party first thing once she gets back to the ship," Applejack said.

Fluttershy chuckled, "I guess you're right about that."

"We will be making efforts to return the Generosity to space via the Orbital Elevator, but the Loyalty and Laughter may be remaining on earth for some time yet if the present mission calendar holds," Luna's voice was cold and stern, a contrast to Celestia's warm tones. "Now try to keep irrelevant chatter off the comm, all of you."

"Yes, your highness," Twilight replied primly.

The hangar doors on the front of the Harmony slid open, and Twilight Sparkle was the first to pilot her Gundam inside. The Magic was the most powerful of the six gundams, and the tallest by a head out of all of them. The head, like that of all the gundams, was fashioned after a samurai helmet, with violet eyes staring at the enemy from out of an armoured visage that was nevertheless more human than any other mobile suit. The rest of the gundam was powerfully built without looking too bulky, but the Magic was broader than many of the other mobile suits to accomodate its ranged weapons. The GN Gatling was mounted on its left shoulder, and a double barrelled gottfried canon on its left. The Magic carried another massive gun, the GN Bazooka, larger than either of its other weapons. Twilight had painted her gundam in her own colours, as all of the meisters had, which meant that the Magic was an almost universal lavender, with a little pink trim on the suit's head. A six pointed star surrounded by silver stars was painted on the unit's hip.

The Honesty was the next to enter the hangar bay. Smaller but sturdier than the Magic, the Honesty's left wrist bulged with the generator for Applejack's laser lariat, while a GN carbine was strapped to the unit's back at waist height. She also had a beam sabre, worn at her left hip, while on her right wrist was a physical shield against enemy attacks. She was painted in a tan, light orange, with the top of the Gundam's head painted to resemble a cowboy hat.

The Kindness was the last of the three space active Gundams to return to the Harmony. The Kindness looked rather like an average gundam, not to short, not too tall, not to fat, except for the six gunpods attached to its back in a star formation. Fluttershy had a lot of other weapons: the rifle, the sabre, the shield. But she was the only one who could use the gunpods effectively. It was the only reason she had been admitted to Celestial Being. Fluttershy had painted the kindness a mild yellow, with pink trim going down the sides.

She piloted the Kindness into the hangar and set the gundam down upon the deck with a solid thud. She could see that Applejack had climbed out of the cockpit already and was talking to her brother and cousin. With a sigh of relief that it was all over for the time being, Fluttershy popped open the hatch on top of the Gundam's chest and pushed herself out into the low gravity hangar.

"Mommy! Mommy! You're home! You're home!" with many bouncing noises, and mechanical whirring as they hopped, rolled or flew towards her, a host of brightly coloured haros surrounded her in a bouncing, jumping mass of glee at her return.

"Mommy!" Angel, her white haro, leapt into Fluttershy's hands.

"Hello, Angel dear, did you behave yourself while I was gone?"

"Whatever. Whatever."

Fluttershy frowned, "Angel, you should really try and be nicer to other people. You didn't do anything to Spike, did you?"

"Whatever. Whatever." Angel said, flapping its ears up and down.

"Oh dear, I guess I'll just have to apologise to him again," Fluttershy shook her head. "Come along everyone, let's get out of everybody's way." She walked down the corridors of the Harmony, her army of Haros trailing after her with robotic noises blaring away.

***

"Ah just don't know why she built so many of these things," Applejack muttered. "They can't keep you company like a real animal can."

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said, nodding at her words.

Braeburn pushed his hat back on his head, "Kind of a funny attitude coming from a Gundam Meister, Applejack. Like to see a critter could do what this baby can."

"Ah ain't sayin' machines don't have their uses," Applejack said. "But they can't love you no matter how much you love them. They ain't go hearts of their own, after all."

"Oh, the Honesty's got a heart all right, it's called a GN drive," Braeburn said wistfully. "Just because it gives off fancy particles doesn't mean it don't beat like yours or mine. Come on, Big Mac, we got to get these little ladies ready for the next mission."

"Ah'll give y'all a hand," Applejack said.

"You don't need to do that, Applejack," Braeburn said.

"But it doesn't feel right sitting around in my room while y'all are working so hard on my Gundam," Applejack replied.

Braeburn looked down at her, "Applejack, do you know what me and Mac here did while you were out there fighting in space? We watched on the monitors and listened to Miss Lyra describing what was happenin'. Now we both know that we can't fight out there in space like you can. We ain't Gundam Meisters like you and that's fine. But there is one thing we can do, and that's take care of the Gundams so that you and all your friends have the best chance that you can get out there. You gone done your job, Applejack, now let us do ours."

Applejack blinked, she hadn't thought of it that way before. She turned to look up at her big brother, the chief mechanic on the Harmony, "You feel that way too, Big Mac?"

Big Macintosh was a man of few words, but his single nod carried as much volume as Braeburn's entire speech.

Applejack chuckled, "Okay fellas, I'll leave you your pride and get out of your way. Reckon I might have time to give Apple Bloom a call before she goes to bed."

"Say hi for me," Big Mac called as Applejack wandered off.

"Will do," Applejack waved behind her, making her way off the hanger deck and through the corridors of the Harmony. The gravity aboard ship was only half Equestria standard, meaning that it was easy to just glide through the vessel using the conveyor belts mounted along the sides of every wall. It was just so that Applejack made her way to her own modest quarters.

There was not a glut of space aboard ship, so Applejack's personal space amounted to a single eight by six room, partially taken up with a bed. Her hat was hanging from one of the bedposts, and Applejack put it on at the first possible convenience. The rest of the room was taken up with a small desk (a bowl of wax apples sat upon it, supplemented with real ones whenever the Harmony resupplied from earth) and some weights stacked in the corner. A videophone was built into the wall on her left as Applejack entered the room.

Applejack pulled the stool away from her desk, sat down in front of the videophone, and called up home.

The viewscreen flashed up static as the ring tone sounded, until finally an image appeared on the other end of the line, the image of an old woman in a rocking chair sitting in a cosy living room, "Huh, what's that? Applejack, is that you?"

Applejack smiled, "Yup, it's me Granny Smith. How are things down on the farm?"

"Oh, fine, just fine," Granny Smith drawled. "Ah saw you on TV this afternoon. Well, not you, that flyin' contraption you ride around in."

"It's called a Gundam, Granny Smith, ma and pa worked on it," Applejack said. "Is Apple Bloom still awake? Can I talk to her?"

Granny Smith nodded, a twinkle in her eye, "Apple Bloom!"

There was the sound of stomping feet, and Apple Bloom lurched, yawning, into the living room, "Yeah, Granny, what...Applejack!" her eyes brightened up, all weariness left her face, and she sprang the videophone.

Applejack beamed, leaning her forehead against the monitor as though Applebloom might feel it across the space that separated them, "How ya doin' little sis? How's school?"

"It's okay, Sweetie Belle and Babs make sure I don't get too lonely," Apple Bloom replied. "Everybody's talkin' about Celestial Bein', sis, you're famous."

"I hope not, the Gundam Meisters identities are supposed to be a secret," Applejack said pointedly.

"Ah ain't told nobody, Applejack, come on. But does all this stuff mean that you can come home soon?"

"Ah wish it did, Apple Bloom, but we got a ways to go yet," Applejack said. "We're only just gettin' started with Celestia's plan."

"But ah miss you Applejack."

Applejack smiled sadly, "I miss you too, Apple Bloom. But I have to do this, for you more than anyone. When I'm through, you'll have a better world to grow up in. And I'll come home for a visit real soon, I promise."

"Really?"

"Do I ever lie to you, Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom whooped gleefully, "Yeehaw! Hey, Winona, Applejack's coming home!"

Winona bounded into the room, barking excitedly, and leapt into Apple Bloom's arms and started licking her face.

Applejack laughed, "You two take care of each other, you hear? Listen to what Granny Smith tells you and work hard at school, okay?"

Apple Bloom nodded, "When you gonna visit?"

"I don't know, but it'll be soon, honest," Applejack said. "Now, tell me how your day went..."

And as Apple Bloom narrated every small detail of her doings that day, Applejack leaned back with a smile upon her face and took in just what she was fighting for.

***

On the balcony of his private penthouse, Ponified Nations Special Envoy Discord stood in the night air, a cocktail glass held lightly in one hand. His flamboyant crimson suit stood out even more than usual in the darkness of the night, the moonlight shining down upon him like his own personal spotlight.

"There's something delightful about anticipation, isn't there?" he mused. "The whole world is standing on the edge of a great precipice, even if not everypony has realised it just yet. Soon they must leap into the unknown, and take their chances with the drop."

"Because if they don't, Celestial Being will push them off," Sombra murmured as he came to stand at the edge of the balcony. Sombra's young assistant, dark haired and fresh faced, with a dress sense that dwarfed his master's in its flamboyance, held a phone in his off hand. "We've received a call from the Federation ambassador."

"Celestial Being, I take it. I wonder if it isn't cause for despair, this failure of our elected leaders to act without guidance."

"I thought you'd be flattered that everyone wants your opinion. It shows how much you are valued by everyone."

"I suppose, though they may value me less when they hear what I have to say."

"Which is?"

"Jump," Discord smiled. "The world is on the brink of a revolution, Discord, the anticipation is like crystal. Listen to it, Sombra. The world is about to change."

And I, Sombra, shall reap the fruits of the revolution that has been set in motion. The plan may be yours, my dear Celestia, but the future is mine.

Discord laughed, "As the saying goes: 'Let the Lord of Chaos Rule.'"

***

In the royal palace of the Crystal Empire, in the personal apartments of Princess Cadance, the Princess and her aide Miss Harshwhinny sat watching a recording of Celestial Being's broadcast. Royal guards, their ceremonial armour gleaming, stood silent around the room, not reacting in the least to the sounds of the television. Out in the grounds, the Fanton Mobile Suits patrolled outside making loud clanking noises as they did so.

"It doesn't make any sense," Cadance murmured. "How can they propose to stop wars by fighting? It's madness."

"The world is full of mad people," Miss Harshwhinny said unsympathetically. "Some of them are a good deal closer to home than Celestial Being. You should think more about what this means for us."

Cadance's eyes widened, "You don't mean that Celestial Being could intervene in the Crystal Empire?"

Miss Harshwhinny frowned, "I don't think they will at the moment, but if we should lose control of the unrest among the people, then maybe. But for the moment, you should be thinking about how you can uses this to benefit the Crystal Empire."

Princess Cadance looked unsure.

"If you can't figure that out," Miss Harshwhinny's tone was as cutting as her name would suggest. "Then give up that crown and throne of yours, because you don't deserve to rule this country."

"You're wrong," Cadance stood up. "I will find the answer, not just to your question but to all the problems facing our country. After all, that's why parliament decided to the restore the monarchy in the Crystal Empire. Because I am the only one who can save this nation."

***

On a Federation transport plane somewhere over the ocean, Spitfire paced up and down in the passenger compartment. A single window allowed her to look down at the flight deck, where her FLAG was securely strapped down. She didn't spare the spindly mobile suit much mind though, her mind was on the garish rainbow Gundam she had seen that morning at the AU's demonstration.

Crescent Moon, looking much more relaxed that Spitfire as he leaned back on the bench provided, said, "Why do you think the General is so keen to fly us back to HQ?"

"Probably to get our evaluation on the Gundam in person," Spitfire replied distractedly.

"What will you tell him?"

"That that thing is something else," Spitfire said excitedly. "I think I'd have trouble duplicating some of the moves I saw that thing pull off. And that speed. How can something so much heavier than a FLAG move so fast in atmosphere. Is it those light particles it was giving off."

"That's as good an explanation as any, though I couldn't tell you what they were," Crescent Moon said. "I'll know more if I can analyse the data I recorded in a more scientific setting."

"I sure hope I get to see that Gundam again," Spitfire murmured.

Crescent Moon smirked, "Careful, captain, or people will start to think you're obsessed with it."

"Could you blame me if I was?" Spitfire asked. "But I don't think obsession is the right word. I think a better term would be: love."

"Love?" Crescent Moon sat up. "You're telling me you fell in love at first sight with a mobile suit?"

"Is that so weird?"

"Just a little bit."

"Captain Spitfire," the pilot's voice came over the intercom. "We're picking up two unidentified signatures on our scope. We think they might be Gundams."

"Gundams," Crescent Moon said. "What are they doing out here? Are they going to attack us?"

"If they were, they'd probably be jamming our signals like they did before. I think they're probably returning to base the same as us," Spitfire grinned. "That doesn't mean we have to give them a free ride."

"We're adjusting course to avoid them," the pilot said.

"No, hold your present course," Spitfire ordered. "And prep my FLAG for combat with an airborne takeoff."

Crescent Moon's eyebrows rose, "You're going to take on two Gundams in a FLAG? We still don't know half of what those machines are capable of."

"All the more reason to find out," Spitfire said. "And don't sell the FLAG short, especially not with a skilled pilot at the controls." The finest mobile suit the Federation has can't be that far behind the Gundams, can they? "With luck, I might even see that rainbow one out there."

"Aren't you a little worried about, you know, dying?" Crescent Moon asked. "You know that this craft can't recover the FLAG if it's too heavily damaged."

"Don't worry about it, who do you think I am?" Spitfire grinned. "I'm Spitfire, and I'm the mare who can make the impossible, possible."

***

"Okay, once we meet up with Pinkie Pie we'll stow the Gundams until we get our next mission instructions," Rainbow Dash announced. "You've got your ID and stuff, right, Rare?"

"Of course, darling, of course. It will be so good to see Sweetie Belle again. I do hope that girl hasn't gotten into too much trouble. Mother and Father spoil her terribly you know, its as if they're treating her like both their daughters in my absence."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. The Loyalty and Generosity were gliding along at a steady height above the ocean, with no enemy in sight and no expectation of a fight. That was why she and Rarity were free to banter like this, "I don't know why you and Applejack seem so fond of your families, Rarity. It all seems like dead weight to me."

"Rainbow Dash! I mean I can't deny that there is friction sometimes, and that sometimes it even escalates to near violent levels, but really darling you don't know what you're missing out on by not having a sister of your own."

"I'm sure whatever I'm missing is worth it to also miss out on all the stress," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I take it you don't want to come over for dinner tomorrow night then?"

Rainbow Dash laughed, "Nah, me and Pinkie are going to hit the streets tomorrow night and do something actually awesome."

"Are you saying that my family is boring?"

"A little bit."

"Well I never of all the uncouth..."

Rainbow Dash cackled with laughter for a while, until the HUD on the Loyalty started blinking with red lights and making the beeping sound of warning.

"Something's on the scope, closing fast," Rainbow Dash scrabbled to ready the Loyalty for combat. "It's a...a FLAG?"

***

Spitfire yelled as she closed with the two Gundams at top speed. Her spindly grey FLAG was in its flight configuration, horizontal and belly to the deck. The machine looked like an old fashioned jet fighter, except for the two lithe arms ending in tiny fists sticking out almost ahead of the nose, one hand gripping the mobile suit's beam rifle.

Spitfire gunned it towards her two targets, loosing a tight cluster of shots from the beam rifle as she did so. She missed, but she had always expected that she would. Her aim had been to split the two Gundams up, and that aim had been met.

One of the two Gundams was pale white, slim and slender, with an impractical purple ponytail flowing out of the back of its head. It's arms were mismatched: one was the typical Gundam arm, the other was much thinner, practically a metal tube with wires and pipes along the exterior, ending in a clawed gauntlet of some kind. The other Gundam was the garish, rainbow hued machine that Spitfire had seen take out the ENACT, then humiliate the AU Hellions around the orbital elevator. That was the one he singled out.

Care to dance, Ms Gundam? Spitfire flipped the machine into humanoid configuration mid-flight. Tactical doctrine, not to mention self-preservation, said that neither the pilot nor the machine could take the stress of flipping configuration mid-flight at high speed, that a pilot should slow down and exit the combat area before making the switch. Spitfire had never cared much for rigid doctrine or self-preservation, and she knew exactly how much the FLAG could take. In moments, the mobile suit resembled a slender man, the beam rifle held in one hand and a beam sabre grasped tightly in the other.

Spitfire roared as she slashed downwards with her beam sabre. The rainbow Gundam parried with her own sword.

"Imagine us meeting like this again, so soon," Spitfire mused on an open channel.

The voice that came back was younger than she had expected, "Who are you?"

"The name's Spitfire. Captain Spitfire. The mare who is obsessed with everything you are." Spitfire broke off, pirouetting in mid air to swipe sideways at the Gundam's head. The Gundam retreated. Spitfire pursued. "Your performance earlier today was fascinating. And now we meet again. I think that suggests a higher destiny at work." She launched a furious flurry of attacks that knocked the sabre out of the Gundam's hand. "Or maybe it's because you're not emitting those weird light particles!"

"Get away from her you uncouth barbarian!" the pilot of the other Gundam shrieked as she charged forward, the white Gundam zipping through the air with a beam sabre in each hand, the purple ponytail flapping behind it.

Spitfire backtracked as the white Gundam closed. It's arms rose, then slashed in an X formation with its twin blades. Spitfire tapped the back-thrusters to push the FLAG back. The sabres passed harmlessly down in front of it. Spitfire pushed her machine forwards to stand on the Gundam's arms, safe from its twin swords.

"You didn't take a shot at me to get me off your buddy," Spitfire said. "Instead you attacked with swords. That says to me that you don't have any ranged capability. Big mistake." She raised the beam rifle right into the Gundam's face.

The pilot of the rainbow Gundam roared and Spitfire barely had time to register it approaching faster than she could believe before the arm of her FLAG, beam rifle and all, was sliced off at the elbow.

"What the-" Spitfire put on a burst of speed to carry her upwards, the rainbow Gundam in hot pursuit. A very large, very solid, very metal sword was now protruding out of its right wrist.

"A physical blade, too?" Spitfire gasped. Then she grinned, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Gundam? Got anything more tucked away in their to show me?"

"Nothing that I need to take care of you," came the snarled response as the Gundam slashed at her. Spitfire parried with her beam sabre.

"Good. Don't you just hate it when you find out everything there is to know about a guy on the first date? It's a sure sign that the relationship is never gonna last."

"Relationship? What are you talking about?"

"But you and me, Gundam? I think we're going to go the distance."

"Wanna bet? Look down, sucker!"

Spitfire looked down just in time to see the white Gundam grab hold of the FLAG's left leg with her thin, gauntlet-claw arm.

"I may not have a lot of guns but I do have one or two surprises," the pilot of the other Gundam shouted. "Radiant Wave!"

The claw began to glow with red energy. The alarms on the FLAG began to sound as the leg of Spitfire's mobile suit began to bubble and boil like it was melting. The bubbles began to travel up the machine.

"Well, I can't say it wasn't fun," Spitfire said, slicing the damaged leg off the FLAG and pumping the engines for all they were worth to get her out of there. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you a rain cheque on this. You really are fascinating, Gundam. But next time we meet I'll have a couple of new tricks of my own."

The two Gundams didn't pursue. Instead they monitored him for a little while, resumed their previous course, then disappeared off his radar. They must have started generating that light.

"This is Spitfire to Transport Lima Zebra One Nine requesting pick up."

"What's your condition, Captain Spitfire?" Crescent Moon sounded unbearably smug. Spitfire knew that he already knew the answer, probably from having watched her mission recorder on a live feed.

Spitfire rolled her eyes, "I've lost an arm, a leg and the beam rifle."

"And who told you so?"

"You did."

"Yes I did, didn't I?" Crescent Moon said. "Fortunately, the telemetry you've been recording is so valuable it would have been losing the whole FLAG to obtain it."

"Except for how, you know, I'd be dead."

"Well, tactical trade off and all that," Crescent Moon chuckled. "Just kidding. Try to hold the mobile suit together and we'll come pick up. What you discovered is fascinating..."

***

It was early morning of the next day when Spitfire and Crescent Moon touched down at Cloudsdale Air Force base, where General Surprise was waiting for them in the commandant's office. She remained seated as Spitfire and Crescent Moon stood in front of her desk, returning Spitfire's salute from her seat.

"So, I fly you here because you've seen a Gundam, and now they tell me you duelled with one," Surprise kept her tone neutral. "What do you think of them?"

"They're exceptional machines, ma'am, and I'm sure we haven't seen everything they're capable of," Spitfire said. "But they're only mobile suits, piloted by people."

"So we can beat them?"

"They're not invincible if that's what you're asking ma'am," Spitfire replied. "The technology is more advanced than the FLAG, and they're good pilots, but they're not gods and the Gundams aren't invincible. Yes, I think we can beat them."

"Good," Surprise rubbed her eyes. "That means I didn't just spend the last two hours convincing the President not to mothball the Mobile Suit Corps just yet only to look like an idiot afterwards."

"The President was really considering giving in to Celestial Being's demands?" Crescent Moon asked, his tone both shocked and sceptical.

"I don't know if she really meant it, but she talked about it," Surprise said. "Peace plays well with the voters. Seeing the military getting curb-stomped on PNN, on the other hoof...there's a reason I wanted to know if it was hopeless."

"Two to one and I had them on the run some of the time," Spitfire said emphatically. "We can beat them general, I know it."

Surprise smiled, "I like your conviction. Proves that I made the right call. Captain Spitfire, Tech Specialist Crescent Moon, I am hereby assigning you to the Anti-Gundam Investigative Taskforce."

"The Anti-Gundam Investigative Taskforce?" Crescent Moon.

"You can think of a catchier name on your way down to Hurricane Base, that's where you'll report to Professor Zecora. She'll be heading up the unit, of course Captain you will have full command over operations in the field."

"Professor Zecora," Crescent Moon murmured, a smile tugging at his lips at the thought of working under his old teacher again.

"Your job will be to come up with anything: weapons, tactics, you name it, that will give us an edge against the Gundams, with an aim to capturing at least one if at all possible."

Spitfire said, "Ma'am, if we're going to take on Celestial Being I'll need some first class pilots backing me up. I'd like to request─"

"You'll get pilots, the best I can find," Surprise cut her off, a smile pulling on the general's mouth. "Another plane is waiting to take you to Hurricane. I suggest you get on it."

Spitfire and Crescent Moon slammed to attention with a salute, "Yes, ma'am!"

Surprise returned the salute, "The Federation's counting on you. Make me proud."

An Ethnic Conflict

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Chapter 3

An Ethnic Conflict

The transport plane touched down at Hurricane airforce base at 21:00 hours, the tyres of the aircraft screeching as it came to a stop upon the airstrip. The door opened and Spitfire rapidly descended down the stairs, her feet clattering on the metal steps as Crescent Moon descended more slowly behind her.

Spitfire was no stranger to Hurricane. It was here that she had been based while performing tests for the Federation's new mobile suit, the design that would eventually become the FLAG. Returning here was, in some ways, like coming home. The paint was a little more faded on the concrete, but the catseyes on the runway glistened just the same. Knowing the way, she hastened into the main hangar, leaving Cresent Moon to follow in her wake.

The hangar was big, spacious and well lit, with several FLAGs parked up next to one another in a neat line. One, a little ahead of the others, was already being crawled over by technicians. Standing on a ladder, directing the work, Spitfire recognised Professor Zecora, one of the Federation's top minds in Applied Physics & Engineering and the new director of the Anti-Gundam Investigative Taskforce.

"Hey, Professor!" Spitfire shouted.

Zecora looked her way, a smile breaking upon her striped face, "It is excellent to see you, Spitfire and Crescent Moon,
I regret that our reunion did not come more soon."

"And that it took an international crisis to bring us back together," Crescent Moon said, coming to a panting stop beside Spitfire. "It looks like you haven't wasted any time getting to work."

Zecora nodded, "While Celestial Being a danger poses,
Then we have no time to lose."

Spitfire stepped closer to the FLAG that was being worked upon. It looked a little different from the others, an altered shape that was nevertheless familiar to her. She gasped, "Is this-"

"The prototype? Why yes indeed,
It turns out to have many qualities we need," Zecora said.
"So I had it brought here from the stores,
That it might to our victory open doors."

Spitfire grinned, "Well if that doesn't take me back." The prototype version of the FLAG had been a different beast to the version that had ultimately made it into mass production. It had been faster and its main weapon had packed more of a punch, but the design committee had concluded that most pilots couldn't handle the excessive G-forces, and the power usage was unnecessarily high and wasteful for an air superiority MS.

"It looks like you're trying to upgrade the weapons system and the engine power," Crescent Moon said. When Zecora nodded, Crescent added, "That'll put a lot of strain upon the pilot."

"I can handle it," Spitfire said self-assuredly. "I just hope the other pilots can. Have they arrived yet? The general was kinda vague on who'd be making up this unit. Am I expected to take on the Gundams by myself, or are they going to send me a bunch of deadbeats who couldn't cut it back with other squadrons? I don't see why she wouldn't have told me if she had found some real pilots."

"That's about how it goes captain," a familiar, mellow voice called from the shadowy rear of the hangar. Soarin' stepped out of the darkness, hands in his pockets, "But then, it doesn't look like they could find a real CO for this new outfit either."

Other figures stepped out of the shade to stand beside Soarin' in a line as trim as the one the parked up FLAGs made: Blaze, Fire Streak, Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, Rapidfire, High Winds, Lightning Streak, Silver Lining, Wave Chill.

"You guys!" Spitfire could not keep her face fixed in it's stern expression. "Why didn't somepony tell me I'd be getting the best squadron in the air force?"

Soarin', and everypony else, came to attention with a salute, "501 squadron Wonderbolts reporting for duty with the Anti-Gundam Taskforce."

***

At Canterlot High, one of the premiere schools of the Pony Reform League, the students sat down in the cafeteria for lunch. Rumble let Diamond Tiara choose their table, a small, shiny surfaced, plastic thing, and sat down across from her. He stared at her for a moment, until she noticed.

"What's the matter?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Is my hair out of shape?"

"No," Rumble said definitely. "Your hair is great - beautiful! Like you."

Diamond Tiara giggled, "You're such a sweetheart, Rumble."

"It's true," Rumble insisted. "Every day I wonder how I ended up with a girlfriend like you."

She laughed again, "Flattery will get you everywhere Rumble." She favoured him with a kiss on one cheek, "That and doing all of my homework."

Rumble sighed, "Why do we have to know so much about history anyway? I want to be an engineer."

"Students must understand the past in order to understand the future," Diamond Tiara parroted their professor. "Hey, Rumble?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever think about your future?"

Rumble shrugged, "I guess."

"Am I in it?"

Rumble shrugged again, "I guess."

"You guess? And what the hay is that supposed to mean?"

Rumble became abruptly conscious that he had said absolutely the wrong thing, "Uh, calm down, Diamond─"

"Calm down? You just blew off our whole relationship and I'm the one who needs to calm down! You guess? Well if that's how you feel then maybe I should stop wasting my time!" she stood up so fast her chair fell over and began to stomp out of the cafeteria.

Rumble stared forlornly after her, until she turned and yelled at him, "Hello! This is the part where you chase after me, duh!"

"Oh, right," Rumble tried to ignore his burning cheeks and the laughter of his classmastes as he got off and began to pursue his lovely, fiery, unpredictable girlfriend.

***

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were among those laughing at Rumble's discomfiture as he fled the scene in pursuit of Diamond Tiara.

"You ever wish some stallion would chase after you that way?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Not really," Sweetie Belle replied. "I mean, it might be funny once, but there's nopony here I really care about that way. Maybe some day, but not right now."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tended to stick together at school, being the only other kid there to know about their family secret helped a lot in that regard, but their was genuine friendship there as well. And so it was on this particular day. They hung out all through classes, and then they both headed out together, where a finely dressed young lady was waiting for them at the gates.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cried out happily, rushing to embrace her sister in a hug.

"Oh it's good to see you too, Sweetie Belle," Rarity smiled. "And Apple Bloom, how are you darling?"

"Ah'm just great thank you Rarity," Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah got a call from mah sister last night."

"Oh marvellous," Rarity said. "Hopefully she'll get sent down here soon and you can see her in person. Now, who wants to go get something to eat?"

They spent the late afternoon together, as the sun began to set, until Rarity's cellphone rang.

"Hello, Rarity speaking," Rarity answered. "What? Right away? But it's so...yes, of course. Right away, Princess."

Sweetie Belle frowned, "You have to go, don't you?"

"I'm afraid so," Rarity replied. "Duty calls, as it were."

***

Rainbow Dash ran through the darkened streets, her feet pounding the rain sodden pavements.

"Would it kill them to give us a whole day off?" she muttered to herself as she dashed towards the abandoned warehouse where she had stowed the Loyalty.

***

On board the Harmony, Twilight Sparkle floated in the middle of a sea of data. She did not sleep, as ordinary people did. She...recharged in the hub linking the Harmony to the supercomputer VETA, which contained all the data from Princess Celestia's many years of planning Celestial Being's campaign for world peace. Twilight's eyes, which were open but unseeing, had turned from purple to gold as the information streamed through her brain.

"Twily?" Shining Armour's voice recalled her to the physical realm. "Twily, it's time to get up. We're moving out."

Twilight Sparkle kicked upwards, reaching for the lip of the tank to pull herself out of VETA's hub. She backflipped as she rose up towards the ceiling, descending back towards the cabin floor.

"You don't have to call me that you know," Twilight said unemotionally.

"What?" Shining Armour asked.

"Twily," Twilight replied. "There's nopony here but us. You don't have to pretend to be my brother within these walls."

"Do you not like it?"

"It doesn't bother me," Twilight said coldly. "I just thought the pretending might be hard for you."

"What if I'm not pretending?" Shining Armour asked.

Twilight affixed him with a knowing look, "We both know that isn't true." She's not my sister! She isn't even a real girl!

A flicker of shame flashed across Shining Armour's face, "Twily─"

"Celestial Being is staging another armed intervention, yes?"

Shining Armour nodded, "Yeah."

"Then we've no time to waste," Twilight Sparkle said, beginning to glide out of her cabin.

***

The sun was rising for the new day as Loyalty, Laughter and Generosity approached the rendezvous point.

"I do hope you girls aren't too unfit for duty after your night out," Rarity said, her tone somewhere between amused and concerned. "You are sure you're both okay?"

"I'm fine Rarity, come on, it's me," Rainbow Dash said. "You're okay, right Pinkie?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Pinkie's voice came over the com.

"You see Rarity?" Rainbow asked.

"You know your own bodies best, I'm sure."

The three gundams glided over the ocean, hovering for a few minutes at the rendez-vous point, until they saw the flames in the sky that marked the descent of the Magic, Kindness and Honesty down from space.

"Hey girls," Pinkie squeaked, as the Laughter waved one giant pink arm in the direction of the newly arrived Gundams. "How's it going?"

"Very well, thank you Pinkie," Fluttershy whispered. "And how are you Rainbow Dash?"

"Oh you know, the most awesome thing on two legs," Rainbow Dash said. "You feeling better now that the first mission's out the way?"

"Not really."

"Aw come on, this is a piece of cake. There isn't a mobile suit in the world that can touch a gundam," Rainbow Dash said.

"That isn't what I heard about a certain FLAG," Applejack remarked.

"That...is not the point."

"We should get moving," Twilight Sparkle said. "Stage Two of the mission is now in
progress."

"Right." the six Gundams formed up. The Loyalty, painted in rainbow colours but dominated by blue, took the lead. It was the most versatile gundam, the only machine that combined ranged and close combat capability in equal measure. That was why Rainbow Dash got to fly point: if they ran into any trouble she was best equipped to handle it whatever its nature.

That, and the Loyalty had the best pilot, but nopony else needed to be told that.

The close combat units, the Honesty and Generosity, had her back and wings. If they were engaged by enemy mobile suits, the best chance those two units had would be to get into close range as quickly as possible. The Honesty's lariat gave it a limited ability to respond at range, but the white and purple Generosity needed to get close enough to use its radiant wave surger in order to be truly effective, it didn't even have guns for point defence.

Behind them flew the Magic and the Kindness, with their heavy ranged capability, and lastly the Laughter, with the GN Rifle that Pinkie had dubbed the Party Canon. Whatever you chose to call it, it was the longest ranged weapon in Celestial Being's arsenal.

"Would now be a good time to tell us what the mission is exactly?" Applejack asked. "It might just be me imagining things, but it looks like we're headed for home. Mah home, that is."

"That is correct, Applejack," Twilight Sparkle's voice was discursive, intellectual, as if she were giving a lecture not flying into a combat zone. "The target of Celestial Being's second armed intervention is the region known as Appleoosa. This area has been the site of over a century of ethnic conflict between the majority buffalo and the minority pony population. Since the ponies are backed by the Pony Reform League and their military, they have the advantage in the war, but both sides have possessed supremacy at different points and both sides have committed atrocities against the other. Neither side deserves our sympathy. Celestial Being will intervene and separate the combatants, destroying their war-making capacity with extreme prejudice."

"Appleoosa," Applejack murmured. "Ah didn't think I'd be seein' this place again so soon."

"Are you all right, darling? I'm sure that the five of us could─"

"I ain't backin' out of nothing Rarity, don't you worry. Ah'm a gundam meister of Celestial Being and I got a job to do. I just think it's kinda strange is all. When I was a kid used to think the buffalo were the most folks in the whole world for that what they did to mah parents. Now I know that some ponies did things just as bad, or worse. Sometimes I don't know how ponykind got into space to begin with."

"Just because that are some people who do terrible things, doesn't mean that there aren't other people in the world capable of doing great and good things as well," Fluttershy said. "Ponykind has to be worth saving. If we lose faith in that, then Celestial Being's mission becomes pointless."

"Ah know Fluttershy, and ah believe it," Applejack said. "This here is just the kind of situation Celestial Being oughtta be intervein' in."

"An ethnic conflict," Rainbow Dash murmured, her hands tightening their grip upon the controls of the Loyalty.

"You say something, sugarcube?"

"An ethnic conflict," Rainbow Dash repeated, memories of long ago, memories she would rather have forgotten, stirring in response to the words.

Shells hammered into bombed out buildings. Sandy coloured metallic titans stomped through the ruined city, impervious to the bullets striking them from all sides, finishing off the last of the resistance almost contemptuously.

"This is a holy war fought in the name of Faust," the canned message came over the loudspeaker in the rich, gravelly voice.

Rainbow Dash ran for cover as one of her comrades was scythed down by fire from a PRL Fanton.

"We must destroy the unbelievers who trespass on the holy land of Faust," Thunderhooves continued.

"In this world, there is no Faust," Rainbow Dash murmured, clutching her useless rifle as though it was her hope of salvation.

"Ethnic conflict," Rainbow Dash growled. "Killing one another because we look different. What kind of a reason is that for all this killing? Somepony has to stop them!"

There was silence on the com before Rarity said delicately, "Um, Rainbow Dash, that's what we're going to do."

"Then we need to do it faster, come on!" Rainbow Dash snarled, gunning the Loyalty's engine, which exploded a shower of rainbow-coloured GN particles as the gundam sped forwards, leaving the other five mobile suits.

"Rainbow Dash, wait," Twilight called. "This isn't in the plan? Is it? Is 'Rainbow Dash goes crazy' part of the mission plan. It wasn't in VETA!"

"Don't worry girls, I'll look after her," Pinkie Pie said, accelerating the Laughter. "You carry on with the mission."

"Roger that," Applejack said. "And remember everypony, be careful out there."

"Right!"

***

Rainbow Dash sped towards the battlefield, a rainbow trail of GN particles in her wake.

This is holy war in the name of Faust.

"Ponies and buffalos," Rainbow Dash growled. "What the hay kind of reason is that to be killing one another?"

"Hey, hey, everybody, we've got something to say,
We may seem as different, as the night is from day."

"Not now Pinkie Pie."

"But you look deeper, and you will see," Pinkie Pie warbled.
"That I'm just like you and you're just like me so-"

"Pinkie, save it!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I'll stop this. With Loyalty I'll stop all the wars, all over the world. And I'll do it because my gundam and I are one! Gundam!"

The coastline came into view and Rainbow Dash flew over it, the flashes of gunfire and the distant sounds of fighting becoming less and less distant by the second.

The two factions battled over a shell-marked and war-scarred desolate plain. Generations of strife had rendered the once fertile region barely inhabitable, the fertile orchards burned to the ground, the towns and cities laid to waste, the sacred grounds bathed in blood and hallowed anew by fresh offerings of death. But still the two sides fought for a land in which neither could now live, simply because they had fought for it too long to stop.

The buffalo may have been the majority population of the region, but their forces were equipped only with the old Fanton mobile suits, the first generation PRL units now obsolete by any standard. Rainbow Dash stared at them, the sandy, boxy units exactly the same as those that had wiped out his comrades when they had fought for Faust and Thunderhooves. But while the Fantons then had seemed inviolable, invincible titans of the battlefield, gods among men, the buffalo Fantons were yielding ground as more and more of them were destroyed by the nimbler PRL Tierens.

The green Tierens were not objectively nimble, being themselves pretty blocky and bulky things, lacking the flight-capability as standard that the FLAG, the ENACT or the Helion possessed, but they were faster than the Fantons, smaller, yet just as well armed to all intents and purposes. It was no wonder that they dominated this battlefield.

"Well not any more," Rainbow Dash said. "Because now the new generation of mobile suits have arrived! Gundam is here!" He brought up the Loyalty's main gun and snapped off three shots into the melee. Three PRL Tierens exploded as soon as the beams hit them.

"It's a Gundam!" one of the PRL soldiers yelled over the open channel.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "That's never gonna get old."

The Loyalty descended to the ground, Dash folding her gun away as she drew her beam sabre and brought her shield down over her right hand. She struck an ass-kicking pose with her gundam long enough for the PRL soldiers to start voiding themselves, then began to attack.

The Loyalty might as well have been on rollers for the way it half skated, half glided through the battlefield, weaving in and out of the Tieren's fire while letting none of the munitions touch her, slicing the boxy green mobile suits in half, not looking back as the wrecked remains exploded.

"Party cannon, targeted and firing," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully as she covered Rainbow Dash's rear, eliminating a Tieren squadron trying to sneak up on her from behind. She then proceeded to take out the group of Long Range Cannon type Tierens, mounting heavy calibre howitzers on their heads, which were trying to lay range on Loyalty as she wreaked havoc among the ground types.

In a matter of minutes the entire PRL force had been completely wiped out.

The Fantons of the buffalo began to stomp forward.

"Hey, thanks for the assist, Gundam!" one of the buffalo signalled. "Come on fellas, let's press on and finish them off! Push forward and drive the ponies out!"

"You idiots," Rainbow Dash yelled, pirouetting in place to slice the two closest Fantons in half. Their upper halves toppled to the ground shortly before exploding. "Do you really think we came here to help you win your stupid war?"

Pinkie Pie giggled, "Celestial Being is opposed to all war, silly. That means you and the PRL are both as bad as each other." She started shooting up the buffalo next.

Elsewhere, the story was much the same. Rarity in the Generosity attacked the main PRL base, and wreaked havoc on the parked up mobile suits and vehicles before their pilots could even reach them. Using the Kindness' gun drones, Fluttershy was able to take out an entire buffalo column single handed. Twilight destroyed the PRL's naval forces, while Applejack took care of a force of Tieren's about to descend upon a large and defenceless buffalo refugee camp.

"I wonder what you'd say about me defending a bunch of buffalo ma," Applejack murmured as she lassoed a Tieren with her lariat and flung it over the battlefield into another mobile suit. "I hope you'd be proud of what we're all trying to do here."

"Alright everyone, stage five of the mission has been successfully eliminated," Twilight said. "Moving on to stage six, all gundams are to retreat to designated positions. Meisters will regroup for transfer back to space."

"Okay sugarcube, see you then."

"Okie dokie lokie," Pinkie Pie chirped eagerly. "You coming, Dashie?"

"Just a minute, you go on," as the other Gundams retreated from the field of their victory, the Loyalty remained upon the battlefield, surrounded by the burning corpses of enemy mobile suits, the sole survivor and thus the unchallenged victor of the battlefield.

"This is the power of a gundam," Rainbow Dash murmured. "And it's all mine, awesome!"

She was jolted out of this self-congratulation by the need to dodge a volley fired by a high-mobility Tieren, painted in khaki instead of the usual green, which glided on hoverjet wings attached to the back over the battlefield, firing at the Loyalty with its rifle.

"Who the hay is this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

The Tieren landed in front of the Loyalty, discarded its rifle, and slowly produced a blade from behind its back.

Rainbow Dash grinned, "So you want to go hand to hand do ya? Well if that's the way you want to play it buddy I'm happy to oblige."

The Loyalty charged forward, as the Tieren moved to meet it. Dash swung. The Tieren's move was sluggish. The Loyalty's Beam Sabre sliced through the Tieren's arm, cutting off hand and blade both. Rainbow Dash laughed as she passed the Tieren, then turned to finish it off─

Only to find the Tieren waiting for her as it beat her sabre out of the Loyalty's hand then clamped it's remaining hand over the Loyalty's face.

"What the─" Rainbow Dash said. Then she felt the pressure as the Tieren began to squeeze and pull. "Is this guy trying to take my head? No one touches my Loyalty you jerk!" With an angry roar, she activated the Loyalty's physical blade and sliced off the Tieren's other arm, toppling the machine over.

"No one touches my Loyalty!" Dash yelled again, activating the speakers. "You got that punk! No one! I really oughta finish you off for that, but you know what? Forget it. I'm done with this place. But no more war!" And with that stern admonition she took off, leaving a trail of rainbow particles in her wake.

***

"So, Colonel Cranky, I heard you actually duelled one of the Gundams."
"Yes sir," Colonel Cranky D. Donkey stood at stiff attention in front of the general's desk, his grey hairpiece neatly set upon his head so well it was near impossible to tell that it was fake. "I'm sorry I couldn't get a trophy like I wanted to."

"You survived, that's more than I can say for most of our people out there today," the general mused regretfully. "What did you think?"

"A good machine. An average pilot who could be good if she wasn't so cocky," Cranky said. "Very young."

The general nodded, "We're setting up a new unit specifically to destroy or, even better, capture a gundam. I'm putting you in charge. Any objections?"

"I've never objected to following orders before, sir."

"That's settled then. You can select your own personnel, completely free hand. Except for one soldier I recommend you take on. Bring her in!"

The door at the back of the room opened, and a young lady with grey skin, a golden mane and matching golden eyes that were slightly wall-eyed in their alignment strode resolutely into the room ─ right up until she tripped over the general's aspidistra.

Cranky blinked as the young lady picked herself up.

"Sorry about that. Super Soldier number one Lieutenant Derpy Hooves reporting for duty, sir."

Cranky eyed the general out of the side of his eye in case this was a joke, "I thought the Super Soldier programme had been shut down due to a lack of success."

"Apparently they produced a few viable subjects before they were shut down, Lieutenant Hooves being one," the general said.

"I've never been out of the institute until now, sir, I'm really looking forward to helping you kick some gundam ass!"

Cranky raised one eyebrow, "With all due respect lieutenant, how can you expect to pilot a Tieren when you can't even walk into a room?"

Derpy's face crumpled with disappointment. The general said, "The scientists say that her quantum brain waves, which give her an exceptional aptitude for space and mobile suit combat, interfere with her ordinary spacial awareness. I don't understand the jargon but the bottom line is: she's a demon in a mobile suit but clumsy as hell outside of it. Her presence on your team is an order, colonel, you'll need an ace in the hole against the Gundams."

"Yay," Derpy said. "I really hope we can become good friends, colonel."

Cranky sighed, "You are much too young for this."

Paper Trail

View Online

Chapter 4

Paper Trail

"Only a day after enduring a ferocious assault by the forces of the private armed organisation Celestial Being, the leadership of the Buffalo Free Army, the anti-government guerrillas operating in the Appleoosa region, has declared a provisional ceasefire and offered to open a dialogue with the government and the settlers in the region.

In a statement, the BFA leaders said that if hostilities broke out again in the region the fault would not lie with them, but with the-"

Rarity turned off the television before bringing her full attention back to her sister. She was sitting at the vanity in Sweetie Belle's bedroom, and with the small television set off she could give her little sister her full attention. "I hope you don't mind, Sweetie dear, but I have to live in that world too much as it is, I'd rather not bring it home with me."

Sweetie Belle sat on her big sister's lap, a contented smile on her face as Rarity ran a comb through Sweetie's hair. "It's fine. I get it. But aren't you proud of what you're doing, Rarity? You're really starting to change the world!"

"One victory, just the one," Rarity said. "I don't deny it's good news, especially for all those poor people in Appleoosa, but it's only a start, not an ending. We have such a long way to go."

"When will it be over?"

"I wish I knew, Sweetie," Rarity murmured in reply. "Only Twilight knows the full extent of VETA's plan, and she won't say. I do wish that girl would be more forthcoming, sometimes. All I know is that we have a lot of work ahead of us before we can call it a day."

"Is that why you have to go back into space again?" Sweetie Belle asked plaintively.

Rarity nodded, even though she knew that her little sister couldn't see her. "Partly. The other reason is that the Harmony needs the Gundams to be docked with it in order to recharge its power, but there is also the fact that it is easier to launch for an armed intervention from space."

Sweetie Belle made a disapproving noise from the back of her throat. "I was hoping you could stick around longer."

"So was I, darling, believe me. But, orders are orders. That's what it means to be a Gundam Meister. There, all done."

Sweetie Belle examined herself in the mirror. "Thanks, Rarity! Say, Rarity, can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What?"

"Why did you decide to become a Gundam Meister?"

Rarity hesitated for a moment, considering how she best say it. "I had no choice."

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked, climbing off Rarity's lap. "Did they make you?"

"No, it isn't like that at all," Rarity said quickly. "I meant...when I was approached by the princesses, when they explained to me that I was a match for the Generosity Gundam, when they explained the stakes to me, the plan...there was no way I could refuse. We're fighting to end war, Sweetie Belle, to bring about peace for the whole world. Millions of people. I have the chance to make a real difference to all their lives, to change things for the better. Or I can sit here, do nothing, and let the suffering continue. Faced with a choice like that, what option did I really have but to agree. For a goal like that, even the hardest work is worth it."

Rarity sighed, then smiled. "Now, if you don't mind, I've had quite enough of Celestial Being for one night. Let's talk about you instead. How's school?"

"Oh, it's fine. Me and Apple Bloom take care of each other."

"Don't you have any other friends?"

"Not really," Sweetie Belle admitted. "It's kinda hard, you know, having a secret like this...and there's Diamond Tiara."

"I'm sure she can't possibly be as bad as you make her out to be," Rarity murmured. "If she were she'd be a worse monster than any of my opponents."

"She really is!"

Rarity chuckled. "If you say so. And what about boys, is there anyone you like?"

"Rarity! Come on!"

Rarity kept on laughing.

In the middle of the southern desert, in the disputed territory between Advanced Unicornia and the Diamond Dog Republic, Thunderhooves pointed his rifle up into the air ad fired off a few rounds in frustration.

"Dammit," he growled.

The private military company Nightmare had been hired by the Unicornian diamond cartel to fight off the Diamond Dog raiders plaguing their gemstone mines in the area. But of course, even when they were fighting on the other side of the world Celestial Being had found a way to spoil their day.

In front of Thunderhooves lay a discarded mobile suite, abandoned by the Diamond Dogs in their retreat. Fear of Celestial Being had prompted them to withdraw and consider their position. Thunderhooves would as soon have pursued them and slaughtered the whole lot of them, but now the cartel had decided that they didn't want to draw an armed intervention near their mines, and so the mercenaries had been informed that their contract was now void.

Which was how the company found themselves stranded in the middle of an arid desert with no money and no transport out of here.

"Dammit," Thunderhooves repeated. He fired some more bullets not the air.

Sunset Shimmer sat perched on the cockpit lid of her custom Tieren, a souped-up model she had painted red and dubbed the Solar Flare. Her legs swung idly as she rested her chin upon her hands.

"Well, this sucks," Sunset murmured. "Hey, maybe if they aren't willing to pay us fight, they'll pay us something to stop fighting?"

Thunderhooves considered it, turning around so that he was facing the rest of the camp: twenty mobile suits and more than a hundred men trying to keep warm in the cold desert night. "You know, you might actually have something there. If we started terrorising their damn mines they'd pay to get rid of us fast enough."

"Or they might simply allow Celestial Being to finish us off," Nightmare Moon said. The commander of the company was sitting at the foot of her ENACT, scrolling through her touch screen.

"After they brought us here?" Sunset said. "Celestial Being might call it karmic justice if we turned on them."

Nightmare chuckled. "Perhaps, but I'd rather not take the risk."

"I thought we were going to fight Celestial Being?" Thunderhooves reminded her.

"Oh we are, certainly," Nightmare replied smoothly. "But on our terms, and at a time of our choosing. For now, patience is the order of the day."

"Patience?" Thunderhooves demanded. "Patience isn't going to make us any money."

"Probably not," Nightmare Moon replied, neither raising her voice nor taking her eyes off her computer screen. The commander was a tall, lithe woman with dark blue skin and a face that she hid behind a silver mask covering the top half of her face. She smiled. "Patience will, on the other hand, reward us with a chink in Celestial Being's armour." She chuckled. "Oh, Celestia, you are not nearly so inscrutable as you believe."

"Celestia?" Strongheart asked, getting up from the fireside where she had been huddling for warmth. "That's the name of the woman who was on TV, right? After Celestial Being's first armed intervention."

"The one who wants to put us out of business, yeah," Thunderhooves growled. "I'd like to put a bullet between her eyes."

"That would be quite an achievement, considering she has supposedly been dead for the past two hundred years," Nightmare Moon murmured.

"Dead?" Sunset said. "So who did we watch on television that night? Her ghost?"

"A hologram?" Strongheart suggested.

"A pre-recorded message from the past?" Thunderhooves said.

"At the moment, it is impossible to say for sure," Nightmare Moon said. "But the very fact that they revealed that, at some point, Celestia was involved in the plans of Celestial Being, to the point of giving the organisation her name, is very interesting."

"Who was Celestia?" Strongheart asked.

"A brilliant scientist and politician," Sunset answered from on top of her mobile suit. "Designed the solar array and negotiated the treaty between the three great powers to get the orbital generators built. Also did some work in cloning."

"And then she disappeared along with her sister, presumed dead," Nightmare Moon finished off the tale. "But not, apparently, before she had set in motion a plan to end war by...waging war on everyone at once."

"Whatever," Thunderhooves grunted. "What's this lead your so proud of?"

"I was just looking through the records of Celestia's solar power research. Specifically, I've been looking through the lists of her colleagues. A lot of very well known names there, who enjoyed distinguished careers prior to collaborating with Celestia and, indeed, continued to be prominent in their fields afterwards: Starswirl, Clover, Smart Cookie. But one name leapt out at me: Apple Crumble."

"Who?" Sunset asked.

"Precisely," Nightmare said. "Apparently she was somewhat well known in molecular physics, and with something of a reputation as a maverick; after the theoretical stage of the solar generator project ended and construction began she...left. According to everything that I can find out she never published any more scientific papers, worked in no institutions or indeed held down any kind of recorded job at all. She retired at the age of thirty-five into a life of complete anonymity."

"It happens," Thunderhooves said.

"Perhaps," Nightmare replied. "But, it might also be the case that Miss Crumble, having met Celestia on the project, became a part of her plans to achieve world peace. Remember, she was a radical thinker in molecular physics."

"And those gundams give off weird particles," Sunset murmured. "You think this Apple Crumble helped develop the Gundams power source?"

"How does it help us if she did?" Thunderhooves asked.

Nightmare smiled. "The Apple Family has continued to survive to this very day."

"It doesn't make them all members of Celestial Being," Thunderhooves replied. "I was born in Appleoosa but I'm not a member of the BFA."

"Indeed you're not, or you would have put down your gun already," Nightmare Moon remarked. "But as it happens, the current generation of the Apple family includes several family members who, like Apple Crumble before them, hold no jobs, file no taxes and have no homes to call their own. Two of them do, however, have a little sister who lives in Canterlot in the PRL, and who attends school there."

Thunderhooves chuckled. "So you're plan is to snatch the kid and make Celestial Being fight us on our own terms?"

"It may yet come to that," Nightmare said, shutting off her computer. "But I would rather not fight the gundams without more information than is available to us at present. Information I think that young Miss Apple Bloom may be able to provide, to a sufficiently skilled undercover operative."

Sunset grunted as she leapt off the lid of her mobile suit cockpit, dropping the dozen feet to the ground to make a perfect landing as her leather jacket flapped around her. "Say no more boss," she declared, striking a confident pose with her thumb up. "Sunset Shimmer is on the case!"

There was a moments silence before the camp began to resound with the sound of laughter.

"What?" Sunset demanded, her expression turning to outrage as her voice rose. "You assholes don't think I could pass for a high school kid? I'm only seventeen, you know!"

"Does that mean I shouldn't be having pervy fantasies about her?"

"I HEARD THAT, JACKASS!" Sunset roared.

When Nightmare Moon spoke, it was in between bouts of laughter. "I have no doubt that you could gain admittance into Canterlot High, Sunset. I even think that you could take it over inside a week. Unfortunately, I doubt that terrorising Miss Apple Bloom and the entire student body is the right way to go about getting the information we require. Actionable intelligence will have to be teased out of her, by a friend. Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo had been sitting by herself, cleaning out her rifle by the side of her own small campfire. She looked up at the sound of her name. "Yes, ma'am?"

"How would you like to get an education?"

Sunset looked from Nightmare to Scootaloo then back again. "The robot? You're sending the robot over me?"

"She is the young girl's own age."

"She's got no emotions, she's creepy," Sunset yelled.

Scootaloo stood up. "I'll do whatever you ask me to."

"There! There, you see, if she was a freakin' person she would have gotten upset about me insulting her," Sunset said.

"I'm sure that Scootaloo will prove more than capable of the task," Nightmare said, her voice full of self-assurance. "After all, how hard it can be to befriend one little girl?"

Rumble had gotten home before his big brother. That happened more often than not, so often that he found it more surprising to find Thunderlane at home nowadays, and so Rumble had started making dinner when Thunderlane finally did come home, huffing angrily as he closed the door loudly behind him.

"Bad day at work?" Rumble asked.

Thunderland huffed under his breath. Then he sighed as he sat down on the couch. "I suppose I don't have the right to complain. The boss liked my piece on Celestia. But..."

"But what?" Rumble called from the kitchen, pushing bits of meat around a wok with a wooden ladle.

"I think I might have a lead on Celestial Being, but the editor won't let me chase after it. He says it too much of a long shot, but what do we have right now but long shots?"

"A lead?" Rumble asked. "What kind of a lead?"

"Something that could reveal who Celestial Being really are, what they really want," Thunderlane said.

"Does that stuff matter?" Rumble said. "I mean, you must have heard about Appleoosa; if Celestial Being is doing good work like that, then does it really matter who they are? What if your lead means they aren't able to eliminate war any more?"

"It's a reporter's job to get to the truth, no matter how unpleasant that truth is, no matter how much mud you have to wade through to get there, no matter how dangerous it is to find," Thunderlane replied angrily. "That's what Mom always believed, and I believe it too. If these Celestial Being types are going to pass themselves off as heroes to the world then the world deserves to know who they really are."

Rumble frowned, his head bowing. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "Be carefuly, big bro. Remember what happened to Mom, in the end."

Thunderlane got up, walking into the kitchen to put one hand on Rumble's shoulder. "I know. I won't pretend that my work isn't dangerous, but I honestly think this lead is one of the safest I've ever investigated. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you to help me."

"What?"

Thunderlane exclaimed about Apple Crumble, the maverick scientist who had disappeared from the public eye after working with Celestia on the solar power generation system.

"The only one of her descendants who isn't shrouded in mystery is your schoolfriend Apple Bloom," Thunderlane finished. "I think she might know something."

"Apple Bloom, know something about Celestial Being?" Rumble said. "You know, she's kind of an idiot."

"All the same, I want you to get close to her and find out what she knows," Thunderlane said firmly.

"You want what?" Rumble exclaimed. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because my girlfriend hates her! I Diamond sees my cosying up to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she'll break up with me!"

Thunderlane smirked. "Really? That's an unexpected bonus."

"Hey!"

"Oh, come on, you really think you're relationship is going to last. A rich girl like her isn't going to settle down with someone like you and, honestly, you'd be better off with someone who wasn't so demanding. Someone like Apple Bloom, maybe?"

"I'm not breaking up with my girlfriend just to help you out with your job!" Rumble yelled.

"I need your help," Thunderlane said. "I can't chase this up because everyone else thinks it's too implausible, but I know there has to be a connection between the Apple Family and Celestial Being, it's the only explanation for Apple Crumble's retirement that makes any sense. But I can't investigate, and if I confront Apple Bloom she'll deny everything. I need to get info from her indirectly, info that she doesn't know she's giving away. You're the only person I can trust to get that for me." Thunderlane's eyes widened, until he was more a puppy than a big brother.

Rumble sighed. "Uh, okay, I'll do it. I just hope Diamond doesn't notice or get too upset."

A Sequence of Rescues

View Online

A Sequence of Rescues

“Now, class, we have a new student joining us today, so I want you all to make her feel welcome,” Cheerilee said. “Everyone, this is Scootaloo.”

Cheerilee waved Scootaloo in from outside the classroom, so Scootaloo opened the door and walked in with a catlike grace, her eyes darting in all directions as she analysed threat levels, escape routes, and searched for her target.

She found her, sitting on the second row, her red hair tied back in a large bow: Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo stopped walking, turned to face the class, and bowed. “Hello.”

Cheerilee smiled slightly. “So, Scootaloo, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?”

Scootaloo’s booted foot slammed into the floor as she sprang to attention. “My name is Scootaloo. My hobbies are flying and maintaining engines. Thank you.” She bowed again.

The rest of the class stared at her. Nobody said anything. Scootaloo waited for something to happen. Should I bow again?

“Thank you, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee said. “Now, why don’t you sit at the free space next to Apple Bloom? There’s no need to be nervous.”

Nervous? Scootaloo thought. Why would I be nervous? She had been shot at, she had fought in mobile suit combat, she had once suffered damage to her ejection system and been trapped in a crippled helion while a battle raged around her. Compared with that, why should high school hold any terrors for her?

Scootaloo walked between the desks and students and sat down at the seat indicated, to the left of her target. Her orders were simple: gain Apple Bloom’s trust and discover exactly what she knew about Celestial Being.

As missions went, it was one of the easier objectives she had ever been assigned. Not so simple as the time she had been ordered to take out a drone squadron, simpler than the time she and Sunset had had to destroy a fuel depot together. Surely she, a spy and soldier, would have no difficulty gaining the trust of an ordinary high school girl.

“Hi there,” Apple Bloom said cheerfully. “My name’s Apple Bloom, and this is my friend Sweetie Belle.”

“Hi,” said a white girl with lilac and pink hair as she waved at him.

“Hello,” Scootaloo said. She opened her mouth to say something else… but nothing came out as Scootaloo hit the snag that instantly made this mission a whole lot harder than blowing up fuel dumps or ambushing aid convoys: having been raised from a young age in a camp full of mercenaries, she had absolutely no idea what to say to high schools who did not, presumably, care about weapons, mobile suits, battle tactics or the minutia of engine, vehicle or weapon maintenance.

Fortunately, Apple Bloom came to her rescue. “So when you said you liked flying, what did you mean?”

“Are your parents really rich and have their own plane?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Quiet now, class is starting,” Cheerilee declared, giving Scootaloo time to think of an answer that did not involve explaining that she usually flew her custom red helion with go-faster stripes.

The class was history. Scootaloo found it interesting enough, mainly because she didn’t know any of it – education hadn’t been a top priority for her amongst the Nightmare Company – but tried very hard not to get called upon to answer in class. Unfortunately, no one seemed to want to be called on in class, making it completely random who would get picked, and so Scootaloo was once called upon to express her ignorance of the history of the Pony Reform League.

While in class, Scootaloo also noticed a body paying close attention to Apple Bloom. His skin was grey and his hair was black, and he kept on shooting glances in Apple Bloom’s direction. Scootaloo wondered if he might be Apple Bloom’s boyfriend, but then how to explain the dirty looks that he kept getting in turn from a pink-skinned young lady with a crown set among her grey-and-white locks. Besides, pre-mission intelligence had not mentioned a boyfriend. Was he a threat then? Perhaps, but Scootaloo could handle a high school boy, she had been trained in hand to hand combat by Nightmare Moon herself.

Unless he was a plant just like she was, for the Reform League government or another mercenary company that had put two and two together like Nightmare had. Or had could be a bodyguard for Apple Bloom, assigned by Celestial Being to protect her. Assuming that Nightmare Moon was correct, and Apple Bloom had valuable intel.

Scootaloo leaned in. “Who’s that guy?”

Apple Bloom followed the line of Scootaloo’s gaze. “Who, Rumble? What about him?”

“He keeps looking at you,” Scootaloo said, and as she spoke Rumble snatched another furtive gaze in Apple Bloom’s direction.

“Maybe he likes you,” Sweetie Belle whispered.

“Nah,” Apple Bloom said, shaking her head. “We would have heard somethin’ if he’d broken up with Diamond Tiara.”

“She doesn’t look too happy about him right now,” Sweetie said.

“Ahem,” Cheerilee said sternly. “Would you girls like to pay attention or will I keep you in after class?”

“Sorry Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said solemnly.

“Sorry,” Scootaloo murmured, feeling no better off now than she had been before. Rumble was not, it appeared, Apple Bloom’s boyfriend; mission intel had been accurate. But that did not mean that he wasn’t a threat, except that he was not, as she was, a new transfer student: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle knew him and his relationships.

Unless someone was playing a long game and had inserted Rumble into the school some time ago. But Celestial Being had only been public knowledge recently.

Unless someone knew that this was all coming a long time before Celestial Being’s activities began.

No, that was hardly possible. Nobody stood to gain by Celestial Being’s activities, so if anyone had known about them they would have put a stop to the campaign before it started. Wouldn’t they?

Class finished, and everybody went to lunch. Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle from a discreet distance. She noticed that Rumble was doing the same, not seeming to pay much attention to that other girl, Diamond Tiara, for all that she was talking his ear off.

Scootaloo got her lunch, and then approached the table that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were sharing.

“Can I sit here?” she asked.

The two girls looked at one another. “Sure, I guess,” Apple Bloom said.

“Thank you,” Scootaloo said, as she sat down.

“You don’t smile very much, do you?” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo blinked. “Smile. Why would I smile?”

“Why? Ain’t you happy?” Apple Bloom said.

Scootaloo shrugged. “I don’t know. How would I know if I was happy?”

The two girls exchanged another glance. “You’re kind of weird, aren’t you?” Sweetie said. “Like…why don’t you eat something?”

Scootaloo put a couple of chips in her mouth.

“Do you like it?” Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo nodded.

“Then you should show it on your face,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Hey, girls,” Rumble said, providing another much-needed rescue for Scootaloo. His voice trembled a little as he said, “So, what are you doing? Is this seat taken? Can I sit here?”

Apple Bloom looked at him, “Uh-“

“Rumble!” snapped Diamond Tiara, slamming her tray down on another table. “What are you doing?”

“I’m sitting down for lunch?” Rumble ventured.

“I can see that you dummy!” Diamond yelled. “What I want to know is why you’re sitting with those losers when you’re supposed to be eating with me?”

“I can’t sit where I like?”

“Of course not!” Diamond shouted. “Not if you still want to be going out with the most popular girl in school.”

Rumble’s eyes widened with panic. “Diamond Tiara, now wait a minute! Don’t do anything to hasty!” Unfortunately for him, Diamond Tiara had already turned on her heel and started walking away. Rumble dashed after her, babbling apologies.

“She really doesn’t like us, does she?” Sweetie said.

“She’s never liked us,” Apple Bloom replied. “More importantly, what’s with Rumble all of a sudden?”

That’s a good question, Scootaloo thought. What is with Rumble?

Rainbow Dash sipped on a mug of cider while she waited for the other meisters to arrive. She was stood at a little table in the lounge of the civilian departure bay for the PRL Orbital Elevator. In the docking bay just beyond, shuttles were continually running up the elevator into space, before descending back down again. Here, in the white, almost sterile lounge, devoid of colour save for a few couches of dark leather, there was just a hubbub of people waiting to board their designated shuttle. Rainbow watched them idly, trying to spot her fellow meisters through the press. “Come on, what’s taking all you guys so long?”

“I hate to criticise, Rainbow dear, but don’t you think it’s a little early for that sort of thing?” Rarity asked, indicating the cider as she walked up to her table, clad in a not especially inconspicuous civilian ensemble that included a white jacket with a fur trim, a short black skirt and high boots and a purple scarf draped fetchingly around her neck.

Rainbow replied, “Well, if you guys would have got here sooner then I wouldn’t have gotten bored, would I?”

“Well excuse me for wanting to say goodbye to my sister,” Rarity said, a touch of asperity creeping into her voice.

Rainbow’s eye was drawn to a large gathering of teenagers, and to the harassed looking teacher attempting to marshal them into some semblance of order. She sort of recognised Rarity’s little sister, and soon spotted Applejack talking to her little sister. As Rainbow watched the two hugged briefly, then Applejack wandered over to join Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

Standing not too far away from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle was an orange-skinned girl with purple hair in a spiky style. She was unusual for the girls of Canterlot High in that she was the first student Rainbow Dash had seen – not that she made a habit of paying attention to the school that Applejack and Rarity’s sisters went to, but after being shown enough photographs it was hard not to notice – who wasn’t wearing a short skirt and high boots combo. Instead, she was wearing a pair of slacks and trainers, with a dark hoodie on top. The sheer drabness of the ensemble made her stand out in the array of bright colours represented by her classmates, and that was, at the very least, interesting.

The girl seemed to realise that she was being stared at, because she suddenly looked straight at Rainbow Dash, who was surprised at what she saw in those purple eyes: an undeserved experience that she recognised every time she looked in the mirror. That girl had seen more than her years warranted.

Rainbow Dash looked away, while still keeping an eye on that girl. “Hey, Rarity, Applejack, who’s that over there with your sisters.”

“Hmm?” Rarity looked over. Sweetie Belle, who assumed that Rarity was looking at her, waved, and Rarity waved back as she kept on talking. “That’s Scootaloo. She’s a new transfer student, I think.”

“She sits next to Apple Bloom,” Applejack added. “My sister says she’s a little bit weird, but I don’t reckon there’s any harm in her.”

Rainbow frowned. “Weird like how.”

Applejack shrugged. “She’s a little bit like Maud, I think, she doesn’t like to wear her heart on her sleeve.”

Rainbow risked a glance back at Scootaloo, who was still staring at her, and then looked away.

“Aren’t they a little old for a class trip?” Rainbow asked.

“It ain’t just a trip,” Applejack said. “How many people get to go up the orbital elevators?”

“Not as many as want to, I bet,” Rainbow conceded. “Still, what if someone recognises you two and wonders what you’re going up into space for?”

“That’s why we’re taking the shuttle after them, and getting off at a lower station,” Rarity said. “As far as anyone knows we’re just here to say goodbye to our little sister’s.”

Rainbow nodded. She felt someone coming up behind her and whirled around, only to come face to face with the impassive countenance of Maud Pie.

“Hello,” she murmured.

Rainbow sighed. “Do you have to startle me like that every time?”

“I suppose not,” Maid said, which was not an indication that she wouldn’t do it again. “I’ve come to give you your assignments.”

“Shouldn’t that wait until the others arrive?” Rarity asked.

“Luna and Celestia decided to stagger the return to the Harmony,” Maud explained. “You three will be going up first. Transport for the gundams has been arranged via the Chaos Corporation. From the low orbit station, you will proceed to the Harmony to recharge. The Magic and Kindness gundams will follow you tomorrow.”

“What about Laughter?” Rainbow asked. “What about Pinkie Pie?”

“Pinkie has been assigned a mission by Celestia,” Maid said tonelessly.

“Why weren’t we informed about this change of plans?” Applejack said.

“You’re being informed now,” Maud said, although her lack of emotion kept her words from stinging too badly. “I should go now, before we’re noticed. Good luck.” For the way she said it she might as well have been commenting on how hot or cold her coffee was. She turned away from the three meisters, and walked away into the crowd.

“What’s with her?” Rainbow said to the other two. “And how can Pinkie’s sister be so unlike her?”

“I love Sweetie Belle, but she and I don’t have that much in common,” Rarity said. “Oh look, there they go.”

Rainbow looked to see the schoolkids being shepherded into the departure lounge, and until the doors shut to separate the two areas, Scootaloo did not take her eyes away from Rainbow Dash, not for a second.

Why am I surrounded by weird people? Rainbow asked herself.

Because you joined an army led by a creepy cultist when you were ten, fought until your country was destroyed then joined a private military devoted to creating world peace by destroying the armed forces of every major power in the world, Rainbow’s brain supplied the answer.

Smartass

But there had been more to Scootaloo than just Maud-esque oddity. There had been a kinship there, a spark of recognition. Rainbow felt uncomfortably that the two of them were alike, and that one day they would face each other across a deadlier place than this.

“Rainbow Dash? Is everything okay?” Applejack said.

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, everything’s fine. So how long until we leave?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle settled themselves into one of the cabins on the shuttle that would take them up to the lower levels of the orbital elevator.

The door opened with a whooshing sound as Scootaloo walked in. “Hey, girls, do you mind if I share your compartment?”

“No, I guess not,” Apple Bloom murmured as Scootaloo sat down and buckled herself in. She kept an eye on Scootaloo, a little warily. It was not that she begrudged the new girl the effort to make friends at a new school, but there was something off about her. Maybe it was the way she only seemed to want to hang out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle who were, not that they would ever admit this, not high on the ladder of social status at Canterlot High. In the few weeks she had been at school Scootaloo had established herself as an incredible athlete – she could beat any member of the track team without any visible effort whatsoever – a gifted student and she was pretty cute too. There were any number of cliques that would have welcomed her with open arms, her unusual dress sense – she was the only girl in the whole school who didn’t wear a short skirt and high boots, instead wearing slacks and sneakers under a dark green hoodie – notwithstanding.

So why did she want to hang out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? Why did she want to associate with the losers, and only with the losers? It didn’t make a lot of sense, to Apple Bloom’s way of thinking, and that bothered her a little bit. She would have talked to Applejack about it, but she didn’t want to bother big sis with her little problems when her older sister was out saving the world and all.

The door opened again. “Oh, look, Diamond, there are spare seats in this compartment.”

“These losers again, are you kidding me?”

Of course, the mystery of Scootaloo was as nothing compared to the inexplicable behaviour of Rumble.

“It’s just a coincidence Diamond-“

“Don’t you dare tell me that this just a coincidence!”

It was weird. Apple Bloom was pretty well convinced that Rumble did not, in fact, like either Sweetie or herself; it seemed clear to her that he still liked Diamond Tiara. And yet he was acting like a boy who wanted to get himself dumped, the way he kept trying to force his company on other girls, and other girls his girlfriend hated what was more.

Diamond Tiara folded her arms. “I don’t care what you’re up to, Rumble, but I’m not sharing a compartment with these losers.”

The PA system kicked in. “The shuttle will be launching in thirty seconds. For safety reasons all passengers must be seated and secured until further announcement.”

“Come on, we have to sit somewhere,” Rumble said, sitting down next to Sweetie Belle and buckling himself in. Diamond Tiara was balked in her efforts to sit opposite him – that seat was taken by Scootaloo – so she sat next to him, glaring at Apple Bloom as she did so.

“I don’t care what ideas you three have about stealing my boyfriend,” she said with a snarl, grabbing Rumble’s arm possessively. “But you can just forget about it. He’s mine!”

Rumble stammered something, while Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at Diamond Tiara’s melodrama and pointedly looked away. Not long after the shuttle began to move, following the magnetic tracks up the interior of the orbital elevator column. The force of the assent pushed Apple Bloom backwards into her seat, pressing against her chest with the force of a bodybuilding, while opposite her she could see Sweetie Belle nearly falling out of her seat, held in only by the brown strap of her seatbelt.

The force lessened the higher they rose, replaced by the weightless sensation that accompanied the weakening of earth’s gravity. Rumble put on the educational film about the orbital elevator, but was swiftly distracted by Diamond Tiara floating out of her seat and into his lap, giggling and making goo-goo eyes at him while she ate chips provocatively.

Her determination to fight for her man would have been admirable if she had not been so completely mistaken about the battle.

Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, had floated up to the ceiling of their compartment and was doing barrel rolls. “Come on, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo. This is really fun.”

Apple Bloom unbuckled her seat and pushed herself off into the air. As she turned round, she noticed that not only was Scootaloo making no move to follow, but she was also gripping her seat so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, and her face was pinched with nervousness.

“Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom murmured. “Are you okay?”

Scootaloo let out a pinched breath. “I don’t like space that much.”

“Have you been into space before?” Sweetie Belle asked. “When? What was it like?”

“A couple of times with my mom, for work,” Scootaloo said slowly. “It was… I didn’t like it very much.”

“Why not?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Because I could do everything right, make the smart choice at every turn, and still die because of things I can’t control,” Scootaloo muttered. “I can’t hardly stand it. People aren’t meant to live out here.”

On a higher level of the orbital elevator, Colonel Cranky D Donkey stood side by side with Lieutenant Derpy Hooves, looking through a large window at the MS hangar bay beyond. Outside, technicians in space suits were servicing dark blue Tierens outfitted for use in space and high atmosphere. One machine in particular, however, was the focus of the two officers attention, distinguished by its light pink paint job.

“The Tieren Taotse,” a voice announced over the intercom. “A brand new prototype for the next generation of Tierens. We have high hopes that, together with Lieutenant Hooves’ piloting, this will become our ace in the hole against the gundams.”

“Sounds really cool, doesn’t it boss?” Derpy asked, her eyes widening.

Cranky eyed her out of the side of his eyes. You are much too young for this, he thought, not for the first time and probably not for the last. He wasn’t an idealist or a fool, he knew that war inevitably involved old men sending young men out to die on their behalf, but there was something about putting all their hopes to stop Celestial Being on a girl younger than his son that stuck in his craw, wonder weapon or no.

“Even if it is everything you hope it is, it’s still just one mobile suit,” he said. “Celestial Being has four.”

“It’s better than nothing, sir,” Derpy said. “And I promise, no I swear, that I won’t let you down.” She tried to turn on her heel to face him, snap off a salute and slam her other foot down onto the deck, but ended up bringing down her boot upon her other foot instead. “Ow!”

Cranky kept his face expressionless. Maybe I think you’re too young for this because you’re such a klutz. It was hard to imagine someone who tripped over their won feet as a hotshot pilot, supersoldier programme or no. Of course, if this was the level of results that they were getting maybe that’s why they shut the programme down.

Cranky dismissed that thought, it was ungenerous towards an officer who was, at the very least, keen to do her part. And she wouldn’t be the first awkward and uncoordinated teenager to shine in the cockpit of a mobile suit.

“Well, we won’t know what this machine is capable of from staring at in the hangar,” he said. “Suit up, lieutenant, we’ll take this Taotse out for a test-drive.”

Pinkie Pie stood on one of the outer promenades of the orbital elevator, staring out of the window at the stars beyond.

Unlike some of her fellow gundam meisters, Pinkie didn't particularly relish returning to the cold depths of space. She couldn't enjoy the stars the way that Twilight did. They were too sterile, too cold, too lifeless. The ground, for all its faults, was full of life and full of possibilities. People could have fun down there, they could only survive up here.

Speaking of fun, this mission was proving anything but. Staring out of a window waiting for a glimpse of the PRLs new mobile suit, was this it? She would have much rather gone found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and organised a party, and the only reason she didn't was because she knew that Applejack and Rarity wouldn't like it if she put the girls in danger. Not that she wanted anything to happen to them anyway, the whole reason she'd become a Gundam meister was for the children. They might not think much of her right now, but when they could play in the sun all day without any worries at all thanks to the world peace created by Celestial Being, they'd think of her actions with more fondness.

It was all worthwhile, because it was for the children.

The whispering and pointing of people around her alerted Pinkie to the fact that something was going on outside the window. Paying attention, she saw movement: mobile suits. Space-type Tierens, one the standard purple paint job, the other a light pink, just like Pinkie herself.

"What a coinci-" Pinkie began to murmur, before the pink mobile suit flew too close and Pinkie began to scream.

Her head felt as though it was getting shot through with needles. She felt as though her eyes were going to pop out of her head. She felt as though she was going to wear out her voice with screaming. Pinkie collapsed onto the deck of the promenade, clutching at the sides of her head, screaming as her poofy hair deflated, covering one eye, and a voice inside her head crowed triumphantly I'm free! Free at last

Oh no, Pinkie thought. Oh, please, not you.

That's right! Pinkamena's here, baby!

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Lieutenant!" Cranky yelled as the Tieren Taotse spun out of control, pirouetting like some crazed ballerina through space, coming dangerously close to colliding with the elevator at least twice as it weaved erratically. "Lieutenant Hooves, what's going on?"

"Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Dammit!" Cranky scowled as he contacted control. "Control, are you getting any readings from Lieutenant Hooves?"

"Her vitals are spiking, brain activity is off the scale."

"Cause?"

"Unknown."

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Derpy screamed as the Taotse continued to spin wildly. Cranky watched as the pink mobile suit raised its laser rifle.

"Lieutenant, what are you doing?" Cranky demanded. "Holster your weapon, now! That's an order!"

"I have to make it stop!" Derpy yelled as she began to fire blindly in all directions, light red bolts shooting out of the barrel of her rifle and out amongst the stars.

Unfortunately, not all of them were so harmless directed. Cranky's eyes widened in horror as a quartet of shots struck the orbital elevator, bracketing a trio of habitat blocks on one of the lower rings.

"Lieutenant!" Cranky shouted. "Control, can't you disable her machine remotely?"

"Negative, sir."

"Dammit," Cranky cursed again, drawing his blade.

"Please don't damage the Taotse, sir."

"Never mind the machine, lives are at stake," Cranky said, firing the thrusters on his Tieren to carry him swiftly towards Lieutenant Hooves machine.

"Make it stop!"

"It will stop soon, lieutenant, trust me," Cranky muttered. In one smooth stroke he severed the Taotse's gun arm, the shattered fragments sparking as the hand fell away from the arm, and with his other hand he grabbed hold of the Taotse's 'face', pinning the machine in place and preventing Lieutenant Hooves from doing anything else that was just as stupid, if that was even possible.

On the comm, he heard Lieutenant Hooves give one last, loud, echoing shriek, and then there was only silence.

"Lieutenant?" Cranky said. "Lieutenant?"

"Looks like she's unconscious, sir," control said. "We'll dispatch a recovery unit."

"Sun and moon above," Cranky murmured, not because of the imminent dispatch of a recovery unit but because of what he could see happening below him.

The low wheel orbiting the central axel of the elevator, the wheel that had been struck by Lieutenant Hooves fire, had cracked along its diameter in the points weakened by the Taotse's laser blasts. Three habitat sections had broken free from the elevator, and were drifting into the pull of Equestria's gravity. Cranky could see bodies spilling out into space from the corridors which now lay exposed to the deadly vacuum. Far too few of them were wearing space suits.

"Sunlight's mercy," Cranky whispered.

"Airlocks are sealing now in all affected areas," control said. "Rescue units are being despatched to the free-floating habitat blocks."

"What's their ETA?" Cranky demanded.

"Twelve minutes."

"Twelve minutes!" Cranky shouted. "They'll be pulled into the atmosphere in twelve minutes. Mark Lieutenant Hooves position, make sure that she's retrieved." He let go of the pink prototype MS, holstered his blade, and began his descent.

"What are you doing, Colonel?"

"Whatever I can," Cranky said, diving down towards the habitat blocks. They were moving quickly, too quickly for rescue teams to get there while there was still anyone left to rescue. Already he could see the flames of the atmosphere licking against the bottom of the blocks. Cranky fed more power into the engines, fighting for however many seconds he could get out of his mobile suit. He threw himself in front of the free-floating habitat blocks, threw out of the arms of his tieren, and began to push back on them with all the strength that PRL engineering could grant him.

"Colonel, you know a Tieren doesn't have anything like the power necessary to counter the pull of gravity. You should withdraw immediately."

"I'm not abandoning the people trapped inside these blocks."

"Colonel Donkey, if you do not withdraw then you will be incinerated in the atmosphere."

"Then I guess my eulogy will include the word stupid," Cranky said.

Pinkamena Diane Pie threw back her head and laughed at the spectacle unfolding before her out the window. Three habitat blocks, the shape and colour of ice cubes floating in the cola of space, had been blasted free from their moorings by that dumbass pilot in the PRL prototype. Pinkamena but had been liberated by the brief jolt of pain, set free from her mental prison, but it looked like the pilot of the now rather immobile mobile suit had been crippled by it. Weakling.

Of course it was always possible that blowing those habitat blocks free had been intentional - that sort of thing was certainly Pinkamena's idea of fun, except of course that with Pinkamena driving she would have just destroyed the blocks and watched them explode like fairy dust - except that the pilot had let his arm get cut off, and now the mobile suit was just hanging there like the pilot was sleeping or just slacking off. Where was the fun in that, when there was so much more mischief to be had? Like killing the pilot of that other mobile suit that was trying to stop the habitat blocks from falling into the atmosphere. He was a sitting duck out there, trying to be all noble. Or maybe hearing his screams as the atmosphere roasted him alive would be more fun than that.

I think Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are on one of those habitat blocks. Pinkie Pie said, from where Pinkamena had shoved her into the back of her mind. She sound tremulous, but at the same time angry.

"So what?" Pinkamena said dismissively. "Why should I care?"

Because Applejack and Rarity-

"Are your friends not mine," Pinkamena snapped. "They can go space themselves for all I care. Screw them, and screw Celestial Being too. I'll take that sweet mobile suit and I'll have some fun with it." She saw some people staring at her, and growled at them. "And screw all of you, too, unless you want me to have some fun with you first."

You can't just let them die, Pinkamena!

Pinkamena scoffed. "People die every day, Pinkie. Are you going to save all of them?"

As many as I can

Pinkamena roared with laughter. "That is so you, isn't it: naive and stupid! Don't forget we've put a few people in the ground ourselves, you and me. What's the harm in watching a few more get there without any help at all?"

Pinkamena yowled with pain as she felt a sharp stabbing behind the eyes.

I won't let you stand by and do nothing! Pinkie screamed as she launched a full-throated assault on Pinkamena for control of their shared body. I won't let you watch while people die! I won't let you ignore the children!

"No," Pinkamena growled. "I'm not going back into that box, dammit. I'm free now, and I'm staying that way."

"No, you're not!" Pinkie yelled as her hair returned to its natural poofiness. "Ah, that's better." Her eyes widened. "No it isn't!" Ignoring the fact that people were starting to point at her now, Pinkie took off at a run for the hangar where she had stored the Laughter. She had to save the children.

Inside the cockpit of Cranky's Tieren, an alarm was sounding to warn him of the buildup of excessively high temperatures. Cranky was doing his best to ignore it.

He wasn't having much effect - he couldn't tell if he was having any effect at all - of the progress of the habitat blocks, but if he had to die pointlessly it was still better than living with having done nothing.

"Woohoo! Mister mobile suit pilot!" a young girl's voice came over the comm system. "Celestial Being is here to save the day!"

"Celestial Being...?" Cranky checked his instruments, there was an unknown mobile suit inbound to his position. Is she really one of them? She sounds so young.

"Now everyone needs to get into the centre habitat block," the young pilot announced. "Once you do, I'm going to shoot out the joins on the three blocks, so that we only have the one block to push. Then with the two of us working together we should be able to get it out of harms way."

"If you think you can pull that off, be my guest," Cranky said.

"Of course I can pull it off," the pilot declared. "Celestial Being is only here to help the world, after all."

"Where's Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked anxiously. "Has anyone seen Sweetie Belle?"

Everyone was crowding into the central block of the three rogue habitat blocks, an area that was under more normal circumstances a shopping promenade. The power was out, save for the dim orange emergency lighting, but Scootaloo could just about make out the store fronts and the fast food stalls surrounding the crowds frantically changing into space suits.

"Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom yelled. "Sweetie, where are you?"

"Where did you see her last?" Scootaloo said. "I thought you were together."

"I went to the bathroom while Sweetie Belle went to buy a souvenir from..." Apple Bloom's yellow face blanched. "She went to that tacky store in section H."

Rumble's eyes widened. "But that's one of the sections that's going to be abandoned. If she's still there-"

"Why would she still be there?" Diamond Tiara demanded. "Everyone's been told to get into the central block, even I don't think she's that stupid."

"But she could be hurt or something," Apple Bloom said. "What if she needs our help?"

"And what are you going to do if she does? Go into second H while the bulkheads close?"

"I, I don't," Apple Bloom murmured, seeming to shrink and tremble with fear.

She wants to go, but she's too afraid, Scootaloo observed dispassionately. On the one hand, Apple Bloom's grief for her best friend might make it easier for Scootaloo to fill that position, and thus fulfil her mission of getting close to Apple Bloom and learning her secret. On the other hand...

On the other hand Scootaloo didn't like to let a comrade die.

"I'll go check it out," she said. "If Sweetie Belle's still in H I'll get her back here before the doors close."

"All on your own?" Diamond Tiara said. "That's crazy."

"Anyone else would just slow me down," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom sagged with relief to hear it.

"But it's much too dangerous. They're about to separate the compartments," Rumble said.

"There's no such thing as too dangerous," Scootaloo replied, quoting one of Nightmare Moon's favourite aphorisms. "There's only challenging circumstances."

And with that she began to run. She pushed through the crowds, bouncing along the floor in her cumbersome spacesuit, her footfalls echoing across the plastic tiles as she bulled her way through the frightened masses packing section I, out into the interlinking corridor and down the passage leading to section H.

"Bulkheads will be closing imminently, please move to section I for your own safety."

There was a red light flashing above the soon to close bulkhead, and a klaxon sounding too. Scootaloo ignored both, the same way she would have ignored the bullets flying over the head of a wounded man: not because she was unconscious of the danger, but because she had a job to do and the danger wasn't going to stop her.

"Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo shouted as she bounded into section H. "Sweetie Belle can you hear me?"

The only answer was the crackle of fried electrics. This section had taken heavy damage from the attack, with blown out walls, small fires, and debris littering the area.

"Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo yelled as she bounded deeper into the damaged section.

She heard a groan by way of reply. Sweetie Belle was lying in front of a blown out store front, her body covered in broken glass and - more seriously - by the beam that had fallen on her.

Scootaloo knelt beside her, checking her pulse. She was alive. Scootaloo wasn't sure that moving her was the best idea, but burning up in the atmosphere would be even worse than anything that might happen as a result of Scootaloo's interference, so she braced her herself and hauled the beam off the frail, white body.

Sweetie Belle was bleeding from an injury to the head. She wasn't conscious.

"Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo said calmly. "Sweetie Belle, can you wake up for me?"

The answer, it appeared was no.

Scootaloo took a deep breath and picked her up, slinging Sweetie over her shoulder and carrying her towards the bulkhead archway. As she went - her progress noticeably slower coming the other way, thanks to Sweetie's weight, Scootaloo opened up her space suit, in case she needed to take it off. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but-

A wall panel exploded to Scootaloo's left. Scootaloo twisted, shielding Sweetie from the blast, but she couldn't do the same to shield her face from the piece of debris that came flying towards it. There was a crash, a sound of glass cracking, and then everything went black.

"Bulkheads will be closing imminently, please move to section I for your own safety."

Scootaloo came too again, and surmised that she had not been out long. For one thing, they still hadn't sealed off the bulkhead yet.

Not that she was ungrateful for that.

Sweetie Belle lay beside her, still unconscious. There wasn't much time, but there wasn't enough time to assume that Scootaloo could get her out of here. So Scootaloo took off her space suit and stuffed Sweetie Belle inside it - not bothering to fit the arms or legs properly, it only took moments - so that she would have an air supply for a while if things went wrong. If they did, then Scootaloo would throw Sweetie out the nearest airlock and hope that the recovery craft found her. There was the problem that the helmet glass was cracked, but it didn't seem to be compromised yet. It would hold, probably.

And the alternative was certain death, so why worry about the glass.

Something red fell into Scootaloo's eye, clouding her vision. Blood. She had a head injury of her own now. Oh, well. Minor. Treatable. Not important at this stage.

Scootaloo picked up Sweetie Belle again and began to run.

The klaxon stopped, although the red light stayed on, as the bulkhead began to descend.

"No, no!" Scootaloo yelled as she tried to pick up the pace, but although she was strong for her age she still wasn't strong enough to make the kind of flat out sprint that she needed while carrying Sweetie Belle.

The cold equation was that the two of them together couldn't move fast enough to cover the amount of distance required in the time that they had.

But maybe one of them could.

Sprinting and shouting, Scootaloo raised her voice to its highest as she hurled Sweetie Belle bodily towards the closing bulkhead. Cocooned in her spacesuit, looking a bit like a fat white caterpillar, Sweetie floated in the decreased gravity of the habitat, hit the floor, bounced upwards, and passed beneath the bulkhead and into section I and safety.

"Yes!" Scootaloo yelled as she kept on running, the thrill of a mission successfully completed flooding her system with adrenaline to speed her on ever faster. Now, with only herself to carry, she was already closing the distance. She was going to make it, she only had a few feet left to go. She would-

Another wall panel exploded, hitting Scootaloo in the chest and bearing her backwards into the opposite wall. She could hear something cracking, and was afraid it was her ribs.

Is this is? Scootaloo thought, as her vision began to darken, even the pain she felt receding. All she could see was the bulkhead, slamming down upon her. Is this how it ends?

I'm sorry, commander Nightmare.

As her vision failed, Scootaloo thought she could hear footsteps running towards her, but that was just ridiculous.